How to unflop your group(useful lesson for....

I was reading through threads talking about recent boy groups poor charting in SK and decided to do some digging, like why on Earth these boy groups can't even chart on Melon Top 200 ?

As I was going through Gaon(now Circle, ugly ass name) data from the early 2010s, I noticed that collaborations and variety shows/songs help idol groups A LOT. Here are some examples:

Collaborations

2AM, alongside miss A, SNSD & IU conquered the Gaon chart in 2010. 2AM started their chart dominance with Gain and Jo Kwon's collaboration "We Fell in Love" that topped Gaon Weekly Chart for three consecutive weeks in January. The crazy hype of the song leads 2AM's 4th digital single "Can't Let You Go Even If I Die" . January of 2010 was dominated with 2AM with a member's project and the group song reaching #1 back to back. This craziness continue throughout the year as in the Gaon Year-End Chart 2010, 2AM, as a group and their solo projects DOMINATED the Gaon Year End Chart 100 with these songs:

#2 Nagging ( 2AM Seulong & IU)

#7 I Was Able To Eat Well (2AM Changmin & 8eight Lee Hyun)

#14 Can't Let You Go If I Die (2AM)

#17 You Wouldn't Answer My Calls (2AM)

#33 I Was Wrong (2AM)

#48 The Day Of Confession (2AM Jo Kwon solo) Jo Kwon's solo was boosted by his appearance with Ga In around October 2010 in We Got Married

#79 Like Crazy (2AM)

#86 On The Road To Break Up (2AM Jo Kwon & Lee Jeonghee)

#88 I'm Sorry I Can't Laugh for You (2AM)

The very next year, GD & Park Myung-Soo collab on the MBC’s Infinite Challenge was YG's lucky charm. In the Gaon Year-End Chart, the song, "Having an Affair" was #2 (GDragon with Park Bom and Park Myungsoo). This song catapulted Bom's solo career with "Don't Cry" reaching #5 and 2NE1 having multiple entries in the Year-End Chart:

#4 Lonely (2NE1)

#7 I Am The Best (2NE1)

#28 Ugly(2NE1)

#46 Hate You (2NE1)

For First Time Lovers(Yonghwa CNBlue) charted at #67, following his apperance in WGM alongside Seohyun.

It is also important to note that 2010 was 2AM's most successful year, with them having 2 entry in the Year End Chart after 2010( 1 in 2012 and another in 2013) and YG dominance in 2011 was boosted by Infinite Challenge. We can also see this happening in Kpop today with Yoo Jae Suk variety group and Suga basically collecting his hits through multiple collabs with top acts.

YG, HYBE and JYP really need to learn from the history and recreate 2AM & Park Bom strategy back in the days if they want their 4th gen boy group to hit big in Korea..

Quote from YouChanDoThis

So variety show appearances is key. Got it.

Depends on the show you are featuring in

Infinite Challenge was..something. I would say it is similar to Knowing Bros(idk if you know that). Imagine Knowing Bros( a cable show with the average of 5-6% rating- which is really high) go and scout idols to have a music festival. That's how impactful it is

YJS show was basically about unflopping those who flop hard and fall from the fame. A way for this 4th gen boy group to be saved from being shoved down by the girl groups is to have Yoo Jae Suk scouting 4th gen boy groups to create his own boy group. Koreans will consume EVERYTHING related to Yoo Jae Suk

Quote from tetetete

tbh i wonder if making their groups big in korea is even a priority for these companies

They are selling + touring so well without it

It doesn't matter for the company but it will be for the individuals in the group(unless they can make a living outside of Korea). Idols don't make a lot, the only way they can survive is to build up a strong individual fanbase/be known to the GP. 3rd gen is slowly shifting towards that.

Personally if I were one of these companies, I would have pushed one of the members of the group , at least when they slowly flop internationally(Kpop is moving fast, the rising idols now can be nobodies tomorrow) I have a safety net back home lol

Quote from unbannBLACPINK

have a member that looks like the contemporary online trend is the msot surefire way

k public doesnt give a shit about music quality

in fact there isnt even a metric for music quality other than extreme repetitiveness and childlike dance moves everyone can follow

This reminded me of how JYP fked up by not pushing Yuna more. She was THE visual everyone talked about during debut. I would have send here to do solo variety and collabs to secure ITZY's fame in SK. She could have gained a Wonyoung-type of fame if JYP pushed her more

Quote from QueenMaknae27

Tbh this is the first time in forever that someone mentioned 2AM

They were the forgotten digital monster. Imagine having that many entry in the Year-End chart with your debut EP. JYP and BigHit lost their momentum with 2AM, but luckily the members have had "national hits" of their own and can be succesful individually.

If Kpop stans nowadays know Jo Kwon back then, believe me they would stan him HARD