ARMYs are arguably the most supportive fandom in the world and have largely contributed to BTS’ worldwide success. Despite their constant complaining about being broke, fans would go all out every time RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook release something.
BTS is set to launch their new album “BE” in November, but the pre-order already started last month. ARMYs have been gearing up to break records for the boys. One of the fandom’s main goals had always been album sales. ARMYs would save up and buy multiple albums to break records set by other artists or BTS themselves.
However, a large chunk of BTS’ new album sales may not be credited anymore as Chinese ARMYs cancel their bulk order for “BE” after the group’s recent controversy. The Big Hit Entertainment boy group received backlash, especially from the Chinese community, during their James A. Van Fleet Award acceptance speech.
RM spoke of the “70th anniversary of the Korean War” and commemorated “the sacrifices of countless men and women.” The BTS leader was then called “insensitive” for “hurting the Chinese fans’ feelings” and “negating history.”
Because of this, BTS’s Chinese Baidu Bars, a collective of Chinese fans, canceled their pre-orders for the upcoming "BE" album. Baidu Bars are very active fans of the RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook, and have been purchasing bulk orders and even hosted birthday events for the members.
“We will be halting pre-orders for this round, and we will be carrying out further announcements after coming to an appropriate decision regarding purchases,” the Baidu Bars announcement read.
It was previously reported that Baidu Bars had over 800,000 album orders in pre-sales. After the refunds, ARMYs will have a huge gap to fill with regards to sales numbers.
Some fans felt that Baidu Bars’s decision to cancel their bulk order for BTS’ “BE” was too much and that their action is merely a stop-gap measure. However, others understood why the Chinese ARMYs did it, as they know that the decision was not easy for them to do, given their previous record of support for BTS. They said that liking BTS is fine, but their country must come first.
Some pointed out that Chinese ARMYs have the right to feel upset, but they are hoping that Baidu Bars would support BTS in the near future.
