seven years of monsta x

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welcome back guys.

i'm welcoming you in behalf of the team to celebrate their 7th debut anniversay. it's around a month late, but we gathered to celebrate this special day by talking about our individual journeys with these boys. we thought that it would not only be interesting to read, but also a blog filled with such warmth, joy and comfort which i hope you'll feel as well. honestly we just hope that you'll enjoy reading this and be there to celebrate this occasion with us ksjs 🥺 :two_hearts:

edits done by jisoo

#monbeeteam

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it is hard to believe that i have been a monbebe for 5 years now! it all began back in 2017 when i was a new kpop fan and looking for other artists to get into. i constantly watched those kpop song compilation videos on youtube, and so i honestly don’t what the very first monsta x song i heard was. however, i think it was either “hero” or “beautiful.” i liked both of the songs and added them to my playlist, but what really dragged me into the fandom and made me get to know the was the release of “shine forever.” i being so obsessed with the song and thinking that the music video was really visually stunning and had such an interesting storyline! i began watching a ton of monsta x content, and i learned the fairly quickly after that. shownu immediately became my bias; i loved his quiet yet reliable and caring personality, his ion and talent for dance, his beautiful voice, and his sense of humor. he remains my bias in monsta x to this day, making him one of my longest-standing biases in my time as a kpop fan!

during that year, i somehow survived watching “no mercy” and caught up with “monsta x-ray,” through which i only fell harder for all of the and their charms. monsta x quickly grew to be one of my absolute favorite kpop groups — i adored everything about them, from their music to their personalities, and they eventually became my ult kpop group. i felt a close connection to them very quickly, and it was so exciting to witness their growth. i still vividly the day they got their first win, in november of 2017. seeing the news when i woke up that morning, crying happy tears with them as i watched the video of them receiving the award, watching and rewatching the clip endlessly even on the bus ride to school. being so proud that two and a half rough years (+ all the time and effort predebut) had finally paid off after the countless disappointments leading up to that day. then in 2018, i got to see them in person for the first time on their world tour. it was my very first kpop concert, and it was everything i could have dreamed of and more! although i didn’t manage to get a lightstick because they sold out, that didn’t matter because i was there with a close friend and we both had the night of our lives! let me tell you, monsta x hit different when you see them in person. the energy level and class is insane!! that night was so special to me.

and yet another year later, i would see them again on their 2019 world tour, at the same venue, with the same friend. another concert of my life, and many more memories to hold dear to my heart. and then, just 3 months after that, everything seemed to fall apart. wonho. that day is another day that i will never forget. i was so hyped up about the “follow” comeback, and while i had heard about the awful rumors about both shownu and wonho being spread around, i didn’t think much of them and assumed that they would disappear with time. i could have never predicted what happened next. i woke up that morning. checked my phone. saw the article. couldn’t comprehend what i was reading. frantically searched social medias to confirm if it was really true. finally realized what was happening, and burst into tears. i would break down crying four different times that day, even once in front of a friend at school. i wish i had time to explain everything that happened and all of the emotions i went through those 4-5 months when wonho went completely off the radar. perhaps in another blog. all i can say is that it was painful and depressing, but also that it was a time of such strength and hope for the fandom. monbebe fought long and hard for him, and eventually we got him back, even if it wasn’t exactly the way we were hoping for.

it was really beautiful, in hindsight. there was so much encouragement and love within (and outside!) the fandom, and i gained strength to carry on from other monbebes. i stayed alongside monsta x and wonho as they pushed through the heartbreak and the obstacles, spreading their wings for a new part of their life journeys. the pandemic hit, wonho had his solo debut, and i watched both monsta x and wonho’s online concerts in 2020, ing from a distance. and now here we are, two years later, celebrating their 7th anniversary! it has been a long journey, but every second of it has been precious and inspiring. these 7 guys have played such a big role in my life as a kpop fan, and even in my own personal life. i truly look up to them and respect them so much. i can honestly say that they have inspired me to work harder and become a better person. and yet, they also feel like close friends. they are people i can rely on for comfort, words of encouragement, words of advice, and of course happiness and laughter. that is monsta x for me. dear friends, thank you so much for these 7 years, and i hope that there will be many more to come! <3

