Girl group TWICE (Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, Tzuyu) made a comeback with their new mini album “BETWEEN 1&2” and the title song “Talk That Talk” on August 26th.
There is no doubt that they are the advance guard among third-generation girl groups. 7 years ago, the nine members hit their first home run with their debut song “Like OOH-AHH” with JYP Entertainment’s head J. Y. Park’s seal engraved all over their bodies. With the power of their agency, those who were as bright and energetic as the sun secured solid recognition in about a few months as a large rookie star. The presence of the nine people who continuously showed their faces on music broadcasting activities and entertainment shows, which are like infinite relays, was refreshing and sweet like candy.
TWICE was a work of art that J. Y. Park worked hard on. At the same time, they were able to walk a similar path of success to SM Entertainment’s Girls’ Generation, the leader of second-generation girl groups. Successive mega-hit filmography such as “Cheer Up”, “TT”, “Signal”, “Likey”, “Heart Shaker” and “What is Love?” leads to the deja vu of Girls’ Generation, which dominated all of Asia.
Unless the agency is a prominent large company, it is like asking for the moon to raise a group of close to 10 trainees for many years. At that time, the agency JYP was the birthplace of strong and sensual idols such as 2PM and Miss A. TWICE, which is influenced by SM’s unique idol concept formation method, was born with both healthy beauty and sophistication.
However, every flood has its ebb. The term “7-year curse” is a nightmare phrase for K-girl groups. From the second generation to the fourth generation, many idols went through the process of disbanding after 7 years of debut even though they were doing well. Groups Rainbow and Lovelyz, which are considered to have skills, beauty and talent, finally remained as celebrities in the past. GFRIEND released many remarkable hit songs, but they are currently active separately due to their agency’s merger and acquisition as well as the dispute over the group name’s trademark right.
At this point, is smooth communication between agencies and artists the only secret to longevity? For example, according to J.Y.Park and JYP’s keynote that “personality education” is very important, how “proper” is TWICE’s path of activities?
Those who were teenagers became girls in their mid-late 20s. As TWICE is a group with strong femininity, various rumors have circulated little by little. Jihyo and Mina were embroiled in dating rumors with other male idols. Momo was in a public relationship with Super Junior Kim Hee-chul for several years. Due to the particularly harsh and strict domestic atmosphere towards girl groups, a “personality controversy” would suddenly break out if they showed fatigue in front of the fan club.
Of course, some members had health problems. In 2019, Japanese member Mina had to return to Japan and rest for several months as she suffered physical and mental pain. Jeongyeon’s warning health signs such as neck injury and rapid weight gain from about 2 years ago made fans worried.
At the moment when overseas concert contracts were lined up, even JYP, which is said to be for artists more than anyone else, could not easily approve TWICE’s long-term break. This is because TWICE was still a big sales channel based on the global stage as 2PM had a history of attracting huge profits from overseas.
At the same time as TWICE’s comeback on the 26th, a number of postings were posted on famous online communities such as Nate Pan and DC Gallery calling for their concept correction. This is the reason why the concept photos and jacket behind-the-scenes shots that the members released like a spoiler through their Instagram account are too “revealing”.
The commercial nature of the entertainment industry is obvious. In particular, experts at Korean idol agencies, including K-pop, are customary to gradually transform the maturity of a girl into sexy fashion, starting with the subtle sensuality of their debut season, such as white skin and tennis skirts. TWICE was also not free from this style level. Amid a series of criticisms, the members actually post their pictures on Instagram as a promotion, drawing a sigh from the fan club.
Recently, HYBE’s girl group NewJeans also debuted at a very young age in their teens and captured the world’s attention with their sexy concept. However, in the midst of this, controversy over the sexuality of the lyrics of ‘Cookie’, including CEO Min Hee-jin’s pedophilia rumors, also surfaced. ADOR is also struggling to quell the controversy.
However, TWICE is already a senior with a lot of experience. The exposure of those who entered the mid-to-late part of their heyday is a different level externally from NewJeans, who has just stepped into the music industry.
It is the fans of the same age or older sister who have cared for them for a long time. Men are content to appreciate the exposed visuals of the 9 members rather than opening their wallets, but women of the same generation have a sense of solidarity, hoping that the members will not be hurt. Person A, who works at DC Gallery, said, “It’s too much to do with lingerie photos. Just like actress Song Ji-hyo’s stylist incident, we are determined and want to issue a statement to dissuade JYP.”
In response, one popular culture critic pointed out that the lifespan of a girl group is usually less than 10 years, which is closely related to the profit-making orientation of entertainment companies. He said, “It’s been more than 10 years since K-pop exploded, and it’s time for extensive rethinking and correction. In other words, it is necessary to prepare and systematize the secondary future after an idol career.”
Source: tvdaily
