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The Kings of K-pop and the Perennial SM Entertainment Threat

BIGBANG Kpop

What do generally accepted Kings of K-pop Big Bang and BTS have in common aside from their reign? One, their debut wasn’t really the type that would make the public conclude that they would be the top acts of their generation. Two, their success was translated into both domestic and international markets. Curious to know what the third similarity is? Pretend you didn’t read the title and read on.

BIGBANG: The Kings of Second Generation K-Pop 

You would think that the biggest k-pop act pre-BTS would have had a huge debut, with the rest being history. But then, you would be wrong for a number of reasons. One, YG Entertainment at that time was not as big of a company as it is today. True, it had brand credibility as it was founded by Yang Hyunsuk of the iconic Korean music group Seo Taeji and the Boys, but in terms of financial standing, the company was far from its current status and reputation. The same is true with the company’s breakthrough group. The formation of the group, which was all showcased in the documentary Big Bang Documentary, had the nation recognize the group even before it debuted. Before their debut, not only did they all have to share a tiny room together (that had mice visiting them), but they barely had enough to eat after each day of hard practice and had little to no money to buy food. Even their practice room (if you would call it that as it was just the space where they practiced) where they prepared for their debut was poorly lit and dirty. 

But then, great and well-received music can come from poor conditions, right? Not the case for BIGBANG, as even though the company did take a huge gamble with their debut, the public reception of their first release was lukewarm by any standard. 30,000 copies sold for an EP is definitely characteristic of groups in nugu territory, much more a group that was to be the banner act of one of the Big 3 companies. 

The single albums that followed the debut release Bigbang Vol.1, Big Bang First Single and Big Bang Is V.I.P did not fare any better. It wasn’t until August 2007 when the fortunes of the group finally got reversed, when their first EP, Always was released, led by the single Lies. The song went on to sell 5,000,000 (that’s five million) copies and EP sales went over 101,000. Still not that stellar for the album’s sales figures, but the song’s hit status finally gave the group both the reputation as K-pop superstars and the financial success to back it up. With sold-out concert tours both at home and in Japan and a couple more chart-topping hits (Last Farewell and Haru Haru), it became undeniable that Big Bang had indeed, arrived. As YGE’s founder Yang Hyunsuk accurately pointed out in an interview, it wasn’t YG that made Big Bang. It was Big Bang that made YG.   

Wait, so Big Bang became the representatives of K-pop to the world, and when people (especially international fans) who followed the second generation of k-pop are asked for an example of a k-pop song, they would most likely answer Fantastic Baby or Bang Bang Bang. Which begs the reaction, “Wasn’t hallyu all about Sorry, Sorry and Mr. Simple?” Why has Big Bang overshadowed Super Junior’s legacy overseas? Why hasn’t Super Junior, despite having debuted earlier and having more members made a bigger impact than Big Bang? 

To this issue, things can be very well subjective. By all accounts, considering how many international ELFs are up to now still very active in following and promoting Super Junior and how SJ is still the more visible group after all these years, we can say that SJ is actually bigger than Big Bang. Even when we consider only objective factors like album sales and tickets sold/concert attendance, we can also conclude that SJ is more successful than BB and that BB only edges out SoJu in digital sales. But then, we can also argue that Super Junior just releases more albums and has done more concert tours than BB. After all, let’s not forget that Big Bang is a YG group, which proudly claims to “prioritize quality over quantity” (with the prime example being Lee Hi, who only released two full-length albums and one EP in her 7-year stay with YGE). But, we also have to remember that prior to debuting SJ, SM already had massive successes going as far as H.O.T, Shinhwa, and TVXQ. As mentioned earlier, YG hasn’t had a really successful track record prior to Big Bang, 

VIPs can also argue that perhaps the “bigger impact” of Big Bang on the Korean music landscape, especially when it comes to an international following has to do with image. Being the poster kids of YG Entertainment, Big Bang has always been seen as the cool ones, the ones who do everything with the trademark “YG swag”. Everybody wants to be dripping in sophistication, charisma, and elegance, dressed only in designer clothes and attending by-invitation-only events just like Big Bang. Even their fandom name alludes to that high-class exclusivity – VIPs. On the other hand, SuJu is very accessible, and fun, and doesn’t have even a considerable percentage of swag as BB has.  I mean, can you even imagine GD chasing Daesung or TOP crying over a cracked-open watermelon like what Siwon, Leeteuk, and Kangin did in the Mamacita MV? Heck, can you even imagine Big Bang performing Mamacita, complete with palm-hitting-the-temple choreography?  

To sum it up, Big Bang’s reign in k-pop can be perfectly summarized as the YG machinery in perfect operation. As mentioned above, even during the early years of YG and Big Bang, image and perception are #1. So, in a way, both Big Bang and Super Junior were very effective in securing their rightful places in the k-pop world: As Super Junior is the more accessible group, they are the “Kings of Hallyu” responsible for introducing millions to the eccentric world of k-pop and once you’ve gotten immersed in the world, you’ll be caught breathless at the neverending supply of swag by Big Bang, whose aspirational image easily made them the “Kings of K-pop” of the second generation. 

We’re calling this a draw.

BTS: The Global (K-)Pop Phenomenon

Just like Big Bang, the world’s biggest pop act these days didn’t have a particularly rosy debut. BTS was never in nugu territory from the start, but their first releases from 2 Cool 4 Skool to the next ones, Dark & Wild did not give the Bangtan Boys that breakthrough. Thus, even though songs like No More Dream, Boy in Luv, N.O, Just One Day, and Danger were noticed by both casual fans and music critics as songs with a lot of substance as they reflect the issues of the youth today, they weren’t exactly radio chart-friendly material that could have propelled the boys to the level of being household names. 

Alas, in 2015, a good number of factors combined to give the boys both domestic and international success. BTS started releasing “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life” album series that contained songs  I Need You and Run, which finally allowed the boys to penetrate the top 10 of Korean music charts. Also included in the first TMBMIL EP was Dope, a song that only peaked at #44 in Korea, but started the international breakthrough for the band. To be clear, Dope performed as well as I Need You in the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart, peaking at number 3, but it sure was the song that made the international audience take notice of the group. 

Not the song per se, but the MV, where the group presented that dance in the chorus with razor-sharp precision, wearing the same white shirts, black pants, and ties. That just blew the mind of hundreds of YouTube reactors who got silenced every time it was time for that chorus. I mean, with the rich history of “boy bands” from New Kids on the Block to 5 Seconds of Summer, nobody, and I mean nobody has given the world a choreographed performance so clean and so tight! As much as you can argue these American reactors haven’t seen an Infinite performance, that Dope MV was so powerful that it propelled content creators on YouTube to not just react to the video, but also learn the choreography and actually do dance covers. 

Now, if you’re being strict that group “breakthroughs” can only happen with chart-topping songs, Bangtan’s international breakthrough finally came in 2016, when Fire took the top spot on the World Digital Song Sales chart. But by this time, YouTube content creators (this was pre-Tiktok, so at that time YouTube power was supreme) had lapped up everything and anything BTS releases, securing the group’s international fanbase. Which begs the question: Although BTS already broke through the Korean market in 2015, was it 2016 when they actually dominated? And by dominate, I mean dominate the Korean market.

Let us remember that by the end of 2016, the Korean public was already thinking of which group will be taking Big Bang’s place as the reigning kings as the members take their leave from the entertainment industry to fulfill their military duties. And by that time, it was almost as if BTS with their sudden national and international success was already on an express route to assume the throne Big Bang was to vacate soon. 

But then, there was EXO. 

EXO had everything going for them – the backing of the industry’s biggest entertainment company, a fanbase that is bordering on fanatic, charismatic personalities, Chinese members that quit the group that all the more swayed public sympathy to their favor, and something that their SME sunbaes Super Junior did not (arguably) – a stronger and more “aspirational” discography that made fans take them more seriously compared to Leeteuk and co, With songs like Growl, Call Me Baby, and Love Me Right, girls swooned at them, while boys wanted to be like them. Definitely a huge difference compared to songs like Cooking? Cooking, Rokuko, SPY, and Mamacita of Super Junior, which although were also huge hits, are not particularly songs people would regularly want on their playlists. 

Thus, when BTS started the year on and with Fire and EXO replied with one hit after another – Lucky One, Monster, Lotto, and Dancing King, it was a full-on battle for supremacy reminiscent of the iconic rivalries k-pop such as H.O.T and Sechkies, Fin.KL and S.E.S, and Girls’ Generation versus 2NE1 (notice that one side is always an SME group?). ARMY and EXO-L (at least domestic during this period)  were claiming victory, with EXO-Ls seeing the finish line in sight. 

Then, in October, BTS released Blood, Sweat, and Tears and moved straight to numero uno. As expected, EXO retaliated with… a ballad. Alas, this is to be expected since EXO has made it somewhat a tradition to release ballads before the year’s end, starting from Miracles in December and has continued with December 2014, and Sing for You. So, for 2016, it was For Life. Still, a very strong release that showcases the group’s superior vocal line. But to pit it against Blood, Sweat and Tears? 2016 was a “monster” year (pun intended) for EXO, but as a popular perception goes, it’s the stronger finish gets remembered more. In this case, Blood, Sweat, and Tears definitely trumped For Life. 

But it’s okay, since 2017 was fast approaching and EXO released Ko Ko Bop to counter BTS’ super strong start with a somewhat Uno reverse move – releasing a ballad entitled Spring Day. True, they coupled it days later with the darker Not Today to balance the very soft, heartbreaking tone of Spring Day, but it just so happened that Spring Day just resonated so much with the Korean public, as what Miracles in December did in 2013, when EXO-Ls somehow had the feeling they would need a miracle a year later, when the Chinese members started quitting from the group. But somehow, Ko Ko Bop was released in July, which gave BTS more room to extend their dominance they started in October 2016 with BS&T, Moreover, SM coupled Ko Ko Bop with the rather cartoon-ish Power, which revived the EXO debut concept of every member having his own superpower. Just when they needed successive releases of strong material to counter BTS, EXO went the Super Junior “not taking everything so seriously” road. 

