2025.04.17
This is a column about the 5th generation girl group battle that I wrote exactly one year ago in Season1#6.
At that time, I predicted that a new girl group born from the audition program "I-LAND2" would break into the two strong contenders, ILLIT and BABYMONSTER, but in reality, many more 5th generation girl groups have debuted, creating a situation that is far more chaotic than expected.
There are two groups that can be said to be the main contributors to this chaos. Hearts2Hearts, which debuted in February under SM Entertainment, and KiiiKiii, which debuted in March under STARSHIP Entertainment.
Hearts2Hearts is the girl group that SM debuted for the first time in five years since aespa.
Unlike their senior aespa, they have no elements of girl crush and give off an impression that is closer to their even more senior group, Red Velvet.
The dreamlike and ephemeral worldview that is likely to resonate with adolescent girls is quite rare among the current young groups, and with eight members, they are reminiscent of the large groups that SM is known for since Girls' Generation, evoking a sense of the good old SM.
Their debut album "The Chase" recorded initial sales of 408,880 copies.
This is the highest number ever, surpassing the debut album sales record of 401,287 copies set by BABYMONSTER in 2024.
Although expectations were high for this newcomer from the prestigious SM, they achieved an overwhelming debut that exceeded even those expectations.
On the other hand, KiiiKiii is the girl group that STARSHIP debuted for the first time in four years since IVE.
KiiiKiii is centered around the Y2K concept that has become mainstream in KPOP since NewJeans, but their worldview feels more reminiscent of the 90s than the 2000s. The exquisite retro charm of the 'DEBUT SONG' MV released before the album launch (which I mean as a compliment) reflects the creators' sense, and I was also impressed by the high potential of the members who beautifully embody it.
Their debut album "UNCUT GEM" recorded initial sales of 206,712 copies.
While some may feel that this is "half of what Hearts2Hearts sold," it’s important to note that only three girl groups, including KiiiKiii, have surpassed 200,000 initial sales for their debut albums outside of the four major agencies (HYBE, SM, YG, JYP) — one of which is my favorite, Kep1er! This highlights just how impressive this number is.
Furthermore, KiiiKiii's strength lies in the strength of their music performance.
The title track "I DO ME" recorded 10th place on the Melon Chart TOP 100 as of March 25.
Even though they have a top group like IVE, STARSHIP is still a small to mid-sized agency, and achieving a top 10 spot as an idol from such an agency is not an easy feat right after debuting.
In fact, the rival group Hearts2Hearts, which debuted from the major agency SM, has only reached a highest position of 26 on the Melon Chart TOP 100, highlighting just how impressive KiiiKiii's 10th place is.
And lastly, the dark horse group of the 5th generation is izna.
izna is a girl group that was born from the audition program "I-LAND2," which I wrote about in Season1#6, and is a sister group to Kep1er, which also emerged from Mnet's audition program "Girls Planet 999" (commonly known as Galpra).
At this point, compared to Hearts2Hearts and KiiiKiii, izna's performance still seems lacking, but I believe the members possess potential that rivals the previous two groups, and above all, they have the passionate fans that are a major strength of audition program alumni. As evidence, their debut album's initial sales reached 251,131 copies, surpassing KiiiKiii's 206,712 copies by about 50,000.
However, their music performance is still far behind the previous two groups, and they have yet to enter the Melon Chart TOP 100 even once.
This is the main reason why I said they still have a long way to go in terms of performance.
In short, while they have passionate fans who buy CDs, they still lack the level of recognition among the Korean public to get people to listen to their music on streaming services.
However, just like Kep1er, if they can gain recognition and popularity outside of Korea, there is still a possibility for them to compete on the same level.
Above all, izna's biggest advantage is that they are produced by TEDDY, the producer of BLACKPINK.
If TEDDY provides izna with songs that resonate with the fans of BLACKPINK, who now have fans all over the world, it wouldn't be surprising if they quickly walk the path of a Cinderella story.
I can't deny that having watched all episodes of "I-LAND2" in real-time, along with the filter of being a fan of Kep1er's sister group, I sincerely hope izna will explode in popularity from here.
And I've recently realized something.
It seems I have a tendency to want to support people or groups in an "underdog" position as they rise to stardom.
In KPOP, I tend to root for groups that debut from small to mid-sized agencies and compete with groups from major agencies.
When you add in the audition program factor, it’s a done deal.
In any case, I look forward to the day when izna breaks into the current structure where Hearts2Hearts and KiiiKiii are closely following the top-ranking groups of the 5th generation, ILLIT and BABYMONSTER,
and leads the "chaotic 5th generation girl groups" into even more chaos.
The End
Nekomachi Peko
Head of the SKOOTA KPOP Department
〈Originally a rock music enthusiast who once considered working at Rockin' On. Started listening to KPOP due to BTS, then fell for BLACKPINK, and eventually got fully immersed in the KPOP scene. Became a hardcore fan of Kep1er, who debuted from the survival audition program "Girls Planet 999," after getting hooked on the show.〉