seventeen shouldn't have been nominated for mamas i mean what have they done to be proud of?? nothing. oh they wrote their own songs, boo hoo fuckers. ikon is gonna SLAY your nugu group they have better skills at everything and the money to back it up. i'll say this over and over: seventeen has done nothing to be proud of. you have nothing to be proud about. their nomination is a joke

What do I have to be proud of? What do I have to be proud of?

I watched a charming group of young boys grow into young men. I watched episode after episode of Seventeen TV, watching them play games, chat together, dance, train, sing, rap. I watched them as their preferred styles changed, as they laughed and cried together. As their prepubescent bodies grew longer and became stronger. I watched them hold Like Concerts one after another. I waited with my peers for “the day Seventeen would debut.”

I watched boys I’d come to know - come to love - leave without a word forever. I watched, I listened, I learned. I felt my heart shatter at some of their stories, at some of their gross disappointments. I quivered when silence fell. I was excited, I was hopeful, and I was let down over and over, and yet my disappointment could never have matched Seventeen’s. 

I watched them dance for hours in front of mirrors. I watched their attitudes change, but their motivation rarely wavered. I watched carefully as they turned from the “baby boy group who was like everybody else” grow into a group that composed, wrote, choreographed, sang, rapped and danced to its own tune. I was humbled, and overjoyed, and hurt for two long years.

I watched these boys - these children I considered my brothers - debut. On the big screen. High quality outfits. New haircuts. Sparkling eyes. Undiminished energy. The only thing on their minds was that they had debuted. After waiting for so long, they were finally allowed to embark on the journey they had been aiming for. They were released. Allowed to show off. Allowed to laugh. Allowed to keep going at what they loved.

And others loved them back. They didn’t stay with the measly 300 fans they had before debut: the public welcomed them into their arms as I would have. They captured hearts all over the globe. They released video after video and selca after selca and they never, not once, gave up on themselves, each other, or their fans. They kept going. They kept working. Especially when it was the hardest to keep going. When the world came for them, they fought back.

The last I heard, between 17Carat and Boys Be, they had sold almost over 80k albums in half a year.

Seventeen never had the luxury of being backed by a well-known company. Seventeen never had the luxury of world-renowned “Hallyu wave!” sunbaes. Seventeen never had buckets of money to push them into their idol world. Seventeen never had much more than a fighting spirit, ambition and teamwork.

You tell me, anon. What do I have to be proud of?