> katie

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my journey as a monbebe, much like many of my others, has a bit of a pre-story. you see, it was 2017 and a still cis, but questioning jisoo had falled head over heels for a little group called bts the year prior. i was enamored and didn't even consider giving other groups a chance. oh what a fool i was... anyway, i had managed to smuggle myself into a small dance group that was learning different k-pop dances and was supposed to teach the newbies, but they more-or-less neglected us ㅋㅋ i did, however, catch a glimpse of them dancing to monsta x's dramarama and while i had no intention of getting into other groups, i do thinking to myself that the song sounded pretty good and that moment really stuck with me. fast forward to 2018 and i had finally begun opening my heart to other groups. i didn't necessarily stan any, but did give different title tracks a listen and those i enjoyed would then end up being on repeat for the next few days. coincidentally, i found dramarama and it ended up becoming a song i would listen to frequently. and that's more or less where the pre-story ends and my actual story as a monbebe begins.

i became a monbebe sometime after jealousy had released, quite the perfect timing as kihyun had red hair at the time and he definitely stood out a lot. funnily enough, i actually wasn't a big fan of jealousy at the time, which is ridiculous cause i love that song now, but i preferred songs like beautiful and destroyer over it. what did however win me over was the album that came with jealousy cause the b-sides on it were and still are absolute hits! i listened through the whole album on one car ride home and had most of the songs on repeat throughout afterwards, with those that didn't make the cut, like crazy in love, becoming some of my favourites later on. the connect: dejavu album is what really convinced me to look into monsta x more, just goes to show how much b-sides matter. after falling in love with this album, i started watching different variety shows monsta x had appeared on at the time, including monsta x-ray, which made me take the plunge and just stan cause the 7 men of monsta x are simply too charming and funny. and then... oh boy, then crisis hit. you see, i was pretty darn set on bts's park jimin being my ult bias, but a little hamster in the form of yoo kihyun was stealing pieces of my heart everyday. i was devastated, how could this happen? but there was no stopping this criminal and eventually, along with my heart, kihyun stole the throne and claimed his rightful spot as my ult bias. it's pretty evident that he hasn't moved from that position since, i am very loyal ㅎㅎ

after stanning monsta x, things haven't really changed much! there have been ups and downs, but my interest in them hasn't faltered. i can bring out a couple standout moments on this journey. one of the most memorable times for me was my first comeback with monsta x, which happened to be shoot out. oh boy, what an era that was, i still the day the mv dropped and i was freaking out about the vibrator dance and jooheon's "excuse me i'm walking like zombie". and that album, gosh, i ed the fandom at the right time cause monsta x reached peak musicality i swear. their korean albums, starting from the connect: dejavu to take 2. we are here are what i consider monsta x's peak when it comes to music in my opinion, just 3 incredible albums back-to-back. things unfortunately did take a downturn from here though and not because of their music quality dropping, no, that wasn't the case at all. but amidst lots of controversy, we received news of wonho leaving monsta x. we, the whole fandom, suffered from this loss collectively. i specifically feeling sad for weeks and being unable to listen to the follow - find you album without feeling absolutely hopeless. i know i talk a lot about Kihyun, but i genuinely really care about all of the in the group and not having wonho here still hurts, there's just no way to fill the void left behind. but seeing him doing well as a soloist does bring a lot of joy to me and i'm glad he has this chance to continue to work as an artist in the industry!

after wonho's departure from the group, there haven't been many strong memories related to monsta x as i've more or less settled into just casually keeping up with them, listening to their music regularly and occasionally watching their other content. there have been fun little moments here and there, like me freaking out about kihyun being in handcuffs in the love killa mv (listen, i don't have a kink or anything, but like-), receiving their take 1. are you there? album as a gift and even being accepted into the monbee team! se can also throw in kihyun’s solo debut, but i'm sure you already saw how excited i was for that ㅋㅋㅋ

and so, here we are, at the current point in my journey. it feels like it hasn't been that long really, even though 4 years have ed more or less. it's incredible that monsta x has remained as one of my ults for such a long time, i could have never expected this. their journey, however, has been even longer. i know this blog is late, but i do want to wish the guys a happy 7-year anniversary! time really does fly by and i'm excited to see where this journey with monsta x ends up leading <3

> jisoo

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happy 7 years with the kings! i can’t believe it’s been that long! years of blood, sweat and tears. the difficulties faced but also the many happy moments spent! the many losses but also an immense amount of wins! from the ground up monsta x has become the beautiful team they are today! i am so proud of them and i am overjoyed to call myself a monbebe. to celebrate these incredible 7 years of mx in the industry, the team decided for each of us to write our experiences and journey as monbebe. i am sure each of us have something unique and quite memorable stories to share so this is actually something very amazing. so here i am.