And then, the annual December release. While Universe by the end of the year still

Charted high, it seemed that the public didn’t really see this as a special event, as they have already expected the annual ballad release on December, so there was nothing that exciting about it. On the other hand, BTS capped the year with the bright and overly radio-friendly DNA and an international collaboration with DJ Steve Aoki remixing their song Mic Drop. By this time, it became apparent that EXO was slowly starting to fade away from being SM’s center of attention (To NCT? To Red Velvet? We will never know), as it took almost a whole year for the group to come back with Tempo. We’ll never know why that comeback took so long, but by that time it was obvious that SM already saw EXO as a “legacy” group that can survive with one or two comebacks in a year. And with that, it was also as if the red carpet was laid ahead for BTS. 

And now, many argue that the current domination of another K-pop group starting with the letter B, Blackpink, was also once threatened by another SM group, Red Velvet. But then, others argue that it was more of a BP versus Twice battle if only JYP didn’t cause their group to self-sabotage and give way to ITZY. And then, there are those who speculate that it is actually another SM group that has been slowly but surely threatening Blackpink dominance internationally with successive #1 singles and even having similar activities like endorsements of international high-end fashion brands, performing in Coachella, and having the same number of members. 

So now, the burning question is, are the current queens of K-pop ready to play with fire and take things to the next level? One thing’s for sure: SM never takes things sitting down, so we are definitely on to exciting times ahead in the world of Korean pop music!

Featured image: BIGBANG – 뱅뱅뱅 (BANG BANG BANG) M/V. Source: BIGBANG, YouTube.
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Four Kpop Groups Who Nugu-Ed Their Way to Oblivion

K-pop idol groups fading from the limelight through disbandment shortly after their debut is a sad but common reality. However, there are a few groups that had things to their advantage at the start but still struggled in terms of popularity and eventually lost their battle against irrelevance. Here are four groups that, unfortunately, we may not see much of anymore. 

HOTSHOT

This one is gonna hurt a lot of K-pop observers because HOTSHOT was definitely one of the most talented groups in K-pop. If you need more evidence to prove this, look no further than Produce 101 Season 2, where you can watch Ha Sungwon finishing in the top 11 of the program, and therefore securing a spot in the project group WANNA ONE, while Noh Taehyun being in charge of the choreography of his group’s staging of Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You. Oh, and don’t forget that first evaluation performance of the two to Block B’s Very Good. Based on that, you can’t really help but wonder why HOTSHOT, with overly talented members and all, became lukewarm and eventually faded into disbandment. 

But Produce 101 Season 2 was not the only program where HOTSHOT’s members were able to display their talents. While Sungwon and Taehyun participated in Produce 101, another two joined another idol survival show, The Unit. Timoteo, who happened to be an SM trainee and was slotted to join EXO, ended up 10th in the show. It was a spot short of the final nine members who made up the show’s project group UNB. On the other hand, Hojung ranked 3rd and therefore promoted with UNB from April 2018 to January 2019. The thing about UNB was that initial plans were for the group to promote for seven months initially and if they proved successful, the project group’s activities would be extended for 25 months. The two EPs sold more than 46,000 copies each, which made people scratch their heads as to why they ceased their activities after only more than nine months. 

As for HOTSHOT, they weren’t really popular to begin with, despite having outrageously talented members. They eventually got the boost they need with Taehyun and Sungwon’s exposure in PD101 S2 that their last release in 2018 fared better than their previous releases. However, it should be noted that this EP, Early Flowering, did not include Sungwon, as he was still with WANNA ONE until December of 2018. The EP was released a month before. Which begs the question, “why?’ Didn’t the company want to milk Sungwon’s newfound fame to the group’s benefit?

The group’s last song I Hate You (which was included in Early Flowering) would have greatly benefited from the push that Sungwon could have provided, had he been included. But then, Star Crew might have already envisioned a solo career for him post-WANNA ONE and may have already given up on HOTSHOT. What is more curious is that they included Hojung despite him still promoting with UNB. Moreover, Star Crew gave Taehyun his first solo project, an EP in January 2019 after promoting with JBJ from October 2017 to April 2018. 

Finally, in March 2021, Star Crew formally announced the group’s disbandment, after more than two years of the group’s inactivity. Just like that.  

https://twitter.com/wannalov3/status/1511335916404502528?s=20&t=aqTm6c9khFfb_LqZKVlIPQ

 

Essential song: Real talk: Not one song in the group’s six-year-old discography really gave justice to Sungwon’s vocals, Taehyun’s dance moves, and Yoonsan’s rap skills, all of which are top-notch. Take a look at Step by Step and I’m a Hotshot for their better songs. 

Where are they now: Military enlistment was last heard of three members:  Junhyuk enlisted in the military in January 2020, Hojung in May 2020, and Yoonsan also enlisted in 2021. Timoteo contributed a song to the Mr. Boss OST in 2021 and has been a guest in a couple of TV shows. Meanwhile, Taehyun and Sungwoon have launched solo careers. Sungwoon has also signed with BPM Entertainment (agency to Soyou, Huh Gak, three former members of GFriend, and Sungwoon’s PD101 castmate Samuel) and is set to release his latest EP with his new agency in February. 

SNUPER

This is one group that did not really count on a lot of factors save for the songs that were meant to bring the group to the top. The six-member group was the first talents created by Windmay Entertainment, a company established by former JYP employees who had previously worked with Miss A and 2PM. The name of the group is actually short for “Higher than Super” which according to the group means that the goal is to come together as a group to enhance their strengths as individual supermen. The group also alluded to the similarity of their name to the cartoon character Snoopy who has a cute side, with their intense nature reflected in the word Super. So, Snoopy + Super = Snuper!

The six members of Snuper are quite interesting as well, which may have assured the group of at least a bit of public interest. Taewoong, the leader and rapper, was born in Japan to a Japanese dad and Korean mom and was a child actor before training as a singer-idol for a full seven years. Suhyun, the group’s main vocalist, named himself after his favorite actor Kim Soohyun and trained under Jellyfish Entertainment before shifting to Windmay. Sangil, the group’s other main vocalist, was working in a cafe when he was scouted for Snuper. Since his debut in Snuper, he has joined various singing and reality competitions such as The Unit, King of the Masked Singer, and Mr. Trot. 

There’s also Woosung, who is the tallest in the group and has earned a reputation for his athletic prowess by winning the 60-meter dash in the ISACs three times. Sangho, the main dancer, was Sangil’s co-worker in the cafe and was also discovered there. Finally, there’s Sebin, the main rapper who is also the maknae and like Taewoong, was also a child actor before training to become an idol. He joined The Unit with Sangil.  

Snuper’s last Japanese comeback was on August 8th, 2019 with Come Over, while their Korean comeback was even earlier, on October 8th, 2018 with You In My Eyes, which is is actually a re-release of a B-side from their Blossom EP. Perhaps their most popular songs are Platonic Love, Back:Hug, and You=Heaven, which are all produced by Sweetune, and thus have that retro-disco sound that should have assured the group of a cult following. 

And that they did, but unfortunately, the group didn’t really garner traction in the Korean market. Their fandom, Swing, did not expand much in Korea, while the group became more popular in Korea. The group didn’t really face controversy, save for this one outfit guffaw when Starlights, VIXX’s fandom, pointed out that the outfits for their “It’s Raining” promotions resembled VIXX stage outfits too much. Other than that, Snuper pretty much had consistent comebacks and has actually toured overseas, performing in countries like Canada, the UAE, Russia, and Mexico.

 

So with members who sort of guaranteed international success (those Japanese members are moneymakers, for sure) and songs produced by Sweetune, architects of a number of career-defining songs for Infinite and Secret, why has Snuper not experienced breakthrough success even after six years? It may all be attributed to the inexperience of the company when it comes to promoting an idol group. With so much competition going on with the third generation of idol groups, there must be something for a group to specialize in so that they can be set apart from others. Otherwise, they will just blend in with other groups, which may have exactly happened to Snuper.

Essential songs: According to fans, the group’s three best songs include Platonic Love, Back: Hug, and The Star of Stars.  

Where are they now: There has been no official disbandment announcement from the group’s agency and most members are supposed to be focusing on their military service. Member Sebin has been promoting with the group Omega X since its debut in June 2021. 

 

CROSS GENE

Cross Gene is another group that somehow found success in Japan but not in Korea. This boy group started off very promising in 2012 with six members. The multiple ethnicities of the six members also may have made followers of k-pop music very curious, making their first release peak at a very respectable number 8 on the Gaon album charts. So, what exactly went wrong? It can be argued that the things that the group had to their advantage were also precisely what caused their popularity to not quite take off, at least in Korea. Thus, sad to say that to the newer fans of K-pop, the mention of this group’s name will elicit a few “nugu?” reactions.  

As mentioned earlier, Cross Gene was a highly anticipated group to debut. The group’s agency, Amuse Korea, is originally a Japanese company that had Cross Gene as its first project in the Korean market. The company announced in 2012 that it will debut a group with members from Korea, China, and Japan. Among the members is Shin Wonho, who has already made TV appearances and ads, and Terada Takuya, who has been with the company as an actor and model. Thus, when the group debuted, there were three South Koreans (Shin, Sangmin, and Yongseok), two Chinese (Casper and J. G.), and one Japanese (Takuya). The difference in nationalities of the members also became the reason for the group’s name, as they are supposed to be a cross of various genes that will form one perfect group. 

Six months after debuting, J.G. departed from the group to start a career as a solo artist, and Amuse immediately replaced him with Seyoung. Takuya was also relieved of his position as a leader and was replaced by Shin. After the member and position changes, the group debuted and promoted in Japan throughout 2013 with a debut single in February, a digital single in March, a concert in May, another digital single in August, a special photobook CD weeks later, two more concerts also in August, a Japanese website in September, three more Japanese digital singles, and three more live shows before 2013 ended. This meant that after debuting in Korea in June 2012, the group has not had any activity in the country since then. 

