Who are your top six most influential K-Pop Groups of All Time?

Let's discuss something more qualitative than quantitative for once, to start the week.

Who are your biggest game changers in K-Pop history? The groups who left the biggest impact. The idol groups who usually come around only once per generation to ignite a cultural reset.

These are the groups where you can clearly and cleanly say they had a transformative impact on the industry.

Here are mine:

Seo Taiji and Boys

Big Bang

SNSD

BTS

BLACKPINK

NewJeans

Six is an arbitrary number obviously, but I think it's fair, since some generations obviously had multiple game changers.

Quote from Eldeweiss

I actually agree with your 6 picks.

Quote from monalisalove

Agree with your list!

I put careful thought into the choices. If it wasn't a work day, I might have included write ups for each choice, but I think these fit perfectly.

Quote from CaraFIMIE

I DISAGREE!

Feel free to post your own

Quote from Tru-Multistan

remove whatever the hell that first group is and add Twice.

Even Taemin-Identity can respect one of, if not THE Founding Fathers of K-Pop, Seo Taiji and Boys.

Look them up on wiki or YT if you're unfamiliar with their impact.

And Twice were an incredible force of nature in the industry, but I wouldn't choose them for most influential. They really just followed the SNSD blueprint.

It would be like choosing Kobe over Jordan for most influential NBA player. Both all-time greats, but the original gets the lion's share of the credit

Quote from DaisyTheGenuine

Even more based

Twice paved the way for Japanese idols in kpop and reopened the Japanese market for kpop idols after 2nd gen went inactive

Really think Izone would not have been made without them

I will not minimize what Twice did in Japan, but Kara is the group that first dominated Japan, even more than SNSD at their peak.

I give them the most credit for opening doors in Japan for K-Pop idols.

Boa as well

Quote from Tru-Multistan

Huh, so that's where YG came from, I'm actually a bit ashamed for not knowing that.

Live and learn

Quote from DaisyTheGenuine

And like I said, the market dried up towards the end of 2nd gen and Twice was the only one that could get it open again

2nd gen saw Kara, SNSD and T-ara doing well in Japan

3rd gen just had twice

Fair. I don't really remember any third generation groups trying all that hard either, to be fair. But maybe it's because they simply didn't see a high enough demand or invest in Japan the way Twice did.

Twice is also the only group that had Japanese members, which I guess has influenced how some of the newer groups were formed.

I don't think they had no impact, just because they didn't make my list though.

Quote from bbgc

Depends on what you define as "influence"

I would only list

Seo Taiji & Boys, they shifted the game by challenging Korean Broadcasting rules.

TVXQ-JYJ, more for challenging SM and breaking Slave Contracts, than for breaking into Japan.

Bigbang, originated many things in styles/fashions of Kpop.

SNSD, rejuvenated the declining GG scene and have become cultural icons of Korean society.

Others I don't see as paradigm changing, they as much benefitted from globalization via the web and social media, as much as they lead it. There's is purely amplification of already existing patterns in the industry.

They are immensely successful, but "influence" - that needs systemic change, legal or cultural impact. Not in the number of cosmetics or meal kits sold.

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By process of elimination, I can deduce the groups you don't think warrant inclusion, and I disagree, because I think BTS, BP and NJ are absolutely paradigm shifting.

Reducing their impact to cosmestics and meal kits is unnecessarily dismissive and disrespectful of the tangible ways they've impacted the industry.

I can't imagine thinking those three groups haven't had significant cultural impact.

In the case of NewJeans, we have multiple "organizations" crying to the public that their actions will cause so much irreparable harm to the industry. They've got those fat, tyrannical men shook to their core. Not to mention a bill potentially being named after Hanni, and the obvious musical and aesthetic influences they've had.

I'll let Blinks and ARMY speak on the respective impact of their groups if they'd like.

Quote from bbgc

Well I am not playing Yama-Chan 's game of listing 6, so that he can include New Jeans,

My parameters are significant impact to law, culture and not just agency profits. As yet, only these 4 meet my expectations. New Jeans might in the future, depending on how the fight with HYBE goes.

I am not including based on "magnitude" of numbers, now if BTS had managed to change Korean law to cover idols from enlistment, based on the glory they bring to Korea, they would have made the list. But Koreans were not convinced enough.

Blackpink, TWICE don't cut it as well.

The post asks for "influential" not "successful"

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Quote from Varenka

Yeah, I agree with a lot of what you said. I don't see NewJeans' issue as any more impactful than Fifty Fifty's really, which isn't to say that either case isn't making an impact, but I wouldn't have them as included in this list without exhausting my search, especially when their issues are ongoing.

I definitely want to see the longer lasting impacts of BTS's actions, but I feel like I would include them if I took the time to actually go through groups. Their opening of important western markets and growth of an aspiring conglomerate in HYBE for now seems tremendous.

Twice and Blackpink are big sellers, but I would be hesitant since Twice seems like its trapped in SNSD's world even if they've made more money, and Blackpink (and a lot of K-pop) seems to be hopping onto BTS's ride.

A rough way of phrasing it, but that's the gist for me.

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You're both free to disagree. After all, the thread asks for your lists, so I don't think my list and its criteria are infallible and beyond reproach. We all have our perspectives.

Again, just to touch on the NewJeans pick and explain their inclusion on my list, I think they have had a transformative impact on K-Pop.

Disclaimer: This will be a bit lengthy.

One of the favorite things people who hate NewJeans used to say was that they ruined it with their "boring tik tok music", and every time we see a group debut or comeback with a nostalgic, "fresh" or y2k concept, people instantly think NewJeans.

HYBE literally scrapped their original concepts for ILLIT to copy the NewJeans playbook and SM paid a firm millions to study why NJ are so successful.

