Brilio.net/en - Dubbed by the media as one of the most exciting years on record for the K-pop industry, the 2016 lineup of artists coming out of Seoul has got hearts throbbing around Asia, with catchy new releases and increasingly risqu music videos.
Indonesians in particular are fascinated with the genre. Part of the reason could be that Korea represents the future of Asias pop movement, while Indonesias cultural conservatism often leaves much to be desired when it comes to new (and sexy) artistic mediums. With this in mind, here are five K-pop groups that Indonesians cant stop talking about in 2016.
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Big Bang
via BigBangupdates
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Many famous groups from Korea are unable to escape what is known as the K-pop seven-year curse, which implies a group will not stay together longer than seven years before breaking up. The one and only group that has managed to pass the seven-year marker, and still be hugely famous and successful after 10 years, is none other than Big Bang.
The group was put together by YG Entertainment nearly a decade ago, and the four-member boy band has been melting hearts around Asia ever since. Their cocky, hip-hop music style makes them popular among a young Indonesian audience, even today. For the groups 10th anniversary, Big Bang released its own film called Big Bang Made, breaking into Indonesias Cinema 21 and CGVblitz theaters in August of 2016.
EXO
via SMTOWN
As one of the biggest entertainment companies in Korea, SM Entertainment is well-known for its variety of talented groups, almost all of which have gone crazily popular around Asia, including Girls Generation, Super Junior, and EXO.
As part of the 12-member group's 2011 debut (split into two subgroups, EXO-K for Korean, and EXO-M for Mandarin), SM Entertainment was looking to simultaneously capture the Korean and Chinese markets with one giant boy band. Over the years, EXO saw enormous success. By February 2016, it was named the most powerful celebrity group by Forbes Korea.
Today, EXO holds a special place in the hearts Indonesian 20-somethings. Many local tweens buy plane tickets to Korea for the sole purpose of seeing them live in concert.
Twice
via Asianfanfics
For Indonesians, the top-of-mind K-pop girl group is arguably Twice from JYP Entertainment. This group consists of nine members, with names like Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu. Thanks to JYPs strategy in starting a reality show called Sixteen, young Indonesian netizens have become infatuated with the cute and charismatic band members.
Twice is also famous due the groups most controversial member Tzuyu -- the only Taiwanese girl in Twice. She was ranked 13 on the list of the 100 Most Beautiful Faces of 2015 by TC Candler. A few weeks later, while appearing on a TV show, Tzuyu held the Taiwanese flag. A Chinese celebrity soon accused her of being a pro-Taiwanese independence activist. In the days that followed, the incident led to Twice getting banned on all Chinese TV stations and a fierce political controversy broke out between Taiwan and China. JYP later put out a video of 16-year-old Tzuyu with her head bowed, expressing remorse for the incident.
BLACKPINK
via BLACKPINK
Having only been on the scene for less than a month, BLACKPINK is already a phenomenon in Indonesia. With the groups hip-hop sensibilities and club-ready music style, the four-member group (Jisoo, Jennie, Ros, and Lisa) has topped Billboards World Digital Songs chart at numbers 1 and 2, with their singles Boombayah and Whistle.
BLACKPINK is part of YG Entertainment and is the de facto successor of popular girl group 2NE1. Fans have high hopes for BLACKPINK, especially considering most of the 2NE1 members of have recently gone solo. Following the explosive nature of their music videos on the web this month, Indonesian fans are eager to get more of BLACKPINK.
EXID
via EXID_OFFICIAL
EXID, short for Exceed In Dreaming, came on the scene in 2012. The band is another girl group worth talking about in Indonesia, but the five-member crew did not gain immediate success and fame like BLACKPINK and Twice did. However, after working the circuit and staying in the game, they started garnering more attention after the release of their 2014 single Up & Down. Today, the group is immensely popular in Indonesia. Speculating about members Hani and Junsus dating lives also seems to be a hot pastime for local netizens.
Love it or hate it, one thing is certain about K-pop and K-culture: Jakarta has a sweet spot for it, and firms like JYP and YG Entertainment would do well to bring more of their artists to the archipelago in 2016.
Author: Selvi Nelin via Content Collision