Kpop Girl Groups update Feb 2022

           Continue from last blog. At Feb, there are suddenly many kpop girl groups come back, I think it has to do with COVID- relief in Korea and also resume the activity by various entertainment company.

                                           NMIXX - O.O 

   Yes, first of all, I will introduce the highly anticipated JYP new girl group NMIXX. NMIXX is a 7-member kpop girl group under JYP Entertainment that consists of Haewon, Lily, Sullyoon, Jinni, BAE, Jiwoo and Kyujin. They debuted on February 22, 2022 with the single album “AD MARE“ with lead single O.O

        On January 26, 2022, JYP Entertainment announced the group name's to be Nmixx, until then tentatively called JYPn. On February 2, it was announced that they would debut on February 22 with the release of Ad Mare. On February 18, 2022, JYP Entertainment announced that the group's debut showcase, originally scheduled for February 22, would be postponed to March 1 after Bae tested positive for COVID-19

      Even as JYP's new girl group, the single's commercial performance is just moderate even there's a lot of hype and anticipation of them. Will they become as successful as Twice and ITZY?

                                 

                                   STAYC - IRUN2U

              On February 8, it was announced that the group would be releasing their second extended play Young-Luv.com(actually their website) and its lead single "Run2U" on February 21. The album debuted atop the Gaon Album Chart, becoming their first number one album on the chart. In total, they won 9 times on various music program during the promotion of "Run2U".  The Show on March 1 where they won first place, MBC M's Show Champion on March 2, Mnet's M Countdown on March 3,[ KBS's Music Bank on March 4 where they won first place, MBC's Show! Music Core on March 5, and SBS's Inkigayo on March 6.  On the third week, the group performed on two music programs: SBS MTV's The Show on March 8, and MBC M's Show Champion on March 9, where they won first place in both appearances. This group definitely has the potential to enter 1st tier girl group.

                                       Apink - Dilemma

On February 14, 2022, Apink released their fourth studio album Horn, as well as the lead single "Dilemma".  The commercial performance is just moderate on the chart. However, APink managed 

to win the  first place on The Show on February 22. Also They perform this song on various music program as well. After 11 years, their activity still remain strong and quite competitive compare to a lot of popular girl group nowadays.

                                     Billie - GangaMnigaYo

      On February 11, 2022, it was announced that Billlie would be releasing their second EP The Collective Soul and Unconscious: Chapter One, featuring lead single "GingaMingaYo (the strange world)" on February 23.

                                    

                                      

                                       VIVIZ - Bop Bop!

Wait, those 3 members look so familiar. Yes, that's right. On October 6, 2021, it was announced that Eunha, SinB, and Umji, who were former members of GFriend, had signed with BPM Entertainment and would be debuting as a three-member group. On October 8, the group name was announced as Viviz

      On January 24, 2022, BPM Entertainment announced the group would be making their debut on February 9, 2022, with the release of their first extended play Beam of Prism. Following the extended play's release, they made their broadcast debut on Mnet's M Countdown on February 10. On February 16, exactly a week since their debut, the group won their first music show award on MBC M's Show Champion

                                 

                              Rocket Punch - Chiquita

On February 28, 2022, the group released their fourth EP Yellow Punch, with the lead single "Chiquita"

I still they they need to work hard to stay in second tier girl group level.

                              Big Mama- Like Nothing Happened

I know, I know, they are old. Do I like them? Not really. But do I know them?  I have been listen to kpop for over 20 years, Of course I know who they are.

Big Mama is kpop  female vocal group that debuted in 2003.The group is known for focusing on its members' singing abilities rather than their looks. I recommend their 2003 to 2005 songs during their career peak time. They were well known during that time.

At Feb 10th 2022, they suddenly released album Born with single Like Nothing Happened after 12 years....They still slay all the current gen girl group with their vocal.

                                    

                                    Rolling Quartz - Delight

This group is a bit different, actually. Rolling Quartz is a  5 member all female Korean rock band that debuted in December 2020 under Rolling Star Entertainment. In February 2022, the band released their first EP Fighting, which made it into the top 5 US rock albums chart on iTunes, the first Korean indie band to do so. This also draw some attention to them. Since I know for the past 20 years, unlike J-Rock, which is very developed,  female rock band is always one of the weakness in K-Rock, and I can hardly name 2 or 3 all female Korean rock band since late 90s.(I only know one called Han's band, but which is from late 90s). 

             

                                   Craxy - Dance With God

CRAXY  is a five-member kpop girl group under SAI Entertainment. They debuted on March 3, 2020 with the full-length album My Universe. Their first mini album Zero 2 was released on February 24, and the singles "Requiem" and "End of Game" will be released on June 23, and October 6, 2022 respectively

Kpop Girl Groups update Jan 2022

   Just continue from the last blog. So starts from this year, not many kpop girl groups comeback at the beginning. And from Jan we can see, without major kpop girl groups comeback, each second tier girl group could manage to win music program in different period respectively.

