Let's Nostalgize! Who Are the Second Generation K-Pop Idol Groups Who Have Made a Lot of History

Kapanlagi.com - The second generation of K-Pop music is considered quite successful in Asia and can be said as the opening of the next generation of K-Pop. The 'Big Three' components, which include SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, and JYP Entertainment, target two neighboring countries, Japan and China, to initiate the popularity of K-Pop music by translating songs from idols into these two languages. This has caused the expansion of K-Pop music to become more famous in several Asian countries.

Currently, the K-Pop genre has entered its 3rd and 4th generations, where many young people are enthusiastic about boy groups and girl groups such as EXO, TWICE, BTS, BLACKPINK, RED VELVET, TXT, NCT, STRAY KIDS, and many more. With the success of their predecessors, the 3rd and 4th generation of K-Pop can easily spread their wings outside of Asia, even internationally. Artists like BTS, EXO, and BLACKPINK have already held many World Tour concerts in several countries.

Although many second-generation boy groups and girl groups have chosen to disband due to the expiration of their contracts with agencies, many of the members of these second-generation idols have chosen to pursue solo careers. There are still many fans who remain loyal and always support and anticipate new works from their idols.

Now, KLovers will be invited to reminisce with second-generation K-Pop boy groups and girl groups who have created many beautiful memories with their fans. Who are these idol groups? Listen up..

1. Super Junior

Super Junior (Credit: instagram.com/superjunior)

Super Junior, known as SJ or SUJU, is a boy group formed by SM Entertainment in 2005. Many media outlets refer to them as the 'King of Hallyu Wave' because this boy group has contributed significantly to the Korean Wave. Super Junior debuted with twelve members consisting of leader Leeteuk, Heechul, Han Geng, Yesung, Kangin, Shindong, Sungmin, Eunhyuk, Siwon, Donghae, Ryeowook, and Kimbum. In 2006, Kyuhyun became the last member to join this South Korean boy group. Super Junior's fandom is called 'ELF' or 'Ever Lasting Friend,' which the members interpret as the last friends for Super Junior.

Super Junior gained international recognition after releasing the album 'Sorry Sorry' in 2009. The album broke records with the fastest and best-selling sales in South Korea that year. Amazingly, the album won 10 awards in ten consecutive weeks in Korea and topped the charts for 37 consecutive weeks in Taiwan. 'Sorry Sorry' also won several awards at the 24th Golden Disk Awards, including the highest award, 'Album of The Year.' The success of the album led Super Junior to hold a 'World Tour' concert in several countries in Asia and America titled 'Super Show.'

2. Girls Generation

SNSD (Credit: youtube.com/SMTOWN)

Just like SUJU, SNSD or SoShi is also under the management of SM Entertainment, which made its debut in 2007. This girl group consists of 9 members, namely Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyohyeon, Jessica, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. However, on September 30, 2014, the agency, SM Entertainment, officially announced that Jessica is no longer an active member of Girls Generation. SNSD started their career with the songs 'Into the New World' and 'Kissing You' packaged in the single 'Gee', which later became their peak of popularity that year.

In early 2012, Girls Generation attended the Golden Disk Award event held in Osaka, bringing home two awards at once, namely 'Digital Bonsang' and 'Digital Daesang'. A week later, at the Seoul Music Awards, SNSD brought back two awards, 'Bonsang' and 'Popularity'. Not stopping there, they also won 'Album of the Year' and 'Hallyu Singer' at the Gaon Chart Awards. In early February 2013, Girls Generation started their concert titled 'Girls & Peace: 2nd Japan Tour' in Kobe, and continued it in seven cities in Japan. The overall concert held in Japan was attended by more than 200,000 fans.

