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

Tifanny goes by Trouble. 

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

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

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

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

And the reactors wonder. 

Wait, that was it?

So, who is she?

We thought she was gonna introduce herself.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sunny makes it all about her hair

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

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

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

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

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

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

The dancing queen chooses violence. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Idols have spent anywhere from months to years honing their skills in singing, dancing, and acting—so it’s no surprise that they would be great in many other entertainment fields, including theater. Their amazing stage presence not only light up concert venues; they dazzle on musical stages as well! 

Here are 16 (and more!) idols who have found equal success as musical actors: 

Kyuhyun (Super Junior) 

Kyuhyun debuted in 2006 as the maknae and one of the main vocalists of 2nd generation legend Super Junior. He is one of the best active idol vocalists, so it’s no surprise that his voice would also captivate musical fans. 

He made his musical theater debut in 2010 with The Three Musketeers. He was next cast as Frank Abagnale, Jr. in the Korean production of Catch Me If You Can. In 2013, he reprised his roles in re-runs of both musicals. Kyuhyun took on roles in Moon Embracing the Sun, Singin’ in the Rain, The Days, Robin Hood, Werther, and Mozart! from 2014 to 2016, before taking a break to fulfill his mandatory military service. 

Upon completing his military duty, Kyuhyun resumed his musical career with The Man Who Laughs in 2020. He was cast in the main role as Gwynplaine, alternating with EXO’s Suho. In the same year, he reprised his role in Werther. 

In 2021, Kyuhyun starred in the musical Phantom. He recently capped his performances as Victor Frankenstein in Frankenstein, where he starred alongside VIXX’s Leo. 

Watch Kyuhyun as he performs one of the songs from the musical in this live clip: 

Ryeowook (Super Junior) 

Just like his fellow SJ member, Ryeowook has been active both as an idol and as a musical actor. He made his musical theater debut in 2011’s Temptation of Wolves. The idol next took on the role of Troy Bolton in the Korean stage adaptation of High School Musical in 2013. Since then, Ryeowook has starred in several more productions—Goddess is Watching, Agatha, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time—before enlisting in the military in 2016. 

Ryeowook jumped right back into his idol and musical actor career after being discharged from the military in 2018. He was cast in Flaming Sonata, Around Thirty, and Mary Shelley. His most recent musical is Fan Letter. 

Leo (VIXX)

VIXX’s soft-spoken main vocalist, Leo, may look shy and reserved, but once the concert lights come on, he transforms into a powerhouse performer. The same happens whenever he’s on the musical stage.

Leo began his musical career in 2014 with the musical adaptation of the K-drama Full House. Since 2016, he has used his real name, Jung Taek Woon, when being credited in stage productions. Leo starred in five more musicals—Mata Hari, Monte Cristo, The Last Kiss, Elisabeth, and Marie Antoinette—all before his military enlistment in 2019. 

In 2021, he took on the dual role of Henri Dupre and Frankenstein’s monster in the musical Frankenstein. The musical completed its run in early 2022. 

Ken (VIXX) 

VIXX’s “cute main vocal” Ken is one of the most active idol musical actors. He made his musical debut in the Korean adaptation of the musical Chess in 2015. Ken continued to show off his powerful vocals when he took on the lead roles in Cinderella, Boys Over Flowers The Musical, Hamlet, Titanic, Iron Mask, Jack the Ripper, Mefisto, Dracula, and Sherlock Holmes The Musical: The Lost Children. 

His amazing talent and stage presence did not go unnoticed. In 2018, Ken won the Male Rookie of the Year award from the 12th Daegu International Musical Festival for his performance in the musical Hamlet. 

Ken took a break from his idol and musical activities when he enlisted in the military in 2020. Upon his discharge, he was immediately cast as Arthur in Xcalibur. He recently wrapped up his performances in March 2022. 

Suho (EXO) 

EXO’s leader is more than just an idol; he’s also a movie and television actor, as well as a musical actor. Suho made his theater debut in the 2015 hologram musical School OZ. He then took on the role of Crown Prince Rudolf in 2017’s The Last Kiss. In 2018, Suho was cast as Gwynplaine in The Man Who Laughs; he reprised his role in the 2020 run. 

Suho completed his mandatory military service as a public service worker in February 2022. Will we see more of musical actor Suho soon? We sure hope so! 

See Suho’s performance in the press call for The Man Who Laughs: 

Xiumin (EXO)

EXO’s oldest hyung, Xiumin, first got a taste of musical theater when he starred alongside Suho in School OZ. But he hit his stride in musicals when he starred in the army musicals Return: The Promise of That Day and Return in 2019 and 2020. 

Post-military service, Xiumin was cast as Orpheus in the 2021 production of Hadestown. 

But it seems that there really is no shortage of talent in EXO, as there are also other musical actors among the members! D.O was in the same army musical as Xiumin, Chen performed in the Korean adaptation of In the Heights, and Baekhyun starred in Singin’ in the Rain. Finally, Chanyeol led the cast in another army musical, Meissa’s Song!  

Jo Kwon (2AM)  

Singer, actor, and television host Jo Kwon is also a bona fide musical star. He made his theater debut as King Herod in the 2013 run of Jesus Christ Superstar. The following year, he took on a daring role in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. He also starred in Chess, On A Starry Night, and Shinheung Military Academy. 

Jo Kwon’s latest musical appearance was in 2020’s Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. Watch his performance in the musical’s press call: 

Luna (f(x)) 

(f(x))’s Luna debuted as a musical actress in 2011 as Elle Woods in the Korean adaptation of Legally Blonde. She has since starred in several more Korean productions of Coyote Ugly, High School Musical, School OZ, In the Heights, Rebecca, The Last Kiss, Gone With the Wind, and Mamma Mia. 

Luna also won a rookie award for her role in the musical Rebecca at the 12th Daegu International Musical Festival. Her most recent musical was the 2020-2021 run of The Days. She will make her Broadway debut in the new musical KPOP in late 2022. 

Yoseob (Highlight) 

Highlight’s main vocalist Yoseob also shines in musical theater, and has starred in eight productions so far. He debuted in 2011’s Gwanghamun Sonata. Following his first musical, he was casted in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Full House, Zorro, Robin Hood, Cinderella, and Those Days. 

Yoseob’s latest musical is the 2021-2022 run of Something Rotten. 

Seohyun (Girls’ Generation) 

For Girls’ Generation’s maknae Seohyun, a career in musical theater was inevitable. She graduated with a major in theater acting from Dongguk University in 2014, and in that same year, was cast in Moon Embracing the Sun. She went on to star in the stage adaptations of Gone With the Wind and Mamma Mia. 

Seohyun is also active as a film and television actress. Her most recent movies include the Netflix film Love and Leashes and Holy Night: Demon Hunters. She is also set to star in the upcoming KBS drama Jinx’s Lover. 

