Welcome to the 2nd issue of Moament, a bi-weekly newsletter on TXT and MOA by MOA! 🐰🦊🧸🐿🐧
Everything is generously linked.1 Feel free to skip around given this is 5k words.
Summary : The last two weeks (220304 - 220317) were eventful. TXT held two MOA X Together Fanlives to celebrate their third-year anniversary. Beomgyu turned 21 and gifted MOAs his cover of Wonder by ADOY. Soobin and Hueningkai recovered from COVID-19 and other members will also finish quarantine. Major updates on comeback, Yeonjun’s new job, Taehyun’s solo appearance and more.
Table of Contents (scroll to any section you like):
MOA X Together
Beomgyu’s Birthday & Wonder
TO DO & Media Update (ft. Taehyun)
More Updates: X:Time, Yeonjun on Inkigayo, LDF, Awards
Spotify data feat. @moachartdata and social media follower count
Member Updates
MOA Fan Art
MOA discussions: engagement, strategy, quote widgets, PUMA lyrics
Moaville Tea
Michael’s thoughts on writing Moament so far and Beomgyu’s Wonder
Time Capsule
Thanks to @cccatfood for suggesting a table of contents!
Michael: Moament is still a work in progress. There are three challenges: write consistently (it’s a lot of work), figure out the content (this issue covers many different things) and format, and get more people to read it. But that’s what makes this exciting - nothing is certain, so all the more reason to work hard and have fun!2
If you like Moament, please subscribe, follow us on Twitter, and retweet. Your help matters a lot! You can DM @moament304 for anything TXT/MOA related.
Source: @txt_bighit
TXT Updates
MOA X TOGETHER
If you were screaming and crying happy tears in the middle of the night, believe me I know exactly what that feels like.
The third year anniversary is a symbolic moment. The group has faced numerous challenges since debut (more details here), but the members have continued to make incredible music and choreography, and light up our world with their beautiful souls. They are doing great no matter what haters say. TXT is going places.
TXT hasn’t done an in-person concert since 2019, so you can imagine how excited the members are. They all look so happy, especially Beomgyu with his happy wiggle dance.3 Take a look at the set list. There are many fun segments. Perhaps that is not as music-packed as BTS concerts, but I’m sure MOAs just want to see them being happy.4 On the other hand, I have not expected three and half hours for this event. How do they even have the energy!?
There are many notable moments. My favorites are Soobin’s cute elephant rap (we shall never forget) and the revelation that Beomgyu called Soobin till 5 AM.
The biggest one is of course Taehyun being mortified by Hyuka.5
But when it’s time to say goodbye, three-plus hours suddenly seem too short. I just remind myself the lyrics of MOA Diary - to the end. When TXT asked MOAs to stay with them forever, I felt very emotional (more here).
Let’s end on the MOA slogan banner for TXT.
Beomgyu Birthday & Cover
Beomgyu turned 21 on 220313. MOAs have been waiting for his cover since last year. Each time we feel clowned makes the drop even more exciting.
Finally, it’s here, his gift to us on his birthday (Korean source).6 It is now at 1.16M views, thanks to MOA’s efforts (more discussion on content engagement below).
Wonder is an incredibly good song, even ADOY praised Beomgyu’s cover.
There are more Beomgyu birthday photos on Weverse, go check them out!
Beomgyu’s own birthday thoughts are here. Member congratulations are below in Member Updates.
Also check out Michael’s very long birthday essay Choi Beomgyu: Le Prince de Dualité and the tweet. Special thanks to everyone who has shared and commented!
Here are some great threads on Beomgyu’s birthday. @richgyu wrote beautifully about TXT wanting Beomgyu to stay happy. @fellforgyu made a thread of members’ birthday greetings. @lilbgy wrote about Beomgyu’s introduction film to the Wonder music video.
In terms of media coverage, Harper’s Bazzar Japan wrote a great article on 52 cute Beomgyu photos. Kudos to the HB editors!
Ending this section with a beautiful fan art by @x_x_gaura:
TO DO & Videos
Our favorite TO DO is back with episodes 74 (V Live, YouTube, Weverse) and 75 (V Live, YouTube, Weverse). Watch the boys wear cute cat ears and lie to one another.
Soobin’s Marie Claire photo shoot was beyond sensual. He’s a natural.7 You can read his interview translation here thanks to @304verse.
Big Hit knew how much MOAs like Magic, so here is Magic (Dance Break ver.) at MOA X TOGETHER with member focus (Soobin, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun, Hueningkai).
