We’re in the “IDLE, ITZY, IZONE” era of 5th gen

I wouldn’t be so certain to recycle 4th gen to 5th gen! I remember seeing people for years trying to group 4th gen like they did 3rd gen - who’s the new big 3! We need one JYP gg, 1 SM gg and YG/other only for a big 5 to happen instead

5th gen will have its own ranking and structure! Maybe there will be 4 leading groups, maybe all the current groups will become top groups or maybe 1 future group will take over when they debut. Things don’t usually repeat though imho

Quote from babymon-gals

As of now the only group I’m certain of at being #1 is Babymonster. They’ve got the sales, views, charting, and touring to back it up. As it stands no other group in 5th gen comes close.

Now the other groups are kinda all just battling it out for the other spots as of now. Things could change, Illit could get another Magnetic, a new girl group could come a shake up BM’s standing place…we’re still in the early stages of 4th gen and I feel a lot of people forget that.

Tbh there’s no standout in 5th gen! When Itzy were leading 4th gen that’s because they had DD, I would say Illit with Magnetic as that’s the only 5th gen hit but their comebacks have massively underperformed in comparison

I think either a new group that debuts with a smash hit maybe Source or High up Ngg (they have some famous trainees).

From the existing groups I’m honestly not sure! They all show potential but is it just because they’re new when more groups debut who will maintain public interest? look what happened to weeekly! They won Roty awards and had a small hit but went no where! Anything can happen

Not at you implying that Izone werent the true leaders of 4th gen.

Do you seriously want me to go over the timeline of 4th gen and explain for the 100th time how Izone's light shined so bright that they overshadowed everyone else in 4th gen? How it was only when Izgone's light finally went out for good in Mar 2021, that 4th gen groups were finally allowed to shine?

It's no coincidence that the song that ended 3rd gen, Next Level, went viral a couple months AFTER Izone was sacrificed.

I think Itzy just had bad luck. I think they were one of the major groups heavily impacted by the pandemic. I think they had many things going well for them, and then the pandemic stunted their growth in where they should be. I think discourse around that group would be much different if they were able to tour during their peak. They're one of the best performers among 4th gen groups and they didn't get the chance to tour to gain fans. I honestly feel they would be in a much different place if they were able to tour during their peak.

It's hard to predict what's going to happen in 5th gen. I think Babymonster and Illit are the standounds at the moment, but I wouldn't bet against a SM group or whatever group Hybe creates.

All the groups you mention in the thread title for me are 3.5 groups rather than 4th gen groups.

I really think K-pop fans called 4th gen too early, and called 5th gen too early too. Those 3 groups all seem cut from the cloth of 3rd gen, none of them have the y2k or nostalgia that would go on to define 4th gen ggs. I would say 4th gen started in 2020, 8 years after 3rd gen began with EXO, and will run through to 2027, at which point we’ll start to see the last survivors of 4th (Aespa) get overtaken by their juniors.

I bang this drum a lot. Everyone likes their favs to be part of the next gen, which is why the gens keep getting called early. For me the true 5th gen will be the groups that hit their stride in 2027 and surpass Aespa.

a bit soon to tell no?

give it a year or two and see how things settle down