My Top 10 Most Famous Female Kpop Ballad Singers

        It seems like I didn't write a blog for a while, so I decided to write a new post today....
        Today I will talk about my top 10 of the most famous female kpop ballad singers. So before I start, I will make some clarification  here.

1 I will only talk about female ballad singers here since I listen to female singers most of the time. I do know some really famous male ballad singers as well, but I won't talk about here.
2  I will only talk about solo singers here, like pure ballad/R&B singers, anyone from  girl group will not be included here as well, such as Eunji from APink, Taeyeon from SNSD.
3  I will rank my top 10 singers only based on their influence in kpop and actual talent, not their look, so if someone looks not pretty or looks old , I don't judge based on that

                                                     APink lead singer Eunji

1   Lee Soo Young

       I really want to make No 1 as IU since it's my bias, but I need to rank Lee Soo Young as No 1. Debut at 1999, Lee Soo Young released  nine released albums and five mini-albums until today. And

she's recognized in Korea for her powerful voice and although she rarely appears in her own music videos, she has earned a lot of popularity. She has also recently appeared on a number of variety shows, displaying her sense of humour and her ability to be comical and carefree, adding to her popularity. Today she is considered one of Korea’s most famous and accomplished ballad singers.  Especially at 2003-2004, she held sales record as  780,000 and 770,000 respectively, beat Queen of kpop Lee Hyori twice and won MBC best female singer award for  two consecutive years. After that, She was considered the Queen of Korean Ballads.

       At least in the past 20 years, no other ballad singers have such accomplishment as Lee Soo Young. (I used to think Lee Soo Young looks pretty back in early 2000s, but only in early 2000s, she's in her mid 30s, and looks old now)

     

2 IU

         No need to mention more, assume everyone who listen to kpop nowadays knows who is IU. As nation's little Sister, right now IU still enjoyed her popularity and busy composing her own music. Her stage name is derived from the phrase "I and You", symbolizing that people can become one through music.  

         As my ultimate  bias, IU looks so cute and really innocent, and I'm sure she was a really good kid. and IU was also  really talented, her 3 high notes in the song "Good Day" really made her stands out from other average singers. 

         And I always ask myself :"IU or Eunji ???"

3  Beak Ji Young

            Speaking of old school female ballad singers, the first one came to my mind is Beak Ji Young, she was really famous when I was in middle school....

            Actually Beak Ji Young was not only  a  ballad singer before, she was also a great dancer and idol singer  type , then some scandal happened to her. When she made comeback, she became what is Beak Ji Young we know right now. Also debut at 1999, Beak Ji Young won many awards through out the year, and  she was considered the Queen of Korean Drama OST right now.

             I was never a big fan of Beak Ji Young, maybe because she looks a bit old, but her songs were really good, especially her early singles, I can name most of them.

           

4   Lyn

          Anyone who listen to kpop around 10 years knows who is Lyn.

          Debut at 2001, she was not quite successful at the beginning. When she made a comeback at 2002,  It was very successful and was able to shoot her up to one of the top R&B female solo singer of the year.  After a surprise two years hiatus, Lyn released her second album Can U See The Bright. The album was very successful, surpassing her previous album with her popular single, "사랑했잖아" (Used To Love). Due to its popularity, the song was eventually covered on another successful singer Lee Seung-gi's album, released in late 2006. After that, Lyn released her third album, The Pride of the Morning, on March 7, 2007, and sold 15,358 copies in that month, placing second in the Music Industry Association of Korea's monthly chart. Again, it was a success and was once again reclaim her title as one of the best R&B female singer in kpop.

          Lyn was definitely not my type of singer,but she was famous enough back in days to know who is Lyn.

5 Wax

               Debut at 2000, until today, Wax released ten albums and digital single albums. Because of the hit song "Fix My MakeUp", She has won three Golden Disk Awards(the highest award in kpop), one each year from 2001 to 2003, made her one of the most well known female ballad singer back in early 2000s.