Taehyun went on Lee Mujin’s Service, a KBS music show by one of South Korea’s most famous singers. Watch the entire clip below.
This is Taehyun’s first solo appearance and he did very well. Both singers did a wonderful job: Lee Mujin’s cover of CROWN, Taehyun’s cover of LA Girls (by Charlie Puth) and Over and Over Again (by Nathan Sykes), and both singers’ cover of 10000 Hours (by Dan + Shay, Justin Bieber).
Nathan Sykes praised Taehyun’s performance for the third time! Check out Taehyun’s cover on Youtube, Nathan’s invitation and his second praise.8
Of course, MOAs are excited to see Taehyun: his sleek look, his breathtaking hairstyle, and of course, his sensual voice (I bet the “1 2 3 talk to me like” melted people and will keep trending on TikTok).
I want to share three facts (since I don’t know where else to put them): Beomgyu created the MOA Diary dance, Taehyun wrote the bridge to Dear Sputnik and he wrote the chorus to MOA Diary (video above). Wow.
More Updates
We are back for more announcements.
We are now CONFIRMED for comeback!! Taehyun’s X:Time is out. @txtdcm wrote a good tweet on what X:Time means. Let’s wait for more updates!
By the way, Taehyun’s news anchor (with Tobin in the background!) persona is so attractive. His hairstyle and little head nod is hmm… chef’s kiss. I didn’t realize how much I missed X:time.
Soobin as MOA’s prince, power influencer Yeonjun (when he had 6.67M followers), Beomgyu’s endless candy pocket (especially his little slap and facial expressions), Hueningkai’s Animal Crossing flexing, and Taehyun choosing kettlebells.9 So good.
Here is the last explosive news for now: Yeonjun will join SBS Inkigayo (Korean source) in April 2022! Inkigayo is one of South Korea’s major music shows. Soobin was the MC for KBS Music Bank. So only MBC Show! Music Core and Mnet M Countdown are left for our members to take over.
For now, our priority is to give TXT a win on Inkigayo when Yeonjun is the host. More updates on how to do this in the future.
Mnet Japan did a special show for #3shiningyearwithtxt!
Lastly, don’t forget about the Lotte Duty Free photos! Lotte Duty Free is a huge company in South Korea, so this sponsorship really matters.
Awards
TXT’s EP Chaotic Wonder has won the Best 3 Album (Asia Division) at the 2022 Japan Golden Disc Award! This is a big deal in Japan.
Data Stuff
Today we recommend @moachartdata and their EXQUISITE website that updates TXT Spotify data live. For example, check their beautiful breakdown of Spotify streams by albums.
There are several things to observe with Spotify data.
Between 220218 and 220318, TXT added 2.1 million monthly listeners on Spotify (5.5M vs. 7.6M), a 38.4% increase! This is their ML record (since reaching 6M). There are multiple reasons behind this increase, the most important ones being the release of PS5, Spotify’s algorithm and its playlist curation.
While Spotify’s API allows automatic updates on track performance, it does not track monthly listeners. If you follow @TXTCHART_KR you see the account manually tracking this metric.
There is also a difference between Spotify’s monthly listener and followers (currently at 5.8M). The former includes any user that has streamed a song by the artist and a follower needs to, you know, click the follow button. The 1.8 million gap is normal (based on our conversation with @moachartdata due to PS5 (now at 14M streams) and playlist curation. Followers rise slower than monthly listeners usually.
Here is a moment of appreciation to all TXT data accounts. Keeping track of different sources is arduous and difficult, but due to their hard work, MOAs get to quantify TXT’s growth and celebrate each milestone.
There are two social media milestones. Yeonjun’s Instagram account has surpassed 7M followers. TXT’s TikTok account has surpassed 16M followers. Congratulations!
As of 220318, @TXT_bighit has 9.1M followers, @TXT_members has 11.5M followers, @TXT_bighit_jp has 2.3M followers, TXT Youtube has 8.8M subscribers, @txt_bighit (Instagram) has 11.6M followers (@yawnzzn has 7.2M followers), @txt.bighitent (on TikTok) has 16M followers, V Live channel has 7M members, and TXT Weverse has 5.5M members.
Please share Moament with MOA and people who are interested in dubaddu!
Member Updates 🐰🦊🧸🐿🐧
After the three year anniversary, things are a bit more laid back for the members. Unfortunately, the members went under quarantine. On the positive side, they get to rest from all the hard work leading up to the fan live and prepare for their comeback.
This section includes Twitter updates (and Instagram), V Live, official Weverse posts, and TikTok. We are skipping merchandise announcements, Weverse stories, and Japan MOA membership content (since Michael doesn’t have one).
