In honor of the 20th anniversary of the legendary band H.O.T., Sports DongA polled over 2,000 people as well as 30 K-pop experts to rank the best of the best from the last 20 years. So, we present you the TOP 15 best girl bands of the last 20 years.
#15 f(x)
I think they could be higher on this list if they had more promotion from SM. Girls are quite popular, but for them this is far from the limit. Sully left the group in 2015 to focus more on her acting career.
#14 4minute
The group disbanded, but they were one of the most popular girl groups in K-pop history during their heyday. Unfortunately, their popularity has slowly declined over the years.
#13 KARA
Another group that was disbanded. They reached super highs when they promoted in Japan. In the early 2010s, TVXQ were the only foreign group that could compete with their number of sales in Japan. The girls have recorded a record number of songs for activities in Japan and have won numerous awards. It is a pity that they are disbanded, and if this did not happen, they would be much higher on this list.
These girls are versatile as they can combine both sexy and innocent style. They have been at the top of the charts many times and have won numerous music shows.
#11 A-Pink
The career of the girls rapidly went up, and the award in the nomination "Rookie of the Year" at the first prize is evidence of this. Gaon Chart Awards. At some point, people began to put them on a par with girls' generation And 2NE1.
#10 G-Friend
Despite being from a small company, these girls have quickly become one of the most popular girl groups in the entire K-pop industry. In a way, this is the female version of BTS. They all seem to turn to gold and are amazing with the achievements they have achieved.
#9 SISTAR
You have to understand that you are popular when your dance practice videos get millions of views and that is exactly what happened to Sistar, more precisely with SISTAR19 and their song Ma Boy. They enjoy great success on the digital charts, reaching #1.
#8 TWICE
Well... it was really fast. Some of the bands on this list were already at their peak, while some of the Twice they haven't even been born yet and they're on our list considering they haven't even celebrated their first anniversary yet! This testifies to their growing popularity. Let's see what else they have in store for us!
Where are you, 2NE1… are we not going to see them again? Their influence in the music world is very great since they made their debut with a spark. Their hits are popular not only in Korea, but all over the world. They had the biggest potential to become famous in the West, but you know what they say about it:
“Potential is nothing, the main thing is execution.”
Unfortunately, minzy left the group at the beginning of this year.
It's not technically a "female group" but SportsDongA included several solo artists as they were chosen by the voters. She is a national treasure and has been nicknamed "The Nation's Little Sister."
They don't call her the "Queen" for nothing. With each release, she brings down all the charts. Her fan base extends not only to Asian countries, but to the whole world, and her reputation is legendary. BoA was the first true hallyu star in Korea. She has overcome many barriers for Korean executives in Japan. Her albums in Japan are still sold in millions of copies.
#4 Wonder Girls
K-pop or, more simply, Korean pop is bursting into our lives more and more rapidly. After the resounding success of the famous musician PSY, everyone, including Russia, paid attention to South Korean pop. In the last five years alone, the number of stars in this genre has grown by 72 percent.
According to recent surveys, 21 percent of Korean children, when asked what they would like to be in the future, answer: "K-pop star."
At the moment, there are a huge number of management companies in South Korea engaged in "creating mega-stars." They audition, teach, and then turn young talents into the most popular performers.
So what is so attractive about this genre of music?
According to a Rolling Stone article writer, K-pop is "a mixture of trendy western music and high-energy Japanese pop" and "headhunts listeners with repetitive hooks, sometimes in English." K-pop "goes down the line of mixing styles, combining both singing and rapping, and emphasizing action and powerful visuals."
We invite you to get to know the five most sought-after and popular musicians in the K-pop genre.
g-dragon
Let's start with a young man with the pseudonym G-Dragon. For the past nine years, he has been a member of the BIGBANG team, has a solo career, and has already become a fashion icon of our time. You can find the most fashionable novelties in his wardrobe - from Givenchy, Saint Laurent, Rick Owens, Balmain to street brands Hood By Air, KTZ, Ambush.
Naturally, this 26-year-old young man is always in the forefront of fashion shows. Among his friends:, and many others.
The guys from the SHINee team have been together since 2008. The foreign media call them the "princes of the K-pop scene", and fans believe that this team has the best choreography and vocals that have ever been seen in the Korean scene. In May of this year, their new music video for the song View was released, which took first place in the ranking of the most viewed Korean music videos of May 2015 in America and around the world.
