On January 29, a post on the online community theqoo gained attention. OP shared an article from Pledis Entertainment asserting that SEVENTEEN was the only idol group, aside from BTS, to have embarked on a stadium tour.
In the article, Pledis stated, “SEVENTEEN engaged with 700,000 fans across 20 concerts in 9 cities, including Seoul, Tokyo, Saitama, Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka, Bangkok, Bulacan, and Macau. Their Japanese concerts took place in dome stadiums, showcasing SEVENTEEN’s ticket power in Macau, Bangkok, and Bulacan stadiums. Excluding one-offs, SEVENTEEN stands as the only K-pop group, besides BTS, to have gone on a stadium tour.”
The article drew criticism as netizens accused Pledis of mediaplaying and undermining the achievements of other idol groups who have held concerts in multiple stadiums, such as BLACKPINK, TWICE, and NCT, as “one-offs.”
Netizens left comments:
- “Why did Pledis go to such lengths? Everyone already knows SEVENTEEN’s power. What’s the point of this mediaplay?”
- “Why downplay other artists?”
- “I think Pledis is so fixated on making SEVENTEEN equal to BTS.”
- “The way they dismiss the achievements of other idols is absurd.”
- “Pledis comes off as desperate.”
Source: Koreaboo
