⭐ The February 2020 Girl Group Battle ⭐

[myrrhcat.livejournal.com]

February 2020 was a truly insane month for girl group fans, with one comeback after another and even a few new debuts. Not since the legendary summer of 2015 has there been such an intense flurry of girl group releases. And if you missed any of them, here's your chance to catch up!

3YE - QUEEN

Although they've been around for less than a year, trio 3YE have put themselves on the map with catchy and hard-hitting songs. "Queen" evokes powerful boy groups like Monsta X, but with a distinctly feminine style. Will 3YE emerge as the nugu queens of February 2020?

Omonians said...
benihime99: The song isn't bad per se, but it sounds like something that should have been released last summer, old but not that old
dior_chic: Oh I’m not into this lol. wait, maybe I’m into it lol

BVNDIT - COOL

Rookie group BVNDIT are back with a new single entirely in English, part of the "New.wav" project created by their label, MNH. While "Cool" isn't being promoted as an actual comeback, the girls did perform a showcase of the song, and there's also a performance video and a dance practice. "Cool" is an energetic yet smooth breakbeat pop tune that shows off BVNDIT's vocals.

Omonians said...
volume1995: the mv is so creative!! i love it! too bad the song is kinda... dull!
frequency: i'm not in love w/ the song but i wouldn't skip if it came up on shuffle. their english sounds really good!

CHERRY BULLET - HANDS UP

After the departure of three members, Cherry Bullet has been pared down to a unit of seven. They're back with a more "girl crush" image and sound, contrasting with their former cutesy shtick. Their video game theme remains a constant, though. Rather than the high energy of your typical girl group single, this is a more laid-back, vintage hip-hop inspired pop tune with an interesting Fur Elise sample.

Omonians said...
horichansenpai: Song is catchy but gets boring pretty quickly :/ still enjoyable.
veep_throat: HONESTLY BEST GG RELEASE OF THE YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CIGNATURE - NUN NU NAN NA

This new girl group consists mostly of members from Good Day, a girl group which debuted in 2017, participated in the survival show The Unit, and then dropped off the face of the earth for a while. Five of the members, and two new additions, are back as Cignature with a different image and sound. It's not quite "girl crush," but somewhere in the realm of... hyper and cute with an edge? Hard to describe. Their debut single "Nun Nu Nan Na" is loud, messy, and fun.

Omonians said...
gathyou: I feel like they had several ideas and all jammed it together? but I'm enjoying it lol. The chorus is catchy!
premonitioner: I'd like to thank these girls for taking all my favourite bits from Red Velvet songs and putting them into one song for me

DREAMCATCHER - SCREAM

Dreamcatcher have always been dramatic, but they've taken it to a new level with "Scream." Their latest single blends their usual goth-rock influences with EDM and even a bit of opera, and their fantasy visuals have never been flashier. The change in sound has proven polarizing among fans, but no one can call them boring.

Omonians said...
rosevael: To go from deja vu to...this?? What were they thinking??? This song is noise.
lizanka23: at first i was meh about the song but now after listening to it for a bit i love it, the vocals and how dramatic it is.

ELRIS - JACKPOT

One of several girl groups to break a ridiculously long hiatus this month, Elris are finally back after almost two years, with two new members and the lighthearted single "Jackpot." But will they hit the jackpot with this one? For a song inspired by gambling, it doesn't take many risks. If you like cute and charming girls, though, this just might be your thing.

Omonians said...
kcaomei: not my fave track but i like it! although i wish more than anything 'like i do' had been the title track instead :(
ginger_star: I wasn't going to listen to it again since I really don't enjoy the chorus....but then when I was trying to sleep parts of the song kept going through my head

EPISODE - OPEN MY DOOR

Episode may be a low-budget nugu group, but that doesn't mean they're excluded from the battle. They originally debuted as Vitamin Angel way back in 2015. Now, they're back with a new name and look, although their lack of funds is sadly evident in their song and music video. "Open My Door" features a sound that was popular a few years ago: pop with a hip-hop influence and an instrumental beat drop for a chorus.

