the silence from bts’ industry peers (with the exception of tablo!) speaks volumes.
“heavy is the head that wears the crown”
the kpop industry has spent years chasing bts’ success desperate to replicate it, quick to claim it as their own and fighting to be known as “the next bts” but nobody actually wants to BE bts when it’s time to be bts which is why i will always respect the guys for the way they handle the pressure, weight and burden of being the first keeping in mind that they don’t have many peers to look to for advice on how to navigate these uncharted waters.
I’ll say it again:
I’ve been here almost a decade. The goal was always to “make BTS untouchable.” That was never about them getting validation from any institution. It was about them having freedom to make decisions like this one because their success gives them power.
and last thing im gonna say is, ARMYs are the only fandom who immediately recognized that new asian category for what it is: blatant racism, while others were celebrating a potential win for their faves. the fact that BTS, an asian group, thinks the same as us says a lot. 🙏🏽