What are some groups that you feel already peaked in popularity?

    We all know that K-pop is insanely competitive and fast paced, and accordingly, some groups have just already reached their peak and won't be getting more popular than they were at that certain point. What groups come to mind?

    For me it's KARD, they were the second group I stanned after getting into K-pop, but I think they're not really likely to replicate the hype and excitement they got at debut, and they're already an "unusual" idol group in that both their image (which is pretty daring and mature) and their group structure (co-ed) are very different from mainstream idol groups...

    .. which I think is awesome. They established themselves as the most successful co-ed group that's still active and have very successful world tours for pretty much every comeback at this point; I just think they'll retain that sort of stable and deserved success rather than reach any new unpredictable highs.

    What about you? What are some groups that you feel already peaked in popularity?


    what do you think

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  • AllKill VIP
    Quote from Polarize

    I know this is controversial, but I feel like SNSD has peaked. It’s all downhill from here on out.

    They peaked years ago, when they were still performing as a group. Now it's more solo activities and everybody doing what they like, they only get together for the fans or on projects. Which IMO, is the BEST case scenario for ANY younger groups to idolize and follow. Because imagine younger groups nowadays having that luxury 10 years down the line, where they can be comfortable doing what they like and still be in their own group. That's a stable career.

    ---======--

    Aespa.


    Twice (well they peaked in 2021 or so).

  • AllKill VIP

    I'm going to kick myself in the ass later probably for saying this but


    VIXX....the hype for a group comeback was there, and they gave us some mediocre song...VIXX had some of THE BEST concepts in kpop and it would be great for them to come together and do something amazing and...they haven't....that one little release didn't do shit for me....At this point I don't know why VIXX hasn't disbanded and the members continue on their solo projects instead of dragging it out



    I also feel like IN2IT has peaked...They gave some great music, enlisted...came back...tried to do peak time but it was right after they all came back from enlistment and really hadn't been practicing and they didn't do so well...then changed their name to SKYE...promised some new release and we got nothing...now they announced that 2 members are doing a sub unit project and it's like what happened to the music you were SUPPOSED to release as a group a couple months ago? at this point i'm over it..


    I feel these two have peaked and should just be done at this point.

    You can pretty much say every group that is more than five years old. Twice, BP, Oh My Girl etc.

    That don't mean they still can have one or two good years left, but it's pretty much obvious they will not get much higher than they really are and can pretty much only go down hill from here.

  • AllKill VIP
    Quote from ABoredStan

    They peaked years ago, when they were still performing as a group. Now it's more solo activities and everybody doing what they like, they only get together for the fans or on projects. Which IMO, is the BEST case scenario for ANY younger groups to idolize and follow. Because imagine younger groups nowadays having that luxury 10 years down the line, where they can be comfortable doing what they like and still be in their own group. That's a stable career.

    They essentially broke up after their 10th anniversary and only got back together for their 15th anniversary reunion. We will probably not see them again until their 20th anniversary, if we even do. That is definitely not a best case scenario for any group that actually still wants to be a group. Far from it. That's only a best case scenario for a group of people who collectively think, "I really don't want to go back to doing that, but I guess I'll throw our fans a bone this one time." And let's not pretend they're all successful individually, because they're definitely not. Only two of them are truly successful, then you've a couple with middling success at best, a few with very minor to basically nonexistent individual success, and then there's at least one or two who make you wonder what they even do with themselves from day to day.

    Quote from BEG4DAWIN

    Aespa.


    Twice (well they peaked in 2021 or so).

    Twice may have peaked in Korea, but with them expanding their horizons elsewhere, it's too soon to say they've peaked in general.


    I think only a very reactionary person would come to a conclusion on Aespa this quickly.

