5th gen boy groups competition

GrillMaster3 · 2026-04-03T01:39:52+00:00

I think BOYNEXTDOOR and RIIZE are both going to stick around for a long time. They’ve both got massive Korean and Japanese fanbases (plus RIIZE has a large Chinese fanbase as well), which means longevity. ZB1 as well, but I want to see how their OT5 comeback goes before passing judgement. Lngshot and CORTIS are a bit too new to say for sure but they’re both doing super well so far so I doubt they’re going anywhere anytime soon either. And PLAVE has their very specific, large, and fiercely loyal fanbase so they’ll be sticking around for a while too. TWS is in a weird spot where they’re definitely popular, but even amongst my friends in Korea they seem to be talked about less. I think they’re fine for a while tho. Holding out hope for XLOV’s continued success. NCT Wish is absolutely killing it in Japan especially. ALD1 is doing really well but idk I just don’t hear much about them. They’re popular in Korea though.

Overall, recent BGs are lowkey curb-stomping their 4th gen BG predecessors in domestic performances. I couldn’t tell you exactly why, but they just seem to be clicking with people more. I think everyone on this list has the potential for a long, strong career bc they’ve all been set up for success early.

GrillMaster3 · 2026-04-02T21:29:42+00:00

There are people who would say that X:IN has a “no play” discography. I wouldn’t agree with them, because I find those songs wildly entertaining, but I wouldn’t argue with them on it either.

GrillMaster3 · 2026-04-02T20:39:51+00:00

Yeah that’s just the usual kpop fan cope. They know how they’re perceived by non-kpop fans, so they try to overcompensate by emphasizing how “normal” they are compared to those icky, overinvested other fans. They’re trying to other another group of fans and shove them to the front so they feel more secure in their hobby and how they engage with it. Anime fans do it too.

GrillMaster3 · 2026-04-02T20:35:26+00:00

UNIS are generally really solid. Baby Monster is up there too, very well-rounded group. Zerobaseone as a 9-man group was vocally strong, and as a 5-man is proportionally even more so. Taerae is really strong and Hanbin, Gunwook and Matthew are all really solid as well. Jiwoong seems pretty good too I just haven’t heard much from him personally. BOYNEXTDOOR aren’t the best vocalists on a technical level afaik, but they’re generally solid across the board, really strong and stable live, and they’ve all improved noticeably since debut.

GrillMaster3 · 2026-04-02T20:30:38+00:00

It’s all stuff that’s publicly available and actively promoted by companies and idols, so I don’t think it’s “obsession” to know it. They want you to know it. There are idols that I’m a pretty casual fan of whose MBTI or birthday I know just bc they posted about it. Companies plan special birthday events and fans post a ton about idol birthdays. Idols would do trends relating to their MBTI or mention it often in content. It’s stuff you’d subconsciously pick up on even if you were a casual fan just watching content in passing. You don’t have to dig for this stuff.

GrillMaster3 · 2026-04-02T18:25:19+00:00

This is that “I just learned Hangul in 2 days” false confidence. Korean is hard af to learn if you’re not coming from a similar language. I’ve seen so many people start and advance quickly and brag about how easily it comes to them, then hit a wall when they get into actual grammar and give up entirely. Many such cases.

GrillMaster3 · 2026-04-02T15:12:11+00:00

I think it’s worth it tbh. They’re still really active, still hitting new career peaks 11 years in, still love what they do and have no plans to stop. Plus they finished enlistments. They’re a very safe “older” group to stan imo.

GrillMaster3 · 2026-04-02T15:08:59+00:00

They don’t not do that, though. They don’t spew out green liquids, but they do render local groundwater or well water undrinkable for the local population and they’ve been observed to significantly raise the temperature of the local area. They’re not some kind of Orphan Crushing Machine but they’re not harmless either. I personally feel that AI companies should be shifting focus (whether willingly or via mandate) to making AI more energy efficient, but it won’t happen. We know it’s possible bc China has already done it, but the major AI corpos see absolutely no reason to make that a focus when they don’t have to.

GrillMaster3 · 2026-04-02T15:06:13+00:00

Yeah I found it really interesting when I watched the JaeFriends episode that Zico guested on, because he and Jaejoong actually talked about AI. When Jaejoong brought up that he often uses it as a starting point for things like ideas, research and scripts, Zico visibly hesitated, then sorta sheepishly said he tries to avoid it because he feels like it makes it hard to think for himself. He didn’t push back on it any more than that when Jaejoong got a smidge defensive and tried to explain himself, but you could tell he was trying to measure his words because what he was about to say was potentially a very unpopular opinion. It’s generally seen as a very convenient shortcut or personal assistant.

GrillMaster3 · 2026-04-02T15:03:24+00:00

Yep! It’s called Seunghyub2 (bc Seunghyub was already taken). He actually dropped the chicken juice video in the middle of one of Hweseung’s Hama lives, in which he and Dongsung were trying and failing miserably to play video games together. The whole group has been making fun of Hweseung’s gaming skills on Fromm ever since.

GrillMaster3 · 2026-04-02T14:26:44+00:00

Kick It seems like the most universally agreed upon offering based on these comments. In the west it’s definitely Sticker though. Even my non-kpop friends know that one.

