South Korean Pop music or K-Pop is one of the newest genres of music to be taking over the world. It is not as new as some might think though. The most popular K-Pop girl bands or boy bands are less than 10 years old but K-Pop has been around for about three decades, and even that is still young compared to American Pop music which had a 40-year head start with Elvis Presley or Cher in the 1950s and 1960s.
Evolution of Korean Pop Music
Korean Pop music saw a massive shift in the last few years but this revolution was brimming for decades.
Lee Soo Man’s SM Entertainment paved the platform for K-Pop in 1989.
It then amplified Korean Pop influence on the world in 1996 with The H.O.T. (Highfive of Teenagers).
Seo Taiji and Boys put K-Pop on the global radar in 1992.
SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, and YG Entertainment make up the Big Three of the South Korean music industry.
In 2012, Psy and Yoo Gun-Hyung became the first Korean artists to generate over four million views on YouTube for Gangnam Style. Although popularly known for its less than artistic official video, the piece is a satirical reflection of the elitists of the Gangnam region.
This led to the next and current phase of K-Pop music with the Bangtan Boys, better known as BTS debuted under Big Hit Entertainment in 2013. The dreamy boy band became a sensation with teenagers and young adults worldwide. BTS was not the first K-Pop band but it was the first to garner global popularity. Blackpink, EXO, NCT, and the likes soon followed. Today, there is a clear fan following for different Korean boy bands and girl-bands. Let’s check out some of the most popular KPop girl bands of 2022.
Most Popular KPop Girl Bands
Arguably, BTS and Blackpink are the most popular K-Pop boy and girl bands, respectively. That’s why you might carry the notion that girl bands followed boy bands but the first K-Pop girl band was established by SM Entertainment back in 1997, just a few months after the Highfive of Teenagers. It was called S.E.S. (Sea, Eugene, Shoo) with the original members being sBada, Eugene, and Shoo. The band was active between 1997 and 2002 and then for one year from 2016 to 2017. H.O.T also had a similar fate as it was active around the same time during its first phase and then just in 2018-2019.
But this is 2022 and K-Pop has come a long way. Let us take a look at the most popular K-Pop girl bands today -
1] BlackPink
This YG Entertainment Group dropped their debut album, Square One, in 2016. Its original members Jisoo, Jennie, Rose, and Lisa are loved by fans. Whistle made it to the top of the Gaon Digital Chart and Boombayah made it to the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart. BlackPink has consistently been the highest-charting girl band in K-Pop over the years. Their peak success so far is being second place in the 2020 Billboard 200 with The Album.
2] Twice
Twice was created by JYP Entertainment and it is one of the largest K-Pop bands with 9 members like EXO. The group was introduced in the 2015 TV program, Sixteen, and debuted with The Story Begins (EP) in October of the same year. Its members are Momo, Sana, Nayeon, Mina, Dahyun, Tzuyu, Jeongyeon, Jihyo, and Chaeyoung.
This band got famous with their 2016 single, Cheer Up which topped the Gaon Digital Chart. This song is also Melon Music Awards’ Song of the Year. By the end of 2020, this band had sold their 10th million albums in South Korea and Japan.
3] Itzy
Itzy is another JYP Entertainment creation with members Lia, Ryujin, Yuna, Yeji, and Chaeryeong. This band is only three years old and has already garnered accolades like the Golden Disc Rookie of the Year, and the New Artist of the Year at the Gaon Chart Music Awards as well as the Seoul Music Awards.
Itzy’s first member, Chaeryeoung’s career began as a competitor in Sixteen, where she lost to Twice. Lia is the youngest member of the crew. The members have collaborated with BTS in Love Yourself, and were featured on Mnet’s Stray Kids.
4] Momoland
This nine-member girl band was discovered through Mnet’s Finding Momoland in 2016. The original members, Jane, Nayun, Hyebin, Yeonwoo, JooE, Ahin, and Nancy were joined by Daisy and Taeha in 2017. Currently, however, it is a six-member group after the departure of Taeha, Daisy, and Yeonwoo. The group debuted with Welcome to Momoland as a seven-member group in 2016. The group is active in charitable ventures.
5] SNSD
Also known as Girls Generation, this group is an SM Entertainments creation. The group debuted in 2007 as a nine-member group with Sunny, Tiffany, Yuri, Taeyeon, Sooyoung, Hyoyeon, Yoona, Seohyun, and Jessica, until Jessica left in 2014. Although the debut song was Into the New World, the band rose to fame two years later with their hit single, Gee. Their single made a record for being on the top of KBS’s Music Bank for nine weeks consecutively. This group is the first girl’s group to have won the Daesang Album of the Year award.
Although criticized for being typecast for its lyrics catering only to teenage romance, K-Pop is rising in popularity wise and the most popular K-Pop girl bands are yet to peak.