By 2024.05.10
From the debut groups of 2023, KPOP idols known as the fifth generation have started to emerge.
Last year marked the rise of many boy groups of this fifth generation.
Starting with ZEROBASEONE (commonly known as Zebewan) from the male version of “Girls Planet 999,” “BOYS PLANET,” SM Entertainment debuted RIIZE, a boy group that marks their first since NCT in seven years, and PLEDIS Entertainment, under HYBE, debuted TWS, a boy group that is the younger sibling of SEVENTEEN after nine years. Additionally, BOYNEXTDOOR (commonly known as Bonekdo), produced by Zico, debuted under KOZ Entertainment, another subsidiary of HYBE.
Furthermore, SM, who debuted RIIZE in September, held an audition program on Nippon TV and Hulu, and quickly debuted NCT WISH, a sub-unit of NCT, simultaneously in Korea and Japan early in the new year.
As major agencies competed to debut new boy groups one after another, the new girl groups honestly did not stand out in 2023. However, perhaps as a reaction to this, a fierce battle between two major rookie groups has already begun in 2024.
The first group is ILLIT, born from the audition program “R U NEXT?” that aired last year.
Belonging to BELIFT LAB, a subsidiary of HYBE, ILLIT stands as the younger sister group to ENHYPEN, also from the same agency’s audition. However, looking at this artist photo, one might feel it’s more apt to say they are the younger sisters of HYBE’s senior group, NewJeans.
The grainy film-quality texture and all members sporting black hair with nonchalant expressions reflect a very genuine younger sister vibe of NewJeans.
The title track “Magnetic,” included in their debut album “SUPER REAL ME,” is an easy-listening track that NewJeans popularized, while still ensuring distinction from NewJeans.
In contrast to NewJeans, who carry a somewhat dark and eerie world, ILLIT gives off a dreamlike, fairy-tale-like fragility.
This is likely a concept they could portray because Min Hee-jin, the producer of NewJeans, was not involved.
Min Hee-jin usually incorporates some dark elements, so had she been involved, it’s likely these idols would not have such a non-toxic vibe.
And it is paying off, as their popularity has swiftly spread not only among KPOP fans but also to the general public.
The initial sales of their album, a measure of popularity among fans, exceeded 380,000 copies, surpassing NewJeans’ record of 310,000 copies, thus setting a new historic record for girl groups’ debut album sales.
In terms of quality among the general public, their streaming success, measured by the largest music chart in Korea, Melon TOP100, started at 93rd and gradually rose to 1st place two weeks after release.
Moreover, global performance is strong too, achieving 8th place on the U.S. Billboard Global 200 and 2nd globally (excluding the U.S.), which is a record for debut tracks of KPOP groups.
It’s not an exaggeration to say they’ve already lined up with current top KPOP girl groups like NewJeans, LE SSERAFIM, IVE, aespa, and (G)I-DLE.
However, a group quickly emerges that surpasses ILLIT’s initial sales record.
That group is BABYMONSTER, debuted by YG Entertainment, a giant in the girl group scene, seven years after BLACKPINK.
Their debut album “BABYMONS7ER” recorded over 400,000 copies, surpassing ILLIT’s initial sales of 380,000 copies, quickly breaking the historic first-week record for girl groups established by ILLIT.
This reminds one of the battle for album sales records in 2022, when monster-level groups like IVE, Kep1er, NMIXX, LE SSERAFIM, and NewJeans debuted one after another, continually breaking the sales records of those who debuted later (IVE technically debuted in December 2021).
However, in terms of streaming performance, BABYMONSTER is trailing significantly behind ILLIT.
The title track “SHEESH” has not been able to enter the top 100 on Melon, peaking at 141 (as of April 9) after a week of release, indicating that they haven’t yet garnered public popularity in Korea.
This is due to BABYMONSTER being a hard-hitting girl group.
As mentioned earlier, easy-listening tracks are currently trending in South Korea, with the public seeking songs that are pleasant and easy on the ears.
In contrast, BABYMONSTER’s music is intense with frequent rap parts, seemingly moving against that trend.
That said, their performance on Spotify, a global indicator of popularity, is fairly good.
They surpassed 1.7 million streams on the first day of release, maintaining that number even a week later.
However, rival ILLIT initially had lower streaming numbers on day one with 1.3 million but steadily increased their figures, surpassing 3.3 million on the seventh day, creating a significant gap in streaming rates between them and BABYMONSTER. Currently, in terms of streaming performance, both in Korea and globally, ILLIT seems to be ahead.
Nevertheless, BABYMONSTER has fans who are buying over 400,000 CDs, and their music video for “SHEESH” surpassed 90 million views in just a week (for comparison, ILLIT’s “Magnetic” got about 30 million views in two weeks), showing just how impressive that is. The future of the competition between these two groups remains uncertain, and it’s also quite possible that a girl group from “I-LAND2,” which starts airing on April 18, could disrupt this battle.
In any case, the KPOP scene in 2024 is one to watch as it unfolds with these fifth generation girl groups.
The End
Written by: Nekomachi Pekoo
Head of the KPOP team at SKOOTA
Originally an avid rock music fan considering a job at Rockin’ On, I began listening to KPOP thanks to BTS, then fell for BLACKPINK, fully diving into the KPOP scene. My obsession with the survival audition show ‘Girls Planet 999’ led me to become a serious fan of Kep1er, completely immersing myself in the KPOP world.
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