[pann] THE REASON WHY THE 5TH GEN CAN’T HIT BIG

I’m a woman in my mid-40s, and I’ve liked idol music since the 1st gen. Since the 2nd gen, I’ve mostly listened only to girl group songs, so I’m basically a typical casual listener with “untrained ears.” Personally, I think the reasons are:

1) It’s being called the 5th gen  even though it’s not really time for a generational shift yet. The 1st gen was mid-late 90s, 2nd gen was the 2000s, 3rd gen the 2010s, and 4th gen the 2020s. Even considering contract lengths, there’s usually at least a 7-year gap or more. Even if you shorten that, the timing would make this year the earliest for a 5th gen, but idols debuting in 2024 are already being pushed as 5th gen;; From a general public perspective, groups like ILLIT or BABYMONSTER don’t really feel like 5th gen. With groups like KISS OF LIFE or others that debuted more recently, people just kind of go “I guess they’re 5th gen?” and accept it.

2) The 3rd and 4th gens are still active. Groups like IVE, aespa, LE SSERAFIM, and even NewJeans, are still being listened to, and TWICE and BLACKPINK are still making a ton of money. It’s basically supply without demand.

3) The music and marketing are aimed at overseas markets, so it’s kind of natural there’s less domestic response. It’s not that I’m too old to understand. It’s that there’s barely any Korean in the lyrics. Even recent songs that are supposed to be “Korean songs” feel almost entirely in English. It’s not even like 3rd gen where they intentionally targeted overseas markets. Now it’s like they just sprinkle in Korean as seasoning, and I don’t even get what that’s supposed to be;

4) This is the biggest one: the song styles themselves aren’t suited to becoming nationwide hit songs. I’m not an expert so I can’t explain it technically, but compared to 2nd and 3rd gen songs, from the 4th gen onward it feels like multiple composers pile on and spend tons of money on polished mixing. But for a national hit, melody matters most, and those aren’t really there. If you look at the mega-hits from recent years, they’re songs people can easily sing along to.

5) The younger generation population has decreased, so their overall impact is smaller than ours was. There’s also less of that “parents hearing what their kids listen to” effect, because fewer people have kids;; And with smartphones, everyone just listens to what they want individually, so there’s less chance of naturally being exposed to songs in everyday life. 

–>  These are just the main points, and there are probably other factors too, like boy groups lacking mainstream appeal. Even with YouTube and social media, it’s honestly strange to me that there are fewer mega-hit songs than before.

Anyway, regardless of what “generation” it is, I just hope more good girl group songs come out