G-Market is fncking expensive. The fnck you gonna charge me $30 USD for some Gatsby Moving Rubber?? It's like $10 bucks on Amazon with Prime shipping! The worst part about G-Market is that $20 goes to purely shipping. I've shipped items from the US to the Philippines using USPS/EMS for less than that, and its bigger than a circle container with hair wax in it.
I... actually agree. It's hard to admit as I'm a big Suzy fan, but she shares a lot of similarities with Yoong. The "face" of the group then dramas and whatever else. Sure, she's dancing and singing better than before, but like Yoong, she's nothing compared to the heavyweights in their own respective groups.
The Hani/4M Hyuna/Dahye "it" is more so their intangibles, star quality, and stage presence than common sultriness, though. Suzy shares some of these qualities, and other subtle ones, but she's the most dissimilar among that type of group.
I'll have to revisit the AoA comparo later, though I def see some of the parallels you're getting at from personality and popularity to vocals.
IMO, this really all depends.
I honestly believe EXID wouldn't be where they are now without Pharkil's fancam, hell I didn't even know who Hani was until Crime Scene 2, that's how under the radar EXID was for me. Bubble Pop did Hyuna and the 4Minutes huge wonders too, but on this one I think they already had a chance to break the industry... rather Bubble Pop just expedited the entire thing. As for Miss A, well, tbh I couldn't see how they could've failed especially with the backing of JYP. Suzy's stint on Dream High also expedited the process, though this is kinda arguable as Good-bye Baby is fncking amazing in it's own right.
AOA and Bestie though? I've seen Seolhyun on RM and Choa on Primary's vid, but beyond that I've got no clue who they are. Meanwhile, I'm still waiting for the AOA stans to show me the light lol. Bestie, I've heard the name thrown around, but they too are way under the radar. Now I'm not saying that y'all should school me on who they are, but I'm just stating my own observations.
Granted, I haven't been closely following the girl group arms race for more than a year now. And I'm only really here for the K-Hiphop and K-RnB these days so that might explain why they're under the radar for me. But on the other hand, I feel like K-Pop GAF is a decent sample size where all groups get some representation one way or another... so if something isn't popular in here, it's probably the same outside of GAF's confines. Like I rarely see AOA and Bestie in AsianJunkie and r/kpop whereas EXID has a post about them at least once a week and it seems like it's the same here on GAF.
Anyway, I think it's just all luck and money tbh. Otherwise, 9Muses would've been the queens of the game for a long time now. Instead, we get a rotation that's strictly limited to 4 groups, Sistar, Girls Day, 4Minute, and A-Pink. Somebody can buck the trend, but then they fade off to obscurity after.
Photo Time @ Preview of Web Drama 'Sweet Temptation (달콤한 유혹
