Author: Mac Turija

These days, with “monster rookies” making their debut songs top the charts like it was the easiest thing, we look back at a number of groups whose debut songs ushered their “arrival” in the K-pop scene. Take note that these songs were released at a time when groups are not commonly a product of reality shows that package idols to instant popularity even before their debut –  so having “monster rookies” wasn’t yet an expected occurrence as they are nowadays. But then, despite the challenges, these debut songs caught the public’s attention and went on to make legends out of the groups that sang them. 

1. Girls’ Generation — “Into The New World”

Girls’ Generation’s legendary debut song is still holding strong and is a favorite more than a decade after its release. The song is basically the standard all other debut songs are compared to- for girl and boy groups.

The song itself was quite memorable as it showcased the girls’ impressive vocals and dancing skills in the music video, as girl groups then were not really known to have elaborate dance moves and choreography, unlike their male counterparts.  Moreover, during the time of GG aka the second generation, it wasn’t that common for groups during that time to gain a lot of recognition to the point of winning music shows with only their debut song. But Into the New World did exactly just that to SNSD, as the group won their first music show trophy on M Countdown more than two months after debuting.

The song, a testament to sweet and young love, and the accompanying music video, which featured the girls pursuing various interests, were devoured by the Korean public. They instantly fell in love with the nine-girl lineup. Years later, somehow, the song was adapted by protestors rallying for various social causes in Korea, including the eventual impeachment of President Park Geun-hye in 2017. 

2. 2NE1 – “Fire“

A couple of years after Girls’ Generation made their impressive debut and encountered credible competition from only Kara and Wonder Girls, YG Entertainment took it upon themselves to join the SM Entertainment-dominated niche by introducing the girl version of their highly successful boy group BIG BANG – 2NE1. While the group was initially introduced to the public via a collaboration single with their brother group entitled Lollipop (which became all the more popular because it was used as a promotional jingle for the LG Cyon phone), it was not until a couple of months later that CL, Bom, Dara, and Minzy officially debuted via Fire. 

Fire’s release was highly anticipated – it was filled with fanfare and hype as only YG Entertainment can muster. Two music videos to support the song’s release were premiered on the same day – a “space” and “street” version, which exceeded a million views on YouTube within a day of its release.  And then, the girls performed their song for the first time live in Inkigayo. Who can forget that staging with the girls getting introduced one by one as an elevator stops on each floor of a building? Of course, when the lift finally arrived on the 21st floor, all hell broke loose, and the girls performed their debut song like they have been doing it for years. Both the music videos and their debut stage were featured in American blogger Perez Hilton’s blog, which earned the group an instant international following. Finally, Korean pop music had its first group that embodied the “girl crush” concept. And in an industry where girl groups would usually be either cute and innocent or downright provocative and sexy, the fierce image that 2NE1 exuded was still uncommon and fresh. No wonder the girls won their first music show trophy only a month after Fire was released, which slashed SNSD’s previous record by half. 

And we haven’t even talked about Dara’s palm tree hair. 

3. miss A – “Bad Girl, Good Girl“

After SM and YG’s explosive girl group revelations (with SM doing it the second time in 2009 with the introduction of the highly experimental f(x)), the ball was back to JYP’s court. Although JYP had a fierce rivalry with SM via the Wonder Girls – SNSD match-up, they kinda lost steam with their push for WG to make a splash internationally. And with Girls’ Generation, f(x), Kara, 2NE1, and then-monster rookies Sistar dominating the charts while Wonder Girls were still somehow pushed in the US, JYP had no choice but to debut a new group with miss A.  And what a solid move it was! 

miss A met immediate success with their debut single Bad Girl, Good Girl, which featured a novel concept for girl groups in K-pop – sexy but not overt as Sistar, fierce but not as in-your-face as 2NE1, which ultimately worked for JYP’s new girl group then. The song was and still is hella catchy. After all, this was produced during the time when JYP still had that magic (come to think of it, he still does, but it comes and goes these days, which may explain how he has been inconsistent with ITZY and NMIXX). Alas, that choreography to match the rather haughty lyrics of the song has been what has made it memorable after all these years. All those pointing and kicking when the girls are down to the ground, lying on their stomachs are still pretty much remembered up to this day when idols dance to the song on variety shows. Along with the choreography of Hush, which has Fei, Jia, Min, and Suzy holding on to a horizontal curtain rod, Bad Girl Good Girl tops miss A’s list of memorable songs mainly because of the iconic choreography. BGGG also broke 2NE1’s record by winning for miss A their first music show trophy 21 days after their debut. Too bad the girls had to succumb to the 7-year K-pop curse.   

4 & 5. Blackpink – “Boombayah” and “Whistle“

Remember the move YG made when they debuted 2NE1 with not just one, but two music videos for their first release Fire? YG revived this tactic with their second girl group, Blackpink, when they debuted the group in 2016. Only this time, YGE did not just release one song with two music videos but actually released two different songs – Boombayah and Whistle on the same day, August 8, 2016.  By that time, the anticipation for the new YG girl group was at its fever pitch since the company’s banner girl group, 2NE1, was on a hiatus following the involvement of Park Bom in a scandal. Thus, by the time August 8, 2016 came, people were just all too ready to gobble up anything Blackpink released. 

