For May 2021, finally there are even more kpop girl groups comeback or making debut compare to previous few month. But also comes with sad news about G-Friend disbanded.
Gfriend Disbanded
On May 22, 2021, all six members left Source Music upon the completion of their six-year contract, and the group has officially disbanded.
However the thing doesn't seem as just it is. The sudden announcement shook the K-pop world as all the members of GFriend decided not to renew their contracts.Not long after the Source Music made the announcement, a lot of Buddies became really upset as the agency noted that GFriend will no longer promote or do any activities in the future. This was due to the expiration of GFriend's exclusive contracts only four days prior to the date of the GFriend member's contract termination. And also without any final release as well. So Source Music is really that awful?
Oh My Girl - Dun Dun Dance
Dear OhMyGirl is the eighth extended play (EP) by kpop girl group Oh My Girl. It was released on May 10, 2021 by WM Entertainment .The album contains six songs including the lead single, "Dun Dun Dance". On May 10, Oh My Girl held an online comeback showcase where they performed songs from the album for the first time. A choreography video for "Dun Dun Dance" was released on May 11.[Oh My Girl began promoting the album on various music program. They got award for 3 weeks.
Everglow - First
On May 25, 2021, the group released their third single album Last Melody, with the lead single "First". Their comeback concept is described as "warriors from the future". On June 1, 2021, the group won their second music program trophy on The Show with "First".
Fromis_9 - We Go
9 Way Ticket is the third single album by South Korean girl group Fromis 9. The album was released on May 17, 2021 by Off the Record and distributed by Stone Music. The physical version of the single album is available in two versions: "Ticket To Seoul" and "9 Travelers". Both of them consist of the same three songs, including the lead single "We Go". And the MV below is very unique and interesting as well.
Rocket Punch - Ring Ring
On May 17, Rocket Punch released their first single album Ring Ring, and its lead single of the same name
GWSN - Like It Hot
GWSN was set to release their fifth EP The Other Side of the Moon and its lead single "Like It Hot" on May 20, 2021, but the album's release date was pushed back to May 26. The group would be moved to The Wave Music, which was formerly named Kiwi Media Group.
Pixy - Let Me Know
Since they are new, so I will briefly introduce them. PIXY is a 6-members kpop girl group under ALLART Entertainment and managed by Happy Tribe Entertainment. The group consists of 6 members: Ella, Lola, Satbyeol, Dia, Sua, and Dajeong. They debuted on February 24, 2021 with Wings.
On May 20, Pixy released their first EP Bravery and its lead single "Let Me Know".
For April 2021, finally there are more kpop girl groups comeback or making debut compare to previous few month. I do think it has much to do with financial situation of various entertainment company.(Same as boy groups). It was really bad for the past few month.
Itzy - In the morning
For April, the most well known ones is ITZY comeback. On April 30, Itzy released their fourth EP Guess Who and its lead single "In the Morning".
The EP received both commercial success and generally favorable reviews from music critics, who complimented the hip hop music genre featured in the album; however, a few critics found the material controlling the vitality of the group. It marked Itzy's first and highest entry on the US Billboard 200, peaking at number 148, and peaking at number 2 on the Gaon Album Chart.
The lead single, "In the Morning", peaked at number 11 on the Gaon Digital Chart, becoming the group's fifth top-twenty single, as well as the group's third single to enter the top five of the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart. To promote the EP, the group performed on several South Korean music show programs, such as M Countdown and Inkigayo.
In addition, On April 28, Guess Who surpassed 260,000 preorders, making it their best-selling album surpassing Not Shy with 200,000 copies. According to Korea’s Hanteo Chart, the EP garnered sales of 200,130 copies in the first week of release from April 30 to May 6. The EP debuted at number 1 on the Gaon Retail Album Chart with 58,291 copies sold in a week. In South Korea, Guess Who debuted and peaked at number 2 for the week ending May 1,
It also entered at number 2 on the US World Albums Chart, earning the group third top ten entry. It also entered at number 1 on the US Heetseekers Albums, becoming their highest-charting album on the chart and becoming their best-selling project in the country.
