Turns out, I have already been proven prophetic by some latest developments on the SEVENTEEN end.

They brought their tour to China (however defined) for the first time by performing in Macau last night, and debuting a brand-new Chinese song on stage. The oh-so-sweet lyrics thanked their fans for waiting all these years for them to perform in China and for making their stardom meaningful with endless support. “SEVENTEEN Chinese Release” soared to No.14 on the hot searches as teary CARATs in attendance flooded the hashtag with their recordings.

To me, this screams “We see a growing market, we’re diving in”. It’s obvious when you look at the part distribution, when vocalists who normally get the most lines for a song like this minimised their presence to make space for the Chinese members. It’s even more interesting to see that the other half of the top couple pairings of the Chinese members get more lines (hence more screen time) too.

I’m not about to start a routine fan war about part distributions here: just stating an observation on a clearly consensual decision made by the company and members to cater to the Chinese market. It’s obvious that this is a side project and not meant as a well-refined, top-notch addition to their discography per se. It’s an intentional but not unloving gift given by people who know what does the trick. And well, it works.