Panda From The Star: Who is Real Queen in Kpop ?

Question: so who is real Queen in kpop?
Me answer: of course Son NaEun from APink, Queen NaEun !!!

I'm just kidding, NaEun is the real Queen in APink, but not in Kpop. so who's the real Queen in kpop? That's why I wrote this blog.....
Since there are many singers and groups in kpop, so this topic will be very competitive. For people who listen to kpop for few years, it is generally acceptable either one of 3 the biggest female superstar in kpop: Lee Hyori, BoA or Lee Jung Hyun. and a few other very stronger competitors and followers. Among the big 3, Lee Hyori was also considered the most famous one, and had the best reputation in Korea. BoA was considered the most famous kpop female solo artist in Japan and Lee Jung Hyun was considered the most famous kpop female solo artist in China.

Real Queen of Kpop : Lee Hyori (1998 until present)

Lee Hyori is a South Korean singer, actress, record producer, activist, and television presenter. Dubbed as the "Queen of K-pop" and "Nation's Fairy" during her Family Outing days, she debuted as a member of the successful K-pop girl group Fin.K.L, but has since become a solo artist. In 2003 she released her debut solo album Stylish which won several "Artist of the Year" awards. In 2006, she was the highest-paid female singer in South Korea when she signed a contract with Mnet Media.
her solo debut album was released on August 2003, entitled Stylish. The lead single "10 Minutes" became one of her signature hits and the singer nearly swept the Daesangs, the most prestigious South Korean music award, winning more than seven of them, including three of the four most prestigious Daesangs. Stylish sold 144,182 copies in South Korea alone, according to the Music Industry Association of Korea in 2003.Her popularity in her various activities eventually was dubbed as the "Hyori Syndrome" in South Korea, and the Korean Media nicknamed 2003 "The Year of Hyori" as she was rarely out of the news all year.

Lee Hyori - 10 Minutes (2003)

Queen of Kpop : BoA (2000 until present)

Kwon Boa, commonly stylized and known by her stage name BoA which is a backronym for Beat of Angel, is a South Korean singer and actress active in South Korea, Japan, and the United States.She is referred to as the Queen of Korean Pop.

BoA was born and raised in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. She was discovered by SM Entertainment talent agents when she accompanied her older brother to a talent search. In 2000, after two years of training, she released ID; Peace B, her debut Korean album. Two years later, she released her debut Japanese album, Listen to My Heart, becoming the first Korean pop star to break through in Japan following the fall of barriers that had restricted the import and export of entertainment between the countries since the end of World War II.

on October 14, 2008, BoA debuted in the United States with the single "Eat You Up" and released her debut English-language album, BoA on March 17, 2009.

BoA's multilingual skills (she speaks Japanese and English along with native Korean and has recorded songs in Mandarin Chinese) have contributed to her commercial success throughout East Asia. She is the only foreign artist to have three albums selling more than one million copies in Japan and is one of only two artists to have six consecutive number-one studio albums on the Oricon charts since her debut, the other being Ayumi Hamasaki.

BoA - Eat You Up (2009)

The Queen of Transformation: Lee Jung Hyun (1996 until present)

Lee Jung Hyun is a South Korean pop singer and actress. She was first recognized for her acting abilities with award-winning role in her first film and has been solidified as one of the top international acts from Korea with her illustrious singing career. She is widely known as "The Techno Queen" as she introduced Techno music genre to Korea and throughout Asia. Lee is also known as "The Queen of Transformation" due to her unique new look for each and every song. In Korea, she was voted "The Best Performer" with her colorful and charismatic stage presence. Lee is one of the most prominent acts from Korea who is widely popular in China.

Lee Jung Hyun - Wa (1999)

There's a big controversy between Lee Hyori and BoA, who is actually the Queen of Kpop ?
I would say Lee Hyori was more famous in Korea, but BoA was more famous internationally, so the audience is different, so people think in different way.
Besides the big 3, There's 3 of the best followers of Lee Hyori in kpop, which also gained significant attention. They are Chae Yeon, Hyuna, and IVY.

Sexy Wave Dancer: Chae Yeon(2001 until present)

Lee Chae-Yeon, better known as Chae Yeon, is a Korean pop singer who rose to fame with her hit single "Two of Us" (Korean: 둘이서) in 2004 and her wave dance style.

