u/kat3dyy

I think some ARMYs hold themselves in very high regard when assessing their importance in BTS’s lives; they’re just fans: they have no influence or say in BTS’s decisions or career. I always see fans (this happens in K-pop in general) claiming that they know more than the artists, that the artists don’t know what they’re doing and that the agency is to blame for something, simply because they can’t accept the fact that they disagree with certain opinions or perspectives held by their favourite artist. There are fans who say they can ‘educate’ them, and, quite frankly, that’s not possible: you don’t have access to them and, most importantly, you don’t know them. I know BTS are lovely to their fans and I really feel their love, but believe me, they see us as a vast ocean of support a sort of shield but they don’t expect you to educate them or meddle in their personal affairs.

This could apply to everything from the people they associate with, to the things they consume, or the opinions they hold on various topics. You can’t change their opinions on anything because you don’t have access to them. I think that we, as a fan community, need to learn to disagree with them without making a fuss, as we sometimes do. Believe me, they don’t take all this drama seriously; some of you treat them as if they were children, but they aren’t.

This came up during a discussion on the subject of the Gemini collab , I don’t like it and, to be honest, I don’t support it, but that’s my problem, not theirs. All this talk of ‘we have to educate them’ and ‘we have to make them aware’ is nonsense, people. They know what they’re doing; they’ve probably already had this discussion amongst themselves. As a fan, there’s nothing you can do about it perhaps just not support it? That’s the only realistic thing you can do.

We’re not friends or colleagues of BTS; we’re not part of their inner circle, and they know this all too well they constantly remind us of our place. I’m not saying you can’t criticise them or disagree with them, but do so in a reasonable way; and if it all gets too much for you, then move on to another artist or interest; believe me, nobody’s going to judge you for it. Let go of that need to control everything they do; they’re not always going to reflect your values, feelings, beliefs and outlook on life, and that’s fine because they’re independent individuals.

I’m posting this here because it’s not a positive comment about the fandom, and it might get deleted in other subreddits. I get the impression that some ARMYs who didn’t like ‘Arirang’ are trying to project that same feeling onto the members, and I find it curious because, as a old ARMY, I’ve never seen BTS so happy at a concert. I know some people didn’t like the album; I’ve got no problem with that. I really like it and that’s all that matters to me. Some of you didn’t like the tour either, and that’s fine too, but some ARMYs are taking that dislike and projecting it onto the members, and that’s where I draw the line.
You hear things like:

‘Namjoon looks so sad, he’s probably waiting for the new era.’
‘Yoongi looks so distant, he doesn’t like it.’
‘Jimin didn’t like the album and blah, blah, blah’... Some of it even sounds like solo rhetoric.
“This doesn’t sound like a BTS album,” which is funny because the members have said the opposite: they like the album and most of them have expressed that quite directly.

It seems to me that some of you don’t dare to criticise the album on its own merits, so you try to justify your rejection by projecting those feelings onto the members, over-analysing things and acting as if you know better than them. ARMYs have always been complainers perhaps some of you don’t realise it, but the same things have been said about other albums you now adore but what really bothers me is the projection… This is a project that BTS clearly like; they’ve all said so in different ways, and they’ve all expressed their opinions in different settings , but some of you simply ignore that to fit your narrative.

There are some points I agree with; there’s no doubt that the album was something they had to put together quickly. Some members weren’t happy with certain aspects, but they got over it quickly because, well, they’re a group and they need to find a middle ground, and they’re clearly happy with the final version. This album is a perfect continuation of their solo era: it has loads of influences. As I said, not liking it or not connecting with it is normal, but constantly ignoring what BTS have said to validate your own feelings is totally unnecessary.

Besides, you don’t have to like everything they release, but you don’t need to come up with conspiracy theories to justify it and take their words out of context to do so. We’ve seen plenty of instances where things the members say are used without any context at all to create narratives, and whilst this is a practice mostly used by solo fans, I’ve seen plenty of ARMYs doing it too. I don’t know, I think BTS showing a bit of their behind-the-scenes work was something many ARMYs weren’t prepared for.

Anyway, I love ‘Arirang’ it’s one of my favourite eras of theirs.

So BTS has started a new era, and there are certain aspects that differ greatly from their previous promotions or their usual way of doing things, which has come as something of a shock to some fans; however, I’m convinced that the aim of this era was make a statement , and that is precisely what they’ve done.

