Given the stupid arguments, I came across about BTS so-called losing themselves singing in English when this is fucking BTS who was already big without the English, these stupid Kpoppies give so much shit to BTS while not giving a shit to their artists or even artists outside of their sphere.
Then again, all things BTS did even the most normal thing like singing a song entirely in English is somehow their fault or the cause even though the other Kpop groups had done the same like singing English versions instead of putting out one version of the song. Nah, it's BTS's fault they got even more famous for singing English songs when their groups never made a peep outside of BP maybe.
Like, have they heard video game OSTs? Persona has loads of English songs. Kingdom Hearts have English songs too! It's not as if Final Fantasy doesn't use English songs too since FFXV uses the Stand By Me cover by Florence and the Machine.
I can tell you that I love listening to video game OSTs so to see these people give BTS shit just for singing in English and getting more popular off it, I want to pull out every stop I know due to my knowledge of JRPGs. I can just mention JRPGs to them and show them as far back as Eyes on Me. I can throw Eyes on Me at their face and see the emotions going through them when FFVIII came out in 1999.
I'm pretty sure the people who love to put down BTS to elevate their own groups never consider other forms of entertainment outside of just pure music alone. I came across many English songs specifically made for JRPGs and that's in JRPGs! I'm pretty sure these people never touched a JRPG in their lives because if they knew about Hollow from Final Fantasy VII Remake, then it should shut down everything when it was originally written in Japanese and translated into English because that was the intent. And there is no Japanese version of Hollow, just the English one. Or even as far back as Eyes on Me! Heck, Suteki Da Ne is left in Japanese in the English localization. Oh, how about the Tales series I know for a fact there is the English version of Ring a Bell before it was re-released in Japanese! And the Tales series localization is known to localize the Japanese openings except if it's in English into instrumentals like Tales of the Abyss and Symphonia (this is more the orchestral than the instrumental)! Though recently, I have seen the openings have been left in Japanese for a while now.
Every time these guys ignorantly tried to put down BTS for singing in English and getting even more popular off it, I would love to put up a JRPG song and especially point out that it is an English song for a JRPG. This is released as part of a soundtrack that only gamers know. That Asians sing English for even something as fundamental as a soundtrack on a freaking video game which is another medium that many people don't casually get into. Most ARMYs I know are mostly casual gamers so that's why BTS World and other games that BH made or affiliated with like rhythm games are primarily casual games; so far, I have seen one ARMY about Final Fantasy but I don't know if they played the actual games or the MMP title game. The only thing remotely hardcore games I see them play is Genshin Impact (the gacha aspect, knowing my bad luck, would kill me so it's not a game I play because my bad luck is atrocious), Breath of the Wild, Nintendo, and Skyrim. I've been exposed to Japanese media for a long-ass time that English songs are like a little wave in the consuming ocean of content.
I play and know a shitload of JRPGs before I even heard about BTS in 2015 when I first met them - at that point, I have already been exposed to the Persona series, SMT, Devil Survivor, The World Ends With You, Tales series, Chrono Trigger, and so forth - and it does help my cousin is a major gamer in herself by playing these games. Heck, my cousin even introduced me to Tokyo Mirage just five years ago! She has a preference for JRPGs so she can recommend to me stuff that she initially emulated and then later buy as she did with Tokyo Mirage Sessions.
For Godoka's sake, you see that video about the opening song Burn My Dread, P3's opening number is sung entirely in English! There is a reason why 'burn my bread' is a meme! Just to be clear, there are still Japanese numbers like Memories of You and My Testimony. That was the movie version right there with the subs of the song! And this is on the P3 side. I can show you Japanese numbers in the rest of the Persona series.
...Wow, just looking at that... I'm a big JRPG player, huh? Those BTS antis never touched a JRPG in their lives so it's easy for me, a big gamer of JRPGs, to rip it to shreds. They probably never will since JRPG is really long and those games took months for me to complete. But I can rip those stupid arguments to shreds based on my knowledge of other parts of music-making in other forms of entertainment.
