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We Make Better - A Vanner Primer
Jan. 7th, 2024 09:35 amDo you like unbelievable underdog stories and men who kiss each other? What about unprompted role play? Boy, do I have the group for you!
Vanner debuted on February 14th, 2019 under a company no one has ever heard of called VT Entertainment. The name Vanner is a combination of "victory" and "banner" and as such have had some very flag-themed comebacks. The fandom name is VVS - yes, the diamond term - chosen by Gon, because their fans are precious diamonds. More colloquially, the fans are often called "ppippis" because when you sound out V-V, it kind of sounds like ppi-ppi in Korean. For once, I don't hate it.
The most important thing to know about Vanner's early days is that they were wildly unsuccessful. Just absolutely ignored, lost, forgotten. As a nugufan, I like looking at album sales numbers to see if my groups are trending towards growth, and the Vanner numbers pre-2023 are just fucking depressing. Don't worry, this story has a happy ending.
It is extremely unlikely that VT Entertainment was a money laundering front, simply because no actual money appeared to pass through the company at all. Remember how the 50/50 CEO was like "I sold my car to pay for them!" well the VT CEO worked as a delivery driver.
By the time 2023 rolled around, Vanner only had the debut full-length album, and three single album comebacks.
Every member was working at least one part time job. When they first went on tour, they couldn't pay for many staff, so Gon was in charge of styling, Taehwan makeup, and so on and so on. Taehwan, the leader, ran all of the Vanner social media, up to and including filming, editing, and subtitling their YouTube content. I'll get more into their part time jobs in the individual section.
What changed?
Vanner applied for a strange new reality show called Peak Time. And they dominated.
During their Peak Time run, Vanner trended on Korean social sites because of their incredible live performances. After their win, they signed a 3-year contract with KLAP Entertainment, which should take them up until the '96s have to enlist.
KLAP is an interesting company; they're brand new, with Vanner as their first-ever signees, though at the end of 2023 they added Sistar19 to the roster. Very exciting! KLAP was originally formed in 2020 as a subsidiary of NCSoft, the developers of the "Universe" fan/idol platform (like bubble - iirc, it was mainly used by Cube artists and a few others). However, NCSoft decided to get out of the idol business and the subsidiary was divested. The new owners had worked with KLAP under NCSoft and also brought in some outside C-Suite leadership from industry giant CJ ENM (owns MNet, Wake One, 143 Ent. and more).
From what I can tell, KLAP is actually really well run, and the staff and company seem incredibly invested in Vanner's success. I don't agree with their decision to feature Taehwan on the upcoming MNet "Build Up" show, but really that's not super unusual in the grand scheme of kpop company shenanigans. The big thing is that they're willing to spend to keep these boys in the spotlight.
And their efforts are paying off. Their first comeback post-Peak Time sold over 140,000 albums and landed in the top 100 bestselling kpop albums of 2023.
Vanner don't have an overall concept, except as I mentioned earlier, they're big on flags. And making life better. Which they do so well!
As far as I know, they have never been involved in any scandals, which shouldn't be surprising because who really gives a shit about an idol who sells 2,000 albums.
As of January 7th, 2024, they have 1 full length album, 3 single albums, and 1 EP. They just announced a comeback on January 30th, 2024 with the EP "Capture the Flag", which is why I'm finally writing this primer.
V (Feb 2019) with the title track "Better Do Better"
( Click here for More Music )
( There is one good survival show, and it is Peak Time )
This is arranged in age order, as usual, but as there's only five of them, I've added more thoughts than I have in other primers. Also I have a lot of feelings.
( Meet Taehwan, Gon, Hyesung, Sungkook, and Yeongkwang )
Boy are we blessed for content. The new company has really gone above and beyond, and unlike some other nugus who will remain unnamed, they subtitle everything in English, Chinese, and Japanese.
Obviously, I recommend watching Peak Time, which can be seen on Viki in the US (and I believe the UK).
They also have a post-Peak Time show called Picnic Time. You can start here at episode 1, however if there is just one episode you watch, make it Ep. 3, "Upset Staircase".
In non-PT content, Vanner started their own variety series, Vanner Has a Dream, which is a fucking riot. Again, you can start at the beginning, but if there is ONE episode you have to watch, it's the one with gay-on-gay crime. And punishment!
I also find HwanTV to be generally hilarious. Taehwan does all the editing himself, so it's interesting to see what he leaves in.
This is from their pre-Peak Time era, and is a great example of how Vanner can take the most heteronormative concept ever and turn it into a gay dance party.
This Funny Moments clip video and the sequel funny moments video are pretty foundational.
( Friends, I'm not normal about this. )
This primer clearly can't cover everything. And I'm sure I'm leaving out things that even I think are important because frankly, my memory is not as good as it used to be. Feel free to ask me questions in the comments or over on my twitter BoulevardDouble.
