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I won’t even front, I’m a total SM stan; it was Shinee that really introduced me to K-pop, I may have mentioned in it my BTS post but they’re actually the first group in K-pop that I really stanned, ugh the good ole days.





So for those who don’t know, SM is probably unarguably the biggest label in K-pop, they have Super Junior, f(x), Exo, Red Velvet, and NCT, and these are all very big groups in the K-pop genre. Not to try to make comparisons but honestly, before it was BTS, it was Exo, I mean Exo was the biggest group, definitely at the time, it was one of the most streamed, Exo did a lot for the culture, and I mention that because I partially think that’s one of the reason why this group was created.





Ever since the mainstream success of BTS in the American market, I feel like more and more we're starting to see more Kpop groups in America media trying to achieve that same success. I think a good example of that is SuperM’s label mate NCT. They also promote heavily in America, even making English versions of their songs, and yet, they still have not clicked with mainstream America the same way BTS has. I mean don’t get me wrong, NCT isn’t unknown, they still have a large fan base and a well attended American tour, but they still are not as big as BTS, they are still not the face of K-Pop, not the way I think SM intended them to be.





So you know what SM did? They said, “let’s take the most popular members of our most popular groups, and let’s make them into a group”, and that’s exactly what they did. But do I really think that will work? Honestly, I don’t know.





Now like I said, I like a lot of these groups, and, a lot of the members from these groups. Taemin is one of my biggest biases in kpop, I’ve been a Taemin stan since the absolute beginning, his first solo album? A bop, period. I love Kai and Baekhyun from Exo, I think both Taeyong and Mark are talented rappers, and Ten I think is someone who’s just talented all around. He can dance, sing, he speaks like 3 languages, he really does it all.





So getting back to SuperM, although I feel like this group may have good parts, I don’t necessarily think that it means it’s going to be good. For those who don’t know, this group is supposed to heavily pushed to American markets, SM is really trying to make sure that this group will be the next big thing. There’s been so many times that K-pop has tried to merge itself within mainstream America culture, the first example I can think of is the Wonder Girls way back when, there's NCT, and now even Monsta X has signed a deal with Epic Records, and I just personally feel like K-pop, that’s made to appeal to American audiences, doesn’t work.





Now I think that’s for many reasons right, there’s definitely a xenophobic thing that’s going on when a lot of Americans talk about K-Pop. People who may not get the genre definitely look at it as a novelty of sorts, a lot of people for whatever reason don’t really understand, that kpop is like actual music. I think a lot of people have this idea that kpop is this “larger than life” thing, and it can be, and sometimes it is, but I think a lot of people in America, are turned off by music that isn’t English. It’s very interesting learning that American music is so widespread in other countries, but in America, most of the music we do consume is almost entirely English based, and even though Latin music is growing in popularity, it still in its own category, it’s only the break out songs that come here and there that you’ll actually hear played on the radio and such, and that’s what makes BTS’s success such a big deal, they really crossed cultural boundaries in a way that’s really never been crossed before, and as much as SM may try to, you cannot reproduce organic success.





So some of you guys may be reading this and be like “well they aren’t trying to compete with BTS” and you’re right, I don’t necessarily think they are, but I do think they’re coming for their #1 spot. The breakout of BTS has miraculously started to some people, a new market in K-Pop, and SM is doing what any smart company and that’s making a product for a need in the market.





I’m most worried however that this project is going to be rushed. You know I was shocked to hear that they were releasing an album just like 2 months after they released they were even a group. Of course, you could say that they could’ve been working on this project for a while but I just don’t know how to feel about that. All the NCT members are constantly working, Taemin is either doing something in Korea or Japan, Baekhyun literally just released his first solo project just a few months back, and weren't NCT 127 just now finishing their American tour? I just don't even see how any of them could have found meaningful time to record this album, I mean honestly, this entire concept seems rushed, they couldn’t even think of a better name than “Super M”.





With saying that, even though I personally think that this could possibly be a huge flop, I really would hate to see my man Taemin tarnish his reputation for this like in all honesty, I really do hope this album is a bop right. I actually do like all these members, I would like to get what could be an iconic piece of music, but it’s just something about this that doesn’t sit right.



