HATERS GONNA HATE

 

One of the most natural thing in this world is envy. Each one of us has it, but not everyone can control it. How many relationships that were thought to be strong had been destroyed because of enviousness? In the entertainment industry, pulling each other down, trying to destroy competitions, and playing dirty are some of the most common tactics that many still play today. It's sad, but that's the truth. Many known personalities may not directly engage in such appalling behaviors, but they will allow others to do it for them. But envy is so much more evident within the fans of known celebrities.

SB19 had been a victim of such atrocities their entire careers. From being called KPOP wannabes to being questioned of their own sexual orientations, you name it. What did they do? They accepted everything with a smile and their heads held high. What we see of them today are the battle-tested version of the young men from 2018. Five innocent yet determined young men who knew what they wanted and were willing to do whatever they can to achieve their goals. After staying quiet, I think I've reached my limit as a fan, so here we are.

This fan had tried to stir trouble within the fandom, boasting that his or her idol was featured in the global Spotify Top Artist chart, which is good for the girl group. The question is, how limited this user's knowledge of the world is to think that Spotify is the only music streaming platform out there? Not every music lover uses Spotify. Others use iTunes, which reportedly gives better sound compared to Spotify. Then there's YouTube Music, which has become a better and more convenient platform to use because it allows you to choose between watching the music video of the song you love or just stream the song itself. The artist he or she was belittling may not have been top artist on a platform that allows users to listen to music for free, but they've been part of the top artists on platforms that require users to pay for play.

DAM, one of the tracks from SB19's newest EP, landed on Billboard's World Digital Song Sales Chart. According to Billboard, the chart ranks digital song downloads from sales around the world. It means they collect sales data from song purchases, which means the songs were paid to be streamed. While being streamed for FREE is nice and all, but don't purchases matter more because it shows how many people ACTUALLY care enough to pay to listen to the song? According to Spotify themselves, when a song is advertised and played for 30 seconds, the listener could be counted as the artist's monthly listener. Not to mention when an artist's song is played through the "Auto Play" option of Spotify. This option acts as an automatic approval to play songs from similar genre or sound based on the user's listening history.  

Now, how is an artist promoted on Spotify? According to them, there are two tools that artists can use to promote themselves in the platform, Marquee and Showcase. Both of these tools are paid by the artist or well, their management. You want proof? Here you go.

Here is the link for more reference. 

So what does this all mean? If an artist doesn't have enough money or a big management to promote them, then he or she must be contented with being at the bottom of any algorithm push and rely on people to actually appreciate his or her music. This is not to say that it's wrong to be promoted and pushed in the algorithm. It only means money and back up are huge factors on how an artist gets ranked in the platform. It's not pure art, it's business disguised as free and authentic.

iTunes is no different, but in that platform, it's obvious and out in the open. For a song or artist to chart, the most important thing is song purchase. They see it as how much people want the song that we are willing to have the license to play it anytime we like. Imagine a song written in Filipino by a Filipino, produced by Filipino brothers, topping the World Digital Song Sales chart, against all the big international artists out there. Now, that is a historical accomplishment worthy to boast about.

 

This user also seemed to be belittling the fact that SB19 is the first Filipino artist/group to hold a listening party, joining the likes of J-Hope and Billie Eilish. Are we calling them desperate, too? The Billie Eilish and J-Hope, desperate for listeners, really? It's obvious how this person's knowledge and perception is very limited, or perhaps, it is truly hard to comprehend little things.

Congratulations to the girl group for achieving 1 billion streams, but as we've established, a Spotify stream doesn't translates to having a loyal following and listeners. When an artist's song is played automatically through the auto play option, which not many people is familiar about because it isn't advertised by Spotify, they get a stream count. They didn't proactively inform us that it is a part of Spotify settings that we can turn on and off. So, yeah. They achieved 1 billion, but by how? Still, congratulations to them.

Although, it begs the question, why didn't their Spotify success translate to a spectacular success of their PH Arena concert? Now, I'm not questioning the girl group, but the superiority complex of their fans seems to require some waking up to reality. If the group truly is the most in-demand personalities in the country, their concert would've been a huge success by setting a record of a fast sell out. In reality, right up to the day of the concert, the tickets hadn't been sold out despite politicians and some brands giving them away for free.

You see, having a high Spotify monthly listeners doesn't mean actual success, fame or being in demand. Now, SB19 on the other hand, who has less monthly listeners, drew more than 100,000 users to queue and purchase a ticket for the day of their kickoff concert. The day 2 wasn't announced then, and the number of users who lined up showed how in-demand they are. Why wouldn't they be? They've already proven themselves as live vocal monsters who can perform with little to no backing track. Their Fusion performance was an immortalized proof of how raw their vocals are. They experienced horrible technical issues to the point that the lights in the stage had to be turned off because they would've continued performing acapella if they had to. That's absolute grit, dedication, and love for their craft.

This one thought she's being savage by providing her take about the SAW EP. Well, she thought wrong. According to Merriam Webster, cohesiveness means sticking together, literally, yet it is not limited to one subject or aspect. Cohesiveness in art doesn't mean having one theme, and in music, it doesn't mean having one sound. Though it might sound cohesive for an artist to have one singular sound, it's limiting to say the least. Boxing one's self into one genre, never improving, but that is not the SB19 way. They've always been adventurous and explorative. They are never afraid to try new sound to convey their message. Now, what does it mean for an extended play to be cohesive?

 Given the example provided by Google, let's get into the Simula At Wakas EP.

1. DAM talks about dreams and goals, about not doing everything you can to reach it.
2. TIME talks about being too focused on everything else but yourself and the things that truly matter.
3. 8TONBALL talks about being unapologetic for being on top and soaring high.
4. QUIT talks about outside noises, the negativities, and those who would try to bring you down.
5. SHOOTING FOR THE STARS talks about staying positive and believing in your dreams.
6. DUNGKA talks about not caring, to tell your haters and non-believers to fuck off.

So, what do they all have in common? They all promote the same message, SELF LOVE. That has always been one of SB19's advocacy, to promote self-respect and love. If I'm being honest, you can never really love anyone without ever truly learning to love yourself. There is no way for someone to achieve their ultimate goal with true contentment and sense of pride if they haven't actually learned to love themselves. There will always be something missing, a hole that must be filled. This user, Reality Check, seemed to have failed or never attempted to pay attention.

That is the problem with people full of hate or just hungry for attention. They would do everything they can to spread hate or to get the attention they're craving for, in whatever means possible. They would gladly trade decency and humanity for a few moments in the spotlight. They would make themselves look like a fool just so they could spread hate because that's how sad and meaningless their lives are. If I'm being honest, I feel sad for them. Their personality and behavior online is a reflection of how much pain and sadness they're going through in their actual lives. Anyway, this is my opinion and mine alone. Feel free to voice out your own.

Stream Simula At Wakas!