Which group did you think would be bigger, but isn't?

Same with Loona, I remember when the members‘ solos came out and they were hyped asf but they fell short with their debut

Definitely LOONA

loona....like honestly they have the talent, the hype and everything, i dont get it

MCND was the 2nd most viewed rookie boygroup of 2020 and people where heavly into their debut-song but however if you ask the same people or other people nowadays about their opinion on MCND most either forgot that MCND exists or they said they never heard of them

Top Media could've make MCND 2-3 times more popular than they are right now but however it didn't even happen. The number of their CD-sales is also low (less than 30K if I remember correctly) and so people where very confused since their debut MV was very highly watched how their first singly didn't even sold over 20K

Quote from tetetete

on a serious note, cherry bullet

this song is so good

it should have been their big break

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Man the most publicity CheBul has had was an underage-dating/possibly grooming scandal in Korea which seriously sucks as now that's the only thing that comes up.

Secret Number. They had good streams, okay sales, and Dita even bagged an endorsement in her home country just a couple of months after debut but the long hiatus killed all of their potential + bad title tracks. They should've kept their GC sound from debut. Got That Boom was good but Fire Saturday was terrible.

Quote from JiminieKookie

MCND was the 2nd most viewed rookie boygroup of 2020 and people where heavly into their debut-song but however if you ask the same people or other people nowadays about their opinion on MCND most either forgot that MCND exists or they said they never heard of them

Top Media could've make MCND 2-3 times more popular than they are right now but however it didn't even happen. The number of their CD-sales is also low (less than 30K if I remember correctly) and so people where very confused since their debut MV was very highly watched how their first singly didn't even sold over 20K

I agree. Other examples (not as bad) are maybe CIX & wooah! Wooah! were mentioned among rookies like Aespa, STAYC, Secret Number in their debut year but they didn't make a huge splash.

UP10TION are really badly promoted w/3 popular members (same company as MCND lmao), U-Kiss had such a hit with Man Man Hani too but idk what happened after that.

BAP for sure & B1A4 although they did make it.

But one of the worst was ToppDogg.

DalShabet did debut with decent hype but that BG scandal really hurt them.

Quote from vzal

Secret Number. They had good streams, okay sales, and Dita even bagged an endorsement in her home country just a couple of months after debut but the long hiatus killed all of their potential + bad title tracks. They should've kept their GC sound from debut. Got That Boom was good but Fire Saturday was terrible.

IMO Secret Number had their fanbase shrink but they do have crazy dedicted fans. Aespa Mys went against Secret Number stans and they actually won multiple times because of how crazy dedicated they were. They also are not that toxic in terms of akgaes and openly support all the members (some are iffy on the newer members).

This next comeback decides their future though - it has to be good.

Secret number if we compare the hype they had in their debut days, Spotify streams and album sales they did pretty well at debut unfortunately their hype strated decreasing with each comeback and Denis departure didn't help their case, they recently sang an ost for Business proposal which did pretty well so hopefully it's going to help them boost their fan base with their next comeback

Definitely itzy

They debuted before everyone else but yet they've been surpassed on sales & Korean charting & some international ones too

However itzy is still the 4th most streamed GG on a daily basis after BP/twice/LM

Quote from SendFoodPics

IMO Secret Number had their fanbase shrink but they do have crazy dedicted fans. Aespa Mys went against Secret Number stans and they actually won multiple times because of how crazy dedicated they were. They also are not that toxic in terms of akgaes and openly support all the members (some are iffy on the newer members).

This next comeback decides their future though - it has to be good.

Yeah, their recent OST for A Business Proposal did well and went viral(?) on TikTok. They have regained their hype from debut and are about to reach a new peak of Spotify Monthly Listeners so they have a chance to turn the tables around. Just praying that VINE gives them a good title track on next comeback.

I never ever have expectations that groups coming from nugu or semi-nugu companies will “certainly” blow up no matter how good their discography or high-quality their production value is. In kpop exposure and luck are everything, everything else comes second. Things like talents or good songs or even visuals can help secure a group’s popularity, but are never the things that guarantee the group’ll blow up in the first place for their good qualities to be noticed. So the only groups that didn’t meet my expectations are those from big companies with a lot of hype and support from pre-debut but failed to capitalise on it in proportion to the hype. That’s it. There are a plethora of groups out there that have good songs but never even caught a whiff of mainstream attention, so good discographies alone never raise my expectations for the groups’ growth in popularity. That’s sadly just how it works in this industry

Call me a pessimist but a lot of the groups y'all are mentioning are from low-mid tier/new companies - my expectations are no matter what buzz they have - it will never be sustained long term.

When weekly and secret number where fighting for mama rookie of the year - I noticed secret number had higher fan votes but I knew their company did not have the know how to sustain that initial success/buzz......

