u/Due_Collection_3363

I remember baby monster was one of the most hyped group pre-debut, YG teased this group for years before debuting. Baby monster made their debut after almost 7 years of Black pink which is the most successful group of all time in kpop. Also they were called Blackpink's little sister. The expectations were sky high from Baby monster even Yg once told that he wants Chiquita to be as successful as Lisa. And honestly I think BM has that it factor they are strong live performers, amazing singers , good dancers and most importantly they have charisma. But I don't see much hype for BM apart from their own fandoms. Ik BM has one of the strongest fandom among 5th gen groups in general. But I somehow feel their pre debut hype did not match up to their popularity post debut especially when it comes to gp. Also apart from Sheesh and Drip none of their songs charted well domestically.

P.S - For a long period I thought it was bcoz of Meovv, who resonated more with gp and they kind of moved ahead from BM, as Bp's sister group but then I checked it and realised apart from Hands up not even Meovv performed that well domestically. Also, I think in comparison to other Yg groups BM discography is quite diverse. Also, not a lot of groups are doing the girl crush concept in 5th gen unlike 4th. So what do you think is holding them?

I mean what is their source of income and how much do they earn? There are some groups slowly getting traction in the domestic market from small-mid tier companies like Fifty Fifty, Ifeye, Rescene, Hitgs etc. How well do they earn? Their streaming numbers are great, but I don't think that their album sales (though impressive as a mid tier group) is sufficient to keep them financially afloat. Also if they perform at several concerts and tours (apart from university festivals) I am not sure how many people will actually turn up to see them, neither they get much brand deals or ambassadorships unlike groups from big companies. I am specifically talking about ggs because most ggs have more casual listeners than dedicated fanbases that are willing to invest a lot on them unlike bgs. Are members from these groups richer than the general public in sk? If yes then don't you think being an idol is not a very financially good decision if it's from a mid- small company? I mean I cannot question anybody's art, passion or love. I am just saying these things from a pure financial perspective keeping in consideration if you are from a small company there is a change you might not even get famous at all. So, what else could be the reason for being an idol if you are neither rich nor famous? At least groups like Fifty Fifty Or Rescene are known as monster nugus... I am pretty sure a lot of group debuts and disbands every year without even getting the nugu status, because simply people are unaware about them.

So folks, Gabriella released on 20th June last year and I remember listening it 15+ times on that day. I loved the song, the mv, the concept, the dance literally everything. Many people shared their opinion that it was kind of typical pop song or they had no interest coz they had already heard the leaked version before. But tbh, I believe Katseye made it their own song, with their energy and performance. Undeniably Gabriella is one the the most successful and ear soothing song in Katseye's discography. If Gnarly bought them into limelight. It was Gabriella that help them to sustain it. Then bc released and ik songs like Gameboy, MIA has their own fanbase but none were as successful as Gabriella.

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So, when they released Internet Girl and people made fun of them, ppl thought it was Gnarly 2.0. I thought that Internet Girl was very on brand with beautiful chaos concept and it was released as a surprise song for the tour. So I didn't pay much attention.

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But then they released Pinky Up and ppl called it Gnarly 3.0. Honestly I didn't see it at first and I defended them, but I kind of feel they are more into Gnarly route than Gabriella route. But unfortunately Internet Girl Or Pinky up doesn't have the it factor Gnarly had. Gnarly had really good production and it had the shock value. Now that they are releasing their upcoming album. I feel like the songs will be of the same kind more or less ( this is my assumption after listening to Pinky up and llooking the tour poster).

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Call Gabriella generic, typical, predictable or what ever atleast it was good. It had music, proper lyrics and it was atleast ear soothing.

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Do you think we are getting any 'typical' pop song from Katseye in their upcoming EP?

I know 360 stages are more enjoyable if watched live but that's a different thing. Honestly BTS YTC stage design was one of the best, I wished they did something similar for the Arirang tour. Idk it seemed a little messy. At first I thought because of their camera angle, then I thought it was probably due to lack of choreography in their recent tour (But then I watched fancams of Butterfly and Dope of their YTC concert and man I was wrong) and that's when I realised it was their stage design. Honestly, when I watched Twice's 'This is for Tour' stage I was so excited because I absolutely loved it. It seemed more compact and well balanced. But, honestly I did feel something is wrong about Arirang stages. Do you feel the same?

Blackpink is known to have two sides black which is bold, careless, confident and the pink side which is more soft, girly, emotional. Likewise Red Velvet is known for their Red which is bright, bold and bubble gum pop sound and Velvet which is their elegant, mature and more RnB influenced sound. I quite like this dual concept cause it gives the group a lot of opportunity to explore two different sounds and aesthetics (sometimes more), without confusing the fans and making them feel that there is a 360 degree rebrand for each comeback. But they need to play it smart as well cause they tend to alienate a fraction of their fanbase while switching between the concepts.