I feel like if a group doesn’t make a strong impression within their whole first year after debuted, the public will just move on from them, especially with so many new groups debuting. We’re in the social media era, where even smaller companies can grab attention, so the competition is fierce, but the audience isn’t growing. So kpop groups need to move fast too to win over fans because the market in Korea is so saturated. It feels like time is moving quicker now, and the first year of a group’s career really shows where they’re headed.
Before, people used to say things like, “This group is still new, they still have time to improve and impressed,” but with big companies pumping out groups like fast food, the public moves on quickly too. It’s harder to have consistent hits or well performed songs now unless people really trust the group. The prove is, now when a group has a hit song, it doesn’t carry over to their next comeback anymore, again unless the gp trusted the group where they can even release a shit and it will still do well. That's how tough and fast things move now. If you slip even a bit, people’s attention will shifts quickly.
So I think compared to before, it’s really important for groups to establish a good image and strong brand in their first year, while they still have all the attention on them, so newcomers won’t shake their position so easily. Because after that, the chance might already gone.
