The End of SNSD?
It's been a busy week in K-pop world. The biggest story has to be the announcement that three members are leaving Girls' Generation (SNSD). Girls' Generation is the epitome of a powerful girl group in K-pop. I took a poll around my office and even people who don't listen to K-pop have heard of Girls's Generation. The group debuted under their label SM Entertainment in 2007, but didn't hit it big in Korea until their single "Gee" blew up charts in 2009. "Gee" is widely recognized as the song that created the Korean bubblegum-pop genre. They gained worldwide fame with their 2013 hit "I Got a Boy."
Since debut, the group lineup has largely remained the same. Member Jessica left in 2014 to pursue a solo career. That was until Monday when SM announced three members – Sooyoung, Seohyun, and Tiffany – had left the group. Tiffany plans to return to the U.S. to study while Sooyoung and Seohyun will focus on their acting careers.
In August, Girls' Generation celebrated their 10th anniversary with a fanmeet and their studio album, Holiday Night. Following this, rumors swirled of a repackaged album or another Japanese-language album, so fans were shocked by the news of members leaving.
So does this mean SNSD is disbanding? Not yet, according to SM. The company is still discussing the future of the group. I can't imagine a comeback without all of the members, but maybe it's better to have five-member version of SNSD than none at all? I'll leave that up to you.
It's a Busy Month of Comebacks
GOT7 is back with their latest album 7for7. This album marks a softer, more mature sound for the group. The title track "You Are," written by GOT7's leader JB, made it to No. 1 on Korean music charts. JB joked that to celebrate his first time hitting No. 1 for a self-composed song, he'd treat his members to beef. Eat up, boys! And here's hoping to many more No. 1's from this talented group.
And keep your eyes out for a full album review from me.
Rookie group SF9 is back with their third mini album, Knights of the Sun. SF9 was one of my favorite debuts of 2016. I followed them as they competed to debut on the survival show d.o.b (Dance or Band). I couldn't wait to hear how they evolved their sound over the past year and I wasn't disappointed. The title track "O Sole Mio" has a latin vibe you don't often hear in K-pop. The mix of Korean, Spanish, Italian, and English blends surprisingly well although the coloring and location changes in the music video might give you whiplash.
SF9 doesn't have a lot of insanely catchy songs in their repertoire, but this album has the most fun sound since they've debuted. You get a good mix of ballads and songs that will get your blood flowing. My biggest complaint is the auto tune… Can this trend of auto-tuning excellent vocalists end now, please?
[Editor's note: This one is kind of a debut, but let's be real… these guys are veterans.] NU'EST W is a unit of four NU'EST members: Aron, JR, Baekho, and Ren. Their fifth member Min-hyun is currently promoting as member of Wanna One.
NU'EST has experienced a major – and well deserved – popularity bump after the members (except Aron) competed on Produce 101 season 2. This talented group has been around since 2012, but hadn't found a foothold in the music scene until September 2016 when their single "Love Paint" landed them their first music show nomination.
Now NU'EST W is out with their EP, W, HERE. The album still has the NU'EST sound you'd expect. Every song is a quality K-pop song, which isn't surprising. The lead single, "Where You At," has an explosive electro-pop sound that's so good, it landed on our Repeats of the Week list last week. Could this give them the music show win they deserve? I hope so!
Taemin, BTOB, and Highlight all had comebacks today. Don't be suprised to see more about those later!