When they think mainstream Asian artists who do sing English songs and even add English into their music, I can direct them to not mainstream enough like their names are out there but not every detail is known. As for me though I’m happy Shoji Meguro got more exposure to P5 since I see ARMYs with P5 songs on their playlists and I want ARMYs to explore more of Shoji Meguro.
When I point to video games where there are Japanese-English - as if Japanese songs don't have English littered on them already -, sometimes English songs altogether that aren’t meant to chart or even for spreading it - dude, Shoji Meguro, the guy who likes to experiment or even a cover for a video game like in the case of FFXV - then I wonder why these people think like that? Heck, I can even throw Evangelion's Fly Me to the Moon cover or Komm Susser Tod at them and see their faces.
When they are willingly happily ignoring their artists' attempts to break into the US market, their bad takes about BTS singing English is just so stupid when I can name English songs covered by Asian artists that even I can direct them to Xiao Zhan singing a Whitney Houston song at the behind the scenes of CQL. Heck, I even recall Xiao Zhan doing a singing duo covering ABBA in Chinese.
And that's on video games! I wasn't even talking about the music alone where I can tell you that Asian artists in Asian countries do sing in English! But I choose a medium that these people won't easily get into due to its lack of inaccessibility to the lack of directions as video games are more used by experienced gamers.
And I'm a gamer! Primarily of JRPGs but you get the point!
When I can point them to a medium that I doubt any of them play, then I wonder what will go through when English is sung and composed by Asian artists? It's not unusual because I can point it out but these guys are just so thick in the head about BTS getting more popularity from singing in English while their groups can't get more outside of Kpop stans.
Because apparently, Asian artists can't gain more popularity if they sing in English. Or should sing in English lest they lose their Asian identity. Because Asian artists in Asian countries can't sing in English unless that means they apparently sold out. Because Asians can't have fun or even experiment.
...Thanks for the racism, jackasses. As if you aren't already racist to your idols already, you laid even more racist remarks towards BTS. As if you aren't already issuing racism towards them anyway.
Apparently, it's perfectly fine that European artists can sing in English but not Asian artists. I don't even have to look far to even know European artists sing in English when Eurovision is well-known for singing in English.
These antis' arguments are rooted in racism.
When I just literally point out that Japanese artists do use English and compose entirely English songs even for video games, their racist arguments fall apart. And all I did was just point out JRPGs. I literally didn't have to point out my experience hearing Viet idols singing in English or even point to other countries where we have singers singing in English. Again, I'm Viet and I heard Viet sing in English and not even for karaoke. For my cousin's wedding years back, she invited a Viet singer well-known in the Viet community to sing English and Viet songs. And it wasn't for karaoke even though karaoke is available during the reception as I know for a fact my aunt and uncle went up there and sang karaoke.
Like Korean songs that have splashes of English on them, Japanese songs that aren't entirely in Japanese are littered with English words. I haven't heard enough Chinese songs but I know Viet singers who sing in English. There was this one time I heard a Viet idol sing in English - it was a silly song too - during dinner time when my parents were watching Viet music programs. Really, I was so used to hearing Viet ballads and traditional music and comedies/opera that an idol song was a shock to my ears. Even though I was vaguely aware of the Viet idol scene as far back when I was a kid due to my said exposure to Viet media through my family. That's peripheral awareness though as my family is more used to preferring ballads that I hear all the time that I can recognize the bpm immediately and could be a reason why I'm really hard to impress when it comes to ballads.
While English in itself is a bland and backward language when people who are learning have different ways of interpreting it. I don't know but it’s a unique way of interpreting.
You can see it with non-fluent speakers like Taehyung who use English. Shoji Meguro used English a lot for his songs. I'm no grammar nazi as I am willing to admit my grammar mistakes. But these guys use English differently than someone with bad grammar would.
I don't know, it's just a unique way of phrasing English.