               I actually know Wax back in middle school already as well,  some of her old songs were really popular during that time, but I never knew what Wax actually looks like back then, only know until recently, and she looks a bit too old.

            

                             

6  Lena Park

                Just don't judge what Lena Park looks like, her voice is amazing. If I actually rank the real talent, I would definitely rank Lena Park as at least top 3 of all time....

                 Lena Park was Korean American, and typical R&B singer. In 2002, her song "꿈에" (In a Dream) was a big success and enabled her to enter foreign markets, such as Singapore. The South Korean government select Park to represent South Korea in the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. At the end of 2002, a "best of" album was released and she played a series of concerts. Live recordings from these concerts were compiled into her first special live album in CDs and DVD. Park,

                I especially like her early singles, such a talented singer. and I think her voice is actually better than most singers I list here.

               

7   Ailee

                Similar to Lena Park, Ailee is also Korean American R&B singer.

                Debut at 2012, Ailee was considered one of the top talent singer in kpop nowadays. Not only in singing, Ailee was also a great dancer and idol type singer. There are people saying:" Ailee is one of the best singer in kpop nowadays, and have very bright future."

                 Also she looks younger than most of  those old singers as above. Ailee looks so cute here...

                  

8   HwaYoBi

                 HwaYoBi was one of the most underrated Korean R&B singer.  She was considered the female version of HwanHee from Fly To The Sky.

                 Hwayobi is regarded South Korea’s “Queen of R&B,” renowned for her beautiful, soulful voice and powerful performances. Not just a singer, but a lyricist and composer, she makes many of her own songs. Hwayobi’s talent earned her awards for Best Female R&B artist and Best Female Ballad Singer from the Korean Entertainment Art Awards in 2005 and 2006. Having been in the industry since her debut in 2000,

                 I don't really know much about HwaYoBi before. I heard about this singer, and knows she's a R&B singer back then, and that's it. But don't know she was actually on top for a while before.

              

9   J.ae

            Also known as stage name J . She was also Korean American, and  a famous R&B/Soul singer-songwriter. Debut at 1998, her popularity rises when she released her second album, which achieved great success.  The lead single, a mellow, mid-tempo R&B ballad number "어제처럼" (Like Yesterday) shot to #1 on various Korean TV network charts.

           J.ae was also a early 2000s singer, she was also a great R&B singer just like Lena Park, and she wrote her own songs as well.

           I thought J looks old back then already, but her voice and talent really stands out at that time.

         

                               

                               

10   YangPa

              YangPa was probably the first female kpop ballad singer I know. Debut at 1997, she was one of very few female ballad singers made their name in kpop when male ballad singers dominate kpop scene at that time. In Korean Drama Reply 1997, she was mentioned many times and on Eunji's kiss scene.

              From what I remember, YangPa looks really cute back then, and I thought she would be a good kid too , and she was also a great singer, her songs were really difficult to sing as well. But she looks old now too, but still a great singer even compare to most other kpop singer nowadays.

           

          Besides those singers I list above, I know way more female ballad singers than I listed above. For example, old singers like Byul , Park Ji Yoon, and many others, or singers like Lee Hi nowadays. There were a lot, but I only list my top 10 list here.

        

How many girl groups ever exist in Kpop?

         Ok, today I want to write something interesting here, so actually how many girl groups ever exist in Kpop?


         so before I answer this question, I need to make some important points here. I had this question since around September 2014, there are so many girl groups nowadays, but exactly how many? so I start to search some evidence on Internet and plus some of my own knowledge in the past. At the beginning I thought about Wikipedia since I believe they should have information of everything. But quickly I found out some girl groups I actually know back in late 90s to early 2000s are not listed in Wikipedia, but those girl groups did exist, I had cassette tape and CD of these groups as evidence before.
          Then few weeks ago, I found out one very interesting article on Internet, this person starts a project since 2005, and which tracks all the kpop idol groups since 1980s until today, which is much better than Wikipedia. I was very curious about it, then I read through her article about old school kpop groups back in late 90s, I actually found out those groups I had cassette tape and CD before. Vast World of Kpop  (I give full credits from that person here)
          However in her article, it includes both boy groups and girl groups and mixed groups, and I don't really know boy groups as girl groups that much, so I extracted all the information about all girl groups from her article, and provide the evidence for my article.


