ZEROSEs Criticize MelOn for 'Xenophobic' Edits of ZEROBASEONE's Concept Photos: 'You all have issues'
MelOn is receiving flak from netizens for their edits of ZEROBASEONE's concept photos, to which they claim as "xenophobic."
Here's what happened.
MelOn Slammed for 'Xenophobic' Edits of ZEROBASEONE's Concept Photos
On July 5, ZEROBASEONE's fandom ZEROSEs took to Twitter and criticized music streaming platform Melon for their "xenophobic" edits of the group's concept photos.
ZEROBASEONE (a.k.a. ZB1) is one of the most highly anticipated K-pop boy groups, given how they were formed under Mnet's survival show "Boys Planet," which garnered lots of viewership. The group is preparing for their debut release with first mini album "Youth in the Shade."
On their teasers, ZEROBASEONE has followed numerous concept photos, exciting many fans online. Before ZB1's official debut on July 10, they were added on MelOn, the popular music streaming platform and music store.
During ZB1's inclusion, MelOn has altered numerous concept photos of ZB1, inciting outrage within the fandom.
We have recently become aware that @melon deliberately edited group photos of @ZB1_official members in promotional posters, removing Zhang Hao from the center position. In response, we are currently preparing an email template to address the situation.
For now, we are directing… pic.twitter.com/CVK1xaqLB4— ZHANG HAO GLOBAL (@ZHANGHAOGLOBAL) July 5, 2023
The first picture that were noticed by fans was at the group's Hi-RiSing page. There, ZEROSEs noticed that the header was replaced, adjusting group center Zhang Hao at the photo's left side.
Apart from Zhang Hao, member Ricky was also moved to the edge on a separate photo due to MelOn's editing. Moreover, fans also noticed the now-fixed edit of Kim Gyuvin, who was fully cropped from a concept photo.
you have GOT to be joking… going out of your way to edit the photo so that the center of the group isn’t in the center to the point where you even CROPPED AN ENTIRE MEMBER out of a picture? this is literally ridiculous pic.twitter.com/bJS9twJ3Mz
— tofu wanna know ♡ (@tofuzhanghao) July 5, 2023
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Both Zhang Hao and Ricky are Chinese members of the group, leading fans to claim that MelOn's editing showed discrimination. Fans called out Melon for the photo edits and stated it wasn't coincidental on how the foreign members were pushed aside.
Read their comments below:
and is it a coincidence that somehow all the foreign members have been pushed to the side? https://t.co/aNERR1hsNg
— tofu wanna know ♡ (@tofuzhanghao) July 5, 2023
Hello are you guys XENOPHOBIC?? PLEASE CHANGE THE BANNER TOO!! @melon @wakeone_offcl @ZB1_official
— mochihao wanna know 장하오 (@emoshien) July 5, 2023
And NEVER REPEAT THIS AGAIN PLEASE!!
Yall have issues I sincerely hope that you guys can’t sleep at night #ZHANGHAOISCENTER https://t.co/zz1wUpBkqV
ZEROBASEONE's Upcoming Album 'Youth in the Shade' Achieves 1 Million Mark in Stock Pre-Orders
In other news, ZEROBASEONE made a historic feat ahead of their debut with upcoming debut mini album "Youth in the Shade."
On July 4, "Youth in the Shade" had reached a total of 1,080,000 stock pre-orders, according to their album distributor Genie Music. Prior to this impressive milestone, the group's unreleased album had also surpassed 780,000 stock pre-orders on June 26.
Meanwhile, netizens congratulated ZEROBASEONE for hitting the 1 millionth mark in their pre-order record ahead of their debut. Some expressed anticipation for their arrival on the music scene and what kind of songs the group will offer.
Read their reactions here:
"Selling 1 million albums is just amazing."
"This isn't even their first week sales, let's go even harder."
"When they were revealed to have sold 700K copies, I thought 'they'll probably go a bit highter' but they've surpassed way above 700K."
"This is an insane achievement for them."
"They're definitely straying away from noise music and keeping the bright and energetic sound that the fans liked throughout Boys Planet."
"I'm keeping my expectations hopefully high that the debut song is gonna be a hit."
What are your thoughts on the matter? Tell us in the comments below!
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