The first half of 2014 was not packed with activity for the group’s Korean fandom either, as the group spent the first months of the year in the US to film a movie. Finally, Korean-based Cross Gene followers saw some activity when a visual teaser for their Korean comeback was released on April 6. Finally, a few days short of a two-year absence in the Korean music scene, the digital single Amazing (Bad Lady) was released on June 9. Casper had to beg off from promotions though, as he had an injury during preparations.

https://twitter.com/deviIdoyoung/status/1188929770706395136?s=20&t=aqTm6c9khFfb_LqZKVlIPQ

The song was passable, albeit going a bit under the radar as it doesn’t sound as flashy as their other previous songs. However, the group got a lot of buzz because of the song’s choreography, which involves a number of movements that were deemed by some TV stations as too racy for public exhibition. One such move involves the members motioning their golden-gloved hands in front of their crotch area in a circular motion. Another move involved the members raising their hips from a lying position. Now, if that’s not a sure-fire way to get the Korean TV censors’ tongues a-wagging, nothing will! 

Another thing Cross Gene did that was the opposite of the common practice was that they translated their Japanese singles into Korean. In 2014, groups like Girl’s Day, Apink, and INFINITE, among others, debuted in the Japanese market by releasing Japanese versions of their Korean hits, and after charting with these songs, they finally came up with original Japanese songs. The opposite happened to Cross Gene, who released a Korean version of their Japanese hit Shooting Star as a follow-up to the controversial Amazing. 

But while this era produced three singles – Amazing, Shooting Star, and Billion Dollar for Korea, the boys did not forget about their Japanese fanbase as they continued to conduct live Japanese performances and participate in music festivals in Japan. This continued in 2015, with the group starting the year with a Japanese single, Future. The single charted high in the country’s Oricon Charts, cementing the group’s popularity in Japan. The group did stage a comeback for Korea, the highly addictive and catchy Play With Me, which peaked at number 7 in the Gaon Album Charts. Then the group returned to Japan to release a new single. 

Despite the obvious preference the group (or the company?) showed for conducting Japanese activities, the group still enjoyed relative success in Korea, where after three and half years since debuting, they successfully sold out their first Korean concert on December 23, 2015.    

In 2016, it was revealed that Casper has left the group. Two years later, Takuya also left the group to focus on his modeling and acting careers. Before the pandemic hit in early 2020, it was revealed that Yongseok and Sangmin have not renewed their contracts with Amuse. But nothing has been formally announced in relation to Cross Gene’s disbandment, as the three have since then enlisted in the military. 

So, suffice to say that Cross Gene did not really live up to their potential in Korea because of their company’s decision to be more active in the Japanese market at the start of their careers. By the time they chose to increase their promotional activities more in Korea at the same level as their Japanese promotions in 2017 to 2019, they had to share the spotlight with new groups. 

Essential songs: The group’s debut single, La-Di Da-Di was catchy and is among a few K-pop debut singles that actually charted in Gaon. You cannot hear Amazing without remembering the iconic controversial circular crotch choreography. Finally, that “ppa ppa ppira ppa ppa ppira ppa” hook of Play With Me’s chorus is the stuff of legends.    

Where are they now: With Seyoung’s formal announcement in December 2020 that he has left the group and not just the company, Cross Gene is down to three members – Shin, Sangmin, and Yongseok. And with the latter two not signed to Amuse anymore, expecting them to successfully conduct reunion projects with Shin once they all finish military service may be unrealistic.  

DAL SHABET

The story of Dal Shabet is a rather sad tale of finding direction a tad too late and not striking while the iron is hot. Moreover, it is a bit unjust that the group had to endure bullying and harassment from a fandom of another group. All in all, this underrated group had tons of missed opportunities and was a victim of a series of unfortunate events that they don’t really deserve.

Dal Shabet debuted in 2011. It was a year that also debuted Brave Girls, Rania, and Apink and had groups like SISTAR and Girl’s Day started cementing their popularity. While Apink had cornered the public that longs for the cutesy and innocent concepts the 1st girl groups popularized, Dal Shabet had a shaky situation from the start. The thing about the group’s debut single, Supa Dupa Diva is that it was a “love it or hate it” kind of song. While its supporters propelled it to rank decently on music shows like Music Bank, where it went on to peak at 5th place, its haters declared it as not just the worst debut song, but the “worst song ever.” 

But then, music industry people later voted for it as 2011’s second most addicting song with the second most popular choreography. Even unforgiving k-netz announced their change of hearts.

In August 2011, the group announced that their first comeback would be “funky” and the hate they received for releasing an incomprehensible debut single was added as their concept photos for the comeback. They were deemed “too sexual” for live television, which prompted the company to overhaul the concept to a more quirky and cutesy one with just a touch of naughtiness. Dal Shabet scored its first top 10 single in the Gaon Charts with Bling Bling. 

The group had a run-on with fans of another group before the year ended, which left a somewhat bad taste to everything. It all started at the end of December 2011 at the SBS Gayo Daejun, when Dal Shabet and B1A4 had a collab stage. There was a lot of touching between the groups, which caused Bana, B1A4’s fandom to spread rumors about Darlings (Dal Shabet’s fandom) harassing Banas. The rumors heightened during the Idol Star Athletics Championships when rumors circulated that Darlings assaulted, kidnapped, and raped Banas. Police interfered and revealed that no such incidents took place. Happyface Entertainment released a statement about the rumors,  imploring people to stop. And B1A4 fans took things a step further by hacking Dal Shabet’s website. Visitors to the website were met with pop-ups asking why Banas were being harassed by Darlings. 

Serri responded to the rumors by posting requests on Twitter for people to stop spreading lies and rumors. More harassment incidences happened before Serri and the company threatened legal action. Then things died a natural death (or maybe people got scared?).

2012 had the group return with the powerful Hit U, which became Dal Shabet’s first album to reach number one in the Gaon Charts. But two months after ending activities for the comeback, the group’s leader Viki left the group to pursue a solo career. She was quickly replaced with a new member, Woohee. Serri then assumed leadership of the group as they staged their comeback in July with the single Mr. BangBang. By November, Dal Shabet staged another comeback with the EP Have, Don’t Have, and up to this point, the group had relatively been quite successful.

It was in their summer 2013 comeback that Dal Shabet had their first brush of controversy as TV stations announced that the lyrics to their single Be Ambitious were unfit for public broadcast due to sexual content, and therefore they would not allow the song to be played in their shows or allow the group to promote it in their music programs. Happy Face Entertainment did comply by changing the lyrics in questions. However, weeks after, a men’s rights group ‘Man of Korea’ filed an injunction to completely ban the further distribution of the song claiming it deprecates Korean men who are subject to the country’s mandatory enlistment. Days later, Man of Korea and Happy Face came to an agreement with the former dropping their injunction request. 

In 2014, the group went full-fledged sexy with their comeback B.B.B, which they first performed in the celebrity military reality show Real Men. By this time, the girls were quite popular throughout the country, but a couple of medical incidents affected some members. Subin got into a car accident in May 2014, where she had to undergo surgery for injuries. In September, Woohee was also hospitalized for a collapsed lung. 

2015 saw the group embroiled in another controversy as the title track of their comeback Joker was banned by KBS because of its explicit choreography, with the song’s lyrics pointed out as being suggestive. You see, the English word “joker” sounds similar to the Korean expletive “jot kuh” which refers to the enormity of the male anatomy. Considering the group’s previous single B. B. B., which stands for “Big Baby Baby”, people were quick to point out the sexual innuendo “Joker” implied. 

The end of 2015 revealed that Jiyul and Kaeun would be leaving the group, which would reduce the member count of the group to four. The group staged their comeback on January 5 with the retro-sounding Someone Like U, which actually charted in Japan and China. Nine months later, they released FRI. SAT. SUN. This would be the last comeback of the group. 

In 2017, Happy Face Entertainment announced that Subin will be joining the reality television series The Unit, but because of schedule conflicts, she was replaced by Serri and Woohee. 

However, before the year ended, the company announced that members Serri, Subin, and Ahyoung decided to leave the company after their contracts expired. Ahyoung transferred to SidusHQ, Serri was eliminated from The Unit and placed 23rd, while Woohee placed seventh and secured herself a place in the show’s female team. 

Since then, the group has held a photo exhibition and a mini-concert in October 2019, with six members, including Jiyul and Kaeun. But then the company has already become more focused on promoting its new girl group, Dreamcatcher. Due to this, a lot of supposed Happy Face support for Dal Shabet has been diverted. 

Essential songs: Dal Shabet definitely has a great discography Mr. BangBang, B. B. B., Pink Rocket, Have Don’t Have, Joker, and Someone Like U are all catchy AF. 

Where are they now? All members are pursuing acting careers, with Subin and Serrri the only ones also doing a lot of music work. 

With a good number of programs featuring the “golden age of K-pop” such as Jaejae’s MMTG, Ms. Back, and Mamadol, it is a fervent wish for these groups to experience a return to popularity because they truly deserve it. 

Featured Image credit: Cross Gene Official Twitter

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SISTAR, Jewelry, and Kara: Life After Disbanding

Feeling nostalgic? Wondering where your favorite idols of disbanded second gen Kpop girl groups are right now? We’ve got you covered. Let’s take a trip down memory lane and see what these idols have been up to since their groups stopped being active.

SISTAR

The (eternal) summer queens of k-pop, Sistar was (and is still) known for two things: Having summer releases that consistently ranked at the top of the charts and having all their title tracks peak at number 1 in the said charts. Sistar disbanded in 2017, much to the heartbreak of the fans, and they are one of the very few groups that had proper disbandment, complete with the company’s (Starship Entertainment) official statement, a proper final send-off single, and a tour of music shows for their final stages. As there was nothing onerous or hateful about the group’s disbandment, either among the members or between the company and the members, fans still hold out some hope that a reunion will happen in the near future. In fact, Hyolyn and Dasom released a collaboration single in the summer of 2021, aptly titled Summer or Summer.

So, what are the four queens of summer up to now?

