Are you looking for our Kpop discussion this week?
Here we’re back with another video full of the hottest controversies circulated on
social platforms.
So without any further ado, let’s get the video to start to have an overview of all
these following debates last week.
---------------------------- Here comes our first discussion in this video,
which is about Jennie being treated like an outcast during a BlackPink concert in Indonesia.
Before going into the details, you must have watched our video “Kpop Idols Who RUINED
Their Own Image Recently” where we mentioned that Jennie was recently criticized for changing
too much compared to her past image, right?
And the incident she encountered in Indonesia is pretty much a consequence of that change.
Particularly, BLACKPINK recently held a concert in Jakarta, Indonesia as part of their world
tour “BORN PINK”.
And one thing needs to be noticed is that while fans were heard screaming and shouting
during every other performance, Jennie’s solo performance was not well-received.
First of all, several videos were posted on Tik Tok, saying that the audience when watching
Jennie performing her hit solo song “You & Me” was mostly silent with only a small
number of fans cheering and holding up their lightsticks.
This leads fans to accuse concertgoers of intentionally or unintentionally giving Jennie
a black ocean, which is considered taboo in any concert.
Another video even showed some audience throwing things at Jennie when she was standing on
the stage with Rosé, making her look visibly disappointed and sadful.
This is not the first time Indonesian fans allegedly mistreated Jennie.
Previously, when participating in an event marking the launch of Samsung’s new Galaxy
A, Jennie’s antifans spammed the entire comment section with comments like: “You
don’t deserve to be part of BLACKPINK” and “You’re lazy”, making Jennie have
to try to hold back tears on livestream.
By that, many argued that Indonesian fans were generally unkind to Jennie and that she
should spend her time in other countries where she would be treated way better.
To explain all this mess, Jennie’s controversy revolves around her revealing outfits, sexy
choreography, and lingerie advertising photo series could be the reasons for Indonesian
fans to hate on her, because as you know, Indonesia is quite a conservative country
which has high demand for clothing that adheres to religious rules emphasizing modesty for
women.
However, people cannot judge everything through a few videos posted on social media.
Worth mentioning, the videos are taken from some angles that can easily manipulate viewers
and make them believe that no one cheered for Jennie.
Some fans even posted other videos to show how the crowd was even trying to sing along
to the intros of some songs including Jennie’s eventhough they couldn't speak or understand
Korean.
What’s more, in the comment section, some attached their self-recorded video of the
concert where people can clearly hear the fans screaming while Jennie was performing.
So, it is totally important to consider this case from multiple perspectives because it
is possible that Jennie's anti-fans edited the original video to create a fuss and destroy
her image in the eyes of fans.
---------------------- Now move on to another discussion also related
to BLACKPINK and this time it was Lisa being embroiled in a controversy in Thailand over
her latest photoshoot where she revealed her small tattoo and lost the "national treasure"
title for that.
Particularly, on March 7, Thairath and Sanook newspapers reported that Lisa's most recent
photo shoot for Harper's Bazaar was stirring up controversy in Thailand, Lisa’s homeland.
Although the photoshoot was published at the beginning of March, it has just been the subject
of discussion in Lisa's country for the past few days.
On the cover, Lisa can be seen flaunting her charm and aura while donning a sleeveless
shirt and striking sexy poses.
Before they could admire the beauty and charisma of BLACKPINK’s maknae, Thai fans were shocked
when suddenly discovered the hidden small tattoo on her lower back near her waist.
Looking closely, the tattoo is an image of Edelweiss - the national flower of Switzerland.
Although Lisa has not confirmed anything yet, many Thai fans already flocked to show negative
reactions to it.
The debate started with a post on Twitter that questioned why Lisa would get a tattoo,
explaining that Thai people hold tattoos in low regard as they think that those who got
tattoos are considered bad guys, even if the tattoos have positive meanings.
The OP continued by claiming that older people in Thailand do not like tattoos and that having
them could even hinder employment.
She herself also emphasized that because of her tattoos, her chance to become a public
servant is now zero.
Thus, the OP concluded that it would’ve been better if Lisa didn’t get that tattoo.
While some Thai netizens have agreed with this sentiment, many others have defended
the female idol, stating that getting a tattoo is a personal choice and not something that
should be debated.
They also pointed out that Lisa is making hundreds of millions of baht per month so
she does not need to be concerned about employment issues when having tattoos.