Girls' Generation
Before Gangnam Style, the most popular Korean song on YouTube was Gee by the girl group Girls "Generation, founded in 2007. Just a couple of days ago it became known that the new track of the group Lion's Heart reached unprecedented heights - it became number one on the Billboard world chart.
The music and songs performed by the eight-member group belong to various genres, including K-Pop and bubblegum pop. According to journalists, the public likes the way the members look, their "simplicity and restraint", friendliness to fans and each other. Fans told the magazine that when Girls' Generation is on stage, it feels like sometimes they look you straight in the eye and talk to you in person.
The main character of the Gangnam Style video, rapper HyunA, also sings and has become quite a popular lady. In Korea, her Bubble pop music video was banned from television for being corrupting the youth. They even banned the public performance of the song and the choreography for it.
Every year, Hyuna's work is becoming more popular and more interesting. Now the bubble girl has released a new video called Roll Deep, where she looks like the Korean Iggy Azalea.
BEAST debuted on October 16, 2009 on KBS Music Bank's music show stage with the single "Bad Girl". After their debut, the group released their first mini album Beast Is the B2ST. They were not taken seriously for a long time until, during the promotion of the single Shock, the group performed an orchestral version of the group's ballad Noel Despite Holding On. After that, they were recognized as a group with outstanding vocal abilities.
Although the name "k-pop" comes from the contraction of the English words "pop-music" ("popular music") and "korean", the difference between it and any other pop music is not just a national difference. K-pop initially appeared as a musical genre with its own characteristic differences, and only then turned into a musical subculture.
Features of k-pop as a genre of music
Songs in this genre are quite short, averaging about 3.5 minutes. The structure of the songs is standard for pop music: alternating two verses with a chorus and then a bridge chorus. But k-pop is distinguished by a special eclecticism: it contains elements of many musical genres at the same time. It includes both hip-hop and electropop, R'n'B, sometimes dubstep, EDM, deep house and other dance music genres.
What else is especially characteristic of k-pop: almost all songs, even calm and lyrical ones, have elements of rap. Whole verses can consist of rap, which are combined with vocal verses and bridge.
The songs are sung in Korean, but English is almost always present in the text. Usually these are simple phrases that are often repeated and attract listeners, especially foreign ones. The main theme of the songs, as in most pop music, is love and relationships.
Now the situation is changing, but in the past, when creating k-pop, not live, but electronic musical instruments were used more often.
visual culture k-pop
However, a significant part of the K-pop genre is visual culture. Therefore, a mandatory element is choreography. Almost every song, if it's not a ballad, is accompanied by a dance created for it, which focuses attention on certain moments of the song and makes it brighter, and the performance more interesting.
The appearance of the artists is very important. These are always slender and well-groomed girls or boys, with perfect make-up and hairstyles, dressed according to the latest Korean fashion. Most often, their hair is dyed in different colors, sometimes in extremely bright ones. The stage outfits of the guys are also very colorful, with a lot of accessories. The same applies to music videos - they are bright, dynamic, with expensive scenery and costumes.
Usually, young k-pop singers are officially called idols (from the English “idol”), because almost everyone wants to be like such ideal, young and successful artists. The number of participants in groups varies: sometimes there are groups of 10-13 people, and sometimes 3-4, but the most popular composition is from 5 to 9 people. Debuting idols are usually between 16 and 21 years old.
Each member has a role to play in the group. There are main and leading vocalists, dancers, rappers. The oldest or most experienced member is designated as the leader of the group. There is also a maknae, the youngest member who maintains a cute image. Emphasizing the strengths of each of the idols, the agency writes hits for them and selects a repertoire in which all members can show themselves to their advantage. As a result, viewers get the opportunity to watch such a supergroup that can do everything.
Components of the k-pop industry
K-pop artists begin their journey under the wing of one of the many South Korean music agencies that take young talents under their full control. The most influential agencies in South Korea are considered the so-called "big three": SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment and JYP Entertainment.
Every year, such agencies recruit hundreds of trainees (from the English "trainee") - trainees who undergo professional training to become stars of show business. You can become a trainee by auditioning with an agency, but that doesn't mean that every trainee will eventually debut.
A K-pop debut refers to an artist's first performance on stage with a new song and the release of a music video, the first time an artist has established themselves as full-fledged newcomers to the music business. However, trainees have been waiting years to debut, and only a few actually make it to the stage. Whether an intern debuts or not is up to the music producers.
