Stray Kids and Jimin debut 1 and 2 on the Billboard 200!

[fieldofdreams]

For the first time in history, two K-Pop albums simultaneously hold the top 2 spots on the Billboard 200 in the US:

#1 Stray Kids
#2 Jimin pic.twitter.com/hbLN5wm9ke
- chart data (@chartdata) July 28, 2024
Stray Kids and Jimin make history on the Billboard 200 with their latest albums, ATE and MUSE debuting 1 and 2, respectively (August 3)! This is

Comments

[ladychips]

i wasnt expecting jimin to be 2! what are the rules about what they can and cant do while theyre enlisted, anyway? it seems like hes been able to do everything he would've done if he wasnt doing mandatory service?

[fauxkaren]

They recorded a LOT of content before enlistment. So all the stuff he's done to promote Muse is prerecorded and just being released now. So yeah anything they made before enlisting is fair game for BigHit to use to promo the album. They just can't record new stuff.

And like, they can post pics on their IG and post on WeVerse, but can't appear in newly made stuff on their label's YouTube? So you'll see members post stuff on their personal IGs and make text posts on WeVerse, but they can't go live on WeVerse. And lol when they filmed the enlistment video for Hobi, Jin was there (we could hear his laugh in the bg and the members posted group photos on their IGs) but he was not allowed to appear in the actual video posted on youtube.

[slaygalthessily]

Okay, so there was a lot of debate about this. Because do you remember (or did you know) when Baekhyun got in trouble for his YT videos (pre-recorded)? I think someone theorized that it was because it monitized, but then an album is monitized, so? Or did laws adjust since then?

[fauxkaren]

I think SM is just like... weird. lol. I googled to see what they said at the time and SM's statement said that Baekhyun didn't break any laws so it was legal for them to upload the videos but SM just decided to remove them? Maybe cause netizens were getting mad about it? IDK.

https://www.soompi.com/article/1499227wpp/sm-explains-decision-to-remove-videos-uploaded-to-exos-baekhyuns-youtube-channel-during-his-military-service

I wonder if the fact that he was doing public service vs doing active duty impacted that? Like Suga has been pretty much radio silent since enlistment and he's doing public service too. Maybe it's some kind of unspoken rule that idols doing public service keep a much lower profile since they're working 9-5 and not in barracks or something??

[slaygalthessily]

I know there are more rules with public service than others - especially if they’re working in schools or around children. Shownu and Suho were near radio silent with current updates during enlistment (Shownu was an English teacher for pre-school kids and idk what Suho did but he mentioned not wanting to take vacation cuz the kids would miss him). Shownu, tho, had pre-recorded stuff that came out every few months. And Wonho is public service but he has his little videos. I feel like public opinion has probably changed and maybe an album release wouldn’t have gotten a good reaction years ago. Hmm.

[itsme_eloise]

imo the difference is that baekhyun is not BTS

iirc he didn't break any laws but public perception is more important. BTS is such a cultural and financial juggernaut that there's no way big hit was going to let them go 2 years without releasing anything (and the gov't letting their soft power take a nap), especially with seventeen and other bgs coming up behind them.

[ladychips]

THE END IS IN SIGHT