Hyolyn – SISTAR’s main vocal has not had a day of rest since the group’s disbandment, releasing solar material every year, including the controversial hit Dally (which she performed in the 2018 KBS Drama Awards, and audiences claimed she was “butt naked), Say My Name, and her latest No Thanks. She has also entered reality competitions one after another, in 2021’s Double Trouble, which she won, and the second season of Queendom, where she also started out strong but eventually ended up in fourth place. She manages her own career under her one-woman agency Bridz. 

Bora – Ever the relatable personality, SISTAR’s main rapper had an eventful career after the group’s disbandment. She has continued to appear in variety shows such as Produce 48, where she appeared as a Special MC, Unnie’s Beauty Carpool which she co-hosted with SNSD’s Hyoyeon, Happy Beauty Day, and this year’s Sisters Run – Witch Fitness Basketball Club. She debuted in film in 2019’s Sunkist Family and also continued to act on the small screen, notably in Doctor Romantic 2, Only One Person, and Hit Up! Hit Up! Bora has been under two agencies since leaving Starship – Hook immediately after Sistar’s disbandment and KeyEast since 2020.

Soyou – Sistar’s other main vocal has also managed to remain in the spotlight since her group’s disbandment. She was the last member to stay in Starship, debuting as a solo artist under the label in 2017. She has since then released three EPs: Re:Born, Re:Fresh, and Day & Night, the latter released under her new label BPM (home to Viviz, Huh Gak, Ha Sungwon, and Lee Mujin, among others), where she transferred after opting not to renew her Starship contract in September 2021. Her TV career has also been active, having appeared as a mentor in the last two Produce 101 seasons and hosted various variety shows. 

Dasom – Sistar’s maknae has always been the actress of the group and her acting career has continued after Sistar’s disbandment. She has appeared in the dramas Band of Sisters, he is Psychometric, an episode in KBS Drama Special, and Was It Love? Since Sistar’s disbandment, her career has been managed by King Kong, which is still a Starship subsidiary. In June 2021, she decided not to renew with the agency and signed with a new agency, Story J Company (the agency of Seo Inguk, Go Jun, and Kim Taehee, aka Rain’s wife) a couple of months later.  

Jewelry

Jewelry is one of those groups that gradually disintegrated as the members left the company (in this case, the notorious Star Empire) one by one. In 2014, it was revealed that Eunjung’s contract had expired and she would be leaving the group. Before the year ended, Baby J also revealed that she will be leaving Jewelry as her contract expired last August. It was also revealed that Semi would not renew her contract after it expired in November. Finally, on January 7, 2015, the group was officially confirmed as disbanded by Star Empire Entertainment.

Jungah – Jungah has continued with her career in acting after leaving Star Empire in 2013. She has appeared in dramas such as Leverage and The Secret of My Love after signing with Jellyfish Entertainment.  She also got married in 2016 and gave birth to her first child after two years. 

Minah – Minah has been living the life of a “normal” private citizen for quite some time now. While she used to appear in television dramas in the mid-2010s, her public appearances have been confined to a few guest appearances on talk shows and variety programs since then. She married her boyfriend, a CEO of a fitness center, who is 6 years older than her in 2020. She was also pregnant at that time and finally gave birth in 2021. Her SNS post about suffering from hyperventilation and falling to the ground in their house a few months ago had people speculating whether she is suffering from abuse. 

Inyoung – Otherwise known as Elly, Inyoung continued her career in music even after leaving Star Empire. In fact, she returned to the agency four years after leaving it and released more music with them. These days, she is more active in variety shows, where she has made appearances in programs such as Call Center of Love, Mama the Idol, and We are a Family. 

Eunjung – Early this year, Eunjung got married to music producer Kei Lim. Jungah, Inyoung, and Baby G were witnesses to the event. 

Baby G – After leaving Star Empire in 2014, Baby G continued activities in various projects, such as Mnet‘s Show Me The Money 5 and Unpretty Rapstar 3. However, she confessed that she hasn’t been able to obtain any jobs in entertainment since then, so she’s been working at a café for minimum wage. She has been regularly updating her Instagram account (@__juyunhaaaa) but there haven’t been a lot of singing activities documented. 

Semi – After her contract expired with Star Emire Semi reverted to her birth name Yoon Jinsol and appeared in numerous TV dramas such as Radio Romance, Welcome to Waikiki, and Witch’s Love. She was also reported to have signed with Kings Entertainment in 2019, but there hasn’t been much news about her activities until this year when she participated in the youth-oriented drama Dear.M. 

Yewon – Yewon signed to Jellyfish Entertainment since leaving Stra Empire in 2016. Since then, she has appeared in TV dramas like What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim, Feel Good to Die, Class of Lies, and She Knows Everything. She transferred to a new agency, Andmarq (agency of Park Jinjoo and Lee Joobeen, among others) in May of 2022. 

Kara

Here is one group that was ubiquitous during its peak and had a tinge of tragedy after its disbandment. The cracks in the group started showing in 2014 when Nicole and  Jiyoung decided not to renew their contracts with DSP Media thus leaving the group to pursue their own endeavors. Following their departures, a reality show titled Kara Project was aired on TV to select members to join the group. Seven trainees from DSP Media took part in the program. The winner of the competition was Heo Youngji who became the latest and eventually the last member to join the group.

On January 15, 2016, Kara disbanded after DSP Media announced that the contracts with Gyuri, Seungyeon, and Hara expired and they decided not to renew their contracts. Although members Gyuri and Youngji have mentioned the possibility of a reunion, no further updates have been released. Also, Hara’s demise in 2019 has quashed any possibility of a reunion with all members. Although, on June 11, 2022, former Kara members Gyuri, Seungyeon, Nicole, Jiyoung and Youngji reunited for a group photoshoot which was shared on each of their Instagram accounts. This sparked rumors of a comeback, however, no announcement was made. They may lack one member forever, but then we should be okay with anything we can get, eh?

Nicole – The erstwhile main rival of Tiffany when it comes to the title Korea’s American Girlfriend, Nicole was Kara’s maknae who opted not to renew her contract with DSP Entertainment at the start of 2014. She eventually debuted as a solo artist in both Korea and Japan in 2014 and 2016, respectively. She is set to have a comeback in Korea via a single entitled You.F.O under her new entertainment label JWK Entertainment. She was signed under B2M after deciding not to renew with DSP until the company’s closure in 2017. 

Gyuri – Since Kara’s disbandment in 2016, Gyuri has mostly focused on an acting career. She has also been in the news for other reasons such as her high-profile romance with an heir to a construction industry company, which ended in 2021. 

Seungyeon – On the music front, Seungyeon has been more active in Japan, releasing EPs there since 2017. She has also sung in k-drama OSTs, though, which is the extent of her activities in the Korean music industry. She has been more active on television, as she signed to Inyeon Entertainment in 2018 and was cast in the fantasy romance drama About Time. She then took on the leading role in travel romance drama Twelve Nights the same year. A couple of years later, she switched to a new agency,  YGX Entertainment. In 2021, Han appeared in comedy horror film Show Me the Ghost as Yeji. She won Fantastic Actor Jury’s Special Mention Award for her performance at 25th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival.

Jiyoung – After leaving Kara, Jiyoung focused on expanding both her music and acting careers in Japan with the agency Sweet Power. She made her first appearance in the 19th Tokyo Girls Collection fashion show in the Saitama Super Arena. Her first acting job was the live-action of Hell Teacher Nube, where she played the heroine, Yukime. She has also released a number of EPs in Nihongo. Her activities in Korea were mostly acting projects as she participated in movies and TV dramas. She has also switched agencies from KeyEast to ELRIS Entertainment only this year. 

Youngji – Youngji is the only Kara member who has stayed with DSP even after all other members have signed on to other agencies. In fact, she renewed her contract with the company again in April. Since her group’s “hiatus”, Youngji has released solo material, acted in a couple of TV dramas, and hosted a number of variety programs and web shows as well. 

Has our roundup of idol updates satisfied you or are you pining for more updates on other idols? Stay tuned for more updates in the future!

Featured image: Queens of K-pop summer, SISTAR, performs their iconic song “Touch My Body.” Source: @STARSHIP_official; YouTube.
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When Female Idols Leave (or Get Kicked out of) Their Groups

So, after months of speculation, the moment Pink Pandas have long feared finally happened – Naeun has officially bid farewell to her group for more than 10 years, Apink. After deciding to not renew her contract with Play M Entertainment (now IST) in April last year and signing to YG Entertainment as an actress, many opined that it wouldn’t be long before the group’s visual center would also leave her group.  Naeun silenced the naysayers, saying she would still be promoting with her groupmates in Apink even if she started focusing more on her career as an actress. However, the schedules clashed, and Apink had to, unfortunately, take a pause in their 10th-anniversary activities following the involvement of the group’s leader, Chorong, in a bullying scandal. 

When the air was finally cleared and the group was about to promote their much-delayed special anniversary album, Horn, Naeun had to sit it out. She was allegedly busy with a new drama program, although she was part of recording the album and the music video. When this sequence of events unfolded, the Pandas braced themselves as they felt Naeun’s departure was inevitable. On April 8, eleven days before the group’s 11th anniversary, Naeun and IST made her departure official.   

But this departure is not actually the first time the group experienced losing a member. In 2013, two years after their debut and before releasing what was to be their breakout success, Apink lost Yookyung, who wanted to pursue a university education. Yookyung’s departure was quite amicable and was not considered a major loss. This was due to the fact the group had then yet to score mainstream success and the lineup was still not fixed in the public consciousness. 

On the other hand, Naeun’s departure became controversial because of the surrounding circumstances that may have contributed to her decision, including the delayed comeback, her change of management agency, and her personality in general. Naeun, with her more reserved personality, may not have been a perfect match with the outgoing and extroverted personalities of the group. Be that as it may, they did work on their relationship throughout their decade, and while it was obvious that there are times that Naeun can suddenly go quiet on their backstage behind-the-scene videos and their reality shows, Pandas and even casual viewers never saw the girls ostracizing or “bullying” Naeun. 

