On May 23, netizens established an online forum, titled, "Proof That TWS Committed Digital Sajaegi." In the thread, the author uploaded a screenshot of the group's "Our Memories: Now" teaser, and pointed out that the clip garnered only 80,000 views.
The word sajaegi is a term for chart manipulation in digital or physical sales. This term becomes apparent when a company undergoes a procedure that involves "mass-buying" or "hoarding" one's views and album sales to unethically boost success, exposure, impact, and virality.
The sajaegi remark was also made by the author to imply the public's "lack of interest" regarding TWS' upcoming comeback.
In the comments section, K-netz drew out their take on the claims. Some recalled the group's chart manipulation issues. Read their comments below:
"Wow, this is a Korean group from HYBE, but you're telling me they only got 120k views in just a day? Lol, seriously nobody even knows the members' names nor their faces."
(Photo : pann.nate)
"I feel like this group is for chodings (elementary students) because nobody around me listens to them."
"Let's wait and see them commit sajaegi again."
"I've never seen a choding fangirl on TWS, it's all about SEVENTEEN and RIIZE."
Here's how international netizens reacted:
"I'm a SAI but I can't deny there's something fishy behind everything of this and if it's true I would be sad because HYBE didn't let them grow naturally."
"We could've gotten a fromis_9 comeback yet PLEDIS is wasting their money on this snooze fest of a group."
"I didn't want to believe in the accusations at first because it's such a dangerous thing for a rookie group but it's undeniable."
"Like you don't see idols covering the song all the time, it doesn't really play that much in variety shows, they didn't become a syndrome with lots of fangirls. It's just too suspicious."
"This group has had the most suspicious rise in charts I've seen in a while."
"HYBE definitely does sajaegi, but usually, they supplement it with playlisting, advertisements, getting influencers to use the audio on TikTok, YT, IG, etc., to make it less apparent."
"But with this group, all they did was push it on the charts as much as possible, which made it so obvious."
PLEDIS Entertainment debuted TWS on January 22, 2024, with their first mini album "Sparkling Blue," and title track "plot twist. However, in February, TWS was accused of chart manipulation on the digital song charts.
Netizens compared the song's success to LE SSERAFIM's "Perfect Night," which according to sources, took around four to five weeks to climb the rankings.
Immediately after its release, "plot twist" entered the top 100 in MelOn, and eventually made it to its top 30 in two weeks. Outside of MelOn, "plot twist" claimed No. 2 on Bugs. It was also claimed that TWS had garnered over 18,000 unique listeners, which was a rare feat for any K-pop act.
Netizens also mentioned that IU, Taeyeon, RIIZE, and LE SSERAFIM saw a decline in terms of their number of unique listeners. This also led to claims that PLEDIS Entertainment was using the sajaegi method to increase buzz for TWS.
However, on social media platforms, fans have come to the boy group's defense and argued that their success was due to their good music and highly anticipated debut.
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments below.
