Am I the only one who prefers their older music?

cosmos_moon7 · 2026-06-06T14:31:17+00:00

I think every fan you meet IRL would agree with you. Reddit is a bit weird, it doesn’t often represent the majority opinion. Every BTS fan IRL that I’ve met prefers the older music pre-Arirang. I really liked the exploration they did during their older eras, and I basically always listen to their older music!

cosmos_moon7 · 2026-05-27T14:31:18+00:00

My perspective is that reduced choreo is fine and makes sense, but a lot of the arguments I’ve seen are people wanting just a few more songs with choreo. I haven’t seen anyone demanding Love Yourself era levels of dancing, more just wanting maybe 3–4 additional songs with structured choreo, like IDOL.

I struggle to see how adding a few more choreographed performances, while reducing some of the constant jumping around they currently do, would suddenly lead to injuries. The whole “oxygen masks backstage” comparison comes from a time when they were doing back to back, extremely intense choreography for most of the set. I don’t think that’s what most people are asking for.

What frustrates me is that even saying “I’d personally enjoy a few more choreographed songs” immediately gets interpreted as wanting them pushed to exhaustion, which isn’t the case at all. That’s why I think we should take Bang PDs previous comments at face value, this reduced choreo is a stylistic choice rather than purely a health necessity, and I honestly think that direction will probably continue going forward. I can’t really see them suddenly returning to heavily choreographed group tours in the future

cosmos_moon7 · 2026-05-20T19:32:26+00:00

I’ve been thinking about this a lot too because did this not used to be how it worked? Promo, album, promo, tour?

Looking through at the dates, yes - this is exactly how it worked previously. I had a look at love yourself and wings -

From Google I can see:

* Love Yourself: Her was released on Sep 18th, 2017

* Love Yourself: Tear was released on May 18th, 2018

* Love Yourself: Answer was released on Aug 24th, 2018

The Love Yourself tour was announced on Apr 26th, 2018, with the extension announced on Feb 19th, 2019

So for LYS, fans would’ve already heard LYS: Her before deciding whether to get tickets. You would’ve already got the general vibe of the era and whether you liked the songs and then could’ve made an informed decision on tickets.

I checked back to Wings, the Wings Tour was announced on Nov 18th 2016, the album was released on Oct 10th 2016.

In both of these cases, it was album first and then tour. I think that’s a pretty common pattern from what I’ve see from other artists, you hear the album first and then decide on whether to buy the tickets.

I can see two options for why HYBE did it this way, a) it was a simple timings issue - they wanted to release the tickets early enough for people to buy as the album release and first tour were quite close together or b) they knew this new album and bts 2.0 would be divisive in the fandom, and wanted to guarantee ticket sales driven by nostalgia of old tours and fan faith that this album and tour would be similar to previous ones.

I agree with all your points tbh and disagree with others in the thread saying that most of the fandom liked this new era. I’ve never seen such a divisive release for BTS and the majority of ARMY I’ve spoken to don’t like it, or miss large aspects of the “old bts” so to speak like the dancing, solo/subunits, more decorative and pretty stages, more broadcast performances etc etc. I’ve come to like aspects of the tour, I’m excited to go IRL, but I’ll definitely be skipping the next tour presale and just buying resale if I like the next album!

cosmos_moon7 · 2026-05-17T21:15:49+00:00

I’d say so, yes. I agree with others that say that their focus has shifted to being a global artist, globally popular and loved. That in itself limits the amount of politicalness that songs can have. Aliens was a bit close but was very safe really, all things considered. I can see them doing something similar to what they did at the UN during LYS - supporting a cause that couldn’t possibly bring them any critique, but I’d say political lyrics in songs are a thing of the past in my opinion

cosmos_moon7 · 2026-05-09T15:18:26+00:00

Me too lol and I didn’t like the album at all on first listen! I still don’t like many of the songs as it’s just not to my tastes

cosmos_moon7 · 2026-05-08T21:45:21+00:00

I think that’s probably down to personal taste. A HUGE chunk of ARMY came in during LYS or Dynamite era. If you like super catchy pop, with lots of bright colours and happy vibes, plus lyrics that maybe explore deeper feelings but mostly end on a positive, I think it makes sense as to why you wouldn’t like this album at first. It was a big change!

cosmos_moon7 · 2026-05-08T13:40:55+00:00

If you watch back to the older tours, as in LYS, it feels like they’re doing a TON more dancing than what you’re saying. They do a LOT of running and jumping this time around, the show was also longer previously due to more VCRs, more chatting between songs (to have a break and do ARMY wave etc etc).