i have actually been a monbebe for almost 5 years now. but where did it all start? well, i was a casual listener of a particular song of theirs called beautiful since the moment it came out. i can’t quite how exactly i found that song, i was probably on youtube somewhere, as usual, and that’s where i heard it. i would go to listen to that song religiously. it was crazy how much of an obsession i had with it. however, it didn’t go beyond that as i didn’t bother to learn any of the ' names nor what the group was really about. it wasn’t until the actual comeback with dramarama that i finally stopped denying how much i actually loved those men and decided to stan. i was extremely confused about the whole storyline but that confusion only made them more intriguing to me. i learned jooheon, i.m. and shownu names and faces pretty easily, others took me a while sksk. i decided to check more of their stuff and was completely taken by shine forever, all in and hero! back then, i usually never really listened to albums/bsides unless it was for very specific reasons or if one day i was bored and needed something in the background sksks. so naturally, i was missing a lot of gems but clearly their title tracks did them justice enough.

i officially became a shownu bias after watching hero fully for the first time and that made me so happy. after a couple weeks, i got acquainted with the sensuality and talent of wonho and he quickly became my bias wrecker. i also learned about the memefulness of our dear hyungwon. after the many “unhelpful guides'' and thousands of hours on twitter, i finally stopped confusing minhyuk and kihyun sksksk, now i wonder how tf i used to confuse the but welp when you are a new fan it just be like that lmaoo. 2018 came and i was about to experience my first comeback as an official monbebe, jealousy, WOW! i my exact words after watching that mv: “i think i will never be the same person.. also wonho, wtf?”. yep, that was my exact words, mainly because of wonho’s lines talking about being “jealous” of the this person (meaning me cuz yes i was having that y/n moment) talking about shownu sksk. never felt so called out in my life and from that moment on i was very proud to be a monbebe. never a dull moment. they were also one of the first groups i ever pre ordered an album for. they were one of the first, i followed thousands of fan pages to see what they were up to. one of the first that had such a huge impact on me and how i viewed my life as a kpop fan. and one of the first i had such a hard time picking a true bias cuz nope, it did not continue to be shownu nor wonho. i think it was only a couple weeks after jealousy came out that i started checking out all their albums fully and i was completely taken by jooheon’s charismatic self, the way he is such a multitalented king, has such a powerful stage presence but it is also a true softie.. how can you not love him? yep, honey got me on a chokehold, and i am okay with that. i love how monsta x has brought so many different sounds and concepts to the table and absolutely slayed every single on of them! i am proud and i can’t wait to continue this beautiful journey with them.

granted, this whole written journey was a little messy but i really didn’t know how else to express my love for the kings. i can’t formulate proper sentences when i am thinking about how much i love them sksk. i hope it still made sense. keeping the monbebe spirit alive for many MANYYY years to come.

> steph

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where should i even start? i guess you could say my journey starts before monsta x was even monsta x. yes, I’m talking about my first encounter with monsta x being watching the survival show no mercy.

no mercy definitely hurt my feelings basically every episode with how harsh it was towards the participants & i still feel bad when i think about it/the effects it must have had on all of them including the other trainees at the time who didn’t debut with monsta x. it wasn’t all bad since it did introduce me to this group & i generally did love seeing the way some of the progressed skill wise & the way they learned to work together more in a group dynamic. then of course when the group that was finalized consisting of shownu, wonho, minhyuk, kihyun, hyungwon, & i.m finally debuted with tres i was absolutely blown away by how powerful of a debut it was. like i knew how talented they were just from watching the show, but my goodness i didn’t expect their debut to go THAT hard. definitely would put it in my top 10 favorite bg debuts.

even having watched their survival show & debut, at this time i wouldn’t say i immediately was fully a fan, but definitely was a group that i paid a lot of attention to and was curious a lot. i was I guess more of a casual listening but then the more i learned about the and the more i listened to the groups music, it was hard not to become a fan. i think it wasn’t until all in era that i fully itted to stanning monsta x. i just really early on liked their sound & concept. of course since then they’ve become more diverse in sound & concepts as well as released a lot of music in english which i commend them for as it definitely is hard having to learn to sing in another language let alone having albums in another language, but they have so well & have probably in my opinion some of the best songs in english. obviously even if they didn’t release songs in english that would have been fine with me as well since all their songs are so good especially stuck, shine forever, jealousy, mohae, someone’s someone, underwater, todeo, & no reason being some of my top favorites. i feel like with each comeback we see more & more from them & they just continue to showcase different sides of themselves which was really been quite an amazing thing to get to see.