Seohyun isn’t the only Girls’ Generation member to grace the musical theater stage. Her TTS sub-unit member, Tiffany, is also a musical actress! Tiffany starred in the 2011-2012 run of Fame and the 2021 run of Chicago. Former member Jessica also dabbled in musical theater, starring in the 2009-2010 and 2012-2013 runs of Legally Blonde. 

Junsu (JYJ)

JYJ’s Kim Junsu is another idol and musical powerhouse. Junsu is a much sought after musical actor, who is also nicknamed “the ticket power” because his musical performance dates sell out in minutes. 

He starred in his first musical Mozart! in 2010, and has since reprised his roles in the production’s subsequent runs. He has also starred in multiple runs of Elisabeth, Dracula, Death Note, Dorian Gray, and Xcalibur. 

His outstanding performances also earned him numerous awards in Korea. 

Check out Kim Junsu’s performance in this brief clip from Xcalibur (2021 run): 

Sandeul (B1A4)

B1A4’s main vocalist Sandeul is another accomplished idol musical actor. He made his theater debut in 2012 in Brother Were Brave. Since then, the idol has starred in eight more musicals: The Thousandth Man, All Shook Up, Cinderella, The Three Musketeers, Thirty Something, Iron Mask, Sherlock Holmes: The Missing Children, and 1976 Harlan County. 

Sunggyu (Infinite)  

Infinite’s leader and main vocalist Sunggyu made his musical debut in Gwanghamun Sonata in 2012. His succeeding musicals include Vampire, In the Heights, All Shook Up, Amadeus, and Kinky Boots. 

Sunggyu also starred in two army musicals: Shinheung Military School and Return: The Promise of the Day. He continues to be active as a musical actor until the present. His most recent production was the 2022 run of Xcalibur. 

Changsub (BTOB) 

BTOB’s lead singer Changsub began his musical career in 2017 in the musical adaptation of Boys Over Flowers. Changsub also starred in Napoleon, Edgar Allan Poe, and Dogfight. 2018’s Iron Mask marked his final musical appearance before military enlistment. 

In 2021, Changsub starred in three musicals: The Last Empress, Marie Antoinette, and Darwin Young’s Origin of Evil. 

Bada (S.E.S) 

The first generation idol is one of the first to make their debut in musical theater. Bada made her debut in The Peppermint in 2003. Her next musical appearance was in 2007’s Tell Me on a Sunday. From 2007, she starred in eight more stage productions: Notre-Dame de Paris, 200 Pounds Beauty, Broadway on 42nd Street, Legally Blonde, Mozart!, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Carmen, and Gone with the Wind. 

Ock Joo Hyun (Fin K.L.) 

Ock Joo Hyun is another first generation idol who also makes waves in musical theater. She debuted in 2005 in the first Korean-language production of Aida in 2005, followed by the first Korean production of Chicago in 2007. 

She is now more well-known as a musical actress, and remains very popular in the Korean musical scene. She has appeared in multiple productions of Aida, Chicago, The Count of Monte Cristo, Elisabeth, Rebecca, The Last Kiss, Mata Hari, and Wicked. Ock Joo Hyun also won multiple awards for her musical theater performances. 

Bonus: There are also two more idols who have taken their first steps into musical theater! Former 2NE1 member Dara starred in the musical adaptation of the tvN drama Another Oh Hae Young in 2020. And, NCT member Doyoung took on the lead role in the 2021 run of Marie Antoinette. 

There are more idols who are great musical talents, and it’s always great to see them explore new ways to hone their craft. 

Which idol musical actor is your favorite? 

Featured Image: Kpop superstar Kyuhun stars in Frankenstein the Musical, along with VIXX’s Leo. Photo: SM Entertainment

Curious to know which among the 4th generation girl groups will dominate the K-pop scene? We are placing our bets on four:

aespa

What we know so far: Scary aespa has incurred a plethora of emotions from both fans and anti-fans.  All of their tracks have made it to the top of the country’s music charts, and that’s despite them having only been in the business for just over more than a year. Yes, aespa debuted in November 2020 and has had only five songs and one EP in their discography. But all of these songs have charted pretty well, starting from Black Mamba, their debut track, and Next Level and Savage, both of which have significantly benefited from social media viral trends. That hook and choreography of Next Level is what marketer’s dreams are made of. Everyone in the music industry just knows that palm flipping move – very reminiscent of TWICE’s “Shy Shy Shy” choreography.

And again, they’ve only been in existence for just more than a year. 

How will they slay: As expected, SM Entertainment has once again delivered in terms of the quality of their rookie group’s output. This is not to say that the company becomes lax when it comes to giving high-quality songs and productions to their existing groups, as can be seen in the great songs Super Junior, SHINee, Red Velvet, and NCT continue to release up to now. However, as with any other company, SM really puts extra effort when it comes to the releases of their rookie groups, and it shows in the very strong releases aespa has had so far. And coming from a company that is well-known for producing songs that do not compromise on quality, aespa so far does not disappoint, and if this continues, they are quite assured of being household names in the very near future. So there, a combination of being an SM group and the high quality of releases that follow is more than sufficient reason for the group to be slaying.

Another factor that will assure them of success that’s also related to them being SM talents is the premium exposure they have had even as rookies. Everybody can agree that in this field, five rookies with the same concept and the same quality of songs, the group that will be debuted by either SM, YG, JYP, or BigHit will always have an edge. Not just because of their agency’s name recall but because being from these agencies allows the groups to be exposed to other opportunities that the other rookies from smaller agencies wouldn’t even dare to imagine. As soon as they debuted, aespa became the brand ambassador for the French luxury brand Givenchy. That gives them so much free publicity not only in Korea but in international markets where the French brand is present. And that is definitely not something a mom-and-pop small-time talent agency can do for its talents, particularly rookie groups that haven’t contributed much to their bank.  

Alas, we have to talk about the individual members. Giselle is part Japanese and Ningning is Chinese, so that already gives the group a huge advantage in overseas markets. Even if China continues its “ban” on K-pop and other foreign cultural influences, Chinese people will not think twice about supporting their countrymen who are trying to make a name for themselves in a field that is internationally popular such as K-pop. 

What could make their star fall: Nothing much, except one thing: If SM Entertainment continues to push the idea of the avatars and KWANGYA. It is no secret that people, even SM talents themselves, find the idea of aespa’s avatars downright creepy and unnecessary. I mean, the four members are enough for people to go gaga over the group, so this concept of them having doppelgangers that live in this wilderness or dimension or whatever it is called KWANGYA is just something a tad too extra. The idea didn’t explode (in terms of popularity) with NCT and sure as hell it won’t with aespa. Even TVXQ’s Changmin has also had a brush with KWANGYA in his solo release, DEVIL. Anyhoo, let me channel the ultimate mean girl Regina George and suggest to SM to stop trying to make ‘KWANGYA’ happen, it’s NOT going to happen!