Trainees often get into agencies at school age, so they continue to study at school during the day, and in the evening they go to train: they study vocals, rap, learn dancing, pay attention to physical training and acting, study foreign languages - in general, they do everything to become "universal soldiers" in the Korean music scene.
It's no wonder that such an overloaded regime is accompanied by overwork, nervous breakdowns, physical injuries, so debuting idols are really the best of the best, the most resilient and persistent guys.
Promotion of k-pop artists
Immediately after the Debut Stage, promotions begin for artists through their title track performances on Korean TV music programs such as Music Bank, Inkigayo, M! Countdown, Show Champion, Show! Music Core and The Show. Almost all of these programs have a rating system that rewards the best artists who receive an award if they win.
The last performance of the promotion is called the Goodbye stage, on this day the artists do not compete for the award, but simply perform the song for their fans once more, saying goodbye to them before the comeback. A comeback, in turn, is called the return of artists and promotion with new material, and the performance is called the Comeback Stage.
Almost all Korean groups and solo artists give a special name to their fans. For example, Super Junior's fandom name is E.L.F., which stands for "Everlasting friends", Infinite's fans are Inspirit, etc.
When the group just debuted, its task is to be remembered by the viewer as an ideal, whole organism, but later the music agency can create so-called sub-units - duets or trios, which are formed from individual members to show their talents or show material in a new, unusual genre for main group.
But more often, individual members debut as solo artists and perform alone with new songs. At the same time, idols continue to be members of the group at the same time.
The younger and newer the group, the more often it returns to the stage: newcomers can make several comebacks a year, more experienced bands at least once a year, but already famous, mature bands can go on stage with new material every two or three year or less.
Most Popular K-Pop Groups
The most famous South Korean group in the world is Big Bang from YG Entertainment, which debuted in 2006. The group received the title of "Artist of the Year" in Korea, became the best newcomer in Japan, and in 2011 represented the Pacific region of Asia at the famous MTV EMA in Belfast and received the title of best international artist. Big Bang consists of 5 guys, three of which are also successfully engaged in solo activities. In particular, the name of the participant under the pseudonym G-Dragon is known even to many American celebrities.
Known outside of Asia is also the girl group SNSD, or Girls "Generation, from SM Entertainment. These idols have already proven their worth, occupying the top of the charts in both South Korea and Japan in their early years. In addition, Girls" Generation there are also English versions of some songs - with one of them the girls even performed in the USA on the David Letterman evening show. The group also peaked at number 126 on the international Billboard 200 chart.
They are the most famous male and female K-pop groups in the world. In addition to them, girl groups 2NE1, 4minute and Wonder Girls (upd .: all disbanded in 2017), Twice, Blackpink, Red Velvet, Gfriend, as well as Korean boy groups DBSK (TVXQ), EXO, Bangtan Boys (BTS) and Super Junior - the last in 2015 celebrated 10 years on stage. They are followed by other groups that have received support from both Korean fandoms and a huge number of international fans thanks to the Internet, such as Seventeen, Winner, GOT7, B.A.P., Mamamoo, who play concerts around the world.
It is worth mentioning the solo singer named PSY, who raised the entire Internet in 2012 with the release of the video for the song "Gangnam Style", which broke all records as the most viewed video on YouTube, and in 2017 still holds good positions with more than 2.9 billion views, second only to two other music videos. In many ways, it was he who gave a new impetus to the growth of interest in South Korean music and culture in general.
However, trends in K-pop change very quickly: some artists lose popularity, while others achieve unprecedented success, so only those who at least occasionally follow the news of the k-pop industry receive up-to-date information.
What are your favorite Korean groups and solo artists, and why? Tell in the comments!
K-pop originated in South Korea in the early 90s, but only now has it managed to make itself known in Europe. More and more bands working in the style of Korean pop music are entering the prestigious international charts, not to mention the growing armies of fans around the world. This collection contains five of them. Who is cooler? You decide.
bts
These guys are doing everything to ensure that K-pop as a genre takes its place of honor in the world of pop culture. In May 2018, they made a real sensation by becoming the first South Korean band to perform on the stage of the large-scale music awards of the American magazine Billboard. Moreover, according to this authoritative publication, the boy band has already won the Best Social Media Artist nomination twice, in 2017 and 2018.
