"They must be mad"— Fans accuse HYBE of media play as a K-media article allegedly praises SEVENTEEN in comparison with Stray Kids

A Korean media outlet comparing SEVENTEEN and Stray Kids’ world tour success has led fans to speculate it is a media play strategy by HYBE. On December 1, 2024, TenAsia released an article comparing the world tour attendees and ticket sales power of the PLEDIS Entertainment and JYPE boy group, citing an industry expert's opinion.

As per the report, Eugene Industry & Securities researcher Lee Hyun-ji has predicted a massive rise in the attendees of Stray Kids’ 2024 world tour titled <dominATE>. It is said that the 4th generation boy group will surpass the number of attendees SEVENTEEN recorded in their last world tour FOLLOW.

The article further explained that Stray Kids has reportedly been promoting in the Western market since 2019, a year after their debut. The group has also been ranking on Billboard's charts, including the Hot 100 and 200 Album charts. They also headlined a major music festival, Lollapalooza 2023, in France, a year before SEVENTEEN headlined the said festival in Germany.

Meanwhile, SEVENTEEN is reported to have been primarily popular in Asian markets, including Japan. Notably, North America has also witnessed a steady rise in fan following. However, Stray Kids' fans are upset with the parallels drawn between the market growth of the two groups.

They believed that the report was undermining the success of the LALALALA singers, while praising the FML singers. They further suspected that SEVENTEEN’s agency HYBE is rolling out a media play against Stray Kids.

“Oh Hybe is stalking skz and their tour... they must be mad” a fan said.

“So hybe got caught media playing again. Mentioned skz's achievement just to uplift their own group instead. Even knetz are mad af” a user said.

“Hybe’s obsession with talking about skz achievements TOO MUCH kentz are saying even jype is not bragging about them like hybe does, you’d think skz are from hybe like the way they analyze their every step im crying” a fan wrote.

Fans continued to criticize HYBE as the speculation started to spread online.

“Idk but I'm pretty sure hybe can still talk about their artists' achievements without bringing others down or discrediting them. After everything skz has been through just leave them alone,” a fan commented

“Not hybe using seventeen to s**t on stray kids! oh damn i hate this agency! leave both of my boys alone” another fan commented.

“When i play whos most obsessed with skz and Hybe shows up,” a user stated.

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Stray Kids and SEVENTEEN’s ongoing world tour concerts and previous music festival performances

Stray Kids began their <dominATE> world tour on August 24, 2024, in Seoul, South Korea. The group completed the Australian leg of the tour in October, performing in Melbourne and Sydney.

They commenced the Asian leg in November covering shows in Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and China so far. With more shows in Asia in December 2024, the world tour is set to continue in 2025, as the group has confirmed shows in the United States and South America.

In 2024, Stray Kids performed at Lollapalooza Chicago as headliners, I-DAYS Milan, and BST Hyde Park London. Meanwhile, SEVENTEEN performed at the Glastonbury Festival and headlined the Lollapalooza in Berlin. The Super singers commenced their RIGHT HERE world tour on October 12 in Goyang, South Korea.

They held ten shows in North America in October-November 2024. They began on the Japan leg of the tour on November 29 in Nagoya with eight more shows lined up in Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka. In 2025, they are set to hold eight more shows in other Asian cities like Jakarta, Bulacan, Singapore, and Bangkok.