Just a small rant about GOT7 popularity…
I’m sort of tired of hearing people complain about GOT7 popularity. I’m a GOT7 stan. If it wasn’t of GOT7 and BTS I would’ve quit being a fan of any new group or even following kpop since I’m only interested in certain individuals. GOT7 is almost my religion but… When I hear people whining about how the boys are working so hard and aren’t selling enough, aren’t getting enough attention, I roll my eyes.
Six month after their debut (which is the last moment people could register to join GOT7 fancafe), GOT7’s fancafe counted 35 000 members. That’s 5 0000 more members than last year Super Rookie group BTS. They have more/about the same memberships than Boyfriend who debuted in 2011 under Starship Entertainment (which isn’t a bad company, just look at SISTAR and K.Will). They have much more membership than NU’EST who debuted in 2012. They aren’t trailing far behind from ZE:A who debuted in 2010 and I’m pretty sure that if their fancafe started accepting people tomorrow, they would catch up to ZE:A in terms of memberships. Heck, they are leagues above many other groups who have working their asses off for years like UKISS for instance, 100%, MYNAME, C-Clown…
Wanna hear something funny? Let’s not say it too loud but GOT7 has more fans in their fancafe than MISS A, SISTAR and 4minute and current hit girlgroup AOA. AOA debuted in 2012, it took them over 2 years to reach this popularity. Same for NU’EST. It took 4 years for ZE:A to reach the level they are at and let’s face it; these boys have been doing everything they could in different field of entertainment to make a name for themselves. ZE:A rise mostly happened during the last year and same with BTOB that I hadn’t named before. A year after their debut, BTOB had as many memberships in their fancafe that GOT7 have after 6 months. And to be honest; CUBE does give JYPE a run for their money.
Sure, GOT7 is a boy group, so they have an advantage compared to girl groups (and boy groups are expected to attract more fans than girl groups), they also are in JYPE. But JYPE isn’t an aggressive company like SM or YGE. Don’t compare their debut to WINNER or EXO. JYPE gave a much more modest debut to GOT7; they promoted them less than SM has promoted EXO, they hyped them less than YGE hyped WINNER. You could even consider that WINNER “debuted” before GOT7 through their two predebut TV shows. Before their official debut WINNER already had more members in their fancafe than GOT7 had, but they had a jumpstart too.
And you know what? I don’t consider this is a bad thing… People won’t be able to say “It’s because they are in JYPe that they get all this attention”, no we, IGOT7, will be able to say “It’s because they worked hard that they got here, actually”. Sure, it’s never nice to see our boy overworked, see them losing weight, see their skin condition deteriorate… But they are giving their all and yes, it is paying off more than many seems to think…
Not every debuting group has been appearing in magazines that much. Not every debuting group has had as many endorsements as GOT7 (and saw the sales of the product they endorse getting a rise, I’m talking about the uniform endorsement right now). Not every debuting group has had the chance to appear that much on TV.
Did you know that GOT7 and APink debuted the same week in Japan and GOT7 sold much more than APink? Did you know that GOT7 beat 2PM number of sales for their debut? Yes, GOT7 is the best debuting act for JYPe since Rain. Sure, the numbers aren’t super impressive if you compare them to EXO or WINNER or other trending groups but remember that they are doing well. Especially with the number of groups out there nowadays and the fierce competition. Things aren’t like when 2PM, 2AM, SHINee & co debuted… The market is currently over saturated. This year only, 30 boy groups have debuted. 30. Besides WINNER and GOT7, some of the most talked about are JJCC (fancafe membership; 3100), TROY (2300), High4 (2100), 5urprise (4000), MADTOWN (1800)… You get the picture.
Let’s not be ungrateful, please and be thankful that GOT7 is actually a successful rookie group. We might want more for them as fans because we see just how much they work, just how much they want it and just how much they deserve it, but let’s also appreciate what they have been able to achieve in such a short time. And if they keep working hard (though I wish they get to rest soon, because this year has been hectic for them), if we keep supporting them the best way we can, I’m sure they will become a top group.
Please… Let’s not become a whiny fandom and keep the modest and hardworking spirit of JYPe.
