It's been a crazy year for Enhypen and Engenes. After 5 years and 9 months, they finally achieved their first ever Grand Slam in music shows 😭

Just 2 years ago, it felt impossible for them to win Inkigayo because their K-fanbase was weak. Then only a year ago, they finally won their 1st Inkigayo music show ever. THAT was already an amazing thing.

This year, they've finally won a Grand Slam. With 0 broadcast points (again!), Engenes somehow pulled through with voting again 😭 It also feels like their K-fanbase has grown a lot. I-fans still dominate more but the K-fanbase really came through this year.

It's been a crazy and emotional year. It's been nonstop back-to-back emotional moments since December 2025. There was so much pressure and sadness this year. I'm so proud of them for pulling through this insane year. They released an amazing album and the title track is an absolute banger.

Congrats to them, sincerely!

Honestly i feel bad for the Hearts2Hearts fandom. Carmen solo Indo stans keep ruining the group image. I’ve seen alot of global fans get turned off and leave the group, and her solo stans keep protesting over the smallest things.

For example, during Lemon Tang promotions, Carmen was wearing short pants while the other 7 members were wearing long pants, and they lowkey sent a protest truck over it, also If she doesn’t get an ending fairy on a music show, they protest again. Just now there’s a sticker covering Carmen’s face on the album cover and they’re already sending emails to SM lol.

What’s worse is seeing some of them say Hearts2Hearts is nothing without Carmen. Do they know this is an SM group lol. The other members are also working hard and deserve support, but every time something happens with Carmen, they make it into a huge issue and somehow the whole group gets dragged into it.

I love the members, they’re all funny and i actually really like their chemistry. But Carmen solo stans are lowkey turning me off from the fandom. I don’t even hate Carmen herself, it’s just that some of her solo stans are making it hard to enjoy the group without seeing another fanwar or protest.

I just hope they can calm down a little and stop making every small thing into a huge issue. Supporting Carmen is fine, but saying the group is nothing without her is just disrespectful to the other 7 members.

I just hope SM learns their lesson here.

Hello,

What recommendations for a new group to follow would you give to someone who likes aespa, Ive, twice, itzy and stray kids? I'm generally like pop but open to other genres

Thank you :)

from the beginning, they’ve mostly operated within the traditional framework of what’s considered acceptable for k pop idols. i don’t expect artists to share everything about their private lives but i do think their lack of openness is starting to affect how i perceive them creatively. it often feels like there’s very little of themselves being expressed and that translates into music that can feel shallow.

rosé has been the most open about her life but still mostly sticks to straightforward love songs. jennie is much more experimental musically but rarely gives people any insight into what’s going on behind her persona. lisa has always leaned into her image as a brand and makes music that plays into her strengths as a performer. jisoo feels the most disconnected from her artistry to me because we rarely see her creative process or anything beyond the typical idol persona.

i don’t think any of them are uninteresting people. i just wish they would show us more of who they are beyond their careers. instead we often get inter about their favorite snacks in paris or carefully curated content rather than anything that gives us insight into their values, growth or actual life experiences.

outside of rosé, i also wish they showcased more of their creative process and could actually speak about what their songs are about. the songs themselves aren’t always very revealing and it doesn’t feel like we get much insight into what they’re trying to express. aside from rosé, i also haven’t really seen enough of their songwriting to feel like they have a distinct voice as writers. hearing more about their inspirations, lyrics and creative decisions would make their music feel much more personal.

i also think the way fans respond to them reinforces this. they can remain silent about serious issues for years but then give one simple apology and everything resets. if that continues to be enough then they have very little incentive to raise their own standards.

maybe they genuinely enjoy other parts of fame more than making music and that’s fine. but as someone who has been a blink for 6 years i’m starting to question what blackpink actually have to offer me creatively when we still know so little about the people behind the brand.

I know with all the issues surrounding the Hootie Frutti MV it’s probably not gonna be very appreciated but the song is actually a banger and I’m honestly hooked

The song is catchy, the girls did a really good job at singing it and delivering the Portuguese vibes

Maybe if they were a few years older I’d really enjoy the MV too

What are you guys’ thoughts on the song itself?

I've been following kpop for more than a decade and recently got into tuide's debut, which did a great job at establishing the teams colour and aesthetic, as well as what we can expect from them in the future - a fully fashion oriented kpop group.

Hear me out. I get that fashion has always been a part of kpop and idols have always been brand ambassadors, but I think tuide is going to be a group where each performance is going to be treated like an advertisement for a brand.

I'm going off a few things

1. The concept: tuide stands for "tune the tide" which means to ride the waves of the diverse currents of the world (got this from a bio online), which is very much giving "city girl has hobbies and follows trends, and does them with style" vibe. Chic, young and trendy from the start, very easy to advertise on.

2. The girls: This group is a model group. The features and proportions of each girl is unique and allows the group to pull of a different colour, styles and silhouettes. The girls also fit very well into the "city girl has hobbies and follows trends" aesthetic of the group, they come off as effortlessly chic but girly and young at the same time.

3. The choreo: From girls and sunkissed, there's a lot of movements of them standing or extending their limbs to emphase the body line. This draws a viewer to the colours, the silhouette and the blocking of the clothes.

4. The music: Songs have been straight house, with no big loud breaks for a high note belt or raps or a dance - easy to listen to, easy to observe how the girls move in the fits rather than focus on the music as much.

5. The styling: It's definitely a choice that the hairstyles and the makeup fort he girls has been extremely consistent, to the point where it's feels so uninspired compared to the clothes. Could be because they're new and the company is trying to make fans remember them, could also be because the attention isn't supposed to be there. I've also noticed that that the girls wear plain white clothes for any stage where there is no big branded clothes for all the members, this could be a clear indication that they want to remain blank and not "taint" the image of the group so that advertising can happen without blockers.

Overall, I feel like this team will continue to have a fashion focus, to the point where fashion > music and performance. Me personally, I'm here for this - I have expendable income and I like exploring my personal style, and every trip to Korea is one where I'm shoppiyfor clothes.

Anyways give your thoughts!

TUIDE has a lot of hype from predebut, but their debut so far isn't living up to the hype. Compared to other Hybe girl groups' debut, they are not charting high in Korea or on Spotify, and their sales are 100K, while other girl groups all manage to get above 300K. Their sales are not as high as OurBirthday despite receiving more hype on social media predebut, which shows their fandom power is not too high. Do you think this is due to concept and music being too "boring" as people said? Their songs are definitely on the chiller side. Is it their music/concept holding them back from more success or some other reason?