question about B.A.P

[deadpetals_]

This thread is not supposed to be one of those dumb troll/bait threads, nor am I trying to 'shade!!111' them, but rather a question I've formed after seeing what the majority on OH has been saying.

 

I've noticed that a lot of threads on here have been saying that B.A.P is not as "popular as they used to be" whenever it is brought up. To be honest, I kinda noticed that too, since I really used to see them everywhere w/ the Kpop fandom (even in my school. There were a lot of fans!) 

 

My question is, why did they happen to 'lose' some of their popularity/relevancy? A lot of people have been saying that it's due to the lawsuit w/ TS, or that there are 'newer groups'.

 

Yet again, I definitely don't think that popularity is a measure of talent (bc that's dumb) nor am I trying to bash/offend anyone. And if I seem to, I'm really sorry;;   

[Nini Bear]

a mixture of things

their lawsuit happened, they didn't put out as much music anymore for a while

they've been overseas a lot 

their music changed quite a bit

[katz]

Some of it has to do with the lawsuit. When they were on the necessary hiatus for the sake of equal pay rights and better treatment, they weren't in the spotlight. Now, this isn't to say fans aren't loyal, but you don't quit listening to music just because one group's gone. I think many of their fans splintered off to take interest in other new coming groups. Many/most, if not all have gone back to listening to BAP, but given they had a pretty noticeable pause, it's like a 2.0 debut and there are a lot of other groups now, and several with hip-hop styles.

 

But popular is a relative term. What is popular to me may not be to you based on perception. I think it isn't so much they "aren't as popular" so much as they have the same level of fanbase, so it doesn't seem like they've made any ground. This is all just my opinion though, and regardless, I still like them and they seem popular to me. 

[angy]

Basically because they went on hiatus, a lot of people forgot about them and their comeback was meh

[deadpetals_]

Another dumb question (BC I'm not familiar w/ them): How did their music style change? I know at debut they had a hip-hop concept.

[Lost At Sea]

Aside from their hiatus I'd say it was their inconsistent concepts and downgraded music. When they first debuted they had a solid image that was unique from most boy groups but instead of building on that image they kept changing their style, trying out different genres (which is fine to do but I don't think they had a strong enough fanbase to do that yet, they should have stuck with what got people to be fans with them in the first place and after building a solid fanbase should they had tried out other genres). During their hiatus, their concept wasn't unique anymore- lots of other boy groups had a strong hiphop image and a lot of fans drifted to them instead of waiting for BAP. Then when BAP returned their music was.. just lacking compared to before, it honestly sounds generic, like any other group could have sang that and their concept is ?? idek what it is

[☆Lili]

Like i said in previous thread, bap have been on decline even before their lawsuit because TS has been shipping them off overseas 24/7 thus losing hype. And the same thing is happening now,they have been touring for like 6 months or so? Basically they dont really focus much on promoting their korean songs and lately it seems that they are putting comebacks out just for the sake of having an excuse to do another tour

 

And yea, their songs and lyrics just arent what they used to be.

[seriouslykpop]

Their career took a great hit with the lawsuit and the one year hiatus, that's for sure. Not only did they go for a long time without releasing anything new, the fans were also uncertain if they were coming back at all. Their fans remained loyal, but a lot of them started stanning different groups since BAP's future was unknown. Also, it's important to remember that although they had a large and growing fanbase, they weren't a established group just yet by the time the lawsuit happened (2014, the same year they had their first win on a music show ever). So when they came back, part of the general public's interest was gone and part of the fanbase wasn't (still isn't) satisfied with the music style they're going for. It's sad, but I believe BAP themselves are happy with their position as of now. They said it before they're not aiming for music charts, but personal satisfaction regarding their music.

[glow]

Tbh I thought Young, Wild & Free was very similar to their old music, I still don't understand why it wasn't received well. Their two newer singles though (Feel So Good and That's My Jam) have a very different, upbeat style that's totally opposite from their old hits so even fans who have stayed from before the lawsuit are feeling let down.

 

Tbh Feel So Good is my favourite single from them after One Shot though so I guess it's personal taste

 

Lots of people also like to compare B.A.P with BTS and say that BTS "stole their fans" because they got big during B.A.P's lawsuit hiatus but honestly that's really untrue. I don't think their concepts or music are very similar at all, other than both being somewhat hip hop inspired

[Candykiss]

I wouldn't say that their music style changed bc I still think their recent stuff is similar to what they have done in the past 

 

It's because of their overseas schedule and the lawsuit that resulted in a hiatus