Omonians said... nothing :(

EVERGLOW - DUN DUN

Everglow's latest single "Dun Dun" is very much a continuation of their established sound: loud and bossy, yet tight and polished. If you like bangers, this one is for you. The inspiration from groups like Blackpink is clear, but thankfully Everglow come back more than once a year. The music video is a visual feast, too.

Omonians said...
jyusou: If this came out when I was in high school I would probably be all over it.
lil_poisonfrog: They continue to deliver consistently quality bangers.

GFRIEND - CROSSROADS

This is GFriend's first comeback under Big Hit, so to speak (they're still under Source Music, but the ownership of that company changed hands.) However, nothing much seems to have changed: "Crossroads" has a very familiar anime-esque sound, calling back to their previous singles "Time for the Moon Night" and "Sunrise." The music video is perhaps their most ambitious yet, creating a narrative between many of their previous releases. It's a shame it doesn't show off the group's famously strong dance skills.

Omonians said...
pseudo_shigure: yay!! they're back to their old sound. love it.
cairistiona: it's just missing something, some oomph. a high note? a build-up? i don't know but i find it lacking.

HIGHSCHOOL - TIMING

Nugu rookies HighSchool are back for their first comeback with "Timing," and they're bringing a distinctly old-school vibe. The song features all the hallmarks of late 00s-early 10s K-pop: the autotune, the spare and synth-driven instrumental that feels just slightly out-of-tune... It's different from what most girl groups are doing these days, which is really the appeal of lesser-known groups. They dare to be different!

Omonians said...
xoxkenzxox: I love girls in masks. that said, not sure the song is my thing. It's giving me Wonder Girls Irony vibes for some reason.

IZ*ONE - FIESTA

The triumphant return of IZ*ONE, the group formed from Produce 48, after said show was plagued by rigging scandals and its resultant  groups' futures were held in jeopardy. IZ*ONE were given another chance, thankfully, and released this song which was originally planned for the end of last year. It's similar to their previous releases, with that slick, polished house sound and twinkling instrumental. And the MV, of course, is a high-budget affair dripping with aesthetics.

Omonians said...
spread: I thought it was a fun song, with amazing visuals and they ALWAYS kill it with choreography.
cxxl: I’m not against the sound necessarily but I think the video was a lot.

LOONA - SO WHAT

Loona have been through some major changes on the production side and a year-long hiatus, but fans can finally rejoice: they're back! "So What" is edgier than any of their previous releases, a clattering high-energy EDM song produced by none other than SM himself (Lee Soo Man). It's unprecedented for him to work with an artist outside his own company. Although the line distribution on this one leaves much to be desired, it's fun to see yet another new side of Loona.

Omonians said...
kashiyaek: i like this a lot and i'm generally a fan of noisy as fuck songs HOWEVER, i'm kind of.. whelmed? at loona going for this sound?
calzonazos: I appreciate the effort of trying to do something different musically even if it's not my cup of tea.

ROCKET PUNCH - BOUNCY

However you feel about this song, you have to give it to Rocket Punch: they definitely win the award for the highest-energy release this month. They're back with their very first comeback and have gone colorful, manic, and downright "Bouncy." The MV's highly saturated aesthetic is reminiscent of mid-10s girl group releases, while the song is fast-paced and full of the rhythmic chanting that's so popular in K-pop today.

Omonians said...
adenar: I'm sure it's going to be great live, and the choruses are really fun.
violoncelliste: omg i love their energy. the song was fine, but the girls are so cute!

WEKI MEKI - DAZZLE DAZZLE

Weki Meki are back with another colorful, quirky pop tune that fits right in with their existing concept. It seems their MV budget took a hit, but they still serve up some pretty aesthetics and a cutesy sound. The song sounds somewhere in between Itzy and Oh My Girl, carried along by repetitive chanting into a melodic chorus.

