Once the ‘Girl Group Manor’, JYP Struggles of ITZY and NMIXX in January, Will TWICE Restore Honor?

The “Girl Group Emperor” JYP Entertainment is facing consecutive difficulties. Despite actively tapping into the girl group market by debuting ITZY in 2019 and NMIXX in 2022 to compete with rival companies, the results are not satisfactory. Both groups have failed to capture the same level of popularity as senior girl groups, and their recent album releases have also left much to be desired in terms of performance compared to previous works. As a result, the stock price of JYP Entertainment is showing a downward trend.

ITZY debuted on February 12, 2019, with the digital single “IT’z Different,” emerging as a new girl group under JYP following Wonder Girls, Miss A, and TWICE, garnering attention in the music industry. Their title track “DALLA DALLA” set a record as the highest-viewed music video among debut K-pop groups at the time and secured the highest ranking for a female idol group on Melon’s annual chart and Gaon Digital Comprehensive Chart in 2019.

However, ITZY faced criticism for their fourth mini-album “GUESS WHO,” especially the title track “M.A.F.I.A. In the morning,” for its outdated lyrics and vague concept, and their first full-length album “CRAZY IN LOVE” received lower streaming results than its predecessor, putting them in a crisis. Although they seemed to overcome this with their fifth mini-album “CHECKMATE,” achieving million-seller status, their sixth mini-album “Cheshire” marked their worst performance as ITZY failed to enter the Melon monthly and weekly charts with the title track for the first time.

ITZY’s eighth mini-album “BORN TO BE,” released in January, sold 310,000 copies on its first day, a remarkable achievement considering their previous declining sales. Moreover, with member Lia halting activities since September 2023, concerns about ITZY’s future activities have been raised.

Following in ITZY’s footsteps, JYP’s rookie girl group NMIXX debuted on February 22, 2022. With all members possessing outstanding visuals and vocal and dance skills at the main position level, they set a record for the highest debut album sales among all girl groups. However, they failed to gain popularity compared to their formidable competitors like aespa, LUCY, and NewJeans, despite their high entry barrier group concept and music. Moreover, their second EP “Fe3O4: BREAK,” released on the 15th of last month, saw a drop in first-day sales by nearly 400,000 copies compared to the previous work. Attention is focused on whether NMIXX can overcome the disappointment in first-day sales as they continue their music show promotions with the track “Run For Roses” from the 16th onwards.

Meanwhile, TWICE is set to release their 13th mini-album “With YOU-th” on the 23rd. As this will be their first full-group album since the release of the 12th mini-album “READY TO BE” in March last year, fans have high expectations. With ITZY and NMIXX facing album performance issues in January, there is keen interest in whether they can revive the crisis facing JYP Entertainment’s girl groups.

Source: Daum