K-pop girl groups are no longer as attractive as they were 2 years ago - Photo: SM Entertainment
According to Hankook Ilbo , in the first half of 2025, the presence of K-pop girl groups on major music charts became more obscure than ever. Except for IVE and Aespa, which maintained stable performance, popular groups such as (G)I-DLE, ILLIT, or Le Sserafim did not make a significant mark.
The phenomenon of the "small company miracle" that made Fifty Fifty or H1-Key famous is no longer happening. New groups debut and get noticed for a short time and then quickly disappear from the music map.
K-pop girl groups lose their shine
A clear demonstration of the decline is the fact that the mixed group Allday Project - which is not a popular model in K-pop - unexpectedly rose to the number 1 position on Melon's daily digital music chart on June 30.
This shows that the once-dominant faces of girl groups are now gradually giving way to solo artists, bands, and even groups that do not fit into the traditional mold of the Korean music industry.
Allday Project makes many bands wary - Photo: The Black Label
Statistics from the Korea Music Content Association show that from the beginning of 2025 to the end of June 2025, only 4 girl groups entered the top 10 weekly music charts, a modest number compared to the golden age just 1-2 years ago.
IVE continued to assert their leading position with two songs Rebel Heart and Attitude , holding the No. 1 and No. 7 positions on the chart, respectively. Meanwhile, Aespa also proved their endurance when their hit We Flash , released in October 2024, remained firmly in the top 10 throughout the first half of the year.
On the contrary, names that were once expected like Baby Monster or Le Sserafim only appeared briefly and then quickly left the rankings.
Despite great expectations, Baby Monster still hasn't been able to create a truly outstanding "explosion" - Photo: YG Entertainment
The current decline makes many people nostalgic for 2023, a time considered the "golden era" of K-pop girl groups.
At that time, a series of names such as NewJeans, IVE, Aespa, (G)I-DLE, Le Sserafim, NMIXX or STAYC continuously competed fiercely on the charts, almost overwhelming the entire digital music scene.
However, when entering 2025, even groups from big companies like Hearts2Hearts, KiiKii, or representatives from small companies that were once hailed as "phenomena" like FIFTY FIFTY, H1-KEY or Kiss of Life could not create momentum.
IVE's album sales have dropped dramatically - Photo: Starship Entertainment
Even in album sales — a measure of fandom engagement — girl groups are showing slowing growth.
In the first half of the year, only two groups surpassed the 1 million album sales mark in the first week: (G)I-DLE with Good Thing, reaching 1.06 million copies, while IVE with Attitude dropped by 260,000 copies, down to 1.04 million. Le Sserafim recorded a more serious decline when the album Crazy only reached 670,000 copies, a decrease of 300,000 compared to the previous album.
Why?
According to experts, there are many reasons for this situation. Partly due to recent political and media upheavals, the public has gradually lost interest in K-pop.
The fact that major girl groups are entering a stable phase, no longer creating new breakthroughs, along with the prolonged impact of the conflict between Hybe and former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin, also makes the audience feel tired.
Music critic Jeong Min Jae commented: "Current girl groups are following the safe path, releasing products that lack new and innovative colors. It is this safety that makes their music gradually lose its appeal, no longer having enough power to retain audiences like before."
After the contract scandal, NewJeans disappeared from the K-pop race - Photo: ADOR
In addition, content consumption trends are also changing. According to critic Im Hee Yoon, the rise of platforms such as OTT, short videos, sports and interactive entertainment are dividing the audience's attention, making K-pop no longer take center stage.
More and more people are accessing K-pop music through platforms like TikTok, with snippets instead of full songs, making traditional charts less representative of a song's true popularity.
According to Hankook Ilbo , although it cannot be confirmed that girl groups are on the decline, it is clear that the brilliant boom period has temporarily subsided.
K-pop may be entering a period of major change, requiring it to step up its creativity, innovate, and develop a more unique direction if it wants to continue to maintain its leadership position in an increasingly competitive market.
In addition, the return of top 3rd generation groups such as BlackPink, Twice or Viviz (including 3 former G-Friend members) this July can also bring back the heat of girl groups and open up many new competitive opportunities in the second half of 2025.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cac-nhom-nhac-k-pop-nu-ham-hiu-qua-roi-thoi-ky-vang-son-kieu-blackpink-2025070223105604.htm
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