Re; SF9 - I have heard not so great things about some members/team dynamics - That probably translates into an inability to grow a larger fanbase - people can sense tension..

Quote from Fansamy

Also, Purple Kiss, considering their agency.

If you really know their agency, you should know that RBW is the worst agency in korea when it comes to promotion and marketing.

Quote from SendFoodPics

U-Kiss had such a hit with Man Man Hani too but idk what happened after that

They had a big hit with "Tick Tack" (Japanese version). However around the time as Kevin Moon had left the group they begun to decline and focused more and more on Japanese promotions only.

A few years ago former U-KISS member Eli also got married and had children but people just looked down on him for not having left U-KISS despite being a father now. Only after member Kiseop asked Eli about how it is to be a married idol Eli decided to leave U-KISS together with Kiseop since apparently Kiseop said things to Eli that made him decide to leave the group. Kiseop's idea of getting married was almost on a K-netz level. He thought he can't be married and an idol at the same time despite knowing that Eli was married and had children and still was in the group. Both left in I think 2019.

A few weeks after leaving U-KISS Kiseop started to use TikTok but people where looking down on him and there where even harsh criticizing coments how "dissrespectfull" it would be to leave a boygroup and still wanting to be seen by the public because of owning an TikTok-account. Some people even said bad things about Kiseop like that he for example was a failed KPop-idol with a attention seeking complex etc. and that coments only happend cause he is on TikTok.

U-KISS curently has 3 member. If I remember it corectly the youngest/newest member is called Jun, who I think was 24 years old but Jun left U-KISS allready after being member for about 3 years. Jun also released some solo-stuff because he joined as the 2 other member who where still in the group (Soohyun and Hoon) where in the army or at least Jun joined after Eli and Kiseop had left and Soohyun was in the army. After Soohyun came back Hoon was in the army I think and Jun and Soohyun released solo-stuff for a bit. I think if I am not wrong Jun, Hoon and Soohyun released 1 christmas song together before Sooyhun was in the army but thats it. Last time I heard of Jun he was acting in a Kdrama with SNSD's Seohyun earlier this year. No idea when exactly Jun had left U-KISS tho.

Also back to Kiseop, IDK what happend in the time he wasn't in U-KISS but it's weird to know that he is back with them since I really remember that it was said back than in 2019 that he had left the group. I never heard of someone to re-join their group in KPop before so if that really was it than it sounds weird to me that he re-joined after 3 years.

And about Kevin that I mentioned in the beginning, he was a few years MC on some shows on the English TV channel ArirangTV but left them after some years. I forgot how long and in what years he even was in ArirangTV but I remember that back than after he left the channel he was replaced by former DAY6 member Jae. Last thing I remember about Kevin was I think in 2019 where Kevin was featured on a song of former Royal Pirates member James Lee but thats it.

Lastly I remember is that U-KISS left their Korean company NH Media and re-debuted under another company in 2022 but could keep their original group's name.

Since 2016 U-KISS only released Japanese music wich was published trought Avex Entertainment in Japan. Their new Korean company is called Tango Music.

Everglow, they had best songs among 4th groups

Quote from vzal

Yeah, their recent OST for A Business Proposal did well and went viral(?) on TikTok. They have regained their hype from debut and are about to reach a new peak of Spotify Monthly Listeners so they have a chance to turn the tables around. Just praying that VINE gives them a good title track on next comeback.

More than Vine, it's really hard to get a good girl crush titletrack. When a producer makes one, everyone wants to buy it (if it's of a higher quality) so it's possible Vine was initially unable to find a GC track that suited the girls and decided a retro one (because retro is in trend) was better. Retro is fine but I feel like that TT was just not it.

Quote from xx-jenn-xx

For Me:

Up10tion and SF9 for sure.

Top Media just sucks big donkey balls, simple as that

P1Harmony seems more Popular then SF9 which is so weird when SF9 is extremely talented in various ways. Not only in acting but their stages, etc.

I am really baffled as to why SF9 is so overlooked.

D-Crunch

they are AMAZING but AIG is horse shit and needs to burn

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SF9 doesn't have a good reputation (as people) among kpop stans. Some of it is overblown but a 24/25 year old member dating a 16 year old foreign minor isn't a good look.

FNC's bands consistently have really spotty reputations. CNBlue and FTIsland were made up of mostly known illjins, there's videos of certain members beating kids up in schools, and a lot of them came from a poor background. A lot of the members repented, but again, probably blocked off fans. 3 of FTisland's members come from the worst school in Korea.

