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r/TESTAR • posted by u/theycallmecarpet
[Question] Moondae’s popularity?
I’m a fairly new fan, just got into Testar during the last comeback and then went back to listen to all their music! They’re one of my new favorite groups. I have a question that I hope people won’t take the wrong way, I’m just curious.
Is Moondae “popular?” Like do a lot of people bias him?
I know Testar was formed on a survival show and that Moondae was the last member to make it, so I assume he had the least votes. But I’ve seen a lot of people saying him and Eugene together are the most popular members. Eugene makes sense because he finished first but I’m surprised that Moondae is apparently so popular now when he wasn’t on the show. What do you think? Did he get more popular, or is that an exaggeration?
I like Moondae btw, I’m just curious!
sowhatwhynot: Survival show final rankings are a snapshot of that moment in time, member popularity always changes after debut and promotions. I wouldn’t be surprised.
DaelienDefender: For sure, Moondae got a lot of baseless hate on Idol Inc because he was completely new to singing and dancing, unlike the vast majority of the other contestants, so his popularity really soared after Testar debuted and he got to show what he can do with proper training!! Plus advertisers are just clambering to sign him so his face is everywhere now. I could go on but absolutely, finishing in last place on the show does not reflect how popular he is
newgene: Just support the group, who cares
bjinswife: he got more fans after debut because he improved a lot like his voice and dancing i didn’t like him on idol inc but now he’s pretty good so yeah people like him more now
HiSeven: One thing you have to understand about Idol Inc is that the show allowed anti-voting. So you could have contestants with a medium number of pro-votes and no anti-votes rank better than a contestant who got more pro-votes but a good amount of anti-votes. And you do have that in the final Idol Inc rankings. Moondae always had a lot of fans, the problem is he also had a lot of haters willing to spend money to push him down. If you remove the “stock selling” (anti-votes) from everyone’s final rankings, Moondae would rank several slots higher.
In general, here’s how the voting system played out for the Testar members:
Cha Eugene: barely touched by the anti votes, he was so popular from the very beginning that other contestants’ fans knew there was no point trying to bring him down, so they focused on strategically voting down other contestants to boost their faves. (RIP Kwon Heeseung who was seen as an easy target…)
Ryu Chungwoo: even fewer anti votes than Eugene, basically no one disliked him. His dedicated fan base isn’t as large as Eugene’s so he had fewer votes, but anti-votes weren’t a problem for him.
Seon Ahyeon, Lee Sejin, and Kim Raebin: definitely had their anti-fans, and suffered from it at certain points in the show, but by the finals they had strong enough fanbases to counteract it.
Bae Sejin: not too many anti-votes, honestly because the other contestants’ fanbases didn’t see him as a threat. The hardcore Idol Inc fans who were invested enough to strategically sell stocks underestimated the number of casual viewers who really liked BaeSe and turned out en masse during the finale. They didn’t realize he actually had the votes to make it, so no one was really trying to prevent it.
Park Moondae: an absolute battleground, this poor boy. One of the biggest, most dedicated fanbases, second only to Eugene’s and maybe Ahyeon’s, but more anti-votes than both of them combined. Every single thing he did was controversial.
Basically, yes Moondae’s popular and he always has been. It’s just more apparent now that there isn’t a dedicated, publicized way for his anti-fans to register their feelings.
teaHOLIC: i would’ve answered but someone’s already written you an essay lol
r/TESTAR • posted by u/LovingTSuns
[Photo] Phace Magazine pictorial with Park Moondae, Seon Ahyeon, Bae Sejin
hamlien4president: the visual line is visualing
↳ straightshot420: Thinking Chungwoo isn’t in the visual line is crazy
↳↳fromus: Thinking the whole group isn’t the visual line is crazier
tikaforeva: They definitely went for a specific vibe with this shoot lol, I tend to think of these three as the pretty/elegant unit as opposed to the other four being more masculine/sexy
benditlikebaeham: Phace Magazine called T1 Stars in a PANIC saying we need three of the most beautiful men you’ve ever seen in your life for this photo shoot and T1 said worry not, we are sending in the experts
r/TESTAR • posted by u/samesies
[Discussion] what’s your favorite chemistry pairing in Testar?
