Fans wield strong power on boy band 'Wanna One'
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“Wanna One,” the newly launched project K-pop boy band borne out of popular votes from the public through Mnet survival talent show “Produce 101: Season 2” / Courtesy of CJ E&M
By Park Jin-hai
For an entire week after the debut album of the 11-member K-pop boy band “Wanna One” was released to local stores on Aug. 8, Kyobo Bookstore in Gwanghwamun saw an unusually long queue of female fans, excited to buy the band’s CDs.
An impromptu market place was created as some 100 fans, who sat on the floor, started trading their collections of photo cards. Since each CD contains a random photo of one of the band’s members, fans waited hours to trade their cards for their favorites out of the eleven. “I’ve waited over two hours and finally succeeded,” said 17-year-old student Kim So-jin on an online message board.
On the “Wanna One” fan website, some boast that they purchased over 100 albums to gain photo cards and increase their chances to participate in the band’s fan meeting.
“Wanna One,” the newly launched project K-pop boy band borne out of popular votes from the public through Mnet survival talent show “Produce 101: Season 2,” has taken the local entertainment industry by storm, creating an extraordinary strong fandom.
“Energetic,” a track from the group’s debut album “1X1=1” topped seven major local music charts online on the very day it was released. This made “Wanna One” the first K-pop band to sweep those charts with a debut single. The song was also instantly ranked No. 1 on the TV show “M Countdown.”
Their album sold over 500,000 copies in ten days after its release and CJ E&M decided to press 200,000 more copies. All the TV shows in which the band appeared, including “SNL Korea” and “Weekly Idol,” enjoyed record-high viewership.
As the band was created by the choices and support of the public, fans continue to wield strong power on the band members, even after their debut.
The fan clubs for band member Kang Daniel, who gained the most votes from the public on “Produce 101,” have jointly issued a petition to the band’s management agencies CJ E&M and YMC Entertainment. They stated that Kang’s rights as being the main member of the band have been violated. “Kang’s fans gave him the most votes, giving him the main position of the group. But, his significance shown at concerts and on music videos were the same or even less than other band members.” Kang’s angered fans collected signatures from nearly 2,000 people to submit a petition. They requested the managing companies to change the dance moves, within a limit that doesn’t affect the whole choreography, to make Kang stand out from the rest of the band members.
Some of Kang’s fans are preparing for legal action because “Produce 101” producers previously promised the fans that the winner with the most votes will be given the band’s center position. The show charged the fans 100 won for each text message they sent to support the member of their choice. The fans claim the show producers didn’t honor their word.
Fans of another band member, Park Ji-hoon, raised a similar issue. Some of his fans posted comments on his fan club website, saying that they are willing to pay for the penalty so Park can breach his contract with his current “small” agency and move to a bigger one.
In the past, a celebrity’s fandom and their voices and complaints only had limited power once the band’s agency decided on the fate of the band. But, with “Wanna One” fans, often called the “national producers” who exercised the greatest power in the making of the band, all this seems to be changing.
The fact that the project band, active until December 2018, will be disbanded and each member will go their separate ways after the contract, pushes fans to be more focused on “personal support” for band members, instead of the band as a whole, as well as making fans’ voices louder, industry experts said.
“Until recently, entertainment agencies didn’t pay much attention to fans, whether they boycotted the celebrities or issued statements. When the issue was significant enough, they often said ‘there was a misunderstanding’ and cover it,” said a public relations official for a local entertainment company. “With ‘Wanna One,’ it became more important for agencies to retain fans’ strong support, considering the post-Wanna One years,” he added.