Why are mixed-gender groups rarely seen in K-pop?

[waves-of-light.livejournal.com]

Back in the 1990s, it was not hard to spot mixed-gender groups in the Korean music scene, with acts like Roo'Ra, Koyote, Cool, S#arp and Space A stealing the show with their numerous hits. "Co-ed" groups did have a unique edge in terms of their team composition and sonic styles, but following the tremendous rise of all-male and all-female groups in the late 2000s, the number of acts has plummeted. Today, mixed-gender groups are something of a rarity in the K-pop universe.

KARD, consisting of two male members ― BM and J.Seph ― and two female members ― Somin and Jiwoo ― is one of the few such groups that is hitting the ground running these days. There are some rookie acts like CHECKMATE and Triple Seven (777), but all of them have yet to create a splash.

Critics point out that there is one big factor threatening the survival of most of these groups: the difficulty in forming a solid and loyal fan base, which is indispensable to the success of contemporary K-pop stars.

"It is tough for a mixed-gender group to attract more female fans than a boy group, or to garner more male followers than a girl group," pop music critic Seo Jeong Min-gap told The Korea Times. "Most K-pop management companies also find it more demanding to take care of a co-ed group... Members of a K-pop band usually live together in a dormitory to foster teamwork, but that is not an option for a co-ed act."

Critic Jung Min-jae agreed, adding that these aforementioned elements make it riskier for the labels to produce a group that includes both males and females. Jung also touched on another conundrum they face when devising strategies to promote their singers.

"The companies should decide which gender of fans to target, but the answer may not be easy to find," he said. "Although mixed-gender groups can showcase different kinds of charm that make them stand out, they are unlikely to rise to stardom without having a specific target audience."


Revival of co-ed groups?

Last summer, the one-off mixed gender group, SSAK3, which was formed on MBC's reality show, "Hangout with Yoo," sat atop multiple music streaming charts with its retro-tinged hit, "Summer Sea Again." The success story of SSAK3 ― comprising comedian and the program's host Yoo Jae-suk, singer Lee Hyo-ri and singer-actor Rain ― led a plethora of people to think that such groups might once again spring up to take over the music industry.

Critic Jung, however, says SSAK3 was merely an "exceptional case."

"The success of SSAK3 did not imply the revival of mixed-gender groups," he remarked. "It was a project group created through a popular variety show… The program featured the entire process of its debut and widely promoted its song. The power of a TV show ― not the power of music ― made it almost impossible for SSAK3 to be unsuccessful."

Jung also referred to Koyote ― a vocal group made up of Kim Jong-min, Shin Ji and Bbaek Ga, which debuted in 1998 ― to elaborate on his point.

"Koyote also put out a new single titled, 'Oh my summer,' last summer, but it hardly received any attention. Given this fact, I think that SSAK3's victory has little to do with the revival of mixed-gender acts."

Both Jung and Seo believe that the status quo of the groups will be maintained in the K-pop world at least for a while.

"K-pop record labels are not quite motivated yet to launch mixed-gender groups, because they have not witnessed many successful cases recently," Seo noted. "As of now, there are no other conspicuous groups, except for KARD. To make it worse, the protracted COVID-19 pandemic is dealing a critical blow to many companies, deterring them from taking on fresh challenges."

Jung said, "K-pop acts are distinctive from indie bands or hip-hop groups (in that they put greater emphasis on their fan bases.) Co-ed groups may be able to ride high in the future, if they focus on releasing easy-listening songs for the general public, but if they want to become K-pop idol groups, there might be some hurdles."






Who's your favorite co-ed group, Omona? I feel like they left out a lot of groups/duos in the article...I mean Co-Ed School literally has "co-ed" in their name lol


source: The Korea Times

Comments

[myrrhcat.livejournal.com]

on principle i love the idea of co-ed groups and want to support them more, but my lack of interest in men is just too strong.
but for the bisexuals out there i say, more co-ed groups!
bbiribom bberibom is a bop imo. too bad co-ed school was such a mess.

[nudrive.livejournal.com]

I feel like everyone thinks of KARD first but my mind goes to co-ed first lol and then it's immediately followed by that one mr removed performance of bbiribom bberibom 'HELLO 인사부터 할게' (0:42) (https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7pfu22) ahhhh still so freaking funny

[theweebdream.livejournal.com]

I loved Sunny Hill back when Loen actually promoted them, but there was only one guy in the group and he barely got any lines and then left lol. As a girl group only stan now though, I just can’t get behind the idea of a coed group.

