Thursday, February 12, 2015

The Next Generation of K-Pop: Girl Group Edition

Hello everyoneeeee! Happy New Year 2015!

It’s been a long time since I write on this blog. I have been busy for these past several months with my student exchange activities and my thesis preparation. Wish me luck for that J

Anyway, I already went back from my student exchange period in Seoul, South Korea around early January. It was really amazing and challenging experience for me. Seoul is such a great city! I wish I could go back there, you guys should go there too!

Well, my experience in Seoul last year quite influenced me in writing this post, which about 5 girl and boy groups that have high potential to be the next generation of K-Pop. When I was in Seoul, I heard many K-Pop songs everyday on the street and went to several K-Pop related events. So it quite gave me a glimpse of certain idol popularity.

Beside that, the fact that many senior groups started to become more inactive and have decreasing popularity in 2014 influenced me in making this post too. It’s like we had to prepare for the next generation of K-Pop groups. Although we knew nothing lasts forever, still it’s quite sad to accept it. But hey, just remember all of the great achievements that the senior groups gave us for the past several years J

Before starting the list, let me reminded you that this post came from my personal opinion along with some research that I made on the internet and based on my experience.

I will divide this post into two parts, girl and boy groups edition. The first one is the girl group edition…


Honorable Mentions: Mamamoo, Red Velvet


5. EXID

EXID was one of the biggest surprises last year. This group became popular through their song, Up and Down. The unique thing was that the song did not gain success when it first released on August 2014. However, after the fancam of EXID Hani performed this song went viral, the song popularity skyrocketed three months later. It made them topped music show charts, Gaon charts, and finally, got them Discovery of The Year award in 4th Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards earlier this year.

What They Got:

       1.     Trend Song
It’s not easy to make a super popular song, a trend song, which means that it played everywhere, made people sing to it, and followed the dance. But somehow, EXID managed to do that. I still remembered that I heard this song in every shop at the end of December until early January before I left Seoul. After the fancam went viral, two things that made this song continued becoming popular were its catchy hook and easy dance.

       2.     Talent
Trend song only lasted for a while, that’s why you need talent to back up your position. Fortunately, EXID has a strong back up. They have two good vocalists, Solji, a vocal trainer, and Hyerin, Superstar K3 alumni and rapper, LE, who is a former underground rapper.


Beware of:

       1.     “One Hit Wonder”
It’s hard to make a trend song, but it’s way harder to keep up the success for the next release. Many groups failed to keep up their momentum after the huge success of their previous release. People expected too much on them, but they usually came with the repetitive formula like their previous single. Take a look Crayon Pop who unfortunately failed to maintain Bar Bar Bar popularity in 2014. Because of this, EXID has to be extra careful for their next release.

       2.     Individual Recognition
Currently, Hani is everywhere from variety show, radio show, music video to   individual photo shoot. This is actually a good strategy from the agency to maintain her current popularity. However, they need to start promoting other members, so they will not overshadow by her.


4. AOA (Ace of Angels)


Another last year’s surprise was AOA (Ace of Angels). The girls debuted with band concept in 2012, but they started receive popularity when they changed into sexy concept upon the release of Miniskirt in 2014. After Miniskirt, they sticked to their sexy concept for their next singles, Short Hair and Like a Cat, which increased their popularity.

What They Got:

       1.     Individual Promotion
Among all of the groups on this list, FNC Entertainment, AOA’s agency, done the best   job for its individual promotion. Take a look at one of their members, Seolhyun who starred alongside Lee Min Ho in his newest movie, Gangnam Blues, participated in variety show, Brave Family, with Park Myung Soo, and courted to act with Yeo Jin Goo for drama, Orange Marmalade. While Seolhyun took the mainstream way, Jimin, the   rapper, tried more underground way. She joined Unpretty Rapstar, the female rapper rap competition in hope to gain more recognition for her skill.

       2.     Public Awareness
AOA popularity continued to rise by winning Digital Bonsang award in Golden Disk Awards and Bonsang award in Seoul Music Awards earlier this year through Miniskirt. Beside that, their songs such as Like A Cat and Short Hair often can be heard on the      shops and karaokes. Also, many people followed the Miniskirt dance. This was a good start for them to gain more public recognition in the future.


Beware of:

       1.     Concept Confusion
AOA started with band concept and changed it into sexy concept, which made them become success. However, they mentioned that they would go back to their band concept once it gained popularity during Like A Cat showcase. It’s a good thing that they didn’t forget their root, but at the same time, it would create confusion for the audiences. Which one is their real identity since band and sexy concept are two                  different things; they should work on adjusting it.

       2.     Attitude Controversy
Fans of other groups had calling them out several times due to attitude controversy such as doing inappropriate behavior on Super Junior’s concert and CN Blue Yonghwa’s house on his reality show. Also, the controversy of Seolhyun hit by Park Myung Soo on their reality show, where netizens more focused on Seolhyun’s whiny attitude. All of these were not good things for newly successful group, they should be more careful.


3. Girl’s Day


AOA was not the first group who gained success after changing concept. Girl’s Day has done it in 2013 where they completely turned from cute to sexy concept and achieved huge popularity. The girls continued their popularity streak with Something in 2014 where they topped the chart and received various awards such as 4th Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards, Golden Disk Awards, and Seoul Music Awards. Their individual popularity started to rise in 2014, especially the youngest member, Hyeri, who became really popular because of her aegyo in reality show, Real Men.