With SF9 - unlike P1Harmony in comparison they've done a lot of...weird things so that reputation continued:
=================

2 members openly making prostitution jokes - again not really looked upon positively

Zuho slept with a fan (possibly more) by tricking them (who did NOT enjoy it)

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E6dt1m4VUAAX--w?format=jpg&name=medium

Huge power-dynamic imbalance there. Fantasies still proclaim it was false but I know more inside stuff and I'm very sure it's real.

Zuho openly flirted with fans in general (regardless of age) and theres video of Zuho asking a fan for her number.

2 of the members made tons of fat jokes, at fansites and during V-lives.

1 member saying they didnt support/get the COVID vaccine,but then they apologized + got it. Happened 2x and hit the news. Also FNC lied about them all being vaccinated for dramas and the member told the truth.

They've had 3 incidents in 2 months where staff tested positive (because of their actions), which led to 3 different groups under them either going into quarantine or catching the virus.

Then 2 members getting caught at a nightclub (room salon) w/topless dancers and police having to kick down the door as they were hiding. That's a) technically illegal b) ????

and c) right before their concert.

Their fanbase is also a HUGE mess. Their biggest Korean fanbase is being accused of embezzeling funds collected since their Kingdom appearance, for years.

Tons of Korean fans have left the fandom.

Their solo drama stans are way more organized than the actual fandom.

Momoland

Quote from JiminieKookie

They had a big hit with "Tick Tack" (Japanese version). However around the time as Kevin Moon had left the group they begun to decline and focused more and more on Japanese promotions only.

A few years ago former U-KISS member Eli also got married and had children but people just looked down on him for not having left U-KISS despite being a father now. Only after member Kiseop asked Eli about how it is to be a married idol Eli decided to leave U-KISS together with Kiseop since apparently Kiseop said things to Eli that made him decide to leave the group. Kiseop's idea of getting married was almost on a K-netz level. He thought he can't be married and an idol at the same time despite knowing that Eli was married and had children and still was in the group. Both left in I think 2019.

A few weeks after leaving U-KISS Kiseop started to use TikTok but people where looking down on him and there where even harsh criticizing coments how "dissrespectfull" it would be to leave a boygroup and still wanting to be seen by the public because of owning an TikTok-account. Some people even said bad things about Kiseop like that he for example was a failed KPop-idol with a attention seeking complex etc. and that coments only happend cause he is on TikTok.

U-KISS curently has 3 member. If I remember it corectly the youngest/newest member is called Jun, who I think was 24 years old but Jun left U-KISS allready after being member for about 3 years. Jun also released some solo-stuff because he joined as the 2 other member who where still in the group (Soohyun and Hoon) where in the army or at least Jun joined after Eli and Kiseop had left and Soohyun was in the army. After Soohyun came back Hoon was in the army I think and Jun and Soohyun released solo-stuff for a bit. I think if I am not wrong Jun, Hoon and Soohyun released 1 christmas song together before Sooyhun was in the army but thats it. Last time I heard of Jun he was acting in a Kdrama with SNSD's Seohyun earlier this year. No idea when exactly Jun had left U-KISS tho.

Also back to Kiseop, IDK what happend in the time he wasn't in U-KISS but it's weird to know that he is back with them since I really remember that it was said back than in 2019 that he had left the group. I never heard of someone to re-join their group in KPop before so if that really was it than it sounds weird to me that he re-joined after 3 years.

And about Kevin that I mentioned in the beginning, he was a few years MC on some shows on the English TV channel ArirangTV but left them after some years. I forgot how long and in what years he even was in ArirangTV but I remember that back than after he left the channel he was replaced by former DAY6 member Jae. Last thing I remember about Kevin was I think in 2019 where Kevin was featured on a song of former Royal Pirates member James Lee but thats it.

Lastly I remember is that U-KISS left their Korean company NH Media and re-debuted under another company in 2022 but could keep their original group's name.

Since 2016 U-KISS only released Japanese music wich was published trought Avex Entertainment in Japan. Their new Korean company is called Tango Music.

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Right! I remember Eli was getting a lot of flack (I think rightfully) for this:

Ji Yeon Soo confesses that Eli and his family ran away with her money

netizen buzz, korean pop,korean drama, korean media, korean entertainment, korean news, kpop, kdrama, netizens, comments, reactions, translations

netizenbuzz.blogspot.com

Quote from kpopnewbie32

Call me a pessimist but a lot of the groups y'all are mentioning are from low-mid tier/new companies - my expectations are no matter what buzz they have - it will never be sustained long term.

When weekly and secret number where fighting for mama rookie of the year - I noticed secret number had higher fan votes but I knew their company did not have the know how to sustain that initial success/buzz......

Re; SF9 - I have heard not so great things about some members/team dynamics - That probably translates into an inability to grow a larger fanbase - people can sense tension..

yeah. Secret Number had a garbage TT so they're doing fine in comparison - still have rabid fans.

