Music / Idols
2011126_seoulbeats_phantom

The Best and Worst K-Pop Debuts of 2011: A Rookie’s Perspective

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Written by On December 30, 2011

There has been a lot going this K-Pop year; we got comebacks galore, tweets about cats, and GD getting “High High”. This year the Korean entertainment industry vomited out blessed us with 23 male groups and 35 female groups. As all of you might have hypothesized using scientific analysis,  I have the task of picking out the best and worst of the debuts.

Our readers at Seoulbeats crowned jail-baiting-noona-killers Boyfriend as the best debut this year with 22% with sexy Rania coming in second with 18%, even the country-dolls B1A4 managed to snag 3rd place with an impressive 17%. Since the opinions of our readers have been voiced, it is only fair to bestow you with my thought provoking opinions on the best and worst of  2011.

I know that all the rookie groups worked hard but if you cannot handle criticism of your favorite bands (Taken, N-Sonic, A-Peace, Stellar, and New F.O.) the back button is on the upper left hand corner, with an arrow pointing to the left. Feel free to click on it.

Worst Female Debuts

The worst female debut this year was Stellar.  So. Much. Orange. And. Pink. The song was bubblegum pop, and it was bad bubblegum pop. I was cringing the whole time. The music video was a mix between silly and serious and the effect was bad.  Just a note, water guns aren’t really effective when you want to try and maim someone. Unless its filled with hydrochloric acid.  Oh, it’s a laser gun? Next time instead of pistol whipping try actually shooting the thing.
Eric Mun’s cameo did absolutely nothing for this video except bring Eric fangirls (myself included) but his “rap” was… I don’t have words to even describe it. All I got out of that was Eric needs a rocket spaceship and he needs it NOW.   The live performances were weak and the girls voices were far too nasally and three octaves too high. The vocal of the group isn’t even that strong and her voice is thin, the other three sound like pigs being slaughtered.
The second is New F.O. There was a lot of buildup for this band with all the promotions 6theory gave them. So I was anticipating their debut but I was disappointed. “Bounce” was exactly like Stellar’s “Rocket Girl” with most of the members squealing instead of singing.  The song would have been halfway decent if the girls weren’t forced to warp their voices in such a way.  The girl who rapped second, Soyi, started out well then after a couple of seconds her voice turned into a nasally tone.  Their only saving grace is JN, who has decent vocals and good stage presence but her voice was masked by the overuse of auto-tune. Their dancing is average, they aren’t bad dancers but they definitely are not a female Infinite. Their song choice was bad and the way they executed the song was even worse despite the potential.
Worst Male Debuts of the Year

The first on this list is Taken. This six member boy band debuted with “Young Boy” and have been “taking” the hearts of adolescent girls. Now why were they bad? For one, their song was annoying.  The whole song was auto-tuned. No, I do not mind the use of auto-tune but you should treat it like candy. It should be eaten in moderation because if you eat too much you will get a stomach-ache or in this case a headache.  I can listen to a couple seconds of auto-tuned voices but when its over 3 minutes long? Forget it.  Their music video was unimaginative and generic.  You had your six attractive guys with guy-liner, dancing in a grimy, grey alleyway with black and grey clothing with unnecessary face-touching.  The live performances were in-cohesive and, quite honestly, all over the place. “Hold Up” was the same auto-tuned mess Young boy was and “Only One” was only marginally better.

The second would be N-Sonic who debuted with “Super Boy”. They too like Taken did not have anything new to offer to the table other than a pretty face and abs, but I’ll get to that later. Their song did not really stand out to me.  It’s another dance video–at least it is not in a box–and reminded me of 2pm’s “Without You”, complete with the rain and industrial set.  There have been 23 boy groups to debut this year, you have got to step up your game. Take a couple of risks and taking of your shirts two minutes into the video is not how you do it. I see what you tried to do there, don’t try to distract me from the song by showing me your abs even if Park Jonguk is a pretty little ginger.

