It's STAYC's 1st birthday!!

 Yes, this is a fan post. 😜

HighUp also just posted this bonus clip at Youtube!

Happy Anniversary STAYC girls!!! 🎉🎉🎉 As a rule, I only actively join one fandom per K-pop generation, and becoming a SWITH was probably the best decision of them all. 😊 Thank you HighUp and BEP boys for training and putting together such a wonderful and talented team of performers who get better and better with each passing day. 😊 To the SWITH community, let's keep running with our girls 'til the very end, supporting and protecting them every step of the way. No need to engage in fanwars with the immature segments of other fandoms. The talent will speak for itself. 😉 Besides, there's always plenty of room at the top of the k-pop mountain, so there's no reason why we can't be happy for the success of everyone as well. 😁 Keep smiling, growing, and singing beautifully, our dear Sumin, Sieun, Chaeyoung, Seeun, Jayoon, and Yeeun. We fans will always be here for you to praise your success and lift you up when you are feeling down. Don't forget to eat well, get ample rest, communicate with your family and friends, and live your lives in general as much as possible. I believe you are in very good hands with HighUp, and I am praying for your continued success always. 🙏 

- B. Oppa

GRAND UPDATE: STAYC

It has been a really a long while since we put something up here in this space. Numerous comeback eras have come and gone, and new groups have sprouted up all over the place like mushrooms. Though it was never our aim to write about absolutely everything that happened in the world if K-pop, I still feel inclined to fill you in on the news so far about particular groups that caught our fancy, hence the grand update.

 

Yes, this is what they look like now.. Crazy what almost a year's worth of experience can do.. 😲

It is presently less than a week to go before the first debut anniversary of STAYC (debut date: 11/12/20). Since I first wrote about them earlier this year, they already had a pair of successful comebacks, taken home their first music show wins, and bagged a ROTY award.. There's quite a bit of material to cover, so let's get started:

Coming at the heels of one of the most solid kpop debuts I have ever seen (with SO BAD), STAYC then released the viral hit ASAP in April which quickly became a sensation on tiktok due to the catchy chorus and the now-famous "kneading dance"

Yeah, you could smell the tiktok potential from a mile away 😝

However, despite the response and the subsequent boost in STAYC's popularity, ASAP failed to earn the girls their first win on any music show. I would admit that the song did not really appeal to me at first, and I thought that SO BAD was way better. Perhaps I'm not really a fan of hook songs? I dunno. I liked Cherry Bullet's Love So Sweet though, but I digress. 😅

The STAYDOM single contained 4 songs, namely: ASAP, a soulful melody called LOVE FOOL, the TAK remix of SO BAD, and a nifty little B-side called SO WHAT.

Not to be confused with the LOONA title track of the same name 😅

Could they be anymore different? 😅

So at that point in time, STAYC's discography was still quite thin.. a total of 6 tracks across 2 singles, and one of them was a remix. Be that as it may, I noticed that all of these tracks were actually quite good! This is a fresh change from the typical music release where companies and artists stuff their albums with a bunch of filler b-sides just to make the quota. The STAYC girls meant business, and I was overjoyed when I heard that they would be having their second comeback by September..

Needless to say, the trailer got me hyped up!

 

 Seeing the promotional images and video for the upcoming STEREOTYPE album created a lot of buzz among the SWITH community. I personally felt (and worried) that STAYC would go the schoolgirl route that GFriend took, and since they were just finding their identity at this point, being associated with the concept of a just-disbanded GG with millions of grieving fans across the globe is one can of worms that you would like to avoid. Luckily, my feelings were reassured when I heard the audio teasers.. My goodness, these girls can SING! 😲

And the visuals are stunning too! 😍

I mean, seriously, look at these cuties! 😀

 

At last they came out with an EP, this one again containing 4 songs, STEREOTYPE, COMPLEX, I'LL BE THERE, and SLOW DOWN which I now consider as the best B-side I have ever had the privilege of hearing (at least, until the next album comes out 😅). True to form, ALL tracks on this album are bops! No fillers here!!

