by: Jessica Chow, staff writer
My sister introduced me to Seventeen in 5th grade, while I was just a casual listener of Kpop. She showed me one of their music videos which got me interested in them, and fell into the rabbithole.
Seventeen is a 13 member Korean boy group. They are most popular in Korea and Japan, but also have some international fame. I really enjoyed their music and choreography. I admire how they are a self produced group and essentially came from nothing. They make all their songs and choreography as well. Their company, Pledis, was basically broke when Seventeen debuted. Seeing how far they have come is so admirable! They’ve worked very hard to get to where they are and it inspires me.
My favorite member, Woozi, is the producer of the group. He is an ace! He can do everything; singing, dancing, rapping, and producing. I think he is super talented and deserves all the credit he gets.
Seventeen has a comeback (comes out with an album) about twice a year. A few weeks before the release, there are teasers and the date for the comeback. Because they are a Korean group, it usually releases at 6 PM KST, which is 1 AM here. While staying up until 1 AM is too late for some people, I make sure I stay up to watch the release of the music video. And listening to the album follows with it!
I always get excited whenever they have a comeback, because all they do is release bangers. Whenever they release a new album, it’s on repeat. It’s on repeat for about a week, and I don’t get sick of the songs.
To support them, I’ve spent a ton of money on them! I’ve probably spent about $1.5k, buying all their albums (which have multiple versions), spending money on concert tickets, concert merch, and merch in general.
I have 40 albums from Seventeen, with another 5 coming soon! I’ve only been to one of their concerts, but I’m hoping to go to more. During the concert, I bought their lightstick, which is essential for any fan to have their group’s light stick. I also bought a t-shirt.
I also have 2 more t-shirts, which I bought during their 5th anniversary because they designed the shirts themselves. I also buy photocards, which are like baseball cards of the singers in the band. I have more than 100 photocards of the band which I keep in a binder. I’m always looking to add to my collection.
Occasionally I’ll even buy photocards from other sellers, which can cost anywhere from $5-10. In my opinion, I think it is worth my money, because I have so much love for them!! It’s also great knowing I support them, even if I am like 0.0000000001% of their income.
In Korea, there are music shows where artists perform their comeback songs and fans vote for their favorite group to win the music show award. It is a pretty big deal, and it measures the success of the group. Whenever Seventeen is nominated for the award, I will vote to play my part to make sure they win.
I would say that going to their concert was my truest form of showing my dedication to the group. In January 2020, I went to their concert “Ode to You” in San Jose. It was on a school day and it started at 7 PM. It was my first concert and I loved every second of it! It was the best day of my life. I was exhausted the next day because I got home around 3 AM but it was definitely worth it. In August of 2020. I got a ticket to their online concert, and even though it lasted until 6 AM, it was worth it. It was long and laggy, but I loved it! The next time they come around this area, I have to get tickets. I’ll be fighting for my life on Ticketmaster.