The third worst debut this year would be A-Peace with “Lover Boy.” This group debuted with 21 members, and it is composed of three teams of seven. The large size of the group was not what what bothered me. AKB48 currently has 59 members so this 21 member group isn’t some revolutionary concept. What bothers me is that it is so homogeneous.  It is so hard to distinguish anyone, they are all wearing the same outfit. The dance sketch version of Lover Boy was visually jarring because they’re wearing white…against a white background. Really? White on white? And the fact that 20 of the boys look the same from hairstyle down to the clothes, it’s kind of boring. The song itself had nothing new to offer and the vocals are not that great. A lot of the boy bands this year have decent vocals, you need an extra pizzaz which this group did not have.

If you managed to get through all my criticisms  I’m giving you an imaginary brownie, cherish the  fictitious  chocolatey goodness. As critical as I may be, there were some groups that managed to sneak its way into the empty and bleak space doctors refer to as my heart.

Best Female Debuts

The best female debut group would have to be Rania. The sexy concept is a familiar concept in K-pop, most groups both male and female sell sex. Rania takes that to another level, they are blatantly sexual in their dance, their outfits, and their song. Their debut song “Dr. Feel Good” was a fantastic dance track with heavy beats and showcased their vocals. What really attracted me to this group was their strong vocals, Rania was one of the few groups with vocal prowess and obvious control. Granted, they did lip-sync to some of their lines but with that choreography it was only excepted, however when they did sing it was good. Teddy Riley  is not a bad producer, in fact I thought his work with SNSD was good, it was that SNSD didn’t pull it off making the song weak. Riley’s talent was proven with “Dr.Feel Good” in fact the English version was something that I could imagine being played on American radio and the girls’ English pronunciation wasn’t bad either.
Runner up is Piggy Dolls, the three members all of excellent voices that reminds me of motown soul.  Their debut track “Trend” was upbeat and fit the girls voices well. Just watching the live performances I knew that they had attitude and stage command.  Their debut concept focused on their large size rather than their voices which I found to be extremely disappointing. Eventually the girls had to play the entertainment game and underwent dramatic weight loss. Like Rania, their comeback songs were not as good as their intial debut. “Hakuna Matata” was a generic upbeat pop song and it was not suited to the robust timbre of these girls’ voices. Regardless the song was fun and it’s a Lion King reference, I am such a sucker for old Disney. But their fantastic voices and good performances made them the second best female debut.

Best Male Debuts

The best debut so far has been Phantom. I first encountered this hip-hop trio with their rendition of SNSD “The Boys” complete with a Freddie Mercury doppleganger. They released “Young people Should Not Hear a Love Song(19Song)” showcasing the groups vocals and their rebellious manner, the song is a giant “Screw You” to MOGEF. They are the best male artist this year by far, their songs are good, their singing is good, their rapping is good, and they are just straight up awesome.

The KR/NZ/JP Tripartite Conference was  a good rap song, and I loved how Hanhae was in a shopping cart for half the song. I wouldn’t mind being pushed around in a shopping cart by Sanchez, who has also been creeping up my bias list and secured a spot at number 2. Oh you attractive talented man. I suggest looking at their tags, it’s hilarious. “Hole In Your Face” is also a great music video and it messes with your mind a la Inception and well taken. Though they are older than your average noona-baiting rookie group, their talent and swag is something you cannot ignore.

The second is AA. There is something about this group that catches your attention. They are a boy group, they dance, and they sing. But their title track “So Crazy” is a good, catchy song with great vocals. The rapping was not phenomenal but it was not bad either. The dancing was…unique, barring the plethora of body rolls, it is rather effeminate but eye-catching dance.  Woosang, the leader, is known for being the choreography director for groups like Super Junior and CSJH The Grace. He and Aoora are the main dancers of the group and they are good. Hoik looks a lot like my soulmate Hyun Bin and has a lovely voice. The visual maknae, Kimchi, is absolutely precious; all I want to do is pinch his cheeks and feed him kimchi all day. But if their fan club is called Battery, I will dropkick a kitten.

