SUMMER SHOWDOWN: GIRL GROUP BATTLE EDITION

Hello everyone! Welcome to my second edition of Summer Showdown!

Like what I previously said, summer is one of the times where many big names make a comeback. I talked about EXO and 2PM newest single before and compared SISTAR and Girl’s Day summer comeback last year.

This time, it will be about the girl groups, AOA, SISTAR, Girl’s Day, Girls’ Generation, and A Pink. Actually, there are many other girl groups that make a comeback. But, I only choose these five groups since they are leading in terms of popularity. Interestingly, four of these groups also made into my list of K-Pop girl groups next generation.

So, here is my review. Are you ready for summer?

AOA – Heart Attack

AOA is the first group to make a comeback. On their newest single, Heart Attack, they continue their collaboration with Brave Brothers, who is in charge of their previous hits

The first thing that I notice about this song is it’s so noisy with all those electronic sound and loud beat. There is also clapping and audiences’ cheering sound to relate it more with their whole sport’s concept. The girls can manage their voices during the verses and bridge. I love these parts because it’s easy to remember and it flows nicely. It sets a good build up for the chorus too. Unfortunately, the chorus falls flat. The girls voice cannot stands out among the loud music sound.

At least, the music video is entertaining to watch with its colorful visual and cute storyline. It is related with the song lyrics about how the girl’s heart trembles whenever she sees the guy. It’s a simple, yet innocent lyrics and I still get confused on how it matched with AOA sexy appearance. The way AOA sings it is like storytelling and it can be seen in the music video.

AOA is lacrosse players who always lose from the boys’ team. Things got worse for Choa because at the same time, she failed to get the handsome lacrosse player attention. Things started to change when Seolhyun came. She changed the team appearance, lifted up their motivation, and helped Choa get her crush attention. Finally, they won the game and the handsome lacrosse player noticed Choa.

Heart Attack is the classic K-Pop release with its strong beat and addictive hook along with colorful music video. I still feel that AOA still haven’t found their signature sound yet, but I like the diversity of their sound from track to track.

Rating: 3/5

SISTAR – Shake It

If we talk about summer, SISTAR name will always comes to our mind. Their previous singles always become a summer hit. With Shake It, their fourth collaboration with Duble Sidekick, they try to recreate their success.

Shake It is a mid-tempo funk R&B song. It has strong beat and each song part able to stand on their own. However, the combination is quite messy; making the sound keeps on going without ending. Despite of that, Shake It gets better the more you listen to it (and watch their energetic performance). It’s my current summer jam since it’s really fun to dance to. Once again, it proves that most of SISTAR songs are grower; the more you listen to it, the more you like it.  

Like Heart Attack, Shake It is also about how the girls’ heart is shaking because she likes a guy. They become happy and ask everyone to dance along with them. The fun aspect of the song captured well in the music video with the usage of bright colors and comic theme. SISTAR also danced around with many people in various place like class, sport field, bar, even construction site; adding the fun theme of the song.

Shake It is not SISTAR strongest summer track. But, it is always great to see them bring back the fun element every summer.

Rating: 3.75/5

Girl’s Day – Ring My Bell

Another girl group comeback with Duble Sidekick track is Girl’s Day. After Darling last year, they spark up summer again with Ring My Bell.

Ring My Bell is leaning more into funk swith trumpet and synthesizer sound. Instead of mixing it with the usual R&B sound, they combined the funk sound with electronic and rock sound. It is actually a unique and strong combination. Interestingly, it also represents the urgency in the song lyrics about how the guy makes the girls’ heart beat faster and they just want to get together and run away with him. Moreover, this song also has a memorable “Ring My Bell” phrase that is easy to sing.

Unfortunately, they failed to manage it well. The sound seems too much and it makes the song transition sound too fast. Beside that, it covered up the girls’ vocal too. As the strongest vocalist in the group, only Minah can balance her vocal with the loud music.

About the music video, the usage of various setting to represent the song lyrics is actually interesting. For example, Hyeri rode a bike when she sings about how other girls should move away from the guy while Minah sang her “Moonlight” line on the cloud. The arcade game setting is quite unique too. However, the fast transition between each scene and the flashy neon lights make it harder to enjoy the music video.

Truthfully, Ring My Bell is quite disappointment. The song has a potential, but they failed to arrange it well. The music video could not save the song either. It’s a pity because Girl’s Day has good track records and appealing music videos.

Rating: 2.5/5

Girls’ Generation – Party

Girls’ Generation begin their newest album promotion this summer. This is their first comeback after Jessica departure last year. Ahead of their full album comeback, they released a single called Party.

Party will remind you with Girls’ Generation early releases such as Gee or Oh. It begins with Tiffany introduction in English then followed by the girls exchanged their verses. At the chorus, they sang out English catchphrase repeatedly. All wrapped in a bubblegum pop music. Party is very easy on our ears. We will remember this song quickly and sing to it automatically.

It’s a fun song, but it’s just there. There is nothing ground breaking in this song where you can see the girls’ progress over time. Also, I feel this song is more suitable if they release it on the early days of their career (minus the alcohol part).

Thankfully, the music video provides a major treat for us. It explored the beautiful scenery of Koh Samui, Thailand with its blue ocean, white sand, and great palms. The girls styling are on point too. Their hairstyle, make up, and wardrobes are gorgeous. Beside, they seem to have fun and full of energy, which represented the lyrics theme well.

Party is a lovely appetizer from Girls’ Generation before we enjoy their main comeback. It’s lively and it brings back our nostalgic feels. Still, I expect more from them and hopefully I can get it from their main comeback.

Rating: 3.5/5

A Pink – Remember

A Pink is back with another Shinsadong Tiger’s track, Remember. They keep their signature 90s pop music style with funky synthesizer and strong beat. They have good consistency in music. But sadly, it’s getting repetitive in this song. They do not offer something new in Remember. Actually, they make an attempt by putting a twist on the chorus and bridge. However, the sudden transition quite disrupts the song’s flow.

Still, A Pink offers something fresh. Most of other girl group’s lyrics talked about liking a guy or having fun. But, Remember focused more on how we need to have fun and cherish every moment. There is a sense of longing in this song, with the usage of music box sound in the beginning and bridge. This also accompanied by Hayoung’s soft vocal. Speaking of Hayoung, she shines the most in this comeback. She nails every line; we can see her vocal improvement.

The music video also related with the song theme. In the beginning of the music video, it showed the girls throw a party, dance around on a yacht, and walk in a farm. It’s all about having fun. Meanwhile towards the end, it showed they chat, laugh, and light up fireworks to remember every moment they passed together.

Remember does not give us something new from A Pink. It’s good that they have found their signature style and stick to it. But, they need to explore more of their genre. Still, the whole atmosphere of Remember fitted perfectly to close our summer.

Rating: 3/5

It was a fun comeback from all the girl groups. Each of them can capture the bright and cheerful vibe of summer season through their songs and music video. However, the song choice itself is actually quite dull. There is no song that really stands out. The groups decide to play it safe by repeating the similar formula of their previous hits. It’s actually not always a bad thing, but this time round, it started to get boring.

If I have to choose, I choose Shake It as my favorite. It gets me pumped up and lasted a long time on me. I also think that SISTAR has the best live performances in this comeback among other girl groups. Their performance makes me want to sing and dance along.

That’s all for me and what’s your favorite summer comeback?  

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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 4^th 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 4^th 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 4^th 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 12^th 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 2^nd 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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