And a month after this triumph, BTS again wiped their noses at the world's famous artists, winning four Radio Disney Music Awards at once. In their hands were the awards for "Best Group", "The Strongest Fans", "Best Song" and "Best Dance Track".
blackpink
The girls from the Blackpink team have recently proudly been named the first female Korean pop group to hit the 55th place on Billboard's authoritative Hot 100 rating.
In early July, the performers set the 2018 YouTube world record for the number of video views in the first day after release. Their video for the song Ddu-Du Ddu-Du gained 36.2 million views in just 24 hours.
Moreover, the girls almost broke the record in the same category for all the years of YouTube's existence. They lacked only a few million to get around the current record holder Taylor Swift.
super junior
The real centenarians of K-pop! The musicians from this group have been on stage for 13 years. And, what is remarkable, there are also 13 people in the team. Novice artists are guided by their tracks, and listeners massively buy singles in the very first seconds after the release.
Super Junior has been the top selling K-pop artist for 4 years. During their career, they have won over 30 awards not only in their native Asia, but also in prestigious international awards.
The release of the single Sorry, Sorry in 2009 brought the group worldwide recognition. And the track U, released in 2012, was downloaded more than 400 thousand times in the first hours after the release, which was a record for that time.
G.O.T.7
The seven guys from GOT7 have been winning the hearts of fans since 2014. Their first studio EP, Got It? took top positions in international music charts.
The group also managed to quickly recruit its army of fans due to the fact that some of the members of the team were already known for filming TV shows and participating in television shows.
The main style of GOT7's performances was adopted from 2PM, who debuted in 2008, who made their show not only from a combination of vocal and dance features, but also added spectacular stunts and martial arts elements to it. Today, the combination of gymnastics, breakdancing and martial arts has flowed into a whole sports movement - tricking.
Girls’ generation
Another female K-pop group, and another collective that included members with their own audience. Each of the girls, before starting their career in the team, was already widely known thanks to their work on the podium, in films and at the DJ console.
Girls' Generation was formed under the same label as Super Junior after they had unexpectedly great success. The team even initially planned to call Super Girls, but later this idea was abandoned.
Girls' Generation has 9 members in total. Their releases stay at the top of the charts for several weeks and are used to voice video games.
On music channels and on the Internet, new outrageous bands from Asia began to flicker frequently. With unique style in clothes, excellent choreography and incomparable songs, they are gaining more and more fans around the world. The name of this phenomenon is K-pop.
The starting point of its procession of k-pop in its modern form can be considered the early nineties. In 1992, a trio called Seo Taiji & Boys performed on a local television talent show, performing a hip-hop song with a distinctive western sound. Now such groups as “Girls Generation”, “Super Junior”, “Big Bang” perform in this genre, which have become widely known not only in Asia, but throughout the world.
K-pop is known to Russians only thanks to the famous video of the artist PSY "Gangnam style", which has received more than two billion views on YouTube. But in fact, this clip is only a small tip of the iceberg of Korean popular music.
K-pop and its features
K-pop is a musical genre that originated in South Korea. The melodic part incorporates many other styles, such as: electronic and dance music, rock, hip-hop, and may even contain elements of classical and country music.
She is being performed idols (Eng. Idol)- teenagers who have been specially trained by production centers to vocal and dance since childhood. K-pop groups are either all-girls or all-boys, and their number in the band ranges from five to nine people. So what is so special about this popular music that makes it so fascinating?
Of course, these are the songs themselves - simple melodies mostly with a big bias towards electronic dance music that "clings" to the ear. Tracks are sometimes so mesmerizing that it doesn't matter that they are performed in an unfamiliar language. Although there has been a recent trend to insert English words into the song in order to attract listeners from all over the globe and let them know what the story is about.
The themes of the songs are very diverse, from food and lifestyle to romantic relationships, and some songs can be full-fledged stories containing deep thoughts. It is worth noting that such music not only draws its attention to Korean culture, but also includes many references related to other countries and peoples.
Idols: "fake idols"
These are Korean artists who have signed a contract with some kind of music promotion agency. Before becoming popular and recognizable, young guys undergo complex training courses in vocal, dance and acting skills, and thanks to this, they not only perform songs from the stage, but also act in various TV shows.
Also, K-pop artists are taught foreign languages, and producers bring their appearance to perfection, and in the most direct sense. Almost all idols have undergone plastic surgery and keep themselves in shape by sitting on the strictest diets and actively engaging in grueling exercises. As a rule, the private life of such guys is not made public, which brings a certain aura of mystery and mystery to their personality.
