When BTS’ ARMY Decides to School Those With Rhetoric & Biased Assumptions About BTS, This Is What Happens…

They only talk facts.

It is astounding but somehow not shocking that whenever BTS hit major milestones, there will always be someone or people trying to explain away their achievements or success, like, why are you trying to explain greatness, lets face it BTS is GREATNESS in every sense of the word. Their work ethic and relationships whether between them as members or with staff or with their boss is always something that people are in awe of and study about and even sometimes emulate.

I tend to think that sometimes these people do that because they know that ARMY will always come to BTS’ defense, hence they will get their 15 seconds of fame and then fake apologize, as if fans do not see trough their bullshit.

An article recently wrote about how BTS and ARMY are rendering the pop charts useless, this was, and get this, (because that has always been the assumption of biased ignorant individuals) met not by ‘crazy’, ‘loud’, ‘vile’ fans but with clear headed individuals some who were not even ARMY laying down the bare truth about this whole article.

The article

“ah yes, let’s have a conversation about whether label-driven forced consumption or consumer-driven voluntary consumption is more representative of popularity. let’s pretend rampant pay-for-play is organic and charts are rooted in a moral quest for true popularity. this is fun” gj’s laptop

“This is what happens when you have fans who are passionate about a group, who genuinely care about them and want them to succeed, it’s not some game to us. All the crap they have put up with and still put up with, that’s why we buy their music. And a big FYI, look at the road that they had to travel to get where they are. It’s not all roses & sunshine, you don’t know anything about them obviously. They don’t have “handlers” wtf does that even mean? They have their hands firmly in the creative process. Like I said read up on them, then try again” Rebecca BUTTER

“So, when hits are made by corporations pushing a song through airwaves and playlists placement, we’re all good… but when fans buy their favorite artists’ music, it all becomes “useless”? (+ the remix dropped at the beginning of week2, you’re spreading misinfo) I would love to see what you deem organic. If you think most songs that end up BBH100 #1 get there “organically” you’re very naive. You’re just salty that actual fans are now taking the power from large corporations and labels. Boohoo.” Sam7

“When corporation pushes a song or when radio shoves certain songs down GP throat funded by labels, or put them on top of their curated playlist in return of less royalties is organic but real fans buying the actual MUSIC is what you call inorganic? Remix was released in week 2, The moment you use misinformation to make your point we know you’re pulling out stats from your ass.. You writing this shit piece abt Butter while it’s so called ‘competition’ has never set foot in 20k capacity arenas while BTS have sold out stadiums all over the world.” sara7

“Ok. You claimed they are only popular bc of sales & proof is they didn’t have #1 streams. Let’s unpack

1. Sales like we see could only be carried out by an ENORMOUS fanbase or else all fanbases would be able to do this for multiple weeks for every new song

2. Discounts- check the original sales price for all o/ singles on top 10 & tell me how many were under $1. I know the answer but I’m just checking to see if you do 3. Remixes- again. How many currently top 20 have at least 1 remix or feature

4. Streams- you make it seem like BTS have low streams. They broke Spotify’s record for streams & had overall more catalog streams than any o/ artist in May

5. Radio play /irl encounters. It broke records for radio adds and is literally in a Macdonald’s commercial… BriarRose

“Maybe we could talk about how the US industry artificially shoves music into our playlists and radio stations to create the false perception of what music is popular? Music taste is changing — you might not have heard Butter, but BTS is the music of millions today in the US. It’s a different era. We don’t wait for the industry to push us to a song, we find it ourselves. What a radical concept… fans advocating for artists and songs. The only thing this article tells us is that the US music industry is a corporate mess that has blinded people.” alapadma7

“So what you mean to say is that payola, bundling, car washes are all fair? And fans buying the music of their artist willingly (which btw is the whole point of making music) isn’t? This whole article is nothing but a biased and useless piece of sham.” Vri7

“It’s interesting how BTS is the scapegoat for an Industry that is so corrupted. American artists and musicians have called out how biased and controlled this industry is. This is reeks of prejudice. One doesn’t have to be a fan to feel angry with this kind of hateful biasness.. This article reeks of xenophobic anger. It’s trying to pass of as “professional observation” but it’s pure vitriolic spew of dead cells coming out of this person’s mouth. This is a how dare an “outsider come and …” article.” mamahatsana

“Can I just say how inaccurate this article is? Using their names like this instead of giving a thought on how did they really curate this kind and absolutely beautiful community with huge language barriers that exist? Ask correct questions.” Tanuja_HereForBTS