                                   Kep1er - Wa Da Da

      I think I never mentioned this group before, so I will briefly introduce them here. Kep1er a 9 member kpop project girl group(The group has two Japanese members and one Chinese member)  formed through the reality survival competition show Girls Planet 999 in 2021 and managed by Swing Entertainment and Wake One Entertainment     

        Covid-19 Impact:   Kep1er was originally scheduled to debut on December 14, 2021, with pre-orders for their EP First Impact having begun on November 29. They were also initially scheduled to perform at the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards on December 11. However, it was announced that the group's scheduled debut had been delayed to January 3, 2022 after one of their staff members tested positive for COVID-19.

          On January 3, 2022, Kep1er released their debut EP First Impact, with "Wa Da Da" serving as lead single. On January 13, 2022, Kep1er won their first music program award on M Countdown with "Wa Da Da". On February 21, 2022, it was confirmed that Kep1er will participate in the second season of the Mnet reality competition show Queendom, scheduled to premiere in March 20

   

                                        Fromis_9 - DM

On January 17, 2022, Fromis 9 released their fourth EP Midnight Guest, featuring the title track "DM". On January 13, YG Plus announced Midnight Guest had more than 120,000 pre-order sales. Midnight Guest debuted at position 2 on South Korea's Gaon Album Chart in the chart issue dated January 16–22, 2022. On the second week of the song's release, the group performed on SBS MTV's The Show on January 25, and MBC M's Show Champion on January 26, where they won first place in both appearances

                

                                Nature - Rica Rica

          I have mentioned this group a few times in the past, after few unsuccessful promotion, they changed their style for quite a bit, but I still don't think their popularity increased much.

          On January 13, 2022, through their mockumentary series, NATURE Can't Go Down Like This, they announced that they will return with the special album "Rica Rica" on January 24. Sunshine is not present for the comeback as she is currently under hiatus.(This group also has 2 Chinese members and one Japanese member)

           They debut since 2018, it's been 4 years and their agency still struggle to promote them as not even second tier girl group.

                

Kpop Girl Groups update December 2021

        Just continue from the last blog.

     

                                        Ive - Eleven

This is a quite successful new kpop girl group. so I will introduce them here briefly. Ive is a 6 member  kpop  girl group formed by Starship Entertainment. The group is composed of six members: Yujin, Gaeul, Rei, Wonyoung, Liz and Leeseo. The group made their debut on December 1, 2021, with their first single album Eleven.

On December 8, exactly a week after debut, Ive earned their first ever music show win on MBC's Show Champion, making them the fastest girl group to win first place since debut. The song went on to win on music shows 13 times, winning triple crown on KBS2's Music Bank, MBC's Music Core, and SBS Inkigayo. In addition, Eleven recorded the highest initial total number of album sales in its first week of release, the highest among girl group debut albums.[On the 27th, the single "Eleven" rose to 4th place on Spotify's global ranking of "Viral Top 50" and peaked at #95 on the "Global Top 200" chart. On the regional chart, the song topped both the Viral Top 50 and Top 200 charts in South Korea. The song was also the most streamed song on YouTube in South Korea for five weeks, and the group was chosen as the top cover artist on music streaming platform Tidal's K-pop Hits playlist

                                        Everglow - Pirate

 On December 1, 2021, the group released their third mini-album, Return of the Girl, with the lead single "Pirate" Title "Pirate" uses an electro-heavy and frenetic bass beat. Each member brings a unique charm to this in-your-face concept. Encouraging girls all over the world to dance together, EVERGLOW has a slightly nostalgic electronic hit.

             

                                   Billlie - Snowy Night

I just mentioned this group from the previous blog, so won't introduce here again. On December 14, the group released their first digital single album The Collective Soul and Unconscious: Snowy Night with "Snowy Night" as the lead single. The single is the group's first release to feature member Sheon

Kpop Girl Groups update November 2021

        I am back with the new post today.

                                            Twice - Scientist

The group's third Korean studio album, Formula of Love: O+T=<3, was released on November 12 with its title track, "Scientist". The album peaked at number 3 on the Billboard 200, breaking Taste of Love's record. On November 15, the group announced five initial North American tour dates of their fourth world tour, "III"

On November 10, 2021, it was reported that the album had gained over 630,000 pre-order sales by November 8, becoming Twice's most pre-ordered and best-selling album of all-time before its release. By November 10, it had reached over 700,000 pre-order sales. In its first week, MRC Data reported that the album had sold 66,000 album-equivalent units in the United States. On January 6, 2022, the Korea Music Content Association (KMCA) certified Formula of Love: O+T=<3 2× Platinum after it sold more than 500,000 units in South Korea. 