    Before I did serious research and count, I estimed I know probably around 100 girl groups.


Ok, so here we go:
         1 The groups I marked as Red Bold are top tier girl groups which are really popular.
         2 The groups I marked as Pink are girl groups I heard about it at some point , but don't know them quite well. 
         3  Normal font are girl groups do ever exist at some point in kpop history, but I never heard of.
         4  I started since the first widely recognized girl group at 1996 and until 2014 last year.(since we are still at 2015 right now)
         5  Any sub-unit/group will not be considered here. For Example: SNSD and TTS are considered as one group.
       


                                       
                                          B.B(비비) was considered the 1st ever kpop girl group.(1996)

                         The 1st generation (debut from 1996 until 2001)

                                          S.E.S at year 1997 

1996: B.B, BOSS, ECO

1997: Baby Vox, Diva,  Enue,  Juliet, S.E.S, Sue, Tutti, Hans Band

1998: Circle, Cooki, Fin K.L

1999: AIDA,  As One, Chakra, CLEO, F.O.X, Hush, See U, O-24, T.T.MA ,Tashannie

2000: HoneyBee, MINT, Papaya, Shamony, SZ, TINY

2001: AL, C.O.C ,D.U.B, Daisy,  G.U.Y , Girl Fand, Jewelry, K.I.S.S, M.I.L.K, Nazka, S, Toya, VioxCo


For all the 1st generation kpop idol groups, I know 24 out of 43 groups, so 56%, which is not bad, especially almost all the kpop girl groups debut at year 1999, and that matches the time I am actually really into kpop.

 The 2ed generation (debut from 2002 until 2006)

                                          CSJH The Grace at year 2005

2002: BUDDY, Dejavu, FEVER, Isak N Jiyeon, J.S, LUV,  ShinVi,  Sugar,  Swi.T

2003: Big Mama, Bubble Sisters, Lorelei, Morning, The Color, WID

2004: 7 Princess, ELF, Girls Friend, Heart, Shyne

2005: Almoner, Apple Jam, Casa& Nova, Dami & Junior, Gavy NJ, i-13, IRIS, KisFive, LADY, LPG, Orange, Perfume, Red Sox, S.Blush, CSJH The Grace, XR


2006: 2NB, ASIA, B.U.T,  Baby B, BGH4, Brown Eyed Girls, CARA, Chapter 2, Foxy, ICE, J Lady's, Kirots, Maronie Girls, SeeYa


For all the second generation girl groups, I only know 16 out of 50 groups, which is only 16%, which is correct since I stop following kpop for a while since 2003 until SNSD came out, but I still know all the well known ones from this period. The only kpop CD I had from this period is Lee Hyori, but no groups.




                           

 The 3rd generation (debut from 2007 until 2011)

                                            Girls' Generation aka SNSD at 2007
                               

2007: Baby Vox RE.V , Black Pearl, CATS, Gavy Queens, Girls Generation, Illumina, KARA,Storm, TaeSaBiAe,  Wonder Girls, Yes Girls  


2008: Belle Epoque, Davichi,  Eve&Sat, i-Coffee, Miss$ ,S5en, Swan,Wink


2009: 2NE1,4 Minute, 7Size, After School, Brand New Day, Cutie,Devil&Angel ,f(x), Flying Girls, HAM, Jewelry S, JQT, Lady Collection, Pink Heart, Rainbow, Secret, T-ara

2010: Aurora, B.Dolls, Bebe Mignon, BlackList, Chocolate, City Lady, Cutie-L, D.Heaven, EVAS, EZM, Fit Girls, Free Star, Girl Story, Girl's Day, Girl2School, GP Basic, HoneyDew , Miss A, Nine Muses, Queens, Sistar, Song Cry Girlz, Soul Lady, T-Angel, TEN, Troty, Twiny, VNT

