BUSY ERA! 5 Things that K-Pop Fans Do Before And During their Favorite Artist’s Comeback

Gunjan thakurMarch 19, 2022

A comeback is one of the most awaited events in K-pop. You can actually say that it is the number 1 occasion that all K-pop idols and K-pop fans look forward to. This is the much anticipated moment wherein the artists finally officially release the music they have been working hard for, including the choreographies they have learned and rehearsed day and night! Truly, a K-pop comeback is very special and momentous!

When it’s time for a K-pop artist or group to make their comeback, they are the busiest! They attend and record for live stage performances. Promotions here, promotions there. Variety shows having K-pop idols as their guests is one of the signs that it’s comeback time! The artists also join radio shows for fans and casual listeners to get to know more about them and their fresh music.

Definitely, K-pop idols, together with their staff and their celebrity management company, are busy as bees whenever it’s their comeback period. They are going here and there, making sure that everyone knows they have come back.

But one thing very important to know is that not only the artists are the busy ones. Their fans also are! It’s a busy fan era! Here are 5 things that K-pop fans do before and during their favorite artists’ comeback! For sure, they’re not just sitting around!

1 – Installing voting apps and collecting voting tickets.

The system in the K-pop industry has changed tremendously over the years. Before, K-pop fans peacefully wait and cheer for their idols whenever they come back. Nowadays, truth be told, fans are bustling with duties in preparation for their artists’ comeback.

One of the major things that K-pop fans do is install voting applications that will be used to vote for their artists to be nominated and to win in music shows. Fanbases of the artists usually alert and remind the fandom to start downloading specific voting apps, such as IdolChamp, Starpass, Mubeat, Choeaedol and Whosfan. These are some of the authorized K-pop apps where votes will be tallied and used for music programs.

A month or few weeks before the expected or announced comeback, K-pop fans start collecting voting tickets or buying voting passes. Aside from purchasing, they can be earned for free by watching ads repetitively. Every voting app has collecting methods that are different from other apps. Fans gather the passes early and wait for the exact voting dates to give their votes. They are able to submit innumerable votes as a fandom when every fan participates actively.

This is quite tiring and time-consuming, but fans really exert effort to be ready to give their K-pop fans at least 1 win for their comeback.

2 – Streaming hard for music show competitions.

This is where many K-pop fans in the same fandom often experience fights and disagreements because some keep streaming while some settle with enjoying the music. What’s the problem here?

Well, in today’s K-pop industry, the system has become more focused on YouTube views and number of streams in official music sites than just simply having fun. It’s now very different from before. This makes many fans sad and mad because they cannot just happily and serenely enjoy their faves’ music; rather, they have to work hard for the views and stream counts. It’s true, and fans know that. Nonetheless, they stream hard (really hard) so that their idols also get to win awards and break personal records. Even when their idols say it’s fine without a music show win, of course, who doesn’t wish to win, right?

The views on their official music video is one of the most important segments of the criteria for judging in music show competitions. K-pop fans stream anytime they can to make the views go up. Fanbases create a solid plan and schedule for streaming parties, including playlists, that the fandom partake in.

3 – Watching their stage performances live or online.

Besides the official music videos, the comeback stage videos are the performances you will see on YouTube when you type and search for a group’s particular song. For example, if you type “Love Scenario by iKON”, the main music video will appear on top, and below is a variety of comeback stage performances.

Fans attend these events live. When you watch records of those events on YouTube, you will hear fans doing fanchants, screaming and raising their lightsticks. They come in person to support and cheer loudly for their idols.

However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, live audiences have been prohibited in music shows these days. Recorded screams, fanchants and claps of fans are played while K-pop fans watch the stage performances online.

4 – Making them trend.

Twitter parties are part of K-pop culture. Fanbases inform the fandom early, usually at least a day or a few hours before the Twitter party, about the hashtags and taglines that they will use for their artists’ comeback. They cannot use the tags before the designated time. Rather, they can prepare their tweets as drafts and drop them at the schedule announced by the fanbases.

K-pop fans aim to make records on Twitter by making them trend in different countries, and the main target is worldwide. This is to show their support and online presence as they spread the word that their favorite K-pop idols have come back.

5 – Sending food support and warm messages for their faves.

This is a specific act of love by fans, in which not all but many or some fans join. Some K-pop fans send food support to their idols in the events they attend. Often, it’s the fanbases that lead these projects and encourage fans to contribute to reach the target funds for the food support or food truck. The names/usernames of the fans who take part are indicated or listed in gratitude to them and to let the artists know. Along with these delights are warm messages of support for the artists.

Not everybody can do this because of course, for the health and safety of the artists, the food must be thoroughly checked and approved by the celebrity management company. The fanbase or a small group of organizer fans have to contact the agency to apply for food support as a present to their artists. Only when approved can the fans finalize their food support preparations and purchases.

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BUSY FAN ERA!

K-pop fans, active fans for that matter, are not merely waiting for their faves to make a comeback. They are not simply standing by for the release, so they could listen and enjoy the song. Well, in the early and more simpler days of K-pop, yes, but now, K-pop fans have a tough duty (for love) too. The list above proves that.

Because K-pop comebacks are also a time for reaching several goals and garnering official recognitions, active K-pop fans are busy doing their best to give the best results for their favorite artists. As a comeback is a very significant period of time both for the idols and for their fans, these K-pop fans do a lot of things to help their faves make it a successful and beautifully memorable one!

Salute to the hardworking K-pop fans out there! Whether or not you bag wins for your favorite soloists or groups, give yourself a hand for you have done your best and united as one. Your K-pop fave is surely proud of you too!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Nicole Ann Pore is a writer, an events host and a voice-over artist. She finds quality and well-researched writing as a worthwhile avenue to enlighten and delight others about things that matter. Giving all the glory to God, Nicole graduated Cum Laude from De La Salle University Manila, Philippines with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Arts.