Scenes Outside Girls’ Generation Taeyeon’s Concert Prove SM Entertainment’s Bad Management

Fans of Girls’ Generation’s Taeyeon — and, seemingly, Taeyeon herself — have been embroiled in disagreements with SM Entertainment for the past week. SONEs from around the world have complained that the company consistently mismanages Taeyeon’s activities, and judging by recent events at her concert in Taiwan yesterday, the problems are clear.

Taeyeon is currently in the middle of her The ODD of LOVE tour, which will see her perform to sold-out crowds across Asia. As expected, reviews of the first few shows have been stellar, with fans and press alike praising Taeyeon for her incredible vocals and stage presence.

But, off the stage, both Taeyeon and her fans have been throwing shots at SM Entertainment’s purported mismanagement of the tour. When the 5,000-capacity venue for her upcoming Indonesia concert was announced, Taeyeon posted a series of cryptic messages on her personal Instagram account, seemingly hinting that the company had underestimated her potential. Later, she even went as far as unfollowing her official company-run Instagram account.

Fans, meanwhile, made their voices heard with complaint trucks outside SM Entertainment’s building. The chagrined company even tried to call the cops on the truck company, but police determined they had every right to be there. Among the truck messages were statements such as, “The expected audience for Taeyeon’s arena tour is baffling,” and, “Realize the large size of her fandom and find a larger venue.”

While fans of many groups have complained of mismanagement, the troubles with Taeyeon are particularly clear for anyone to see — especially with regard to her most recent show, The ODD of LOVE in Taipei.

Despite her popularity, it’s evident that SM Entertainment and the tour promoter, SuperDome, grossly underestimated Taeyeon’s fandom size in Taiwan. The venue, Taipei Arena, held a capacity of just 12,000 concertgoers. While that may sound like a lot, it meant numerous dedicated SONEs missed out on tickets — so many that they took matters into their own hands with their own “concert” outside the venue.

those who didn't manage to get the tickets still staying and enjoying the concert from outside. at least they get to listen to the songs and their lightstick sync with everyone in the venue too ????

taiwan sone pic.twitter.com/eP9ycdMzLW

— ᴛᴀᴇʏᴇᴏɴ ꜱᴛᴜꜰꜰ (@kimtaenos) June 24, 2023

In videos from the night, hundreds of Taiwan SONEs can be seen sitting outside Taipei Arena, listening to the concert through the walls. The fans even brought their lightsticks and made sure to sync them with the official app so they’d light up in unison with those who managed to get tickets.

I

謝謝金太妍這麼賣力地唱，讓在外面的我們也能聽得到????

TAIWAN SONE LOVE TAEYEON#TAEYEON#TheODDOfLOVE_in_TAIWAN pic.twitter.com/Oy3ASdnSfc

— 曠野吸血鬼 (@singwhenisleepy) June 24, 2023

Their devotion is clear even through the screen, proving that Taeyeon’s concert venue didn’t even have enough space for her biggest fans — let alone casual listeners who may have wanted to attend. In fact, the concert reportedly sold out in just three minutes, with a staggering 120,000 people in the online queue when sales opened.

While fans conceded that there may not have been the option for a bigger venue, they still mandate that SM Entertainment should have planned for two concern dates in Taipei rather than one.

Thankfully, since fans launched their complaints, Dyandra Global (the promoter for Taeyeon’s Indonesia concert) has added a second hall to the Jakarta concert’s capacity. However, fans still aren’t happy with the rest of the tour dates. Many have complained that the company should’ve held more concerts in Japan, and others have questioned why countries like Malaysia (as well as other continents like the United States and Europe) are missing from the agenda.

Hello, this is TUMY, representing Taeyeon fans advocating for Malaysia's consideration in Taeyeon's "The Odd of Love" Asia Tour list.

This is the official statement & petition requesting the inclusion of Malaysia in the tour.

: > 5K https://t.co/sE4RNlahyD@TAEYEONsmtown pic.twitter.com/x6IX2zHhsc

— TUMY (@taeyeonUnionMY) June 24, 2023

As the tour continues, tensions remain high among fans, and many are anticipating Taeyeon’s own next moves.