Apink - thank you
At Apink's 10 years anniversary. They promised to delivery a new song to their long beloved fans.
To celebrate their 10th anniversary, Apink released the new digital single "Thank You" on April 19, 2021. APink was one of the very few kpop girl groups from that generation still active in kpop scene nowadays.
On April 29, 2021, Play M Entertainment announced that member Naeun decided to not renew her contract with the company, while the other five members renewed with the agency. With the change of agency, the group will not be disbanded and future-activities of the six-member group remains to be discuss.
STAYC - ASAP
STAYC is one of the few new kpop girl group who stand out from the rest recently. The group returned with their second single album Staydom and its lead single "ASAP" on April 8. The music video of "ASAP," released consecutively with the release of the album, reached 20 million views in nine days.They also entered the "Billboard K-pop 100" weekly chart. Their title track also reached the top of Korean music platforms, including Melon, Bugs and Genie. Since their debut, they have been receiving tremendous love and have been breaking the highest record on music charts. Staydom sold 56,198 copies in it's first month, making STAYC the first 2020 rookie girl group to sell more than 50,000 copies with a single album
Lunarsolor - dadada
I already mentioned this girl group in the past, so I won't introduce them again.
The group released their second single album Solar: Rise, and its title track "Dadada" on April 7, 2021.The group announced on the same day that they were planning to make their debut in the Japanese music industry and signed a contract with label Teichiku Entertainment for future Japanese activities regarding music and management. The group also opened their official Japanese website ahead of their Japanese debut.
(When I was training at ED, one of my instructor talks about LunarSolar Japanese member Yuuri as successful foreign trainee who debut in kpop industry since there are quite a few Japanese girls in the program as well, and from what I know, they do have few other training agency in Japan which has partner with few Korean entertainment company)
Hot Issue - Gratata
This is a brand new kpop girl group, so I will introduce them briefly here.
HOT ISSUE is a seven-member kpop girl group under S2 Entertainment. They debuted on April 28, 2021 with their first mini album Issue Maker. Their group name stands as an abbreviation of "Honest, Outstanding and Terrific" + "Issue"
First of all, if you didn't see my Feb 2021 blog, it's because there is only one girl group Tri.be made debut and Brave Girl's strong comeback will I will talk about later , so I will just combine Feb 2021 and March 2021 in one blog. I would say the low debut and comeback rate of kpop girl groups still continuous...
Brave Girls -Rolling
This is not a new song, but since the most surprising success with this song, I will talk about this first.
And more surprisingly, this song is also in the eggbun program, which I used to learn Korean, and my teacher also mentioned this song as well, just to see the influence of this song.
"I wrote as follows: Other than the big 3, Brave Girls comeback draw some attention, On March 17, it was announced that member Yujeong will halt activities due to health issues and the group will promote as a four-member group for the time being. She returned back to the group promotions on March 21 on 'The Show'.
the group performed "Rollin'" on several South Korean music programs, including M Countdown and Inkigayo. A music video for the title track of the same name, was also released on March 7. The EP was a moderate success peaking at number 30 on the Gaon Album Chart,which is not too bad for a relatively unknown girl group."
However, everything changed after this video, A lot of people said this video saved the girls' career.
It also saved a lot of people who lost hope in their dreams.
In February 2021, four years after its initial release, "Rollin'" topped the MelOn, Bugs, FLO, and Genie real-time chart, achieving a “real-time all-kill,” after a video compilation of the group performing the song went viral on YouTube. The song went on to enter Gaon Digital Chart at number 2, peaking two weeks later at number 1, making it their highest charting song to date
My Personal Take on this: Yes, back in 2016/2017ish, I always browse on few major kpop news site already, and from what I remember, many fans described brave girls as flops from other fandoms, like GFriend, Girl's Day are big during that time. Even Brave Girls debut for 10 years, they never get successful like this, and their producer and song writer never gave up on them for the past 10 years, finally they got really successful at this time.
WJSN - Unnatural
On March 8, Cosmic Girls announced that they would make their comeback in late March. It was later announced that they would return with their ninth mini album Unnatural on March 31. 3 Chinese Members Cheng Xiao, Meiqi and Xuanyi were not a part of the album release due to the scheduling conflicts in China. And they did win once on April 6th SBS The Show as well.
