Could Allday Project Mend Bridges with International Fans?

 

So... ALLDAY PROJECT.

Depending on how you feel about the co-ed group, the name of them may make you feel one of many different ways. The Korean audience has certainly found an appeal with them; they have scored several advertisement deals already despite them not even being a year old and their songs are consistently real time charting in the top 10. For a lot of (native) English speaking fans though, there have been a myriad of backlash incidents that have plagued the group from ex-YG powerhouse Teddy’s entertainment company, The Black Label. 

The biggest being member Tarzzan being accused of essentially Blackfacing by wearing his hair in cornrows and putting on a ‘hip hop’ persona when in reality he is anything but. This came to a head when, after Kiss of Life were withdrawn from KCON LA 2025 for a similar cultural appropriation issue, they were replaced with ALLDAY PROJECT with an outcry from fans declaring that CJEM were essentially jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. As someone who was actually there for the show, their reception was incredibly lukewarm with many fans walking out during their set as a protest for not only their appearance but for Tarzzan wearing cornrows in Los Angeles of all places. Cheering for them had to be edited into subsequent showings later on.

Less on the international side but still making headlines are the rumours that the group’s success is in part with their association with the Shinsegae Group (and therefore the Samsung lineage) thanks to member Annie being a granddaughter of the Lee family, a prominent chaebol family. Netizens have alluded that the family have invested in the group’s success and therefore to appease the family they are getting the golden spoon treatment that would only be seen for groups debuting from one of the Big Four companies (HYBE, SM, JYP, and YG). This was even more heightened when the group won their first ever Daesang, or grand prize, within a few months of the debut when other groups would take a few years to do so. (The exception to this was NewJeans but their debut year was so incredibly prolific and successful that no one batted an eyelid when they won Performance of the Year at the AAAs in 2022)

Despite all of this, I genuinely do think that the group has the potential to be incredibly successful. Being a co-ed group, they already have a niche that is rare in K-Pop. Not to say mixed gender groups did not exist in K-Pop- they were prominent in the first gen with groups like Roora and Koyote, plus KARD is one of the most successful and well-known acts particularly in the western K-Pop fandom (thank you, Big Matthew!) But the idol industry here in Korea has traditionally focused on one gender at a time and historically it was boy groups for women and girl groups for men. There’s the worry that there will be internal relationships within the group and then you can’t sell the illusion of the idol being yours to love and adore because they may already be “corrupted” by their fellow groupmate(s). Plus, in other countries, mixed-gender pop groups are not an unusual concept by any means. In the UK alone, growing up I was a big fan of S Club 7, Liberty X, The Corrs… but not Steps. No idea why, I just found them to be too saccharine, even for me as a child.

So there’s that obstacle out of the way. But what about the cultural appropriation issue? Honestly, that one is probably the easiest to solve, if done with sincerity. Acknowledge it and apologise. As Kendrick Lamar said, sit down and be humble. Honestly, the decision to have Tarzzan’s hair the way he has had it is a label decision. As an idol, especially a rookie one, they wouldn't be able to make a fashion choice without a higher up giving the go ahead for them to do it. Someone at The Black Label (who have had adverts on Job Korea looking for Global Marketers in these last 12 months, mind you) could have seen past incidences of artists being dragged on the internet for using another country’s culture as a fashion accessory and said, “hmm, maybe we don’t give him the braids simply because he is the rapper.” And let’s be real, that’s the only reason why. Whenever they try to have a concept that is deemed hip hop or street they always go down this aggressive “gangsta rap” route because that’s all they see on TV or on the internet and they have drawn the conclusion that that’s rap. And until I see a girl group in braids but they have a cutesy, bubblegum concept, that is what I am going to believe.

(Actually, after writing this article I remembered that a group that I used to follow many years back, MYNAME, had a Japanese release called ‘Fight For You (F.F.Y)’ where the oldest member, Insoo, had his hair in cornrows. But the concept of the music video and his styling otherwise was so bubblegum pop that the hair pretty much was a stylistic choice only. Insoo was not the rapper of the group, nor did MYNAME have any “hip hop” aesthetics and they were not trying to portray anything that could be deemed as stereotypically African American. While I don’t think they would get away with it now, regardless of the concept of the song or music video, it shows that there are companies out there who don’t partner cornrows with their interpretation and arguably limited understanding of hip hop.)

The label can acknowledge the initial concept choices as poor decisions and vow not to do them again with humility and a lot of the western fandom would be willing to listen. KQ Entertainment actually did this when ATEEZ leader Hongjoong were sporting blue braids for their THANXX era back in 2020- they immediately apologised, acknowledging the cultural insensitivity of having the rapper wear braids and have not done it since. For ALLDAY PROJECT, it would probably be a case of closing the stable door once the horse has long since bolted and is already in the next field over munching some hay but at least it would be showing some long term foresight with the group. It’s all well and good that they have the Korean audience now but time has shown that it is the overseas fandoms that keep groups going. It’s the reason why Super Junior have been going for 20 years despite having infrequent releases as a group. Megagroup BTS grew successful because of their overseas fandom and just about got away with their debut era cultural appropriation issues because it was at a time where western K-Pop fans were not as prominent on social media. However, debuting post 2020 means everything you do, say, and even eat can and will be saved for posterity. Ignoring issues, whatever they may be, is no longer an option afforded by companies. If they want to have a good standing in the future, it has to be done.

Otherwise, people will find every little thing to drag them over as justification or declaration of karma. Poor group dynamic. Internal dating. Lack of respect to seniors. Favouritism. Minimal performance skills. All these things have already been pointed out as negatives of ALLDAY PROJECT since their debut, with the number of negative press only increasing as time goes on. Fans can be vicious if they want to be and just because you have the success now, doesn’t mean it will be this cushty in five years time, especially in Korea.

If you don’t secure the short term, there will be no long term.

Let’s see how it goes for them.