 

I thought it was incredible by itself as an audio track, then the dance practice dropped, making things a million times better! 👍

SLOW DOWN is definitely worthy of the title track position alongside STEREOTYPE, with amazing choreography to boot!  However, STEREOTYPE is the obvious sentimental choice, as it was recently revealed that the members that the song was given to them by BEP soon after their final selection as STAYC. They had kept this ace hidden up their sleeves for so long, and the payoff was just tremendous! I have never followed a rookie comeback this closely before..

 

The styling for this era was just impeccable

Choreography on point

They weren't shy about having fun in the process either 😅

So yes, STEREOTYPE was an incredible track, with STAYC's amazing vocals, an impressive music video, and tons of promotional support that even landed them a stint on Weekly Idol, where they were more than willing to try their hand at the famous "Random Play Dance".

The STAYC girls have finally arrived. It is definitely going down.. 😎

As the promotional cycle wore on, SWITH were treated to various content releases like the practices and other behind-the-scenes stuff usually (but not exclusively) associated with the STAY:SEE videos uploaded to their Youtube channel. It was among one of these interviews when Isa revealed that they pretended they had won first place in one scene in the MV to achieve the intended effect.

This one 👆

 

Which then made things all the more meaningful when this happened on September 14, 2021, a day that will forever be etched in STAYC history, and in the hearts and minds of SWITH everywhere:

STAYC FIRST MUSIC SHOW WIN!!!!! 🎉🎉🎉

STAYC was able to earn their first-ever music show win on SBS MTV The Show, beating out the recently viral and highly addictive Talk and Talk by Hybe girl group fromis_9. Needless to say, the girls were pretty emotional during the encore stage..

As a fan, it felt extremely satisfying to see leader Sumin proudly holding her first trophy 😢

Indeed, the STAYC girls have truly arrived, and they did it just 10 months after debut. I am fully aware that other groups have achieved this milestone faster, but that does not diminish the fact that this is a remarkable achievement in itself. In fact, the BUDDY in me can't help but feel that these girls may be the second coming of GFRIEND to this generation.. Unless you count the "mysterious upcoming super-rookie group" VIVIZ, which already has a packed schedule, a loaded discography, and years of experience, all before even having a schedule or teaser for their debut! 😅 But that's a story for another day. 😜

STAYC later on revealed that they had received an award from Hanteo which certified that the STEREOTYPE album had already sold more than 100 thousand physical copies within the first week of release.

The STEREOTYPE juggernaut didn't stop there, as the girls went on to win at two other music shows, but unfortunately the girls were unable to perform during the said programs and were thus unable to receive the trophy and have their encore stages. These wins were:

MBC Show Champion - September 15, 2021. The above picture was from their appearance the following week (210922) when they were finally able to receive the trophy

 

September 16, 2021 - M Countdown. They don't appear on M Countdown though, so there is no trophy shot. Rumor has it that it's because BEP has beef with Mnet, but I dunno..

But wait, there's more! 

STAYC received the Female Rookie of the Year Award (Next Leader Award) at 2021 The Fact Music Awards

All these accolades, and the year isn't even over yet! 😁

I didn't even include the new endorsement deals and magazine interviews anymore, as that would already take too much of my limited time. 😅 Perhaps at another opportunity then.

It really pleases my SWITH heart that HighUp went the way they did with this promotional cycle, putting the spotlight on STEREOTYPE (which the girls have been itching to perform since debut) that gave them the best chances of coming out on top (which they did 🏆🏆🏆), but at the same time putting adequate emphasis on one of the strongest B-sides that I have ever heard in quite a while (SLOW DOWN). I love how the girls are being managed, and I love how every move seems very calculated and well thought out. Though it may have been tempting to put out an entire truckload of low quality content at the start just for the sake of getting any sort of recognition, they chose to slowly bide their time and build up the fanbase and public opinion gradually and organically. I hope the BEP boys continue along this path, as STAYC seems to be a very strong player in the industry in the years to come.

