If you look at all the top K-pop charts nowadays, you'll notice one trend. They are all dominated by girl groups! We break down the reasons why this is!
First, in order to understand the current trend of K-pop, we need to understand where it came from. K-pop is separated by generations (the average ages that idols were born).
First Generation
The first came in with the "birth of K-pop" with groups such as H.O.T. and S.E.S. These idols were born in the '80s and were based on American boy band concepts and Japanese idols.
Second Generation
Between the first and second generations, many groups were focused on R&B and there were many groups that experimented with a variety of sounds such as Shinhwa, Chakra, and Papaya.
Through these earlier groups, the second generation started experimenting with the different styles and personalities of each group. Groups like Orange Caramel, Crayon Pop, Big Bang, Super Junior, Kara all had a variety of styles such as sexy, cute, or girl crush. These groups were appropriately labeled as the "next powerhouse music groups in Asia" and secured South Korea's entertainment dominance in the Asia/Pacific Region. Rightly so, the term "Hallyu" refers to the Korean term for the global popularity of the Korean cultural economy which includes K-pop, K-dramas, and movies.
Third Generation
Girl groups in the third generation such as TWICE, BLACKPINK, and Red Velvet is currently the most popular globally and with groups like BLACKPINK breaking all types of music industry standards, K-pop has cemented itself into the global music scene. The groups from this generation are purely girl crush.
With entertainment companies now more confident than before that girl groups can attract the same attention and fandom as boy groups, they have been pushing to release more girl-centric groups that have charisma.
Fourth Generation
The current fourth-generation girl groups like New Jeans, IVE, and Le Sserafim have reverted back to the second-generation experimental sound and a variety of personalities ranging from cute to sexy and girl crush.
So What's With The Girl Groups?
Due to the recent success of various girl groups in recent years with the options to collaborate with global luxury brands such as YSL, Dior, and Chanel, entertainment companies are sure to make profits from the charisma and personalities of girl group idols. Therefore, every Korean entertainment company has been pouring their resources to develop and train girl groups like never before, and we see the result!
Let us know your thoughts about this phenomenon! Are you surprised?