This year, several hotly-anticipated girl groups made their entrance into the K-Pop scene. These groups were immediately successful after their debuts. As a result, the competition for the 'Rookie of the Year' award has been intense since the beginning of the year.

Several female rookie groups like IVE, Kep1er, NMIXX, LE SSERAFIM, NewJeans, Billlie, and VIVIZ, released good music this year, made an impact, and achieved good digital and album sales, and these girl groups are most likely the nominated groups for the 'Rookie of the Year' award.

However, most netizens believe that IVE and NewJeans are the top contenders for this year's 'Rookie of the Year' award, owing to how well both groups are performing on international and domestic charts, as well as with physical album and digital sales.

Starting with IVE, who debuted last December with "ELEVEN," the girl group quickly rose to stardom due to how good and refreshing their music is. "LOVE DIVE" also received much attention, becoming the song with the most music show wins among K-Pop acts this year. It is also the most-streamed song by a K-Pop girl group on Spotify this year. Meanwhile, IVE is set to make their comeback with 'After LIKE.'

Next is Kep1er, a group formed through Mnet's survival show 'Girls Planet 999,' who debuted with the bright dance single "WA DA DA" on January 3. Kep1er immediately established themselves as a strong contender for the 'Rookie of the Year' award following their anticipated debut. They recently made their first comeback with the fresh, summery song "Up!"

Next on the list is JYP Entertainment's new girl group NMIXX. Debuted last February 22 with the teen pop-rock debut title track "O.O," the group immediately piqued the public's interest. NMIXX even trended several times for their live vocal and dance abilities.

LE SSERAFIM, HYBE's first girl group, debuted on May 2 with the funky pop song "FEARLESS." The track lives up to its name, with lyrics about moving on without being shaken or hindered by your past. 'FEARLESS' became the first album by a girl group in history to sell more than 300,000 copies in its first week.

The newly debuted girl group under HYBE's sublabel ADOR NewJeans broke numerous records with their surprise debut, making it even more impressive. Newman's "Attention" became the first debut song by a girl group to score a real-time all-kill on major domestic music charts six years after BLACKPINK. 'New Jeans' has also become the best-selling debut album in Hanteo history.

Billlie, which debuted in November of last year, also brings one-of-a-kind concepts to the table. Billlie's viral impact helped them gain more attention. With the release of their latest single, "Patbingsu," the group's popularity continues to grow. Meanwhile, Billlie is gearing up for its comeback at the end of August.

The K-Pop trio VIVIZ, consisting of former GFriend members, debuted last February with "BOP BOP!". Their first mini-album, 'Beam of Prism,' became the first 2022 album by a K-Pop girl group to land atop the worldwide iTunes album chart. The group recently made their first comeback with "LOVEADE."

Since the competition for girl groups this year is intense, netizens debate which group will most likely win. The music, impact, charts, and digital and album sales are all essential factors in determining who wins the award. Though each girl group deserves to win because their songs are good and they have their own charisma, each award show will only have one 'Rookie of the Year' winner.

Some Korean netizens relayed that there should be more than one winner since they think that each girl group deserves one.

"Seeing it like this, you can really see the importance of timing."

"That's right, it will be intense. I like them all."

"Wow, but honestly, I like all these female idols. Their songs are good too."

"Do they only give one award...?ㅠㅠ I hope they can give out two. This is such a shame ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ."

"If they think like me, they should award one to each of themㅋㅋㅋ nowadays, I'm living all thanks to the rookie girl groups..."

"I like all the female idols mentioned hereㅠㅠ."

"I like everyone mentioned in this post as all their concepts are different and they have good songs. These are such good groups ㅠㅠ."

"Seriously... I know that one of them must win and that the runner-ups are all running a close race but there are just way too many rookie girl groups who hit big this year. I feel like there will be so many posts in the future mentioning this year as the legendary debut year for female idols...."

"This year will be so intense. Can we just give one to each of them?ㅠㅠ"

"The female rookie groups this year are seriously unrivaled."

Which girl group/s do you think will win the 'Rookie of the Year' award?