The Basics
Vanner debuted on February 14th, 2019 under a company no one has ever heard of called VT Entertainment. The name Vanner is a combination of "victory" and "banner" and as such have had some very flag-themed comebacks. The fandom name is VVS - yes, the diamond term - chosen by Gon, because their fans are precious diamonds. More colloquially, the fans are often called "ppippis" because when you sound out V-V, it kind of sounds like ppi-ppi in Korean. For once, I don't hate it.
The most important thing to know about Vanner's early days is that they were wildly unsuccessful. Just absolutely ignored, lost, forgotten. As a nugufan, I like looking at album sales numbers to see if my groups are trending towards growth, and the Vanner numbers pre-2023 are just fucking depressing. Don't worry, this story has a happy ending.
It is extremely unlikely that VT Entertainment was a money laundering front, simply because no actual money appeared to pass through the company at all. Remember how the 50/50 CEO was like "I sold my car to pay for them!" well the VT CEO worked as a delivery driver.
By the time 2023 rolled around, Vanner only had the debut full-length album, and three single album comebacks.
Every member was working at least one part time job. When they first went on tour, they couldn't pay for many staff, so Gon was in charge of styling, Taehwan makeup, and so on and so on. Taehwan, the leader, ran all of the Vanner social media, up to and including filming, editing, and subtitling their YouTube content. I'll get more into their part time jobs in the individual section.
What changed?
Vanner applied for a strange new reality show called Peak Time. And they dominated.
During their Peak Time run, Vanner trended on Korean social sites because of their incredible live performances. After their win, they signed a 3-year contract with KLAP Entertainment, which should take them up until the '96s have to enlist.
KLAP is an interesting company; they're brand new, with Vanner as their first-ever signees, though at the end of 2023 they added Sistar19 to the roster. Very exciting! KLAP was originally formed in 2020 as a subsidiary of NCSoft, the developers of the "Universe" fan/idol platform (like bubble - iirc, it was mainly used by Cube artists and a few others). However, NCSoft decided to get out of the idol business and the subsidiary was divested. The new owners had worked with KLAP under NCSoft and also brought in some outside C-Suite leadership from industry giant CJ ENM (owns MNet, Wake One, 143 Ent. and more).
From what I can tell, KLAP is actually really well run, and the staff and company seem incredibly invested in Vanner's success. I don't agree with their decision to feature Taehwan on the upcoming MNet "Build Up" show, but really that's not super unusual in the grand scheme of kpop company shenanigans. The big thing is that they're willing to spend to keep these boys in the spotlight.
And their efforts are paying off. Their first comeback post-Peak Time sold over 140,000 albums and landed in the top 100 bestselling kpop albums of 2023.
Vanner don't have an overall concept, except as I mentioned earlier, they're big on flags. And making life better. Which they do so well!
As far as I know, they have never been involved in any scandals, which shouldn't be surprising because who really gives a shit about an idol who sells 2,000 albums.
As of January 7th, 2024, they have 1 full length album, 3 single albums, and 1 EP. They just announced a comeback on January 30th, 2024 with the EP "Capture the Flag", which is why I'm finally writing this primer.
V (Feb 2019) with the title track "Better Do Better"
( Click here for More Music )
Let's talk about Peak Time
( There is one good survival show, and it is Peak Time )
Meet Vanner
This is arranged in age order, as usual, but as there's only five of them, I've added more thoughts than I have in other primers. Also I have a lot of feelings.
( Meet Taehwan, Gon, Hyesung, Sungkook, and Yeongkwang )
Boy Content
Boy are we blessed for content. The new company has really gone above and beyond, and unlike some other nugus who will remain unnamed, they subtitle everything in English, Chinese, and Japanese.
Obviously, I recommend watching Peak Time, which can be seen on Viki in the US (and I believe the UK).
They also have a post-Peak Time show called Picnic Time. You can start here at episode 1, however if there is just one episode you watch, make it Ep. 3, "Upset Staircase".
In non-PT content, Vanner started their own variety series, Vanner Has a Dream, which is a fucking riot. Again, you can start at the beginning, but if there is ONE episode you have to watch, it's the one with gay-on-gay crime. And punishment!
I also find HwanTV to be generally hilarious. Taehwan does all the editing himself, so it's interesting to see what he leaves in.
This is from their pre-Peak Time era, and is a great example of how Vanner can take the most heteronormative concept ever and turn it into a gay dance party.
This Funny Moments clip video and the sequel funny moments video are pretty foundational.
The Ships
( Friends, I'm not normal about this. )
This primer clearly can't cover everything. And I'm sure I'm leaving out things that even I think are important because frankly, my memory is not as good as it used to be. Feel free to ask me questions in the comments or over on my twitter BoulevardDouble.
