The fate of the groups that debuted in 2013: Disbandment, having a member who passed away, BTS is the last survivor
The Korean entertainment industry is extremely fierce when thousands of trainees dream to become idols every year, dozens of groups debut in hopes of becoming famous. In 2013 alone, there were about 14 groups that debuted, and that was just “the tip of the iceberg” when they are the lucky names that are known to the public.
However, that luck did not last long because of the fierce elimination rate of Kpop. After 7 years, almost all groups debuted in 2013 could not avoid one ending, and the only survivor among them is BTS.
Groups that last less than 5 years
Debuted in 2013, 4 groups: GI, LC9, M. Pire, SPEED have one thing in common: they all had not yet become well-known but already disbanded. If GI, LC9 disbanded before they could escape their unknown days, the case of SPEED and M.Pire is more regrettable when they had got some decent achievements but could still not avoid the heartbreaking ending.
Groups that existed for over 5 years
Out of the 14 groups debuting in 2013, 9 made it to the 5-year milestone. But 10 of them either froze their activities and have yet to see a comeback, or have disbanded. Unfortunately, there are also groups that have lost their members permanently due to a painful reason.
BTS: The last survivor and the only group to win the “purge”
BTS is one of the groups that debuted in 2013 with the ambition to have a place in the intense competition of Kpop. 7 boys were struggling at the beginning because Big Hit Entertainment was a small company and was carrying a debt of up to 2.8 billion won when GLAM – their previous female group that debuted shortly before disbanding because a member was involved in an illegal blackmailing scandal.
Starting from a low point, BTS was not even as much appreciated as some other boy groups at that time like Boys Republic, History, Topp Dogg,… The members used to perform on small stages, often had their screen time cut off, their MVs and outfits were not well invested either. 7 boys also received criticism for their looks and the music style they pursued, at one point it even seemed hard for them to continue their activities.
But BTS began to “blow up” after the song “I Need U” became popular, giving them their first music show win in 2015. Since then, BTS has continued to rise, album sales and achievements on the chart higher day by day, the number of domestic and international fans increasing. With their first Daesang in 2016, BTS has proved themselves to be a formidable new force of Kpop.
Since then, BTS has continuously set records in bith Korea and overseas with a series of awards from prestigious awards shows such as MAMA, Melon Music Awards, American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, … They also make history as the first Korean artist to award and perform at the Grammy.
The 7 boys also destroyed the “7-year curse” – marking the moment when other groups were out of contract and disbanded when they continued to sign with Big Hit Entertainment in 2018. Up to this point, they are last the survivor among groups debuting in 2013 and also the only one capable of climbing to the top.
Source: k14
