Posts by dizzcity

  • so apparently no one cares about chart anymore?

    On the plus side, that means that when NMIXX do build a fandom, at least it won't be composed of success stans (who are the ones primarily interested using charts for fanwars). But rather people who genuinely appreciate and see something in their music. Kind of like what Stray Kids did. Chart success can come later... let them build a core stable fanbase first who genuinely appreciate them for who they are and what they bring to the table. The company has enough resources to support them through multiple comebacks, so it's not as urgent for them to make-it-or-break-it on the charts as it would be for a group from a smaller company.


    The same reason why I was worried for ITZY's fandom when so many success stans drawn in initially to Kpop by Blackpink and their model of success migrated over to become MIDZYs is the same reason why I'm actually kind of relieved that NMIXX didn't have a chart-smashing success from the very start. Let them grow slowly and weather through difficulties at the start together. It produces a more cohesive group at the end. And it also helps them connect better to other rookie groups who are going through the same thing, rather than being set on a pedestal and separated from most of their peers by being instant successes.

  • I honestly want lip-sync on all music shows banned for good

    I mean, the major implication of everyone singing live is that a lot more time would be spent in-between acts tuning the audio balance for each group. Which in turn means lesser groups can perform in the same day and/or longer working hours. It was still okay in the 2nd gen because there were lesser groups overall. But now in a crowded industry, if your bias isn't from a large or mid-tier company, it's going to be even more difficult for them to secure a slot to perform. (Demand and supply essentially raising the prices, since time is now more scarce).


    So, tradeoffs. The rich get richer with more exposure, the poor get poorer.

  • Who else is starting to feel like JYP is not making good girl groups anymore?

    Quote from stan12345

    Your mistake is thinking JYPE were innovative past a certain point in the first place.


    They have been one of the least innovative companies relative to their competition for a while. If anything, they feast on playing it safe. One look at their divestments in recent years and the specialisation they've undertaken would show that.


    I agree on JYPE playing it safe. To me, they're kind of like the Microsoft / IKEA of Kpop. Not known for their innovation or stylish-ness (unlike, say, Apple). But they compete on out-producing the competition, with a much smoother and more efficient production process, and being in everyone's home / office. Accessible, rather than avant-garde.

  • Who else is starting to feel like JYP is not making good girl groups anymore?

    Quote from StrawberryChaeng

    but irony and loa are good songs to listen to with a good concept that just didnt click with the public. Nmixx's is so bad


    Well first, music is subjective, so who's to say what's "good" or "bad"? :-) All we can really say is whether a song suits our particular taste or not (I still don't like "Dalla Dalla", and prefer ITZY's rock song B-sides over their title tracks). What we can say is whether a song seems to be following what seems to be the popular trend in music at this time. All the JYPE girl group debut song concepts have followed the major music / concept trend at first. Irony and Like Ooh Ahh were concepts that were supposed to click with what the public wanted at the time, and actually did, to a degree (LOA, for instance, is one of the longest TWICE songs to stay on GAON Digital chart). They just weren't outstanding, chart-busting successes like the songs that came after them.


    What sets JYPE girl groups apart eventually and makes them iconic is whether they diversify their discography after establishing a core concept that suits the group (Wonder Girls / TWICE), or double-down on their strength in performance (miss A / ITZY). JYPE girl groups mainly go for popularity first, then originality / diversity later. If you want originality first, I suggest having a look at / listen to the JYPE boy groups instead.

  • Who else is starting to feel like JYP is not making good girl groups anymore?

    I don't know how long you've been a fan of JYPE girl groups, but so far as I can tell NMIXX is pretty much continuing the same pattern of success that JYPE Korean girl groups have with their debut and second songs.


    • Wonder Girls (JYPE's 1st Korean girl group): Debuted with a good-but-not-great song (Irony) that followed the major music trend of the time (R&B hip hop) and achieved minor success. Then their second title track (Tell Me) went in a radically-different direction musically and conceptually (retro), and became a viral hit that spawned a national craze (Tell Me virus), leading to a string of hits.
    • miss A (JYPE's 2nd Korean girl group): Debuted with a title track (Bad Girl Good Girl) that followed the major music trend of the time (sexy / female empowerment) and became known for their great performances. Ended up breaking the record for fastest time from debut to music show win (21 days), and the song went on to become the best-performing girl group song of that year (2010).
    • TWICE (JYPE's 3rd Korean girl group): Debuted with a good-but-not-great song (Like Ooh Ahh) that followed the major music trend of the time (girl crush) and achieved minor success. Then their second title track (Cheer Up) went in a radically-different direction musically and conceptually (cute), and became a viral hit that spawned a national craze (Shy shy shy), leading to a string of hits.
    • ITZY (JYPE's 4th Korean girl group): Debuted with a title track (Dalla Dalla) that followed the major music trend of the time (self love / girl crush again) and became known for their great performances. Ended up breaking the record for fastest time from debut to music show win (9 days), and the song went on to become the best-performing girl group song of that year (2019).
    • NMIXX (JYPE's 5th Korean girl group): About to debut soon with a title track that will follow the major music trend of the time (universe lore / pastiche song structure). We'll see what kind of reception they receive, and whether they'll follow the Wonder Girls and TWICE pattern of radically changing concept for their second title track.


    • NiziU (JYPE's 1st Japanese girl group) is a little different, because they got a viral hit that spawned a national craze (nawatobi / skipping rope dance) with their pre-debut song (Make You Happy). Their actual debut title track (Step and a Step) was another good-but-not great song that pretty much followed the major music trend in Japan at that time (Kpop-ified dance-centric J-pop).

