Chapter 116 It's Never Too Late

J, and Taemin from SHINee. These three guys are really high up in seniority! They took over an entire table all for themselves.On the right are Girls' Generation TTS and Red Velvet's four members, wh...This well-known music critic's article was highly praised in the forum. Most fans were very pleased with the overwhelmingly positive review, leaving numerous comments of praise below. Many passersby also felt that the review was well-written after reading it, because the quality of EXO's album this time is clearly visible to everyone.

After all, the quality of the music and album, as well as the incredible popularity are right there. Besides a small minority who go against the mainstream for hype or attention, most musicians and music critics have been very positive. At first glance, many articles seem like the writers were uniformly paid by **'s PR team, filled with praise.

Besides, many ordinary fans and listeners who simply enjoy the music have also expressed their opinions:

"That's so well said, Exo's comebacks this year have been amazing. Even the lead track "Call Me Baby" was incredibly impressive, and it's my favorite song. It's widely agreed upon that the styling in this song is the coolest, rivaling even "Growl" for best dance track. Based on "CMB" alone, an album could already be excellent. Then, every single song they released afterwards over the next few months was also incredibly high quality, it's kind of unbelievable."

Indeed, taking a closer look, this album is truly an all-killer, no-filler release. The song selection is incredibly luxurious. I listened to the latest comeback by another third-generation boy group yesterday, and while the title track was bearable, it wasn't anything special. The other tracks felt uninspired and lacked any highlights.

However, this is actually the norm for many small and medium-sized male idol groups nowadays. Compared to EXO's album, everything from music, choreography, style concept, to performance and visuals, really feels like a dimensional downgrade. It feels like they are not on the same level at all.

"The production quality of this official second album is truly outstanding. I haven't listened to much from the ancient boy bands, but in terms of albums I've heard within the last decade, this one has to be the highest overall standard from a boy group."

>Although BigBang hasn't beaten EXO, their albums this year are really high quality. I like both and the one just released today, . If the quality of their upcoming songs doesn't drop too much, I'd put them in second place... How come K-pop feels so strange this year I haven't seen many popular girl groups breaking out, but boy groups are incredibly dominant. Where is the promised girl group era

It’s not the overwhelming dominance of male idol groups that's out of this world, but rather the sheer power and influence of EXO and BIGBANG. Don't get them confused, they are male idol groups, but male idol groups aren't them.

“I’m actually pretty indifferent to these music reviews. I basically never pay attention to things like idol groups, their styles, or concepts. All I care about is if the song sounds good. I think that's the most basic thing, and everything else builds on the quality of the song. And this album 《exo-l》 really has every song is pretty good. The newly released 《ifyou》is practically my life’s anthem… This album completely refreshed my perception and sensory experience of boy bands. Exo is definitely impressive.”

"Ahhhh, the album sales were already insane, now even the digital streams are skyrocketing! I'm seriously tempted to buy a physical copy just to listen to it. It feels like they're unstoppable! What am I going to do!"

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Seeing this last comment, he didn't know which boy group fan had posted it, but Ji Kyeong-won couldn't help but laugh.

Every time after a comeback with new songs, or after a stage performance, going online to see comments and rainbow praise about your songs, achievements, appearance, etc., is also a very characteristic and attractive thing about being an idol.

If it's all attacks and slander, of course one's mood is depressed and would want to be depressed.

But if all the comments are positive and praise, of course, one's mood will be very pleasant.

This release of the regular second edition falls into the latter category. He just spent half a day browsing the web, skimming through music forums and fan clubs, and basically didn't see a few bad reviews. Many passersby who didn't pay much attention or comment before also came down to say a few good words.

He's the highest-rated member throughout the entire exo, with all sorts of mind-blowing praise everywhere you look. It's so much that he himself seems a little tired of it, smiling awkwardly while reading on.

Because of this feeling, it's really refreshing and exhilarating.

Today is already the 2nd, and the regular 2nd album "exo-l" has been released for two days. While topping both digital music charts and physical sales charts, Pool Kyung-won is currently sitting in a van with the members, heading to Lotte Hotel in Mapo District to participate in their first signing event for this second album.

The car was relatively quiet at this moment, only Bian Baekhyun in the back row was discussing the game quietly with Park Chan-yeol. The others were playing on their phones or closing their eyes to rest.

He logged into another music forum with high traffic and glanced at it, casually clicking on a popular music critic's review of XO's second album. Ji Jingyuan skimmed through it roughly.

It's still the same rainbow praise, not very nutritious. After all, the quality of the second album is actually a bit more normal in terms of aesthetics. However, the sales data he listed is quite interesting. I didn't pay much attention to it before, but now that I see it, it does feel exaggerated that one group occupies half of the entire sales market.

However, since the original version was reprinted in 2013 and reached over a million copies sold, breaking records, this trend has become increasingly apparent. Many people saw it and thought it was exaggerated, but there wasn't much questioning or doubt, it just became commonplace.

