While the BTS members are fulfilling their mandatory military service, a new controversy has arisen in the fandom with V, also known as Kim Tae-Hyung, at the center.
It has been going on for months with Big Hit not showing enough importance to the talented singer, but those have been slowly overlooked until they did him dirty again.
Recently, HYBE CORRUPT has been trending on social media platforms such as X (formerly known as Twitter). Apparently, HYBE is mistreating V by promoting Olivia Rodrigo over him and even canceled a few pre-orders of his debut album, LayoVer.
So, what exactly happened after the release of V’s debut album, and why are fans showering hate on HYBE?
Why Is HYBE CORRUPT Trending on X (Twitter)?
Following V’s debut album, LayoVer’s release, many fans expected to have a copy of the album for themselves. However, it turns out HYBE and GEFFEN RECORDS have been allegedly playing a big part in the decline of its sales worldwide.
Fans have been hit with the shortage of the idol’s debut album, and even in Target stores, there is no promotion for the album. Instead, Olivia Rodrigo’s album, GUTS, has been placed on a separate display set, while V’s album, LayoVer, is hidden behind the display.
V’s fans across the world have been posting pictures about the shortage of the album and how HYBE is openly not supporting the artist while the whole world is looking at and criticizing them for it.
Both HYBE, the South Korean label, and GEFFEN, the U.S. label, have partnered for Olivia Rodrigo’s album and V’s album. So, they should be providing an equal extent of promotion for both, but instead, there has been preferential treatment for the former.
This has enraged the fans so much that they began openly tweeting how HYBE is corrupted and doesn’t show any respect to their favorite artist, V. Furthermore, there have been numerous delays from the agency even though the pre-orders have been in the play for over a month.
HYBE also reportedly canceled nearly 800,000 pre-orders, leading to insufficient albums to meet the fans’ demand. Following the incident, many fans began questioning how HYBE could be so careless and not prepare for the promotional schedule.
Is HYBE Openly Mistreating Kim Tae-Hyung?
If it were before the album, we would have thought otherwise, perhaps owing to the unknown commercial reasons, but it seems like there is no other viable answer than assuming that HYBE is not treating V with respect.
While many instances in the past have only caused minor doubts in fans’ minds, such as HYBE not promoting the artist’s songs and the debut album, the lack of sales for the LayoVer album proved their suspicions right.
These suspicions have led fans to believe that HYBE is determined to undermine the artist’s achievements not only in South Korea but also internationally. The situation prompted fans to promote LayoVer independently, but they can only do so much.
These album delays will certainly affect V’s chart positions in both Hanteo and Billboard, leading to the failure of a massive opportunity for the artist to rise to the top, which, in a way, is akin to HYBE literally trying to destroy his career.
How Are Fans Reacting to the Situation?
The whole HYBE CORRUPT thing started with fans noticing the mistreatment of BTS’ Kim Tae-Hyung, and there are several frustrated opinions from fans. Here are a few to grasp the situation firmly.
So, what do you think about the whole situation of HYBE not supporting V? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.