But then SM is also known to drop concepts and events like they never happened in the first place. Remember Super Junior ‘05? Remember all the sub-units of Super Junior – M, T, KRY, H, and D&E? (well, KRY and D&E are still active, but the rest are practically dead) Remember the push for ballads and songs with slower beats to beef up the Velvet discography of RV? Trust SM to drop anything like a hot potato once they realize something is not working to their advantage.    

StayC

What we know so far: StayC is one of those refreshing stories of success in the Korean music industry that come as a bit of a surprise to even casual observers of K-pop, mainly because of the circumstances that the group was in. For one, the group is under a relatively unknown entertainment company, High Up Music. Although the company is associated with mega-successful producer Black Eyed Pisung, it is never an indication that the company will be super successful (e.g., Brave Entertainment which currently only has Grave Girls to present as successful in its 14-year existence). Secondly, they debuted in November 2020, while the world was still in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, we have been living in COVID times for more than eight months and a number of K-pop acts had already done fairly well considering the situation, but then debuting a girl group was a completely different matter. Alas, High Up took the risk and gambled, and things paid off pretty well.

How will they slay: So far, they have slayed since their debut, with the EP Star to a Young Culture peaking the charts at number 6 and selling over 70,000 copies, a very strong number for any debuting group, be it a boy group or a girl group. Their follow-up album Staydom, released close to five months after their debut album may have only reached #9 in the Gaon Album Chart, but sold more than 105,000 copies, which is absolutely more albums than most groups can only hope for in their dreams. Not only that, but their single ASAP, reached number 9 in the digital chart, cementing the group’s success on both digital and album sales. And they did with only two releases!

The group’s next two EPs only solidified StayC‘s position as a monster rookie, as Stereotype, released in September last year and Young-Luv.com, released last February, peaked on the album charts at numbers 2 and 1 and sold more than 179,000 and 212,000 copies respectively. Those are really some impressive figures not just for amateur groups, but for Korean pop acts in general. 

During their debut, it may also have helped that two of the members (who happen to have similar names) were no strangers to the public. Sieun was already popular prior to the group’s debut as the daughter of veteran singer Park Namjung and a teen actress. She was already seen in her appearances in dramas such as the Korean remake of The Good Wife, Queen for Seven Days, and The Crowned Clown. Her acting skills were even recognized as she bagged the Youth Acting Award in 2018 SBS Drama Awards for her role in Still 17, where she played the young Seori, the show’s female protagonist (the adult version was played by Mr. Queen‘s Shin Hyesun). 

Another actress prior to the group’s debut and was already known to the public is Seeun. Her acting credits prior to joining StayC include Circle and The Guardians. Prior to joining High Up Entertainment, Seeun also trained in Plan A Entertainment, which means had she not left the agency, she would have been a member of a group we will talk about later instead of being in StayC.  

https://twitter.com/YOONLOOKSS/status/1523815286449008642?s=20&t=elEja4kWEA4P2cgvqRlRKA

What could make their star fall: All StayC members are good at singing, good in rapping, good in dancing, which is great considering that we are past the era of groups with members that are just there for display. But that may also be the problem for StayC. So far, Sieun is the one being pushed as the group’s main vocalist and sometimes-center because she may be the most popular. But listening to their songs, you can’t really recognize Sieun’s vocals as superior and standing out from the rest. For easy “identifiability”, groups usually employ the positions for fans to easily point out which member is which. StayC is so popular, but somehow we still have to consult Google to know which member is which. This, we cannot say is the same with aespa.

Itzy

What we know so far: Definitely one of the top contenders for the title “leaders of the 4th Gen,” Itzy has continued the tradition of excellence by JYP Entertainment when it comes to producing girl groups. With the sterling track record of Wonder Girls, miss A, and TWICE, Itzy was destined for success. And if anything else, Itzy’s also a testament to the loyalty of one Lee Chaeryeong. Imagine not getting into TWICE because you and your sister got eliminated in Sixteen, the show that brought together the group. All eliminated contestants started leaving JYP after being told to go back to the training room. Even after her sister left the company, she remained. Her loyalty paid off when she and four other girls were selected to make up the group Itzy, which also has its share of high-profile quitters, allegedly including IOI center Somi, who opted to leave JYP (and thus defaulting her chances of being included in Itzy) for a solo career with the Black Label, a YG subsidiary.

Anyway, as the group is a JYP group, they were off to an inevitably phenomenal start when they debuted on February 12, 2019, with the single album, It’z Different, led by the single Dalla Dalla. The group brushed off rookie jitters as it scored one of the biggest Billboard debuts for a new K-pop act in years, with their song entering at number three and peaking at number two on the World Digital Song Sales chart. The music video surpassed 17.1 million views within 24 hours of its release and broke the record for the most viewed K-pop debut music video within 24 hours. After only eight days since their debut, Itzy received their first music show win on M Countdown, breaking the record for the fastest time for a girl group to achieve their first music show win. The song went on to win nine more music show trophies while the music video became the fastest K-pop debut music video to reach 100 million views on YouTube at the time.

Five months later, the group’s first EP, It’z Icy, was released and met critical and commercial success anew, as it peaked at number three on the Gaon Album Chart. Icy, the EP’s lead single won 12 music show #1s, including a triple crown on Show Champion. As expected, by the end of the year, the group won numerous rookie of the year awards, including the Best New Female Artist awards at the 2019 Melon Music Awards and the 2019 Mnet Asian Music Awards. The music videos for Dalla Dalla and Icy placed on the list of South Korea’s most popular music videos on YouTube at numbers two and seven, respectively.

How will they slay: Itzy has, for three years, proven how hard JYP girl groups slap at their peak. The sales figures for their EPs look like they’re from a veteran girl group. The interest of the fans in the five members is also quite evenly distributed and no one is made to feel they’re less popular or less talented than the others. There’s also the viral choreography that most of the time serves as a passport to the success of 4th gen groups. From the finger crowns that have been through several variations for each Itzy release to the iconic shoulder dance of Ryujin, it’s safe to say that the girls have engrained themselves in Korean pop culture.

What could make their star fall: The JYP disease. This condition differs between girl and boy groups. For boy groups, it’s just being dropped when Asiansoul JYP doesn’t really like the songs the group comes up with (e.g., JB’s songs). For girl groups, it’s where the company abandons everything and treats all other talents like yesterday’s newspaper to focus all energies and resources for the favored rookie group.

This is what happened to Wonder Girls when miss A emerged, which was eventually replaced by TWICE, which has now taken a back seat for Itzy. And now that Nmixx has been introduced to the public, we can only watch and brace ourselves as it projected that Itzy will start its slow and steady decline. Basing on the group’s last two releases, the much maligned (Mafia) In the Morning and Loco, which only managed to chart at numbers 10 and 26, respectively, we can say that the decline may already be starting.