Chae Yeon debut in Japan at 2001 in a singing group.She returned to Korea with her first official album It’s My Time under her new stage name, Chae Yeon. Debuting late in 2003, nobody expected her to be successful as she is now. Initially, she was simply viewed as yet another "sexy concept" singer, as many female singers were at that time. However, unlike many others, she had a fairly successful debut. She proved to be a great dancer, and she showed off her vocals in her ballad songs and live performances.

her real success came when her second album released late in 2004. "둘이서" (Two Of Us) the lead single, pushed her to No.1 on many music charts in the spring of 2005. The music video for "둘이서" was controversial for being too "racy" in conservative Korea (for it contained scenes showing her full back and exposed underwear).Subsequently, the video was banned on television, and the airing time was limited to after 10:00 p.m. in some cable channels Becoming heavily played on radio, the song became so popular that a signature "move" from the choreographed dance became known as the "Na-na-na" dance (named after the hook of the song). It managed to hit the top of various music charts in Korea.

Chae Yeon - Two of US (2004)

Trouble Maker: Hyuna (2007 until present)

Kim Hyuna , better known by the mononym Hyuna, stylized as HyunA, is a South Korean recording artist, dancer, songwriter and model. She is the main rapper of the Korean girl group 4Minute, and part of the musical duo Trouble Maker.

Hyuna first rose to fame as the lead rapper of the Korean girl group Wonder Girls, before she left in 2007 due to health issues. In 2008, she signed with Cube Entertainment and subsequently debuted with 4Minute a year later. Their debut single, "Hot Issue," went on to sell 4 million copies.She also became notable for her solo career, with her debut single, "Change" reaching sales of over 2 million copies. She describes her solo career as "performance-oriented music.

After PSY's gangnam style, Hyuna already became one of the most popular female solo artist in kpop nowadays.

Hyuna - Ice Cream (2012)

Scandal Queen: IVY (2005 until present)

Park Eun Hye, who uses the stage name Ivy (Hangul: 아이비; stylized as IVY) is a South Korean singer, model and actress.

On February 12, 2007, Ivy's second album, Vol. 2 - A Sweet Moment, was released, with the lead single "Sonata of Temptation", which sampled Beethoven's Fur Elise, performing very well on the charts. Due to the song's popularity, she received the 2007 M.net KM Music Festival award for Best Female Solo Artist. She received The 14th Korea Entertainment Arts Award: Best Female Dance Award ,M.net KM Music Festival: Best Female Solo Artist, M.net Summer Break 20's Choice: Best Female Artist, 22nd Golden Disk Awards: Digital Daesang ,22nd Golden Disk Awards: Digital Bonsang, 5 awards in total at 2007.

IVY rejected Lee Hyori's suggestion about her own album, and became a big competitor of Lee Hyori later on.

IVY - Aha (2005)

Not only the followers, there's also some significant kpop female solo artists who are rival of Lee Hyori, Some of them are LEXY, Son Dam Bi and Hyorin.

YG's bad Girl: LEXY (2003 until present)

Hwang Hyo-sook , better known by her stage name Lexy (Hangul: 렉시, stylized as LEXY), is a South Korean female soloist who debuted in 2003 under YG Entertainment. She was the first solo female rap artist to debut under the company.

Lexy has been featured in songs with many other YG artists, such as Se7en, 1TYM, Jinusean and Wheesung. She was marketed by YG as a hip-hop artist with a little mix of R&B vibe as well. Her debut album, LEXURY (released on October 6, 2003), was fairly well received and with her growing popularity. Also LEXY was often referred to as "Hyuna" as that time, her collaboration with PSY with the hit single "GreenHorn" was highly successful at 2003, which made LEXY also one of the most popular female solo artist at 2003. Another hit single "Girls" from the same album made her one of the greatest competitor of Lee Hyori during that time.

And former leader of After School Kahi was the backup dancer of LEXY back in old days.

LEXY - Girls (2003)

Female Version of "Rain" : Son Dam Bi (2007 until present)

Son Dam-bi is a South Korean singer and actress. Son Dam-bi is one of the most hyped names to debut in Korea. She had appeared in music videos for Paran and MYV, along with many advertisements. Also She was considered as the female version of the most male solo artist "Rain". And many people thought Son Dam Bi was the one of the most talented kpop dancer, and could be the next Lee Hyori.

However at the Lee Hyori's interview, Lee Hyori said: "It takes 10 years for Son Dam Bi to catch up Lee Hyori's popularity."

Son Dam Bi - Dripping Tears (2012)

Korea's Beyonce : Hyorin (2010 until now)

Kim Hyo Jung, better known by her stage name Hyolyn is a South Korean idol singer and actress. She is best known as a member of the South Korean girl group Sistar and their sub-unit Sistar19.

Hyolyn made her solo debut in November 2013, with two "Lonely" and "One Way Love" taking the top spot on all major music charts in Korea. The songs from her album Love and Hate charted in the top 10 on music charts Bugs and Soribada. One Way Love charted number 1 on all 10 music charts in Korea.