We just caught SISTAR a couple months ago, and it feels like forever
since we last heard from the reigning Queen of K-pop, BoA, but both are
in preparations for their respective summer 2012 comebacks. Time to add
two more to the long list of releases and live performances happening
over the next couple months, including Big Bang, the Wonder Girls, T-ARA, 2NE1, Dal Shabet and others. According to reps from Starship Entertainment,
SISTAR’s comeback single will bring back their bright energy from
earlier singles, and leave the broody image back in Las Vegas. “After
making a retro transformations with “Alone,”
the girls will be going back to show their characteristic charms this
summer. It’s a song that maximizes their uniqueness.” (via Star News) This is a relatively quick turnaround for a comeback (we’d much
rather call it a followup), as SISTAR is still enjoying the view from
the top of the music charts with their latest EP, Alone, which was released about two months ago. In contrast, it’s been nearly two years since “Hurricane Venus” and “Copy and Paste” from BoA’s last album Hurricane Venus, during which she was busy filming for her upcoming movie COBU 3D and judging reality music show K-Pop Star on behalf of SM Entertainment. She was originally slated for an early June comeback, but opted to push the date back in favor of making the new album the best it could be.
SISTAR has managed to set the record of being the longest lasting album at the top of the Billboard ‘K-Pop Hot 100‘ chart!
Since its release, their ‘Alone’ single has been topping the chart
for four consecutive rows starting from the week of April 3rd all the
way to May 2nd. They’re also still currently at the top of Gaon‘s
online streaming and mobile charts, which is a remarkable achievement
considering that albums drop like flies off of the charts after about a
day or two.
A representative of Starship Entertainment expressed, “With
so many comebacks lately, we’re just so thankful that the girls have
been making so many achievements across the charts. We’ll return the
support by working even harder.”
In becoming an idol, there are usually only two paths available to
you. You either become a star with all of Korea adoring your every
breath, or you just never get off the ground and bask in the darkness of
your eternal irrelevance.
However, there are some individuals
that straddle the line between these two paths. These idols are neither
adored nor are they irrelevant. They simply exist, latching onto the
fame of their more recognized group members. It can be hard to argue
that these idols are unpopular, but they certainly don’t have the same
popularity that is proportionate to others in their crew. These
individuals, while underappreciated, are immensely talented in their own
way. The companies that house them should reconsider how to market
them. Let’s take a look at four idols who are being left at the wayside.
Soyu – SISTAR
While 4minute is known as Hyuna + friends, SISTAR is known as Hyorin, Bora,
and the two others. Soyu is one of the “others.” Surely, some of the
fame is attributed to her participation (or lack thereof) in Sistar19.
Probably the biggest reason for both her popularity and unpopularity is
Hyorin. The main vocal’s unique and powerful voice will overshadow most
idol singers, including Soyu, who actually has a great singing voice. A
recent ranking of female vocalists placed Soyu above more well known singers like Park Bom and Song Ji-eun.
Had Soyu been in nearly any other group, her vocal talents would be
recognized and appreciated. Alas, she is in a group where the main
vocalist’s popularity exceeds the group as a whole. Aside from Hyorin
and Bora, Starship Entertainment seems to have trouble
getting their artists on variety shows, which is the easiest way for
Soyu to improve her popularity. If she could only catch a few glances
from the public, her talent will draw in a crowd. Little known fact:
Soyu almost debuted with 4minute. Seeing as how member recognition pans
out for them, this is probably for the better.
Jia – Miss A
Jia falls under what many would consider “The Junho Syndrome.” She is an extremely capable dancer, but maybe not as strong as Min. She is also an extremely capable vocalist, yet as a whole, miss A
is essentially on the same level. Like many Chinese idols in the
industry, the language barrier makes it difficult for them to fully
participate in variety shows. While f(x)‘s Victoria and Amber have appeared on We Got Married, Invincible Youth, and Invincible Youth 2, their unfamiliarity with the language becomes apparent (and sometimes part of their character).Contributing to Jia’s lack of fluency (and probably Fei’s as well) is how much of their pre-debut activities were spent in China. Jia had only been signed by JYPE
in 2007, with much of 2009 being spent in her home country. It’s very
likely that Jia is not as strong in Korean as Victoria or Amber, making
her public appearances very limited. JYPE actually tends to distribute
lines extremely evenly between all members of a group, but for that
reason it’s hard for members to truly stand out, especially in a group
where the scope of talent is fairly uniform. Popularity in miss A is
largely based on solo activities. For Jia to improve her popularity, she
should honestly just put herself out there. It doesn’t matter if you
can’t speak the language well, use it to your advantage. Luckily, Jia and Fei have been casted in a drama and will get them somewhere.
Dongwoon – BEAST
Dongwoon is an interesting case. He is essentially left behind in the pool of talent that is BEAST. Dongwoon is known for his atypical looks and his quiet reserved role as maknae. In Cube‘s
quest to find an effective marketing strategy for ANYTHING, Dongwoon
has participated in a few solo endeavors. He released a single with Davichi‘s Kang Min-kyung entitled “Udon.”
It received a pretty warm response from the public, but many
broadcasting channels would not air the song due to the mere fact that
the title is in Japanese. His second solo activity comes in the form of
singing a song for Shinsadong Tiger. However, to be perfectly honest, “In The Clouds” doesn’t fit his voice at all and really highlighted his faults as a singer. His greatest strength most likely lies in his personality. Given the right mentor (like Yoo Jae-suk was for Daesung or Kim Shin-young was for Sunny), Dongwoon could really develop into a memorable variety character. When compared to the other members, perennially aegyo-fied Yoseob and silly yet seductive Kikwang has its limits, but a truly 4D personality like what Dongwoon seems to exhibit can take him far in the industry.
Jungshin – CNBlue
Jungshin is CNBlue‘s bassist as well as back-up rapper and vocalist. FNC
actually recognized Jungshin for his rapping ability moreso than his
abilities as a bassist. His proficiency at rapping is relatively unknown
since, at debut, he had inner braces. These braces hindered his ability
to rap, causing most of the rapping to fall onto the lap of Yonghwa.
Although his braces are now off, the effects are still felt. With
CNBlue being rock-oriented, rap is generally avoided. Even when raps are
present, Jungshin will have to divide it between Yonghwa and himself.
This was actually a bad decision for FNC/Mnet as a whole to debut
Jungshin in a pop-rock band. He’s tall (1.86m), good looking, and he can
rap. Shouldn’t it be clear that he belongs in a more conventional idol
group? Who knows, maybe he has two left feet (a la TOP) and they thought he might not be able to keep up with the normal choreography T-ara or Co-Ed School get. For some reason, it just feels like Jungshin is being wasted in CNBlue.
—
These
four individuals are just a few of the idols that really make you want
to take another look at those popular groups. Sure, when you think about
a group, generally the most popular comes to mind first. However just
think about that member in the back, who seems to not belong. While the
public might not recognize him/her for whatever reason: marketing
strategy, language barrier, personality, you might come to realize he or
she was placed in that group for a reason.
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