EXO's explosive debut had a very noticeable impact on the entire K-pop physical album sales market. With their recent comebacks this year, it is foreseeable that the 2015 sales figures will be significantly higher than last year. Besides EXO, the entire music industry, including all companies and groups, will benefit greatly from this.

Although they might not accept it...

Additionally, the concept of "top" and "reaching the top" mentioned by this music critic is quite interesting. In private, Ji Jingyuan can also often see it in fan discussions.

This concept is actually quite vague, and there's no specific definition in the Korean music industry. There's no official recognition or even a widely accepted term like "topping" groups. Each era typically has top-tier groups referred to as "top" groups, while the term "topping group" mostly comes from fan circles and discussions.

It generally refers to the most outstanding member in a generation of male and female idol groups. They can fully represent the culture and spirit of that generation's Kpop group. They dominate all aspects of data among their contemporaries, standing out from the crowd while also surpassing the "top" groups of the previous generation in every aspect, both in terms of reaching the top and taking over the mantle.

EXO has always held a dominant position among all third-generation boy groups. This year, in a direct comparison with the previous generation's top group BIGBANG, EXO surpassed them across all metrics, completely crushing their performance. After most viewers have already decided the winner, some fans have started using the term "reaching the peak" to describe EXO's success.

Although this title sounds impressive, it's a pity that it doesn't offer any substantial benefits. After all, regardless of whether they have this title or not, EXO is undoubtedly the top male group in K-pop today, their dominant position is unquestionable.

Actually, last year they were already a top group. However, their data wasn't significantly different from other groups and older top acts like Big Bang. Plus, many things happened in the second half of the year that weakened their momentum. This year, they simply reclaimed what they had and raised it to a whole new level.

However, for those who don't understand it, the term does sound much more impressive. When Alices are bragging to others or battling them, they also appear more at ease and confident.

"A child is not blocked by a young..."

"...Right now Got it."

While watching the news, the manager of the front passenger, Lee Seung-hwan, suddenly received a call. After a brief conversation, he hung up the phone and immediately told the driver: "Drive slower, don't rush to the scene now."

The driver didn't ask for a reason, just nodded and did it right away.

I just received a call from the company. The signing event at Lotte Square is so crowded that it's causing traffic jams and complete gridlock. There's no room to stand anymore.

Li Chenghuan turned his head and gave the curious members a wry smile before explaining, "Also, because there are so many people, it has also increased safety concerns. The local police have intervened to maintain order and are currently discussing with the company whether or not to continue the signing event based on the situation at the scene."

"Jinija That's an exaggeration, how many people came"

"If the signing event doesn't happen, can we go back to rest"

As soon as the words were uttered, the previously somewhat quiet nanny van instantly became lively. Several people buzzed with excited chatter.

I don't know the exact number, but at least tens of thousands, you can check online, there should be some leaked photos on social media.

Li Chenghuan ignored a few people who were eager to leave work after hearing the good news, waved his hand to signal them to check online themselves, and then walked away.

Chi Jingyuan searched accordingly and soon saw many SNS posts and pictures from people at the scene. Some self-media outlets also quickly reposted and cited them.

>>>I randomly clicked on a few pictures, and the entire Lotte Plaza was packed with people. You couldn't see the ground at all. There used to be a large open space in front of the plaza for events, but now the white stone floor is completely covered by people. All you can see is a sea of heads.

Seeing this scene, Chi Jingyuan couldn't help but think of the footage he had seen before of sardines schooling in the ocean. The two shared a similar aesthetic.

Not only Lotte Plaza, but also the streets in front of it, and even across the street, are already filled with people of all kinds. Some shops on the second or third floor of the stores opposite have directly opened their windows, and many people are sitting upstairs, marveling at the commotion before them.

A few pictures give the feeling of being: crowded, numerous, and chaotic.

"So many people"

"That's exaggerating, I feel like even if we get there, we won't be able to get in..."

Gasps of surprise could be heard from the side, apparently others saw the photos circulating at the scene as well.

Chi Jingyuan looked at the photo. The mass of people in it was so dense and imposing, he was taken aback.

Although this situation wasn't EXO's first rodeo, they had encountered similar chaos during the peak of their "Growl" era when several signing events were marred by overwhelming crowds.

And since the release of their first single album in March this year, EXO has not held any signing events. Even though fans have called for them countless times under **'s account, the company has remained silent, as if they hadn't heard anything at all. ** has skillfully managed to create a sense of hunger from these unfulfilled demands.

It continued all the way until the official release of the regular second album, and today's event is EXO's first offline signing event since their comeback this year.

Fans' long-suppressed enthusiasm, coupled with EXO's current sky-high popularity, attracted a large number of passersby to watch. This directly resulted in the heavily congested crowd and traffic jam seen today, even surpassing the level of chaos during the "Growl" era.e now actually out of focus, rather somewhat blurry.It's unknown what Zhou Ziyu is looking at at this moment. Is it the dreamy Seoul cityscape with lights twinkling in the distance, or perhaps the mag...