Alas, fans were blessed with this selection which was a bit different from one another. For those who prefer a steadier, more mellow beat, Whistle was for them, while for those who wanted a high energy track from the first note up to the last, Boombayah was perfect. Whistle is haunting with its minimal beat which remains steady throughout the song, so there’s really no beat drop or any explosive parts of the song. In contrast, Boombayah has all the ingredients of a “typical” YG song, with earworm portions that will stick in your head for weeks, unique choreography for the live performances, and catchy lyrics that fans will sing in the years to come. While Whistle had the repetitive “Make’ em whistle like a missile bomb, bomb”, Boombayah has the iconic line that has become a trademark of Blackpink up to this day – that line about them being in your area. Boombayah also has that line that has made a legend out of Girls’ Planet 101 participant and later Kep1er member Hikaru – the line that goes “I’m gonna go brrrr… Rambo.” 

And of course, that Rosé was sliding on the floor on her back below the three girls while singing is the stuff of legends. While they didn’t do this every time they performed the song live, you can just imagine how difficult it was for our main vocal to shoot that scene on the music video, considering that she has to do it without making it look difficult. Rosé has admitted that it was tough for her to film that section of the music video, since her leather attire also caused friction between her and the floor, so it was not easy for her to “slide through” the girls’ legs at all as her own legs had to do a lot of work so it would look like she is “sliding” across the floor. That has also got to result in a lot of skin chaffing, which she did confirm in interviews. Truly iconic. 

Legendary Debut Songs Versus Monster Rookies: A Postscript

A lot of new groups these days may achieve instant (or in some points of view, automatic) fame because of the popularity of some of their members. For example, aespa was already popular when it debuted because of the massive SM campaign machinery behind the group. G-Idle, Everglow, IVE, Kep1er, and Le Sserrafim have instant public recognition because they have  members that are reality idol contest alumnae – Soyeon, Yiren, Wonyoung, Yujin, and Sakura, Chaewon, and Yunjin, respectively. Even STAYC, which people argue does not have former idol contestants, has Sieun and Saeun, who had already established acting careers prior to debuting as idols.  

But then, we can argue that even if these groups have achieved enormous popularity since debuting, their debut songs may not have really served them well. Next Level was what brought aespa to, (pun intended) the next level and not really Black Mamba, which only peaked at #49 in the national charts. Bon Bon Chocolat did a good job in introducing Everglow to the world, but Adios was the group’s breakthrough hit. Eleven was good, but Love Dive is arguably the iconic IVE song. Thus, with the monster rookies we’ve mentioned, only G-Idle (with Latata), Le Sserafim (with Fearless), and Kep1er (with Wadada) are the ones with debut songs that have so far served them really well. And by the looks of it, it seems that Attention is on its way to making New Jeans not just a monster rookie, but a rookie legend.  

Featured Image: Youtube Screenshot from Blackpink’s “Boombayah“

Looking for some refreshing K-pop tunes from sub-units that you might have missed? Here are four of them.

Hi Suhyun and Bom&Hi

It must be because Lee Hi debuted in YG Entertainment at a time where the trend was (still is) is for idols to be in groups all the time that the company paired him with Suhyun of the sibling duo Akdong Musician and Park Bom of the phenomenal girl group 2NE1. Bom, Suhyun, and Hi were at the top of their game during the times they collaborated, so it goes without saying that the project “sub-unit” collabs were all hits.  First was the cover by Lee Hi and Bom of Mariah Carey’s Christmas staple, All I Want for Christmas is You, released on December 20, 2013, which peaked at #17 in the charts. It was accompanied by a very moody music video with a sort of Scandinavian aesthetic. 

Eleven months later, in November 2014, Lee and AKMU‘s Suhyun formed the sub-unit Hi Suhyun and released the digital single I’m Different featuring iKON‘s Bobby in both the song and the music video. The duo’s first stage was at SBS’ Inkigayo on November 16, following their first win the following week. Such an iconic song and music video, where we see the two having a “friendly competition” over Bobby’s affections, for them only to realize that our boy already has a girlfriend, none other the beautiful still-had-to-debut Jisoo before Blackpink exploded. One fun and cute music video where everyone just looked their most attractive. 

Playlist musts: Both I’m Different and the All I Want for Christmas cover are musts! 

Girls’ Generation – TTS

The first official sub-unit of Girls’ Generation was composed of the groups’ three main vocalists, Taeyeon, Tiffany, and Seohyun. Now, you may be asking, why weren’t the other two main vocalists, Jessica and Sunny,  not included? No official statement regarding this, but some speculate that they were the three members who were the most available and did not have other projects. Others suggest that the sub-unit was actually Tiffany’s idea, that she originally wanted only Taeyeon and the rest of the slots were available for everyone and Sica and Sunny weren’t available. Finally, there’s the theory that the three voices were the most matched with other: Taeyeon has complete control, Tiffany supplies the emotions, and Seohyun has the technical merit, making a perfect and complete combination that doesn’t really require Sica’s nasality and Sunny’s overly high pitch. 