Furthermore, I would like to commend the choreographers for putting a priority on member visibility rather than forced symmetry. It is as if HighUp said "to hell with symmetry, we want our girls to be SEEN"

I really love the fact that they make it an effort to sing live every time. Instead of seeing it as the artist flexing their capabilities, I look at it as giving the audience an authentic performance that will be unique every time. Please allow me to explain:

Let's face it, nobody can expect any group to always perform live with the absolute same vocals for every stage, especially when talking about idol groups that have such complicated and active choreographies. People get tired and may lose wind while moving, or may be in poor condition due to the lack of sleep from the previous day's schedules, and that's perfectly okay. As a result of their singing live, each performance will inevitably have its own little nuances like a bit of heavy breathing here, or a slight voice crack there, and again, that's totally fine and normal.

As an audience member, I would look at it as the artist being honest with me by giving me the complete performance right then and there, thus making it worth the time (and money for concerts) that I spent to watch them, especially if you get to see the actual stage in person.

A point of debate for some of the (presumably younger) SWITHs is the fact that the girls are not allowed to have their personal phones until they win during a major broadcast program (namely MuBank, Inkigayo, and Music Core). A lot of kids are reacting that HighUp was being too cruel. Well, here's my two cents on that:

This may be my age talking, but it is not really that big of a deal. I'm sure this is part of HighUp's way of protecting the girls from online hate (which is just crazy nowadays, especially for celebrities in korea). The last thing you'd want is your budding artist to suddenly get shocked and depressed because of undeserved negativity. Too many a$$holes online lately. They should be focusing on improving their craft and getting better with every stage, not worrying about what some random nutjob in a dark basement might think. Let us also bear in mind that the maknae line are still minors, and that the members are collectively still quite young. It is very easy to get swept away by your emotions at that point in time.

My guess is that this rule was actually for the long game, and the HighUp people were not expecting STEREOTYPE to blow up the way it did, hence the need to rephrase the rule (some people were commenting that they had already won on some shows, so why don't they still have their phones?). My speculation is that they wanted to give the girls their phones back once they were veterans already (2-3 years?), and would be able to handle criticisms better since they would already have a ton of experience by then (and thus would be less prone to self-doubt).

As an additional note, I seriously doubt that Sieun's dad, having so much industry clout, would just sit idly by if he felt that his daughter (and 5 other adopted daughters apparently) was being unfairly deprived of something essential for contact with the family.

The longer I stay a SWITH, the more I am confident that I chose to support the right group of this generation, and I find myself excited while waiting for what they would come up with next. 😏

*For the sake of stanning simplicity, I have chosen to align myself totally with only one fandom per generation. I still support the other artists, but only the selected would be able to command my full attention.

- B. Oppa

I'm grieving, but I'll be alright..

This is the one post I had never imagined that I would write, even in my wildest K-Pop dreams (or nightmares for that matter). 

Yeojachingu is GONE.

Although I have had time to process it, a big part of me still can't believe that its all over..

Its so f*cking unfair..

As I had said before in a previous post, I had only began stanning them in earnest last year before the Apple promotions. Although I had regrets at the time for coming late to the BUDDY party, this was one group that I was not worried at all about longevity.

 SBS MTV The Show - November 17, 2020

MBC Show Champion - November 18, 2020

Despite the fact that the girls were in their 6th year of promoting as idols, they still had a very strong and vocal fanbase, and they were still churning out comeback after comeback that were garnering regular wins on music shows, most recently for the masterpiece that is MAGO (see above photos). Far from being irrelevant, they had began adopting a more mature style as they clearly shifted away from the innocent concepts they were once known for, and have transitioned to more age-appropriate themes.