The third best this year would be Block B with their debut “Freeze.” I have thoroughly enjoyed all their songs; Freeze is my current jam and I have been gracing my family with impromptu performances of Wanna B in the kitchen. The group has a balance of good rappers and good vocalists which is hard to find in the K-Pop scene. They have been mentored by talented rap artists like Verbal Jint and Skull, in fact Cho PD produced the boy band. Their roots are in hip hop and the members look comfortable doing that genre and are good at it too.  They have good performances and their songs are fun to listen to. It’s a group to look out for in the future.

Did you agree or disagree? Which groups do you think were the best and worst of 2011?

(OnlyOneTaken, LOENENT, Golden Goose Entertainment,brandnewmusickorea, aaboyband)

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  • Anonymous

    I’m such a sap, I feel really bad for all the other groups that flopped :( . But I do agree with your choices, Gil, although I would’ve added B1A4. I like them!

    Honestly though, of all the groups that debuted this year, the only ones I keep hearing about are RaNia, AA, B1A4, A Pink, MyName, and Chocolat. I liked Chocolat well-enough (without actually listening to their music) until I heard them sing a Christmas song live, which highlighted their weak vocals. I think A Pink is cute and reminiscent of SNSD. RaNia is great but I feel a little bad for liking “Pop Pop Pop.” I feel like MyName is going to slip out of memory soon, if they haven’t already (people like to ship the group members on Tumblr, which is why I hear about them from time to time). And I always associated AA with Alcoholics Anonymous without wanting to.

    • Anonymous

      I really did feel for all of the bands(even the ones that flopped). Sorry Natalie but B1A4 never really caught my attention, they have good vocals but the cutesy, oh the aegyo. I can’t handle it, same with Boyfriend I was cringing the whole time I watched it. Same with A Pink. I loved loved loved the first minute of Message, then the rest sucked. I really like the vocals of Gunwoo(?) I just love that voice but they’re going to fade out too. 

  • Anonymous

    Phantom, they’re amazing! 

  • Anima

    I love Phantom, mostly because I already liked Hanhae’s mixtape before he debuted with them.

    I just CANNOT get into boyfriend’s music tbh, I like them as people actually but their sound remind me of a watered down version of another group… Rania’s music (pop pop pop is a good song mmkay?) and b1a4′s  debut mini are actually really good imo!

  • tegami

    Block B was the best rookie group for me with Phantom coming in second.  Block B has the best of both world with ties to both the underground hip hop scene and with the idol world  (for those of you are not aware, Hanhae from Phantom, was a former member of Block B before their debut).  A lot of the rap found in mainstream hip hop are done by manufactured rappers but with Block B this is not the case as their rappers are actually legitimate rappers who’ve written and composed their own songs before debut.  

    Zico
    http://www.youtube.com/user/riano#p/u/26/SZIihR-B5rg

    Zico & Kyung 
    http://www.youtube.com/user/riano#p/u/27/xQ18BNO1dFw

    Zico & Hanhae – Cover of Billionaire

    Before Block B, I wasn’t even aware of underground hip hop in Korea but some of the material I’ve come across there would just blow a lot of K-pop songs out of the water.  Now that I think about out, the first real pull I had with the group was when I first experienced their members’ work outside of the group.  Seeing all that talent made me pay closer attention to Block B which later made me a fan of the group after listening to them. Also , if you ever see them in videos they’re not afraid to be themselves and reject the idol image. In fact they’re the first group I’ve seen to totally reject that label. Phantom comes second because despite the absolutely phenomenal works they’ve given to the public, the number is very short – one single, 2 downloadable songs, and 1 teaser.  Compared to the 2 mini-ablums Block B has released. 

    • Anonymous

      I love this group, and Zico definitely has skills. The underground Korean hip hop scene(that phrase makes me so happy)  is amazing but is Zico the only underground in Block B or are the others like P.O. have connections? 