“It’s always interesting to me when tone-deaf articles like this one blatantly ignore the fact that BTS never gets the same industry support as western artists. And when their fans try to make up for that difference, it is deemed “inorganic” If you are so invested in the workings of the music industry and the charts, I urge you to write a wholistic think piece. One that includes factors like Payola, unfair playlisting due to company dealings, bundled etc. All of which “paint a false picture of popularity” Every artists in this industry aims to accumulate a loyal fan base. That ensures security for their career. Why is BTS antagonised for doing so in, arguably, the most successful manner? Big corporations meddling with the process to push their artists is fair. but fans willingly supporting an artist is somehow “inorganic”? Explain to me how that makes sense. Alternatively, you could just accept that BTS succeeding in an industry that offers them no support, pissed you off. You would spare yourself the embarrassment that way.” bts_simp

“BTS and ARMY are disruptors to a broken industry. White men praise white disruptors in the business world, but paint Asians as threats. Typical historical pattern since the 1800s, regardless of industry or sector, of white men making Asians the problem whenever Asians succeed” BE7

“Also, even if we go by the assumption that what’s popular is decided by general public, what do you think we were before we became fans? We’re not aliens who fell on earth to stan BTS. We were general public who decided this group deserved support and popularity.” Michelle

“disappointing. the writer fails to define an “organic” metric for popularity, but criticizes BTS fans – whom they have to admit have massive numbers, which is, you know, a way to measure popularity – for throwing their numbers and their dollars behind the band’s singles. the writer also fails to mention that the reason BTS fans first began engaging in this practice was pushback against a home industry where only artists belonging to one of three major industries got any recognition on the charts or in awards shows. sound familiar? it should. the US charts aren’t and have not been a good way to measure “popularity” for decades. what they ARE is a way to manufacture popularity. charting songs get more media attention and radio plays. record companies engage in all kinds of bad behavior to make sure their songs chart. but somehow, for this writer, when fans of a band use their own money, time and energy to level the playing field and help a band they love get exposure that is otherwise barred to them, it’s abuse. what is this, if not organic popularity? BTS never asked their fans to do this. BIGHIT, now HYBE, never asked BTS’s fans to do this. the organized buying, the concerted streaming – that’s all ARMY. ARMY isn’t the symptom. they’re the cure. BTS isn’t the paradigm for chart abuse. they’re the underdog that fought Goliath and won.” harv⁷ Butter | festa and bar study in that order

“BTS’ gradual rise on BB charts over the past 6 years is entirely organic. You can literally see their slow, steady growth. If BTS now have a fandom big enough to get a #1 w/o the same industry support most others have, that’s demand. Or did you not know fans are also real people? BTS is inarguably the biggest group in the world rn, but they don’t get fair playlisting or radio to reflect it. Not even close. That isn’t BTS’ fault. They don’t do shady business BTS to try to bypass the xenophobia. Instead, simple demand speaks for them. That, you criticise? What would satisfy you? Would you be happier if they stooped down to the same tricks others do? It sounds to me like you’d only accept a #1 from them if they turned out to be a one-hit-wonder, but you’re pissed it turns out this foreign group has real footing and it shows.” BUTTER7

“Fan driven consumption is here to stay. You can either choose to adapt to the future or become irrelevant. BTS and ARMY are together putting fans at the centre of music. People are mad because men in suits can no longer dictate music consumption and what success looks like.” ᴮᴱBTStani⁷

“Not in the BTS “army” (never even heard a song) but this a weird thing to be angry about. But thanks for waiting until after AAPI heritage month. Pls consider how BTS represents a historically underrepresented ethnic group in entertainment and that might have something to with why the fans go so hard.” megan oddsen

“Tbh. Yes I am an ARMY but my family members who have never understood my love of BTS have bought and love this song. It is not just their loyal fans. I know that has nothing to do with your point lol. But I only imagine the same is happening with a lot of the gp.” jen7

“Exactly! My mom doesn’t like BTS and doesn’t understand why I love them so much. But she was texting me about it the next day about how much she loved the song. She even asked me to add it to her music. She said it reminds her of when she was a teenager” ChaosWillow7

“According to you if they sold out stadiums (which they did!) conveys how massively popular they are then why didn’t you dig into them not getting decent radioplay and playlisting ? Why do you have a problem with fans buying their music when OTHER artists use massive bundling? If not fans who do you expect to buy the the music? Or do you just expect the only songs that should chart and do numbers are the ones heavily pushed by the industry. The remixes dropped in week 2 so that’s a misinfo that you are spreading. And let’s not pretend” Sailee7

“I think it’s them not being western. “BTS and their handlers” He seems to love his US industry plants, Billie and Olivia etc. Seeing an industry outsider who succeeded only via actual interest and actual fans AGAINST the industry must hurt” Jan_ro7