You can't get any more age appropriate than this

The biggest thing that threw me off was their label's (Source Music) recent acquisition by emerging industry giant BigHit Entertainment (Now known as HYBE) of BTS fame, which pretty much would have meant that the girls now have a whole lot more assets for marketing, promotions, and performances at their disposal. On the surface, everything seemed set for the girls in the coming years, despite the fact that fans knew that contract negotiations would be coming soon. In fact, a media outlet had earlier reported that GFRIEND was up for contract by August, so fans (myself included) were pretty confident that the girls would continue as a unit, and that we would be hearing about the contract extensions as it unfolded over the coming months, most likely after a scheduled and highly anticipated comeback that was slated for June or July of this year.. and that is what made the news all the more shocking..

GFRIEND riding a jeepney in Cebu for their first-ever reality show "One Fine Day" in 2015

A beloved group's disbandment is one of the most painful things a true K-pop fan can ever experience, with the emotional trauma akin to breaking up with  someone you love. However, most disbandments can be seen from a mile away. Teams usually disband due to poor popularity or sales (nope), the company closing down (I don't think so), scandals that have hounded the team for quite some time (nada), or irreconcilable discord among the members (unlikely, and more on this later). GFRIEND had none of these factors. They were actually peaking again after the release of Apple and Mago. The aforementioned acquisition of SoMu would undoubtedly secured the future of the company, and there have been no big scandals that have hounded the group's members.

*Speaking of "scandals", if anyone brings up the trumped-up controversy about Sowon unfortunately and unknowingly posing with a mannequin in a Nazi uniform, just get the fuck out. You are just clearly making mountains out of molehills, and we don't deal with people like you here. I'm not going to even attempt to explain things to you because you are not worth even a second of my time. Just leave.

Ok, now what was I saying?.. 

Nothing like a refreshing picture from the Snowflake album to help me get back on track..

With the lack of any clear warning signs, this sudden news of disbandment rocked not only the fandom, but the korean entertainment industry as well. The girls seemed to be doing well, with their regularly scheduled weekly YT uploads posted on the schedule, and the members attending to various other activities like Yerin's participation in a beauty show, as well as Yuju's quest to become the Halli Galli queen. Heck, Umji even posted a vlive a few hours before the news came out.. However, on further review, some Buddies are saying that she was lowkey crying at certain parts, and was just putting on a brave face.. 😔

From what I have gleaned from the way the K-Pop industry works, the contract deadlines of popular groups like GFRIEND are often well publicized and fans know well in advance to anticipate the decision of the idols that they love, and thus I feel that this was a unilateral termination of the contract that was forced down the girls' throats by higher management. I have no idea whether the blame would fall squarely on SoMu's shoulders, or the bigger fish (HYBE) is to blame. All I know is that this was too sudden and leaves so many unanswered questions from the fans that I'm sure SoMu and HYBE would not be thrilled to handle.. This situation thus begs the big question.. WHY?

Some people argued that it could be a case where the girls just didn't want to do it anymore, so one day they just decided to pack up an leave, so the company had no choice but to accept that they were not going to renew contracts anymore.. But going back to the main point, I don't think that this is a question of renewal. I am more inclined to believe that the contract was cut short. Another thing is that this is so out of character for ALL the girls to just leave, with nary a proper farewell to their fandom that has stuck with them through thick and thin. You have to remember that these girls were the ones that brought Source Music out from the depths of obscurity to becoming a known player in the K-Pop landscape. Since they did not have the promotions and marketing infrastructure that groups from established companies enjoy from the get-go, the girls needed their fandom to grow and make things happen to save them from obscurity. So I don't think the girls would just hang out their loyal fans to dry just like that.