And any favorite moments showing it?
sunandmoon: I’m so basic but I’ve just loved EugRaeb and MoonBae since the very first Idol Inc episode, they just feel right. Nothing will ever split up the OG pairings <3
↳ makgays: Yah there’s something special about the originals! Eugene and Raebin are just like me and my bestie fr, and MoonBae are like what my mom thinks me and my bestie are like
↳↳ sunandmoon: Lmao???
AlienLovesDeer: Moondae and Ahyeon 🥺 Their first meeting on Idol Inc when Ahyeon got up his courage to ask Moondae to practice the signal song together lives rent free in my heart forever 🥺 They give me cuteness aggression
benditlikebaeham: Conventional answer but for unconventional reasons: BaeSe and Moondae crack me up. I know the fandom tends to see them as the Soft Boyfriends(™) but whenever I see them exchange that Look with each other all I can think is “they WILL be bitching about this together later.” I think they both have a lot more snark than people realize and it just goes unnoticed because they cover it with the big eyed innocence, Moondae especially
↳ Loveryuer: wait i am kinda seeing your vision
Sejjybear: It’s so hard to pick because I’m just downbad for Lee Sejin. Sejin and Ahyeon, Sejin and Moondae, Sejin and Eugene, he has such good vibes with everyone. Maybe the dance line as a whole has my favorite dynamic?
hamlien4president: moonbae my beloveds EDIT: forgot my favorite moment, probably moondae calling sejin a romance drama lead in that livestream likeeeeee they’re boyfriends idk what to tell you
straightshot420: My favorite friendship pair is Chungwoo and Bae Sejin I just wish we had more moments of them. It kind of feels like anywhere Bae Sejin is Moondae is too which is also cute sometimes but I would like to see more hyung line content
r/TESTAR • posted by u/LovingTSuns
[Teaser] Time to Glow (Teaser images #2 - units)
DarlingYou: The same age line photo, holy— frantically googling “how to be Lee Sejin”
↳ wannawannabe: The way I can’t tell if you want to be as handsome as him or you want to have Moondae and Ahyeon clinging to you
↳↳ samesies: both please
Sejjybear: Lee Sejin…. the man that you are…
↳ fromus: imagine being an insanely charismatic and successful idol and then as a side perk you regularly pose for photos with the two most beautiful men in the industry draped all over you. And that’s your regular daily life
↳↳ DarlingYou: Stop torturing me that’s literally all I dream of
Nevereverland: Ah yes, my favorite genre of Testar teasers, same age line but make it homoerotic
r/TESTAR • posted by u/overthinkingit
[Question] So… why is BaeMoon so popular?
When I watch Testar content, I feel like the same age line gets pushed a lot. But on social media and stuff, I feel like fans care more about BaeMoon when it comes to pairings involving Moondae. Why the disconnect? I would think either their company would cater to the fans, or the fans’ tastes would be influenced by what the company chooses to show, and either way it would just align. That’s how it usually goes. Why is it different for Testar?
sunandmoon: They’ve been close since Idol Inc and their fandoms have been closely tied ever since, kinda like an alliance because they both got hated on for “just being visuals”
theycallmecarpet: Honestly it’s just visual harmony, they have a pleasing aesthetic together and look good in similar styling so they give off a vibe
chickenhasmeatinit: i think because they fall into that older/younger cliche that really attracts some people
Mouselovescheddar: It’s just chemistry, Baemoon give off more boyfriend vibes while same age line give off more platonic vibes so they have more fans
↳ Loveryuer: nothing about the way keunse looks at moondae is giving platonic lmao
fromus: I don’t think the gap is that big. The same age trio has been loved ever since the Idol Inc episode where Lee Sejin was shown approaching the lower ranked trainees to make friends with Moondae and Ahyeon. I think us fans who prefer the trio just got drowned out from the beginning by BaeSe’s fans and Moondae’s fans who banded together really tightly and made a voting block together. Because BaeSe and Moondae became seen as either they would both make it or neither of them would, that dominated their social media fandom at the beginning. The biggest Moondae accounts and fan sites have their roots in that era. I’m not sure why that didn’t influence T1 Stars to make more content focusing on them, though. That is a little weird.