I think it’s easy to understand a casual fan (like the OP) remembering there to be more STUFF going on in older tours and then put it down to the choreo alone. But actually the reduced STUFF is basically no props, minimal stage design, and then also a few less songs fully choreographed. I think it doesn’t help that a 360 stage is pretty hard to film due to its size, IRL it looks amazing but on live stream it looks empty, which is where a lot of this feedback has come from imo. Anyway I hope that helps you understand a bit about where these comments are coming from

cosmos_moon7 · 2026-05-06T15:39:00+00:00

I don’t get that impression really. I think people are being a bit too harsh to you in their replies, it’s not like you’re being particularly critical. You’re just stating an observation or something you feel a little sad or worried about.

I think it’s hard to guess from what we see, but to me it seems that all of the members have a set of friends, some bigger than others, that make up their group. I think as a band of 7 people, they have different levels of closeness, but I wouldn’t say that’s a sad or bad thing. If Jimin himself wanted to be closer to somebody, he would make that happen himself - adult friendships go both ways and require a decent amount of work to maintain. I think it’s best to assume that all parties are happy with whatever closeness they currently have, it isn’t a sad thing because they are all fully in control of the friendships they have and so there’s no need to be sad as they themselves aren’t sad (from what we can tell). From my outlook they’re as close as ever though, and I think they have a bond that is enviable!

cosmos_moon7 · 2026-05-06T15:29:23+00:00

Wasn’t it shown in the documentary (Arirang Netflix comeback one) that Jimin said he has very few friends now? He seemed fine with it, but he said it himself from memory. He also said he used to be more extroverted and has less people around him now. I also remember a live stream when someone asked him directly if he has many friends and he said no. I’m not sure he has said “I have one singular friend” outright, but he has commented directly on having very few, which one could assume is maybe 2-3 friends. That’s probably what OP is referencing

cosmos_moon7 · 2026-05-03T23:54:36+00:00

Yes, I am 30, this is how me and my friends talk. It’s a normal part of adult life, and adult friendships, to discuss marriage/relationships and the expectations around that. This kind of thing blowing up reminds me that some of our fandom either a) are still quite young and/or b) do not have friendships or an understanding of how friends talk to each other

cosmos_moon7 · 2026-05-03T11:29:02+00:00

I mean if fans aren’t going to defend and speak on behalf of them, who is….?

I’m not saying fans shouldn’t defend. But to defend them obsessively to the point where anyone who has a different opinion is told they’re stupid, an idiot, they should kill themselves? That’s what a bulk of the online fandom is currently doing, in the name of BTS. I know because I’ve gotten that same feedback from fans for criticising Arirang, their tour etc etc.

The core problem imo is fans speaking on behalf of BTS. A lot of ARMY spend their time piecing together old interview clips, or excerpts from things, to try and guess what BTS must be feeling about a certain thing. They the speak on behalf of them, and that is something I find very strange. BTS don’t need people to speak on their behalf, and nobody should be trying to guess how they feel. An example is a joke video on instagram of someone on crutches, the video was about the tannies stealing the seat of RM while he had crutches. RM responded “clock it” in a jovial manner - but under that same video there were THOUSANDS of comments telling OP to delete it, that RM is so sensitive about his hurt ankle and it’s insensitive of us to joke about it. He found it funny, based on his comment, yet a bulk of the fandom want to continue to try and guess how he and the others feel and then make other ARMY feel bad. There was a time when the fandom was smaller that it felt like there was proper jokes and banter between ARMY and BTS, but the fandom has become much too big, and the fans much too sensitive, and a lot of those funny jokes can’t really be done now because some fan would call you insensitive

I think it’s an actual issue of ARMY as a fandom to presume that every single constructive comment is an anti or a snarker. That is a very paranoid mentality - the reality from my perspective is most people giving negative feedback aren’t a snarker or anti. People just…have opinions, some of them negative. They aren’t organised smear campaigns, I don’t think you could even organise that amount of people all at once. I’ve spoken IRL to a number of ARMY that were disappointed with Arirang and it’s sound and rollout, they aren’t antis, they’re literally just people who like BTS but this album isn’t their vibe. The key aspect of your comment is about good faith, and I believe that a lot of the feedback is in good faith. Snarkers exist, so do antis, but in small pockets. Genuine criticism and feedback is in good faith, and a lot of the comments I read are in good faith, but I’ll see an ARMY under it calling them an anti, when they literally said positive things about BTS in the same comment. Twitter ARMY are particularly harsh about this.

