I admit that I’ve been a huge fan of mainstream Kpop groups and idols for years now but there also came a time when my friends and I supported rookie and underrated Kpop groups.

 Underrated doesn’t mean they lack talent, it means they are not as popular as the ones you often see on television and news headlines but talent-wise, they are competitive enough to do it. I’m giving you 10 reasons why it’s worth it to support them:

♥ They need to double time for their outputs, promotions and all that stuff

Of course, being underdog means you need to double time on everything especially to make your way to the top. With a little support from their fans, it’s possible for people to remember you but you still need to work harder to create a breakthrough in the local and international scene.

**photo from Argon’s Facebook Page

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The most underrated rookie group that I am supporting right now is ARGON (아르곤). They just recently debuted and despite having members that are quite familiar in the industry (Jaeun who used to be a member of INX and J-Jun who used to be BTS (방탕소년단)’ backup dancer for the ‘Wings’ tour, only a few people appreciate them especially when a controversy arose because big accounts accused them of stealing a song from a senior group, which is of course just an overreaction.

I do hope people get to appreciate talents from smaller companies because they sometimes spend their own finances just to push through with training as well as the agency’s promotions, such as the case with Beat Interactive and ACE 애이스 though thankfully, they’re on the last leg of their world tour and have been invited to several guestings with other big artists. 

Due to debts and other issues, there are groups like A.C.E who considered joining multiple survival shows to literally survive — because it’s one of the new ways to promote their respective groups due to inactivity when it comes to local promotions. – Xien (Admin of BAP PH, ACE PH and TRCNG PH.)

♥ Rookie and underrated groups get support from their fans mostly

There’s plenty of reasons why people fall in love with rookies and one of them is that they are likely more engaging and intimate with their fans in terms of work ethic and passion for what they do. Thus, the fans are more willing to shed out money and energy to support their idols.

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I’ve been working with underrated and rookie groups since 2015. But while they may be new or are from smaller, unknown labels, they are just as hardworking and as talented as the artists coming from the big names. The unrelenting Korean work ethic and passion for what they do is always there. That’s why I find it worthwhile to support them. – Joanna (Filipinoonas)

♥ They are willing to go beyond the traditional. Yup, that’s fresh concepts!

Since there are debuts and comebacks almost every week, only a few made it on our LSS list. Why? Only those who made a mark on the market could penetrate the mainstream media and only a few people could make it. So as rookies and newly debuted groups are underdogs, they always need to introduce a new concept that would fit the market’s liking.

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As a fan of some underrated groups, I could list down tons of good reasons why it is worth it to support underrated groups. Other than being able to listen to songs with a fresh concept that’s different than the mainstream ones, I think one of the best things about being a fan is that the fandom is peaceful and everyone is friendly and the chance of being involved in a fan war is low so it’s not that stressful. 

Even though it’s saddening that they don’t have a lot of fans and I personally think that a lot of underrated groups deserve more love and attention than other mainstream groups, it’s very much comforting to know that they also don’t have a lot of bashers and haters who say things that could hurt both the fans and the group. Great music, excellent and talented members, fresh concepts, friendly fandom, and less stress. What’s not to love? – Angeli (meloncreme.net)

♥ They get less popularity for their work but their passion remains the same

There are situations that you don’t really know the artist until they visit your country. That’s how underrated they are that only a few people know them but then you’ll still see that they give the same amount of energy and effort to create good music.

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Underrated groups can be considered as hidden gems. They are just like other gems, beautiful and shiny, it’s just that they are hidden and not easily seen. Supporting them is worth your time and effort because they also offer quality music like some mainstream groups. 

Like NOIR, I actually didn’t know them at first until they came to PH for their free fan meeting. And while I get to know them and their music, I realized that they are worth supporting. There are a lot of groups out there that is yet to be discovered. Ruthleen (A Fangirl’s Heart)

♥ Fans are the ones promoting their idols

Debuts and comebacks are funded by REAL fans who support them throughout by fundraising and online polls. They’ll be doing everything to support them as much as they could. The artists and the idols help one another through SNS and they are very engaging with their fans, especially on Twitter, Vlive, and Instagram.

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In supporting underrated groups, we get to contribute not only with achieving their dreams but to their respective companies as well so we could somewhat give back to their hard work. Participating in polls and hashtag campaigns on twitter also help a lot since twitter is by far the most effective way to promote basically anything without spending that much.

I would also like to mention this certain girl group called ‘Favorite’. They debuted last 2017 and despite not being rookies, are still underrated to a fact that even if they’re releasing songs that are objectively tasteful, it’s surprising that they don’t seem to get the same amount of reach as to those who have been doing the same concept all over. Everybody’s talented, but unfortunately, popularity does play a role in making certain groups successful so I do hope fans of matured or muted girl crush concepts also get to know them more. – Xien

♥ Artist-fans relationship is stronger

Let’s admit it, not all good artist could have their debut and comeback. Some need to go the extra mile to get support from their fans and step up their audience involvement to create further rapport so that more people would know them. 

If you are a fan of underrated groups, you probably know Makestar and gofundme already, these two are crowdsourcing to fund not-so-mainstream artists so that they can produce their albums.

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Fans are more involved in the artist’s music. I read articles that during the time that Day6 were rookies, they used to have a special segment on their gigs wherein the audience would give lines or situations and the group would create an on-the-spot song for them. I also heard some artists tried gofundme for them to debut. – Emy 

♥ We accept that our idols aren’t in the spotlight yet but we work hard as fans so that one day, they’ll make it BIG

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I used to be a fan of various underrated groups since 2014 and most of my friends knew how extreme my team fangirled over them. Some of them include my favorite boy groups are BIG, Boys Republic, NOM and M.pire. I also fangirled over Laboum and ADE. 

I’ve been so blessed to meet them all personally during their visit to the Philippines. Luckily, some made their names in the industry but some didn’t and disbanded. Despite that, as fans, we accepted the fate of our faves because in the end, we are just fans and the only thing we can do is to support. – Ella (Oppa is Life)

The K-pop scene is so competitive in all aspects and giving them support whether financial, online views or at least sharing their post already means a lot to them. Trust me, underrated and rookie groups are worth your time and effort.