2011: 2Boram, 5Dolls, APink, April Kiss, As Blue, As Red, BBAN, Bella, BGH To, Black Eye, Blady, Brave Girls, C-Real,Carcard Girl,Chi Chi, Chokolat, Coin Jackson, Dal Shabel, Ei Yo, Elizabeth, Eye To Eye, G.IAM, HaraSora, INY, Leaders, NEW P.O, Ocean Girls, Piggy Dolls, Rania, Stellar, Swincle, Swing Girls,Woman Power


I would say the 3rd generation girl groups are the most important girl groups, also the most popular ones nowadays are from this generation. Starts at year 2007,SNSD, KARA, Wonder Girls , the girl groups become a trend in kpop.  Also, all my fav girl groups such as APink, Girl's Day are also from later in this generation. And I know 31 out of  98 groups, which is 32%, which is not bad. But some Groups I just never heard of here.



                     

The 4th generation (debut from 2012 until now)

                                 
                                          EXID at 2014

2012: 15& , 84LY, A.Cian, AOA, Bbde Girls, Bikiny, Black Queen, BT-Swing, Chic Chu, Crayon Pop, D-Unit, D.Q , Diamond Queen, DR.K, E2RE, Evol,EXID,Fiester,Flashe,GangKiz,GLAM,Goddess, Hello Venues, High Lady, HuntTeria, i-Cutie,ILIPS, Jevice, LA_TIE, LAY.T, LXIA,M-Tiful, MaskOT, NEP,Ninety One, One Piece,P.O.P Con
PameLA ,Pandora, PlayA , Puertty ,Ruby,S The One, SHE'Z , Six Bomb, Skarf, Spica, Sunny Days,
Superarls, TAHITI, The SeeYa, TINUS, Tiny-G, Two X, Valiant,Wow


2013: 2 Yoon,2EYES ,A-Dean,AGirls,ALTHEA, BESTie, BH  BPPOP, DASONi, Delight, Duo Flow, F.W.S, Global Icon, Heart Rabbit Girls,Hidden Fantasy,K-Girls, Ladies' Code,Littles, Live High,LUSH, M&N , PASCOL,Peach Girls,Peernine, Pixie, Purplay, Queen BZ, Rainy,TINT, Tren-D, Turan,Veloce,WassUp


2014: 1PS, 4G,4L, 4TEN, A.KOR, AiRi, Alice White, BAD Kidz, BAY.B , Berry Good,Billion, BoB Girls,D.Holic, G-Friend, Girl Hood, Kiss&Cry, Laboum, Lip Service, Lodia, Lovelyz, LPG Chaness,Mamamoo, Melody Day, Minx,MOA, N*White, OuiGee, PRITZ, Purfles, Red Velvet, Step, Scarlet, Sonamoo ,  Strawberry MILH, SWITCH, Taurine,The Unnies, Vetty L, Wings,YE.A, Year Seven Class 1,

 We are still at this generation right now, so even though I know a lot of girl groups from this period. But way too many girl groups right now, just way too many. only from 2012 to 2014 these 3 years alone, there are 129 new girl groups debut in 3 years, and 70% I don't even know. I know 31 out of 129 new debut girl groups.which is only 24% , but I think it's already pretty good.

so Let's do the simple math. all the kpop girl groups I know since 1996 until now are 24 + 16 + 31 + 31 = 102, so I am correct. And all the girl groups ever exist are 43 + 50 + 98 + 129 = 320, which means there are at least 320 kpop girl groups ever exist from 1996 until 2014.

       
Note: Based on this, I know there will be around over 800 boy groups ever exist, since there are way more boy groups than girl groups, especially back in old times, I believe there are only slightly less than 3 times the number of girl groups . (I can't count this since there are just way too many and I'm not really into boy groups  ) And plus mixed groups, the total number should be somewhere between 1250 to 1300....



You could use my information to count how many girl groups do you know ?  If you know over 50 out of 320 , it's pretty much a lot already.

