Third generation of girl groups looks to be marking end of an era

K-pop

Published: 05 Mar. 2023, 11:05 Updated: 05 Mar. 2023, 11:06

Third generation of girl groups looks to be marking end of an era

Brave Girls disbanded on Feb. 16 as the four members' seven-year contracts expired. [BRAVE ENTERTAINMENT]

With a series of disbandments early on in the year, the third generation of K-pop girl groups seems to be coming to an end.

Girl group Brave Girls announced its disbandment on Feb. 16 as the members’ seven-year contracts expired, much to fans’ dismay. There was also a sense of bitterness among the general public, since Brave Girls had seen popularity ever since the group’s sleeper hit “Rollin’” (2017) swept the charts in early 2021, skyrocketing the group to stardom after years of obscurity.

Although the late-blooming success story touched many, and Brave Girls had been seen on countless TV shows and advertisements, the group quietly disbanded with just a digital single and no promotional activities.

Girl group Momoland debuted in 2016 and disbanded in January.[JOONGANG PHOTOS]

Shortly before that, girl group Momoland announced its contract expiration and disbandment on Jan. 27, which caused a mix of feelings among K-pop listeners as the group was widely known for its hit “Bboom Bboom” (2018).

Ironically at the same time, the news was no shock as most third-generation girl groups have already disbanded or been declining in popularity. After the two high-profile groups disbanded, anxiety loomed among fans of remaining third-generation girl groups — notably WJSN which just celebrated its seventh anniversary. After keeping fans on their toes for a while, it was announced on Friday that five out of the 13 members decided to depart, while the remaining eight renewed their contracts — avoiding disbandment but undergoing a change in its lineup.

Girl group WJSN debuted in 2016 and announced the departure of five members on March 3, shortly after celebrating the group's seventh anniversary. [STARSHIP ENTERTAINMENT]

The Korea Fair Trade Commission limits exclusive contracts to seven years at a time, in order to prevent excessively long contracts. As a result, groups which debuted in 2016 — the peak of third-generation debuts — face contract renewal with a high possibility of changes in the member lineup, if not disbandment altogether.

Who are the third-gen girl groups?

Third-generation K-pop acts generally refer to those who debuted sometime between 2013 and until the late 2010s. Those who debuted toward the end of the 2010s, such as girl group ITZY or boy band Tomorrow X Together in 2019, are often considered to be 3.5-generation.

Girl group AOA debuted in 2012 and was popular throughout the 2010s for its sensual concepts. [FNC ENTERTAINMENT]

Groups which debuted shortly before 2013 but rose in popularity later in the 2010s, like girl groups Apink and AOA or boy band Exo, are also considered part of the third generation.

Notable third-generation girl groups include Red Velvet, Mamamoo, Lovelyz, Laboum, Oh My Girl, Twice, GFriend, April, Blackpink, Dreamcatcher, gugudan, Weki Meki, DIA, (G)I-DLE and fromis_9, many of which have already disbanded.

Girl group GFriend debuted in 2015 and disbanded in 2021. [NEWS1]

What were their strategies?

Although numerous K-pop girl groups today sell hundreds of thousands of its physical albums, or even reach million-seller status, the 2010s was before K-pop CD sales skyrocketed.

Especially compared to boy bands who tend to have loyal fandoms willing to buy such collectibles, girl groups before the fourth generation of K-pop (circa 2020-) did not expect much in terms of CD sales but relied heavily on appealing to the general public with catchy melodies or personal beauty.

In order to gain popularity among the general public, girl groups of the time aimed to appeal to the male audience with a conventionally feminine image, ranging from cute and innocent to highly sensual concepts — a contrast from how most female K-pop acts after the late 2010s aim for a strong, charismatic image targeting the female fan base.

Girl group Le Sserafim debuted in 2022 and focuses on potraying a strong, independent image. It is considered one of the most successful fourth-generation K-pop acts. [NEWS1]

“General public” strategy backfires?

Although this strategy registered many third-generation girl groups as national sweethearts, it proved to be less efficient as time passed without the groups establishing core fan bases.

“Even if a group has a high public profile, there’s likely no sustainable revenue model if the group doesn’t have a loyal fandom willing to actually spend money,” said music critic Park Hee-a. “A song becoming popular among the general public is good too, but a loyal fandom buying a group’s CDs and merchandise is much more profitable. Boy bands usually do better than girl groups in this regard, while a number of fourth-generation girl groups like IVE, Le Sserafim and NewJeans have started catching up.”

Girl group IVE debuted in 2021 and has secured a loyal fandom. Its latest EP "After Like" sold over a million copies. [STARSHIP ENTERTAINMENT]

Since most third-generation girl groups’ strategies heavily relied on public appeal, their popularity usually declines as the members age, while fandoms tend to grow more invested with time — which is why many boy bands or even girl groups with loyal female fans are able to be active well after the seventh year.

A weak fandom also means that the group cannot afford any slips in terms of a new song’s chart performances. Brave Girls’ “Rollin’” and Momoland’s “Bboom Bboom” were both megahits in terms of streaming, but both groups were unable to produce a song as successful afterwards.

Girl group Lovelyz debuted in 2014 and disbanded in 2021. [WOOLLIM ENTERTAINMENT]

“Relying on producing a hit number, without following up with something as successful every single time, can be a risky a path to take,” critic Park added. “That’s why boy bands tend to last after they hit a certain orbit, because they’ve secured a fandom. Even if it’s not that large of a fan base, the support loyal fans send is less affected by each individual release. But for many girl groups which rely on public popularity, the failure of one song can be an immediate financial threat.”

The disbandment of widely-known girl groups, despite most of the public knowing who they are, is a result.

Fouth-generation shifts

Girl groups like Mamamoo or Red Velvet, which both debuted in 2014, are some of the few exceptions appealing to a more loyal female fandom with unique styles of music, rather than presenting a highly feminine image. The two also happen to be some of the few third-generation girl groups that are still thriving with large fandoms.

Blackpink and Dreamcatcher, which have been maintaining their strong “girl crush” concept since debuting in 2016 and 2017 respectively, as well as Twice, which pivoted to targeting more international and female fans years into its career, are some more examples.

Red Velvet during a press conference in 2022. The girl group debuted in 2014 and still flaunts a loyal fandom. [SM ENTERTAINMENT]

"Not only the size, but also the demographic of a fandom is crucial,” said music critic Jung Min-jae. “It’s widely known that male fans are unlikely to spend money to support the artists they like, compared to female fans. Brave Girls and Momoland were well-known but their fandoms were predominantly male, which — honestly speaking — wasn’t helpful for those groups to be profitable and thus sustainable.”

“In contrast, we see many boy bands who are virtually unknown to the public make more profit and stay active longer thanks to a small but fervent core fandom,” continued Jung. “Now, we’re seeing fourth-generation girl groups take a similar fandom-centered strategy from the beginning and reaching million-sellers, without necessarily giving up on the public appeal aspect. Today we mainly see long-lasting boy bands, but I expect we will see an increasing number of long-lasting girl groups years later, coming from the fourth generation.”

BY HALEY YANG [yang.hyunjoo@joongang.co.kr]