  • AllKill VIP
    Quote from xviper2k

    They essentially broke up after their 10th anniversary and only got back together for their 15th anniversary reunion. We will probably not see them again until their 20th anniversary, if we even do. That is definitely not a best case scenario for any group that actually still wants to be a group. Far from it. That's only a best case scenario for a group of people who collectively think, "I really don't want to go back to doing that, but I guess I'll throw our fans a bone this one time." And let's not pretend they're all successful individually, because they're definitely not. Only two of them are truly successful, then you've a couple with middling success at best, a few with very minor to basically nonexistent individual success, and then there's at least one or two who make you wonder what they even do with themselves from day to day.

    No? You don't think so?


    Maybe I was looking through it with my regular person lens on; whereas successful means that I can do projects that I wanted to, financially secured, and be free of whatever- all the while I can get together with friends to do small projects for long awaited fans. Instead, I should be looking through it with the mind that these are celebrity, and being successful to them meaning that they have to get their names out, be known to the GP like Taeyeon or Yoona. So that would befit a celebrity status of actually being 'successful'. I don't think any SNSD are struggling financially, but they aren't all 'successful' like you said, so I guess that made sense.


    GGs in their 30s, who can stand the test of time? How many can still be in the entertainment industry when they're 30s, and still do what they like?

    ---======--

    Quote from xviper2k

    They essentially broke up after their 10th anniversary and only got back together for their 15th anniversary reunion. We will probably not see them again until their 20th anniversary, if we even do. That is definitely not a best case scenario for any group that actually still wants to be a group. Far from it. That's only a best case scenario for a group of people who collectively think, "I really don't want to go back to doing that, but I guess I'll throw our fans a bone this one time." And let's not pretend they're all successful individually, because they're definitely not. Only two of them are truly successful, then you've a couple with middling success at best, a few with very minor to basically nonexistent individual success, and then there's at least one or two who make you wonder what they even do with themselves from day to day.

    You can't expect everyone in a group (even one that ruled a generation) to be successful. The alternative was disbandment given that in 2017 members leaving the company the group originated from basically meant the group was dead. Only recently thanks in great part to SNSD's reunion can you expect girl group members in separate companies to reunite and still release new music. If they go all out every five-ish years (new music, live performances, variety shows and other promotions), this really is the best case scenario for a group past their prime.

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    I'm super happy with all the content the girls provided for their 15th anniversary. The only thing lacking was a tour (which requires a big time commitment they didn't have in 2022), so I'm hoping for that in their next reunion.

    tumblr_mbacq1PDzs1rvedkto1_500.gifv

    少女時代

    Quote from xviper2k

    They essentially broke up after their 10th anniversary and only got back together for their 15th anniversary reunion. We will probably not see them again until their 20th anniversary, if we even do. That is definitely not a best case scenario for any group that actually still wants to be a group. Far from it. That's only a best case scenario for a group of people who collectively think, "I really don't want to go back to doing that, but I guess I'll throw our fans a bone this one time." And let's not pretend they're all successful individually, because they're definitely not. Only two of them are truly successful, then you've a couple with middling success at best, a few with very minor to basically nonexistent individual success, and then there's at least one or two who make you wonder what they even do with themselves from day to day.

    Twice may have peaked in Korea, but with them expanding their horizons elsewhere, it's too soon to say they've peaked in general.


    I think only a very reactionary person would come to a conclusion on Aespa this quickly.

    SNSD lasted 10 years before “breaking up” and in that time they were the biggest and most influential group of their era. Even now there is still no gg that can match their status and reputation in Korea they had at the time. They were that big.


    After 10 year despite being inactive the group brand the hilt was so was so strong they were still often making news for any meet ups they had, being brought up by tons of new ggs as their inspiration and had tons of covers of their songs. When they eventually do return they chart top 5 for weeks beating all but 3 ggs during arguably the most competitive summer in kpop history, their appearance on tv had some of the biggest ratings of the year, constantly being top entertainment news for days on end (often because of their tv appearances going viral).


    That’s a 15 year old gg getting shit done, we’ve seen multiple ggs loose steam waaay earlier. RV are very inconsistent, Twice fell off a cliff for years now, Itzy has been continually doing worse, Aespa can’t really match their breakout years and so on.


