The general idea of this particular op-ed has been buzzing around in my head for a while, but I've always been hesitant to write about it. Why? Well, mainly because I just knew that it probably wasn't a topic that many people would want to read about. But in the end, I wanted to write about it badly enough and decided to go ahead and do it.
I titled this op-ed 'The ZE:A Phenomenon' because in all of my years observing K-pop, I've never really seen a group like ZE:A. There are a few cases of models on how a group becomes popular:
- The group gets instantly famous immediately upon their debut. Ex: Most
SM/YG/JYP groups, B.A.P, etc.
- There is one (or few) famous member(s) who then
pull the rest of the group into the spotlight. Ex: After School (UEE/Orange
Caramel), A Pink (Eunji/Na Eun), 4minute (HyunA), MBLAQ (Lee Joon) etc.
- The group has a decent debut, and they keep getting
better and grow together until most group members become popular. Ex: INFINITE,
B2ST, Shinhwa
- Sadly, the group doesn't make it. Ex: Ah, let's not go there
SEE ALSO: Hyungsik reveals why he wanted to enlist and recommends that Kwanghee join 'Real Men'
However, ZE:A doesn't fit into any of these models. They don't even fit into category #4. It's a pretty special case where one certain member gets popular on a year by year basis. During their debut year of 2010 (and onwards), it was Kwanghee and his adeptness at variety shows that first brought him to attention. In 2011, Dongjun stepped into the scene with his athletics and Han Ga In-esque looks. 2012 was the year of Siwan, who gained immense popularity from his role in 'The Moon That Embraces the Sun'. The latest trend in 2013 has been an explosive year for Hyungsik. All four of them are staple faces in the entertainment industry. Like them or not, there's not many people who won't recognize them.
Maybe Hyungsik is the it-man of
the year, but ultimately, Kwanghee is still the top
member in ZE:A. He's the one who single-handedly pulled the group out of
nugu-dom (Who are they?). He came up with quite a fresh character for himself. No idol has ever
made 'plastic surgery' their character trait. But even after that, Kwanghee is
something special. The plastic surgery bit got old really quickly, but Kwanghee
kept bringing something new to the table. Yes, Kwanghee is very loud and
sometimes can get very chatty, but that's his strength. I've never seen an idol
that likes his voice as much as he does, but he has something funny or
memorable to say about everything.
But Kwanghee has way too many friends to be the jealous stuck-up snob people think he is – he's incredibly close friends with pretty much everyone: Taecyeon, Yonghwa, Minho, Park Bom, IU, you name it. And IU previously said that the real Kwanghee is actually someone with a lot of love – so much that whenever she hangs out with him, all Kwanghee talks about are his fellow members. When Kwanghee's on a variety show with his members, he's always holding their hand, patting their shoulders, or inducing some kind of physical contact with them. He's pretty much always thinking about them, and viewers can see that. It balances out with his loud side, making him a favorite to come out on variety shows.
Dongjun was the second ZE:A member to rise to the public eye. He had a drama special in 2011 with his killer satoori, and started his spotlight when people noticed he was almost identical to actress Han Ga In. Looking like an already famous celebrity – is always popularity fodder. But not just that, Dongjun stole the title of 'sports idol' from Minho, beating him out during the 'Idol Star Athletics Championship', and also became a permanent member of 'Let's Go! Dream Team Season 2'.
Equipped with good looks, satoori, and athletics (fans joke the only thing he's lacking is his height), Dongjun kept on winning over more and more to his side – and with that, additional knowledge about ZE:A. He's one of the idols that isn't hated on for his acting, mostly because he's actually good at it. His acting has been praised all the time, and even though he hasn't played any major roles, he's still got the solid basics that can take him far. Not only that, he's one of ZE:A's best singers – he's one of the members who has branched out into musicals.
Siwan took the baton next in
2012, shooting up to popularity through 'The Moon that Embraces the Sun',
swooning noona hearts with his
amazing looks. Of course, the drama was incredibly popular, and Siwan rode on
that wave, sweeping hearts everywhere with his killer smile. It was even better
because he came out onto variety shows and was the quiet, reserved counterpart
to Kwanghee's kkap.
Siwan has been pretty active in dramas as well, snagging a role as the young counterpart of one of the leading roles of the popular drama 'Equator Man'. He's also got a role in the upcoming drama special featuring the drama debut of BoA, which is sure to get a lot of buzz. But Siwan also hasn't been neglecting his variety duties. He comes on variety shows often, even when he's busy with dramas and movies and CFs. He's taken the character of being the reasonable, stable one. By himself, he could come off a little boring, and with just Kwanghee, ZE:A seemed a little too loud and hyper. But the combination of them worked perfectly to bring a balance.