The new trend of kpop girl groups(early 2015)

                 
               
                When APink released L.O.V.E. Love song near the end of the last year, I was excited for few weeks and they got over 9 straight win for our Pandas , they were definitely on the top position in kpop at that time, and finally EXID's "Up and Down"  took over APink's position and also took few wins......

              

               However, if you still think APink or EXID are on the top of kpop girl groups right now, then you are definitely out of trend  now, since there are many new girl groups debut and some very strong comeback until now, It's necessary for me to update my blog once again, and I will focus on talking about the current trend for kpop girl group right now at early 2015.....

            1 After huge success of APink, new kpop girl groups return to "cute" and "innocent" concept.

           1 G-Friend(여자친구):G-Friend (Hangul: 여자친구) is a six-member South Korean girl group formed by Source Music in 2015. From their name(여자친구, which means girlfriend), we know their audience will be mainly young male kpop fans. And the average age of this group is only 17( all in high school), and become the youngest active kpop girl group nowadays, the youngest member Uhmji just turned 16 this year. Their first single Glass Bead entered top 10 on various kpop music chart, and still now....

        PS : OMG, they all look so young and so innocent(maybe a bit too young) , typical high school girl type, and there's one look like IU for some reason, and their debut single reminds me of the SNSD debut single "into the new world" from concept to choreography back in 2007 , which causes hot topic for many kpop fans. Personally I think G-Friend will have the biggest potential among all the kpop girl groups right now....

            

              

              2  Lovelyz :Lovelyz (Hangul: 러블리즈) is a 7 member South Korean girl group, formed in 2014 by Woollim Entertainment. Their debut album, Girls' Invasion, was released on November 17, 2014 with the debut single "Candy Jelly love". Recently,  Woollim Entertainment  released their second album on March 3 with a new title track, "Hi~". 

           PS : I heard about this group when APink still top the chart, I think their debut single was not quite successful. However, their following single "Hi"  just released last week was way better than their first single, and they are pretty much have very similar concept to G-friend like school girl type, these two girl groups will probably become rival in the future..... 

                                  

           

       2  fierce and talented girl groups still exist nowadays.

          1  4 Minute: 4Minute (Korean: 포미닛) is a five-member South Korean girl group formed in 2009 by Cube Entertainment with music singles and albums released primarily in South Korea and Japan. The group debuted in June 2009 with its first single, "Hot Issue", which became a huge success back then. Over the years, they released many No 1 singles, which made them one of the solid 1st tier girl group right now.On February 9 2015, 4Minute released the EP along with the title track's full music video which won them their first Music Core trophy on February 2.

        PS :  4 Minute was definitely one of the top tier girl group right now, after each release, they could probably top the chart at least for a while. The first time I watched their new single "Crazy", I was a bit scared of this new 4Minute, I thought they transformed into 2NE1 or sth. Then I got used to their new style(but I'm still a bit scared of Queen Hyuna in this MV for some reason), but overall I think it's a really successful start for 4Minute for the upcoming 2015.

                   

2  Sonamoo:Sonamoo (Hangul: 소나무) is a seven-member South Korean K-pop girl group under TS Entertainment. On December 29, 2014, Sonamoo made their official debut with the "Deja

Vu.

PS : Among those new girl groups debut in recent few month, Sonamoo was definitely one of them really stand out. Their style is completely different from other girl groups who are  try to be either cute or sexy. They have their unique style, some fans called them as the new version of "2NE1".  All the members have outstanding dance skills. They focus more on their talent than their look.

                   3 Sexy and mature concept is still the mainstream in many comeback kpop girl groups right now

            
             1 Hello Venus: Hello Venus (Hangul: 헬로비너스; stylized as HELLOVENUS) is a 6 member South Korean girl group formed by Tricell Media at 2012, and right now under Fantagio. When they just debut, they also have innocent and cute concept. Until late 2014, A music video teaser for their upcoming single "Sticky Sticky" was released on 31 October, featuring all the members in a sexy concept. And at the beginbing of year 2015, they made a strong comeback with the hit single "Wiggle Wiggle", that dance move went viral on Internet instantly, their success quickly followed EXID's "Up and Down" . After that, fans called them as Wiggle Wiggle group.

