It has become a time when solo artists are hard to find. Most of the newly launched artists are in group formats.
Looking at the actions of major domestic entertainment companies, all their artists are composed of multiple members. This has been a long-standing norm in the K-pop industry, but at some point, it has become a strong formula that hinders genre diversity.
As solo artists have become rare, more than half of the mainstream music in the industry is idol music. We are experiencing a distinctly different period compared to the 1990s and 2000s when ballads were the trend. Beyond the first generation of idols, we are now seeing the emergence of the fifth generation, and some even claim the sixth generation of idols as they attempt to carve out a new idol market.
SM Entertainment, one of the four major entertainment companies in Korea, will introduce an eight-member new girl group, 'Hearts to Hearts', at the end of this month. This is the first girl group to be launched in five years since aespa in 2020. JYP Entertainment also debuted a new boy group, 'Kickflip', last month. Following suit, labels under HYBE, such as Pledis, Source Music, and Big Hit Music, are also planning to launch new groups. YG Entertainment is reportedly preparing a new boy group following the debut of the new girl group 'Baby Monster' last year.
There is a flood of idol groups. Although the idol group culture has been entrenched for a long time, it seems to be overflowing with the uniform supply of idols from entertainment companies.
On the other hand, the launch of solo singers seems to be out of the consideration of these companies. Talented solo artists have disappeared. They are solely focused on producing music for multi-member idol groups. This means that there are no dance solo artists to be found, not just ballad or R&B singers or singer-songwriters. There are currently no junior solo artists who can follow in the footsteps of iconic solo artists like BoA, Rain (Jung Ji-hoon), Psy, and Seven.
There is a sense of regret and doubt about the current state of the music industry being focused on team music, but the industry perspective is that this is an unavoidable reality.
One music industry insider stated, "The investment value is very different from the past. Large entertainment companies, as well as small and medium-sized companies, find it easier to attract investment by promoting idol groups. Especially for solo debuts, special sources such as being an audition contestant or coming from a famous celebrity family are needed. Without that, it is really difficult to gain attention."
Another insider also mentioned, "The advantages of being in a group have become overwhelmingly significant. Looking at the current young fandoms, they show little interest in solo dance singers, ballad singers, or singer-songwriters. As a result, it becomes unnecessary capital expenditure for companies to take the risk of debuting solo artists," adding, "There is a need for a groundbreaking challenge to create solo dance singers or solo artists, but even large companies seem unable to let go of the significant commercial value they gain as a team and continue to chase it."
Thus, the times have clearly changed from the past, and the music industry has become deeply immersed in idol group music. However, there are also perspectives that do not view this negatively. Music critic Kim Do-hun stated, "I believe that current entertainment companies exist to organize K-pop groups. Among them, large companies are attempting to diversify genres through their labels," and predicted, "Currently, the focus is on idol group music, but as time passes, there will come a day when solo artists' music will receive attention again."
In fact, the recent appearances of solo artists are merely unit groups or solo artists derived from groups. Even those who want to pursue solo music find it difficult to gain attention, leading many idol trainees to prioritize group debuts.
There seems to be a need for a broader genre change through the training systems of entertainment companies. It remains uncertain whether there will be solo artists capable of filling large domestic venues like gymnastics arenas in the future.
[Ji Seung-hoon, Star Today Reporter]