TaTiSeo‘s debut EP, Twinkle, was released in April 2012 and secured its place in K-pop history as the first album by a Korean artist to rank number 1 on the Billboard World Albums chart. At the time, it was also the highest charting K-pop album on the Billboard 200, reaching number 126. TTS became the first subgroup to achieve a “triple crown” on South Korean music shows, reigning in the number 1 spot for three weeks in a row. Suffice to say Twinkle was the undisputed top song during its release.

It took more than two years for the group to release their follow-up effort to Twinkle. Holler was released in September 2014. The album continued the sub-unit’s success as it debuted at number 1 on South Korea’s Gaon Album Chart and the Billboard World Albums chart. With this achievement, TTS become the third Korean artist, and the first female artist, to have more than one number 1 on the Billboard World Albums chart. During promotions, the three singers were featured in the reality show The TaeTiSeo. In December 2015, TTS released their third EP, a Christmas special album titled Dear Santa. The album debuted at number 2 on South Korea’s Gaon Albums Chart and has sold at least 60,456 copies to date. Like the Twinkle EP, Seohyun contributed to the composition of a couple of songs. 

As the group is very Tiffany-heavy, GG-TTS was sparkling all the time. From the very bright sound of all their songs to the glittery outfits on their stages and music videos. It’s a bit sad that there isn’t much of a hope for a reunion since Ti and Seo aren’t with SM Entertainment anymore. But since the entire GG group is reuniting, we can still hope, yeah?

Playlist musts: Dear Santa, if you’re on a holiday mood, but otherwise, Holler and Twinkle will definitely give you instant sparkles if you happen to have a blah day. 

JJ Project

The first and perhaps only sub-unit of the hapless GOT7, the JJ Project started out even before the debut of their group. They started off adapting the stage names of JB and Jr. as there were already established singers who share their names, including Park Jinyoung, their boss in JYP Entertainment. On May 8, 2013, JYP Entertainment announced the new duo JJ Project, which debuted with the single album Bounce on May 20. The single album also features another song Hooked and a collaboration with Miss A‘s Suzy titled Before This Song Ends. 

In April 2013, the duo appeared once again as actors for the MBC’s drama When a Man Falls in Love. While they were preparing for the second album, they were reintegrated into JYPE’s new boy band project group, and on January 16, 2014, they debuted as members of GOT7.

On July 31, 2017, they released Verse 2, an EP of self-composed, self-written songs about the anxieties of youth. At the end of the year, Verse 2 was chosen as the fifth best K-pop album of 2017 by Billboard and was nominated in the album division at the Golden Disc Awards. JJ Project also got a nomination for the popularity award. Further activities of the duo have been muddled by Got7‘s internal troubles (aka lack of effort on JYPE’s part to promote the group). Finally, on January 19, 2021, following the expiration of their contract, they left JYP Entertainment. Since then, Got7 has reunited for an album outside the tutelage of JYPE, but there hasn’t been any news on JJ Project activities.  

Playlist musts: If you’re into the mindless anything goes fun songs JYPE produces (e.g., 2PM’s Go Crazy), then Bounce is for you. Otherwise, make sure to check out Tomorrow, Today with its breathtaking picturesque roadtrip music video.

ToHeart

ToHeart is a bit of an anomaly in K-pop because this unit is composed of two members who not only come from different groups, but different entertainment companies. Well, it can be said that Woolim Entertainment is already connected with SM Entertainment via its merger with SM Contents & Culture, but it is still an independent company, so the establishment of SHINee’s Key and Infinite’s Woohyun as ToHeart is quite a refreshing development, up to this day. 

On February 20, 2014 SM Entertainment released a teaser announcing ToHeart, which debuted three weeks later with the mini album Delicious and the music video for the title track was released on March 10. On the same day, the duo held their first showcase in the Coex Artium, hosted by bandmates Minho and Sunggyu. Both Woohyun and Key stated that it was their idea to create this unit, since both are friends and had an interest in working with each other. They didn’t expect to do a singing collaboration project, instead thinking of photoshoots and something similar. Close to two months after the release of Delicious, the duo followed up their promotions with Tell Me Why featuring Infinite Sungyeol’s little brother, Lee Daeyeol (who later joined Golden Child) as well as actress Mun Kayoung. The song was requested most by fans and is produced by Sweetune. It tells the story of a man’s unwillingness to let a lover go.

The sub-unit’s career was short and sweet, having produced only those two singles and that one mini album. During the year they were active, the two were also flooded with controversy, primary among them were rumors claiming that the two were more than just friends and co-workers. Fashion magazine photoshoots of the two that could be best described as bordering on homoerotic only added fuel to the fire. However, rumors of a lover’s spat exploded when the two just ceased activities as ToHeart and also unfollowed each other on social media. The rumors were later quashed as the two followed each other again on Instagram and Key actually asking Woohyun to go with him to fulfill his mandatory military duty in 2019. But then, many pointed out that the two haven’t been as close as they used to be, and there hasn’t been any news of the duo reuniting to work together again or release new music. But then, if the degree of the duo’s closeness is best defined by those hot magazine photoshoots, those levels may never return. However, based on recent activity, it would be safe to guess that the two are still very close even outside of showbusiness. 