The outpouring of love from people who have worked with them before is heartbreaking and wonderful at the same time. Various staff members like dance teachers, choreographers, MV directors, designers, stylists, hairdressers, have all come out and posted wonderful messages of support, and also some heartfelt messages of regret since everything was so sudden. Heck, even broadcast programs like SBS Hanbam has prepared hour-long compilations of their greatest stage performances in honor of the group. I have massive respect for the program now. Go check out their channel via the link above. 👆

 If this entire situation was a result of personal discord among the members, then answer me this: Why did they all leave together if just some among them wanted out? Why did they post the same things together AFTER their contracts had expired? (because some people would argue that the company still controlled what they would post until the last minute). Some people would argue that a lot of things fans see in kpop is just for show, but from what I have seen, these girls are truly friends with one another, to the point of considering each other as family. So nah, I don't think so.

Sigh.. I will miss the crazy content that they would regularly churn out.. These girls are funny on their own, but together they are just HILARIOUS! I would also miss their music, and it pains me that I will never be able to attend a GFRIEND concert ever (I didn't have the resources before, and I wont have the opportunity now..). I am hoping against hope that fate would find them together one again under another (hopefully more responsible) label that would allow them to both perform as a team, and let them have their own individual avenues for growth. I hope Yuju can go back to posting her singing on her YT channel. I hope Eunha and Yerin are able to start the mukbang channel they disucussed before. I hope that Sowon would be able to open her beauty channel soon. I wish that Umji would be able to get her "Walking around with Yewon" channel off the ground, and I hope SinB is able to open her own channel doing various dances, after she gets the much-needed operation for her recurrently dislocating shoulder.

 

It has been such a wild ride with GFRIEND, and I really, really regret coming to the party late. The team was something special, and were producing enjoyable music with their own distinct color time and time again. The story of their steady climb to success is inspirational to say the least. It still boggles the mind why they have so many haters though. I have seen them before through the lens of a disinterested K-pop fan, and have found no good reason to hate on them. Then again, most of these haters lead sad little livess filled with hate, pettiness, and negativity, and most have no grasp of what real talent looks like, so engaging them in arguments is akin to conversing with lower forms of life. The lesson here kids, is that you can go ahead and spazz freely about your faves, but don't go on people's pages or vids spewing hate and vitriol on others. It won't look good for you, and will also reflect badly on your idols, because people will say that XXXX group/artist has such shitty fans and don't deserve to be followed.

I swear, I'm gonna miss them seeing them using their customized white mics..

I guess that's it.. I'm all tapped out.. I still feel a bit disappointed, but putting up this tribute post helped me somewhat.. Creating posts like this and giving comforting comments to sad Buddies on weverse has really been therapeutic.. It also made me realize after I had gotten through the initial shock that GFRIEND wasn't going anywhere in the real sense. While it is true that we are saying goodbye to the beloved group name that we call the girls, their collective identity in our hearts so to speak, the girls themselves are still there in Korea, living their lives and grieving like the rest of us. This closes a chapter on one of the greatest brands that K-Pop has ever seen, but it is not the end for the wonderful people named Kim Sojung, Jung Yerin, Jung Eunbi, Choi Yuna, Hwang Eunbi, and Kim Yewon. This end, sad as it may seem, is also a new beginning for them. Consider that for the first time in so many years, they are no longer bound to the rules of a particular company. They are finally free to do what they want to do or try. They are free to go on trips with their family or friends, they can eat what they want and sleep when they want. The younger Eunbi now has time to rest and make sure that bad shoulder is taken cared of. Let us remember that as veteran performers, they carry much clout in the entertainment industry, and I'm sure more than a few companies would be willing to come to the table with them and discuss contracts that would surely be more beneficial to the parties involved. So yes, we must close the chapter on GFRIEND, but to my fellow BUDDIES, our identity will remain the same. The girls have made it clear that we will still be their BUDDY even if they are no longer GFRIEND.

- B. Oppa #BUDDYForever

GFRIEND to leave Source Music

I don't even know how to process this yet..

Yesterday (May 18th, 2021), Source Music announced through Weverse and Naver that the exclusive artist contract of GFRIEND with Source Music is apparently set to expire on Saturday, May 22, and that the members and Source Music have decided to part ways thereafter..