  • [Round 1] Visual Battle Girl Groups: Wonder Girls

    Quote from LovenRose

    There are close to no good Sunye photoshoots. I wanted something from when she was active as an idol but since she left Wonder Girls kinda early all her photos look really dated, both styling and editing. :( I'll try find something better (she's my fave visual in the group and agree that the photo I close wasn't the best) but there aren't a lot of options.

    You could try some of the other photos from that same Marie Claire photoshoot - just not that one. :-) (I personally like the photo where she's resting on her arm and looking up). Or you could try the W Korea photoshoot, or the Cosmopolitan photoshoot.

  • Why can't most Cube groups hit big anymore in South Korea since 2nd generation?

    Quote from atropos

    Apink was under cube????? Did they get their first hit and stuff while under cube?

    Yes. Well, sorta. A Pink was launched by A Cube Entertainment, an independent sub-label of Cube Entertainment. (Kinda in the same way Source Music is a subsidiary of HYBE Corp, or The Black Label is a sub-label of YG Entertainment). Most of the APink members were actually trainees under Cube that were transferred over. So from 2011 - 2015, A Cube Ent was under Cube, before LOEN Entertainment bought over the label from Cube, and changed the name of the label to Plan A Entertainment (and later Play M Entertainment, and now IST Entertainment).


    And yes, APink released "Mr. Chu" under A Cube Entertainment (and thus Cube Entertainment) in 2014.

  • Why can't most Cube groups hit big anymore in South Korea since 2nd generation?

    Re-posting something I wrote last year on another thread about Cube:


    Cube changed owners and CEOs three times in the last ten years. The original founder even submitted his resignation and left the company entirely last year after the latest owner (VT GMP) brought in their own people to manage the company.


    The original founder and first CEO of Cube was Hong Seung Sung, formerly president of JYP Ent. He left JYP to found Cube in 2006. Under his leadership, Cube launched 4Minute, BEAST, APink and BtoB.


    Then Hong got sick in 2012 and had to step down from his CEO position, so the CEO became Park Chung Min. Under his leadership, they acquired Rain, debuted CLC, disbanded 4Minute, and sold off APink.


    Then Park Chung Min stepped down in 2016, and Shin Dae Nam was elected the next CEO. Under his leadership, they lost BEAST, signed Jo Kwon, and launched Pentagon, Triple H and (G)-Idle. They also started strategic partnerships in China and Japan. Then they kicked out HyunA and E-Dawn.


    Then in Feb 2020, VT GMP bought enough shares to gain majority ownership over Cube. They replaced Shin Dae Nam with their own executives as CEOs. And the original founder, Hong Seung Sung (who had been working as a producer in Cube as well as sitting on the board of shareholders) also left the company in mid-2020, saying the new owners were causing internal strife.


    And well, you know the rest.

  • Create Your Dream K-Pop Company

    Relevant information:


    • Cost of creating a Kpop Music Video = estimated ₩100 million KRW (about $88,200 USD). (source) This is for big company MVs, for groups with lots of members (since separate sets need to be built for each member's individual shots in the MV). So you could reduce this by maybe 40% to ₩60 million KRW (about $50,000 USD) if you have a low-budget MV (outdoor neighbourhood / empty field shoot rather than built sets) or lesser group members.
    • Cost of trainee living expenses and training = estimated ₩30 million KRW (about $27,000 USD) per month. (source)
    • Cost of sending groups to a single music show program = estimated ₩100 million won (approximately $90,000 USD) per month. (source)

  • Do BTS have the greatest success story of all time?

    The greatest success story? Are you limiting it only to the field of music? Because if you're asking about the greatest success story for any Korean of all time, I think you should check out the biography of Admiral Yi Sun Shin. (There's a reason why he's Korea's national hero, and #2 on the list of Most Respected Korean of all time, after only the King who invented the Korean alphabet.) Arguably the greatest admiral in all of history, across the entire globe, ranked by military historians. (And yes, that means he outshines Admiral Nelson of Britain, Admiral Nimitz of the U.S., and Admiral de Ruyter of the Netherlands). BTS, for all their struggles, hadn't been tortured by their government and then forced to defend their country with only 12 ships against more than 200 ships, with the fate of the entire nation on the line. And WON. Adding to his record of an unbroken string of 23 victories and ZERO losses.

  • Sunye & Kahi are back as idols ( and they are still killing it)

    Yeah, Sunye also took the number one spot for Most Buzzworthy non-drama celebrity this week, along with her collaborators Sunmi at no. 3 and JYP at no. 6 [source]. If she ever wants to make a comeback at any time, I think Wonderfuls and the Korean public are happy to welcome her back. Or maybe it's because everyone's treasuring this time because they know it's so rare. Since she probably has to go back to Canada to rejoin her family after this.


    Then again, it could also be the fact that Sunye, out of all of the 6 Mama-dols, is the one with the biggest international fanbase. The Wonder Girls' promotions in America still bearing fruit, a generation later.

  • THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT HYOLYN AND JUNSU

    Nice. A great performance of "Coming of Age Ceremony". What show is this from? I haven't been keeping track of XIA, but he still looks good after all this time. Glad he's able to find some venues to reach audiences, even after the split with SM Ent. And Hyolyn is as expected... though the song felt a little too high for her - like she was hitting the top of her range? Maybe they could have shifted the key down a bit. She still nailed it, but her voice was a bit thinner than I would have liked.