Playlist musts: Delicious and Tell Me Why are second generation K-pop gems that nobody can deny.

Make sure to check their songs out so you won’t wonder how you been living on this earth without knowing them!

Featured Image: Youtube Screengrab from ToHeart’s music video “Delicious”

If you think the seven-year curse has affected each and every Kpop artist, here are four Kpop groups that broke the dreaded 7-year curse:

Girls’ Generation (2007 – Present)

TWICE may have arguably taken the title “Nation’s Girl Group,” but we cannot deny that the OGs still have it. And there were a lot of girl groups before Girls’ Generation, groups like Fin. K.L, SeeYa, and SM Entertainment labelmate SES dominated public consciousness for a time, but nothing has come close to how SNSD has endeared themselves to the Korean public and how they have stayed relevant all these 15 years. Yes, the group debuted in 2007 and there hasn’t been any major hiccup in their career, save for that one person everybody regards like Bruno in Enchanted: Ms. Jessica Jung. Alas, right on the dot of the group’s 7th anniversary in 2014, Jessica just wasn’t a member of Girls’ Generation anymore. Was she removed? If yes, by who? Did the company give her the boot? Did her groupmates vote her out, Survivor-style? Did she resign from the group to focus on her other career ventures (aka her fashion line and her boyfriend Tyler Kwon)? 

Despite that, they still continued with some chart-toppers like Lionheart and Party, then commemorated their 10th year as a group with the double release of All Night and Holiday before Sooyoung, Tiffany, and Seohyun left SM Entertainment (but not the group!) the next year. The remaining members with SME continued to make up the subunit Oh!GG and still topped the charts. And now, all eight members are reuniting with a 15th anniversary release. That this might coincide with Blackpink’s August comeback is giving me an anxiety attack. 

BIGBANG (2006- Present)

BIGBANG has been around for more than 16 years. Debuting in 2006, the group quickly became a success and single-handedly built YG Entertainment’s reputation, raising the company’s status among Korea’s top 3 entertainment companies. As with most groups, BIGBANG had its share of controversies, and how! These were some of the biggest scandals in the Korean entertainment industry has been involved in.

Let’s take a quick trip down memory lane to remember them. Let’s see, there was GD’s marijuana use, Daesung’s manslaughter, TOP’s drug case, TOP’s attempt at taking his own life, Seungri’s involvement in the Burning Sun scandal part 1 (the being a front of illegal gambling and drug trade activity), Seungri’s involvement in the Burning Sun scandal part 2 (illegal sexual harassment video trafficking), Seungri’s resignation from the group and the Korean entertainment industry, Seungri’s jail sentence, Seungri’s removal from conscription and transfer to a civilian prison. 

If we are to look at the entire history of Korean pop music, only BTS has surpassed the level of BIGBANG’s domestic and international success. Before BTS, BIGBANG was THE representative K-pop group. And based on their latest comeback that only featured the four remaining members, Still Life was an instant hit both at home and abroad. This begs the question, how can a group that has been at the center of so much controversy and involved in so many scandals continue to be loved even by Korean fans, known to be quite a conservative bunch? I guess it’s a mix of really good music and the individual personalities of the members. BIGBANG just never disappoints with their releases. There was never a BIGBANG song that was released with the public going, “Maybe I’ll like it with a few more listens.” Every BIGBANG song simply appealed to listeners. But more than producing earworms and radio-friendly hits, BIGBANG songs are also very artistic. This bleeds to their personalities that just scream artist, not just singers or musicians. They’re eccentric and aspirational but also very relatable at the same time. They keep their distance from the public but have never been reported to be rude, cold, or curt towards fans and “ordinary” folk. 

But then, if the group’s latest comeback Still Life is any indication, we may have to wait for years until the next BIGBANG comeback. With TOP leaving YG Entertainment, Taeyang focusing on his family, and GD and Daesung reportedly pursuing solo projects, combined with Still Life’s bittersweet message, it seems that the group will be taking a long but well-deserved breather. Fans may have to deal with the fact that BIGBANG has taken that dreaded word – hiatus, but we’ll take that as there still hasn’t been an official announcement of that more dreaded word, the one that starts with “dis” and ends with “band”. 

Shinhwa (1998 – Current)

Hear ye, the gold standard of K-pop groups. Ask any debuting K-pop group about their longevity goals, and the chances are high that they will answer “We want to stay active as long as Shinhwa sunbaenim has.” After all, Shinhwa has not only lasted for a decade, but two decades already, and still running. Yes, the granddaddy of still active first-generation K-pop groups will be marking their silver anniversary, aka 25th, in 2023!