Could this be the same for other groups, though? Here’s a list of some idols who departed from their groups with a lot of noise and intrigue. 

Left or Kicked Out? Jessica from SNSD

September 30, 2014, is a day that will live in infamy, at least in the world of SONEs and pretty much the entire Korean pop music community. It was on this day that Jessica, on her Weibo account, told the world that she had been “forced out” of her group, Girls’ Generation. According to insiders, what happened was,  after the release of Catch Me If You Can and their Tokyo Dome concert, Jessica was supposed to put her singing career on hiatus so that she can focus on her other endeavors, particularly as the owner of her fashion company, Blanc Group. With Catch Me If You Can and its music video recorded and the send-off for Sica already planned and ready for execution, the Ice Princess allegedly changed her mind and told the group and SM that she wants to continue to be an SNSD member while running her business. It was reported that the company asked the eight girls to take a vote on whether Jessica will stay or not, and in the end, the NOs won.

Whether this is true or not still remains to be seen, as both parties have been skirting around the issue even after eight years. It is also important to note that as of today, Seohyun, Tiffany, and  Sooyoung have also left SM, but are still pretty much chummy with the members who opted to stay with the company. When the entire group was interviewed last year on Yoo Quiz on the Block, all eight are still very much open to a reunion project, which shows that there seems to be no bad blood among them and the company. While it has been reported that some members still keep in touch with Sica, it is quite a foregone conclusion that there will never be an SNSD reunion project that will include her. Well, never say never, eh?     

Bullying and Continuous Harassment: Jimin from AOA

Here is a story of a group that turned very ugly. To set the records straight, before the Jimin-Mina issue exploded, AOA already lost two members – Youkyung of the subunit AOA Black in October 2016 and their main vocalist ChoA in June 2017. There was not a lot of talk about Youkyung’s departure as she wasn’t really considered a member of the core group that has hits such as Like a Cat, Miniskirt, Short Hair, and Heart Attack, but ChoA’s departure due to “health issues” became the subject of much speculation. But then, since ChoA didn’t allude to any bad feelings towards her group, people didn’t really consider her departure as a red flag. 

Then, Mina decided not to renew her contract with FNC Entertainment in May 2019 to focus on her acting career. This left the group with five members – Jimin, Seolhyun, Yuna, Hyejeong, and Chanmi. But the group’s career got a second wind after Queendom, as it renewed public interest for the group as they proved that they have hidden aces even as they already lost their main vocalist ChoA. You can say that thanks to Queendom, the public fell in love with the group again, despite their depleted line-up and other incidents that have put them in an unfavorable light (e.g., Seolhyun and Jimin getting a lot of flak after failing to identify a famous Korean historical figure in one of the episodes of their reality show). To be fair to the girls, they killed most of their performances on Queendom, and their EP and song they released after the show, New Moon and Come See Me, respectively, still managed to chart.  

The COVID-19 came and Mina for some reason had a very public meltdown on Instagram. We cannot really chronicle the number of times Mina has opened, closed, deactivated, and reactivated her Instagram account, because that sequence of events merits its own article. But what is related to AOA were her first “revelations” where she pointed out that even since their days as a trainee, Jimin (who eventually went on to be the leader of AOA) already bullied her by picking on her and other trainees and eventually members. She went on to enumerate the incidents when Jimin bullied her, including the time when she was not allowed to mourn the death of her father (who later she revealed to be abusive towards her and her mom), and the various times she was verbally and physically abused (punching and slapping) by their leader. She also involved the group’s center Seolhyun, claiming that she was Jimin’s henchwoman and in most instances would just sit back and witness the abuse instead of stopping Jimin. 

Eventually, Mina posted a picture of her bloodied wrist that has a slash wound and captioned it with a revelation that she attempted suicide during her time with AOA because of the bullying she got from Jimin and Seolhyun. But then, days later it was revealed that she was embroiled in a cheating scandal, and his ex’s affairs, while they were still a couple, were what pushed her to end her life. She also stated that Jimin and she actually reconciled when it was the rapper’s dad who died and it was her turn to comfort her. But as soon as the first Instagram posts were released, Jimin was quick to act, resigning from her position in the group and retiring from the entertainment industry altogether while issuing an apology to Mina. 

But as mentioned earlier, this did not stop Mina from conducting various dramatic revelations on Instagram, after which she decides to announce that she will be quitting SNS, but only to return a few weeks later. She has revealed everything from the first time she was sexually abused to posting a picture of her smoking in a non-smoking hotel room having everybody seriously advising her to stay away from social media altogether and seek help for her unstable mental condition. Also, much of the online chatroom conversations among AOA members have been revealed, with Jimin apologizing as early as 2019, before the pandemic which Mina took as an opportunity for her various expose. Even after Jimin already left the group and thus, the chatroom, it was revealed that Mina continually harassed her and her family. It has also been revealed that Mina uses FNC’s resources for her personal errands, such as setting up appointments for her mom.    

On the other hand, it seems that Jimin couldn’t stay away from the limelight that long because as of January 2022, she released a new song with a music video on her birthday. While she has also returned to Instagram, still has not returned to AOA yet. 

High-Profile Mass Exodus: Yeonwoo, Taeha, and Daisy from Momoland

When it comes to groups losing so many members at one time, this may be a common occurrence when it is time to the members to renew their contracts with the companies that created the groups. Such was the case with After School, where all except one, Nana, has opted to stay with the company, while eleven (yes, 11) have opted to not continue their careers under Pledis Entertainment. The agency claimed this is actually in sync with the group’s original “graduation” concept, where the members would have to leave the group after some time. That same is true with Lovelyz, where only leader Baby Soul decided to renew her contract with Woolim while the other seven chose to join other companies; although there was no word on whether the group has permanently disbanded. 

However, things are a bit different with the group Momoland, which only debuted in 2016 and experienced massive success with their 2018 release Bboom Bboom. The follow-up singles Baam and I’m So Hot were still successful, but unfortunately did not rise to the level of Bboom Bbom’s popularity. But then, trouble erupted when in November 2019, MLD Entertainment (then Duble Kick Company but was renamed after the group’s phenomenal success) announced the departure of Yeonwoo and Taeha from the group, and stated that they were in discussions with Daisy about her future in the group. Thus, when 2019 ended with the group’s release Thumbs Up, they were officially three members down, although it is important to note that Daisy and Taeha were already not part of the previous MMLD comeback I’m So Hot in March 2019. 

In January 2020, Daisy stated that the show Finding Momoland was fraudulent and had deceived viewers by manipulating the votes. She claimed that after her elimination, she was contacted by the agency with an offer to join the group. MLD Entertainment denied the claims, and stated they would be taking legal action against Daisy. But it wasn’t until May 13, 2020 when it was announced that Daisy had left the group.

So, what caused these fallouts with the company years before their contract renewal and pretty much only recently after their success?

First, let’s start with Yeonwoo. When she quit, MLD Entertainment released a statement on Momoland’s fancafe saying, “While Yeonwoo has had deep affection for her Momoland activities, she has decided that continuing together with her actress activities would be too much strain for both her team and herself so to leave the team and concentrate on her career as our actress [under MLD Entertainment].“

Then, months later, Yeon-woo in her SNS posts, “Everyone. How many people are brave enough to give up their youth for a new start? I don’t have that kind of boldness. I don’t even have the will to do that.” “I endured it, I endured it, I endured it, but there was no use. I didn’t betray you because I wanted to do something else.”

So, does that sound like the company heavily suggested (aka eased her out) for her to leave Momoland? I guess what happened after was indicative of what Yeonwoo really wanted for her career, because on January 19, it was confirmed that Yeonwoo signed an exclusive contract with 9ato Entertainment, which also happens to be the agency of star of the moment Han Sohee.

Taeha left the group together with Yeonwoo in 2019. However, it wasn’t until October 2020 when Taeha posted a video on her YouTube channel, revealing her reasons for leaving Momoland: So that she could express herself in her own voice. She also shared that she doesn’t keep in touch with the Momoland members as much as she would like to, as their busy schedules make it difficult. However, she did reveal that she hangs out with Daisy from time to time.

Finally, we have Daisy who already had a lot of beef with her company even before she official parted ways with them in 2020. As mentioned earlier, she spilled a lot of tea even when she was still technically with the company, claiming that the reality competition that created Momoland is rigged. Since then, lawsuits from both parties have been filed, which Daisy actually won, though the company has filed an appeal. Daisy has continued her university education and keeps in touch ith fans through her SNS and YouTube videos. 

Now, if you think the case of female idols getting kicked out of or leaving their groups is common, wait until we refresh your memory of male idols and their groups! Stay tuned for this list.   

Featured Image: Apink Official Twitter

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“Forgotten” Idols and the Reality Shows That Gave Them Second Chance

Out of hundreds of idol groups being launched every year, it is believed that only a handful survive the first year. That figure is reduced to the number of fingers on both hands if you consider how many continue to become household names and amass not only a national but international fandom. After all, not just any group can be at the level of BTS, EXO, Girl’s Generation, TWICE, or Blackpink. 

So, for groups that miss the goal of gaining worldwide popularity, what options do they have aside from disbanding, getting signed by another agency, or shifting careers to acting or being a television personality? There have been reality shows whose sole aim is to give “has-been” idols the spotlight in the hopes of revitalizing their careers. Here’s a look at a couple of them:    

The Unit: Idol Rebooting Project

The show, which ran from October 2017 to February 2018, had the concept of giving idols who have already debuted before in not-so-successful groups a second chance. The show eventually formed two unit groups (one male and one female) of nine members each with the aim of providing them a fair chance to demonstrate their talents that they may not have been able to display before for in their old groups.

The Winners 

For the female groups, it was Euijin of SONAMOO who got top ranking by the end of the last episode. For the men, it was U.KISS’ maknae, Jun, who got the most votes. 

