With K-pop's ever-shifting trends, the spotlight in recent years has often shined on girl groups as they dominated the charts and made global headlines. But with the new year, many are speculating that the tides may be turning in the industry, and boy groups will be taking over that spotlight.
A discussion was started in a popular online community where K-pop fans are debating whether 2025 would be the year of the boy group boom. One netizen shared their thoughts and explained, "From 2019 to 2023, boy groups couldn’t even make it onto the charts, but now they’re doing well breaking into the top ranks. BOYNEXTDOOR entered rank 17, and RIIZE hit a triple streak with 'Get A Guitar,' 'Love 119' and 'Boom Boom Bass.' TWS's 'Plot Twist' ranked no.1 on the annual charts."
Other netizens joined the conversation and also shared their two cents on this topic. While some commented that the latest boy groups are releasing hits, others pointed out that they are not as well known by the public as EXO, BTS, and Wanna One. They commented:
"I Honestly Don't Get Boy Groups These Days—When Exactly Is This 'Boom' Supposed to Happen?"
"I only know RIIZE from that list. Seeing TWS, BOYNEXTDOOR, and ZEROBASEONE constantly getting lumped in with RIIZE is hilarious."
"BOYNEXTDOOR's 'If I Say, I Love You'... Please show it lots of love! It's seriously so good."
"The charts are practically empty now."
"RIIZE, ZEROBASEONE, BOYNEXTDOOR, NCT WISH, TWS—these groups are definitely successful. But a full-on boy group boom? It hasn't happened yet. K-pop as a whole is becoming more niche over time."
"Talk of a boy group boom is nonsense. Girl groups are still dominating. From skills to visuals, girl groups are way better. The era of boy group domination ended with BTS and EXO."
"Maybe I’m just old, but the quality of songs isn’t what it used to be. Now, songs have to be pushed through challenges to become addictive. It’s exhausting. Up until BTS, EXO, and Wanna One, boy group songs had mainstream appeal."
"Most casual listeners only know EXO, BTS, and Wanna One."
"Chart rankings don’t mean much anymore. The real indicator of popularity is when casual listeners—like regular guys—can name the group, recognize at least a couple of members, and know two hit songs."
"It might not be a full-on boom, but at least boy groups are finally making it onto the charts. Before 2023, if there was a song everyone knew, it was almost always by a girl group. I'm not even a hardcore fan, just a high school junior, but All Winter's song is well-known, even among the guys in my class."
"I love refreshing, upbeat songs, so TWS is totally my style."
"Even when boy groups release good songs, they don’t seem to get as much attention as girl group music. But there are definitely some great boy group tracks out there."
"Are we in the 5th generation now? Who were the 4th gen groups again? I only follow girl groups."
"In reality, most regular people don’t know who these boy groups are."
"To be honest, boy group fandoms are more fun to be a part of."
What do you think? Do you think 2025 will be the year of the boy group boom? Let us know in the comments below!
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