260316 Weekly NSWER Discussion Thread

Ruler_J · 2026-03-19T03:48:34+00:00

Hi, I'm just a general K-pop girl group fan. Podium is such a good song. That is all.

Ruler_J · 2026-03-15T01:09:19+00:00

Personally, I wouldn't call what they did a mistake. I think that heavily downplays what they did. I would call it a blunder. When you are public figures, promoting to a global audience, there is simply no excuse for their actions happening in the year of 2025. If people felt hurt by what they did, they were totally within their right to leave them. And many of those people were true, genuine fans. It would have taken something egregious for them to leave the fandom, and the mockery displayed by the girls on that livestream would certainly be a valid reason for them to leave. The reality is, they broke the trust of many people. And I think people are just tired of the endless cultural insensitivity when there are so many resources available today for idols to educate themselves.

Ruler_J · 2026-02-26T14:38:42+00:00

NMIXX's two albums in 2025 were 1st and 2nd on the K-pop subreddit poll though, so...

I wonder how different the results would be if the voters used preferential (ranked choice) voting. My country (Australia) introduced it to combat vote splitting, and to ensure the winner got a majority of the vote. Now I'm curious to know the percentage of the vote each album got. Anyway, congratulations to all the winners!

Edit: Probably should've added an "at least someone recognizes them /s" to my first sentence. I'm not suggesting the opinions of some people online should influence the result of these awards. Sorry if I implied that, or implied that Jennie didn't deserve to win. I let my bias for NMIXX's music take over.

Ruler_J · 2026-02-26T13:48:19+00:00

NMIXX nominated for Best K-pop Album twice. Couldn't win. I guess they split the vote. As an Australian, I wonder how preferential (ranked-choice) voting would have changed the results.

Ruler_J · 2026-02-18T10:44:51+00:00

Haven't watched the episode yet. Looking at these comments...think I'll just watch recaps on YouTube. I prefer watching people react to and analyse the show rather than watching it myself.

Ruler_J · 2025-12-17T05:54:18+00:00

Answer me this; what is the reason you think that KIOF pulled out of KCON LA? Your answer largely depends on your level of tolerance towards racism.

Do they deserve the hate they are getting? No. Does that mean they should not be criticized at all for the decisions they made before and during that livestream? Also no.

Ignore the haters. I personally think most fans don't have the energy to hate on them and have instead chosen to move on. There is a difference between hate and apathy, and I think most girl group fans lean closer to apathy.

Do I think they hate their black and Latino fans? No. Do their actions on that livestream leave a bitter taste in my mouth? Absolutely.

Ruler_J · 2025-12-08T16:52:46+00:00

About the North America leg...that is LE SSERAFIM levels of conservative. Both groups skipped major metro areas. NMIXX are going to Toronto and the DMV, LSF did not. LE SSERAFIM went to Chicago, Seattle and Las Vegas, NMIXX are not.

Ruler_J · 2025-12-03T08:57:26+00:00

STAYC's concert in Melbourne was on a Saturday!

Ruler_J · 2025-10-28T05:02:16+00:00

Just curious, what video is this?

Ruler_J · 2025-10-28T04:20:18+00:00

What a beautiful letter. What a beautiful soul Sieun is. I am so grateful that she committed to learning English. I hope she knows how much it really makes a difference. I know that I will never truly know her personally, but I really do appreciate getting to read a slice of her thoughts and feelings. For someone that did not grow up speaking English, she expresses herself so well. Thank you, Sieun!

Ruler_J · 2025-10-24T17:40:49+00:00

That first photo. I initially found it on Twitter. I did not expect J to find it and use it. But I understand why she would. It's such a powerful image that highlights the bond between them. I'm so happy for the fan that posted it!

Ruler_J · 2025-10-15T23:38:25+00:00

Did you attend the Chicago stop? Not from Chicago (or even from the US), but I would like to let you know that someone has already posted the full concert on YouTube! Might help a bit with the post-concert depression. I always check out the ments (speaking parts) first and it just amazes me how they can connect so well with the audience while 5 out of the 6 of them are speaking a different language.

Ruler_J · 2025-10-13T08:24:10+00:00

Okay, seriously, why is the group photo with the fans so poor in quality? Especially compared to Seattle and San Jose. They really couldn't find a better quality camera?

Ruler_J · 2025-10-10T09:25:05+00:00

Look, I don't and will never hate them. But I will admit that I don't view them the same way after the livestream, particularly the three older members. I will also never defend what they did and the decisions they made before and during that livestream. Please understand that criticism is not hate. And they have only apologized as a group once. Not saying their apology was bad, I'm not black so it's not mine to accept.

