Are ILLIT and LESSERAFIM underperforming because of MHJ drama? (1 Viewer)

[SnowWhite]

Tbh it does seems so to me, the song peaked in the first 24 hours and now shows no signs of improvement. They had so much hype few months ago even their b-side was performing better than this and I cant find any other explanation. I hope I am wrong because ILLIT are my favorite girls in KPOP atm but its crazy how the future of these young girls was ruined because of some drama between adults.

 

[catonkatonk]

Internationally, for Sserafim, I don't think so. Crazy had one of the biggest debuts for a k-pop group on Spotify this year. Over the long-term I guess fewer people were feeling the song.

I dunno anything about Illit though. I think it might be reasonable to assume that the drama.mp3 has bigger impact within Korea, where Aespa seems to have taken off while all the HYBE girlgroups have declined in Melon compared to their previous peaks.

But it's generally difficult to talk about a foreign country! I think k-pop fans don't take into account things such as marketing within Korea etc. For example, it might be possible that budgets are impacted by the legal wrangling of these labels.

 

[velvet]

Lsfm are doing fine, they don't need a big Korean fanbase to keep going.
Idk about Illit. If they are underperforming then the drama happening may be a factor OR maybe people don't like the song. Magnetic wasn't a hit because of the fans it was a hit because of the GP. But at the end of the day, if Illit has enough fans to keep going, then they're going to be okay. You don't have to be on the charts to survive in the industry.

But it's generally difficult to talk about a foreign country! I think k-pop fans don't take into account things such as marketing within Korea etc. For example, it might be possible that budgets are impacted by the legal wrangling of these labels.

I agree with this. We're usually pretty naive to situations within the K-pop industry cause we're outsiders most of the time. It's like how people were surprised that Taeil wasn't kicked out immediately of SM when SM most likely had legal shit to deal with.

 

[Selfmate]

that's something that is hard to gauge

how much of the "underperformance" is attributed to the civil war
how much of it is attributed to LSFM's "vocal issues"
how much of it is attributed to haters
how much of it is attributed to the song

I know more about LSFM than Illit because I like LSFM but the same can be made for Illit (except that they don't have the "vocal issues" issue)

 

[Moguri]

for Illit (except that they don't have the "vocal issues" issue)

they also got attacked for the same reason.. they even adressed it as a point they worked on improving

 

[Selfmate]

they also got attacked for the same reason.. they even adressed it as a point they worked on improving

they did? huh I didn't know that but then I don't really keep up with Illit but I guess then my original point stands for both groups

 

[LoveYooShaSha]

I rlly think external drama shdnt hv played a major role in any underperformance; who among fans knows who beliefs ceo is or cares as long as they like ILLIT/cherish. same for lssrfm/CRAZY.

I think Rose+Bruno Mars' "APT" shows if a song is good n hits it will resonate n make waves!

I think sales hv gone up recently but Idk if it's the pandemic/stans mass buying or other reasons. As a guy in Hollywood said before(paraphrasing) "Nobody knows anything" on why his movies were hits, he wrote Buth Cassidy n Sundance kid n other famous movies before u n I were born.

It's sad tat ur fave grp is facing this now but it's a cycle I think, some rise and some fall. Idk wat to say to help u get thru this. I hope u get thru this to the other side. Light shines at the end of the rainbow.

 

[SnowWhite]

It's sad tat ur fave grp is facing this now but it's a cycle I think, some rise and some fall. Idk wat to say to help u get thru this. I hope u get thru this to the other side. Light shines at the end of the rainbow.

Oh it aint that big a deal for me lol, my actual faves got disbanded years ago. ILLIT are just cute and adorable, and I guess i put that more for people to know im just asking a genuine question rather than attacking the groups.

 

[SnowWhite]

Internationally, for Sserafim, I don't think so. Crazy had one of the biggest debuts for a k-pop group on Spotify this year. Over the long-term I guess fewer people were feeling the song.

I dunno anything about Illit though. I think it might be reasonable to assume that the drama.mp3 has bigger impact within Korea, where Aespa seems to have taken off while all the HYBE girlgroups have declined in Melon compared to their previous peaks.

But it's generally difficult to talk about a foreign country! I think k-pop fans don't take into account things such as marketing within Korea etc. For example, it might be possible that budgets are impacted by the legal wrangling of these labels.

Lsfm are doing fine, they don't need a big Korean fanbase to keep going.
Idk about Illit. If they are underperforming then the drama happening may be a factor OR maybe people don't like the song. Magnetic wasn't a hit because of the fans it was a hit because of the GP. But at the end of the day, if Illit has enough fans to keep going, then they're going to be okay. You don't have to be on the charts to survive in the industry.


I agree with this. We're usually pretty naive to situations within the K-pop industry cause we're outsiders most of the time. It's like how people were surprised that Taeil wasn't kicked out immediately of SM when SM most likely had legal shit to deal with.

Because international stans take HYBE side as a majority. If you look up the Korean comments everywhere, regardless, they are on MHJ side and attacking LSFM and ILLIT. Even fromis_9 who got their first hit recently ended up doing much better than both groups digitally, and a lot of knetz were saying ok they got best skills among hybe ggs, why arent they promoted more often? Digitally, BOTH groups have underperformed on Korena charts, big time. Yes that is including LSFM. Even LSFM's physical sales are much weaker than before. Both ILLIT and LSFM are still selling decent physically and will probably be fine but it does seem like they have lost the trendy status at least for now.

 

[velvet]

Because international stans take HYBE side as a majority. If you look up the Korean comments everywhere, regardless, they are on MHJ side and attacking LSFM and ILLIT. Even fromis_9 who got their first hit recently ended up doing much better than both groups digitally, and a lot of knetz were saying ok they got best skills among hybe ggs, why arent they promoted more often? Digitally, BOTH groups have underperformed on Korena charts, big time. Yes that is including LSFM. Even LSFM's physical sales are much weaker than before. Both ILLIT and LSFM are still selling decent physically and will probably be fine but it does seem like they have lost the trendy status at least for now.

And do they need that trendy status? If they make enough money and have enough fans, they'll keep making music, and that's what everyone wants in the end. The numbers don't mean anything if you know they're enough.

Besides, Newjeans' case is symbolic of not only idols' rights, but workers' rights in Korea. Though MHJ isn't a good person Hybe isn't a good company either. You mention Fromis_9 not being promoted much but that's on account of neglect on Pledis'/Hybe's part, Pledis especially has a shitty track record for their groups. This Hybe/MHJ shit is for us to observe, not interrupt.

All in all, LSFM could just be losing out due to competition and as I stated before Magnetic was a GP hit, which means their success from now on if they remain favourable to the public is going to fluctuate. But they don't have to. If international fans carry both groups they'll be fine. It's about the music in the end.

 

[Magician]

ILLIT sold over 300k albums in two days, they will be fine
It's only their first comeback and it’s way too early to doompost their whole career
They already seem to have a decent fanbase and they are also doing well in Japan

Same for LE SSERAFIM - the comeback did really well, even it didn’t chart so great in Korea
Not every comeback need to break all the records to be successful