My Return + The Fall of SM
Hey guys!
It's Mel (I don't think I've ever mentioned my name here, heh). It's been quite a while since I've written fanfiction on this site (or any site quite frankly) because A) school is seriously weighing me down but I'm totally free after May 19, yay! and B) I've really been out of it with k-pop. What I do know for a fact, though, is that I really enjoyed my time on AFF writing fanfics because it allowed me to express a lot of my thoughts and feelings as well as improve my writing. Also, I'd like to thank the people who for some reason keep supporting me no matter how much I slack on writing - I really appreciate it!
So what's been poppin' since I've been gone? Most of you probably know me as that huge KaiStal shipper a couple of years ago, y'know, before they became a thing, and I used to write so many fanfics about them because just the thought of them was inspirational AF. Yes, I still run the KaiStal Facebook page. Yes, I'll try my best to keep ya'll updated on interesting content once I'm out of school. Do I still ship KaiStal? Yes, but the hype is kind of dead right now BUT I will still keep writing about them because they're a fun pair.
If you haven't already noticed, my stories are incredibly SM-centric because I've been an SM-stan since I started getting into k-pop and the reason being is that the SM family is just so interesting and full of unique characters with different relationship dynamics and I'm not saying that doesn't exist in the other entertainment companies but let's be honest, these guys are a hell of a lot of fun to write about.
This brings me to a point that I've been itching to talk about for a while but never quite knew how to approach so bare with me. Just to clarify beforehand, though - this is in no way an attack on any artist within SM Entertainment but rather, a criticism of the company itself.
No entertainment company is perfect but it's almost undeniable that SM especially doesn't seem to know how to treat their artists with respect. They've had numerous lawsuit cases regarding the unfairness of their contracts and treatment of their artists and people are still turning a blind eye to it because they're the biggest entertainment company in South Korea. They forced Jessica out of Girls' Generation (and somehow people started blaming Taeyeon even though she has no control over the removal of members) because she wanted to start a business of her own that wouldn't profit SM. They evidently push their idols to great limits, disregarding their physical and mental health, to gain more profit and somehow that's justifiable.
When an artist enters an entertainment company, they undoubtedly are there to pursue a career that they're passionate about. After all, that's the purpose of an artist - to create, perform, and express. But that's not what happens.
One of the reasons I stopped listening to a lot of k-pop is because songs and music videos started getting incredibly repetitive and derivative to the point where every comeback was just a catchy earworm that sparked temporary excitement because your idols were finally back and promoting but then it's gone and you're left with these upbeat nonsensical lyrics that have no substance or passion. It's just another song that SM bought and gave to a group, added some choreography, dressed them up in concept-matching bling and sent them off on another ridiculously busy schedule to promote and reel in the cash. Art really is dead.
Sure, this satisfies the fans because they're provided with a crap load of new merch to buy, songs to listen to, and shows to see their idols on, but how do you think the artists feel?
A couple of days ago, f(x)'s Amber posted this message on Instagram:
f(x) is the one band that I've loved since getting into k-pop and still adore and it would honestly be heartbreaking if they split up but if Amber (and the other f(x) members) simply had the opportunity of being on their own and allowed creative freedom, it would make me ten times happier. I don't think many people understand the amount of effort it takes for one artist to push for one of their songs or pieces to be funded, created, and published. Just because they're famous doesn't mean they've fulfilled any of their goals and aspirations. I can't help but feel that SM tries to cover up their favouring of certain artists over others by giving them side activities to satisfy fans.
People are always complaining about how long it takes for EXO to have a comeback which honestly always confuses me because SM has been promoting them like crazy, neglecting all of their older bands that don't profit them as much. Fact is, SM is willing to throw away any artist that doesn't benefit them or work solely for them. They aren't allowed independence or a voice - they're slaves to their contracts and we pay to see them like this.
A couple of months ago, Henry Lau (Super Junior-M) posted a similar message:
TRANSLATION (source): “It’s tiring. I’m exhausted. I can’t do it alone any longer. It’s been a mistake since 9 years ago. It’s become so big I can’t support it anymore. What do I do now?”
SM has also been called out for mistreating non-Korean members of their company - hence, why the three Chinese members of EXO filed lawsuits with complaints that the Korean members were always favoured over them. I don't know the extent of which this is true and I'm not going to make any assumptions, but it raises a lot of suspicion and correlates with the situations of the three EXO members, Amber, Henry and Hangeng.
I don't know if any of you keep up with the departed EXO members but recently I've been checking up on Kris, Tao and Luhan who have all found success in different places. I've especially been listening to a lot of Luhan's songs because I'm incredibly amazed by the fact that I never noticed how multi-talented the guy was. Here's a song that came out about two years ago:
If you read the lyrics, it isn't clear at first without context but you can easily infer that it's about SM and seems to be addressing the exisiting members of SM about how they can do so much more if they just left (highkey the way he throws shade so elegantly is a turn on in itself).
And it's undeniable how much freedom Luhan has now. He writes a lot of his own songs, expresses them with his own style, and even directly addressed the issue of sasaengs invading his privacy in an aggressive song that clearly tells them to off without beating around the bushes and you have no idea how happy it makes me when an artist is able freely do that.
My point is - I'm seriously concerned about the way SM treats their artists. I know we like to maintain this idea that SM is a family (and they are - the members within the company are) but reality is, they're a money making corporation. They don't care about art or expression - they care about profit and squeezing every ounce of energy out of their artists so long as they churn out content that gets fans that don't think twice about anything involving their idols to hand over their money. Henry outright begged for the fans to speak out for him because SM wouldn't listen to him.
I'm not saying we should boycott SM, but we should be more skeptical and aware of things like this because a lot of k-pop fans don't think twice before buying into things. Don't support an SM that is disgusting and manipulative, and don't support things that prevent artists from having creative control over their work. I want an f(x) comeback as much as anyone else does, but I want a band that is happy with where they're at. I want to see artists paid to make art, not to look pretty and uphold a reputation.
TL;DR: SM is a capitalist monster and I'm pretty ing pissed about it.
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