(G)-IDLE

What we know so far: At last, we go to the “pioneers” of the 4th generation of girl groups, (G)I-dle. After the “success” of the Cube trainees’ exposure in Produce 101 (success in quotes because even though the two Cube trainees didn’t qualify for the project group IOI, Kwon Eunbin and Jeon Soyeon did generate a lot of buzz and were recognized as very talented contestants),   the company decided to add Eunbin to the lineup of CLC, an underperforming group under the company. As for the more successful Soyeon, the company gave her a solo single release and allowing her to join project releases like Wow Thing with Seulgi, SinB, and her PD101 castmate Chungha and Unpretty Rapstar, which added to her credentials as a legit rapper. Finally, in 2018, she was introduced as the leader of Cube Entertainment’s new girl group, (G)I-dle, with Miyeon (a former YG trainee who was reportedly supposed to be a member of Blackpink), Minnie, Soojin, Shuhua and Yuqi. 

How will they slay: From the get-go, the group slayed as (G)I-dle released Latata on May 2 of that year. Latata‘s music video exceeded 5.9 million views within the first week, and the EP debuted at number 13 on the Gaon Album Chart issued on May 10. One week after release, “Latata” debuted at number 35 on Gaon Digital Chart on May 17.(G)I-dle received their first-ever music show win on SBS MTV’s The Show on May 22, solidifying the success of the debut.

On August 14, (G)I-dle’s first digital single Hann (Alone) was released. Within 24 hours, the music video surpassed 4.9 million views on YouTube. The song topped domestic music charts including Bugs, Genie and Olleh Music on August 16 and peaked at number two on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart. The following week, (G)I-dle received their first music show win for the song on Show Champion on August 29.

Throughout the rest of 2018, (G)I-dle won several rookie awards at major Korean year-end music award shows, including the Asia Artist Awards, Gaon Chart Music Awards, Genie Music Awards, Golden Disc Awards, Korea Popular Music Awards and Melon Music Awards. 

In 2019, they participated in the first season of Queendom, which pitted them against more experienced artists and groups such as Mamamoo, AOA, Park Bom, and Oh My Girl. They may have only ended up in third place, but their performances and releases from the show garnered a lot of attention, acclaim, and even sales.  The group’s success went on despite the pandemic and just in March, the group finally had their long-awaited comeback with their first full-length studio album I Never Die and the lead single, Tomboy dominating the charts and earning them a rare PAK (perfect all-kill).

Finally, (G)I-dle slaying is quite inevitable, considering they have established a reputation of being directly involved in the creation of their music. Soyeon particularly has helped write and produce a majority of the group’s songs, and Minnie and Yuqi have also co-written numerous album tracks. With all the highlights of just one year that since extended to their second, third, and fourth year, (G)I-dle have since been considered one of the most successful South Korean girl groups from outside of the “big three” record labels. This also rehabilitated Cube’s slightly damaged reputation after the not-so-lustrous career of CLC, which as of 2021, was verified by the members as being a “discontinued” group.

What could make their star fall: We are talking about Cube Entertainment, the company that Be2st, 4Minute, HyunA, and e-Dawn left because of poor treatment. The company has a reputation of producing very successful groups that they eventually mismanage (as seen in 4Minute and Be2st) or artists that they leave out in the darkness when push comes to shove . So, when eagle-eyed fans saw Soyeon having the business card of someone from Psy’s P.Nation during one of her live sessions, people started speculating that (G)I-dle might be on their way to CLC-dom. But then, Soyeon has produced songs for other artists, so it might be that she was just exploring collab opportunities with P.Nation artists.

But then, last year, it was announced that Soojin would temporarily halt all activities following allegations of bullying by former classmates. On August 14, Cube Entertainment announced that Soojin had officially withdrawn from (G)I-dle, though she will remain under the same agency. In March this year, Cube Entertainment announced that they have officially terminated Soojin’s contract after police investigations concluded that the accusers were not guilty of spreading false information. With Cube’s characteristically lackadaisical handling of the Soojin “scandal”, we can safely conclude that should there be any scandals among the remaining (G)I-dle members in the future, we should expect the same treatment from the company. So, really, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if the group will disband in the future.   

By how things are unfolding, it does look like these four groups are following in the long line of girl groups whom went on to become the leaders of their own generations – S.E.S., Fin. K.L, and Baby Vox for the first generation, SNSD, SISTAR, 2NE1, Wonder Girls, and Apink for the 2nd gen, and Blackpink, TWICE, Red Velvet, and MAMAMOO for the third generation. It would be interesting to see how these monster groups will reign in the years to come.  

Featured Image: Itzy Official Twitter

When K-pop idols leave their agencies, fans usually assume that there’s something about the way the idol concerned was treated by the agency that eventually led to the decision to part ways. Such is the case with all members of GOT7 and JYP Entertainment, when it became blatant that the members were discouraged in terms of growing and developing artistically by the agency itself.  But is this the case with everyone who has left JYPE? Not really, if we are to examine three cases. 

What Remains a Mystery Up to This Day: HyunA

If you know HyunA as the sexy rapper who is in a relationship with E’Dawn and is currently promoting with him as a duo under Psy’s PNation label, then you must be a 4th Gen stan. If you know HyunA as the most popular member of the Cube Entertainment girl group 4Minute, then you are a late 2nd Gen stan. But if you are one of those who is not wondering what HyunA is doing in an article about female idols leaving JYP Entertainment and knows exactly why she is first to be named, then you are quite the early adapter! That’s because our Bubble Pop girl is actually one of the earliest female idols that Park Jinyoung’s company debuted in a girl group – yes, HyunA was one of the original members of the Wonder Girls!

In 2006, JYP announced that HyunA will be the main rapper of Wonder Girls. She participated in the group’s debut mini-album The Wonder Begins, which was released in February 2007, and was also part of the group’s television show MTV Wonder Girls for two seasons. If you’re not convinced, have a look at the music video for Irony, the group’s first single: 

See the girl in yellow with the shoulder-length bowl-cut hair who was first to play with the voodoo doll that manipulated the cheating guy? Yes, that’s HyunA. Aside from participating in the group’s initial promotions, she also co-hosted Show! Music Core with her groupmate Sohee and Fly to the Sky singer Brian Joo from May to June of 2007. Then, unfortunately, it was her parents who pulled out the then-15-year old from the group in July, as they were getting more concerned about her health when she experienced chronic gastroenteritis and fainting spells during her time training and promoting with the group.

But then, the next year, it was revealed that HyunA had joined another company, Cube Entertainment. In May 2009, it was announced that she would debut as part of the girl group 4Minute and only two months later, the group debuted with the single Hot Issue. Well, considering the record label changes that went rather quickly, people can’t help but wonder whether the group’s song can also refer to HyunA being a center of this “hot issue” of leaving JYP Entertainment because of health reasons only to return to the biz, but in a different company. 