Shinhwa debuted under SM Entertainment in 1998 and has stayed as a complete group, with no member changes. Yep, that’s close to 25 years of no members getting removed or resigning, not even “leaving the company but staying in the group”. After all, the group is self-managed, meaning the group established their own company to manage their careers. This is also basically the reason that the group left SM Entertainment, as the latter offered all members except Dongwan a new contract after their old one was set to expire. The group’s latest release was in 2018, Heart, which commemorated the group’s 20th anniversary with the single Kiss Me Like That, where the group again sported a very sexy but elegant image. We are highly anticipating new releases next year for the group’s 25th year in the entertainment industry!

Super Junior (2005 – Present)

Speaking of long-lasting groups, let us not forget hallyu pioneers Super Junior, a group that made its debut in 2005. Being a group from SM Entertainment, it has been a foregone conclusion that SJ will stay in the business for a very long time. After all, SM Entertainment does not disband groups under them. It usually takes a contract dispute (e.g., H.O.T and Shinhwa) or all members deciding not to continue with their contracts with the company (e.g., f(x)) for the group to “disband”, although you will never see the company issuing any statement that their groups have disbanded. SM issues official statements about their talents being bullied, in a romantic relationship, or even leaving the group (as in the case of Jessica and SNSD), but never about their groups getting disbanded. 

This has been the case with SJ as well. Super Junior was initially envisioned as Super Junior ‘5, a group with a mix of members who may not sing, rap or dance, but be active in the entertainment business just the same in other capacities (as hosts, actors, etc.) after being in the group for a period, after which they “graduate” after achieving their (or the company’s) desired degree of popularity, much like the original idea for the Pledis girl group After School. So, there was supposed to be a Super Junior 06, Super Junior 07, and so on and so forth with different line-ups depending on which members graduated and which new members get introduced into the group. As such, at the start, you may notice that Shindong did not have lines in the group’s early releases. That’s because Shindong, after debuting with the 05 batch, was supposed to be a comedian. But then the concept of making SJ an annual generation thing fell through, and with the inclusion of Kyuhyun in 2006, Super Junior became a permanent group. 

While SJ’s original concept was to have regular lineup changes based on “generation”, the group still had members removed despite the original concept getting a no-go. In the group’s awe-inspiring 17 years, three have left the group, two of which were not the most favorable of circumstances, and one is currently on a very long and extended hiatus, much like the other one who disappeared into the abyss. 

First was Chinese member Hangeng, who actually joined the group in the weirdest way. Being Chinese, he was limited to performing on three Korean TV stations. Thus, in some performances, he had to wear as a mask and had to be blended with the backup dancers so as not to attract unnecessary attention. But then, in 2009, after a series of incidents where he felt discriminated against because he is not Korean (e.g., his family getting relegated to cheap seats in a Super Junior concert in Shanghai, being forced to attend and perform on events even though he was sick or injured while Korean members recuperated in the hospital), he just packed his bags, left the group’s dormitory, and went home. As expected, lawsuits got served and in 2011, Hangeng, Yuehua Entertainment (his agency then), and SME finally came to an agreement. 

Meanwhile, the case for member Kangin was quite the opposite. It was almost as if Kangin was overly favored by SM Entertainment even when he got involved in very un-idol-like behavior. In 2007, Kangin hosted three(!) variety programs on MBC, but was caught in the middle as a timeslot dispute transpired between the TV station and SM. After SM pulled out Kangin in one program (his hosting sting in Show! Music Core), MBC unofficially banned Super Junior from appearing on their programs. Subsequently, Kangin had to leave the two other programs, both of which got canceled after ratings plummeted after his departure. MBC unilaterally ended the dispute by stating that the ban on SJ was never official and inviting them to host a new program. 

As seen in this incident, the reason Kangin got heavily favored by SM, suffice to say was that he was a pretty popular member. He had numerous hosting jobs under his belt, and for some reason, the Korean TV viewing public liked his acerbic hosting style, as he often said a number of off-color comments which can be viewed as bigoted, sexist, racist, and downright offensive. Apart from his activities in SJ, he had a thriving TV career, and was on-demand as a runway model, having walked for renowned designer Andre Kim. First DUI case? SM sent him to finish his military duty as he “reflected on his actions”. Assault case? SM strongly defended him, saying he actually was the one who stopped the fight. Second DUI case? SM managed to settle it. Second assault case? SM managed to sweep matters under the rug, again. But while SM has managed to keep things hush-hush for Kangin, ELFs were not particularly impressed with him anymore and threatened to boycott any SJ comebacks that featured him. Finally, in 2019, after 14 years with the group and two years after this latest brush with the kaw (the second harassment case featuring a woman who was allegedly his girlfriend), he officially left the group.

The third member, Kibum, was another victim of the group’s concept change. As he was under the impression that the group would have the generation/graduation thing going, he figured he would start as a rapper, then later move on to other facets in the entertainment industry, such as acting. But with SM deciding that SJ would be a permanent group, Kibum did not have the flexibility to change his career’s direction as Shindong had. While also realizing he didn’t want to continue as an idol he honestly told SM that he doesn’t want to be involved in any Super Junior work and just ride out the rest of his contract. So he took acting jobs here and there but refused to promote with his group until 2015, when his contract with SM Entertainment finally ended. 