Euijin was joined by eight other contestants, including DIA’s Yebin, Dal Shabet’s Woohee (who became the leader), April’s Hyunjoo, soloist NC.A, The Ark’s Suji, Spica’s Jiwon, Hello Venus’ Yoonjo, and Laboum’s ZN to form UNi.T, which was promoted for six months and released two EPs. ZN was not part of the group’s second EP, as she returned to Laboum after the group’s first EP. 

As of the moment, only Yebin and ZN have returned to their groups, while Woohee is currently active as an actress. Euijin has left SONAMOO’s agency, TS Entertainment as of early September to sign with Mellow Entertainment, a new agency established by Lee Jung Min.  He had previously been in charge of managing groups like Wonder Girls, 2PM, 2AM, and miss A at JYP Entertainment.

On the other hand, Jun was joined by Bigflo‘s Euijin (not to be mistaken with Uni.T‘s Eunjin), Big Star’s Feeldog (who was the leader of the group), Madtown‘s Daewon,  Hot Blood Youth‘s Marco, Hotshot‘s Ko Hojung, Newkidd‘s Hansol, A.C.E‘s Chan, and IM‘s Kijung to form UNB. The male group was promoted longer, only disbanding in January 2019. As of the moment, only Chan is active with A.C.E while the other groups are on hiatus or have been disbanded. Marco was in the news months ago when he confirmed rumors of dating MOMOLAND’s Hyebin. 

Miss Back

Another show, Miss Back ran from October 2020 to January 2021 on MBN. It featured seven female idols who previously debuted with girl groups but slowly faded away from the limelight.

What made Miss Back different from similar idol “survival programs” that always emphasized competition was that the show did not eliminate its contestants. The members were able to compete in good faith to win “life songs” or songs written . This allowed the contestants to display growth and put them in the spotlight without having to crush the dreams of the other participants. 

Baek Ji-young, Yoon Il-sang, and Song Eun-i became mentors. And weekly appearances by idol guests such as EXID, 2NE1’s Dara, and Junggigo made the show extra special. 

The contestants include 9MUSES‘ Sera, After School‘s Raina, Crayon Pop‘s Soyul, WA$$UP‘s Nada, Stellar‘s Gayoung, Dal Shabet‘s Subin (who went by Dalsoobin throughout the show as a nod to her girl group origins), The Ark‘s Yujin, and T-ara‘s Soyeon, who was featured in episodes 1-3 only. Soyeon dropped out in episode 4 after confessing that she felt the other contestants were more deserving of the spotlight provided by the show than her. 

The program also provided the contestants with time to tell viewers of their struggles and concerns as former idols who were in groups that were somehow treated unfairly by the Korean public. For example, T-ara‘s Soyeon talked about her group’s bullying scandal where the girls ended up getting cleared, but too late. 9MUSES‘ Sera also narrated about being publicly humiliated (as their pre-debut activities were filmed in a documentary). 

The show ended with the ladies having been given the spotlight weekly and Dalsoobin recording the final solo song. The other contestants have been busy with individual careers, with Sera running a YouTube channel, Soyul being the wife of H.O.T’s Moon Heejoon, Gayoung managing her own cafe restaurant, and Raina was last seen in June with four other After School members in Jaejae’s popular YouTube program MMTG, performing live stages of the group’s two hits, Diva and Bang. 

But then, the public may be divided as to whether these second-chance idols really deserve a new lease in their careers or if their time is really over. After all, a lot of audiences still adhere to the idea that if an idol did not reach household name status, there may be several factors that went against them. They may have been under a no-good entertainment agency that exploited them or didn’t really support their full potential. It may also be that they figured in a scandal or an issue that turned their fans off and facilitated their fall from grace. Finally, it can also be that they were already criticized in the past as being not-so-good idols who may have only relied on their looks to get in idol groups. But if we are to look at the two programs, there may indeed be second chances for idols who want to jumpstart their careers anew. 

Featured Image: Screenshot from “Miss Back” Ep. 1/ Youtube

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How Four K-Idol All-Rounders Thrived Amidst Popular Members

Wonder how some idols not only survived, but thrived amidst competition from their own groupmates? Here are four trajectories to take notes from. 

1. Shinee’s Key: The Pioneer All-Rounder

I have said it before and I’ll say it again – SHINee is the perfect boy group. Jonghyun (may he rest in peace) and Onew are some of the industry’s best vocalists, Minho is a striking center and visual who also happens to be good at rapping, and before the world met what it now considers the Golden Maknae Jungkook of BTS, there was Taemin who danced like a dream and sung like a main vocalist.   

So, in a group that’s deep with talent, what does a member like Key do? Be the best in all three areas – dancing, rapping, and slinging, plus include a good “variety show” sense and comedic timing. Count on Key to also contribute to the group’s singing prowess, especially after Jonghyun’s demise. Key has also done some rap parts to add variety so that Minho doesn’t do all the rapping. And we can certainly applaud anyone who can hold his own without getting overshadowed all the time by THE Taemin. With Key’s extroverted nature, he is a natural in variety shows. If you’re not convinced, watch any Amazing Saturday episode and get ready for a ton of laughs. 

In SHINee’s heyday, members of groups that didn’t specialize in anything don’t really get viewed favorably. For example in Shinhwa, Dongwan had to give way to Eric, Minwoo, and Hyesung, who were the main members in rapping, dancing, and singing, respectively. Sunny kept on getting dismissed as the ‘relative of the CEO” as to her inclusion in Girls’ Generation, though her vocal skills have always been comparable to the group’s four other main vocalists, TaTiSeo and Jessica. Lucky for us, Key didn’t allow himself to get lost in the hype for the other SHINee members and instead gave us practically the first idol who was just good in anything.   

2. Apink’s Namjoo: The Unbothered Queen of Reinvention

As with a lot of idols in groups, Apink’s Namjoo found herself in the middle of a really tight spot – how to set herself apart from a group with members so talented that leaves not much room for members who can be best described as… middling. Jung Eunji is generally accepted as one of k-pop’s most talented vocalists, former member Son Naeun’s visuals are often described as goddess-level, Bomi is just a breath of fresh air with top-notch dancing skills, and Chorong and Hayoung are recognized for being in positions that defy first impressions, with baby-faced and voiced Chorong actually being the eldest and the group’s leader, while tall and sophisticated-looking Hayoung actually being the maknae of the group, with her appearance betraying her ever since Apink debuted in 2011. 

Thus, Namjoo was left in a very precarious position as frankly speaking, she had really no distinguishing characteristic that allowed her to stand out. Unfortunately, this has caused a bit of distress on Apink’s fake maknae, who was the subject of numerous not-so-favorable comments throughout their career. As she was often regarded as the “dispensable member” with no outstanding features, she went drastic by having cosmetic surgery done in 2018, right in between promoting their annual fan song and their I’m So Sick comeback. People quickly presented their disparaging comments on how Namjoo’s face didn’t look right, dismissing the obvious procedure as a “disaster”.   It seemed that the group’s agency IST Entertainment (then called Plan A) and particularly Namjoo went for the unbothered reaction, which for most observers was justified, as people getting plastic surgery was common already and that Namjoo went on to rank second in the monthly girl group member brand ranking for May 2018 goes to show that any form of publicity, as long as it is not about unlawful behavior, ends up benefiting the artist. 

Anyway, Namjoo coincidentally had the fewest exposure in the I’m So Sick comeback, having the least number of lines and appearances on the MV. But on the next comeback, Dhumdhurum, Namjoo sang a lot of lines, killing parts, and had a lot of music video exposure. You can think of it as a case of perfect timing as by that time, her features had settled already and the public eventually got used to her “reinvention”, which coincided with Apink’s evolution into a group that has become more sophisticated both in sound and image. TV personality Hwang Hyun Hee said it best when he commented on the issue on a TV show, “Noise is the best for marketing indeed.”   

3. SEVENTEEN’s Dino: The Triple Threat Maknae

In any large group, it is inevitable that some members will get the shorter end of the attention stick. I mean, what are the chances of thirteen different people having the same degree of popularity when they are ideally put together in similar circumstances, recording the same songs and performing in the same stages? As mentioned in the two featured members we had earlier, it is already a challenge having to share the spotlight with four or five other people and still stand out, how much more with twelve other members, each gifted with his own set of unique charms and talents? This is what actually Seventeen maknae Dino has to deal with. With twelve super talented hyungs that also happen to have larger-than-life personalities as well, Dino was set to get lost in the crowd. 

But then, he hasn’t. From the start, Dino wasn’t the typical boy group member. One, he ended up Seventeen’s  maknae when he wasn’t at the start. During the formation of the group, Dino was part of the maknae line, but one of the four trainees who eventually quit the group, aka the reason why 17 became 13, was the actual maknae Kim Samuel (aka Samuel of Produce 101 Season 2). So, Dino isn’t your typical maknae who is the fount of aegyo and innocent charms. In fact, Dino’s sharp looks and talents have allowed him to be a valuable all-rounder in Seventeen. 

While Dino` is technically part of the Performance Team with Hoshi, Jun, and The8, he has also exhibited his skills in rapping in some of Seventeen songs (e.g., Boom Boom, Left and Right, among others). And nobody in Seventeen cannot sing – even the rappers have had to sing in almost every other SVT release. So take it from Dino: The only way to survive in a thirteen-member group is to do everything in top-notch quality. He may be referred to in jest and in teasing (although we can see that he likes this) in a number of Going Seventeen episodes as the “furture of k-pop”, but really, in a market with too much talent, you can only thrive if you can be a multi-hyphenate triple threat!    

4. EXO’s D.O: Acting His Way to Public Recognition 

Just like Dino, D.O also had to deal with being just one of the members of a very big group. Actually, Exo was more or less just like Seventeen in terms of the number of members, but SM marketed them in such a way that the group appeared big. From the start, the group is supposed to come from an EXO-planet. Also, remember that Tree of Life concept in Mama where the tree got divided into 2 and 12 and 2 worlds again and 12 forces, which most probably may have referred to Exo-K and Exo-M. Anyway, all those twelve forces inhabiting those two worlds are hella talented and deserve the spotlight individually. And one of those forces was D.O, whose main strength is his vocals. But then, Chen, Baekhyun, and Luhan are also very skilled vocalists, which means that unless D.O could find a niche that would allow him to stand out, he could very well be lost in the midst of the other members who may be more charismatic, and thus more appealing to the public.

