In 2013, second-generation girl groups (Girls’ Generation, 2NE1, After School, Kara, and T-ara) released new songs, but they were not as popular as before. In particular, Girls’ Generation showed that they could not concentrate on Korea by entering overseas markets together.
2013
While the second-generation leading girl groups are not gaining strength, 4Minute, Girl’s Day, Apink, and SISTAR have emerged as new powerhouses. The representative songs of each group at that time are as follows.
- 4Minute – ‘What’s your name?’
- Girl’s Day – “Look forward to it”, “Female President”.
- Apink – “NO NO NO”
- SISTAR – “Give It To Me”
If girl groups pursued a pure image when they first debuted, they change their image to a sexy concept when they gain some recognition after their debut.
2014
At the start of 2014, Girl’s Day hit “Something” and continued to be popular until summer with “Darling.” Apink also topped the music show with “Mr. Chu.” It topped the music show for 17 consecutive weeks with “Luv,” which emphasized a pure concept.
AOA and EXID, who debuted in 2012, began to gain huge popularity. AOA has hit ‘Short Skirt’ and ‘Short Hair’ in a row. EXID’s song “Up and Down” has reappeared in the music broadcast rankings as it gained popularity through fan cams. Since then, fan cams have become an important factor in the girl group’s success.
As the competition for girl groups intensified, side effects also appeared. More girl groups choose the “sexy concept” to make a strong impression. Excessive sex appeal and exposure competition took place and were criticized socially. Among YouTube videos, there are many girl group choreography of this period.
As social criticism arose, the girl groups that put forward sexy concepts were almost forgotten in the public’s memory.
New girl groups have debuted to overcome this slump. Mamamoo, Red Velvet, and Lovelyz appeared during this period. Red Velvet belongs to SM.
2015
2015 can be said to be the time when the last flame of the second-generation girl group was burning. And new girl groups are starting to attract new attention.
There are many girl groups that benchmarked “Apink,” which debuted at a small agency and succeeded. It was a variety of forms with the concept of innocence. Originally, most girl groups had a concept of innocence when they first debuted. You can say that it’s a return to the first concept.
SISTAR burned the end of its heyday by topping music shows with “SHAKE IT.” Girls’ Generation also announced its robustness with two songs, “PARTY” and “LION HEART.” Taeyeon, the main vocalist of Girls’ Generation, started her solo career from then on.
Wonder Girls, who made a comeback in three years, released an album where the members learned their own instruments and played their own songs under the band concept. “I Feel You” topped the music show. It was a new attempt, but Wonder Girls also went their separate ways. Wonder Girls member ‘Sunmi’ was the most successful soloist.
The girl groups and songs that stood out in 2015 are as follows.
- Red Velvet – “Ice Cream Cake”, “Dumb Dumb”.
- MAMAMOO – “Um Oh Ah Yeh”
- GFRIEND – “Glass Bead”.
- TWICE – “Like OOH-AHH”.
- Lovelyz – “Ah-Choo”
2016
2016 was a time when third-generation girl groups enjoyed popularity in earnest.
GFRIEND – “Rough”.
MAMAMOO – “You’re the best”
Red Velvet – “July 7th”
TWICE – “Cheer Up”.
Lovelyz – “Destiny”
Wonder Girls – “Why So Lonely”
GFRIEND – “NAVILLERA”
Blackpink – ‘SQUARE ONE’
I.O.I – ‘Whatta Man’
TWICE – “TT”.
Red Velvet – “Russian Roulette”
I.O.I is a girl group born in a project called “Produce 101” in which 101 girl group challengers compete and debut the top 11. The 11 members have different agencies, but they worked as a team called I.O.I for a year.
The girl group, which debuted in 2016, debuted a multinational 12-member girl group WJSN in Starship, a 9-member girl group Gugudan in Jellyfish Entertainment, and BLACKPINK in YG Entertainment.(Finally, BLACKPINK:)
In 2016, TWICE and GFRIEND stood out. In addition, Mamamoo, Black Pink, and Red Velvet ranked at the top of the chart.
Also, in 2016, there were many cases of solo debuts in existing girl groups. Apink’s main vocalist “Jeong Eun-ji,” “Tiffany” who came out as a soloist for the second time in Girls’ Generation, “Jessica” who left Girls’ Generation and came out as a soloist, and “Luna” of f(x) released solo albums.
2017
The girl groups that debuted in 2017 are Bonus Baby, Dreamcatcher, H.U.B, Pristin, Lip Bubble, Gracie, Alice, FAVORITE, Lime Soda, P.O.P, Apple B, Weki Meki, S2, S.I.S, Good Day, Hashtag, and fromis_9. In addition, much more girl groups will debut.
The representative songs of girl groups in 2017 are as follows.
- AoA – Bing Bing
- AoA – Excuse Me
- April – April Story
- WJSN – I Wish
- Hello Venus – Mysterious
- Dreamcatcher – Chase Me
- Red Velvet – Rookie
- Twice – Knock Knock
- Lovelyz – WoW!
- Gugudan – A Girl Like Me
- G.Friend – Fingertip
- Brave Girls – Rollin’
- Pristin – Wee Woo
- Girl’s Day – I’ll Be Yours
- Oh My Girl – Coloring Book
- Dreamcatcher – Good Night
- Exid – Night Rather Than Day
- Laboum – Hwi Hwi
- Momoland – Wonderful Love
- Lovelyz – Now, We
- Twice – Signal
- April – Mayday
- Sistar – Lonely
- WJSN – Happy
- TAra – What’s My Name
- BlackPink – As If It’s Your Last
- Mamamoo – Yes I Am
- Mamamoo – Aze Gag
- APink – Five
- Red Velvet – Red Flavor
- WJSN – Kiss Me
- Laboum – Only U
- Dreamcatcher – Fly High
- G.Friend – Love Whisper
- Girl’s Generation – Holiday
- Weki Meki – I Don’t Like Your Girlfriend
- Dia – E905 (Can’t Stop)
- Momoland – Freeze
- Pristin – We Like
- Elris – Pow Pow
- G.Friend – Summer Rain
- April – Take My Hand
- Dia – Good Night
- Twice – Likey
- Exid – DDD
- Gugudan – Chococo
- Lovelyz – Twinkle
- Red Velvet – Peek-a-Boo
- Twice – Heart Shaker
There was also a girl group that disbanded in 2017. Wonder Girls officially announced their disbandment on January 26, 2017. Spika, who debuted in 2012, also disbanded on February 6. On March 16, T-ara announced that his contract had expired. On May 23, SISTAR officially announced its disbandment seven years after its debut. On December 27, Miss A officially disbanded.