      I found Phantom to stand out, even with the fewer song releases, I think they are going to be more active later on in the year but I found them to draw me in even more, but I thoroughly enjoy Block B’s work. Their fan club name confuses me to no end, they’re called BBC so I immediately think of British television network (I’m such a shameless fangirl of the BBC). But thank you tegami for all these recommendations, they made me a very happy girl :)

      • tegami

        The ones who’ve probably done the most songs and collaborations before debut would be Zico and Kyung, then P.O but to a much lesser extent.
        But if you’re talking about connections then I would say that pretty much all of Block B has some sort of web of connections to the underground scene, some more so than others, the most prominent being the rappers Zico, Kyung and P.O

        And you’re very welcome! I’m happy to have introduced at least one person to the awesome pre-debut music of Block B’s rappers. Since you liked those songs so much I’ll just attach a directory of most of their pre-debut work. 

        http://bontheblock.tumblr.com/index

  • chelle

    I listned to Phantom and I really dig them especially Sanchez’s voice smooth like velvet.

    • chelle

      *listened dang my errors

       

  • Kliks

    I do agree with your choices, specially on the Best Female Group Debut, Raina sure is great… but… And shamelessly, I gotta admit Young Boy (Taken), Super Boy (N.Sonic) and Lover Boy (Apeace) are part of my playlist because I genuinely enjoy listening to them… awkward… (Now that I notice, these might be “The Boys” SNSD brought out XDDD)…

    • Kliks

      Other 2 songs I play quite often are:
      Iny- Shake it, shake it!
      So Ji Sub – Pick up line

      Iny didn’t even have a proper debut stage that I know but Shake it shake it got stuck in my mind (some people say it’s a Love Sex Magic rip off and I kinda agree but anyways, I like both songs) and So Ji Sub released Pick up line just for fun and it worked really well for me but I agree he’s so much better acting…

  • http://twitter.com/v_gonsalez veronica gonsalez

    Was I the only one that liked Stellar???? Ok, I agree that Eric’s “rap” shouldn’t be in the song but I think they’re cute and I really liked the hyperactive song!!! ^^

  • http://twitter.com/chiwawa__ Chiwawa

    “in fact I thought his work with SNSD was good, it was that SNSD didn’t pull it off making the song weak.” admittedly Dr Feelgood is quite a nice song The Boys is horrible, everything from the beat to the lyrics. No female group could have saved that song.

    I don’t really disagree with the best female debut, but considering A Pink and Dal Shabet are the two rookie female groups that have made any splash at all I feel they should have been mentioned somewhere. For me A Pink would probably win by a small margin, followed by RaNia and Dal Shabet.

    • http://twitter.com/PheonixiaJJ Echo

      Sorry I disagree.  The Boys is a good song given to the wrong group.  The small potion that Phantom sang of it made me desire more. 

      • Emmy

        You know, I’ve encountered this conversation many times and it has always reached the same conclusion. I’ll disagree with the both of you and say it wasn’t a bad song, nor did the issue lie with the group who performed it. The issue lies with the songs arrangement and producing. This is proven by both fan made arrangements and phantom themselves who don’t perform an exact cover.

  • Anonymous

    the ones that i like this year are B1A4, Raina, Bang Yong Guk, and Chocolat.

  • Anonymous

    i kinda missed most of the first half acts and only pay attention to already famous idol acts. but in the later half, i think M.I.B is one of the rare rookie who can pull out a strong debut stage. plus, their song “Girls, DRINKS, Money”, as gimmicky as it can be, is my current jam — thanks to Running Man. i wanted to like Block B but somehow the way they promoting themselves is kinda “meh” for me. i like down-earthed rookies who embraced the “idol” title with pleasure. because no, i don’t think being an idol is equal to bad singer or musically untalented. 