Then, finally we have Sungmin, the member eternally on hiatus since getting married. Prior to December 2014 (when he married his then-girlfriend), Sungmin was one of the busiest SJ members. He was present in all SJ comebacks and wrapped up all his commitments on musicals before finally starting his enlistment in March 2015. But yes, before starting his mandatory military duty, he forgot to tell the public that he has gotten married and did it in private. This clandestine action earned the irk of Korean ELFs who started petitions for Sungmin’s removal from SJ and their boycott of any comeback that would include him and Kangin. SM has indirectly acquiesced to these calls, as Sungmin has not joined any SJ comeback since Mamacita, which was in 2014. He has released solo projects though, also under Label SJ.

Meanwhile, SJ has released new material nonstop for 17 years, the latest with nine active members being The Road: Keep on Going, with lead single Mango, to be released on July 12. And we haven’t even talked about the “removed” Super Junior-M members!

Here’s to more years and banging releases from these four evergreen groups. 

Featured Image: Super Junior Official Twitter

Any day is always a great day to listen to Girls’ Generation, today, we will talk about five things I became sure of after listening to perhaps the group’s craziest song, I Got a Boy. 

Tifanny goes by Trouble. 

For a while, there had been a bit of a competition for the title of “Korea’s American Girlfriend” with Kara’s Nicole. But the dust has settled, there remains to be one and only American sweetheart in the Korean public’s eyes – that is Girls’ Generation’s Tiffany Hwang. Despite having been embroiled in a number of controversies throughout her career as a Girls’ Generation member, one of the three members of the TaeTiSeo unit, and a soloist, it cannot be denied that Koreans have had an on-and-off (but mostly on) romance with the San Francisco-born sweetheart. Many might have gotten turned off her dad tried using his daughter’s name to allegedly defraud some business associates, while some may still have a lot to say about the “non-apology” note Fany posted on Instagram after her “rising sun” (not the nightclub one, the Japanese Imperial Army emoticon one) scandal, but the fact is, Tiffany has risen above all of these scandals and has maintained her popularity even after she departed from SM Entertainment. 

This reminds me of when I see reaction videos of vloggers and reactors to the iconic song, I Got a Boy. After the exciting introduction rap brought to us by Sooyoung and Yuri (from Sooyoung’s iconic “‘’Ey yo, GG!” to Yuri’s observations on the mystery girl’s change of style and fashion sense), Tiffany segues to, “Hey, let me introduce myself,” much to the excitement of the viewing public, 

Then, we get, “Here… comes trouble… whoooooooooo! Ddara hae”

And the girls go, “Oh, oh oh eh oh, oh oh eh oh”

And the reactors wonder. 

Wait, that was it?

So, who is she?

We thought she was gonna introduce herself.

Well, she actually did, but if you were waiting for “Sparkling brighter than all gems Fany Fany” intro with the matching iconic eye smile, then you are in for a small disappointment. That’s because our sweet American girl already introduced herself – as trouble! Yes, she introduced herself as a troublemaker, ready to wreck everybody’s initial impressions of her as the typical sweetheart who has an obsession with pink and gets away with everything with just a smile. 

Did Tiffany live up to that image after I Got A Boy was released, though? I mean, if you were to count those two scandals mentioned earlier, plus the fact that she did figure in a high profile romantic relationship with 2PM’s Nickhun in 2014, a year after the song was released, then we may conclude that uri Fany may have dipped her toes on some mischief. But we all know that if she gives even just one eye smile, everything is forgiven and all is well with our beloved American Girlfriend. 

When Jessica wants to bring it back to 140, bring it back to 140!

We cannot talk about the iconic song I Got a Boy and its equally iconic music video without mentioning that single icon line of the Ice Princess, Jessica: “Don’t stop! Let’s bring it back to 140”.  Any SONE (and even just casual listeners of Girls’ Generation songs) would be no strangers to Sica singing the meatier sections or so-called “killing parts” of the group’s songs. After all, Jessica,  along with Taeyeon, Tiffany, Seohyun, and Sunny, are one of the more important components of the “singing line” of the group.   Even though the group is composed of very talented vocalists, Sica has a distinct tone that is easily distinguishable and gives all GG songs she was part of a different twist. 

But of all the memorable parts Jessica has in just about every Girls’ Generation song, no other line can perhaps top the legendary line that is, “Don’t stop! Let’s bring it back to 140”. That’s because not only is the line very memorably delivered by the other SF-born GG member, it also has two different meanings that make it significant to the song. When Sica says,”Don’t stop, let’s bring it back to 140″, she may mean the portion of the song at 1:40, or at the first minute and 40 seconds, which is the first time the chorus “I got a boy 멋진! I got a boy 착한! I got a boy handsome boy 내 맘 다 가져간” is sung. Well, actually, if we’re being very technical about it, the song at the 1 minute 40 second-mark is still the final seconds of the dance break between when Tiffany / Trouble says, “‘Ey yo stop, let me put down it another way” and the fabled chorus. Try it when listening to the actual mp3 file on iTunes or Spotify, and not the music video, because the latter contains an intro skit where the girls are dolling up when an unidentified boy suddenly rings their doorbell, making the start of the chorus around 30+ seconds off 1:40. 