“So what is “organic success” to you. I would say BUYING the work of your fav. artist would be one of(if not the BEST) criteria. Basically you only care about streaming on one app- Spotify and maybe AM? What about YouTube? Or is that inorganic as well. Your arguments are empty” wut wut7

“The charts were gamed behind the scenes long before BTS came along. It was just easy for everyone to pretend it was all genuine. The BTS ARMY opened the hood and exposed the industry *while* pushing BTS to the top. This goes beyond demand. This is a whole movement.” Ruthie

“Exactly, last week they were so obvious. The way Spotify filtered almost half of our streams and playlisted the girl everywhere. I saw pictures of physical albums from that singer at 7 dollars. Our boys do not need to beg us. We gave them happily a #1 with a $50 deluxe album” Marge

“It seems like this article is really lamenting ‘stan culture’ more than anything else. It would be interesting to dig in here and see how charts themselves have contributed to fan base mobilization. If the interest is BTS themselves, dig into why their fan base would mobilize. I also think it’s time to redefine what it means to be a fan, because the current definition this article seems to work with puts some fans in a box it somehow then invalidates. Perhaps, in the case of BTS, the fan base is simply so large and committed that it outweighs all.” Somer

“Isn’t the whole point of an artist growing organically is for their fans to support them? Like I’m sorry but this whole article just comes off as “we are mad that BTS are so successful”. Like if it isn’t fans supporting them then who? The industry that is known to be corrupt?” Misha7

“Thank you for giving us the motivation to work even harder for BTS & do everything we can to help them. They don’t have most of the advantages western artists do, even while being massive global superstars. They constantly get underestimated, & any success is a “surprise” or because they “cheated” the system somehow. They play by the rules & get called out for “cheating” because the fans actually engage & help. ARMY will continue our support for BTS because they are the real deal, even when the media & world struggle with that concept, lol!” BTS7Makinghistory

“It only bothers you that a large number of fans have power over the music they consume and do not kiss the feet of the content that the industry wants to force them to consume. A lot of artists with good music are often overshadowed by large teams behind other artists playing dirty games. That work team pays a large amount of money for their music to be promoted in the largest playlists on streaming platforms, and on the main radio stations. To that we can include bundles and other methods, the artist who does not waste money simply does not stand out.” anit7

“When they no longer know how to argue that a Korean group can have so many fans and good numbers. Even with all the money they invest in their payolas. In the end we will continue to win, and if we lose, we will do so with very high pride because neither they nor we sell ourselves” Lilia7 FESTA 2021 IS HERE

“You didn’t have the same energy writing articles when American artists were doing bundles with literally lollipops, condoms, t-shirts and selling singles for 0,39 cents but I guess the narrative really changes when you have an Asian group dominate the charts that for years were manipulated by the record labels pushing their artists. I guess is really hard to accept that BTS is dominating the western industry without using their dirty tactics and bundles.” Tamara7

“I didn’t see y’all crying when western artist used bundling to score that #1 but when an Asian act did that WITHOUT these tactics solemnly with the support of fans WHILE gradually growing over 8years .. its a problem ? I don’t see you writing about car wash or icecream. BUTTHURTHOPE7

“Talking about streams.. They literally shattered all the streaming records globally.. This is not sales.. No one deserves this better than them. They are the best artist at this point and hence we buy their songs..” Jl1

“aw musicians doing their actual job having fans listen to them & buying their songs is useless now? 8yo band achieved what they have now with their hardwork breaking all the barriers w/n industry support, a journey that is like climbing stairs instead of elevators is useless?Lol” buttercup

“Honestly, I’m just too disappointed at this point how far people can go cuz of hatred like please BTS had entered the US market in 2017 when they first got nominated for BBMAs and then their albums started charting higher and eventually #1, and its 2021 like pls, they sellout stadiums” Ariel exam era

So basically…

The real enemy is underestimating the power that people have when they have a collective mind. I love how someone asked, if fans do not buy the music, then who? Are trees supposed to enjoy the music? The whole point of putting out music is so that people will listen to it, and if they want to listen to it a 15563535362722899209 times, then that’s their prerogative. No one is ever forced to buy music, people have more important things to do with their money than buy what they do not want or like and then dispose of it, they buy because the music makes them happy.

It is high time that individuals or the music industry, local or international stops underestimating BTS’ supremacy to hold the masses with their incredible power, not only in music but as individuals. BTS have built their own empire, they have not begged anyone and for goodness sake, they do not even live in your country, why are you so threatened by 7 harmless men who are just doing what they love? When is it ever going to be enough, that BTS’ success will be seen as just that, organic success built together with fans who are loyal, everyone artist or celebrity needs loyal fans.

At the end of the day, when it is all said and done, BTS do not need anybody’s validation, their love for ARMY is validation enough, and ARMYs love for BTS is validation enough.

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