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@Erzbet For search results, it's going to be a challenge, but I think it will resolve overtime. As an example, IU. In the early days, results for IU often returned US schools with IU as a common acronym. But today, IU overtook them in search results. (Shows the power of Kpop, lols.)

There was even a time when Americans kept asking me what I meant by "IU" and some told me to stop using it as a hashtag. But now IU dominates that hashtag. I think it's also a good way to know how much impact they have.

In any case, it doesn't have to be Niners. Anything but AHOF. 😅

Re: SNSD, in their first 5+ years, were known only as Girls' Generation outside of Korea. When some fans started to use SNSD, there were a lot of confusion. Their popularity as "Girls' Generation" helped made their "SNSD" Korean name known globally. So, it's improtant to have an appealing English name.

Hmm, LOONA is another example. LOONA's Korean name is very different. The story behind their English name LOONA is that it's the first letter of the members' name. But in Korean, it was a regular group name, not based on their name. Their agency figured their Korean name wouldn't appeal to non-Koreans, so someone came up with a brilliant one.

TVXQ use different names for different markets since it makes sense for those markets. I think it's DBSK in Japan or China? Something like that.

F&F could've gone the route of any if their seniors in the industry instead of transliteration.

1. SNSD route. Translate the name to English and use it for the global market. As an example, Niners.

2. LOONA. Come up with a fresh idea that is not connected to the Korean name. Example, just use Team Rhythm. Or, let the kids choose a cool English name for themselves. They have JL to help them with that since he's multilingual. 😝

3. TVXQ. Use different names for different markets.

Lastly, F&F Entertainment already have a history choosing a bad name for the global market. 😂 It first happened with the fandom name of UNIS, they were forced to choose a new one.

So, them choosing AHOF, it's that all over again. F&F lacks an employee with a grasp of the global market and culture, or didn't do research. They thought it's okay because it is fine for them as Koreans. But sounds really weird elsewhere.

It doesn't even sound as a radio station like TVXQ and that girl group WS-something.

Sorry, I explain things too much.

Anyway, if they'll stick with AHOF for the English name of the group, nothing can be done with it. But, hopefully it they plan on creating another group once UNIS ends next year, they'll do their research first. The Korean market and appeal factor is different from the global market.

But how about BTS? Sure, they weren't known as BTS in the global market in their first few years. And as soon as they officially adopted the BTS acronym given by a few fans, their success in the global market skyrocketed. It worked because BTS sounds cool. Recall is high. Appeal is great.

Then comes "AHOF". It sounds like someone coughing 😷. Or a dog barking. (Ironically, AHOF is also an acronym for a pet hospital. 😅 And someone on X said it's also actually a cough medicine.)

Note: This is about the English name, not the Korean name.