Weeekly - after school
The group released their third EP We Play on March 17, featuring the title track "After School". After the song is released, It HIT 15 MILLION VIEWS IN LESS THAN A WEEK, many fans give quite positive comments on their songs as well.
Purple Kiss - Ponzona
First of all, let me briefly introduce them first .Purple Kiss is a 7 member kpop girl group formed by RBW in 2020. They are considered to be a self-producing group, with members involved in songwriting, choreography, and other aspects of their music and showmanship, which is quite different from most other kpop girl groups. On February 28, 2021, Purple Kiss announced their debut, which would be the EP Into Violet.It was released on March 15, 2021, with the second track "Ponzona" serving as the EP's lead single with an accompanying music video. Into Violet peaked at number 11 on the Gaon Album Chart whilst "Ponzona" at number 99 on the Download Chart.
Tri.be - Doom Doom Ta
Tri.be is also a new kpop girl group, so I will introduce them briefly here as well. Tri.be is a also 7 member kpop girl group formed in 2021 by TR Entertainment and Universal Music Group.Tri.be debuted in February 2021, with their single album Tri.be Da Loca with the lead single "Doom Doom Ta". The group was later announced to be signed under Universal Music's Republic Records for United States promotions.
First of all, if you didn't see my December 2020 blog, it's because there is only one girl group IZONE did make comeback, so I will just combine Dec 2020 and Jan 2021 in one blog. I would say this period is hit all time low for new kpop girl group comeback and new debut.
G-idle - Hwaa
Even G-idle not the most popular girl group at the moment, but their strong comeback, I will write them first in this blog. (G)I-dle announced in December 2020 that they would be making a comeback on January 11, 2021, with their fourth EP, I Burn, and its lead single, "Hwaa"
According to Hanteo Chart, I Burn debuted at No. 1 on the daily album chart with 75,510 copies sold. This is higher by 19,147 copies compared to (G)I-dle's Dumdi Dumdi album released on August 3, 2020, which recorded 56,363 copies in first-day sales. The album also debuted at No.1 on Gaon Retail Album Chart with 59,086 copies sold. On January 13, it was reported that the album charted on iTunes Top Album charts in 52 regions around the world, including the Netherlands, New Zealand, Canada, Russia, Brazil, Italy and Finland. In Melon chart, (G)I-dle not only charted "Hwaa", but also all the songs from I Burn. This is the first time that the group has made such achievement since its debut in 2018
The lead single "Hwaa" Commercially, the song debuted at number one on South Korea's Melon Chart and become the first song by a fourth-generation idol group to chart-in.The song eventually became the group's first top-five hit, peaking at number four on Gaon Digital Chart and their first chart-topper on the component Download Chart.
Izone - Panoram
According to Hanteo Chart,I was suppose to write about Izone last month, but since they are the only kpop girl group comeback last December, so I will talk about them in Jan blog instead. On December 7, Iz*One released their fourth EP, One-reeler / Act IV, accompanied by its lead single "Panorama". The EP debuted at number one on the Gaon Album Chart. On January 26, 2021, Iz*One released a promotional single titled "D-D-Dance" for Universe, a mobile application.
The group achieved a double crown on the week ending December 12 after topping both the physical album chart with the mini-album and the digital download chart with its title track "Panorama". The mini-album became the group second project to top the Korean albums chart after Heart*Iz (2019). Not only did the mini album debut at number one on the week's physical album chart, but the "Kit version" of the album also entered the chart separately at number five. Despite being a Korean release the mini-album entered the top ten of the Japanese Oricon albums chart peaking at number eight..
Dream catcher - odd eye
With the third installment, the group announced their new comeback with their sixth EP, Dystopia: Road to Utopia and its lead single "Odd Eye", which was released on January 26, 2021.