Omonians said...
coyote_revolver: It's not as catchy as their previous cbs but it's cute. The styling is pretty!
yxerin: thank you weki meki, for always giving me the disjointed bops i didn’t know i needed

So, now that you've seen the contenders...


[Poll #2099513][Poll #2099513]

Source: YouTube: 3YE OFFICIAL, Stone Music Entertainment (1, 2, 3, 4), FNCEnt, Dreamcatcher official, ELRIS, DanalEntertainment, Big Hit Labels, RICHWORLD ENTERTAINMENT, loonatheworld, woolliment, Weki Meki; GIF: Tumblr: kyulsoo

Comments

[volume1995.livejournal.com]

dreamcatchers release was the best of february and thats on pee rih yet

[dior-chic.livejournal.com]

This is why I need to be on my phone, I wanted to heart this comment and I can't lol

[lydzi.livejournal.com]

SAYT IT ! ♥

[dior-chic.livejournal.com]

I love this post!! Great job op! You're right that it really reminds me of how many girl groups released songs in summer 2015, that was a great summer and an amazing year for kpop. I think this would be a fun type of round up post to do at the end of each month, if there's enough content and you have the free time of course!

The quotes are a fun addition too :))) ngl I wasn't ready for that quote of mine to be chosen, it made me laugh lmao. I'd love to rank these later when I have the chance!

[mad-nux.livejournal.com]

Loona is my fave among all these groups but I liked cherry bullet, everglow and dreamcatcher's songs better

[broadcities.livejournal.com]

love this post concept!! especially the comments of omonians, all of whom i hold in high regard

[frequency.livejournal.com]

surprised to see my comment about bvndit, lol. that song actually ended up growing on me! i find it really fun now.

"hands up" is so underwhelming to me. the sample in it was cool, but the song just doesn't go anywhere? it's in dire need of some kind of build-up.

"scream" is my 2nd least favorite dreamcatcher title but the rest of the album? [chef's kiss] i really think i would've preferred "red sun" as the title track.

gfriend's "crossroads" is fine and i know everyone loves "labyrinth", but have y'all heard "dreamcatcher"? that's my absolute favorite from the mini.

i love "nun nu nan na", "bouncy", and "dazzle dazzle" the best out of this list.

i have a lot of thoughts on some of these releases, though...
like, i'm probably in the minority here, but i feel like everglow's releases keep getting... i don't wanna say worse, so i'll just say less enjoyable. the tracks on their mini sound like they could've gone to BP or twice imo. :/

[dior-chic.livejournal.com]

I see what you mean on Dun Dun. For me, I loveeeee their debut. And even though I had a short second where I was disappointed in Adios, I woke up real quick and the song made my top 100 for last year. Dun Dun...is good but not great. I don’t find myself replaying it much. While I love Player, the mini wasn’t my fave either (though they’re not a group with that standout bsides like Red Velvet, at least not yet for me)

I’m still loving them but yea this comeback didn’t progress them forward imo, it’s solid but I want more since they are a talented group - especially on stage

[aures.livejournal.com]

you should listen to hands up a couple of times and it really grows on you, i LOVE it when the beat just SNAPS at certain parts, it's super catchy and their stages are really fun to watch~ i'm hooked

i also really love bouncy and dazzle dazzle like you do!

[ginger-star.livejournal.com]

Bless-ed Girlgroup February truly was amazing <3

I think Cignature's song was my favorite over all but I loved so many. Hands Up, Dazzle Dazzle and Dun Dun are all pretty close contenders too. Too bad we couldn't have had WJSN and CLC too!

[adenar.livejournal.com]

Nu Nun Na Nan, Dazzle Dazzle, and Dun Dun are the ones that have stuck with me. I am well and truly on the nonsense title trend. I think Queen will stick with me too, stan 3YE you cowards. Hands Up, Bouncy, Fiesta and Cool are fine but not on my listen-again list. The others I didn't really enjoy.

