Hi! It’s Annie!
It’s been far too long since I’ve done a general K-Pop news post and if there’s any time to get back into it, it’s now. Over the past week countless things have been happening in the K-Pop community, most of them involving amazing news, which have grabbed the public’s attention. In a period of time for the K-Pop community where good news was always marred by the additional news of some member of a group getting Covid, the fact that we’re getting some happy news without that on top of it, is nothing short of amazing. I also very much needed the good news to distract me while I’m sick. Don’t worry, it isn’t Covid. But it’s been enough to keep me down for the past few days, so I really need the new music and the happy announcements to keep me going right now. I’m already practically bursting with excitement from all these announcements, so I’m just going to get right into it!
BTS Comeback:
I was not there in person for Day 4 of BTS’s ‘Permission to Dance’ concert in Las Vegas. The only day I attended in person was Day 1, but I did get the online viewing for Day 4. Having been to one of the concerts in LA, one in Las Vegas, and having watched several of the online streams, I was immediately shocked when a BTS reel of their past music videos started playing after the concert. Though I wasn’t sure if it was a goodbye to the concert or not. Needless to say; no other day of the concert involved this video clip at the end. And then it said ‘We Are Bulletproof’ and showed the date 6. 10. 22. Obviously, my sister, aunt, and I were freaking out from the comfort of the couch. There was a lot of speculation on what it could be; there were a few people speculating it was a world tour or a FESTA announcement. But it was clear to most that this had to be an album announcement, which HYBE confirmed on Weverse not much later! I mean, with this being the end of the ‘Permission to Dance’ concerts, there had to be an album announcement before another tour announcement. And the boys have been teasing new music for months now too! I personally can’t wait for this album to come out and I for sure will cry. I’ve been loosely following BTS since 2017, but I didn’t find the time between my classes to fully get obsessed until 2020. So this is going to be only my second album release as an ARMY! I’m going to be on vacation when it comes out, but I know I’m going to be putting everything on hold until I can listen to that album. I’ll be holed up in my hotel for the entire day, just listening to the songs over and over again and crying. Because of the highlight on the words ‘We Are Bulletproof’, I’m a little suspicious that it may be the title of the album. But there are a lot of theories floating around right now. Mostly, I’m just so incredibly excited! And we know that it’s not the only music we can expect soon from them. Jimin’s first OST for a K-Drama is dropping soon, Namjoon has confirmed a mixtape, Hobi confirmed a mixtape long ago that got temporarily pushed back, a similar thing happened with Tae, and Yoongi has been teasing something. I’m ready for all the new music, we’ll just have to see if my wallet is.
‘PTD’ End:
I know a lot of people were waiting and hoping for more location announcements for ‘PTD’, but if you watched Day 4 you probably know that it isn’t happening. Ticketmaster added more dates on a tab which made some people hope, and I know there are still ARMY in denial over this. I can’t blame them! But I hope that everyone knows that this is to give them time to practice for their new album so that they can tour possibly this year with the new music. That’s what seems to be their current goal. Namjoon even said during Day 4 that ‘PTD’ was never supposed to leave LA and that it was always a special event type of concert more than an actual tour. Though it’s sad to watch it go without other ARMYs getting to see it, I’m hopeful that their new album and probable subsequent tour will more than make up for that.
BTS Military:
I don’t want to talk about this much until the final decision has been reached; but I want to address some things because of the spread of misinformation that happens any time this news comes back to light. This is what we know so far. We know that the current CEO of HYBE made a revised statement saying that the boys are still willing to go but that it looks like things may be changing. We know that some members of HYBE said that they were hoping for a tour and that the military service won’t interfere with that. We also know that members of government have pledged to make a decision by the end of this month. Additionally, a list of possible new exemption rules was released though none of them have been voted on. Most of these included big awards that only BTS has gotten, basically eliminating the possibility of this helping out any K-Pop group that isn’t BTS. No surprise there, though a little sad. However, listening to any one politician on this matter is going to get you nowhere. Because they all have different opinions, which is why they didn’t vote at the end of last year when they were originally supposed to. I’ve seen ARMY rejoice over one politician say that its time to repay BTS for all they have done for South Korea. The very next day I saw a bunch of ARMY despair because a politician from the other side said he fully expected them to go. Of course he said that, because he’s a politician and that’s how he’s voting! None of their individual words are law or tell us anything new. We know that politicians are pretty divided, so of course we’re going to get conflicting statements. Also, don’t listen to the rumors about what BTS might have to do instead of military service if it’s decided that they have to make up for it some other way. All of those are rumors, nothing of that sort has been released to the public at all. All we can do right now is wait until the end of this month, which is very difficult. I’m hopeful though!
Dreamcatcher First Win:
I’m so incredibly happy to be able to talk about one of my favorite groups of all time again, and certainly my favorite girl group of all time. Dreamcatcher is a K-Pop/Rock group that has deserved more recognition for years. I haven’t even been able to post about them as much as I would like, which is an absolute crime. I constantly listen to their music! But one of the marks of Dreamcatcher is that, despite their extensive career, they have never won a first place award. Which makes absolutely no sense! For the most part, them not having received an award yet has a lot to do with the K-Pop community not fully accepting the Rock communities within the genre quite yet. I’m a huge fan of Dreamcatcher as well as NFlying, and both of them have suffered because of this. Finally with the release of their amazing song ‘MAISON’ off of their new album ‘Apocalypse: Save us’, they have gotten the award they deserve. Firstly, go and listen to this album if you haven’t. The album consists of so many ear-worms as well as singular songs for each member that are all fire! I love when an album gives each of their members an opportunity to do a solo! But also, ‘MAISON’ is a song with an amazing message, which is something Dreamcatcher has always done well. This one specifically is about saving the environment, and I guarantee you that you will never hear another song about saving the environment that is so badass. I cried so much when I saw them accepting that award, because they all put so much effort into it and definitely deserve it. I think I speak for many when I say that this should not have been the first time they received an award of this kind. I was baffled when they didn’t win anything for ‘Odd Eye’ or even for ‘BOCA’. And I thought they would for sure win something with ‘BEcause’, which is a song I am absolutely obsessed with. But I’m at least glad that they got a win for this wonderful song! I sincerely hope this opens the way for them to receive many more in the future! And not just them; Dreamcatcher had been garnering attention for guy and girl rock groups alike. I’d love to see more rock groups in general win more awards! They’re paving the way!
I’m hopeful and overall very happy with a lot of this news! I can’t wait for a new BTS album and I am so so happy that my girls finally got the recognition that they deserve. I was absolutely beaming when I saw them trending this morning after I woke up from my medication induced deep slumber. I seriously can’t wait to see more from them and I will be screaming my head off if we get a BTS world tour soon!
See you across the pond!
Sincerely, Annie
Oreos & Peanut Butter 