What They Got:

       1.     Trend Song
Something was a hit last year. It became an all-kill within two hours of its release on nine music charts and ranked number 1 on monthly Gaon Digital Chart in January. The dance became a trend too where many people, even boy groups, danced to it. 

       2.     Individual Recognition
Girl’s Day is one of the groups on this list where each member has their own individual recognition. All of the members had various individual activities in 2014 with Minah starred in a sitcom and variety show, Sojin in drama and song collaboration, Yura in virtual marriage variety show, We Got Married, and lastly, Hyeri in Real Men and drama. These helped increasing their own along with the group popularity.


 Beware of:

       1.      “Hit or Miss” Release
The girls could maintain their success streak from Expectation, Female President to Something. But their summer track, Darling, and ballad track, I Miss You, only received mediocre success eventhough it was being released after Something. This meant that they needed to keep releasing solid title tracks since Darling and I Miss You was a    mediocre release.  Their popularity still depends on public’s taste. They need to gain more fans because their current fan base is still not enough to back up their position.

       2.     Controversies
Another thing that made Girl’s Day often became a hot topic was because of controversies surrounding them. From their sexy dance, Minah’s insensitive comment about Asiana Airlines plane crash, Hyeri’s rude                  behavior towards BEAST Dongwoon to their dating news (confirmed or rumored), all of them always gained people’s attention. The peak of this issue was when they cursed by boy group’s fans during 4th Gaon K-Pop Awards Red Carpet. All of these were such unfortunate things and it would be better if they behaved more careful in the future eventhough the whole issue was not completely their fault.


2. SISTAR


SISTAR has made a huge improvement from their debut until now. This group started to attract a lot of attention when they released Alone in 2012, which also marked the beginning of sexy concept for girl group. Their popularity kept increasing with the success of each song release. Their sub-unit, solo, and collaboration songs became success too, especially member, Soyu, and solo singer, Junggigo, collaboration song, Some, which was a huge hit in 2014.

What They Got:

       1.     High Public Recognition
The girls are famous for topping digital charts; meaning that general public like to stream their song. The peak would be Soyu & Junggigo’s song, Some, which was an unexpected hit last year. This song became the longest chart-topper song in 2014. SISTAR songs were everywhere too in the shop, university and café. I remembered I always heard Touch My Body at least once a day during my first month in Seoul last year. Their dance became a trend too; many people often covered and parodied it.

       2.     All Around Image
All around image makes it easier to promote the girls everywhere. They can be put on various programs. For example, variety show for Bora and Soyu, drama for Dasom and Bora, music show for Bora, and singing competition for Hyorin. The girls even have their own reality show called SISTAR Showtime. All of these are beneficial to increase their public recognition. Beside, the fact that all of the members are not too image-conscious and have strong personality made people like them more.


Beware of:

       1.     No Strong Fan Base
SISTAR may have good public recognition, but this does not back up by strong fan base. Their Daum Fan Café rank for girl group in 2014 is on 12th position, which was quite low for a group whose each release had a success since 2012. Just like Girl’s Day, the girls relied a lot to public’s taste. Fortunately, they kept releasing strong and public-friendly song, so people still listen to their songs. But still, they need more fans to establish their position as top group.

       2.     Overused Sexy Concept
When SISTAR first released Alone, not many groups used sexy concept. This made SISTAR stood out among others. But now, too many girl groups use sexy concept with repetitive formula. That is why it is important for SISTAR to find a way that makes them different among others without have to leave their signature style.


1. A Pink


A Pink stands out among the other girl groups nowadays with their youthful concept. Catching a lot of attention through No No No in 2013, the girls popularity kept increasing with Mr. Chu and LUV in 2014. A Pink became the third best selling girl group in 2014 according to Gaon’s year-end ranking.

What They Got:

       1.     Strong Fan Base
What excelled A Pink compared to other girl groups on this list is their strong fan base. They were on the 2nd position for Daum Fan Café Girl Group rank in 2014. Also, their concert sold 7200 tickets within two minutes after going on sale. This showed how big their fan base is for the newly succeed girl group.

       2.     Public Recognition
Just like SISTAR, A Pink often topped digital charts, especially with Mr. Chu and LUV. With LUV, they scored all-kill hours after its release and swept all music show trophies on December. Mr. Chu itself became number eight best selling digital song in 2014. The easy dance for Mr. Chu often covered by other groups too.


Beware Of:

       1.     Repetitive Concept
A Pink has consistently showed their youthful image along with its old-school K-Pop signature sound since their debut in 2011. It’s a good thing that A Pink already found their own style. But at the same time, it could make people bored with them. Also, the fact that members star to get older make youthful concept no longer suitable for them on the next several years. The girls actually showed more mature image in LUV and hopefully, they could maintain it in the future.

       2.     Lack of Individual Recognition
If you mention A Pink member, most of general people would only recognize Eunji and Naeun to the extent; all thanks to their drama and variety show appearances. The other members still remain unknown in general public. Last year, their agency, A Cube Entertainment, already tried to promote other members such as Bomi in variety show and Chorong in drama. However, it was still not enough due to their shows were in cable channel. They tried it again this year with Bomi in Real Men, but unfortunately, it did not                    work since netizens criticized her behavior. Regarding this, A Cube needs to find other shows that suitable with certain member image and personality.


So, these are my list for five girl groups that have high potential to be the next generation of K-Pop. How is it? Is it the same with your preferences? Which other groups that you think have potential to make it big?

I will post the boy group version later, so stay tuned!


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