On January 30, Dreamcatcher Company revealed that Dreamcatcher’s sixth EP Dystopia: Road to Utopia has sold more than 60,000 copies in just three days (according to the statistics of Hanteo Chart), and the sales on the day of release has surpassed the first week sales of the previous EP, Dystopia: Lose Myself. The lead single "Odd Eye" is a nu metal with a strong rock sound and hip hop elements. It conveys the story of the EP implicitly, with a deep and strong will to move forward once again towards a true utopia
Cherry bullet - Love so sweet
The group released their first EP Cherry Rush and its lead single "Love So Sweet" on January 20.it's a retro-based synth-pop track about sweet, romantic love.
Berry good - time for me
I have mentioned this group multiple times before, usually appear as one of the relatively unpopular group. They released their fourth extended play Undying Love, which was released on January 19, 2021
Compared to October, there are more kpop girl groups debut or comeback at November, also there is a new trend which is called Virtual Reality or AI concept starts to appear in kpop since last month.
Aespa - Black Mamba
On October 26, SM Entertainment announced that it would be debuting a new girl group, the first since Red Velvet in 2014. The members were revealed individually from October 27 to 30 (in order: Winter, Karina, Ningning, and Giselle) as well as the name aespa. SM Entertainment founder Lee Soo-man further explained about aespa's concept in the 2020 World Cultural Industry Forum that was held online on October 28. A video trailer with all four members was revealed on November 2. On the same day, the agency announced that aespa will release their debut single "Black Mamba" on November 17. The group made their broadcast debut on KBS2's Music Bank on November 20 where they performed their debut single. The group also reached number one on the K-pop music video charts of China's biggest music-streaming service, QQ Music for three consecutive week.
So what is so different about Aespa from all the rest of kpop girl group before, check out this video
Yes, this group actually have 8 members, not 4. They are Winter, @-Winter, Karina, @-Karina, Ningning, @-NingNing, GIselle, @-GIselle. The other 4 members are actually virtual members, not real human.
From here, I want to say this is a very bold move for SM Entertainment, and this group remains lots of mystery so far, and people know SM Entertainment didn't debut any girl group after Red Velvet since 2014, they invest a lot for this group.
Some of my thought and knowledge about this concept:
1 Notice this group also had 4 members, with similar concept with the current most popular girl group Blackpink
2 There was also a virtual girl group called K/DA exist based on popular video game League of Legend, and they have very similar concept to Aespa.
3 Virtual Girl group is not a brand new concept, in J-pop there are virtual singer, girl group exists before. And in Taiwan, the virtual girl group exists back in early 2000s already. But this is first time in kpop as well, I would expect to see more of similar group in the near future like this.
Mamamoo - Aya
After Dingga, Momamoo continue of their success in November as well. "Aya" was released as the second single from Travel on November 3, 2020, in conjunction with the release of the full EP. The single peaked at number 37 on the Gaon Digital Chart, number 21 on the Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100, and 17 on the Billboard World Digital Songs Sales chart. On November 19, "Aya" earned its first and only music show win on Mnet's M Countdown. As of December 2020, the music video for "Aya," posted simultaneously to Mamamoo's official channel and the 1theK distribution channel, has a combined total of 34.6 million view
GFriend - MAGO
On October 12, it was announced that the group would make a comeback with their third studio album, 回:Walpurgis Night on November 9. The album was released on that day along with the music video for the lead single "Mago"
The song debuted at number 17 on Billboard's World Digital Song Sales and peaked at number 16 a week after. It debuted as well as number 46 on Billboard's K-pop Hot 100 for the week ending November 21, 2020 The song also placed at number 3 on the componing Download Chart and number 83 the week of the release of the song on the componing Streaming Chart.
Momoland - Ready or Not
On November 17, 2020, the third single album Ready or Not, with the lead single of the same name was released. South Korean singer Psy participated as a lyricist on the song.
Secret Number - Got That Boom
Earlier this year, I talked about this group and their debut single was a huge success among those new group. On October 22, the agency announced that the group would make their comeback with their second single album Got That Boom on November 4. Also there's another reason why I check out this group, one of my dance trainer in ED is also the trainer for this group as well.
Stayc - So Bad
This is brand new girl group, so I will briefly introduce them here as usual. Stayc is a 6 member kpop girl group debut on Nov 12th under High Up Entertinment. They also released their debug single album
"Star To A Young Culture" on the same day.