Twitter & Instagram
This includes updates on @TXT_members @TXT_bighit_jp and Yeonjun’s instagram account @yawnzzn.
Soobin: hi MOAs
Yeonjun: basketball
@yawnzzn: devil horns
Beomgyu: birthday message
Taehyun: on Lee Mujin service, blonde Taehyun
Hueningkai: with plushie Tobin, good day
3 Year Fanlive: banners, group picture, Soobin, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun, Hueningkai, Soobin & Taehyun,
Beomgyu’s birthday: Soobin (best friend), Yeonjun (bear under table), Beomgyu (wonder), Taehyun (gaming chaos), Hueningkai (aegyo message)10
Japanese letters: Soobin, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun, Hueningkai
Weverse Posts
Soobin: after concert, during quarantine, last day
Taehyun: eating alone
Hueningkai: during quarantine
MOA Membership: Log On (cut 1, cut 2, behind cut 1, behind cut 2), Beomgyu GIF
V Live
Soobin, Beomgyu: Best Buds for the First Time in a While🐰🐻11
OT5: Offline Day 0 🐰🦊🐻🐿🐧
Yeonjun: Dancer is Back12
TikTok
There is only one TikTok video during this time, which makes sense given members were under quarantine. On the positive side, new TikTok follower record!
Some Notable Comments
These are the ones I remember clearly, though I certainly omitted many. I hope more readers and MOAs can send recommendations to us!
Taehyun as life coach:
Yeonjun sunbae-nim’s advice to future idols:
Taehyun’s walkthrough on songwriting
Beomgyu answering love questions:
Misc
Play X Together (for 100 MOAs) is on 220326. You can read about its reception here.
Go read the official Webtoon.
MOA Ments
Moa Ments is my favorite section because it shows the vibrancy, creativity and love from Moaville. This is a place to share notable MOA content, not limited to threads, long-form writing, fan art, and fan edits.
Lovely Fan-Art
MOAs are incredibly talented and creative. A long-term goal for Moament is to curate an online art exhibition for MOA fan-art.
Threads & Discussions
This section seeks to address current discussions on TXT and MOAs.
The most important discussion as of late is on engagement metrics, following Taehyun's goal to reach 1M for main content and 10M for choreography. I don’t want to talk too much about it other than it is an important issue and we should be talking more about it. Whether it’s about buying ads or dropping links for people to click on, I’m all for it (as long as we are polite about things).
But on the other hand, I think more MOAs can certainly do more. Even Taehyun joked if more MOAs just stream once, then we can reach big milestones. I think this strategy is very reasonable. We need more MOAs to just do a little bit of work, because a lot of work times a few people still equals a small number.
Given how ARMYs consistently do that for BTS (I have done a decent share), I’m sure MOAs can do the same for TXT. I streamed Wonder perhaps 100 times over the last week. It’s not a whole lot, but I really like the song and really want to get back the habit to prepare for our next comeback.
To that end, there are more we can do to make the streaming and engagement process easier. We can write detailed guides that are more than tweets. We can set public goals and make well-designed playlists to share widely. We can even make basic apps and widgets to remind ourselves. Most importantly, we need to get down to it and just start streaming, enjoy the music and videos, and share them with our friends.
But let’s also remember, as @magicyeon5 wonderfully put it:
Onto more Moament worthy mentions.
@fellforgyu made really cool iPhone widgets for Beomgyu and Taehyun quotes. I hope we can get more of these in the future, perhaps as a dedicated fan account, a newsletter, even as a book.
This is a friendly tweet on the “age” of each MOA, but let’s always remember no matter when you become a fan of TXT, you are just as precious to the members and other MOAs. Not everyone gets to become a fan ASAP. Being an early fan doesn’t endow privilege on anyone (but the intrinsic reward is witnessing TXT’s growth closely).
We are back for more #MOAMusicMonday! This time it’s on PUMA (the last one was on MOA Diary).
Moaville Tea
I think MOAs can agree on how clownish we sometimes are. TXT clowns us and we clown ourselves. That is why this section is called Moaville Tea. It is very fun.
Starting with some love drama between TXT translators. @translatingTXT asked people to not post fake translations using their template and @304verse and @tyun1e said the following:
Let’s just watch this love drama unfold, shall we?
And more updates on the two translators @304verse:
Translation is a lot of work. I know a few big BTS translators on Twitter and honestly I have so much respect for their commitment and love. Let’s hope the best for all our dear translators and wait for them to finish school and work strong, then to welcome them with lots of positivity and love!
