I used to think this era was hyper competitive but now I've changed my mind

the market has changed that's all.

since gen 4, kpop in general has been inflated even in south korea.

the ggs still work to some extent because the duds find the girls pretty and the girls like how they look and what they wear. (in the gp) but they're very FICKLE overall.

the same market change happened in the west after the 90's/20's.

also sm's latest bg nct never really took off in the gp due to confusing marketing and a less public friendly music.

let's not forget as well that many bgs barely even bother to promote in korea as their market is often wider outside of their country (stray kids for example and others). weather it's japan or sea or even the west.

the latest bg who is doing well (i think organically) was day6. i think the market should debut bg with a heavy band concept/structure. and sing some indie inspired pop rock songs with some hip hop and rap elements .

personally im very (maybe only) excited for mhj bg .

how about day6?

Quote from Yama-Chan

They're 3rd gen. We're starting to move into 5th Gen now.

Now that I think about. When was the last time a boy group got a PAK? BTS?

Actually BB

Tbh since the beginning of 4th gen (yeah, idle/Itzy era) I never thought there were much competition when compared to previous gens. We have way less groups actually charting in their home country, even less groups having hits in sk like fandom wise is bigger, but now we are in a time where top groups don't even have hits which imo is an important metric to be a top group.

Overall ggs survived all the gens and are now the main representative of kpop in SK and may I say ww.

Quote from Yama-Chan

They're 3rd gen. We're starting to move into 5th Gen now.

Now that I think about. When was the last time a boy group got a PAK? BTS?

I'm pretty sure it was Still Life lmao.

Tbh it has been like this since late 3rd gen, 2018. Love scenario is the last big bg song with the exception of BTS and Bigbang comebacks, and those 2 are not normal groups after all.

Even Exo was doing way worse back then, Wanna one's debut and first comeback were big but then dropped, Ikon and Winner started flopping too... You have a couple of viral songs and that's it.

Quote from Yama-Chan

They're 3rd gen. We're starting to move into 5th Gen now.

Now that I think about. When was the last time a boy group got a PAK? BTS?

yah, girl groups have carried whole 4th and 5th gen.

It is the usual BG vs GG dynamic.

GGs on the average are more digitally dominant. But when a BG hits big, they crush all contemporary GGs.

But it is true that no 4th/5th gen BG has broken out of their fandom siloes. That is still being held by BTS, SVT and SKZ outside SK.

Whereas NJZ, IVE, GIDLE and Aespa have made their marks from the TWICE/BP generation.

However, BGs do have a greater longevity on an average than GGs, look at SVT - took them years before they broke out big. even BTS.

Whereas GGs mostly have to hit big on debut, very rare for them to climb up in later years.

I have a question. Are you Korean Yama-Chan ?

Quote from Yama-Chan

They're 3rd gen. We're starting to move into 5th Gen now.

Now that I think about. When was the last time a boy group got a PAK? BTS?

it doesn't matter if they were originally 3rd gen.

what matters is that the gp is NOW ready for a boy group like that.

they fit the 5th gen almost perfectly. and the other companys should catch up and read the room.

simple - boys have cooties and who wants cooties???

GG >>>> BG

I think it's a decline that started to happen after 2nd gen, with the increased look outwards to facilitate, please and focus on international success above success in South Korea itself. This led to a sharp decline in idol presence on Korean tv where before, gg and bg idols flooded all the variety shows and in this way made themselves known to the general public.

2nd gen was also the era where YG was king of the hill when it came to being music fan favorite company to listen to, and this was seen with all their groups and solo artists who all had massive digital success, from BB and 2NE1 to Winner and IKON to Tablo and Lee Hi.

In 3rd gen and later on, that automatic inbuilt digital success boost for YG groups and artists started to dwindle away.

BGs have not been relevant in a long time. It’s sad.

They make music that appeals to their fans and everyone is content. I’m not saying that’s not working out for them but it’s a bit sad that BG music is not as accessible as it once was.