           PS: I heard of  this group when they released "would you stayed for tea(차마실래) back in 2013 with T-ara, and only thought some members are pretty back then, but not pay too much attention to them back then . When they came back with Wiggle Wiggle song, they completely changed their cute and innocent concept, totally go for sexy concept, and actually became quite successful, I think Hello Venus could probably break into 1st tier girl group in the coming year 2015....

                                 

               

              

             2 Rainbow: Rainbow (sometimes stylized as RAINBOW; Korean: 레인보우)  is a seven-member South Korean girl group signed to DSP Media. On November 12, 2009, the group released their debut EP Gossip Girl; two days later, they made their television debut on the MBC program Show! Music Core. They went through several concept change from sexy to cute and back to sexy concept again. At Feb 2015, they made a comeback with their hit single "Black Swan".

            PS :  Speaking of the girl group Rainbow, I did have a lot of things to talk about. I know them since their "A" song back in 2010. Rainbow was supposed to be the the next big girl group after KARA under DSP Media. Initially, DSP Media created Rainbow was to against the f(x) from SM Entertainment.and f(x) also debut at 2009. However, after over 5 years, f(x) became top tier girl group, whereas Rainbow was still second tier girl group due to the poor management of DSP Media and their confused concept change. Rainbow was actually a talented girl group which had several visuals in this group, but poor management lead to their popularity in kpop today. And their new single bought them back to sexy concept again....

            

          

           

              3 Nine Muses: Nine Muses (Korean: 나인뮤지스, sometimes stylized as 9MUSES) is a South Korean girl group under Star Empire Entertainment. The group debuted in 2010 with the single "No Playboy" from the single album. They experienced several lineup changes, and at 2015, they made a comeback with Drama released on January 23.

             PS:  I just heard about this group like last year, they are just like second tier girl group. However, their comeback Drama was quite strong, they have on various music chart for top 10 for like almost 3 month now, and their popularity was actually more consistent than any other girl groups nowadays, and they probably could made solid 2ed tier to 1st tier girl group now.

         

         4   Fiestar:  Fiestar (Korean: 피에스타) is a five member girl group from South Korea formed by LOEN Entertainment, but due to LOEN's multi-label system they are currently under Collabodadi. They made their debut in August 31, 2012 with their single "Vista".  They also changed from innocent concept to more sexy and mature concept. At 2015, they just  released You're Pitiful like last week.

          PS: I know Fiestar back in 2013 when my bias IU had a collaboration song with them since they were under the same company LEON Entertainment. Also  the visual of this group Cao Lu is from China just like f(x) leader Victoria Song, which I heard about  her even before she debut as a kpop girl group member.

            

                         

4 Ballad kpop girl group still have some place 

            Davichi :Davichi (Hangul: 다비치) is a South Korean pop-ballad duo that consists of Lee Haeri (이해리) and Kang Minkyung (강민경). The duo was formed in 2008 by Mnet Media.Davichi was derived from the word "Dabichi" which means the light to shine over the world, illustrating their voices to be spread over the world,  They were very few popular ballad duo in kpop in recent years. And at 2015, they made a comeback for "Cry Again"

            PS : I know Davichi probably back in early SNSD days already, but not really into their songs back then. Nowadays, as one of the very few ballad duo still have some place in kpop , they did the best compare to other ballad girl groups such as Sunny Hill and The SeeYa. Especially the environment in kpop nowadays, it's even more difficult for ballad group to gain huge success.

                

             

             Overall, this is the list of relatively well known girl groups who debut or made successful comeback at the beginning of 2015. Actually there are way more girl groups debut or comeback in just first 2 month in 2015, and I only write the few most famous ones here. Most kpop girl groups will still follow the sexy and mature concept, with few cute, innocent concept or some unique concept. Right now, it's hard to tell who is more popular now, but from the list, I would say G-Friend, 4 Minutes, Soonamo, Hello Venus will potentially get themselves into top girl groups for 2015.