As there weren’t too many idols in 2007, any news about K-pop singers, particularly idol group members which was then still a novel concept was a big deal. Thus, when HyunA left the Wonder Girls, people were shocked and the press has a field day. Also because there weren’t a lot of female idols that rapped, fans were quite invested in her. When it was known that she joined another entertainment agency after leaving JYP, people were suspicious of her reasons for leaving JYP in the first place. Did she really suffer from health problems? If she did, then why would she return to the music industry and join a different company? 

To make matters more interesting, it was also revealed that Cube Entertainment, which at that time was a very new company, was formed by Hong Seung-sung (aka Simon Hong), who was JYP Entertainment’s former president. So, was it a matter of talent piracy, where CEO Hong asked HyunA to feign health issues so she can leave WG and JYPE, only to resurface a bit later when the issue of her departure cools down, with his company? Or was there a conflict with HyunA (which at that time may have been represented by her parents since she was still very much a minor) and JYPE, with the former favoring leaving the company and joining Hong’s company rather than staying?  All parties, JYPE, HyunA, and Cube have stuck to the health issue narrative all these years. 

And we may never know if the “absolute truth” behind this because well, HyunA’s relationship with Cube has practically died, bridges burned and all following the company’s dismissal of her and then-Pentagon member E’Dawn when the two admitted to their romantic relationship. I’m not sure if Korea has a memoir culture where celebrities commit to “tell-alls” about their public life once they shun the limelight and settle into a more private existence, but something tells me there will be no HyunA, JYP, or CEO Hong biography in the future that will dish everything on what really went on during the early days of Wonder Girls and 4Minute. But we can always dream, eh?     

Differences in Artistic Expression: Sunmi

One thing’s for sure: HyunA didn’t leave her first girl group and the company because of squabbling or conflict among the members of the Wonder Girls. Since becoming a part of 4Minute and launching her solo career, she has been seen interacting with her former groupmates in music shows and industry events. One of these events was when Sunmi, who was about to promote her first single after leaving JYP, Gashina, coincided with HyunA’s promotion of her 6th EP, Following, with the single Babe. Both were seen on music shows being cozy with each other, like long-lost friends who are catching up with each other’s lives. So, fans were pretty much assured that HyunA and the Wonder Girls have never gotten into conflicts. Which leads us to Sunmi, one of the OG WGs who has had an inconsistent relationship with JYPE. 

Sunmi has stayed loyal to the company despite having had to take breaks from promoting with the Wonder Girls. From 2006 to 2009, even with their controversial promotional activities in the US, where she changed her name to Mimi, she was a dependable part of the group. However, in 2010, the company announced that Sunmi would be taking an academic break to focus on her studies and on developing her talents. However, they were quick to clarify that Sunmi would still be a talent of JYP Entertainment and that there were no concrete plans on when Sunmi will return to the Wonder Girls, if at all.

Sunmi did go to university during her academic break, studying in Dongguk University while receiving additional training with JYP. She claimed that she was only a trainee for more or less one year when she was included in the Wonder Girls line-up, so the whole time, she felt that she was pretty much lacking in a lot of skills. But while studying in university and getting additional training, Sunmi actually returned to her music career in 2013, but not to the Wonder Girls, as JYPE promoted her as a solo artist. Her solo career took off amazingly, as her debut single 24 Hours achieved an all-kill on music charts. She released an EP not long after, with Full Moon equaling her debut single’s achievements. 

The following year, JYP Entertainment announced that Sunmi would be back as a WG after five years, which also coincided with the group’s return after a two-year hiatus. The group returned as a band, with Sunmi as bassist. The group’s comebacks were received warmly by the fans, who had no trouble appreciating the group’s band concept. Though the EP Reboot did not sell as well as their group’s previous albums and EPs, the singles I Feel You and Why So Lonely peaked at #3 and 1, respectively, with sales of over 800,000 copies for both singles. 

Alas, at the start of 2017, it was announced that the group was disbanding after negotiations with Sunmi and Yeeun for their contract renewals broke down. The girls released a final single on their tenth anniversary in February before going their separate ways. The next month, Sunmi signed with Makeus Entertainment, which at that time only had guitarist Park Won and the R&B trio Urban Zakapa on their portfolio. As an old adage goes, the rest is Gashina history. 

The transfer of Sunmi to MakeUs (which has since then been acquired by ABYSS Company and has welcomed another former JYP talent GOT7‘s Bambam and former 2NE1 member Dara into their fold) is a bit weird, considering that JYP has already launched her as a soloist in 2013, successfully at that. So, why did she leave JYP? The thing is, she may have just disagreed to continuing with the Wonder Girls and still be under JYP as a soloist, as she already had experience on that since 2013. She didn’t have to leave the company, right? 

An interview in the popular talk show Radio Star may hold some answers to the questions regarding Sunmi’s decision to part ways with the agency. For one, she had objections to the signature vocal technique JYP evangelizes (well, to some, more of “force,” actually) to all his idols: the half-voice, half-air technique. It is known in the Korean music industry that this technique is something JYP himself applies and he prefers to listen to with the idols under his wing, as he feels that technique produces a sound that people can’t help but be fond of. Alas, Sunmi, as with a lot of former and even current JYP idols does not really agree with her boss’ preference. She thought she wanted to experiment with producing an airier sound or a more solid sound, depending on which fits a song. This dissent, of course, is not really allowed in JYPE, where Park Jinyoung ultimately has the final say in a lot of creative decisions. 

Speaking of creative decisions, she also narrated her experience during the time she promoted 24 Hours, her second single as a soloist in JYP. Park Jinyoung instructed her to have a plain, expressionless face on both the music video and her live stage performances as he thought a no-makeup look fit the song best. Sumni was not comfortable with the concept, as she does not feel confident without makeup and false eyelashes that leaves her with a pale look. She expressed her disapproval of JYP’s instruction, but in the end, she obviously had to give way to him. 

Finally, when the hosts pointed out that those where idols cannot object to JYP’s instructions are known throughout the industry as a reason why artists who have already worked with JYP are not planning on working with him ever again. Sunmi agreed and when asked if this issue also applies to her, she demurely agreed as well. Suffice to say that even if there was no animosity between her and her former company, particularly JYP himself, we may never see a time when Sunmi will ever record a JYP song ever again. 

Differences in Career Direction: Suzy

Suzy’s involvement with K-pop can be tracked back to the year 2009, when she auditioned for Mnet’s Superstar K. Though she qualified through the preliminary round, she was ultimately eliminated in the succeeding rounds. However, a talent scout from JYP Entertainment noticed and invited her to audition for then company. She agreed and soon enough, she became a JYP Entertainment trainee. Things went fast for her as the next year, she was chosen as a member of the company’s second ever girl group, Miss A. 

