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Melon, which has the most users among domestic music sites, has one thing in common in the top 10 current daily charts. The same is true for real-time charts that change every hour. The music chart, which was called 'Brick' because the rankings do not change easily, are the only girl groups who have overcome this difficulty. There has been a saying for a long time that a sound source is a girl group and an album is a boy group, but this is the first time I've seen a scene like this. This is because the generational integration between girl groups, from Girls' Generation, who debuted in 2007, to New Jeans, who debuted in August 2022, has taken place on the music charts right now.
Ive ‘After Like’ ‘Love Dive’, New Jeans ‘Attention’ ‘Hype Boy’ ‘Cookie’, BLACKPINK ‘Pink Venom’, Girls’ Generation ‘Forever 1’, ITZY ‘Sneakers’ are currently in the top 10 on Melon Daily Chart. are ranked In 11th place is (G)I-DLE's 'Tomboy'. (WSG Wannabe, which ranks at the top of the chart, is also a girl group, but it is a broadcast project girl group, so there is an exception.) Although the standards for dividing these generations are a bit vague, in general, Girls' Generation is the 2nd generation and Black Pink is the 3rd generation. , (G)I-DLE are classified as 3.5 generations, and the rest of Ives, New Jeans, and Itzy are classified as 4 generations. This is a very interesting situation considering that Hyein, the youngest member of New Jeans, who was born in 2008, was not even born in the year Girls' Generation debuted.
Until recently, it was no exaggeration to say that the top spots on music charts, including Melon, were 'awareness charts'. To survive, he had to be tied to a famous musician or TV program called a 'sound source strongman'. Just like the WSG Wannabe from MBC 'What do you do when you play?' However, with the exception of WSG Wannabe, only girl groups currently play the leading roles in music charts. Young-woong Lim, Big Nati, and Bio are following, but the wall of girl groups is not easily overcome. The situation for boy groups is even more difficult. Except for BTS and Big Bang, it is difficult to find them in the charts.
Although the comeback period of the top 10 ranked girl groups was similar, it may not be just for that reason. They also went through the process of breaking through the 'brick chart'. Although the songs of girl groups that have successfully attacked popularity have always been strong on the charts, it can be seen as a clear change for several generations to exert great power side by side. This is the result of a projection of the current media flow. The keyword that has hit the Korean media since last year is 'feminine narrative'. In addition to entertainment programs such as Mnet's 'Street Woman Fighter', a number of popular dramas such as ENA's 'Strange Lawyer Woo Young-woo', tvN's '25 Twenty One', and Teabing's 'Yumi's Cells' series have been loved as female narratives.
In the past, girl group music has mostly targeted men. This is why sexy and innocent concepts were popular. However, since a few years ago, as strong and subjective concepts such as Crush became popular and developed, the target audience expanded more comprehensively. The main consumers of culture are women, and the class of cultural enjoyment is also women. The music of the active and independent girl group, which pushed out the discomfort of these female consumers as much as possible, naturally absorbed these groups and created a great unification of girl groups in the current music charts. Just as Girls' Generation moved the subject to themselves, saying, "I love you oppa" ('Oh!'), brushing off the past narrative and saying, "That brilliant moonlight shines on me" ('Paper Plane'), our music charts now. The era of 'them' has arrived.
Reporter Han Su-jin
