While girl groups like Kiiikiii and Hearts2Hearts are debuting, even trainees with 10 years of training are making their debut, boy groups are still dominated by NCT and SEVENTEEN. It’s not that I dislike them, but considering that being a celebrity is a career that heavily relies on image consumption, the industry should cycle through new faces more quickly. However, that doesn’t seem to be happening, which is frustrating. Of course, I’m aware of groups like BOYNEXTDOOR, RIIZE, TWS, NCT WISH, and ZB1, but they feel somewhat stuck in between.
Edit: I never expected this post to blow up and reach the trending section. I had no intention of criticizing any specific idol or fandom. I was just thinking about how girl groups keep debuting new acts while boy group debuts remain mostly rumors, especially from major agencies. As a fan of boy groups, I find it frustrating.
Orriginal post: here
Comments:
1. But in terms of public recognition, RIIZE and BOYNEXTDOOR are doing well. NCT and SEVENTEEN are just maintaining their massive, dedicated fandoms.
2. Look at how NCT DREAM suddenly lost momentum.
3. Isn’t the idol industry oversaturated these days? Even SM is planning to debut another boy group. Agencies keep pushing out new groups, but none of them have truly bold or unique concepts. If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better to space out debuts more?
4. Boy groups rely more on fandom support, while girl groups have stronger general public appeal. On top of that, with the growing international market, idols’ careers are lasting longer. This makes it even harder for rookie boy groups to find their place. People only care about major-label boy groups, while mid-sized company groups get little attention.
5. CARATs and NCTzens don’t seem to switch fandoms even when their own companies debut new groups. At least some NCTzens have RIIZE as a secondary fandom because of Sungchan and Shotaro, but CARATs are laser-focused on SEVENTEEN. As for NCT WISH, given their large number of foreign members and the initial pushback they faced, they’re already doing incredibly well. ZB1 has a set expiration date, so their long-term potential is limited. BOYNEXTDOOR was doing well, but the song “But Sometimes” became a major barrier for new fans. That said, they still put out great music.