[setsuna16.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed S#arp's music, but hearing about the one female member who bullied the other made me very sad.

I think that's another reason for co-ed groups being rare... interpersonal relationships can, but don't always, get more complicated when both genders are involved. Not that the same can't be said about same gendered groups, obviously.

[adenar.livejournal.com]

like i'm not about to pretend i'm deluding myself about triple 7's potential for success but it seems kind of rude to say they haven't caught on when they literally debuted like 4 days ago lmao

I don't think anyone thinks of SSAK3 as a mixed-gender group, they're just a project group from a tv programme. That's not to say that they weren't great, I think it would be cool to see more project groups like that (Triple 7 is in that way an interesting mid-ground - it's a project group/subunit formed of two independent groups under the same agency). We see a lot for girl groups (Unnies, Girls Next Door) but it could be cool to see it for mixed groups too.

[babycheeses1.livejournal.com]

Ooh yes that sounds like a good idea — Subunits of existing bgs and ggs from the same agency.

[daynr.livejournal.com]

It would be fun to see subgroups from agencies, especially when hints exist they're already friends.

World, give us a gift this year of covid 2.

[921227.livejournal.com]

Yes!! Companies dont utilize this near enough. Like theyll have "family concerts" but half your groups have never interacted before

[xoxkenzxox.livejournal.com]

I feel like SM usually does a fairly decent job of creating subgroups between it's (at least male) groups. I'm thinking of course of groups like SUPERM but also SM the Ballad.

Need more girl sub groups.

[adenar.livejournal.com]

When Woollim was under SM I remember that Key and an Infinite guy had a subunit too, which was really well received. There's also always the iconic Maxstep, lmao.

I think when f(x) was still active there might have been more of a chance but I wonder if there's too big a general gap between SNSD and Red Velvet to really create anything? Maybe once Aespa is more settled we'll see stuff. In the meantime I wish they'd do more stuff like Wow Thing, that was so good.

Could be fun to see an Exo/NCT coed subunit with Red Velvet, even if just for a station track or something.

[xoxkenzxox.livejournal.com]

YES! Wow Thing was great. Back in the day they would do those project groups between companies and it was great to see idols interacting. AS a casual fan of most girl groups, I love seeing them come together

[adenar.livejournal.com]

omg yes! And special dance battle stages and all that sort of thing. I know we still get special collab stages but it just doesn't seem to be as often or high profile as it used to.

[carmine-pink.livejournal.com]

I don't know much about the earlier groups like Koyote, Cool, etc but my impression is that they weren't marketed as kpop idols but rather as general music groups/artists, so there's a difference in the target audience compared to groups like KARD (cmiiw). Or was the idol trainee system just not as established or prevalent as it is now?

KARD may not be huge domestically but their sound/concept really became a blueprint for some of the newer nugu mixed groups. Who are the other mixed groups within the idol system that are not just temporary projects? Co-ed School, Sunny Hill? Are Troublemaker/Triple H just projects or not? That 9 Muses & ZE:A unit?

[921227.livejournal.com]

I feel like if the members are a part of an existing group, anything they do extra is a subunit/project depending on how permanent & while I loved both Troublemaker and Triple H they got screwed over by the thing ppl said coed groups would have, integroup dating so...

[921227.livejournal.com]

The change in the idol trainee system probably contributed to the lack of co-ed groups bc most of those OG ones were partially considered kpop.

I remember Coed School and I think, minus the messy members and management, they could have been successful. It was very Chanmi & Sungmin ft the female members with guest appearances by Zicos bro and some other dudes so that wasnt the greatest

Where KARD is succeeding imo is that their sound was very new for kpop. They were new and they did a really good job of using chemistry and compatibility. Like their biggest selling point is the fact that both BM/JSeph & Somin/Jiwoo perform the same which I think fans like & tbh I think the members have a lot of crossover appeal. Jiwoo is very girlcrush and BM has this fun older brother vibe. They just haven't had a smash hit with gp — maybe when JSeph returns???