    As for only 2 being successes. If Taeyeon and Yoona are the only definition of success then literally 99% of idols should retire and get a real job because they don’t compare. There’s multiple award winning actresses in SooYuriSeo, Hyo is regularly invited to perform internationally (was recently asked to promote Qatar tourism during world cup) and has toured world wide, Sunny for a while was pretty the number 1 go to idol on tv variety appearing as a host/guest/panellist on multiple shows years on end, Tiffany has bounced back from death and rape threats to having a super success musical + constant tv shows + cfs + now actress who starred in one of the biggest dramas of last year.


    All that as a 10+ year old group with members who are all over 30 yo. Majority of female idols don’t even have a career as half as long as SNSD 15 years and vast majority individually lose a lot of steam as they get older by their mid to late 20s let alone reaching into their 30s. How many of SNSD fellow gg idols from 2G era are currently as successful and active as any of SNSD? Almost none, I can only really think of Suzy and Sunmi (though she’s lost a lot of popularity from her peak a few years ago).


    Outside BP there aren’t many ggs that have multiple members in the same fields like music, acting, tv, cf etc match up to SNSD members accolades for years and years (eg are there more members in Twice outside Nayeon getting music hits or drama roles or tv show appearances as consistently as any SNSD member do? No).

    You don't have to tell me who SNSD are. I was around back then. I was around to witness their peak, and also their downfall, which began in their 7th year, three whole years before going on hiatus. I've also been around to see multiple girl groups surpass their musical achievements in the time since. Yes, they were the legendary girl group of their time, but times change and so do the standards for success. Similarly, you're mostly overstating what they've accomplished individually, in some cases severely. Your comparisons to other groups are also pretty sus. You can't call another group "inconsistent" and then just conveniently hand wave away the fact that SNSD were completely inactive for 5 years (and another year since.) Not doing anything is considerably worse than inconsistency, and it's not like they came back with a huge hit that blew everyone away either. Likewise, bringing up Twice's lack of solo work is highly disingenuous, as we both know JYP barred them from doing solo work until just recently. The only member to go solo so far outsold Taeyeon on her first try, so... yeah. SNSD have done well for themselves, but they are not some gold standard that every group has to dream of emulating. When the 3rd gen was just getting underway, sure, but not in 2023.

    G-IDLE was that group for me, I thought they peaked with Tomboy. Couldn't have been more wrong :pepe-clown-gear:

    My new bad take is ITZY, seems quite grim based on the 2 most recent comebacks. Even if the sales are good everything else seems to be declining hard. Considering they were the undisputed #1 4th gen group pre Next Level it would seem like they peaked. I do hope I'm proven wrong about this one too.

  • AllKill VIP
    Quote from xviper2k

    You don't have to tell me who SNSD are. I was around back then. I was around to witness their peak, and also their downfall, which began in their 7th year, three whole years before going on hiatus. I've also been around to see multiple girl groups surpass their musical achievements in the time since. Yes, they were the legendary girl group of their time, but times change and so do the standards for success. Similarly, you're mostly overstating what they've accomplished individually, in some cases severely. Your comparisons to other groups are also pretty sus. You can't call another group "inconsistent" and then just conveniently hand wave away the fact that SNSD were completely inactive for 5 years (and another year since.) Not doing anything is considerably worse than inconsistency, and it's not like they came back with a huge hit that blew everyone away either. Likewise, bringing up Twice's lack of solo work is highly disingenuous, as we both know JYP barred them from doing solo work until just recently. The only member to go solo so far outsold Taeyeon on her first try, so... yeah. SNSD have done well for themselves, but they are not some gold standard that every group has to dream of emulating. When the 3rd gen was just getting underway, sure, but not in 2023.

    I feel you say one thing but then undermine it with your own opinions that are clearly disproven by what’s going on.