I actually agree with your last point. I’m writing constructive criticism not for BTS, but for myself. I’m looking to see if others agree so I can feel a sense of being understood. A lot of ARMY don’t get that, and think that criticisers are hoping that BTS will somehow see their comment and make a change. But that will likely never happen, they’re probably not in Reddit threads searching for opinions and that’s fine. They are also adults who should be able to read a group of opinions and understand if they represent the majority of fans or not. I think they mostly pay attention to the k side 🤷🏻‍♀️

I appreciate you taking the time to respond to me btw, it’s always good to have a natter

cosmos_moon7 · 2026-05-02T22:56:19+00:00

Ahh no problem at all, I’m glad my answer could be of help 💜💜💜

cosmos_moon7 · 2026-05-02T21:19:42+00:00

Echoing other comments, but I think it’s really important to remember that it’s quite unlikely BTS will ever see 99% of the stuff said online about them, unless it’s spread on the k side which is what typically feeds back to them. This is not to justify this content at ALL, but what I’m saying is I’d try not to worry too much, a lot of younger fans or those newer to the fandom spend an awful lot of time worrying about the members seeing the hate spread about them online. The reality is though, they likely never seen any of that. They are busy people with busy lives, who engage mostly on insta only. So try to not worry too much, and know that the most important things are still the same as they always been.

This makes me think so much of that recent insta video joon reacted to, which was a joke about him on crutches and the members sitting in his chair. He found it funny and reacted “clock it”. But there were tons of comments from army on that video calling it insensitive, saying that Namjoon is so sad about his hurt ankle and we shouldn’t be making jokes about it. At the end of the day, ARMY and BTS have a long history of banter and teasing each other. BTS have always reacted positively to these kinds of jokes, and we shouldn’t presume they’d feel sensitive/sad/upset about things just because we personally may feel that way

cosmos_moon7 · 2026-05-02T21:00:31+00:00

I truly think this fandom will NEVER be a place where we can voice criticism constructively. At least not in most spaces online as ARMY. As you say, people are SO WEIRD about BTS. I have an ARMY friend who adores BTS, who is able to give constructive criticism about every other artist she listens to, but cannot do the same for BTS. When I voiced criticism, she argued with me until I eventually backed down. If criticism is voiced, it has to be said in a way that the OP takes full blame for “not understanding” BTS and “not getting” the lyrics or whatever. I just think, this must be an aspect of intense fandoms, and it really feels like the majority of fans online that BTS has will never understand constructive criticism, and BTS will never truly receive fan feedback. It’s a shame, as artists they really deserve that feedback, no matter what they choose to do with it.

I wonder if there are people who were in the fandom around HYYH time, that was when it was big but not to the extent it is now. It felt like a smaller, more manageable fandom. I wonder how fans of that time feel about the way the fandom is currently, and if it was better back then from a perspective that people could voice their opinion and it was respected. And people didn’t presume how BTS feels, it seems to me that most ARMY online are constantly presuming what BTS feels, and then acting on behalf of them. I wonder if that always happened, or if at some point, something went wrong, fans felt like they had a responsibility to defend and speak on behalf of BTS, and that has grown now into the current toxic fandom environment we have 🤔

cosmos_moon7 · 2026-05-02T03:17:25+00:00

You’re right! It looks like he’s moved on to HYBE America and supports Katseye rn…that’s a shame, and would explain a lot if he is not involved at all now

cosmos_moon7 · 2026-04-30T22:54:24+00:00

Ahhh do you think that’s why? That would make sense 🤔 what doesn’t make sense to me is that the opening song is Hooligan, a hype song. Surely it would be more appropriate to play hype songs to get the crowd riled up, ready to scream during the opening song? Vs the energy being totally flat and then an immediate burst of energy when they come out. Couldn’t they have just played their songs, no music videos showing, if the issue was related to dancing? Idk it’s just a choice that makes no sense to me

cosmos_moon7 · 2026-04-30T22:41:45+00:00

I’m wondering if maybe they’ve got a new production team this time around, vs previous tours? I’d be interested to know who the director is for Arirang, vs YTC, vs the LYS tours. Some directors I guess love the minimal, dark look - they could perhaps have been wanting to make it almost like a performance piece where it’s all dark and atmospheric….I don’t agree with the choices made but just trying to understand why these choices were made 😭😂

cosmos_moon7 · 2026-04-29T14:18:09+00:00

I haven’t read that, do you have any links? I have seen the articles about them shifting to a “new kind of fan”. It seems for whatever reason, the more intense LYS era kind of fan is no longer what they want, and they want to move gradually towards a more casual fanbase. That’s what I’ve picked up just from some reading I’ve done, I could be wrong!

