Plus Magazine

| Written by Chung Dayul. (Editor for the music webzine IZM)

With steady upward momentum, the boy group SEVENTEEN eventually reached a new high. Returning in April with their tenth mini-album [FML], they set a sales record of 4.55 million in the first week of release, breaking through the 4 million initial sales line for the first time in the history of South Korean music. This is an explosive growth, especially when compared to the 2.06 million sales of their previous album, [Face the Sun].

In this way, today's K-POP boy groups are solidly expanding their own territories, thanks to the love of their fandoms. However, at crucial moments that trace the flow of time, like annual charts, it's hard to find the names of most groups, excluding a few. Since their music itself is consumed primarily and sporadically by their fandoms, their numbers don't mean mainstream popularity.

This fact has instilled a strange sense of crisis among all K-POP boy groups. The myth of success is only granted to a selected few, while the mainstream isolation of boy groups continues. Despite this, the movements of metamorphosis recently detected here and there are causing ripples in the scene of K-POP boy groups.

Boy groups that seem distant on the surface

Before encountering new energy, it's essential to reflect on the existing phenomena. From the 2010s, when video media, centered around YouTube, underwent dramatic changes, Korean music gradually gained a foothold in the global market. Accordingly, K-POP, which had already specialized not only in music but also in visual aspects, placed greater emphasis on the performance of the artists. This undoubtedly acted as a boon for boy groups, who are inherently outstanding in strength and technique due to their basic physique. The reason why groups like BTS, which incorporated high-difficulty movements into their choreography, and SEVENTEEN, which maximized the advantages of having many members, could gain attention beyond Korea and even overseas, is precisely because of this.

After experiencing the visible success of idols from mid-sized labels, competition among idol groups on stage has intensified. To highlight the external elements more strongly, their tracks generally began favoring grand and heavy beats, and their concepts also began to adopt a darker atmosphere. Although this was seen as a direction with relatively less risk, sharing references among the groups led to a lack of differentiation between them and even resulted in a loss of melody, the musical core. The inversion of the roles of music and performance eventually dragged them into a vast shadow of their own making. 

The solution to this is straightforward. First, they need to move past their previous emphasis on physical attributes. Then, they should seek inspiration from groups like H1-KEY, who showed firm determination with their album 'Rose Blossom’,,' and FIFTY FIFTY, who emerged as a miracle among mid-sized label idols by making their way onto the Billboard main chart. Since the beginning of the year, the victories achieved by rookie girl groups backed by small-scale capital has made the inherent power of ‘music to be listened to’ abundantly clear. As a result, the music industry is focusing its efforts on returning to the essential aspects, seeking to move away from rigidly established approaches. 
 

The Return of Boys' Melodies

Powered by this positive cycle, the boy group scene is also ready to stage a counterattack. Notably, the sonic pressure that was aggressively pushing against the eardrums has significantly softened. In other words, their primary goal has now become creating a comfortable listening experience through clean sound and distinct melodies. 

BOYNEXTDOOR, a six-member boy group set to make their official debut on May 30, follows in the footsteps of girl group NewJeans, who caused a minimalism, craze last year. This group, produced by ZICO, the head of their label KOZ Entertainment, and famous composer Pop Time, started releasing several music videos a week prior to the release of their single album [WHO!]. The six boys, who showcased their everyday lives in places like homes, streets, and department stores rather than artificial-feeling music video sets, had delivered a youthful, high-teen story filled with their innocent confessions, thereby enhancing the familiarity appropriate to their group name. 

In particular, their track ‘But I Like You,’ which was first revealed at midnight on the May 23rd, fits perfectly into the musical trend. The vocals on top of the bouncing bass and guitar riffs cleverly convey fluttering emotions with lyrics like a conversation with a best friend, while easy-to-follow rhythm and chorus capturing a wide fan base in an instant. In keeping with the style of the two producers who previously drove a craze with ‘Any Song,’ the group’s single album, which intensely conveys mass appeal, is more than enough to be presented as a musical exemplar of the next generation boy group. 

The recently released third mini-album [The Beginning: 飛上] of IST Entertainment's boy group ATBO vividly showcases the results of their deep reflection. ATBO, which was formed through IST Entertainment's in-house survival audition in 2022, initially held a favorable position in terms of recognition. However, they have been unable to achieve satisfactory results over time. The reason for this is that their two albums fully embraced the inherent weaknesses of the performance tracks mentioned earlier, creating a limit to the development of their unique appeal. 