    You said SNSD was absent and that means they aren’t as successful or popular. The fact they were away for 5 years and still came back with a lot of buzz and success at 15 yo shows the exact opposite. Let me repeat that so you fully get what happened - a 15 year old gg charted better than the newer more in trendy/current ggs who made cbs around the same time like Aespa, Itzy, Twice etc. They were only beaten by BP and 2 monster rookies NJ and IVE.


    You can dismiss their success all you want but A big part of that was the individual members being active and keeping the SNSD brand out there while they’ were away. Taeyeon nabbing hits, Yoona getting smash hit films, Sunny on tv all the time, Hyoyeon being a ratings darling, Yuri having a massive drama on a nugu channel and so on. Every time they did something it was always SNSD’s [insert member] that made the headlines. That kept the SNSD name active in that 5 year gap when it could’ve easily been forgotten as an old timer group.


    like I said there isn’t another gg outside BP that has multiple members reach the same levels of accolades as SNSD’s members. That was the reality back in the 2010s and it’s the reality in 2020s. They are as gold standard as you can get. I mean you mention Twice being held back by JYP is somehow “disingenuous” but regardless that is the reality, the Twice members don’t have solid solo careers. You can’t say SNSD aren’t successful but then when another gg is compared suddenly they have a special reason so it the the comparison is invalid, that’s called moving the goalposts. You even went back on it by bringing up Nayeon success. So you can use 1 member success to show they’re doing better than SNSD members but you can’t use other Twice members who aren’t that active because that would show SNSD is doing better? That’s being hypocritical right

    I'm actually not moving any goalposts, because much like Twice, no one in SNSD even had a solo music career in their first 7 years. Along with Yoona's acting, they had a sub-unit and that was it. Nayeon debuted around the same time as Taeyeon, relatively speaking, so that comparison is perfectly valid. Expecting the rest of Twice to immediately branch out from the group after finally being given the greenlight to do so, when they've spent much of the past two years actively touring, is not.


    You argue that the success of SNSD's reunion is impressive given their absence. I could just as easily argue that it was successful due to their absence. If they were coming back every year, like a normal girl group, would they still achieve the same level of success with each comeback?

    Quote from xviper2k

    I'm actually not moving any goalposts, because much like Twice, no one in SNSD even had a solo music career in their first 7 years. Along with Yoona's acting, they had a sub-unit and that was it. Nayeon debuted around the same time as Taeyeon, relatively speaking, so that comparison is perfectly valid. Expecting the rest of Twice to immediately branch out from the group after finally being given the greenlight to do so, when they've spent much of the past two years actively touring, is not.


    You argue that the success of SNSD's reunion is impressive given their absence. I could just as easily argue that it was successful due to their absence. If they were coming back every year, like a normal girl group, would they still achieve the same level of success with each comeback?

    You are moving goal posts though. SNSD members were having solo projects that weren't just music very early on. Why don't you include that? You went from denying they have successful careers to ignoring they did anything at all...


    Taeyeon was releasing Osts that were national hits and made her a household name. Yoona started as an actress. Sunny was a DJ. Tiffany regularly appeared on TV shows even though she wasn't fluent in Korean. Sooyoung and Yuri had a drama and usual TV shows. This was all within the first couple years. From there they broke out with Gee and were the biggest group around as they started touring internationally and appearing on TV almost everyday. By 2011ish every single member had involved themselves in some solo activities like TV, musicals, modelling, singing etc. You can says it's JYP fault or whatver but at the end of the day Twice members have nothing on even early SNSD solo activities and certainly not compared to SNSD at their peak or present day.


    That's 2 sides of the same coin. It's impressive despite of the absence, it's successful due to absence. Either way they still had a successful CB. I don't see the issue.

    All of the 3rd gen groups I feel peaked


    BTS/BP/Twice all peaked overall. Maybe BP/BTS have a chance to re peak in Korea but dont think Twice does.


    Now does that mean they cant hit new peaks with album sales? No but overall think they peaked.


    I feel like Aespa,ITZY also peaked but maybe will reach new album peaks.

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