Formula of Love: O+T=<3 debuted at number 1 on South Korea's Gaon Album Chart, making it Twice's tenth number-one album on the chart; following More & More (2020). In Japan, it peaked at number 17 on Billboard Japan's Hot Albums chart and at number 2 on Oricon's Albums Chart. The album became Twice's highest-charting album in the US and Canada to date, peaking at numbers 3 and 17 on the Billboard 200 and the Canadian Albums Chart, respectively

                                     

                                   

                                    Tara- All Kill , Tiki Taka

        On July 29, it was announced through the group's 12th anniversary livestream that they would be making their first comeback in four years before the winter of 2021. Released in collaboration with Dingo Music, the group made their long-awaited comeback with the single album Re:T-ara on November 15, 2021. The album consists of two tracks: "All Kill" and "Tiki Taka

        If you follow k-pop for quite a few years, T-ara was also one of the very important girl group in kpop history in the past. Right now, the remaining four members left are:  EunJung, Hyomin, Jiyeon and Qri.

                                          Laboum - Kiss Kiss

On October 6, it was announced that Laboum would be making their comeback as a four-member group in early November.  ZN will be using the name Jinyea for future activities moving forward.  It was later announced that Laboum will be releasing their third EP Blossom on November 3. On November 3, the official music video of "Kiss Kiss" was released.

                                         Weki Meki  - siesta

On November 18, 2021, Weki Meki released their fifth EP, I Am Me., featuring six songs, including the title track "Siesta". This is one of the group I actually like, even not a big fan of them.

                                 

                                  Billlie  - 'RING X RING

This is a brand new girl group, so I will introduce them briefly. Billlie  is a  7 member kpop girl group formed by Mystic Story,  debuted on November 10, 2021, with the extended play (EP) The Billage of Perception: Chapter One. The group originally consisted of six members: Moon Sua, Suhyeon, Haram, Tsuki, Siyoon and Haruna. A seventh member, Sheon, later joined the group. 

Kpop Girl Groups update Septemher&October 2021

        There are not enough content to write about the month September , so I decided to combine September and August together this time.

                                            Aespa - Savage

        On September 14, 2021, SM Entertainment announced Aespa will release their first extended play, Savage. The album contains six tracks, including the lead single of the same name. It was released on October 5. The extended play marked Aespa's first and highest entry on the US Billboard 200, peaking at number 20, and debuted atop the Gaon Album Chart. Within 15 days of release, it was reported that the mini-album sold 513,292 copies. The group performed at the 2021 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade making them the first Korean girl group to perform at the event. On December 2, Aespa won their first Daesang (Stage of the Year) at the Asia Artist Awards. Two days later, on December 4, the group won their second Daesang at the 2021 Melon Music Awards for Record of the Year

                                  STAYC - Stereotype

On September 6, the group released their first extended play Stereotype and its lead single of the same name. The music video reached 30 million views in 21 days. The album recorded sales of over 114,000 copies in its first week. On September 14, the group received their first music show trophy on SBS MTV's The Show with an overall score of 8,760 points.

In a review for NME, Carmen Chin wrote that the EP was "a project of pure aural bliss" and "STAYC doesn’t just challenge expectations of girl group music, but blazes the trail for a promising future through what has become their best release yet.

                     SECRET NUMBER - Fire Saturday

On October 8, 2021, Vine Entertainment announced that Secret Number would release their third single album Fire Saturday on October 27. On October 16, Zuu was introduced as a new member of Secret Number.  A day later, Minji was introduced as the second new member

                                 Fromis_9 - Talk & Talk

On September 1, the group released their new special single album Talk & Talk, featuring the title track of the same name.  On September 7, the group achieved their first ever music show win on SBS MTV's The Show with "Talk & Talk"

                                 TRI.BE - Would you Run

On October 12, 2021, Tri.be released their first extended play Veni Vidi Vici with the lead single "Would You Run"

 

                         

                                   Purple Kiss - Zombie

On September 8, Purple Kiss released their second EP Hide & Seek, with the lead single "Zombie". The lead single was co-written by Yuki, alongside labelmate Cya, with the group having writing and composing credits for most of the songs on the album.

                                LightSum - Vivace

I have talked about this group like half year ago, so won't repeat again. On October 13, Lightsum released their second single album Light a Wish, with "Vivace" serving as the lead single

 

Kpop Girl Groups update July&August 2021

         There are not enough content to write about last month, so I decided to combine July and August together this time. Even that, there are only 5 groups.

