The apology was long overdue, but what triggered it?
Koreaboo
On December 27th groups ZEROBASEON AND Kep1er has started receiving apologies from K-Pop fans, but why?
ZEROBASEONE debuted in 2023 after the participation of nine members Mnetthe idol survival show The planet of boys.
Kep1er, now a 7-member group, also debuted through an Mnet survival program. Members participated Girls Planet 999 in 2021 and officially debuted the following year.
Aside from both being from a show on Mnet, another similarity between the two groups is that when they first debuted, their group names received huge backlash from fans and netizens.
The worst new K-Pop group names of 2023, according to netizens
I’m sorry but who invented the name “kep1er” ?????? you did dirty help to the girls, what the hell #GirlsPlanet999 pic.twitter.com/3BEorrPll0
— read (@bedakkai) October 22, 2021
However, things took a turn on December 27, when yet another idol survival show ended. That show is PROJECT 7, aired JTBC. As soon as the members of the group were announced, the name of the group was also revealed: that being CLOSE YOUR EYES.
[OFFICIAL] 241227
“CLOSE YOUR EYES” is the name of the debut group. pic.twitter.com/lmUoN8jqxD
— CLOSE YOUR EYES UPDATES (@closeyoureyesup) December 27, 2024
And the reaction came immediately, more intense than ever.
close your eyes is a worse band name than Fantasy Boys
— Hajoon Union (@gayminseo) December 27, 2024
You don’t even need an anti noun to close your eyes like this it’s an anti noun in itself
— Monday (@kittybinghua) December 27, 2024
project 7 the name of the group is CLOSE YOUR EYES. pic.twitter.com/uw56zYQhca
—rina (@kittytenz) December 27, 2024
Group Name – Close your eyes
Fandom Name – Blind— 𝙴𝚊𝚛𝚎 ✨ (@nishjunzz) December 27, 2024
This also prompted massive apologies from ZEROBASEONE and Kep1er.
the names kep1er and zerobaseone deserve an apology for all the hate they received in the beginning after whatever “close your eyes” is 😭😭
— hazelnut (@andytilla) December 27, 2024
I’M SORRY QUEENS AND KINGS 🛐🛐🛐 https://t.co/RHuWgsIY5J
— ishel ✧vote this jeongwoo✧ (@h4nbitna) December 28, 2024
at least zb1 is fun and kep1er is pretty geeky and rolls off the tongue well. close your eyes it’s just awful bro https://t.co/SiW75VFvUI
— echo ☆ BINGHUA (@freakhaos) December 27, 2024
Regardless of the group’s names, there is no doubt that the members are talented and deserve positive recognition!
