Walking down the K-Star Road [Part 2/2]
Let’s continue exploring the Gangnam dolls on the K-star road! What are the next seven groups that left an imprint in a competitive music industry in South Korea and worldwide!
8. SHINee
Debuted in 2008, SHINee is now one of the most popular boy groups in South Korea and the rest of the world. Is it their unique concepts or the colourful fashion that catches an eye of an international audience? Probably it is all of the above and their amazing performance too. However, the heartbreaking loss of Jonghyun in 2017, has shown the world just how hard an idols life can be and just how much stress it can bring.
9. Super Junior
Making their debut in 2005, the group consists of ten talented members. That’s one astonishingly big number! No surprise the group has achieved a number of records and won countless awards. Do you know that in 2007 Summer Break 20's Choice Awards they even won the best-dressed artist award? The group continues to hail the awards nationally and internationally and it seems like they are not stepping down from the awards stage anytime soon.
10. CN Blue
With a different perspective to music, the CN Blue, formed in 2009, is a South Korean pop rock band. The groups first performance was in Japan, where they started their career by performing at Shinjuku Station, and then expanding to live clubs and street performances. However, in 2010 the band finally debuted in South Korea, where they soon attracted the Korean audience too. The group has done numerous tours in South Korea and Japan, and with the Blue Moon World Tour they successfully performed on the worldwide stages too!
11. AOA
AOA? Another funky name on the K-pop list. However, this is an acronym for Ace of Angels, and the singers definitely look like ones. Debuting in 2012, only two years later the group achieved a nationwide success and was soon established as one of the leading girl groups of their era! Luckily for them, this wasn’t just an ‘era of success’, as the group continued to win the awards in the coming years, and once again, won the Song of The Year award in 2019! Heard the song ‘Bingle Bangle?
12. Miss A
The group debuted in 2010 and soon reached number one on the Gaon Digital Chart, making them the first act ever to reach the top of the chart with none else but their debut song! Now that’s quite something! Just before disbanding, the group was officially ranked as one of the “Top 10 K-pop Girl Groups of The Past Decade”. Although disbanded, the songs are still played on various reality TV shows and other events, thus the group remains to be remembered.
13. 4 Minute
Debuting in 2009, the South Korean girl group had an image of its’ own. They were often seen as performing unique dance styles and their ‘girl crush’ image attracted a huge female fan base. Although the group disbanded in 2016, within the time they were active, the group managed to achieve some of the greatest music awards in South Korea and Asia as a whole, with their concerts going from Seoul, all the way to Argentina. It is definitely a band to remember, wouldn’t you agree?
14. Block B
Debuting in 2011, the band has come through a lot! Struggling with their first management company, boys changed to a new management in 2013, with which, their success continued. Shortly after, in 2015 the group was already touring around Europe inviting wider audiences to listen to K-pop. They are definitely on the right track! However, in 2018, the group had yet another challenge as their leader Zico went solo and became nothing less but another international Korean star bringing masses to his concerts. Would there soon be another doll on the K-star road for Zico?
15. EXO
A Korean-Chinese boy band debuted in 2012 and has quickly gained its worldwide popularity and were soon named “the kings of K-pop”. The group performs a number of music genres, ranging from K-pop, hip-hop and going all the way to EDM. The multilingual group performs songs in Korean, Japanese and Mandarin, taking over the hearts of international audience. From 2014 to 2018, EXO was ranked as one of the TOP 5 most influential celebrities on the Forbes Korea Power Celebrity list and their success continues.
16. F.T. Island
What’s the F.T. you might wonder. It actually stands for Five Treasure Island, which is a famous South Korean rock band. Slightly different from other K-road stars, they definitely earned their place to be featured there. The group debuted in 2007 and has gained multiple awards. Their top singles being ‘Cheerful Sensibility’ and ‘Love Sick’, the group topped the K-pop music charts for eight weeks in a row! The boys won the Best New Male Group as well as Mnet Asian Music Awards and many more. Check them out to truly know the Korean music scene and bands who shine bright on the K-star road.
17. BTS
Last, but definitely not least, the world-famous boy band debuted in 2013 and are taking the world music scene by storm.
In only three years, BTS became the most re-tweeted artist as listed by Forbes! It is said that the band gained its’ popularity due to the lyrics that touch on a number of sensitive topics, such as bullying, mental health, suicide and many more. Ever since their debut, the group has been nominated over 400 times and won more than 200 awards! However astonishing the numbers, this comes as little to no surprise, as they have managed to gain a huge international fan base that many could envy!
Have you heard of all 17 K-pop bands mentioned above? If not, then we would definitely recommend checking out their YouTube channels to feed the curiosity and see for yourselves, what made these groups so famous and why they deserve their personal doll on a K-star road in Gangnam, one of the richest areas of Seoul, South Korea.
P.S. If you are a huge K-pop fan, you might want to see some of the biggest entertainment companies which are located just in the same area too! Ever heard of Cube Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, SM Global Training Centre or FNC Entertainment? Have fun!
Author: Raimonda Kekyte