What D.O did was a bit similar to what Siwon of Super Junior did, although much later in his idol career – turn to acting. While most of his members furthered the mastery of their “idol-related” talents with Chen and Baekhyun making their own subunit with Xiumin called Exo-CBX before finally releasing solo material, D.O debuted as an actor both on TV and in the movies only two years after launching his idol career via Exo. The main difference between D.O and most idols who have also turned into acting as a sideline is that our Exo main vocal turned out to be actually good in acting. As with other idols turned actors, people were quick to dismiss D.O’s initial appearances in the drama It’s Okay, That’s Love and his first film Cart, which was also released in 2014. While acknowledging the promise of D.O’s acting skills, they also brought up some factors like beginner’s luck and the possibility of his performances being fulkes.  

Six films and two dramas later, all of which he played main roles, Kyungsoo’s talents have become undeniable. Moreover, as there is no one else in Exo who acts, it may seem that D.O has created a niche for himself that allowed him to distinguish himself from his bandmates. Alas, SM has also allowed him to keep the fans of singer D.O happy by finally launching him as a solo artist in 2019, before he started his military service through an SM Station single. When he came back as a regular citizen in 2021, he released his first EP Empathy, which had him sing in Korean, English, and Spanish! How’s that for talent and standing out? 

See? There’s definitely more than one way of standing out as a member of a group. Take it from these four all-rounders: A mix of talent, hard work, and the right course of action can make people notice while you thrive on your own.

Featured image: D.O. and everyone at EXO celebrating their 10th debut anniversary. Source: @weareoneEXO/Twitter
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5 Kpop Debut Songs That Made Legends Out of Kpop Girl Groups

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“

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Should These Kpop Idols Continue Acting?

Oh, to be a K-pop idol! You have the adoration of fans all over the world, always primmed with the best fashion, hair, and make-up, and presented with countless opportunities in the entertainment industry. Unfortunately, viewers and netizens may have noticed some of these idols are undeserving of the acting opportunities given to them. Some of the reasons for this “hatred” include these idol-actors just not having any acting talent at all. Most of them seem to be only relying on their looks and popularity to prop up the profile of the shows they’re part of.  Let’s check out the three idols-turned-actors who have been bitten by the acting bug but have gotten unfavorable reviews for their effort. 

ASTRO’s Cha Eunwoo

The criticism: He has a weak voice, he is known for being an actor with “ham facial expressions” that produce cringe-worthy reactions with furrowed or raised eyebrows, flared nostrils, and overall exaggerated expressions. It does not help that most of the roles he has had for his dramas restrict him as someone who is blessed with facial beauty. For someone who has acted in shows such as My ID is Gangnam Beauty and True Beauty, it is quite obvious that the ASTRO member long regarded as a Face Genius can be quite limiting, even for the most talented of actors.  

Signs of redemption: A lot of netizens (the same group of people who have criticized the idol-actor in the past) have seen remarkable improvement with Eunwoo’s acting in his latest offering, the 2020-2021 drama True Beauty. They have noted two things: Less hammy facial expressions than what was seen in Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung and more natural acting. 

What the idol needs to do: Eunwoo needs to challenge himself if he’s that serious about making acting an alternative career. After all, ASTRO will have to face and hopefully beat the 7-year curse of idol groups next year. So, if things with ASTRO don’t go smoothly as hoped for, he may venture into full-time acting, which means he may be presented with the possibility of doing more challenging and meatier roles. That should be great for Eunwoo, who may want the opportunity to display his acting chops and chuck his current image of being just another pretty face out the window. He has already been exposed to the world of television with supporting and leading roles in four programs already, plus he is set to debut in the movies with the yet-to-be-released Decibel, so a more discriminating taste in selecting his next roles will be important if he wants to be taken seriously as an actor.   

Red Velvet’s Joy 

The criticism: Joy has been the female lead of two dramas already –  2017’s s The Liar and His Lover and 2018’s Tempted. The acting major from the School of Performing Arts has been criticized for both appearances. Many had expressed skepticism when Joy accepted both lead parts and unfortunately, their disappointment was only encouraged when they watched both series. Comments ranged from Joy simply not being a good actress with her facial expression, gestures, and diction are supposedly unnatural and “painful to watch” to “Wow I can just tell from the photos that she sucks at acting. This needs to be investigated”, and “This is why you need to go to a major agency. They get you in variety shows and drama in any way they can”.

https://youtu.be/U8p_IzC36Ck

Sings of redemption: Joy is set to headline another drama, Only One Person with Prison Playbook’s Kim Kyungnam and Hospital Playtlist’s Ahn Eunjin which is supposed to be released before the year ends. Let us hope for this drama with a sterling cast to usher Joy to levels of better acting.

What the idol needs to do: At this time, Joy can still afford one more bomb performance before being dismissed outright as an acting black hole. This is why Only One Person needs to work. Otherwise, if she is bent on continuing her acting career, acting classes maybe must be in the offing. 

EXO’s Suho

The criticism: After bandmate Baekhyun got flack for subpar acting in Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo while main vocal D.O received praises for his appearances in movies and TV series, it has been the group’s leader Suho who has been at the receiving end of a lot of criticism in his acting performances both on TV and the movies. For his latest drama, How Are U Bread, where he played a magical baker the vitriol against the idol was at an all-time high, with comments such as “Why does SM keep sticking idols into acting? I wouldn’t mind if they start from small roles but they’re taking lead roles when they can’t even act” and “If you’re going to claim this is a troll post, he has to be a good actor. It’s a fact that he’s a terrible actor but we can’t criticize his acting?” receiving support and agreement among K-netizens. Suho, like Eunwoo, is cursed with breathtakingly perfect visuals, which may be a handicap for actors who may need to look imperfect to suit their “everyday man” roles.

 Signs of redemption: None yet, as Suho is currently finishing his mandatory military service.

What the idol needs to do: Suho needs to shy away from the pretty boy and overly glamorized roles. He can’t help it if he looks the way he does, but It can be jarring to see perfect-looking idols portraying perfect-looking people in TV shows. If D.O can portray a blind athlete, a prince, and a North Korean POW all in the same degree of effectiveness, I am sure Suho can as well. He just has to be on the lookout for better-written characters who don’t rely on their looks to keep the story interesting.

To be honest, it’s not like these idols are going to disappear from k-dramas, especially if they still attract a following that show producers and TV stations would definitely not say no to. So, let’s just hope for these three to get their acting chops sharpened real soon!

Featured Image: Screenshot from The Liar and The Lover trailer.

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Turning Up the Charm with Animated K-pop Music Videos

Credit: Screenshot from Youtube video - Day6 (Even of Day)

K-pop videos are always an amazing visual and aural experience. But are you looking for music videos that are a step beyond the usual? Why not give animated music videos a try? Animation can just be as compelling and powerful storytelling tools, and the resulting music videos can be equally memorable.  

Here are 11 fully- and partially-animated K-pop music videos to brighten up your day, suck you into another universe, or let you think about life. Who knows, by watching these animated music videos, you might even discover a new favorite group or soloist to follow! 

That’s Okay – D.O (EXO)

In 2019, EXO’s main vocalist D.O gifted fans with his solo single That’s Okay just before enlisting for his mandatory service. The song is released with a heartwarming animated music video. 

In the video, a man sees a wilting cactus while moving into his apartment and decides to take care of it. He nurtures the plant until it’s revived. Later on, it’s revealed that the man became a homebody due to grief over losing his dog. Eventually, the cactus sprouted some flowers, which seemed to bring the man out of his depression. 

Through the song—and the animated music video—D.O reassured EXO-Ls that no matter what they’re going through, everything will eventually turn out okay. 

Watch the music video below: 

 

Yet to Come (The Most Beautiful Moment) – BTS 

Shortly after BTS released their official video for Yet to Come from their anthology album Proof, they came out with a special animated music videos for the same single. The animated video evoked the same sentimental feeling as the official music video, but in a more fun and cute way. In the video, the members trek across a desert, just like in the original. They stumble and slide down, and meet a purple humpback whale that takes them to an island paradise. 

The video also doubled as a teaser for BTS Island: In the SEOM, a video game and a virtual space for “healing and relaxation.” The game was launched on June 28, 2022. 

This isn’t the first animated MV from BTS, though. The group has released animated videos for their comeback trailers such as Intro: What am I to You?, Intro: The Most Beautiful Moment in Life part 1, and Intro: The Most Beautiful Moment in Life part 2 ‘Never Mind.’</i 

Watch the adorable music video below: 

 

Supercar – Heize 

Rapper/singer Heize released her second full-length album, Undo, on June 30, 2022, and one of her B-sides, Supercar, comes with a colorful, yet melancholy music video. In this track, Heize sings about a magical supercar that runs so fast, so that could take her back to a relationship that has ended. The bittersweet lyrics complement the music video, where a woman in a bright yellow sports car races through her memories—both happy and sad.  

Sing along and feel the emotions while watching the music videos below: 

 

 

Hate You – 2NE1 

Hate You showed K-pop fans that 2NE1 is just as badass in cartoon form. In this 2011 music video, the girls are the heroines chasing after a villain who blew up a town. They follow the villain, disguised as a man, into a pub, and engage in a brief fight before he escapes. The chase continues, and when they finally caught up with their enemy, it’s revealed that the being is actually some kind of monster. They successfully fight off the monster and emerge victorious, and they drive away into the pink sunset. 

Watch the action-packed video below: 

 

Tomboy – Hyukoh

Korean indie pop-rock band Hyukoh collaborated with illustrator Park Gwang-soo for the music video of their 2017 track Tomboy. 

The song, according to lead singer Oh Hyuk, depicts the confusing and depressing side of youth, where everything is unfamiliar and uncertain. The black-and-white animated music video brilliantly translates the lyrics in a video packed with symbolism. The human-like figures are ablaze with the conflicting feelings of passion and bright hopefulness mixed with confusion, insecurity and desperation. 