Images and dances are cooler than Michael Jackson
One of the main factors of attraction of this genre is the visual content and the image of the performers. Asia has long been famous for its artistry, subtle artistic approach, which has played a significant role in the local entertainment industry.
In all their videos, K-pop stars are professionally made up, have an individual style, expressed not only in catchy hairstyles, but also in extravagant clothes. There is an opinion that the image of performers overshadows many Western stars in terms of its spectacularity and originality.
Idols are not at all shy about bringing something new and interpreting current trends in their own way. A good example is rapper G-Dragon and singer CL, who have become style icons by introducing new trends among the youth, be it clothing items or new hairstyles.
Korean bands are famous not only for their vocal abilities, but also for their elaborate dances that require professional training. It takes an insane amount of time and effort to prove that artists dance live just as well as they do in their videos. Men's dances are based on hip-hop, while women's dances are more sophisticated and simple.
Analogues of the genre in the world
K-pop is by no means a unique genre, but all similar analogues are found in the Asian part of our planet. The biggest and main competitor of Koreans is J-pop, which, it is easy to guess, comes from the land of the rising sun - Japan. It also features music performed by idols, and you can see the similarity of the concept. But there are differences between them, and this affects the popularity of Japanese and Korean music abroad:
J-pop clips don't have such powerful visuals and impact, what happens on screen is almost static, there is no such strong choreography, everything is based on its own identity, and because of this, the clips seem strange;
K-pop places a strong emphasis on social portals. Each group has its own YouTube channel, Facebook pages and Twitter feeds, where they constantly post their photos, talk about their shows and even hold competitions. The Japanese, on the other hand, do not strive for such aggressive propaganda, preferring to work for their “home” audience;
K-pop works according to its well-established pattern, trying not to deviate from the existing canons, focusing on the West and electronic music. J-pop is more experimental, which is reflected in the sound, number and variations of instruments, as well as mixing more styles, using guitar music more often;
Japanese music lovers abroad are usually fans of Japanese cartoons - anime. The popular music of Korea is independent of other media art.
K-pop conquers the world
The fan base of k-pop is getting wider, standing out as a separate subculture. This is especially noticeable in Latin America, the USA, Europe - and is just beginning to develop in Russia. In our country, fans arrange dance competitions among themselves, copying the choreography of their favorite Korean performers, and also perform at events dedicated to Asian culture.
Various festivals are organized every year, including the "K-Pop World Festival" - the largest of all in existence. Every year it is held in different countries, but the final of the festival always ends in South Korea, in the city of Changwon. Both young talents from all over the world and famous Korean singers take part in it. It is worth noting that the South Korean government financially supports the entire infrastructure of musical activity, which helps them strengthen relations with Western countries.
K-pop is a powerful pipeline for the creation of media products, aimed not only at the audience of its country, but also at the whole world as a whole. Like Hollywood, it pours more and more new projects onto the market, the number of which can reach up to 90 groups a year, without losing the quality of the content.
This genre of music leaves a positive impression on its listeners: pleasant songs with interesting lyrics, excellent visual content.
All this is very eye catching. Many teenagers want to be like idols who always look great, have their own sophisticated impeccable style and have the magic of attraction. The desire to get in touch with something perfect, beautiful has made k-pop not just a passing trend, but a part of the life of its many fans, whose number is growing every year.
K-pop bands and artists
Seo Taiji & Boys (Seo Taiji & Boys) - a group that existed from 1992 to 1996, which popularized Western hip-hop in Korean music. After the breakup of the group, founder Seo Taeji began his solo career and became known outside of Korea, playing heavy music in the style of alternative rock.
girls' generation- a very famous and world-famous female octet, founded in 2007. In Korea, it is better known as So Nyeo Shi Dae (Sonyo Side). The songs use styles such as electro-pop and bubblegum pop. They recorded 6 studio albums in Korean and Japanese. They are famous for their videos, for which they received the Best Video of the Year award at the YouTube Music Awards in 2013, beating Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus.
G-dragon (G-Dragon) - Singer, actor, model. In addition to his solo career, he participates in the k-pop project Big Bang. He gained particular popularity because of his extraordinary style of dressing. He writes songs in the hip-hop genre, released 2 studio albums.
ARTEM SOLOPAEV