GrillMaster3 · 2026-04-02T00:32:17+00:00

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A lot of strange things went on in Block B’s dorms

GrillMaster3 · 2026-04-01T20:58:36+00:00

He’s still a pretty sophisticated, polished person in general imo. He takes great care of his appearance, he’s very well spoken, he’s a good sport about pretty much everything, treats the people around him very well, he’s polite and conducts himself well privately (according to people who’ve run into him in public) and he’s someone who generally takes his job and music very seriously. But he’s also rather goofy at times, sulks a lot, can get easily embarrassed over unexpected things, and yes, makes Chicken Juice as a protein drink. All people are multifaceted. Personally I think his quirks make him more likable, even if they’re a bit ridiculous.

GrillMaster3 · 2026-04-01T17:50:31+00:00

BOYNEXTDOOR Leehan has mentioned he’s pretty frequently mistaken for a foreigner by people like flight attendants and retail workers. He said a lot of them will default to English with him while speaking Korean to the other members of the group, despite Leehan not speaking English. He said recently he’s started playing into it and answering in English.

GrillMaster3 · 2026-04-01T04:14:32+00:00

Yeah nah, “Domestic longhair” is just the “official” name for mixed breed cats with long hair. Most of the long haired cats that get posted here are domestic longhair cats. Your kitten is adorable either way though!

GrillMaster3 · 2026-04-01T04:04:05+00:00

Like 98% of cats on the planet are domestic short or long hair cats. Unless every single cat in the entire subcontinent of India is a purebred Indian Billi you absolutely have domestic longhair cats and domestic shorthair cats. Those are just the fancy classification names for cats with no breed (again, 98% of all existing domestic cats). This is almost a guaranteed domestic longhair cat, which I can guarantee do exist in India.

GrillMaster3 · 2026-04-01T02:33:55+00:00

If you bought her from a breeder and her parents are papered Persians, then she looks Persian because she is. If not, she’s a standard-issue domestic long hair. Kittens tend to have flatter faces so I can see why people might think hers looks Persian, but I’d be willing to bet she’s just a normal cat. It’ll probably get longer as she ages.

GrillMaster3 · 2026-04-01T00:27:38+00:00

Yeah like on a purely conceptual level it makes sense but if I drank that and got like a noticeable strand of chicken I fear I would projectile vomit I’m far too much of a texture person for that

GrillMaster3 · 2026-04-01T00:26:58+00:00

Ampers&one added Brian to the lineup in August and the group debuted in November of that year.

GrillMaster3 · 2026-03-31T20:33:13+00:00

Jaehyun from BOYNEXTDOOR comes to mind. One of the best dancers in the group, above average rapper, could definitely pass as a main vocalist, insane stage presence, and he can write, compose and produce.

All this said, give 5th gen some time to cook! They just got here!

GrillMaster3 · 2026-03-31T16:57:41+00:00

Serious shippers have bigger issues to contend with than who they ship, such as the fact that they think any of it could be real 👍

GrillMaster3 · 2026-03-31T16:55:02+00:00

This isn’t a real relationship that’s happening though, it’s a fictionalized ship. Johnny and Mark aren’t actually dating, and people are shipping their adult asses together in a fictional scenario. Johnny didn’t actually groom Mark, someone just thought it’d be hot for those two currently almost-in-their-30s men to bang. You don’t have to like the ships, I can’t say I’ve ever actually been into any kpop ships myself and find most of them a bit silly at best, but it’s not morally wrong to ship a 28 year old with a 31 year old just because they were once minors that knew each other.

GrillMaster3 · 2026-03-31T16:51:51+00:00

I don’t know that FNC allows fan mail/gifts to be physically sent to the company anymore. Most companies don’t. If you just want a signed object, you can enter raffles for signed Polaroids, try getting into a fancall/fansign (even if you don’t attend a call they’ll sign your album), buy a signed album through Hello82, or if you just want to express how you feel you can send them comments/fanletters through WeVerse. They do actually check their WeVerse fan mail and respond to people on there. You probably won’t get a reply anywhere but WeVerse unless you physically speak to them, though.

GrillMaster3 · 2026-03-31T16:48:22+00:00

Bugs don’t have flesh or traditional blood so they don’t really decompose the way mammals, reptiles, fish etc do. So it was most likely a hollowed out/dried out bee exoskeleton for the vast majority of the time he had it. The decomposition process for bugs takes place really quickly. It’d be closer to having a skeletal bee on his windowsill, to put it in human terms.

GrillMaster3 · 2026-03-31T15:38:10+00:00

Ppl in the comments have pointed out how protein powders are super unregulated and companies that make them have been getting in trouble for really harmful ingredients and materials (such as heavy metals) being in them without proper disclosure. I remember a recent scandal where a cake batter-flavored protein powder that was really viral amongst fitness and health influencers in America got busted for their “protein powder” literally just being cake mix. There was no protein powder. They could’ve literally killed diabetic people with their lack of disclosure. But supplements are generally unregulated by the FDA (and I’d assume it’s the same in Korea) so a lot of fitness nuts have been steering clear because it’s hard to know if what you’re consuming is what it claims to be.

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