Even the Thai superstar Ploy Chermarn also spoke out in defense of Lisa, saying that
since we live in a contemporary culture, getting a tattoo is not abnormal.
In the comment section, many viewers have approved of her thoughts, saying that Lisa’s
tattoo has nothing to do with anyone because “her body, her choice, and her money”.
The unacceptable thing here is that many people are poking their noses in others’ business
as if that would suddenly make them “good people” but in fact, they are just showing
their childishness and conservatism.
From my perspective, a tweet criticizing women with tattoos is emblematic of the deep-rooted
problems within some parts of Thailand’s society.
It begins with a belief that human skin is the most beautiful thing and that any tattoo
on it is a stain.
Moreover, it was so ridiculous when some warned Lisa that she now won’t be able to get a
job just because of what she did to her skin.
It seems like those who criticized her just can’t keep up with the world where people,
including women of course, are now free to express their personality with any style.
And the last thing I want to tell you is that, never interfere with other people’s bodies.
--------------------- The last news in today’s video is about
the alleged failure of Twice recently as their heydays are said to gradually fall through
the crack of their hands.
Lately, on March 10, Twice marked their return to the Kpop track with their twelfth mini-album
named “Ready to be” with the title track “Set me fire”.
The song is about freeing yourself from bondage and encouraging people to love wholeheartedly.
Obviously, Once couldn’t help but express their excitement toward their idols’ comeback,
and netizens also expect the song to achieve sounding success as Twice has been long famous
for being a digital monster who takes over the charts everytime they drop their comeback.
However, contrary to everyone’s expectations, the group’s achievement in terms of digital
charts is said to be really poor and disappointing.
Accordingly, on the first day of its release, “Set me fire” just peaked at 83rd place
on Melon.
Thought that Twice could turn the table on the next day, but the result is even worse.
Not only is the song unable to reach a higher rank, but to everyone’s surprise, it also
drops and is out of the top100 of all the Korean digital charts like Melon, Bugs, Genie
and Flo after only 2 days of its release.
The same situation also happens to other b-side tracks of the mini-album when none of them
reach top100 of digital charts.
Needless to say, many netizens, especially anti-fans, took advantage of this chance to
mock the girlgroup.
They stated that Twice is now gradually losing their reputation to the hand of other gen4
girlgroups and is left behind due to the debut of numerous beautiful and talented idols with
loads of catchy songs, which soon blur the presence of Twice in the Kpop track.
Used to be one of the most famous girlgroups in the Kpop industry after releasing many
hit songs, the era of Twice is now just a has-been.
Some netizens also added that, looking at the rank of Twice’s songs, who would think
that this is one of the strongest Kpop groups as it is shockingly much lower compared to
what everyone can imagine.
Many also came to guess the reasons why their music is so flopped, saying that this is because
their fanbase is now too weak and not solid enough to back them up to conquer high digital
ranks.
While even fans of mid-range groups could manage to stream their idols’ songs to help
them reach the top100, ONCE couldn’t do it.
This proves that the fandom is not strong as they appear to be.
Another given cause that led to Twice’s heatdrop is the declining quality of their
music.
Netizens pointed out that their recent comebacks are not as good as the previous ones like
Fancy or More&More since they have no emphasis or impressive chorus, thus failing to live
up to netizens' high expectations.
In contrast, Twice’s fans stand up to protect their idols, saying that netizens are holding
a one-sided viewpoint toward the girlgroup’s achievement.
They argued that only ranks on digital charts couldn’t tell anything about the song’s
performance or Twice’s current reputation, because “Ready to be” has surpassed 1.7
million pre-orders, breaking their own previous record.
What is also worth mentioning is that Twice now has entered their 8th-year of their idol
career, so this number is really impressive as not many girlgroups having been active
in the K-pop world for a long time are able to achieve that.
Honestly, I could understand why some netizens react like that as I am also really surprised
with Twice’s performance on digital charts.
Compared to their previous songs that performed extremely well on charts, “Set me fire”
has obviously brought an unexpected disappointment.
However, the positive number of album pre-orders proves that the girls’ heat hasn't cooled
down yet.
Though Twice’s comeback this time could be not really successful, it’s not a reason
to judge their future.
To be fair, no Kpop group is forever relevant because the cooling-down of senior groups
is inevitable to give the spotlight to newer groups and from there the Kpop industry can
continue to develop.
So, do you think Jennie is really boycotted by Indonesian fans?
Is Lisa's tattoo worthy of criticism?
And is Twice really flopped like what people say?