Then there is their novel approach to treating every song as its own title track, with full MVs, something that groups started doing a lot more after NewJeans. Even the way they communicated with their fans, through Phoning, was unique. And you can see other girl groups adopting a similar approach (MEOVV).

More than any other group I've seen, NewJeans bring in an audience that otherwise would have no interest in K-Pop, and that's by design to an extent.

Even the way they handle merchandising, collaborating with some of the biggest names in art and fashion, parterning with Warner Bros. to create the Powerpuff Girls version of the NewJeans members...I could go on.

And then there is the impact they've had as a result of the fight with HYBE. I don't think we need a recap, but NewJeans is the first group I've seen challenge their company so boldly, from the live stream declaration of their desire to work with MHJ to Hanni attending the National Assembly and potentially having a bill named after her to the members holding their own press conference to terminate their contracts.

Sometimes in life, you just know when you're watching history being made, even before the outcomes have been fully realized.

And the proof of all this is how Korea had a Gallup Survey last year on the top girl groups of the 21st century, and they already chose NewJeans as the third greatest group ever.

For me, that's enough to make my list.

Quote from butterbutterfly

why top six and not top five/seven

if you had to remove one what would it be

If you held a gun to my head, it would be BP or NJ. BP, because at the end of the day, they too are just a modernized version of a pre-established formula, which is not the case for the groups I included. YG himself said he made no effort to distinguish them from 2NE1, and he just wanted the "pretty" version of the group.

That's why in 3rd gen it was so easy to draw parallels between them and 2NE1, just how people did with Twice and SNSD.

For NJ, it would just be their youth for why I would remove them.

But they've crammed a full career's worth of milestones and impact into their 2 years. I already have them on my Mount Rushmore of girl groups.

Quote from bbgc

1st half, refreshing marketing & content strategy, studied by rivals etc.,.. kudos.. but hardly unusual, these things anyway happen once in few years and MHJ was hired by HYBE because she had a reputation for such things.

I've been around K-Pop for well over a decade now. Enough to see most of the second generation and all of the generations that followed. I can safely say that, no, we have never seen a group instantly impact and change the landscape of the industry the way NewJeans have. And I do mean instantly.

You know the meteor that strikes and destroys the city in the LSF Antifragile MV? That's how I view NewJeans.

I was personally losing interest in K-Pop, because the formulas were growing stale and none of the newer groups were grabbing my attention while my old favorites were slowing down.

Then a group debuted with zero teasers or promos or even a press release. They were just here. And the industry literally hasn't been the same since.

You can't reduce that to just...meal kits. NewJeans appeal to an audience that otherwise wouldn't check for K-Pop. That's just a fact. I thought I was in a fever dream watching the biggest streamers in the world blasting NewJeans music during their Twitch streams.

Everything about NewJeans was unusual and atypical from the day they debuted until now. Even the way they handled their Japanese debut was completely novel, and judging by the results, extremely effective.

In her previous roles, MHJ was never allowed to lead a girl group project in a way where she could marry the creative process and management process. This is the very core reason for the current dispute with HYBE.

The fun thing is that these were all HUGE gambles. A surprise debut could've easily been a disaster. A song mixing multiple languages could have alienated all the listeners. Going against the traditional K-Pop formulas for song composition may seem great in hindsight, but it wasn't enough to convince HYBE and BSH who wanted to scrap the songs for being too boring.

Obviously I could go on, but I don't want this thread to only be about NewJeans, nor am I trying to force you to even agree with me.

I just felt like explaining why I included them.

Quote from bbgc

I get that to wax eloquent about them, was the purpose of the whole thread.. .

But I am sure ARMY, Blinks, TWICE etc., can write such paeans about their groups. and have done so too,

Enjoy your turn.

No, I was done with my articulations regardless. My sentiments towards NewJeans aren't exactly a mystery. But I would have this opinion of them even if I wasn't a fan.

It's not like I needed to be a Sone, ARMY or Blink to include SNSD, BTS and BP.

Quote from bbgc

If you had excluded them, then there would be no verisimilitude

Here is a criteria for the most influential group, that WhyKnock has been hunting

for over a decade like Ahab after Moby Dick.

The group that can achieve what Bigbang, SNSD thru BTS, BP, TWICE to NJ, Ive etc., could not achieve, "to defeat the one HOLDOUT to the trend of groups dominating Kpop". They could conquer the world, but yet at home the HOLDOUT remains unfazed.

Whichever group does that, outmatches the HOLDOUTs #1s and PAKs, is the greatest group.

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I'm glad you tagged WhyKnock. We are in desperate need of their insights. Surely they would pass your versimilitude check.

Quote from David33

Are you seriously copy and pasting your old threads? You had a thread like this last year.💀

Just like NewJeans and Blackpink followed 2NE1, yet you didn't put 2NE1 on the list. So, how can you say your list is not biased?

No offense, but how NJ and BP are more influential than 2NE1, not to mention Mamamoo. Funny how you keep ignoring their legacy every time nowadays. And you wonder why I say you forget about them. They're not the most popular group ever, but easily one of the most influential overall. Even if people don't like to give them credit.

This would be the most accurate list, btw:

1. BoA

2. SNSD + Bigbang

3. 2NE1

4. BTS

5. MAMAMOO

Also wrong! SNSD is the first girl group that sold-out Tokyo Dome, and they're still dominating Japan, btw.

It's called recency bias for a reason. Hope this helps. NewJeans didn't do anything special, let alone original. Being popular doesn't equal with influential! Especially on the industry itself!

Let's see if they can survive their mess and will have a long career and can become like SNSD. But a 2 year old group shouldn't be in a conversation like this.

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I don't care.

Quote from kwonjiyong92

I agree with your 6 picks