Another thing “Don’t stop! Let’s bring it back to 140” is the beats per minute of the chorus starting from “I got a boy 멋진”. So, yes, the chorus is at 140 bpm, which also gives a nod to the different beat patterns of the songs. One second, we hear the girls describing this boy as a man who can also be adorable once he does his aegyo, the next second we hear Hyoyeon rap / reminding the girls, “We have to guard what we have to guard! Don’t forget this until the day you own all of his heart”. (오우! 절대로 안되지! 우리, 지킬 건 지키자! 그의 맘을 모두 가질 때까지이건 절대로 잊어버리지 말라고!) As this was the era when SM loved experimenting on their talents (particularly SHINee and f(x)), it was high time SNSD also got more sophisticated with their songs, and I Got a Boy with its eclectic structure and various musical genres rolled into this one song, was definitely a move in the right direction. Thus when Jessica wants to go back to 140, as in 140 bpm, she wants the beat up again from the more relaxed and less frantic bridge. 

But make no mistake; despite the song’s changes in beat patterns, it is definitely high-energy through and through.  

“I Got a Boy” is really a mash-up song. 

The point earlier about I Got a Boy being this weird mash-up of various genres that during the time, was quite revolutionary, may indeed be true. Nowadays, we regard K-pop as this explosion of sounds that you couldn’t really quite put your finger on when it comes to its genre. I mean, even if you listen to what starts off as a melodramatic ballad, like for example Be2st’s Fiction, you’d suddenly be a bit taken aback by a verse done in rap. While these final shifts and BPM switches are already commonplace these days, it wasn’t quite radical before. That was, until SM Entertainment really pushed a ton of experimental sounds on their artists. 

K-pop observers noted that SM started pushing the envelope with their idol groups by making them sound experimental. Thus, f(x) sounded different when in their successive releases after Nu ABO –  Pinocchio, Hot Summer, and Electric Shock. Then, the company took a step further with SHINee’s Sherlock, the first song that sounded like they were two songs that were combined. Well, actually, Sherlock is a combination of two songs, Lock and Clue, which is why the third song’s complete title is Sherlock (Clue+Note). 

These releases by the two SM groups proved to be very successful, which in turn cranked up the pressure for Girl’s Generation. While the group was having their reign as the country’s representative girl group, competition from 2NE1, Kara, and T-Ara made the concepts presented by the girls of SM a tad too… safe. Even their labelmates f(x) has taken the “let’s make more exciting music” memo seriously. It was time for SNSD to sink their teeth into more challenging material after their US debut with The Boys in 2012. 

Thus, in an interview with Billboard Magazine, IGAB’s songwriter Sarah Lundbäck about SM and the listening public, “They were so smart. ‘[People] get bored, you need to keep the interest up.’ They said they really wanted to make the song into a musical feel, in the storyline. Because they really wanted the song to be about a girl that meets a boy and all her friends are telling her, like, ‘You’re an idiot. What can you see in this boy? He’s not good for you,’ and she’s like ‘Well, I got a boy.’”

So, there you have it. The song isn’t necessarily a mash-up of two or more songs but rather a conversation among girls that as we all know, can get frantic and go through a roller coaster of moods from giggly to serious to a full-fledged Sex and the City episode or a pajama party. Another way of looking at it (yes, that’s a pun on Fany’s other English line, “let me put it another way”) is that the song pretty much reflected the eclectic tastes of the listening public in the 2010s. Years before people wait for the beat to drop, they were treated to these songs that seem to reflect multiple personalities. This was also pretty much an accurate reflection of our shortened attention spans. One minute, people were on Myspace, the next they were on Facebook, then Twitter, then Snapchat. The song also jumps from one genre to another and with those differences successfully keeps the attention of then a new generation of K-pop fans. 

Even the members of the group have expressed how they loved the song through the years. It is known that members like Taeyeon and Sooyoung are quite vocal in their distaste for some songs they had, especially during the early part of their career (read: Kissing You), but it seems that all members had only good things to say about IGAB. Talking about the beginnings of the IGAB era, Tiffany said, “We had discussed that we wanted to do something more challenging. This felt like it was it because I had never heard anything like it yet. The song is a song that keeps giving.” 

Overall, “I Got a Boy” showed the world that a little ingenuity coupled with the freedom to produce songs that are not bound by the limits of genre and concepts can result in something revolutionary and definitive for artists. With IGAB, Girls’ Generation was saved from being regarded as a group that was too conventional and only stuck to the same good girl concept. “I think it was the first of its kind,” says Tiffany about the song. 

Sunny makes it all about her hair

We have to admit, when it comes to individual members, Sunny gets the shorter (pun intended) end of the stick. Arguably, even the “least popular” member of the group, Hyoyeom, will always make everything about her dance breaks and killer rap parts. When it comes to singing ability, she is at the top half of the members. However, compared to TaeTiSeo and Sica, she still ends up in the middle. When it comes to dancing ability, the four “non-singers” have the edge over her. With her klutziness and oftentimes poor memory when it comes to choreography, Sunny also got the ire of the SONEs who feel she never took things seriously. As the earlier pun suggested, when it comes to height, Sunny is also first in line – when the order is from shortest to tallest. Haters always bring up her being an “uncle’s girl” as the only reason for her presence in the group. 