How could I talk about ZE:A and
leave out its golden boy Hyungsik? Hyungsik actually first became known through
Kwanghee. To clarify, Kwanghee never said 'Hyungsik is the CEO's son', but 'Hyungsik
is the one of the executive staff's son'. He was actually correct – Hyungsik is
the son of one of the board of directors of BMW Korea, but as happens often, people
misunderstood what was actually said. Since then, both Hyungsik and Kwanghee have been
correcting people, but that's not the point. The point is, Hyungsik has been
pretty familiar to people already because of Kwanghee, and he shot dramas such
as 'Nine' and came out on 'The Romantic and Idol'.
His big break came this year in 2013 when he joined 'Real Men', which would then go ahead to become one of the biggest hits of the year. He was the hardworking 'Baby Soldier', and good looking to boot! His charm point was that he was sincere in everything he did. He was sincerely excited to try out some things, he sincerely didn't want to do some of them but did it anyway, he was really happy to be eating army food, and he was even okay with the fact that he was 4th in line and it took him almost 4 years to get known at all. As one of the good singers of ZE:A, he also actively promotes ZE:A's songs on 'Real Men'.
These four have now become a stable in the industry, but the math doesn't work out – the sum of its parts is apparently greater than the whole. Most everyone will recognize Kwanghee, Siwan, Dongjun, or Hyungsik, but not many react to the name 'ZE:A'. ZE:A has yet to make any kind of impact with their songs, floundering badly even beneath many rookies.
Mostly, I'm going to credit this lack of musical impact to their debut title, which was, to put it bluntly, a joke to many K-poppers. When I first heard "Mazeltov", I thought it was a joke, and consequently, didn't bother paying attention to the rest of their songs... for a certain time period.
However, ZE:A has actually had a collection of pretty decent songs since "Mazeltov". "Aftermath" is one of my favorites (not counting their currently-promoting "Ghost of the Wind", "Aftermath" is also the song the boys have done the best with). "Phoenix" was a good dance track, and "Beautiful Girl" wasn't bad, either. The problem? While ZE:A has songs that are 'pretty good', they have yet to get a track that is their table-turner.
Is there hope for ZE:A? I'd say yes. First of all, the four "it members" are bringing up Star Empire enough so that they don't have to worry about disbandment. Their most recent "Ghost of the Wind" is their best ranking song so far. I don't know if ZE:A purposely pushes one member at a time, but obviously the members are doing something right, because every member pushed so far has been, to borrow a Korean term, pretty daebak. Now only if they get their dynamic BA(a)M song.
Who's up next for ZE:A? I don't know, but here are two members I'd love to see more of:
Kevin is the English speaker of the group, the main singer, and the oldest, and seriously talented. Not many people know Kevin's abilities as a singer because their music isn't very well known and it also doesn't really showcase Kevin. Check out his cover of "Home"!
His new
haircut + dye for "Ghost of the Wind" also makes him stand out more than he did
before, and hopefully as ZE:A songs perform better, he'll also do better, especially since their mini-album already includes his self-written songs. Kwanghee's
also already started to lay out the base, talking about Kevin and his singing
abilities. Kevin's also started to show up, on shows such as 'Immortal Song 2' (with Dongjun, Hyungisk, Minwoo, and Heecheol), and 'The Romantic and Idol'.
Also, if his Aussie accent doesn't make you swoon, I don't know what else will.
Junyoung is the rare case where the leader of the group has yet to shine (think 2NE1's CL, Big Bang's G-Dragon, Super Junior's Leeteuk, Girls' Generation's Taeyeon, KARA's Gyuri, Wonder Girls' Sun, etc… Leaders tend do well.) Junyoung is well known to ZE:A fans as the 'kind leader', and you can see some of that playing out when the members played a hidden camera on Junyoung, Siwan, and Kevin to see which one would be the leader.
But that's
not to say that's the full extent of Junyoung's talents. He remixed a 'Moon Leader' version
of "Aftermath", and he's also composed some of ZE:A's songs! Also he looks a bit like JYJ's Yoochun?
That's not to say I wouldn't be elated if 2014 brought forth Taeheon, Minwoo, or Heecheol instead.
Will ZE:A's strategy work? Is it working? I'd like to say
yes. Each new spotlight member brings an influx of new fans who gets to know the
group better. At the very least, I was snagged by the most recent Hyungsik wave,
dug into the group, and started to love Kevin and Kwanghee. And I can't be the
only one starting to see their charms. Perhaps in the future, the ZE:A Phenomenon will be more than just a title.
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