i love stayc and have always thought their music and concept is top notch. surprisingly, their follow up to their biggest hit, run2u, is getting an underwhelming response. music trends in korea have become extremely hard to read as things that would hit on any other day, sometime fall short of the expected performance. i think ive and stayc have similar niches but ive's well known member advantage and hitting a sweet spot with their songs placed them miles ahead of stayc. and now, newjeans is entering the same niche. newjeans responses are already extremely good and its a similar story as ive and stayc, with all members being heavily praised for their visuals.
i am worried for stayc and hope they can regain momentum. i would be perfectly fine with "highteen" groups crowding out the girl crush concept completely. itzy especially seems to be struggling on the charting side of things.