    MyName caught my attention as they’re Hwanhee’s group but their live stages kinda awkward. oh puh-lease, stop vibrating your vocal like you have Hwanhee’s vocal and Hwanhee, not everyone is like you and give them the proper song within their vocal range. B1A4 are also not bad, they’re fun to watch and it helps that they’re such cutie noona baits. A Pink aren’t really interesting with “It Girl” but their following promotions are nice, and they have one heck awesome vocalist. i agree with Rania though.

    out of all the end year reviews, i found this one is the most interesting one. thank you!

  • http://twitter.com/kimmiesamaniego Kim Samaniego

    I feel that Block B never got the attention they deserve. They really don’t act like typical idols. Those kids definitely love to troll. 

    • http://twitter.com/kimmiesamaniego Kim Samaniego

      But wow thanks for the info about Phantom. They’re amazing.

    • Anonymous

      OMFG, I love these boys. I swear they should be dubbed the troll-dolls. 

  • munkie

    young people should not hear a love song is amazing hahaha. thanks for introducing me to phantom.

  • Anonymous

    personally, my favorite debut goes to A Pink. their aegyo-overloaded image is not typically something that i go for, but musically i love them. their debut album had two great tracks “I Don’t Know” and “Boo” (which were played over and over on my ipod). and more recently i’ve been hooked on “My My” and especially “Yeah”.  

  • bt

    wow… i have been out of the kpop noobie loop for way too long. none of them left any impression for me to remember them…

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_LL4QDJLVFDT2RDIZYBALSE75JE angel29

    My best debut this year is Block B.  They’re definitely legit.  I guess their music is my kind of music.  They won’t hit it as big as other bubblegum male pop artists but they’re here to stay.

  • Anonymous

    Before reading your article I would of hands down put Block B as the best debut for male groups but after listening to Phantom’s stuff I have to say I agree with your choice but definitely put Block B close behind.  I also have to say this how can a guy be so pretty/handsome , have a velvety smooth voice ala G.O. and still have sick flow that matches up the other two rappers of the trio, just how. I think AA is talented but currently I am not feeling their music.  Personally I would replace AA with B1A4 but thats because I personally love Sandeul and Jinyoung’s vocals , its almost unbelievable they are just rookies. 

    As for the girl groups, I know APink was probably the most successful of the debuts but if I would base it on actual vocal talent and music then I definitely agree with Rania and Piggy Dolls.  I mean i think Apink’s Eunji has a killer voice and there is definitely one or two other solid singers in the group but for the most part they sound like any other girl group only with 90s kpop style music.  As much as I like the return of SES brand melody driven pop, its not completely different from the norm and I personally cannot stand aegyo concepts, also I think they are polished performers but their vocals outside those couple singers is really lacking similar to my problem with the other successful debut boyfriend.  Rania on the other hand have strong voices than sound like actual women not little girls and in a girly sounding kpop realm its good to hear full bodied vocals once in awhile.  I mean of course there is always BEG but outside BEG and less mainstream ballad groups its rare to see groups in kpop that are solid dancers with solid ballad worthy vocals.  I just hope for Rania’s sake they stay away from Brave Brothers because “pop pop pop” is really weak and didn’t do their voices justice.  As for Piggy Dolls, their voices are no joke and I really look forward to what they do next. 

  • guest

    I was just watching the drama myung wol the spy, and that group stellar was on there. I thought it was just a fake girl group for the drama and then i came here and i cant believe they are actually a real group. I thought it was supposed to be a joke. I agree they were the worst this year

  • Anonymous

    hey Gil, thanks very much for the link of phantom’s rendition of the Boys. it was EPIC!

  • Asdadsf

    I agree Double A and Block B definitely deserve to be there as some of the best debuts this year

  • http://www.twitter.com/hipployta Hipployta

    Since the only debuts I followed this year were AA and Raina, and I liked them, I will agree with your list LOL.  About AA let us not forget that Aoora wrote, composed, and produced So Crazy and of course Woosang choreographed it. I like my AA boys though I’m not to sure about their rush to debut in Japan next month. 