Wow.. just .. wow..

I mean, K-pop groups all have an expiry date, but this just totally blindsided me..

Not them.. not like this.. 😩

The announcement came so suddenly, without any warning or indicators.. Umji even had a  pretty normal Vlive just hours prior to the announcement. I also expected that GFRIEND seemed to be in a pretty stable situation with HYBE ever since Source Music was gobbled up by the upcoming industry giant..

And GFRIEND IS Source Music, and vice versa.. so what the hell?...

BUDDIES all over the world are just coming to grips with the news, which has reverberated throughout the entire Kpop community..

I personally find it extremely odd as to why this unfolded the way it did.. It was just too sudden and without warning. The Weverse post (in English) was not clear whether this was an unscheduled termination of the exclusive contract, or just a natural lapse of a contract that was not renewed..  🤔

As a hardcore BUDDY, I'm feeling so many different things right now.. I just hope things work out for the girls.. That's the most important thing..

- B. Oppa

Rookie Watch 2021

Been a bit busy at the hospital lately, so it was kinda difficult to fnd time to make in-depth posts on particular groups. That being said, there has been a spate of awesome debuts and comebacks lately, and I find myself actively stanning so many groups as a result.😜

Here are the superstar groups that have caught my attention (in order of personal importance and emotional investment):

- STAYC (스테이씨)

- Tri.be (트라이비)

- Weeekly (위클리)

- Purple Kiss (퍼플키스)

I opted to leave out powerhouse team LOONA since I don't consider them to be rookies anymore, and they will get their own post eventually. ITZY is already higher up the totem pole as well, but I don't really stan them anyway 😅

Hopefully I will be able to find more time to write in the coming weeks.

- B. Oppa

Really really really unnatural, 왜!

This won't be a full-on group profile post, since I have only began to stan them recently, so to the Ujungs out there, please bear with me. We'll get there (eventually).. 😅 Ok, here goes..

Cosmic Girls (우주소녀; Ujusonyeo), also known as WJSN  is a 13-member girl group under Starship Entertainment and Yuehua Entertainment. The team consists of 10 Korean and 3 Chinese members, with the latter 3 currently stuck in China due to prior commitments and (presumably)  COVID travel issues. The group has been around since February 2016 when they debuted with 12 members that followed the footsteps of the legendary Starship girl group, SISTAR. Their 13th member (Yeonjung) would eventually be added later that year after her debut with survival show group I.O.I.

I don't really have much to say so far about the group since I have only began to stan them a couple of weeks ago when I heard their latest title track called UNNATURAL.. 

So yeah, that happened.. 😅 It was such an AMAZING track, I guess it reminded me of Apink's Dumhdurum which was one of the hottest things on my playlist as of late. So naturally (hehe), I went and took a gander at the music video..

😲😲😲

It was absolutely incredible!! and the rap by leader Exy didn't feel forced or out of place. It blended seamlessly with the rhythm of the song, and the fact that she was already and excellent rapper to begin with only made things so much better! I think she also resembled my all-time favorite GG leader,  the great mother Sowon of GFRIEND. To add more coincidences, both are named Sojung in real life, and are both '95 liners as well.. 😳

Serious leader vibes here 😳

 

Ah! Now I remember how I discovered them! I was watching an episode of Fact in Star where LOONA was the guest artist (Why Not? promotions), and Exy was filling in for Yves as MC. I thought to myself, "Wow, this tall, well-spoken woman looks so beautiful and glamorous, with an appeal that may seem to rival the great Sowon!". So I looked her up, and later found myself listening to UNNATURAL and eventually falling into the WJSN rabbithole.. 😅 

Upon further probing, I discovred that WJSN's discography is filled with tracks exhibiting the typical girl group vibe, something along the lines of Apink. I guess this is why they didn't seem to stand out much, although as of present count, they already have amassed a total of 9 music show wins (source), including that lone win for UNNATURAL

SBS MTV The Show - April 6, 2021

I am biased towards techno/disco/dance tracks, and I found a lot that suited my taste amongst their discography which already spans 10 EPs and 1 full album. Those that really caught my ear are: Boogie Up (4 music show wins), BUTTERFLY (2 music show wins - Not to be confused with LOONA and Oh My Girl tracks that go by the same name😅), Let's Dance, Yalla, and this incredibly addictive B-side named Babyface from the HAPPY MOMENT album (which, in my opinion, would have made an excellent title track that would have won BIG at music programs).

