What was the most popular K-pop group when you became a Kpop fan?

  • I think for me it might have been Snsd or Bigbang. Maybe EXO? They were promoting Call me baby and love me right those days and they were everywhere.


    I remember the exols used to have fanwars with VIPS. This was before BTS really took off in late 2016 with blood sweat and tears.

  • SNSD in 2012, Big Bang was very popular too, but I felt less their popularity because I only cared about ggs back then (listened to some bg songs too, but in a casual way)

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  • I also remember how everyone had claimed Cnblue as the "top band" lol but I never understood what people liked on their music xDDD

    I always liked them and still listen to them sometimes. They had so many hits and their members were individually popular too. Jungshin was in “my daughter Seo young” and it sent the bands popularity through the roof. I guess their looks had a lot to do with it lol.

  • SNSD in 2012, Big Bang was very popular too, but I felt less their popularity because I only cared about ggs back then (listened to some bg songs too, but in a casual way)

    Are you me? ^^


    When I fell down the rabbit hole they had just released the boys (but what grabbed my attention was a gif on Tumblr with Gee, the sync and the colorful pants was mesmerizing).

  • I would guess Super Junior or TVXQ, but to be honest I'm not really sure.


    I got into "kpop" in 2007. Several months after SNSD debut. A friend in college showed them to me.


    I fell in love with Yoona and SNSD and listened all I could to their stuff as it came out.


    But I didn't really pay attention or engage with anything outside of SNSD until years later.


    You have to understand it was quite different then. Harder to access and really be a part of this kind of community unless you were specialized or really part of that niche


    I didn't even know about forums like Allkpop until 2016. So I didn't really get plugged into the whole fandom and community side of Kpop until then.


    Therefore SNSD is my predominant contemporary touchstone to 2nd gen. What I experienced then. The biggest thing I knew of kpop at that time as it happened . I've gone back and reexperienced much of the contemporary kpop peers and culture from that era that I missed. But a lot of it I was unaware of at that time.


    So long side story short.


    I'm not sure. I think maybe Super Junior or TVXQ. Big Bang got their big rise in 2008 if I remember reading right, but I don't know that they outpaced those guys until later. I'm not quite sure.


    Someone who remembers that era more broadly and didn't have SNSD blinders on would have to chime in.


    Man.... Just recapping this is bringing me back.


    I still remember the first time I saw Yoona. I had no idea seeing this beautiful Korean girl and listening to this crazy Korean song.... Was gonna lead to all this so much later.


    I'm practically knee deep in kpop now even a decade plus later.


    Took over my whole pop culture reference.


    Aptly. It led into a whole new world.

  • The real question is why not earlier than 06-08?

    The answer is Youtube:

    "...The site launched officially on December 15, 2005, by which time the site was receiving 8 million views a day. Clips at the time were limited to 100 megabytes, as little as 30 seconds of footage." Google acquired the startup in 2006 and hockey stick growth ensued.

  • It’s kinda of funny how one thing in life leads to another lol. I think has I not found kpop lots of life decisions would have been different etc…. I did know about forums like allkpop before 2016 etc.


    Funny story, I remember how those Yoona vs Suzy comparison threads would go on for pages. We had so much better trolls back then!

  • The real question is why not earlier than 06-08?

    The answer is Youtube:

    "...The site launched officially on December 15, 2005, by which time the site was receiving 8 million views a day. Clips at the time were limited to 100 megabytes, as little as 30 seconds of footage." Google acquired the startup in 2006 and hockey stick growth ensued.

    K-pop was still spreading before then but with limited exposure and traditional media. K-pop was largely gained exposure through television in South East Asia and there were some big names that made some waves in the west. H.O.T was known to some outside of Korea, S.E.S even got to perform with Michael Jackson.

  • I only know kpo because of BoA, she sings the Inuyasha ost (Every heart) jpop.

    then I got into Kpop later in 2008 with BigBang And WG (Haru Haru and Nobody is a very big hit in my country)

    not sure who was the most popular in 2008 :/

  • That sounds about right during that time. Them ELFs and Cassiopeias, I wonder how they are doing now. SNSD got the first black ocean, woooo that was something.

    ---======---

  • Are you me? ^^


    When I fell down the rabbit hole they had just released the boys (but what grabbed my attention was a gif on Tumblr with Gee, the sync and the colorful pants was mesmerizing).

    Oh was the song/mv that got me (the first one my friends sent to me), even if I saw 2ne1- Hate you in mtv before. I loved the cheerleader aesthetic, and Jessica became my fave because I always stanned blonde characters when I was a kid lol My first cb was Paparazzi, till now I think this release is so underrated.


    Gee is a crazy experience, kpop at finest. Gee mv gave me a headache back then because their styling was too similar, Yoonyulseo looked like triplets for a begginer

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  • It’s kinda of funny how one thing in life leads to another lol. I think has I not found kpop lots of life decisions would have been different etc…. I did know about forums like allkpop before 2016 etc.


    Funny story, I remember how those Yoona vs Suzy comparison threads would go on for pages. We had so much better trolls back then!

    The forums were just so much livelier then. So many characters. So many people.


    I miss that era.

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