                                     Red Velvet - Queendom

On June 9, 2021, it was announced that Red Velvet would be releasing a new album in August.  On August 16, their sixth Korean EP Queendom containing six tracks, including the lead single of the Queendom, was released.

Upon its release, "Queendom" received mixed to positive receptions from critics, citing the song as an "empowering", "perfect return" of the group. It also attained commercial success, marking the group's thirteenth top-ten hit in their home country, their seventeenth top-ten entry on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales, and their first entry on the Billboard Global 200, landing at number ninety-six.

                                  Dreamcatcher - Because

                  On July 30 2021, Dreamcatcher made their comeback with the song "BEcause" and the special EP Summer Holiday. Dreamcatcher’s ‘BEcause’ MV surpasses 10 million views in just 2 days. Other than on global platforms like YouTube, ‘BEcause’ also topped real-time domestic music chart Bugs after its release, and made a personal record by having all the songs in the album enter the charts.      

                  I also noticed that there's increasing number of  international DreamCatcher fans in the past 2 month              

                                         

                                Weeekly - holiday party

The group released their fourth EP Play Game: Holiday on August 4, featuring "Holiday Party" as the lead single. APink's sister group continue making progress so far.

                               

                               Brave Girls - After we ride

On August 23, Brave Girls released the repackaged version of their fifth mini album After 'We Ride' and its lead single of the same name.

                               

                             Posh Girls - Got Chu

    So this is new group, I will briefly introduce them here.

Posh Girl , formerly known as ZDreamZ and One Dream Project, is an 8 member J-pop & K-pop pre-debut girl group under No.1 Media (also known as ZPworld) formed of Japanese((Miyu, Riona, Niina and Tsugumi)  and Korean members. They will be debuting on August 18th, 2021.  The group officially debuted on August 18, 2021 with “Got Chu“.

Kpop Girl Groups update June 2021

    For June 2021, finally there are 5 kpop girl groups comeback or making debut, slight lower number than May this year.

                                  Twice - Alcohol Free

On April 19, JYP Entertainment announced the group's upcoming mini-album that is planned to be released in June 2021. On April 28, Twice appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show with a performance of their single "Cry For Me". The group's tenth Korean EP, Taste of Love, was released on June 11. "Alcohol-Free", the EP's lead single, was pre-released on June 9, along with its music video. After the release of the music video, the number of YouTube views exceeded 20 million in just 24 hours. In the week ending June 17, Taste of Love debuted at number 6 on the Billboard 200, becoming Twice's first top 10 album in the United States with 46,000 album-equivalent units earned. Of that sum, the EP recorded 43,000 physical sales, making it the best selling album in the US for the week. With this, Twice became the first female Korean act to chart an EP within the top ten of the Billboard 200, and just the second female Korean act to have a top 10 album in the chart

                          Mamamoo - Where are we now

On June 11, 2021, RBW announced that Wheein would be leaving the company since she has chosen not to renew her solo contract with the agency, but she signed a second contract extension to remain as a member of Mamamoo until December 2023. Therefore, making RBW responsible for her activities in the group, but no longer involved in her solo endeavors.

                                                    

The group's eleventh EP, WAW, which stands for "Where Are We," was released on June 2, 2021, with the lead single "Where Are We Now"

                                  Brave girls - Chi Mat Ba Ram

On June 17, the group released their fifth mini album Summer Queen and its lead single "Chi Mat Ba Ram".  The album peaked at number 3 on the Gaon Album Chart and the song peaked at the same position on the Gaon Digital Chart.

Chi Mat Ba Ram" peaked at number two on the Billboard K-pop Hot 100 on the issue dated July 3, 2021, becoming their third song to reach the top five and their highest-charting song since "Rollin'".

                                     Loona - Paint The Town

On June 1, 2021, Loona announced that they would be having a comeback on June 28, with their fourth EP, [&] The following day, on June 2, a teaser was posted to Loona's official social media accounts showing twelve sets of eyes, confirming the return of member HaSeul who had been on hiatus due to mental health issues since early 2020. On June 12, group members YeoJin, Kim Lip, Choerry, and Go Won released the song "Yum-Yum" as a collaboration with Cocomong.

On June 27, Loona announced at the end of their special clip that they are making their Japanese debut on September 15 under Universal Music Japan sublabel EMI Records.

                                Lightsum  - 'Vanilla'

This is a new kpop girl group, so I will introduce them briefly here. Lightsum is a kpop girl group formed by Cube Entertainment. The group is composed of eight members: Sangah, Chowon, Nayoung, Hina, Juhyeon, Yujeong, Huiyeon, and Jian. The group debuted on June 10, 2021 with the release of their debut single album, Vanilla.