Watch the thought-provoking music video below:

 

 

 

Eight – IU feat. Suga (BTS)

In Eight, IU and Suga expressed the loneliness and fleeting nature of life, and the longing for a place with no sadness and where everyone could live happy and free. It also talks about the yearning to revisit precious memories, and to live life without taking anything or anyone for granted. 

The music video flits between live action and animation, beginning when IU goes to a lab to presumably download her forgotten memories. IU then sees flashes of memories, as well as fantastical adventures throughout the song, before she wakes up again as the song draws to a close. 

See IU’s ethereal visuals—both live action and animation—in the music video below: 

 

Super Duper – Super Junior 

If you’re looking for music that will surely lift your mood, look no further—because Super Junior is coming to your rescue! Their 2018 SM Station single, Super Duper, will get you moving to the funky beat in no time. 

The accompanying music video is just as much of a happy pill, as the music videos reflects much of the group’s lively and chaotic personality. Plus, the animation’s bright, solid colors add to the overall cheerful vibe you’ll get from the song. 

This is not the only animated music videos that the group has released. They came out with the Latin pop-infused Animals in 2018. The music video featured the animated versions of the members matched with their zodiac signs. In 2020, they released the sweet, Christmas-themed animated music videos for Tell Me Baby, a B-side from the group’s Renaissance album. 

Dance to the beat while watching the kooky music video below: 

 

Where the Sea Sleeps – Day6 (Even of Day) 

Where the Sea Sleeps is a ballad from Day6’s sub-unit Even of Day, released in 2020. 

The track has a comforting vibe; the lyrics sing about promising to stay together even through hardship. It’s also as if the band members are also reassuring their fans that no matter what happens, they will always be by their side.  

The song’s music video complements the lyrics surprisingly well. In the music videos, three animal friends build a rocket ship and journey to space. However, they fly into several asteroids, which destroys the rocket ship and eject the friends onto a nearby planet. All three initially lose consciousness, and for a while, everything seems lost. But, the animal friends wake up, and using a compass they were able to swim to shore and safety—showing that they will always stick together.

Watch the music video below:

 

Savage – aespa 

K-pop crosses over to the metaverse with aespa’s Savage. This music video from the fourth-gen super rookies blends live action, computer graphics, and animation. In the music videos, the girls continue their quest to reunite with their avatars in the SM Culture Universe (SMCU). The lyrics might not be everyone’s cup of tea, especially as it contains plenty of references to elements in the group’s SMCU storyline that some might find a little jarring to listen to. But the vibrant, sassy energy of the song pairs well with the aggressive, yet sophisticated vibe of the music videos. 

Step into the metaverse with aespa today: 

 

 

Dream – Eric Nam ft. Park Jimin

This video is quite different from the other music videoss on this list, because the “animation” is actually sand art! Eric Nam, together with Park Jimin, sing about longing for a lost love in Dream. The song and the music video tells the story of a couple who have gone their separate ways, but still look back on their relationship with nostalgia and a bit of yearning. 

The sand art transitions throughout the music videos makes watching it feel like being in an actual dream sequence. Check out the music video below:

 

 

Hold My Hand – Lee Hi 

Singer and songwriter Lee Hi’s refreshing vocals and adorable visuals take center stage in her music video for Hold My Hand. But despite the song’s cheery tone and the music videos’ cute 8-bit graphics, the lyrics tell the story of a heartbroken individual longing for their ex-lover to come back and love them again. 

Jump into this cute video game simulation-like video below: 

 

While music videos featuring drama plotlines and slick choreography will always be fascinating both to fans and non-fans, animated music videos offer a different, yet refreshing charm that only adds to the rich K-pop scene. Which one in our list is your favorite? 

Featured Image: Screenshot from Youtube video – Day6 (Even of Day) – Where Sea Sleeps

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An Idol Quiz for the Second Gen K-Pop Fan in You

It is with a sense of sadness coupled with a huge wave of nostalgia that this has to be said: The second generation of idol groups are setting their careers off into the sunset. Save for a few active ones (considering those groups haven’t been as active as they once were) a lot of groups belonging to the second generation have done their “last” efforts over the past years.  Let’s take a trip down memory lane and see if you can still remember these events:

Woolim’s Pride: INFINITE

What was the last title track that featured Hoya in the group before he decided to leave both the agency, Woolim, and the group? 

  1. Tell Me 
  2. Top Seed
  3. The Eye
  4. Trick Question: Hoya is still with the group. 

 

The Nation’s Girl Group: SNSD

In 2018, Girl’s Generation aired their final reality series on VLive before three of its members decided to not renew their contracts with SM, although they are still part of the group that is currently on hiatus. What is the name of their last reality show? 

  1. Girl’s for Rest
  2. Factory Girl
  3. Girls’ Generation and the Dangerous Boys
  4. Does Girl’s Generation do variety shows? 

 

BEAST is the B2ST: HIGHLIGHT

The group released a full-length album titled Highlight before all remaining members at that time left CUBE Entertainment to establish their own agency, Around Us Entertainment. Why did they change their group’s name to the last album they did with their former agency? 

  1. They wanted a new feel and image for their new group.
  2. They felt that the name B2st is too attached to their old agency, so they wanted a change.
  3. CUBE Entertainment claimed they will be re-launching B2st with new members. 
  4. CUBE Entertainment has trademarked the name BEAST /B2ST.

 

The Pioneers of Korean Girl Crush: 2NE1

With member Park Bom’s scandal in 2014, the group was not given a comeback since. However, they performed in a show, unbeknownst to us all that it would be the final performance of the group as four. Minzy departed from YG in 2016 and the group subsequently disbanded. In which event was this performance?

  1. 2015 Mnet Asian Music Awards in Hong Kong
  2. Power (YG Family) World Tour in Taiwan 
  3. All or Nothing World Tour in Macau
  4. 2015 Golden Disk Awards in Seoul 

 

The Eternal Rookies: TEEN TOP

Teen Top is the first K-pop boy group to have celebrated their 10th year in the Korean music industry without losing members to conscription. What was the first online concert of the group? (It was also their last concert as a full group in a while as Chunji enlisted in the military on August 10, 2020)

  1. Teen on Top
  2. Teen Top 10 Live
  3. Party To.N9ne
  4. 10th Anniversary Concert  

 

K-Pop’s Top Performers: AFTER SCHOOL 

After School is a group best known for incorporating unique elements in their performances, whether it is on their music videos or their live performances. What unique element did they inject into their last title track, First Love? 

 

  1. Tap dancing
  2. Pole dancing
  3. Drum playing
  4. Dressing up like sushi

 

Hallyu Kings: SUPER JUNIOR

Picture credit: Paula Abiog

One of the most challenging things about having a group that has 13 members is having them all present in a project. This is especially true with Super Junior, a group that cannot seem to catch a break because of differences in schedules, scandals, injuries, and members leaving, getting dismissed, or having to fulfill their mandatory military service. What was the last Super Junior music video with all 13 members – Leeteuk, Siwon, Donghae, Eunhyuk, Shindong, Kyuhyun, Ryeowook, Yesung, Heechul, Sungmin, Kibum, Kangin, and Hangeng – together?

  1. Neorago (It’s You)
  2. No Other
  3. Mamacita (Ayaya)
  4. Mr. Simple

 

Korean Power Celebrities: GIRL’S DAY

Although all four members haven’t renewed their contracts with their original agency, they claim that Girl’s Day has not disbanded. What was the group’s only single to have charted #1 in the national Gaon charts?

  1. Something
  2. I’ll Be Yours
  3. Ring My Bell
  4. Darling

 

The Kings of K-Pop: BIGBANG 

What was the last music video released by BIGBANG?

  1. Last Dance
  2. Flower Road
  3. Fxxk It
  4. Girlfriend

 

The Eternal Fairies of K-Pop: APINK

Image credit: Official Apink Twitter

The group that banked on a sweet, innocent image throughout their careers has also had a strong Japanese career with all their Japanese singles charting at the country’s Oricon singles chart. What was the group’s last single released specifically to the Japanese market? 

  1. More! Go! Go!
  2. Dumhdurum (Japanese version)
  3. Thank You (Japanese version)
  4. Orion 

 

Answer key: 

  1. Woolim’s Pride: INFINITE
    The Eye was Hoya’s last title track with the group.

 

  1. The Nation’s Girl Group: SNSD
    Girl’s for Rest was GG’s last reality show, which aired on VLive.

 

  1. BEAST is the B2ST: HIGHLIGHT
    CUBE Entertainment has trademarked the name BEAST /B2ST.

 

  1. The Pioneers of Korean Girl Crush: 2NE1
    2015 Mnet Asian Music Awards in Hong Kong

 

  1. The Eternal Rookies: TEEN TOP
    They aired Teen Top 10 Live during the pandemic, before Chungji entered the military.

 

  1. K-Pop’s Top Performers: AFTER SCHOOL
    The members pole danced on both the music video and their live performances.

 

  1. Hallyu Kings: SUPER JUNIOR
    Neorago (It’s You)    . After Neorago, Kibim started to be an inactive member, Hangeng left the group, the rest got conscripted, Sungmin started to be an inactive member in 2016, and Kangin left the group in 2019.

 

  1. Korean Power Celebrities: GIRL’S DAY
    Darling     is the only Girl’s Day single that went to the top of the Gaon charts.

 

  1. The Kings of K-Pop: BIGBANG
    Last Dance    . Flower Road only had a lyric video, Fxxk It came before Last Dance, and Girlfriend didn’t have a music video.

 

  1. The Eternal Fairies of K-Pop: APINK
    Orion. More! Go! Go! was released before Orion and Dumhdurum and Thank You did not have Japanese versions.

 

So, how did you fare? If you scored at least a 7, consider yourself a true blue Second Gen K-pop fan! Nothing to be ashamed of as the Second Gen groups were really something!

Featured Image: Apink Official Twitter

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