Netizens Upset At K-Pop Rookie EPEX’s Agency Faces After Using A Sensitive Topic As A ‘Concept’

Just recently, rookie K-pop boy group EPEX dropped their third mini-album, "Prelude of Anxiety Chapter 1. '21st Century Boys'," with the title track "Anthem of Teen Spirit."

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After initially listening to EPEX's title track, netizens and K-pop fans could understandably believe that it was a typical K-pop song. But after looking into the lyrics of the title track and the themes depicted in EPEX's music video, it is obvious that inspirations were taken from something tragic.

EPEX's "Anthem of Teen Spirit" music video notably has violence and is filled with guns. But the K-pop song's lyrics bring things to a much darker turn by mentioning the 'crystal night' tragedy.

Notably, Kristallnacht, which is German for 'crystal night', was a real tragic event that occurred not long before World War II. Specifically, this is a violent riot that occurred in Nazi Germany which targeted the Jewish people. This is why netizens were upset with C9 Entertainment, EPEX's K-pop label.

It is understood why using such a horrible event for a concept for music would be unpopular with K-pop fans and netizens in general. Fans are now showing their distaste towards EPEX's company, C9 Entertainment. 

Beyond the lyrics, music video, and the outfits used for the concept of "Anthem of Teen Spirit,", fans believe that the K-pop company was adamant about using 'Kristallnacht' as a theme for the K-pop boy group's comeback. 

Furthermore, this was not the first time that the concept EPEX used garnered negative attention from netizens and K-pop fans. EPEX debuted in 2021 with the album "Bipolar Pt. 1: Prelude of Anxiety," making netizens upset for using a mental illness as a concept.

As of writing this article, C9 Entertainment has not yet dropped a statement regarding the negative press towards EPEX's comeback.