More coed groups is basically what I want

[rennehollic.livejournal.com]

I agree. I think KARD did not only came at the right time for them, but the 4 members have chemistry and you can seem them getting along even outside of their activities. Domestically they may not be huge but they seem to have a good internacional fanbase especially in South America. Their sound is different from the other groups and they seem to enjoy experimenting which in my opinion is a good thing, as I always appreciate a group thay takes risks.

I think when Jseph comes back they will waste no time and releasing something

[921227.livejournal.com]

Yes! I'm really anticipating their comeback post-enlistment but hopefully in the meantime the other members can still put out (more) music

[rennehollic.livejournal.com]

I personaly think and this are just my thoughts, that KARD aren't bigger because BM and Jiwoo are not "conventional pretty".
She is super edgy and embraces her sexiness and likes to have sometimes an alternative style, and BM loves to be in the "BEAST MODE!" and Korea is still too attached to the normal beauty standards that Somin and Jseph follow in their own way.

But this is just my two cents

[nudrive.livejournal.com]

"Most K-pop management companies also find it more demanding to take care of a co-ed group... Members of a K-pop band usually live together in a dormitory to foster teamwork, but that is not an option for a co-ed act."

I feel like this is kinda bullshit when you have groups of like 13 fucking members and apparently that's totally doable like ?_?

[tsubaki874.livejournal.com]

Ah yes but you can cram 13 boys or girls into a tiny dorm, but heaven forbid they have to buy 2 separate dorms to separate the girls and boys!!!! /s

Sarcasm aside I do agree with you, there is literally no reason why a co-ed group would be more difficult than a group with a subunit lol

[nudrive.livejournal.com]

Yeah esp now that svt have 3 dorms and 4 cars or smth like... surely it's not that much more expensive? I guess they might need 2 dressing rooms tho but I swear most have like a cubicle where they actually change so they could share?

[rennehollic.livejournal.com]

Oh so we going to disrespect 8eight like this and not even mention them? Kay...

[921227.livejournal.com]

Are they considered kpop? I've always thought of them as a vocal group

[rennehollic.livejournal.com]

I always saw them as Kpop actually

[xoxkenzxox.livejournal.com]

Members of a K-pop band usually live together in a dormitory to foster teamwork, but that is not an option for a co-ed act

I guess this is more of a public perception of the group as I personally can't imagine ever having feelings for a coworker. Because that's what they are. Coworkers. You see all the good and horrible and just nope.

Co-ed School could have done well if promoted properly. I still love Bbiribam BBaribum (or however you spell it). They should have dropped the untalented members and kept it small.

[rennehollic.livejournal.com]

in my intership I shared a house with 3 guys that I worked with, and dear lord I could NOT think of them besides co-workers. It's just confusing and you cannot even see them as potential partners

[xoxkenzxox.livejournal.com]

YES, exactly. I worked so much with one male coworker during long busy season hours. Other people would hear us bickering and literally thought we were siblings and it's just like, nope, we worked together WAY too much. Good friend, but romantic partner? NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS.

We say we were brought together by "shared trauma" from working so much.

[bauci.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't stan a co-ed group just for being co-ed, like someone said, they unfortunately have men in it.

That said- I'm really into KARD's songs and their chemistry/camaraderie together is so fun.

(But we'll see, apparently I'm always up for putting my heart up to get ripped apart by kpop)

[myungung.livejournal.com]

I think one of the main issues is that fans will always overanalyse interactions and they'll make it as though the members are dating, so co-ed groups will be so hard to maintain because of all the implosion and fan theories. and so many fans will be pissed off at the dating or male-female interactions??
probably awkward for the members if they all live in the same dorm. there's also the issue with the diet/weight restrictions and setup for performances because it'll always be held to different standards.

KARD is probably the longest lasting/most successful one in recent times, although they are probably dead with Somin's issue. but I think what worked was that there was a brother-sister dynamic that they focused on, which probably reduced the fan theories about relationships.

[rennehollic.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure if KARD is going to have an issue due to the Somin's issue. people seem to react super posivily to BM's solo, everyone seems to enjoy the interections...
idk only time will tell!

[shining-lore.livejournal.com]

*traumatic flashbacks of first gen co-ed groups*

[snowphone.livejournal.com]

generous of them to describe KARD as "hitting the ground running these days"