Thus, Sunny always compensates by being the best sense when it comes to fan service and entertaining. If there is one thing Sunny is at the top of vis-a-vis her members in Girls’ Generation, that would be her “variety show” skills. She always comes up with the funniest one-liners and most entertaining personas when the group guested in variety shows. As early as Hello Baby, Sunny has always been regarded as having the best personality that even baby Kyungsan had the most fun and calm (no tantrums when umma Sunny was around) interactions with her and she was often voted the best mom by her members. Which reminded me of his tantrums every time Fany approached him. Poor Fany! But I digress. 

For the I Got a Boy music video, Sunny used her hair to its fullest extent, attracting attention when the other members had the spotlight. In terms of lines, as usual, Taeyeon had the most (as usual), Fany and Sica made their mark with English killer lines, and the others took the cake with memorable raps. So, what’s a girl like Sunny gonna do? Make her hair a focal point!

Actually, throughout the video, all the girls sport various hair colors to complement the various moods and shifts of the song. However, our girl Sunny takes it to the next level with her trademark short hair – that alone actually makes her quite noticeable already, even if she is never the center of any SNSD video.  With colored short hair that, throughout the video, looks different from the others who stuck with shades of red and orange, really made Sunny a standout in group shots. 

First, she had pink streaks on blonde hair, then blue streaks on fuchsia hair, then the aqua blue and blonde combo that really made her a standout, then the hot pink streaks on pink hair, and finally, the orange wig. It wasn’t really clearly shown as only TaeTiSeo and Yuri were focused during that part, which otherwise, would have been iconic as it has Sunny in long hair, – definitely a rare treat, although it did not give her a distinct image as she had to rely more on winks and aegyo expressions in music videos for songs such as Oh (where she was in pigtails), Gee (long brown hair), Genie (shaggy black hair). 

Thus, when she came out with that distinct pageboy cut in The Boys, our girl ran away with it. Finally, another thing to easily remember Sunny with! And when IGAB had the girls go crazy with hair color, Sunny took a step further by being the only one veering away from reddish hues. 

The dancing queen chooses violence. 

Hyoyeon, the group’s main dancer, has always been a feisty one. Not one to mince too many words or care much about the preservation of her “idol image,” she was always one of the more outspoken, and thus, misinterpreted idols in all of K-pop. From the start when the girls were still trainees, she considered herself a leading candidate for a spot in SNSD. Thus, after their debut, when the girls’ positions and standing (read: popularity) started to take shape, not only was Hyo disappointed that she was only considered the main dancer (which was not as popular as the leader and main vocal Taeyeon or visual center Yoona), she received a lot of flak for her look as many actually considered her the group’s “ugly member”. 

The years went on and Hyo was tagged as being the more physically domineering member, having been seen playfully hitting her members and answering “sassy” responses to questions when the group would guest in variety programs. Later, it was also revealed that Hyo was the first member to have a boyfriend (hidden, of course) and that she figured in a situation with the police after someone reported her as displaying suicidal behavior as she was jokingly “falling off a building”. This only furthered her reputation’s decline since it was later found that the reporter of the incident was actually her boyfriend. Although there was no assault, he only reported what happened since he was genuinely scared that Hyo might be do something.

And if there is one video that proves that Hyo is indeed one of a kind even among the members of Girls’ Generation, I Got A Boy would be it.   As you can see in the video, all the girls interacted in a rather flirty and innocent fashion with the mysterious man. 

Get this: Throughout the video, all eight girls had some cute and heart-fluttering interactions with the same guy. Center Yoona has tea (or coffee) with the mystery guy. Aqua-haired Sunny has her nails painted pink by the guy. Yuri squeals in delight as she gets a teddy bear from the faceless mystery guy. Sooyoung answers the phone and gets giddy as it is assumed that she is talking with the guy without a face, only to answer the phone seconds later to see him there already. Tiffany gets her lips wiped as she eats ice cream in an expected teenybopper fashion. Taeyeon can be seen feeding her boy cotton candy. Sica can be seen holding her breath as the boy’s hands suddenly inches toward hers. In true k-drama fashion, mystery guy gets on his knee to tie the undone shoelaces of maknae Seohyun. 

And we get Hyo pointing at her watch (product placement alert!), indicating that he is late for their date, and goes ahead and smacks him, as expected of our Dancing Queen. 

I Got A Boy eventually went on to become a commercial success, shooting straight to number 1 in the Gaon Singles Charts when it was released on New Year’s Day, 2013. It won six music show trophies and YouTube’s Video of the Year, beating the likes of Psy and Justin Bieber. Say what you will about how crazy this song is, but listening to I Got a Boy will always be a good idea.

Featured Image:  Screengrab from Girls’ Generation “I Got A Boy”  Youtube music video