Yeonjun’s Essence of Dance live became a meme as usual, this time with Kepler’s Wa Da Da.
Given that #MOADISBAND is somehow trending, here are some good threads:
And to sum things up:
Michael’s Corner
Whew, trying to process my thoughts over the last two weeks is difficult. You can skip to any section you find interesting (or skip it altogether).13
On Writing Moament14
The first thing that comes to mind is how much more time I spent on TXT every day since starting Moament. It used to be an hour, but now it’s close to three! I will slowly figure out how to make it more sustainable, but for now I do not want to cut back, since the goal is to help busy MOAs stay up to date on “all things TXT”.
To that end, I want to thank everyone who has read, enjoyed, and shared Moament so far. The last few weeks have been a blast thanks to you.
To be honest, the old me may look at Moament’s social media metrics and think “this is not worth the hard work, come up with a different strategy.” But getting to know big fan accounts over the years taught me that no one has it easy. Translators have to, well, translate. Member specific accounts need to post things all the time. Meanwhile, Moament is brand new. There is so much potential. I just need to work hard like the boys.
Thousands of people came across the Beomgyu essay. I planned to write it no matter what, so if someone liked it, that is all that matters. Thank you.
I remember writing in A Place of Alwaysness that we are in this for the long run, just like Tomorrow X Together will be with us for a long time. If that’s the case, what else should I (and future editors) do other than diligently write one newsletter after another? Let’s get down to work. We still have so much work to do.
I’m positive if Moament keeps going and delivers high-quality TXT writing, more people will come to follow us, even the big accounts who need to be careful with who to endorse (and they need to be careful). I said to give Moament three months to see if it’s the real deal, remember? I will keep my end of the promise.
On Wonder
Many bamtoris have already written about Beomgyu’s cover. My thoughts are largely the same: his sentimentality, his preference for the moon, his lower bass, etc.
Wonder is of course wonderful. It is also quite unexpected. I know Beomgyu is into retro things such as radio (similar to BTS V), but I didn’t know the entire song production and music video would adopt that style altogether.
The cinematography and editing made me wonder if Beomgyu has watched Wong Kar-Wai films. On the other hand, it builds an atmosphere a Japanese city pop track normally makes us feel. This entire time I think about 1990s Japan and Kimura Takuya drama (he was so handsome back then). And to some extent, this also reminds me of the rock band Suede and other dreampop artists.
Breaking down the lyrics feels like someone half under the influence becoming honest with his feelings and will probably regret it when he sobers up. It’s a classic trope in romantic fiction. Farfetched? Maybe. But it is plausible, when it’s Beomgyu.
I have more thoughts on our streaming strategy, but they can wait until next time. Once again, let us MOAs keep working hard, just as TXT do so for us. Let’s update and execute on our engagement strategy, create more resources and tools to boost TXT content, share our love with more people, and live each day to our fullest.
We can do this!
Time Capsule
Once in a while I watch TXT’s old content and feel both joyful and sentimental. To that end, I want to include a time capsule section to remind us all how far we have come. Please follow @txtoldcontent for more of those refreshers.
Today’s two videos are the KBS Idol Human Theater for The Chaos Chapter: Fight or Flight and the concept trailer for The Dream Chapter: ETERNITY. The former is really fun (mostly Beomgyu) and the latter is very sad (Soobin feeling isolated from the rest).
Have a good weekend everyone!! Please share and subscribe if you read it this far.
Our unofficial goal is to become an archive for TXT in real time.
At some point I will write openly about this process, given Moament is the first full-scale newsletter on TXT that I know of, so it’s very much a brand new thing.
Michael: apologies for my blatant bias; I love them all but Beomgyu is a bit more special.
And let’s be honest, the PTD setlist is crazy in every possible way.
I still cannot describe what I felt at that moment. It was memorable to say the least.
The cover art is so cute.
Not going to lie, as a Beomgyu and Taehyun stan, I forgot about my bias for a second. That’s how good looking and charming Soobin is. Honestly, they are all my biases…
This is Taehyun’s first time singing this song in public. He made the cover very early, which is still crazy to think about…
Let’s get Yeonjun to 10M followers soon and buy Beomgyu all the candies in the world.
Taehyun’s video shows they are literally the same on and off camera.
It’s been an entire year since these two did a V Live together.
Yeonjun’s dance live is always iconic.
I’m not offended, since TXT updates, member updates and MOA updates are already at 4k words.
This is only the fourth post, but I have already written 20 thousand words!
It was really helpful and cute, i love moament i will keep reading the next one thank you michael🥰