Woo!ah! - Bad Girl
This group debut earlier this year, so I won't introduce this again here. The group is The group made their comeback on November 24 with their second single album Qurious. Originally a six-member group, Songyee left in August 2020 due to personal reasons.
Note: There is another group called BOL4, but that group had only one member left, the number of group members cannot form a group anymore, so I will not write about them.
Compared to September, there are around same number of kpop girl groups debut or comeback at October.
Blackpink - Lovesick Girls
Blackpink released their first Korean studio album, The Album, with "Lovesick Girls" as the third and main single on October 2, 2020. Leading up to the exclusive video premiere of their music video "Lovesick Girls" just 15 minutes before midnight ET, Blackpink featured in Youtube's new original music show Released as the show's first featured artist, in which included "unfiltered access" moments of the group. The Album peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 and the UK Album Chart, making Blackpink the highest-charting Korean female act on the charts.The album also set a first-week album sales record for a Korean girl group, reaching roughly 590,000 copies sold in just one day after the release date of the physical album. Blackpink became the first-ever million-selling K-pop girl group with The Album, selling approximately 1.2 million copies in less than a month after release.
Blackpink's first documentary, Blackpink: Light Up the Sky, premiered on Netflix on October 14, 2020 and covered the four years since the group's debut in 2016. The documentary included footage from their training days, looks at their home lives, behind-the-scenes stories, and interviews with the members. If you haven't watch, you can find the documentary on Netflix.
On October 21, Blackpink appeared on the American talk shows Good Morning America and Jimmy Kimmel Live! via video chat to promote their debut studio album's third single, "Lovesick Girls", in the United States
Twice - I Can't stop Me
Besides Blackpink, the most well known cameback is Twice for Octorber. Twice released their ninth Korean-language EP More & More in June 2020.The EP was a commercial success in South Korea, selling over 550,000 copies and becoming the group's best-selling album. Following the success of More & More, JYP Entertainment announced that Twice would be releasing their second Korean studio album, Eyes Wide Open in October 2020, to commemorate the group's fifth anniversary. On October 11, the group shared the track-listing of Eyes Wide Open, where "I Can't Stop Me" was revealed to be the album opener.
Hours after the song and the album's release, on October 26, 2020, Twice held a live meeting called "Twice 'I Can't Stop Me' Special Live" on Naver's V app and YouTube, introducing songs from the album and communicating with their fans. To promote the song and Eyes Wide Open, the group appeared and performed on several South Korean music programs, starting with Mnet's M! Countdown on October 29, where they performed "I Can't Stop Me" and "Up No More". They also appeared on KBS2's Music Bank, MBC's Show! Music Core, MBC M's Show Champion, and SBS' Inkigayo, to perform the song. In the second week of promotion, "I Can't Stop Me" won the top spot on Show Champion on November 4.
Behind Blackpink and Twice, it's the competition between YG Entertainment and JYP Entertainment as well.
Weeekly - Zig Zag
The group released their second EP We Can on October 13, featuring the title track "Zig Zag". 'Zig Zag' is a track that talks about the daily life of a teenager and their growth. It is expected that while listening to the track, fans would be able to witness their never ending charm as if they were riding a rollercoaster and they will be making use of the cube as part of their performance.
Weki Meki - Cool
On October 8, 2020, Weki Meki released their fourth EP, New Rules, featuring five songs, including the title track "Cool" and its English version "100 Facts", which is their first song in English
BlackSwan - Tonight
Yes, If you see a black member in the picture, you are right, this is Fatou from blackSwan.
But BlackSwan is not new to the kpop industry, they are Rania before if you follow my blog 2 or 3 years ago. In 2016, the group was renamed BP Rania and remained that way until 2018, when they returned to using Rania. In June of 2020, the group announced they would be rebranding and changing their name to Blackswan.
Fatou is the first singer of African descent to debut in the K-pop industry.
Loona - Why Not
On October 19, Loona released their third EP titled [12:00] accompanied by the single "Why Not?". [12:00] debuted at number 4 on the Gaon Album Chart, and is Loona's first album to enter the Billboard 200, debuting at number 112