↳ binnieraecyrus: I don’t think it’s that deep, T1 doesn’t focus on them together in content because they’re typically pretty quiet and reserved. The screentime will go to whatever member(s) are currently doing something interesting, and Lee Sejin is way more likely to tease Moondae (or Ahyeon, for that matter) into doing or saying something funny than Bae Sejin is
↳↳ HiSeven: I’m going to get called a conspiracy theorist as usual but I kinda think it is that deep, T1 never liked that BaeSe and Moondae were so close and they’ve been purposefully trying to erase that narrative.
↳↳↳ binnieraecyrus: I don’t even know what conspiracy you’re trying to sell. That T1 thinks BaeMoon is too gay so they need to squash it? Because that’s just standard kpop fan service tbh
↳↳↳↳ HiSeven: Actually, I think it has more to do with them being loose cannons. They both came from outside the idol industry, Moondae has no history letting an agency control his life and Bae Sejin cut ties with his acting agency for doing exactly that. BaeMoon weren’t nearly as invisible in Testar’s content until BaeSe’s agency debacle, and then suddenly BaeMoon were never even seated next to each other at events or in content. I think T1 sees them as potential bad influences on each other.
↳↳↳↳↳ binnieraecyrus: You’re scary because you make it sound so logical. But Chungwoo and Ahyeon also weren’t idol trainees. No reason to think T1 would be more scared of BaeMoon rejecting authority.
r/kpopthoughts • posted by u/devilrunadvocate
[Opinion] Theory: Moondae would have done better on idol Inc if he was a bit less attractive
Title, basically. I think Moondae’s natural charm (like the way lots of people’s first instinct is to want to protect him and the way he lights up on stage) would always guarantee him a following so long as he met minimum expectations for how handsome an idol should be. But being TOO handsome actually dragged him down because it made him an obvious target for haters and people who are against the concept of the “visual member.” I think he might have gotten less hate and ultimately ranked higher if he was considered a personality pick rather than a visual pick.
orbiteyou: meh, nah. survival show audiences love their visuals, being extra good looking is never really a downside. the real “what if” for moondae is whether he would have been more popular if ahyeon wasn’t there as the other popular visual pick
DaelienDefender: I completely agree!! I’ve thought this before! People always complain about voters gunning for pretty contestants but when you really look at it actually being too good looking gets you a lot of hate! There’s definitely a sweet spot that Moondae surpasses. I’m so glad it didn’t keep him from making the group ultimately
↳ barbiekpop: I see what you’re saying but the hate comes from anger about lackluster contestants beating ones with better skill/stage presence just because they’re a “visual,” so no, it’s not about Moondae being “too handsome” lol it’s about the fact that he was handsome but not good at singing or dancing and therefore outranked people who were objectively better than him
↳↳ VocaliforniaGirls: Tbh though, he was always a decent singer. Not lead or main material but at least upper middle of the pack. And he showed a lot of dedication in making up for his lack of dance skill. I agree with OP, I think his supposed lack of skill was somewhat exaggerated thanks to his good looks. If he wasn’t so visually striking, he wouldn’t have attracted the hate that blew his flaws out of proportion. It was like the standards were higher for him because he’s pretty.
↳↳↳ barbiekpop: I think what you’re referring to is just that he had more eyes on him due to his looks, not necessarily higher expectations. And having more attention from the audience, even if it leads to higher potential for hate, is an advantage, not a disadvantage. I think trying to spin being a visual as a disadvantage is really weird
Nevereverland: This is funny to me because he was my personality pick. I just thought he was hilarious. And also my “investment in the future” pick maybe. There’s just something about Park Moondae that made me think from the beginning “that kid has infinite potential”
↳ VocaliforniaGirls: You may be right about that. I watched a Testar music show stage for the first time recently (stopped following them after the show’s finale) and was kinda shocked by how loud and clear Moondae was over the backtrack. I didn’t expect that from him based on Idol Inc. It made me think if he can improve that much so quickly, I should check out Testar’s activities after all