There’s been an influx of new K-Pop groups debuting on the scene with the growth in popularity these days, though the earlier groups were there helping to pioneer and solidify international interest in South Korean culture. While there have been girl groups who have disbanded, in light of recent events such as SISTAR and potentially T-ARA as their contract expiry date gets closer, the impact and progression made by the 2nd generation K-Pop groups should not be underestimated.
In particular, ITV a British television network recently highlighted a list of 10 best-selling girl groups of all time and included 2NE1, Girls’ Generation and T-ARA. Of course, this is an impressive feat as it showed how despite the fact that K-Pop was still relatively a concept and trend that was steadily rising, these groups were able to connect with their fans regardless of the language barrier.
And this helps to reinforce the idea that music can be a universal language, as you don’t have to understand what the group or soloist is singing if it prompts you to feel something when you listen to it. In the article, 2NE1 is the first South Korean girl group who debuted back in 2009 and this achievement helped to showcase their legacy despite having officially disbanded last year as they ranked at #3 in the list, Girls’ Generation who will be celebrating their 10th anniversary this year at #5 and finally T-ARA to finish the list on #10.
Other girl groups in the list included British girl group Spice Girls who topped the list and well established American girl groups such as Destiny’s Child, Pussycat Dolls, TLC and Taiwanese and also Japanese girls groups, S.H.E and AKB48 respectively. It’s encouraging to see such a diverse list, celebrating that these empowering groups used music as a medium to connect with their fans. For the ITV article, you can read it here!