I wrote an entire SF9 dynamic writeup earlier: much of the group are not friends (as any kpop group) but I feel like them being publicly messy makes it worse.

I have to go with Loona. They had crazy predebut hype. They were promised to the next IT. Then they debuted and well flat

Quote from SendFoodPics

More than Vine, it's really hard to get a good girl crush titletrack. When a producer makes one, everyone wants to buy it (if it's of a higher quality) so it's possible Vine was initially unable to find a GC track that suited the girls and decided a retro one (because retro is in trend) was better. Retro is fine but I feel like that TT was just not it.

SF9 doesn't have a good reputation (as people) among kpop stans. Some of it is overblown but a 24/25 year old member dating a 16 year old foreign minor isn't a good look.

FNC's bands consistently have really spotty reputations. CNBlue and FTIsland were made up of mostly known illjins, there's videos of certain members beating kids up in schools, and a lot of them came from a poor background. A lot of the members repented, but again, probably blocked off fans. 3 of FTisland's members come from the worst school in Korea.

With SF9 - unlike P1Harmony in comparison they've done a lot of...weird things so that reputation continued:
=================

2 members openly making prostitution jokes - again not really looked upon positively

Zuho slept with a fan (possibly more) by tricking them (who did NOT enjoy it)

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E6…-w?format=jpg&name=medium

Huge power-dynamic imbalance there. Fantasies still proclaim it was false but I know more inside stuff and I'm very sure it's real.

Zuho openly flirted with fans in general (regardless of age) and theres video of Zuho asking a fan for her number.

2 of the members made tons of fat jokes, at fansites and during V-lives.

1 member saying they didnt support/get the COVID vaccine,but then they apologized + got it. Happened 2x and hit the news. Also FNC lied about them all being vaccinated for dramas and the member told the truth.

They've had 3 incidents in 2 months where staff tested positive (because of their actions), which led to 3 different groups under them either going into quarantine or catching the virus.

Then 2 members getting caught at a nightclub (room salon) w/topless dancers and police having to kick down the door as they were hiding. That's a) technically illegal b) ????

and c) right before their concert.

Their fanbase is also a HUGE mess. Their biggest Korean fanbase is being accused of embezzeling funds collected since their Kingdom appearance, for years.

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Tons of Korean fans have left the fandom.

Their solo drama stans are way more organized than the actual fandom.

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Reading this gave me a headache

Quote from Whi

I never ever have expectations that groups coming from nugu or semi-nugu companies will “certainly” blow up no matter how good their discography or high-quality their production value is. In kpop exposure and luck are everything, everything else comes second. Things like talents or good songs or even visuals can help secure a group’s popularity, but are never the things that guarantee the group’ll blow up in the first place for their good qualities to be noticed. So the only groups that didn’t meet my expectations are those from big companies with a lot of hype and support from pre-debut but failed to capitalise on it in proportion to the hype. That’s it. There are a plethora of groups out there that have good songs but never even caught a whiff of mainstream attention, so good discographies alone never raise my expectations for the groups’ growth in popularity. That’s sadly just how it works in this industry

Literally the best thing you've ever written.

So many nugu groups with far superior songs.

Weki Meki, Everglow, Cherry Bullet, Loona. These groups have like over a dozen SOTY candidates among them over the past few years and they've all gotten paid dust.

Quote from BlackpinkHouse

Literally the best thing you've ever written.

So many nugu groups with far superior songs.

Weki Meki, Everglow, Cherry Bullet, Loona. These groups have like over a dozen SOTY candidates among them over the past few years and they've all gotten paid dust.

With Everglow their style and company makes it really impossible for them to get any bigger in Korea - they've made it very far regardless.

Pentagon after Shine.

Weeekly after After school.

Purple kiss because Mamamoo's sister group and they were talked about for their talents.

TXT- i know they have a good fanbase but i'm failing to understand how they're not bigger. they literally make such good music????

Loona- obvious reasons stated in other people's answers

Itzy. Not because they aren't still doing well but bc many people set them up as the next bp. I guess those are unrealistic expectations

For boygroup - BOYFRIEND, UKISS , ROMEO n UP10tion

For girlgroup - PRISTIN, EVERGLOW, SECRET NUMBER,LOONA

Next level visual

20220430_012358.gif

Everglow when they debuted they were doing quite well their debut sold 17k copies it was good back then for a nugu group, and internationally they were doing more than fine but they’ve been stagnant for years and can’t live up the hype. I hope they will blow up.

I would add Weeekly since they were doing a niche concept I thought they would’ve more chance to blow up even after AS success they’re doing okay.

Everglow. I can not understand why they can not sell more than 50k albums after 3 years.