i never anticipated how much they would grow as a group/artists or how much more i would fall for their music, skills, & individual personalities. i i started off being strictly shownu biased. especially was drawn to his dancing ability & how charismatic he is while preforming. of course that didn’t last long before i found myself struggling to have a single bias because this group just loves to jump out at you & bias wreck every single moment. so around fighter era hyungwon made his way into my bias list & since will not leave :sob: that man is just too relatable & funny to ignore. really all of them at some point have been on the verge of being my bias, definitely all have bias wrecker my especially minhyuk & i.m..

wonho is no longer in the group, but of course i still his solo career & he continues to bias wreck me in that context. i hesitated to mention this, but this is part of my journey with monsta x so just wanted to breifly talk more about wonho. wonho’s always been someone who stood out to me. the duality of his personality, his vocals, his song writing, his interactions with monsta x & monbebe. he just fit so well with the group. i honestly was so sad when he left especially because the situation at the time, but am so happy to see him thriving as a soloist & am glad he continued in music as he’s so talented & absolutely deserves to continue to peruse what he loves. i know int be beginning i still had hope he’d reunite with monsta x, but you know I actually feel like him doing his own thing has been good for him & he is able to express himself more. he forever will be a part of my journey with monsta x & have been excited to be able to witness now his journey as an individual artist. :)

currently i would say i semi-ult monsta x & have so since follow. i’ve been with them since pre-debut but it was more of a slower transition into finally itting to semi-ulting them. they’re such a dynamic group that is hard not to find myself anticipating each comeback & wanting to watch all their content. even to the point that now my niece is basically now a mini monbebe because of me listening & watching videos with her haha. which is also a part of my journey with monsta c that’s to be continued as i’m happy to continue to share them with my niece & see where her journey with them will go as she gets older.

i still can’t believe it’s been seven years since their debut. i'm so proud of each & every one of them & all their achievements in the last seven years. seeing where they started & where they are now has truly been such an amazing experience. i can’t even begin to explain how much they mean to me. they have grown so much & i can’t wait to see what else they have in store for us as I know my journey with monsta x isn’t over yet. <3

> chessa

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i love monsta x so, so, so, so, so much! i ult them and listen to their music daily. i have one of their albums and a poster of them hanging up on the wall. it’s easy to say that this wasn’t always the case. however, even though my journey with them has been quite short in the scheme of things it is no less impactful and emotional for me as i have come to love them so much.

my journey with monsta x first started a little over mid way through 2020, it was the year where i first became a k-pop stan, and at this time they were already really popular, so i had definitely heard of them prior to actually checking them out. especially considering that i had just stanned seventeen a couple of months earlier and monsta x and seventeens fandoms, monbebe and carats are married to each other. that being said, the first time i actually checked out monsta x was when one of their videos was recommended to me on the recommended feed on youtube. it was shocking to me how impactful the video was and how creative also. being a relatively new k-pop stan at the time it was also shocking to me the deeper elements they included such as allusion to a queer relationship. "all in" was definitely my rabbit hole when it came to checking out monsta x and eventually becoming a stan as it was because of this one video that i began watching the rest of their other music videos, and eventually started watching sweet but corny member guides on youtube,,, and then i landed on an episode of no.mercy and as a new monbebe it was very devastating to start learning about the harder parts about their debut and reaching where they were. it also was quite sad to see two other idols i knew, and liked, on the show beside them (ayno from vav and mk from onf; how i managed to discover these two less popular groups beforehand i don’t know but it was an experience seeing them all together). i began watching monsta x-ray, i watched their episode on we bare bears and found it to be the absolute cutest thing, then i watched all their interviews, watching their different dance and vocal covers became my new favorite pastimes, and i couldn’t help but fall deeper and deeper for them with each ing day. after about a month or two of time had ed i was totally heads over heels for them, and by christmas i had begged and begged my mom, so she bought me a version of their “all about love” album. to say that i never stopped playing the cd on loop is a lie…

the one funny thing was that at this point i still didn’t ult them, my only ult at this point was kard still. it was only about a month or two after ing ka that i finally ulted them. at this point i had already ulted nu'est also so it felt easier ulting groups. so when it came down to it i ulted monsta x and seventeen on the same day; finally feeling like a good enough stan to truly ult them and say that i can share my love for them so much. ever since then i have been so dedicated to them even ing this team so i could continue to share my love (and at the time of writing this i have a hyungwon theme, so as you can see very loyal). i hope that on the rest of my journey with them i can see them grow more and fully continue to be a force for positive change. i love monsta x and owe them a lot, so one final word to monsta x, but thank you!

