The Recording Academy, the institution behind the Grammy Awards, has wakened the ire of Monbebe, the fandom of seven-member K-Pop boy group MONSTA X, after tweeting out an article about the release of the new single, Jealousy.
The tweet, published to the Academys 2.89 million followers in the early hours of 29 March, read: K-pop band @OfficialMonstaX released their video for the #song “Jealousy.” The video drop was timed with both their new EP The Connect: Dejavu, and their previously announced tour plans in the U.S. this #summer.
However, the accompanying image was not of MONSTA X, but fellow seven-piece Korean boy group BTS. The wrong image was also published with the original article by Philip Merrill, which appeared on the Academys site on the day of the singles release (27 March).
Fans were quick to respond to the tweet, flooding it with over 1100 replies ranging from simple reminders that the wrong band was featured, to outraged comments about the lack of professionalism.
While MONSTA Xs fandom has reason to be incensed by a mistake that could have easily been avoided with a quick Google search, the error plays deeper to the GRAMMYs long criticised issues around skin colour and gender.
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For years the ceremony has been dogged by calls to increase diversity across its nominations and winners, and using the wrong image in their article uncomfortably implies they struggle to tell Korean artists apart.
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Its another setback for Monbebes during this promotional period; theyve taken to swarming Twitter and YouTubes account on the platform with the hashtag #youtubereturnjealousyviews after the view count on Jealousy reduced from around 7 million to 2.17 million.
Its not an uncommon occurrence for a video to lose views; YouTube frequently states its part of the validation process to separate true views from ones produced by streaming bots, but its certainly been a blow for MONSTA X fans in the competitive K-Pop landscape. However, as so many K-Pop fandoms are known to do, theyve taken to social platforms to encourage each other to stream correctly, stay positive and support their faves more than ever!
Metro has reached out to the Recording Academy for comment
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