The Distinct Sound of Older K-pop vs Newer Artist Recognition
We are now slowly escaping the end of the extreme winter we have been having here in South Korea. At one point in January the average daily temperatures in Seoul were not creeping above -6c. For the most part I was simply trying to keep myself warm so I don’t freeze off my extremities while commuting to and from work. During one of those freezing days, I was at the gym with one of my closest friends who currently works at an entertainment company. We were on the treadmill gossiping about life when NCT 127’s Fact Check came on over the speakers. We both paused in mid conversation and ended up dancing on the treadmill, cracking up as we had realised what had happened.
After our mini jam session on the treadmill, we continued as normal but a thought crossed my mind at that point and I turned back to my friend. “There hasn’t been anything from these newer groups that has made me feel hype as an artist from the older generations,” I said, recognising that even though Fact Check came out in late 2023, NCT 127 as a group debuted in 2016 (they will celebrate their 10 year anniversary this year!) They agreed emphatically, and added to why this was the case. “Groups these days do not have a set identity of their own. They are busy trying to emulate what is popular and trendy but, of course, by the time they have curated that sound and look, the trend has long gone and everyone else has moved onto something else.”
It is depressing how true that is. There was a time in K-pop where you would listen to the first five to ten seconds of a song without knowing who it was by beforehand and go, “Oh, this is definitely a Sistar track!” or “Yep, 100% Infinite!” and that is in part because of the set producers that a lot of these artists would regularly work with: AOA would always have a Brave Brothers song, Infinite worked very well with Sweetune, Jay Park would have his close friend Cha Cha Malone with him… and that’s just the ones who stick with one or two particular artists. LDN Noise, Groovy Room, Gray, Moonshine… if you heard their producer tags on a song, you knew exactly what kind of song you were going to get. In fact, fans would almost beg producers to work with their favorite groups to almost guarantee them a hit track.
So what’s different? It’s not like these producers no longer exist. I follow several of the aforementioned producers and they are still actively writing songs for different groups and artists… just not lead singles as much. The trend now is to either have in-house producers or the artists produce and create the songs (very much a trend for the 4th gen) or mix and match songs for a group and see what works… which is what seemingly is happening with the 5th gen.
Nevertheless, I will say that AHOF, the group that was created from the winners of the SBS survival show Universe League, has a more distinct sound than most to the point where after hearing a couple of songs from them, when I heard another track I instantly knew it was by the same group. THAT is the identity that is missing from a lot of these newer groups.
That is not to say that all the songs have to sound the same. But you knew if a song was one by SNSD, Blackpink, or Twice. You are able to work out if it is a SHINee song, one by EXO, or one by NCT 127. In fact, all the NCT groups are so distinct in their individual sound, you would be able to tell if it is 127, Dream, WayV, or Wish. Either way, I'm finding that this kind of distinction is lacking in the current generation of K-pop groups.
It would be a good time for entertainment companies to step back and take a look back on what needs to be done to make themselves stand out again. Because by trying to emulate someone else’s individuality, you only end up being another carbon copy yourself.
And why bother with a copy if you could just stick with the original?
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