The girls seem to be making a big push to promote this latest release, with various appearances on variety shows (eg. Weekly Idol) and radio programs, etc. I have binge watched a bit of their older programs/uploaded content (via Starship TV) and discovered that these people are absolutely hilarious!! 😂 Well worth stanning in my opinion, and I hope that it's not too late to hop on the Ujung (WJSN fandom) train.

- B. Oppa

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'! Hey!

 It would be an absolute disservice if I passed over the unlikeliest but also the most celebrated and inspirational comeback in K-Pop history. Yes my friends, in this post, we are gonna be talking about the "President of the Military", aka Brave Girls (브레이브걸스; Beureibeu Geolseu).

 The original iteration of Brave Girls was a 5-member group formed by producer Brave Brothers under his label  Brave Entertainment (Wow, that's a whole lotta bravery there 😜). They came out in 2011 alongside future perennial industry giant, Apink. Looking at the Wikipedia entry for groups that had their debut in 2011, it seemed like a pretty thin field, as the others have not made any substantial cultural impact apart from Apink, the SISTAR19 subunit composed of Hyolyn and Bora, and the short-lived (but very controversial) Troublemaker project duo by Cube Entertainment consisting of Hyunah and Jang Hyun Seung.

This was Brave Brothers' first foray into the idol management business, and to cut a long story short, the results were.. disappointing.. The group actually snagged rookie of the year honors with a run of somewhat successful comebacks. However, Brave Brothers opted to shelve a much anticipated first album for his own girls in favor of producing for powerhouse group AOA. (Yes, I'm a quite bitter about this 😝). The situation resulted in AOA finding much commercial success (before their eventual downfall due ChoA leaving and a messy bullying scandal that followed, but that's a story for another time), and the Brave Girls being relegated to the sidelines as they were put on hiatus for two years.

After the hiatus, Brave Girls were dusted off and returned to active status in 2016 with a considerable lineup change. They were now a 7 member group with only 2 retained original members and 5 new faces and came back with the track Deepened.

The High Heels promotion (see above GIF) that followed was pretty dope as well. I wonder why no one really picked up on it?.. 😕

After a pair of comebacks, the two remaining original members decided to leave the group as well. Thankfully, no further lineup additions were announced, and the 5 new-generation Brave Girls would have a comeback in 2017 with the lead single of their fourth mini album entitled Rollin'.

Little did they know that they would be making history with this.. four years later 😅

The Brave Girls recently said on an interview that they had a really good feeling about the song since it had all the makings of a potential hit. However, the concept that was forced on them seemed a little.. off? I mean a vampire concept? For Rollin'? Really?.. 😩

Other notable comebacks during the immediate time period included: BTOB, Vcton, BAP, GOT7, Loona, IU, and GFriend (Fingertip) to name a few. Needless to say, the song was panned by the Korean public, and possibly the K-Pop community at large as well, which is unfortunate because it really is a great song! I personally regret not having picked it up that early, but then I recall that this was during my K-Pop black hole period, so I wasn't really following anyone's music during that time.