I like how you managed to take my extremely lukewarm comment about Rocket Punch's release and selectively reprint the positive part lol. I said much nicer things about other girl group releases!

Thank you for using the only real option for a header gif, I don't like to get too wrapped up in 'visuals' or anything but Weki Meki as a whole are just too pretty this era!

(x (https://realhumans.tumblr.com/post/190935110500))

[myrrhcat.livejournal.com]

sorry, i didn't mean to spin your comment ^^; i tried to trim each comment down to the most quotable part, and you were in pretty much every gg post so i used you to fill in toward the end haha

[adenar.livejournal.com]

It's ok haha! It just made me laugh a little, like, so this is what it's like to be misinterpreted! It's just kpop so I don't mind.

[cairistiona.livejournal.com]

oh hello, i see me, i wasn't expecting that

crossroads is growing on me i guess, but i still don't love it. i still maintain it needs something extra!

i know it's against the grain here but of the songs i've heard from the list (not all of them but i'll get to the rest), i loooooooove dun dun and scream. i actually voted dun dun for my favourite

i think bouncy's nice too but it's not as memorable as bim bam bum

oh i also love so what but it's a bit noisy for regular listens lol (i mean, says someone who voted for dun dun so take it with a pinch of salt...)

[cairistiona.livejournal.com]

fiesta is growing on me

i don't love it as much as i love la vie en rose and violeta, but i found myself singing the chorus spontaneously yesterday so i know it's in my head XD

[aures.livejournal.com]

i have to (politely!) disagree with you on bouncy, i find it very memorable, especially because of the lyrics, it's so much fun - i find it such an energetic song (i wanna hit the world with rocket punch!), it really suits them and i can't remember much of bim bam bum except for the bim bam bum~ ♫ part and i watched pretty much every stage

[cairistiona.livejournal.com]

honestly, you're probably right, i just haven't listened to it in a while and therefore don't remember how it goes, but i do remember the bim bam bum bim bam bum bit

so solo though? LOVE that song!!

[jaequeeragenda.livejournal.com]

im team dream catcher, loona and everglow,

[cairistiona.livejournal.com]

+11111

[aures.livejournal.com]

i can't pick a favorite one! i listen to cherry bullet, dreamcatcher, everglow, loona, weki meki, iz*one AND rocket punch's comebacks a lot, all of them! such a fantastic month it was

i don't like elris' jackpot, i couldn't even sit through half their comeback stage, it was so awful i shut the window and that's really something because i'm fine listening to a LOT of things

[violoncelliste.livejournal.com]

I know Hands Up is repetitive but I love it so much, definitely my favourite so it gets my vote even if it's not a popular choice!

Dreamcatcher and Weki Meki were my other favourites.

Great post OP!! :)

[alterlife.livejournal.com]

Omg I take back my noise comment!!! I love the song now lmao

[dior-chic.livejournal.com]

Yea I was gonna say you saw the light lol

[veep-throat.livejournal.com]

omg my comment aklfhaefa

...i'm right

[weneedmedicine.livejournal.com]

Hands Ups is the best song on this list. It’s repetitive, but who cares!
So What is legitimately awful.
Fiesta was really underwhelming
Dun Dun was catchy as hell (also made me a Mia stan).
I want to like Rocket Punch, but all their singles are trash tbh

[dior-chic.livejournal.com]

Mia is really an all rounder idol! I don’t think there’s a weak link in Everglow but wow Mia knows how to command attention on stage

[weneedmedicine.livejournal.com]

Yeah, she’s great! I’ve sort of been in defense mode with her this comeback. I’ve seen so many rude comments and it’s not her fault that the line distribution is so skewed :|

[yuwkon.livejournal.com]

i did not listen to all of the releases but im rooting for Dun Dun, Scream and Jackpot (am i the only one who likes this release? lmao)

at first i did not like scream but it suddenly grew on me that i find myself involuntarily chanting "devil eyes come nuneul tteunda"

dun dun was the only everglow release that i really like. i feel like a bad b*tch listening to this.

jackpot was really fun!!! i enjoy their choreography a lot and the chorus as well.