However, their new title track ‘Next to Me’ is markedly different from their previous ones. This song, which cleverly arranges guitar riffs and brass sessions, accentuate the rhythmic rapping and singing, effectively conveying the story of a boy dreaming of soaring to the next stage. The strategic decision not to choose ‘BOUNCE’, which focuses on performance with a heavy base, as the title song of the new album, has returned as a trick to establish ATBO's own style. 
  
 

I shine, because it's you

〈KCON JAPAN 2023〉, held in Japan for three days from the 12th to the 14th, attracted over 120,000 attendees, the largest audience since the inception of 〈KCON〉. The boy group ZEROBASEONE, whose members were finalized through the survival audition show 〈BOYS PLANET〉, was at the center of attention at this successful event. K-POP fans, filled with anticipation for the members' first full-stage performance, packed the concert venue and showed their extraordinary interest by collectively singing along to their signature song ‘Here I Am’.

The reason they're building a strong bond even before their official debut is because of the message of solidarity emphasized since before the audition show was broadcasted. Those so-called fourth-generation idols typically focus on confident individuality. However, this program, which claimed to be planning for the fifth-generation boy group, shifted the focus to ‘us’—the concept of doing things together. The pair choreography of the signal song introduced for the first time in the audition series, and the album cover using actual photos of two young men instead of graphic design, can be seen as evidence of this.

The group name they unveiled at the final episode of the broadcast also supports their claim. “A free journey from 0 to 1. And, a brilliant start.” ZEROBASEONE, who started in an immature state and is heading towards completion, pledge to fill their future growth narrative with their fans. This may have been a common phrase in the past, but it comes as a will to reconnect the distanced relationships between people, which were caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The multinational boy group &TEAM, who are trying to localize K-POP in Japan, also proposed a similar catchphrase. Including the internationally recognized symbol ‘&’ in their group name, they aspire to form a bond with everyone and everything in the world, including humans, hoping to grow into a single community of shared destiny. As they share naming conventions and universe with ENHYPEN, a boy group from the same parent company HYBE, &TEAM's music is fostering a diverse influx of fans across national borders, languages, and cultures, with its hopeful wording. 
 

Pre-release content responsible for the group's success

The boy group ZEROBASEONE, as mentioned earlier, has managed to amass a million followers on social media in the shortest period among K-POP groups, signaling a widespread popularity. This underscores the point that, in the media era, it's incredibly important to utilize self-produced content to secure loyal fans or followers even before the official launch. 

The boy group 8TURN from MNH Entertainment, nicknamed BOM (Boys of MNH), has shown the realistic aspects of trainees for quite a long time through cameras. What drew attention were videos such as performance covers or dance workship, but what really catched viewers was , their daily episodes filmed in casual attire. The video, which contains trainees' reality and reflection, let fans gradually engross in their journey of becoming a team, and may even make a deep bond between them, forming trust towards their future. 

The boy group LUN8, under Fantagio Entertainment, is also closing the distance with fans mainly through YouTube as they prepare for their debut in the upcoming June. If you watch the identity film reflecting their aspirations, you'll get to see the idol group LUN8, who have truly embodied their unique identity. On the other hand, in their segment and the reality show , they project their true selves, allowing people to see their human charm.

There are also cases where music takes the forefront instead of visuals. One Cool Jacso Entertainment, a major label in the Chinese-speaking region, has been revealing its trainees on social media under the name of OCJ Newbies since May last year, and this March, gathered nine of them to officially launch the rookie boy group XODIAC. They are being promoted as a unit-type group that adjusts the number of participants depending on the given song and style. In a similar case, much like the girl group tripleS, who are paving the way for limitless expansion and exceeding people's expectations with their quality music, XODIAC has also contributed to breaking away from standardized production methods by focusing on consumers' musical satisfaction within given conditions. 
 

The last turning point for boy groups brought by the era

Apart from the current low birth rate, discovering talented Korean male trainees is akin to plucking stars from the sky. This is an unavoidable reality. Due to the barriers erected by fandom-oriented marketing in the past, the influx of young talents ready to take on the mantle has dramatically dwindled. However, the fortunate thing is that, regardless of the size of the capital, many girl groups are rotating and dominating the pop music charts, which belong to the public domain. Their overwhelming momentum has sparked a wave of introspection and renewal within the sphere of boy groups. 

Still, it's not that late. Now is the opportunity to make a shift in generation that anyone can appreciate. Hasn't everyone at some point cherished memories of idols from their times in their hearts? The hope is that the younger generations can also dream about, enjoy, and cherish their own idols. 
 

※ Manuscripts from outside writers may not reflect the editorial direction of this magazine.