Remember that YG girl group we’ve been hearing about since 2011? You know, the “SNSD“-like group? Well, they actually exist, and CEO Yang Hyun Suk has graciously provided new information about the group and their imminent début today via YG Life. In a nutshell, YG is planning to début the now six-member girl group over the next few months through individual promotions and then bring them together as a full group to promote in October, based on the public perception of the members.
Here’s the section of the blog post pertaining to the group:
Hmm. Interesting. There are certainly a couple of surprising things in the mix.
Surprise #1: So the plan is apparently to showcase the individual talents of the members and then bring them into a group rather than making a name for the group first (which Woollim Entertainment also seems to be doing with its own upcoming girl group). Basically, this could either work really well, or entirely crash and burn on YG. There’s definitely a risk in debuting members individually first, because if they’re not as talented as YG has made them out to be, things will be really bad.
A lot of idol group soloists bank on their group’s popularity as a jump start to the acceptance of their individual works. Without that, it’s as though the members are really debuting as soloists, and they need to have soloist kind of talent to be successful. But then again, this is YG, they certainly have built up enough of a reputation that allows them more freedom to experiment than most other entertainment agencies and are much more likely to be successful in their efforts. I have some trepidation about all this, but YG would be pegged as the company to pull it off.
Surprise #2: This group is no longer SNSD Ver. 2.0. (Thank goodness, Hallelujah!) The group started out with ten members and has shrunk to about six. You really can’t make an SNSD-esque group with 6 members. It’s just not going to happen. However, I have to mention that this is a great move from YG. They’ve realized that their company doesn’t have the ability to promote large groups.
The largest a group in YG has ever gotten is FIVE members. And that’s Big Bang. YG groups tend to have bold and vibrant members and the company as a whole gives off a tight-knit, exclusive vibe. Having a large group will not work for the company. Even six members is certainly pushing it for the company, but that’s way better than the initially proposed ten. YG, leave the enormous groups to our favorite idol factory, Star Machine (SM).
Surprise #3: Yuna Kim isn’t debuting. It’s rather shocking, because she was one of the few trainees actively “promoted.” along with Jennie Kim and Eunbi Kim. As to why this happened, I have no idea; but the “personal reasons” justification always sounds fishy. I’m not assuming scandalous maneuvering going on, but it’s hard not to speculate when the phrasing is perfect for it. I do admit however, to being pretty unfazed by Yuna Kim’s departure. I wish the best for her, but seeing as it’s pre-début it won’t affect the group dynamics much come début. Better she step out now than leave later on when things could be a lot messier.
Surprise #4: The group has already trained in Japanese (and English). I don’t know how far I’m going to believe the trilingual statement just yet, but it’s certainly new for YG to place great emphasis on the language skills of its idols. If there was a single K-entertainment company that was consistently subpar when it came to learning foreign languages besides English, it would be YG. 2NE1 was far from fluent and rather awkward with their Japanese, and so was Big Bang to some extent, though the latter has improved immensely. Anyhow, with this bit of info, all signs are pointing to a rapid Japanese debut. Whether that is good or bad, only time will tell.
What do you guys think of the news about the new girl group? Sound exciting? As for me, I’m going to just sit and watch it all pan out. In other words, I’m in the oxymoronic state of being both intrigued and indifferent. Let us know your opinions and speculations about the group in the comments!
(YG Life, YG Entertainment)