             And almost forgot, I didn't write one group Red Velvet. Actually they just released a new MV tonight, and I am very disappointed with this group until now. Red Velvet was created under SM Entertainment at 2014. They were basically considered the next "SNSD" since SM Entertainment didn't debut any girl group after f(x), which is 2009. But from now, I don't know if they could actually make it even reach f(x) level. I have no idea how much SM Entertainment invest or spend on training Red Velvet to become the next "SNSD",  they probably feel too much pressure and expectation from fans nowadays. SM Entertainment was really good at market their idol groups, which they created like H.O.T, S.E.S, Shinhwa,TVXQ, Super Junior, SNSD, SHINee, f(x), EXO those legendary idol  groups in kpop, and they wait for like another 5 years to debut a Red Velvet, I feel they will be really  big in a few years.

               

I just spent like one hour to write this post. All the groups I listed above are potential competitors of APink, but it's ok, I will go back and listen to "슬퍼하지마 no no no 혼자가 아냐 no no ". Have a good night.

Side Note: last week music core winner boy group VIXX's "love equation" was actually a remake song from 90s kpop group R.ef back in 1995(20 years ago), and it's funny that most their fans thought that song was  new from VIXX released at 2015....

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.

          

Hyorin - One Way Love (2013)

           So who is the real Queen of Kpop? 

           Do you agree Lee Hyori, or the other two superstar  BoA or Lee Jung Hyun? 

           or Chae Yeon,  or HyunA,  or IVY? 

           or LEXY,  or Son Dam Bi or Hyori ?

Or do you agree with me NaEun is the Queen?

Top 10 most famous K-Pop Girl Groups of all time

         
           If you are a kpop fan who is really into girl groups, this is the article for you. Today I will talk about the Top 10 most famous K-Pop Girl Groups of all time.(from 1997 until now). Since I start to listen to kpop around 1998(yes, back in elementary school) , so I will list the top 10 kpop girl groups based on my knowledge.



1  Girls' Generation 소녀시대 (2007 until present)                   Label: SM Entertainment

Girls' Generation, aka SNSD,  is a 9 member Kpop  girl group formed by S.M. Entertainment in 2007.(Jessica left the group at 2014). SNSD was one of the most popular kpop girl group when they debut, and became the most popular kpop girl group after the release of "Gee" at 2009. Also they earned the "Nation's Girl Group" in Korea since then.  Over the years, They have topped the chart, got numerous awards and became one of  the most influential girl group of all time. Nowadays, almost all kpop girl groups considered SNSD as a role model
.

                                  







2  S.E.S. 에스.이.에스 (1997 until 2002)                   Label: SM Entertainment

S.E.S was a 3 member South Korean girl group under the management of SM Entertainment, lasting from 1997 to 2002, They were the first highly successful girl group in kpop history. also the most popular kpop girl group from late 90s to early 2000s. S.E.S also got numerous awards during their active years. Until today, S.E.S had the highest physical sales among all girl groups of all time, and still nobody could break their record now including SNSD.
                               





3  Fin K.L 핑클 (1998 to 2005)                   Label: DSP Media

Fin K.L  was a 4 member South Korean pop girl group under DSP Media, lasting from 1998 to 2005.Their name stands for Fin Killing Liberty, and was intended to mean that the group stood against "the oppression of all freedom". Fin.K.L was one of the most popular K-pop girl groups in kpop history , selling for over 2.2 million albums along with S.E.S. Fin.K.L won numerous music awards until its unofficial end in 2002. After Fin K.L disbanded, the group leader  Lee Hyori became the most well known female solo artist and the highest-paid female singer in Korea.