> vittoria

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i talked a bit about my journey in my individual blogs for monsta x, but there's never not a good time to mention it again. it all started in 2017, right after i got into kpop. i was experiencing what bts gave us which got me more interested in kpop as a whole. so somehow i ended up finding monsta x shortly after that. i don't how exactly that happened, but i know that i first listened to 'hero' and then 'newton' afterwards. 'newton' was their most recent release which is why it found its way into my recommendations. i actually think that it came out only a few days before i decided to check it out which is unbelievable. i also how often i repeated 'hero', especially when hyungwon comes in and the choreography has this circle formation included. and then i got overwhelmed with joy and comfort when i witnessed them being so playful as well as excited in the 'newton' mv. i'm also convinced that i was mind-blown by their duality and i continued to learn their names, watch videos and just in general spent a lot of time focusing on them. as mentioned above, i don't exactly how i felt or what i watched when i first got to know them, but i do know that they quickly became so special to me. also it might be surprising but wonho was the one who caught my attention the most in the beginning, but over the time i just decided not to have a bias. because it's impossible when it comes to them ksjs

talking about that, the beginning of me being a monbebe is not something that i can in specific, but a moment which is still vividly in my mind is their first win. honestly i don't care much about wins. like yes it's amazing and you feel proud when your favourites win, but it isn't necessary. however i still have their reaction, the encore and other pictures or videos about it in my mind, like i could tell you what happened, how they were dressed and just these things. it's just so imprinted on my mind while i love how they finally got that recognition with 'dramarama'. that's such a beautiful and incredible era for them to experience their first win. i don't actually want to mention it in deatil, because i'll get so emotional again. but it's a moment which showed me that i'll always be a monbebe. it only happened like half a year after i found them and decided to follow their journey, but that exact moment made me feel so extremely proud, thankful and joyous. plus it made it obvious how connect i feel towards them while they're my safe place. i also having watched 'no mercy' a long time after it came out. i never go back to survival shows which have already happened and the group debuted afterwards, but something made me watch this. mayhaps the fact that i thought how this experience would change me as a monbebe. not in a bad way, but instead making me feel even more connected to them. having watched that show gives me a different perspective on their friendship and bond. knowing what happened to them and especially changkyun in the beginning makes me appreciate so many more things and details now. even though it was a painful show to watch, it helped me in getting a better understanding of them as individuals and artists. it showed me their reasons for doing what they're doing now, proved their ion and in general made me feel so inspired. i also watched 'x-ray' at some point in my journey. so the same thing again, i usually never watch reality shows from any group if even a few episodes. however having watched 'x-ray' was a whole different experience. it honestly felt so short, like it was over way too soon. the episodes are filled with excitement, joy and chaos which makes me forget about how much time has ed. it's an opportunity to make me feel carefree, safe and comforted. it's a beautiful way to get to know everyone even more, feel welcomed into their welcome and just have a fun time together with them. honestly this show will always be missed, but never forgotten

i also along the way came to the conclusion that they have a no-skip and unmatched discography while i just love every song from them so much. there's nothing that they can release which i wouldn't end up enjoying. i realized over the years which i've been a close and proud monbebe that their discography is one of a kind while i throw away all of my musical preferences when it comes to whatever they release for us. another part or rather said highlight in my journey has to be the concert back in 2019 together with a friend of mine. honestly i've attended quite a few concerts before the pandemic happened, but nothing was as grand, impactful and memorable as watching them in the mercedes-benz arena in berlin. i truly want to go back to that moment and experience it again. having gone to berlin with my mother and close friend couldn't have been more thrilling and lovely while i won't ever forget their energy, adoration towards monbebes and us having the time of our lives. the same goes for their performance at kpop flex which we've both attended as well. i couldn't believe that i would be seeing them again and i still can't believe that it happened. i especially will always 'autobahn ksjs also i just want them come back on a europe tour and perform with the same setlist as they currently have in the us. that would be so iconic and exciting. in the end, i just adore and ire them so much while words could never express how i feel deep down. however i know that i can't believe that they debuted seven years ago. time flew so fast and it's even more insane to think that i've actually known them for around five years of their journey?? that's like more than half of their time which they've spent together already :sob: :heartbeat:

> miri

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that's it for today.

i hope that you enjoyed reading this, even though it's a bit of a long blog sksj. it was so interesting to read how everyone first got to know these boys and started to follow them little by little. it's as mentioned in the intro a blog filled with so much excitement, joy and warmth for these boys while we're all proud monbebes 🥺 :two_hearts: also this is your sign to and appreciate monsta x if you don't do so already ksjs

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