Girl group fromis_9 continues to see success as sales of new EP soar

Girl group fromis_9 performs during Monday's showcase for its new EP ″Midnight Guest.″ [NEWS1]

Girl group fromis_9 saw CD sales for its new EP "Midnight Guest" double compared to its previous EP "9 Way Ticket" (2021). Fans are anticipating that the nine-member group could be set to see its heyday, four years after debuting.

Released on Monday, "Midnight Guest" sold 70,000 copies in three days, on top of the 130,000 pre-ordered copies.

The group was formed in 2017 through cable channel Mnet's audition program "Idol School" and debuted the following year. But compared to Mnet's other idol audition show franchise "Produce," ratings and public attention were much lower for "Idol School."

As a result, fromis_9 had a rocky start. While I.O.I and IZ*ONE formed through the "Produce" series topped domestic charts and music shows upon their debuts, it took 1,323 days for fromis_9 to rank No. 1 on a music show — finally in September 2021 on SBS MTV's "The Show" with its song "Talk & Talk."

"Talk & Talk" placed fromis_9 third on the list of late bloomers in the K-pop industry. Girl groups Brave Girls and CLC each took 1,854 and 1,427 days to take the top spot on a music show after debuting.

Brave Girls and fromis_9 share an unlikely but formidable fandom in common: men serving in the Korean military. Brave Girls performed frequently on bases and was so popular among troops that it earned the nickname "President of the military." Its song "Rollin'" (2017) remained obscure for four years, but thanks to word-of-mouth among those serving, "Rollin'" became a chart-topping hit in early 2021.

fromis_9 has also been actively performing for the armed forces. Last year, the group appeared on the "K-Force Special Show," a weekly concert at military camps held to entertain troops, three times. Perhaps thanks to their frequent appearances, according to a survey conducted in late 2021 by the Korean Ministry of Defense's official newspaper, fromis_9 ranked third as the "celebrity troops most wanted to stand guard duty with," following girl group aespa and singer IU.

fromis_9's signing with Pledis Entertainment, the agency behind popular boy bands Seventeen and NU'EST, in August 2021 may have also played a role. Pledis is a label under K-pop powerhouse HYBE, known for BTS.

"The biggest factor behind the rapid rise of fromis_9 seems to be its move to a large agency like Pledis," said head researcher Kim Jin-woo of Korea's album sales tracker Gaon Chart. "The group's first No.1 [on a music show] was also just a month after moving to Pledis."

On the other hand, K-pop columnist Joy Park said that the growing popularity of K-pop girl groups as a whole contributed to fromis_9's career growth.

"There's been an increasing demand among foreign fans for K-pop girl groups," she said. "fromis_9 has been trying out trendy concepts and has attracted more foreign fans. CD sales have been increasing in general as well, due to Covid-19."

K-pop CD sales have indeed been consistently on the rise as collecting CDs has become one of the few ways to express fanhood, because most in-person fan meets and concerts have been canceled due to the pandemic.

YOU SEONG-UN [kjdculture@joongang.co.kr]