Suzy’s fast rise to fame cannot only be owed to her activities as a member of Miss A, and soon enough, she was constantly selected as an emcee or host of special events such as award ceremonies and concerts. In  October of 2010, Suzy became a fixed host for MBC Show! Music Core with T-ara‘s Jiyeon and SHINee‘s Minho and Onew. After that, she was selected to host other events such as the Seoul Music Awards, Golden Disc Awards, and Mnet 20’s Choice Awards, where she also took home an award for “Hot New Star of 2011”. Apart from her hosting gigs, she also started a career in acting, debuting in the musical teen drama Dream High, which she co-starred with labelmates Wooyoung and Taecyeon of 2PM, T-ara‘s Eunjung, IU, and Kim Soohyun.

Suzy slowly and surely earned recognition as a visual, not particularly as an acting rookie with strong thespian skills.  At the KBS Drama Awards, Suzy won the Best New Actress award as well as Best Couple award with co-star Kim Soo-hyun. She continued appearing on TV as a cast member in KBS TV reality show Invincible Youth 2. Soon enough, she made her film debut with Architecture 101. But even if her acting skills were up for debate, there was no question that Suzy was a certified star. After all, nobody in Korean showbiz has ever won a singer rookie award, drama rookie award, film rookie award, and variety rookie award in his or her first two years in the entertainment industry. Her popularity outside of Korea was also confirmed when in September 2016, Suzy’s became the first Korean female celebrity to receive a wax likeness of herself at Madame Tussauds.

Alas, with Suzy’s established popularity, fans pointed out that the group Miss A had become more of a “Suzy and Friends Group,” a distinction that is given to groups with a member that is grossly more popular than the other members or in some cases a member who is given preferential treatment by the company over the other members who as a result, appear disregarded or overlooked. Thus, you have groups like “HyunA and Friends” (4Minute), “Hyolyn and Friends” (SISTAR), and lately, “Solbin and Friends” (LABOUM), and “Sejeong and Friends” (Gugudan). But at that time, it appeared that JYPE was impervious to these opinions, although they sort of dispelled them by making Chinese member Fei the first solo artist from the group. 

However, it wasn’t too long before Suzy also had her solo debut with the album Yes? No? as its title. She achieved an all-kill on music charts with a pre-release single, Pretend. The title track, Yes, No, Maybe was released a week after. Besides, the public already had a taste of Suzy doing her own thing outside the group when she sang a duet with EXO‘s Baehyun entitled Dream, which peaked at #1 in the Gaon Digital Charts. 

On December 27, following the announcement of Min’s departure, JYP Entertainment announced that Miss A had disbanded, although Suzy renewed her contract with the company.  She had a comeback the next month with Faces of Love, whose pre-release track entitled In Love with Someone Else gave Suzy a real-time all kill. The next year, Suzy left JYP Entertainment following the expiration of her contract and quickly joined  acting agency Management SOOP.She has since then starred in numerous K-dramas, the latest being the 2020 show Start-Up. 

With Suzy, it appears fair to assume that the two parties have diverging goals. Suzy has made it clear that she has shifted to an acting career, while JYP is still pretty much a record label and an agency of singer-idols who may have side gigs in acting. Thus, you have Taecyeon, who has also left JYP but still part of 2PM because he is now more active as an actor than a singer/rapper. Compare that to Wooyoung, Nickhun, and Junho, who although have numerous acting jobs are still very active in promoting their music as solo artists. Suzy, like Taecyeon, have not focused on their music careers since leaving JYPE, proving that they really want to establish their careers in television and film. Unfortunately, JYP may not be the best company to support their career goals. 

There are more artists who have left JYPE in mysterious circumstances, such as Produce 101 winner Somi, who was reported to be a part of ITZY before her departure (rumor has it that she wanted to debut as a solo artist, something JYPE didn’t allow); another Wonder Girls member Sohee who left JYPE before the group disbanded, supposedly to focus on growing her acting career; former 15& member Jimin (who is now signed with Warner Music Korea as a solo artist), to name a few. 

It is also interesting to note that as mentioned earlier, JYPE has really recalibrated its focus towards supporting musical artists, which coincidentally has taken place after all the company’s actors (e.g., Choi Wooshik of Parasite  fame and Park Gyuyoung, who we can watch currently in Dali and Cocky Prince) have left the company altogether from 2018 to 2019. So, if you look at JYPE’s current roster of artists, there’s not a single actor or actress left, only idols with acting gigs, like Wooyoung and Junho as mentioned earlier. Although the company has received a lot of backlash last year with GOT7’s mass exodus, Day6 Jae’s online meltdowns, and TWICE’s spotty performance, we can still hope that the company gets its act together and protect its current artists such as ITZY and Stray Kids.

Featured Image: Youtube Screengrab from Sunmi- Gashina MV

If you are a K-pop fan, no matter which generation, chances are you have at the very least heard of Apink. Second-generation Kpop fans have witnessed the group’s steady rise to stardom and their longevity that has allowed them to get past the much-dreaded “7-year curse” that unfortunately, a lot of their contemporaries fell victim to. For the more recent generation of Kpop followers, Apink is synonymous with a group successfully accomplishing an image overhaul because these fans swear they could remember hearing Apink popularizing teenybopper songs only to see them mount once a year comebacks with rather sophisticated hits like Eung Eung, I’m So Sick, and Dumhdurum. 

One of the only few remaining 2nd gen groups that continue to be active up to now, they have survived the 7-year curse, line-up changes, contract renewals, their entertainment company’s several name changes (yes, their company have changed their business name thrice in a span of eleven years), and concept changes. Dubbed as the “fairy idols of k-pop”, the group has stuck with a sweet and innocent image for most of their careers, only implementing major changes in recent years. 

So, how is it that this relatively scandal-free, durable, and long-lasting girl group is suddenly sending tongues a-wagging after releasing a special album of their 10th year as a group in 2022 when they’re only two months shy from celebrating their 11th year? Here is a breakdown of Apink‘s 10-to-11 year saga in three acts.

Act One: The Age of Innocence

The year was 2011. The second generation of K-pop idols dominated the airwaves, with intense rivalries, defections, and contracts getting violated left and right. It was during this time when the Big 3 entertainment companies introduced idols that became iconic and built the foundation of what was to be at the time the biggest attack of the Hallyu wave not just in Korea but in Asian countries and even America. SM had TVXQ!, SHINee, Super Junior, f(x), and Girls’ Generation, while YG countered with BIGBANG and 2NE1, and not to be outdone, JYP promoted 2AM and 2PM, Wonder Girls, and had just also introduced Miss A.

There were groups that stood their ground and built huge followings as well — INFINITE, B2st, MBLAQ, Teen TopKara, SISTAR, Jewelry, T-ARA, After School, 4Minute, and Secret, to name a few. Considering that these groups didn’t have as secure a support machinery as the ones mentioned earlier, that means that their success was really a big deal. To survive the industry and rise into household name despite not having a giant entertainment label to back them and the intense competition with hundreds of new groups debuting with them, all hoping to avoid being “nugus“, is no easy feat at all. The groups mentioned earlier proved that it can be done. However, by this time, the k-pop scene was already starting to get saturated, so it would take a number of factors such as a great mix of members, a concept that would click with the masses, and songs that the public would enjoy to survive and eventually thrive at that time. 

