Portrait of 7 Girl Groups in K-Pop Who Became Victims of the '7-Year Curse'

K-Pop

kapanlagi 4 years ago

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The 7th year is a haunting specter for K-Pop fans worldwide, as it is the period when contract negotiations take place. K-Pop idol contracts usually last for 7 years, after which they are free to renew or cancel their contracts with the agency. The '7-Year Curse' occurs when a K-Pop group fails to successfully negotiate their contract for any reason. This curse usually befalls girl groups and often ends with the disbandment of the group. Here is a list of 7 iconic girl groups that did not smoothly pass their 7th year, let's take a look!

Despite being the girl group with the highest international sales, 2NE1 could not withstand this 7-Year Curse. In 2014, Park Bom's drug scandal forced 2NE1 to go on hiatus. After 2 years of inactivity, Minzy decided not to renew her contract with YG Entertainment in 2016. 2NE1 prepared for a comeback with the remaining 3 members, but the plan fell through due to unknown reasons to the public, and they officially disbanded in November 2016.

4minute is considered quite successful despite being under a relatively small company. The song Crazy popularized by 4minute in 2015 became the 6th K-Pop girl group song to reach 100 million views on YouTube and was the first MV from a small company to achieve that number. After successfully promoting the song Hate in 2016, 4minute failed to negotiate contract renewals and ended up disbanding.

Another girl group from a small company that achieved tremendous success is the summer queen Sistar. The group reached the first position on the K-Pop Hot 100 Billboard Korea with the song So Cool and obtained 10 number one rankings on the Gaon chart. Sistar eventually disbanded in 2016 after Hyolyn decided to prioritize her solo career.

In 2010, Miss A became the girl group that won first place in the fastest music show, which was only in 21 days. With 15 wins in music shows and 21 awards throughout their career, Miss A's achievements were remarkable. However, that did not save them from the 7 Year Curse. Miss A was confirmed to disband in 2017 after Jia and Min refused to renew their contract with JYP Entertainment.

In their 7th year, the legendary girl group KARA faced a problem when Nicole and Jiyoung did not renew their contract with DSP Media. They then recruited the 4th member, Youngji, through a survival show titled Kara Project. KARA continued with 4 members for about 2 years before disbanding in 2016 because their original 3 members, Hara, Gyuri, and Seungyeong, decided not to renew their contract.

Wonder Girls promoted simultaneously in Korea and America from 2009 to 2012, collecting awards and earning the title of 'first' throughout the United States. Wonder Girls' dominance in America came to a halt in 2014, their 7th year, when Sunye and Sohee did not renew their contracts with JYP Entertainment. After that, Wonder Girls underwent a makeover and achieved success with a retro band concept before disbanding in 2017.

Known as 'The Nation's Girl Group' in Korea due to their success, Girls Generation made history as the second most successful girl group of the second generation. However, they were also not immune to the 7-Year Curse. In their 7th year, Jessica left Girls Generation, causing a commotion among fans. In 2017, Sooyoung, Seohyun, and Tiffany also decided not to renew their contracts. Now, Girls Generation continues with only 5 members.