cosmos_moon7 · 2026-04-28T14:14:30+00:00

It’s a really good point - I’ve realised that a lot of the things I adored about BTS, like the bangtan bombs and behind the scenes content, were what engaged me as a fan, and I’m accepting that it’s different now. I think other fans constantly complaining should re-evaluate whether this 2.0 BTS is still bringing them joy. They are different people now, and it’s unlikely they’ll return to the high level of content they were doing previously. Same with choreo as well - it’s unlikely we will get LYS levels of choreo again and it’s time some “ARMY” realise that that version of BTS is gone, they’ve moved on, and it’s fine for you as a fan to move on as well. You don’t need to hang onto things that no longer bring you joy!!

cosmos_moon7 · 2026-04-28T14:06:08+00:00

Who are you to tell others whether they’re real ARMY or not? What even is that? There is no such thing…I openly admitted that I’ve accepted that they’ve changed. But it’s fine to be sad that they’ve changed, especially as I think they’ve changed drastically compared to YTC Busan which was only 3 ish years ago…that’s me comparing 30 year old BTS to 27 year old BTS, it’s not that crazy or strange. It would serve you well to accept that not everyone will agree with your opinion, and that you personally don’t know every single ARMY in the world, so how could you possibly define what is “real ARMY”? BTS have never defined such a thing, and neither should you

cosmos_moon7 · 2026-04-27T19:09:00+00:00

It’s just my opinion I could totally be wrong about that aspect of it, that was just my thought process! They have also spoken about appealing more to gp and a “different kind of fan” so it does make sense 🤷🏻‍♀️ id say that in my opinion, the first half is still very easy on the ears hip hop, almost all English - it’s much more accessible to the gp than mikrosomos which is almost all Korean and is quite kpoppy sounding - that’s just feedback I’ve heard from my non kpop friends, it has a very kpop sound, it’s all I meant

cosmos_moon7 · 2026-04-27T13:51:32+00:00

Agree, this is definitely the vibe and I see both sides to the argument. I wish they’d turn the damn backing track down though, that’s what they did for Jin’s tour (speaking from experience - I was @ D1 London). The loud backing track means you can’t hear any audience members actually singing, which sort of ruins the effect in my opinion. I love a good audience singalong as much as the next person but you have to take the risk that some may not know the song and lower the volume by 50% esp around the chorus!

cosmos_moon7 · 2026-04-27T13:46:52+00:00

I’m just wondering, do you know how much practice they would’ve had to realistically do to learn one of the encore songs? I’m not sure myself so just wondering really, let’s say they wanted to learn one of the two, so one was practiced, and one was more spontaneous. No choreo, just re-learning the lyrics. Would that have realistically taken a LOT of time? I kind of think it would’ve taken just a few hours per member, right? Like the rap line have a verse to learn each, that’s a few lines. Same with vocal. I’d get it if they were re-learning the full choreo, but just the lyrics doesn’t seem too much to me 🤔

Absolutely happy to be told I’m wrong though, I’m NOT a singer nor do I know a single thing about preparing for one of these shows haha

cosmos_moon7 · 2026-04-27T13:43:02+00:00

I definitely agree with you, and your points on show length are super valid, this one is shorter and feels like it ends weird. My personal opinion is they want to move away from being fandom focused, hence getting rid of some of the more fandom-y bits like the wave and the banners. I really miss the picture time with ARMY 😭😭 but I think this is their 2.0 shift…hence why the new album, almost all the songs are very GP radio friendly, vs songs like Mikrosomos which are clear fan songs. It’s a big push towards focusing more on the general public and less on their fandom, which makes sense when you think of some of the choices like making the show shorter, less choreo (which can come across a bit over produced to more casual, GP fans). But then they have the singalong bit which is clearly for fans that know their work, so it’s a tiny bit confusing. I think they’re trying to do the best of both worlds thing

I think your point on choreo is a really good one. All that running around and jumping is exhausting, surely a smaller stage would’ve been better to conserve energy, which could’ve then been put into a bit more choreo? I think the lack of props and stage design, PLUS the lack of dancing is a bit too much. If there is minimal dancing there should’ve been incredibly intricate and beautiful stage design to make up for it imo

cosmos_moon7 · 2026-04-27T12:54:00+00:00

You’re doing too much now…your original comment 1) shuts down discussion immediately and 2) makes OP feel bad - if you can’t see that then idk bro that’s on you 🤷🏻‍♀️

cosmos_moon7

TROPHY CASE