  • http://www.twitter.com/veiledheart VeiledHeart

    M.I.B’s album was actually pretty good so they get my vote. I hope they can get some more attention next year.   Dr. Feelgood is still in my regular rotation. It’s just a really good song; I wish their other material hadn’t let them down. APink also ranks for me if only for the song they did for the Protect the Boss OST, and they fact that they made me like the cute concept which I usually hate.

     Message by MYNAME didn’t suck, but their name does. Who thought that was a good idea?

     I can’t say that I’m a Block B fan, but more like a fan of some Block B members. They’re really talented, but the material isn’t doing it for me.

    I’d personally like to erase AA from my mind. I hated the song and the choreography was horrible. 

    Honestly, Bang Yong Guk hands down for me would’ve been the best thing to come out of this year if his song with Zelo didn’t absolutely blow. My disappointment is never ending.

  • ME

    This should be new year’s first day, right? But, here I am posting on SB, oh dear ;p
    What if you get the feeling of something not very good will come in 2012, but you have to stay positive and wish for the best?
    It’s my point of the 23 + 35 new group-idols in 2011 plus others in 2012, maybe it will end up to as much as 100 new group-idols in 2012? Gil + all writers in SB, I salute you for keeping eyes (and ears, hopefully, those will not too much hurt for you guys). 
    Everyone rush for success and conquer the world. The thing is with success, you have to come with more better album [or mini album, since KPop really loves the word 'comeback', 'special comeback', 'repackage comeback (hope never hear this)'], and be able to grasp more listeners – in short: show growth. Especially if you work in this very tight, fast paced, sometimes ugly areas so called entertainment business. You can only get recognition if you maintain your ‘status’ (now, I understand Gaga & Britney) for more than only 1 or 2 good albums. Furthermore, if you want to reach broader listeners worldwide, at least learn English properly – at least, you can introduce your band and your song better. And stay out of auto-tuned, please.  

    So, ending my narration, I rather listen to the ‘old’ groups and wish that sometimes granted a good songs here and there. 

    Happy New 2012 and.. really, I wish the best for Kpop and all SBers + SBwriters. Keep up the good works and keep us interested, keep sharp.

    Hugs, ME

  • http://immatvxqstalker.wordpress.com/ samohty

    to be honest i dont know all of the group from the worst debut 0__o

  • whitebunny

    i think new f.o. is good..
    but i don’t really like it when they being compared with infinite..
    infinite is infinite..new f.o. is new f.o.
    their dancing is great!i like it so much!

    **i hope the fan club name for AA is not battery..hmm..

  • Anonymous

    I was just thinking of this the other day about what happened to that 21-member boy group A-Peace. I read an article or two about their debut and they’ve gone missing since. Kind of a waste. Then again, I think any group with more than 8 or 9 members is already pushing it. Economically, having to distribute the income in some many different ways just seems not worth the trouble.

  • http://twitter.com/Dubukat 케이티

    ”
    But if their fan club is called Battery, I will dropkick a kitten.” ROFL

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Tan-Tee-May/1311712116 Tan Tee May

    yay i love Block B too, they deserved to win best rookie of the year TT and Pahntom should have more fame, their music video is really unique.

  • http://twitter.com/flickaddi Felicia Addison

    YESSSS I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING (except i didnt really like Double A)! Phantom havent actually made their official debut yet but i love what they’ve put out so far. Also Hanhae’s mixtape is awesome! And Block B is my current obsession they are crazy off stage and so fun on stage i love them to bits.
    New FO was so disappointing. I loved all the lead up to their debut but their song was absolutely horrible. I really hope their next song is better.

    also: “but if their fan club is called battery, i will drop a kitten” loled so hard

  • boxb333

    i think block b shud be in front of aa

  • ChannieLover

    Number one male debut for me is B1A4 <3 And for female it's APink <3 And yes I am aware that those are like two of the very overrated groups of the year but I can't help loving both groups <3 I love maknae' Gongchan and Hayoung <3

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Rosalie-Estefania-Lopez/100000186754614 Rosalie Estefania Lopez

    A PINK?