[Anchor]
These days, the undeniable driving force dominating the K-pop music charts is girl groups. With established popular groups backed by solid fandoms and newcomers equipped with distinct personalities and skills joining the fray, the competition among girl groups is growing even fiercer. Their performances are enriching the K-pop landscape further.
Reporter Kim Gyeong-hui has the details.
[Reporter]
The year 2023, marked by fierce competition among NewJeans, IVE, and LE SSERAFIM, is referred to as the K-pop era of "Nu-A-Re," named after their initials.
A girl group showdown rivaling that period is beginning this autumn.
First, A2O LITE, a group produced by Lee Soo-man, has taken over the charts.
IVE, which commands a powerful teenage fan base, has challenged them with a new song, and NMIXX followed up with an emotionally resonant track, but A2O LITE has maintained the top spot on music shows for two consecutive weeks.
RESCENE, which has rapidly emerged as a mainstream idol group by writing a chart-reversal myth, is also joining the competition with a new album tomorrow (the 3rd).
Although their album release is the latest, they are steadily drawing fans' attention by sequentially revealing snippets of their songs and choreography.
[Woni / Member of RESCENE: This new album is themed around the musk scent that captures the body temperature of us on stage and the audience in the seats.]
[Liv / Member of RESCENE: In some ways, I thought a lot that these are lyrics containing our own narrative.]
Rookies and veterans, groups from major agencies and those from smaller agencies are going head-to-head, each highlighting their own strengths.
[Lim Hee-yoon / Music Critic: It looks like an interesting competitive dynamic is forming after a long time. Each group has somewhat different characters, so how they will differentiate themselves and build their fandoms is key...]
While their fandoms and target audiences differ slightly, attention is focused on whether their pride battle for the top girl group spot will lead to a new paradigm shift in the K-pop market beyond temporary box-office success.
(Video reporting: Joo Beom and Kang Si-woo, VJ: Oh Se-gwan, Video editing: Park Na-young, Footage source: HYBE LABELS, Starship Entertainment, A2O Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, The Muse Entertainment, THEBLACKLABEL)
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