They tried to pump new life into the song a year later by releasing an appropriately summer-themed remake that they dubbed Rollin' (New Version) complete with a fresh new video showing the girls doing summer things with nary a hint of the choreography modifications 😅. Alas, I think it was too little too late, and the song was still ignored by the public. Despite all these challenges, the girls were quietly "soldiering on" (sorry, couldn't resist 😅) as they accepted lower-paying gigs to appear at military bases to hold performances for the soldiers stationed there. Apparently, they had developed a cult following among the enlisted men, with their catchy songs being passed down the ranks to subsequent batches of soldiers. Another contribution to their current success was the sheer number of military gigs that they went to, which is said to number above a hundred. Little did they know that they were quietly planting the seeds of their future viral fame away from Seoul amidst the very spirited cheering of the Korean military men.

In late 2020 (3 years after the last promotion cycle), they had a retro-themed comeback with the track We Ride, which by itself was a really solid song as well. Unfortunately, inclement weather conditions, as well as the prevailing Covid pandemic, pretty much sank their chances at promoting the song properly.. 

All seemed lost for the 4 remaining Brave Girls (their 5th member had actually sat out the Rollin' remake and subsequently was removed from the lineup). Those that remained were Minyoung (leader, main vocal main dancer), Yujeong (visual, vocal), Eunji (Main rapper, vocal), and Yuna (maknae, lead vocal lead dancer, lead rapper). In February 2021, they were already seriously discussing disbandment, with a pair of the members already vacating their dormitory. Then, the unthinkable happened..

A video compilation of their performances at military bases containing the various comments from current and former soldiers was put together and uploaded on the YouTube channel of a certain "Viditor" who has been uploading various K-Pop compilation videos. The video immediately went viral, garnering millions of views in a few days. All of a sudden Rollin' was topping all the real time charts in Korea, achieving perfect all-kills. Nobody could believe it, especially the Brave Girls, who just days before were contemplating leaving the industry for good. I highly recommend watching the video, as its great fun seeing the soldiers singing along and cheering so enthusiastically like that. 😅

With their meteoric rise to the top, they were invited to perform on music shows again, and suddenly had gigs left and right. They were even invited to guest on Running Man and Weekly Idol!

And then came the music show wins..

Brave Girls got their very first-ever music show win on March 14, 2021 at SBS Inkigayo, beating out powerhouses Shinee and Ateez for first place despite having ZERO physical sales. Man, I honestly felt bad for anyone who would be having a comeback during this time period, because Brave Girls seemed poised to make a clean sweep of the music shows.. as so it happened..

SBS MTV The Show - March 16, 2021

MBC Show Champion - March 17, 2021

Mnet MCountdown - March 18, 2021

 

KBS Music Bank - March 19, 2021

 

SBS Inkigayo - March 21, 2021

6 wins.. Not bad for a 4 year-old song and a group at the brink of disbandment!

This feel-good story inevitably drew comparisons to the story of EXID, which owes the prolongation of their careers to an uploaded fancam of Hani which quickly went viral and caused their song Up and Down to skyrocket to the top of the charts, thereby breathing new life into their careers and boosting them up the K-Pop hierarchy.

Brave Girls have since wrapped up promotions of Rollin' as of this writing, and the chart slowly normalizes as we see the usual expected winners take their places (due to fandom size more than anything else to be honest), but at least for a brief period of time, we were able to witness a group earn a win organically through the general public (many of which have undoubtedly become Fearless (Brave Girls Fandom) already 😅, thereby upsetting the balance in the force once again . The girls have promised to come back stronger and better, and are apparently going after the title of Summer Queens that has since been vacated by SISTAR after they disbanded. Now that they have the might of the entire Korean armed forces behind them, another string of wins would no longer be unexpected in the near future.

I guess this scenario also presents a lesson to other K-Pop companies, especially the smaller ones. Investing time and effort to performing at military bases is not really a lost cause or a simple charitable effort. Given the right combination of a song's catchiness, a group's likability, a positive military response, and a little stroke of luck, a group's fortunes may be turned around overnight.

So there you have it, the feel-good story of the decade. Amidst all the gloom and doom brought about by the current situation in our world today, it's nice to see that good things can still happen to people who really deserve it.

- B. Oppa