For some reason, they’ve been gaining loads of new fans, and people who were never interested are now taking an interest, which proves that was their aim. Seeing people become fans of them has been truly incredible, and it reminds me of the initial reaction the album received, and the same goes for the tour. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, so I won’t dwell on that, but they did achieve what they set out to do. The tour and promotional activities have attracted a lot of attention, and it’s interesting because it seems like there’s less than before, but that’s not true: the figures and statistics simply make this comeback seem massive compared to the others. This has been a comeback album, and it’s obvious because ‘Swim’ wasn’t exactly a very strong lead single, and yet people love it.

Honestly, BTS are masters at keeping people entertained; it’s fascinating. How charismatic and easy is for them to attract new public and turning them into fans. This is one of their strengths. Their charisma.
This is why I laugh a little when I hear people sayin “they don’t have gp attention “ when people are out there just buying expensive tickets to see them because they considered them great artists and performers.

what do you think of this era? I think it’s brilliant and I believe it lays the foundations for a long-lasting career; the K-pop model wasn’t sustainable, so they’ve made a lot of changes, but in the long run it’s a good decision.

Why do you think the audience at BTS concerts is so diverse? I’ve been watching fancams and official live streams of their concerts, and you can see people of all ages there. Generally, people tend to box ARMYs into two categories: either we’re crazy teenagers or ‘hags ’, but seeing the audience across three different countries, the diversity is incredible: from women to men, children, teenagers and older people… whole families. I’m just curious: what makes BTS’s music so appealing to all sorts of people? This new era has been heavily criticised in K-pop circles, but it has attracted loads of new fans. People really love BTS’s music; the way most of them sing with all their heart even in Japan, people were singing at the top of their lungs the audience interacts with them so much. The atmosphere at the shows is incredible.

I’m really excited to be part of the sea of ARMYs.

This is something that’s been on my mind for days, but I think many ARMYs simply don’t realise that the members of BTS are adults now. I see it in the way some fans react to the content they produce and how they interact with everything, and I can’t help but feel that some of them act as if BTS weren’t professionals adults. They are not stuck in 2018 they grow up.

It’s as if some fans project their own perceptions onto the group one of my favourite examples is the way they expect the tannies to feel nostalgic about old songs and material, and are surprised when they don’t… I’d like people to understand that it’s not the same for them; clearly, they don’t remember most of it and don’t feel bad about it. The whole debate about ‘why don’t they remember my favourite song?’ and it’s a song from 10 years ago ,boils down to the fact that, as time goes by, we humans forget a lot of things; we only hold on to the most important memories… I’m not surprised they don’t remember many songs… especially the B-sides.

The other complaints I saw were: ‘Why aren’t there any Bantang Bombs?’, ‘Why are they changing the BTS tour or its content?’, ‘Why don’t they do live streams after every concert?’. And everyone’s going to hate me for saying this, but it’s about time we realised that they don’t like being filmed all the time; the content we cherish as fans was work for them… a gruelling schedule and a lot of effort… I’m not saying they didn’t enjoy it; I’m saying it wasn’t just for their own enjoyment. They weren’t relaxing as it seemed; they were working. And yes, I’m referring to ITS, Bon Voyage and most of the shows they did. Now they can say no and it doesn’t bother them. They can set boundaries and do it on their own terms.

Another point is that artists don’t particularly like their early work; of course, there are exceptions, but most artists are extremely critical of themselves and their early pieces. As a fan, you might think that was their best work but artists like to keep moving forward, so older works are just that. old. they just probably see many flaws in them. This isn’t something that applies only to musicians, but also to actors, writers and the like… what we treasure is probably only a small part of their body of work, they are probably not attaching feelings to it.

I can assure you they didn’t walk into that studio thinking: ‘Oh, I want to make another “Spring Day”; let’s create something similar to the “Love Yourself” era’… “let’s do what we did for PTD” Artists are always looking for inspiration and always want to try something new or experiment (most of them, and BTS in particular, love to experiment)

The other complaint is that ‘they don’t get on with the company’ ‘they hate it and all that’. Come on ,No employee is in love with their company; we’re always complaining about it. But when you’re an adult, you weigh up the pros and cons, you discuss things, you negotiate and these are mature men, not teenagers and young men . As adults, they know exactly what they’re doing. I’m not saying that certain aspects can’t be criticised, but the way some people talk and behave about their professional relationship with the company is strange and delusional.

This are some thoughts and I am sorry if this post is too long , but I would to know your opinions.