4  2NE1  투애니원(2009 until present)                               Label: YG Entertainment

2NE1 is a four-member South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment in 2009. The name, pronounced to anyone or twenty one, combines the phrases "21st century" and "new evolution.Their first EP spawned the number-one single "I Don't Care", which won them the "Song of the Year" award at the 2009 Mnet Asian Music Awards. Also,"I Am the Best" winning 2NE1 their second "Song of the Year" award in 2011. Unlike other girl groups, their fierce attitude and out-there fashion attracts many female fans.

                                         

5  Wonder Girls  원더걸스 (2007 until 2013)                               Label: JYP Entertainment

Wonder Girls is a five-member South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment in 2008. The group began their entry into the American market in 2009, performing the English version of their hit single "Nobody". In late 2009, their song charted at number seventy-six on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making the Wonder Girls the first South Korean group to enter the chart. Their popularity could be against SNSD back in early days, and served as an introduction to kpop for fans outside of Asia.

6  Baby Vox 베이비복스   (1997 until 2006)                               Label: DR Music

Baby V.O.X  was a South Korean five-member female dance group that debuted in 1997. The name is shortened from "Baby Voices of Xpression". Baby V.O.X. eventually became a popular group in Korea and other Asian countries from 1998 to 2006, releasing hit albums and selling over 3 million albums in Asia alone.With their newfound popularity, the group started expanding promotions in and outside of Korea. Baby V.O.X. became the first K-pop group to successfully crossover abroad, notably in China.

                                    




7    KARA 카라 (2007 until present)                               Label: DSP Media

Kara was a 5 member South Korean pop girl group formed by DSP Media in 2007. They achieved their first number one song with "Honey" (2009).In July 2009, the group released their second studio album, Revolution and spawned the hit single "Mister", whose choreography featured the "butt-dance", that helped increase the group's popularity within East Asia. After finding national success, the group began to expand their music to Japan by signing to Universal Music Japan's subsidiary label, which made KARA the most popular kpop girl group in Japan. Overall, the group managed to sell over one million physical singles within two years, making them one of the fastest-selling South Korean acts in Japan

8    Jewelry 쥬얼리 (2001 until 2015)                               Label: Star Empire

Jewelry was a 4 member South Korean girl group formed in 2001 by Star Empire Entertainment. The group was the longest-running Korean girl group (with more than 2 members), surpassing super-group Baby V.O.X., until their disbandment in 2015. While the they made an impressive mark with 2005 single "Superstar," the shining and most significant moment of Jewelry's career came when those same members Seo In Young, Park Jung Ah, Baby J and EunJung sent their single "One More Time" to No. 1 on all major K-pop digital music charts

                                     

9  Sistar 씨스타  (2010 until present)                               Label: Starship  Entertainment

Sistar is a 4 member South Korean girl group formed in 2010 under the management of Starship Entertainment. Known as today's digital-selling monsters in Korea,  SISTAR has become one of the most consistent groups in K-pop, with hit single after hit single elevating them towards the top of the K-pop girl group rankings. SISTAR has the most No. 1s of any four member group, and they were also well know as the subgroup Sistar 19 with (Hyorin and Bora)

                                       

10  APink 에이핑크 (2011 until present)                               Label: ACube  Entertainment

A Pink is a 7 member South Korean girl group formed in 2011, produced by A Cube Entertainment.(Hong Yoo-kyun left at 2013) .The group has won awards at shows such as the 26th Golden Disk Awards, 21st Seoul Music Awards and 13th Mnet Asian Music Awards. A Pink has won more than 20 music awards and more than 25 music program awards until now. A Pink is known for their innocent image, unusual among girl groups' sexy concepts. And they are the most popular kpop girl group a while ago.
Note: I list APink into top 10 not because they are my bias, but their popular after "LUV" got enough to rank top 10 kpop girl group of all time

Note: My ranking is based on each group's overall popularity during their active years and compare to other groups' popularity in kpop history . e.g: SNSD, S.E.S and Fin K.L are dominate girl group for their active time respectively and cannot be surpassed by other groups. Even though Sistar and APink are really popular recently, they are still fairly new compare to those other big kpop girl groups before.....