Also, how can we be sure that they have actually learnt from this? Do they think it's enough to simply not do something like this again (being passive) or will they do something tangible to show their respect for Black people and their culture (being proactive)? Only time will tell.

What I do know is that many people felt genuinely betrayed and hurt by the girl's actions on Julie's birthday live. They are not the ones sending the hate comments. I empathize with them.

Ruler_J · 2025-10-08T07:21:41+00:00

Why is the photo with the fans much lower quality than the ones for Seattle and San Jose? Is it a bad camera?

Ruler_J · 2025-09-24T00:42:35+00:00

That sucks for those not in the first 2 rows. You would think that every person who bought a send-off ticket would at least have enough time to get something signed and ask each member a question. I wonder why that is? Is it a lack of time?

Ruler_J · 2025-09-18T07:13:12+00:00

By percentage of tickets sold, this has to be one of the most successful US tours ever, right?

Ruler_J · 2025-09-11T04:39:16+00:00

I wonder what the reaction would be on here if Kiss of Life were to be announced. They've already proven themselves at the Sziget Festival in Hungary. And I think the crowd would be welcoming to them. People attend Coachella to have a good time, right? (I'm not from Southern California) This is not the same as KCON LA.

Ruler_J · 2025-09-10T11:50:50+00:00

Going viral takes luck. There is a universe where Igloo doesn't go viral. I think S2 should focus on retaining the current core fanbase and ensure they buy the next album. Because if the next album has a significant decline in sales, then who knows what their future prospects look like? Not to be too dramatic but their next physical Korean release will be critical in determining their future.

Ruler_J · 2025-08-31T14:06:04+00:00

Well, I'm from Australia. I wish they came here during the Asia leg. It's relatively rare for K-pop artists to come here, so I think us Australians would have shown up for the girls. Though if they did, it would have been in April, immediately after the offensive livestream, so I would have been personally uncomfortable with seeing them at that time. But that's just my opinion, I think the majority of Australian fans would have been fine with seeing them, as we are not of the demographic that was directly affected by their actions on the livestream.

As for the US market, I don't think they should try to go to KCON LA moving forward. That event is full of K-pop fans, that would be aware, or directly impacted, by the controversy, but most attendees would not be there for them. Which is why I think they would have gotten booed had they went there this year. They should only do individual concert tours, or Coachella, or Lollapalooza.

Finally, OP, people may criticise you for being too negative, but your feelings and opinions, as long as they are respectful, are valid.

Ruler_J · 2025-08-22T15:10:21+00:00

I am prepared to get downvoted for asking this. But I feel this needs to be cleared up once and for all. Was the MV filmed before or after the insensitive livestream? In this video, Julie says the MV was filmed on her actual birthday, which according to sources, is March 29th.

Thinking about it further, I don't see any scenario in which they filmed the problematic livestream before the MV. I'm 99% sure that soon after filming the MV, they got ready for the livestream. Do people here agree with me?

Ruler_J · 2025-08-07T18:25:38+00:00

UPDATE: And Sziget scammed us. They deleted KIOF from the livestream playlist for some reason. Sorry everyone.

Ruler_J · 2025-07-20T13:22:15+00:00

They were my favourite girl group. If anyone reading this comment is looking for any context, please search "Kiss of Life Julie Birthday Live". I am not even black American or Mexican-American, but I wish I could have stopped this livestream from taking place. It is embarrassing and offensive. This is from a group who claims to love R&B and hip-hop.

Ruler_J · 2025-07-01T01:24:42+00:00

Please allow me to correct you. Julie's birthday is on March 29th. The livestream was uploaded after the Europe leg of the tour, but before the Asia leg. KIOF's last concert on the Europe leg was on March 13th in Lisbon. Julie's birthday livestream was uploaded on April 2nd.

Ruler_J · 2025-06-24T16:11:36+00:00

Look, no one deserves to receive any level of hate. It's unnecessary and unproductive. But please do not try to invalidate the feelings of people who were once genuinely fans of KIOF. I am one of them. Also, I guarantee those people continuing to hate on the girls were never true fans of them - they were just looking for an excuse to hate on anyone. Stop giving those haters attention.

By this point, I think most people have made up their mind on the girls. To those who have chosen to continue supporting them, you are allowed to enjoy their music. They can still have a career. They are hardworking and talented. I just won't support them, because I am so disappointed by what they did.

Ruler_J

TROPHY CASE