3. Big Bang

Big Bang (Credit: soompi.com)

Big Bang is a boy group under YG Entertainment that officially debuted on August 19, 2006, with five members consisting of G-Dragon, T.O.P, Taeyang, Daesung, and Seungri. Big Bang has a music style dominated by the hiphop genre. Bigbang debuted simultaneously with the YG Family concert held at the Olympic Gymnastic Arena, and then in September 2006, they started their debut in the music program MBC Show! Music Core. Big Bang's first single was released with three songs at once, 'We Belong Together,' 'A Fool's Only Tears,' and 'This Love.' In the same year, Big Bang held their first concert titled 'The Real.' The most memorable song from Big Bang until now is 'Fantastic Baby,' where this song became the center of attention for fans and K-Pop lovers outside of South Korea.

The success of Big Bang began when they released the mini album 'Always' in August 2007 and sold more than 87,000 copies. In this mini album release, all members directly contributed to the music composition and songwriting. This is because the mini album started using EDM music and received positive responses from fans and producers alike. The song 'Lies', written directly by the leader G-Dragon, was released as the main single and became Big Bang's pride song that year. Then, in 2012, Big Bang started their 'World Tour' concert titled 'Big Show 2012', held at Seoul Olympic Park Stadium from March 2nd to 4th, attended by more than 40,000 fans.

4. 2NE1

2NE1 (Credit: billboard.com)

2NE1 is a girl group from YG Entertainment that made their debut in 2009. The group consists of CL, Park Bom, Sandara, and Minzy. 2NE1 first appeared on television in a commercial for LG Electronics products with Big Bang. They then released the single 'Fire' on May 6, 2009, and since then, 2NE1 has released two mini albums, '2NE1' (2009) and '2NE1' (2011). In their first mini album, the single 'I Don't Care' won the 'Song of The Year' award at the 2008 Mnet Asian Music Awards. Their next singles, which include 'Go Away', 'Lonely', and 'I Am The Best', also achieved the same success as the previous singles. Another proud achievement was when the single 'I Am The Best' won the 'Song of The Year' category for the second time at the same event in 2011.

In 2011, 2NE1 held their first Japanese debut tour titled '2NE1 First Japan Tour - NOLZA' on September 19th and 20th in Yokohama, attended by 10,000 fans. 2NE1 then held their first six concert tours in three different locations, Yokohama Arena, Kobe World Commemoration Hall, and Chiba's Makuhari Messe Hall, attracting a total of 70,000 fans. In 2014, 2NE1 held their fourth concert titled 'AON: ALL or Nothing' in several Asian countries, including Indonesia. This tour was able to attract up to 180,000 viewers.

5. 2PM

2PM (Credit: youtube.com/2PM)

2PM is a boy group under JYP Entertainment consisting of Jun.K, Nichkun, Taecyeon, Wooyoung, Junho, and Chansung. Before officially debuting as 2PM, the members of 2PM debuted together in the group One Day, which consisted of 11 members. This group was specially formed by JYPE's owner, Jay Park, and focused solely on dance hip-hop, but later split into two groups, 2PM and 2AM.

2PM officially debuted on August 29, 2008, releasing their album 'Hottest Time of the Day' with the lead single '10 Out of 10' as the album's promotional track. 2PM's popularity increased significantly after they released the album 'Hands Up' in 2011, which gained international recognition and won several prestigious awards.

6. Miss A

Miss A (Credit: youtube.com/missA)

MISS A was formed by JYPE in 2010 with members Fei, Jia, Min, and Suzy, where the group focuses on South Korea and China. Miss A officially debuted with the single Bad Girl Good Girl which is the main song on the album Bad But Good. This single topped various music shows in Korea such as Mnet M! Countdown, KBS Music Bank, SBS Inkigayo for a full week. They then released their first mini album Step Up and the song Breathe as the main song they performed for their comeback on several music shows. Miss A showcased a concept that was very different from their debut, namely an exotic concept.

On September 30, 2011, Miss A debuted in China by releasing their first special album with MVs for Bad Girl Good Girl, Breathe, Good Baby and Love Again which all have Chinese lyrics. After the release of that album, Miss A ranked first with the single Goodbye Baby on the biggest music show in Taiwan 'Ezperr' and 'A Class', while on the Korean and Japanese music charts in 'G-Music' they ranked third.

This article was written by: Vici Erta

(kpl/mag)