I really should be studying, I'm sorry. But I just saw this online, and if anything pisses me off enough to run to a blog to rant about it, it's close-minded elitist fans hating on EXO's fame and fans. I am so off-the-charts sick and tired of seeing/hearing some -hurt Kpop fans bagging on EXO because so many people like them. First of all, they’re a music group, and everyone has different musical tastes. If EXO’s music doesn’t impress you, that’s okay. I’m sure lots of EXO fans will agree with you that some of their songs (Wolf) aren’t very impressive. But just because you don’t like their music does it mean that no one else can like it. Some people like country, some people like rap, some people like to listen to electric cello covers of Disney songs, some people like to listen to Gregorian Chant, some people like Got7 and some people like EXO, AND EVERYTHING IS OKAY. Instead of being boo-hoo and all hoity-toity-nobody-likes-my-bias-group-because-they-like-exo, why don’t you go enjoy fangirling over your bias group, and leave the Exotics to do their Exotic thing and not try to shame people for liking what they like? 

If you think they’re overrated, you don’t have to stan them. And if you don’t like them, and you don’t stan them, then good for you! But get off your elitist high-horse and quit thinking that just because you don’t stan EXO that you’ve made it out of the cave and now have some “higher calling” to make Exotics see the light. We just wanna support our boys, just as you want to support your bias group. 

COMMON OBJECTIONS TO EXO

(1) "They're only famous because of SM!" they said

SM is a record label. SM uses its money, power, and entrepreneurial extertise to package their artists, hire producers and choreographers, arrange appearances to give exposure to their artists, release albums, send their artists overseas for performances, and otherwise promote the products they invested money produce in order to contribute to the music market and reap profits. But guess what? YG is also a record label! JYP is a record label! Yes, and so is FNC, and Stardom, and CUBE, and Pledis, and LOEN, and J.Tune! And all these record labels use their money, power, and entrepreneurial expertise to package their artists, hire producers and choreographers, arrange appearances to give exposure to their artists, release albums, send their artists overseas for performances, and otherwise promote the products they invested money produce in order to contribute to the music market and reap profits!

Therefore, I must conclude that when you say that "EXO is only famous because of SM", you must mean that they're famous because of their connections with successful veteran groups like TVXQ, BoA, Super Junior, Girls Generation, SHINee, and f(x). Which is a completely unfair statement to make, because by doing so, you rob EXO of all their diligent work, because, yo, ALL KPOP IDOLS WORK THEIR ASSES OFF. Don't even get me started with how tired I am of this objection. There is no magical silver platter on which is placed fame, fortune, and fans which is then handed to EXO upon debut and they never have to lift a finger. Stop all the useless speculation because none of us actually know what's going on in SM Headquarters.

Now, I'm not saying that being in SM isn't advantageous. What I'm saying is that SM did not force anyone to become EXO fans or SM stans. The EXO fans and SM stans came on their own accord. 

(2) "Their music is not even good!" they said. "Their fans are like Beliebers!" they said.

Yeah, I'm sure you could probably get a good amount of Exotics to admit that some of the songs EXO released weren't the best. But news-flash, you don't have to like every single song a group releases in order to stan that group. If their music is just not your taste, I totally understand. That doesn't give you the right to on everyone else who does like the music. Let me repeat, not listening to EXO's music does not make you somehow better than everyone else. It just means that you don't ing listen to EXO, and that's okay as long as you're not an who shames EXO fans for liking something that makes them happy. And comparing Exotics to Beliebers is a faulty analogy: the boys of EXO are well-bred, hard-working, respectable young men who have honest work ethics, a strong sense of integrity and filial piety, and they take their fame in humble stride. Justin Bieber is a little prick who parties and gets drunk and doesn't give a about his fans or his music. 

(3) "They're drowning out the other groups!" they said.

I'm happy to see that you have so much faith in your bias groups ~*~sarcasm~*~ I'm sorry that your bias group isn't getting the same exposure as EXO, I truly am. But I think it is totally unfair to direct your frustrations at EXO. If your favorite group isn't as active or doesn't get as much attention, it's no one's fault. And I am sure that your favorite idols are not hurt at all by it; rather, I think they'd be thankful for whatever kind of support they get. Yes, there are countless amazing, talented Kpop groups aside from EXO and they, too, have their own respective fandoms who are just as fiercely loyal to them as Exotics are to EXO. Their fandoms are energetic, passionate, hard-working, and supportive. Why isn't that enough for you people? Why do you feel the need to tear down or undermine other fandoms and groups just so you can feel good about your own fandom? 

(4) "There are no more (insert group name here) blogs or fan fics because EXO has taken over!" they said.

Solution: Start your own blog. Write your own fan fics or start a contest for fan fics only about your bias group. You can't control what anybody else does. If someone wants to blog about EXO, you can't stop them. If someone wants to write about EXO, they will. Take care of your own, and we'll take care of our own.

(5) "People only like them because they're good-looking!" they said.

Yes, we do like them because they're good-looking, among other reasons. Don't act as if you don't admire your bias group's good looks, either. Yeah, we like their good-looks. We also really like their "Growl" MV, and the fact that Lay is an honest-to-God angel in disguise, and that Kai tries so hard even when he's in so much pain, and we also like Kris' childish artwork, and we also like Sehun's collarbones, and we also like that Suho is protective of the members, and we like that they all dance soooo good and we also like when Baekhyun says "kkaebsong" and we like Chanyeol's older sister, and we like "Miracles in December" and we love how close our fandom has become in such a short amount of time. Yes, we like their good looks. We like a lot of things about EXO, their good looks being among those things.

Okay well this looks like the end of the rant for now. If you're one of these people who needlessly bash on EXO because you think they're too famous, I invite you comment down below with your objections; I am prepared to reply to you. But do be civil, and present some objections I haven't dicsussed above. I'm too tired to go over those arguments again. If you're just here to read my rant, sorry that it went so long. But honestly, this is how upset I am at these people. Kpop is supposed to be a warm, fuzzy fandom (except during awards season) and I am sure that many of us know what it's like to feel like an outsider because not many people know about Kpop or perhaps we get judged for liking it. But seriously, we don't need that elitist bull within the fandom, too. Exotics gon' stan EXO. Deal with it.

And for heaven's sake, can u not?

And by the way, Happy 2nd Anniversary to EXO! It's hard dealing with all this negativity, but let's focus on some positive things for now to celebrate two years with this group and this fandom :) To pinpoint a specific moment, I guess I became a fan right around the time Kai's 2nd or 3rd debut teaser came out and I got so excited to meet and learn about a new group. My bias group is SHINee, also from SM so I definitely was looking forward to rookies from the same company. Kai was my first bias and back then, it was even more unpopular to be an Exotic and jokes about their debut taking forever were rampant, lol. Even though SHINee and 2PM will always be my first Kpop groups, I feel a special connection with EXO because I've been with them even since before their debut. It really feels like I'm going through this Kpop journey with them. That's probably why I feel really protective of them and why I get so upset when people needlessly hate on them. Anyways, because of them, I was able to make so many new friends, met some amazing people, and was even able to expand my writing (even though I'm now trying to expand beyond fanfiction, haha). Anyway, Happy 2 Years with EXO!