So, when Cube Entertainment toyed with the idea of producing a new girl group even with the ongoing success of B2st and 2Minute on their table, it could be said that they pulled a considerable number of stops to ensure the success of the group they will be introducing to the public. In February 2011, Cube Entertainment announced the first trainee for this new girl group, Son Naeun, who the public was already familiar due to B2st‘s Soom, Beautiful,  and Niga Jeil Joha music videos in late 2010, followed by Park Chorong, who appeared at the end of B2st‘s Shock Japanese music video. She was immediately announced as the group’s leader. By this time, the company also announced that a special and autonomous subsidiary named A Cube has been established to focus on the development of this new group, to be known as Apink. They also announced the third member, Oh Hayoung, a rather tall and mature-looking trainee who apparently was going to debut as Apink‘s maknae while still in middle school. 

Eunji, the main vocalist was later revealed to have been offered a vocal coach job with Cube before being considered as a member of Apink, which was why she had only been training for close to two months before the revelation. She was introduced as the fourth member on A Cube’s Twitter account through a video of her singing a rendition of Jennifer Hudson’s Love You I Do before Yookyung was similarly announced through an online video where she was playing the piano. The last two members, Bomi and Namjoo, were introduced through the group’s reality show, Apink News.

Apink News, a documentary detailing a lot of behind-the-scenes footage of the group’s creation and various training activities leading to their debut proved to be a stroke of genius. One, although the show was aired on a cable channel, the viewing public was very familiar with the celebrities who acted as hosts and MCs introducing the various videos and portions of the show — G.NA, Mario, MBLAQ‘s Seung Ho, and G.O, Beast, 4Minute, 2AM‘s Jinwoon, Secret’s Sunhwa and Hyosung. The viewers were also given a look at the intense preparations of the members before the group was launched, which made the members very relatable and familiar as even before they debuted. The viewers were already familiar with the strengths, weaknesses, and personality quirks of all seven members. Finally, a week before the group’s official debut, their first TV commercial for Ceylon Tea was released, so with all these pre-debut activities, the public was at the very least, vaguely familiar with Apink. 

Alas, when Apink‘s debut EP, Seven Springs of Apink, and the music video for its lead single, Mollayo was released on April 19, 2011, there was not a lot of awkwardness associated with a new group being pushed to the public in a cold and direct manner. The Mollayo music video also definitely caught the attention of the B2st fandom as it featured Lee Gikwang. It Girl, their second single was promoted after a few months and an OST for the SBS drama Protect the Boss was also released in September. 

The year ended with two big items: One, appearing on another reality show called Birth of a Family, where they shared top billing with Infinite, which at that time, was already getting more attention, and the other being the release of their second EP, Snow Pink, on November 22, which featured the Shinsandong Tiger-composed lead single My My. After seven months, the girls won a music show, a clear indication that a group has established a pretty sizable fanbase. After all, if a group doesn’t have fans who will stream the music video or vote for their song on the music show’s SMS platforms, getting a win will be that difficult, considering that a rookie group isn’t really expected to have sizeable sales figures or high chart positions, which are also included in the criteria of music shows. 

With four rookie of the year awards in their belt, Apink did prove that they are a group to be reckoned with. And considering that the group debuted with a sweet and teenybopper image with their first two EPs, their successful debut year is quite a feat and upon closer inspection, very well-thought of. The innocent music which was their introduction to the public is a bit too reminiscent of the music of 1st generation of girl groups like Baby V.O.X, Fin. KL and SES. Also considering that the groups at that time were going more for the range of girl-next-door with a notch of sophistication (SNSD) to downright sexy and adult (Secret and Nine Muses) to cater to changing public preferences, Apink‘s sweet and innocent concept may be a blessing in disguise. 

While it is true that what the public liked at that time may be a bit distant from the lollipops and rainbows concept the group is offering, they practically cornered the market. None of their contemporaries offered childlike innocence the way Apink did. SNSD at that time was already moving closer to sophistication with releases like Run Devil Run, Hoot, and The Boys. Consider this: the music video of Mollayo had the girls nursing a guy who passed out in front of their front door into their house. But no, instead of shouting “STRANGER DANGER” at the top of their lungs, the girls get giddy and shy when the said guy (Gikwang in a baby blue suit) does even the smallest of things like passing a glance. How’s that for cringy but endearing because the girls just sold the concept so hard and so effectively, you can’t help but think of what gift they should give Mr. Stranger once he recovers his strength. Spoiler: Naeun gave him flowers she herself picked, Hayoung gave him a cookie, and Eunji gave him a bookmark. 

And that may hold a couple of the major keys to Apink‘s success years after debuting. The girls continued with tracks like Bubibu, Hush, and NoNoNo, which have wholesomeness written all over them. The songs cover rather simple topics of what you would like to do with someone you like and the dilemma of whether to confess what you feel to the person. Very grade school stuff, which until this point is trademark Apink. You just cannot picture f(x)‘s Amber, 2NE1‘s Dara, or even SNSD‘s maknae Seohyun saying, “Dear boy, I fell in love with you on a snowy day” (Yookyung’s lyrics in My My) or the queens of retro T-Ara singing, “I wanna be that girl who can be with you forever, so tell me, will you be my boyfriend?” (again, spoken by Yookyung — I swear, Yookyung has some of the most cringe-inducing lyrics in the entire history of k-pop). 

This brings us to the second point: which was mentioned already earlier: All seven, and later, six, members of the group are masters, legends, and icons, in selling to us the sweet and pure concept of the group. Imagine these scenarios: 

1. Being a singer in her early 20’s like Chorong and having to sing the syllables BU-BI-BU. What on earth does that even mean? But of course, it’s baby talk and the seven in all their aegyo prowess, has us believing in what they are singing. 
2. Poor Yookyung having to say those cringe-y lyrics, reminiscent of grade school students daring each other to give the other their first kiss. 
3. The entire group wearing white skintight pants and baby tees – an attire that just does not adhere to anyone’s standards of innocence, for the Hush music video, and still having to act cutesy and perky in scenes where they are playing with the camera. 

If you are a singer in your late teens, the last thing you want to be is to appear like a grade school student, singing lyrics like “I’m always trembling, I think of you every day, You don’t know my feelings for you is getting larger.” Granted that this stanza was sung by Hayoung, who was indeed a middle school student the time Mollayo was released, but for someone who at that time, already looks like a graduating university senior, it’s not supposed to work. But Apink‘s giant maknae has a whole deck of tricks up her sleeve and used it for most of the group’s career, we all fell for it. So you could imagine how Hayoung may have reacted when she first heard I’m So Sick, which references insincere lovers and drunk episodes. But I’m fast-forwarding.      

There’s also Eunji’s voice, which by now, we know is not her natural timbre. Seriously, can you hear her singing Mollayo in the same voice she uses for her latest solo single, AWay? But then, that’s just a testament to her mad vocal skills and technique – that she knows how to adjust the color and “weight” of her voice to suit the entire Apink discography. 