[myrrhcat.livejournal.com]

i didn't like jackpot v much at first but it's grown on me a little bit more with each listen. the post-chorus is suuuuper addictive.

my gf (who does not listen to kpop at all) overheard me listening to it and she said they sound like rugrats. the aegyo is a bit much, i guess, lol. maybe i'm just used to it

[coyote-revolver.livejournal.com]

I retract from my statement featured in the post bc I've been randomly having the "Dazzle Dazzle" chorus pop up in my head this past week many times...so yeah, the song is actually really catchy imo xD

I'm an Orbit but I wanna be unbiased and I think I have to vote for Dreamcatcher. I really can't get enough of the song and the whole album is fantastic. Overall I think this was an awesome month to be a gg fan.

[daynr.livejournal.com]

what an amazing post, OP! Extra thanks from this girl who hasn't listened to any new music this year, and now has a ready made March exploration playlist. LOVE!

[horichansenpai.livejournal.com]

Ooph, wasn't expecting my Cherry Bullet comment 😂 While my opinion hasn't changed, I'm happy more people are warming up to the girls~ I forgot to talk about the choreography but I think it's fun to watch.

I haven't listened to all the songs here but I really liked Fiesta and Scream!

[aures.livejournal.com]

oh @ OP; will do announce the winner some time soon in a follow-up post?

[myrrhcat.livejournal.com]

eh, i think the poll results speak for themselves, but maybe it'd be fun to gather up some of their best performances and make a post? or, if there's another battle next month, maybe then...

[timetobegin.livejournal.com]

Hands Up, Scream and Dun Dun were probably my faves of the month. Dazzle is a close follow up, especially because I love the concept and the colours they used ALOT

[myungung.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the round up OP! It’s great seeing so many girl groups have releases in February and for once the male groups are not dominating.

I might be the only one, but I have not liked most of the releases. Save for Labyrinth and Dazzle Dazzle, the songs didn’t grab my attention and I couldn’t bring myself to add them into my playlist. My vote goes to Weki Meki because that’s the only title track that was good imo. Pity, because most of the MVs were nice to watch. Unpopular opinion of mine I guess

[gathyou.livejournal.com]

Omg I'm seeing my username? hahaha

It's so hard to pick a favourite!!!
I guess it would be GFriend's Labyrinth for physical release? I've replayed it so much, I love the single and bsides equally (and Labyrinth is one of my favourite 2020 song, already calling it). Honorable mention to Loona's #, Dreamcatcher's Dystopia and IZ*ONE's BLOOM*IZ, all so different yet great for me
But while taking singles into account, Weki Meki's Dazzle Dazzle is up there. Itt's just so catchy and fun, I love it.

[cosmopudin.livejournal.com]

omg Gfriend's Eclipse, have you heard it?!

[gathyou.livejournal.com]

Yes I have!!! I've replayed the whole mini album so much since its release, definitively my 2020 favourite so far <3

[cosmopudin.livejournal.com]

Woooo, taste JUMPEDDDD

[kashiyaek.livejournal.com]

love this post!! i missed out on some of these, when i'm back from work i'll take a thorough listen 💃

[juhli.livejournal.com]

daaamn, what a busy month for girl groups for real! This is an awesome post OP!!!

[kcaomei.livejournal.com]

my elris comment made the list, i'm famous! lol great job OP, this post is fantastic<3

i keep meaning to check out 3YE and i keep forgetting so now is the time. february was a really solid and enjoyable month for me with all these releases! it's hard to choose one fave, although So What, Dazzle Dazzle, DUN DUN, Jackpot, and Fiesta really were my standouts

[cosmopudin.livejournal.com]

Crossroads for me was like, PEAK gg

[daynr.livejournal.com]

OP, I hope you have notifications on, bc I just finally worked through this post and I absolutely adore it. Thanks!