In short, these girls worked their derrieres off in selling the group’s pure and innocent concept to the entire k-pop listening public, and the said public ate it all up, no morsel left behind. I mean, we’ve heard of several stories involving idols complaining about the concepts their companies may require them to do. Some idols do not agree with the image they have to embody, while some put their feet down and speak up about inappropriate wardrobe choices. When you think about it, by their second year, Apink could have already forwarded concerns regarding their concept. But it’s either nothing was heard from them or A Cube (or the members themselves) was just very good in hiding any dissent. The point is, that pure and innocent concept stuck and stayed there until 2019. 

After NoNoNo came more success, which some consider as Apink’s first “golden streak.” By 2014, Apink was down to six, with Yookyung deciding to pursue her studies than staying with the group. After the success of NoNoNo, which became their biggest hit up until that time, they released their fourth EP, Pink Blossom, and the music video for its title track, Mr. Chu, were released on March 31. The song peaked at number 2 on Billboard’s K-Pop Hot 100 and gave Apink six music show trophies. By the end of 2014, Mr. Chu was the eighth best-selling digital song of the year, according to Gaon’s year-end chart. 2014 also saw Bomi and Namjoo forming a sub-unit called Apink BnN, which released the single My Darling for Brave Brothers’ 10th Anniversary Project. 

The year also saw the group debuting in Japan with the Japanese version of NoNoNo, which peaked at number 4 on Oricon’s weekly singles chart. Before the year ended, the group released their fifth EP, Pink Luv with its title song, Luv, which was another Shinsadong Tiger track. Luv dislodged NoNoNo as Apink‘s highest-ranking song as it became their first number 1 on Gaon’s weekly and monthly digital charts, while Pink Luv also topped Gaon’s weekly album chart in its first week of release. The group won first place on all three major Korean music shows two weeks in a row, the only girl group to do so in 2014. The song ended up giving Apink 17 music show wins, which up to this day holds the record for the song with the most wins for a girl group. Only Psy, BTS, and EXO have surpassed this feat, and with GFriend already disbanded and Girls’ Generation not promoting as much anymore, this record is not seen to be broken in the near future. 

The group’s success continued with the release of Remember in 2015 and somewhat a lukewarm (by Apink’s standards) of their 2016 comeback Pink Revolution with the lead track Only One. After the  successes of NoNoNo, Mr. Chu, and LUV, the performance of Only One in the charts, where it peaked at number 5 and sold over 449,000 copies is underwhelming, though still quite commendable in girl group standards. After the record-breaking 17 music show wins for LUV and a respectable three trophies for Remember, Only One won zilch. 

Some blame the timing of the release as it coincided with more hyped releases like GOT7. Moreover, Pink Revolution was released more than a year (14 months to be exact) after Pink Memory, and even during that time, when the this behavior of long hiatuses between releases is only expected of groups that have already established themselves in the industry like Shinhwa, it felt like Apink was already resting on their laurels and not working as hard as groups of their stature should be. Even with The Wave being released to commemorate their fifth anniversary on April 19 to supposedly tide Pink Pandas over until Pink Revolution’s release (plus the fact that The Wave up to now continues to be one the best fan service songs in the history of K-pop, without question), the long gap between those two releases did not sit well with the fandom. 

Finally, it has to be said that the song was not really something that should have silenced those who waited for the group to break their hiatus. I mean, if you have to wait for more than a year for your favorite group to stage a comeback, you somehow expect them to drop a banger, a showstopper to silence the doubters and announce their return to the entire K-pop world, in the same vein when people go crazy when they heard whispers of “Shinee’s back” or “JYP” after a long stretch. Only One did not create this tidal wave people expected; instead, it made a tiny splash with its mellow sounds and its music video filled with dreamy and hazy pastel filters. While the girls claimed in their comeback interviews that the Pink Revolution album and Only One, in particular, signaled a shift in the musical direction of the group from bubblegum pop to a more elegant and sophisticated sound, it was just not an exciting song to represent this change. After all, change should be exciting, right? So, if you’re telling people that you will be implementing changes, at the level of Apink’s popularity, they may have expected something more remarkable, fancier, pronounced – something splashier, perhaps? What they got with the Only One comeback, was, unfortunately, something closer to a whimper. 

With this less-than-stellar comeback – again, by Apink standards, considering that at this point in their careers, they were already up there in the top tier with SNSD, 2NE1, Wonder Girls,  Miss A, SISTAR, 4Minute, Apink figured for their next move to remind people of their heyday by bringing back the chirpy, cutesy sounds reminiscent of 1st gen girl groups (which served as their bread and butter before the boring half-baked image change of the Pink Revolution era). And Five delivered on that, and how. Pink Up the EP and Five the song gave us vintage Apink, old school Apink, the Apink that won 17 music show awards, the Apink with a song that once you’ve heard it, will stay with you for weeks. Song with a catchy earworm chorus, check. A music video drenched in bright pink and the six engaged in cute and fun activities such as gardening and anything to do with pastries (very reminiscent of the NoNoNo, My My and Remember music videos), check. Bomi looking like a children’s anime character with the short blonde hair, check. Apink’s back, Pink Up the EP peaked at #1 in the Gaon charts, Five won six music show trophies, and all that is good and wholesome in the world has ben restored. 

With Apink back to top tier level after the Pink Revolution debauchery, the talk was all about one thing: survival. Apink has successfully gotten past the seven-year curse that has unfortunately sent their contemporaries on the road to disbandment or hiatus. By 2017, SISTAR  and 2NE1 have officially disbanded, while Girl’s Day, After School and f(x) have left their fans out in the cold, constantly assuring them that they have not disbanded but not releasing new material. For Apink, the concerns were more about how they could bring their glory days back than keeping their group intact. 

For some reason, there wasn’t really much speculation about a member wanting to leave the group. While it is true that some groups can pull surprises (e.g., Hoya and his sudden exit from Infinite when everybody was quite sure that if anyone would depart from Infinite, it was going to be rising actor L), the case of Apink members leaving wasn’t really thoroughly considered. True, Naeun, may at times stick out as a sore thumb because of her rather reserved nature which doesn’t at all times mesh well with the chaotic energy levels of Bomi and Namjoo, but then we tend to forget that Chorong is also introverted.  People also believed that with her versatility as a vocalist and success in acting, it was Eunji who may be considering a solo career, but the group’s main vocal has never given any indication that she was going to be the one to succumb to the 7-year curse and leave Apink. So, when news came out that all members re-signed to their company (which at that time was already renamed Plan A, I think) and they all revealed that they have put their trust in their leader Chorong and continued with the group, everyone rejoiced. And to commemorate their re-signing, they released  Five and brought us back to 2011.

And this also ends the first act of Apink’s saga.

Featured Image: Apink Official Twitter