Koreans Predicted These 3 Girl Groups Would Be The Top 4th Gen Girl Groups — Were They Right?

K-Pop is bigger than ever. And flourishing in the latest era of K-Pop are “4th generation” girl groups! Packed with talent and visual, these groups come armed with well-rounded all-star members, trained by field experts who built the industry from the ground up.

And among the countless groups that burst onto the scene, these three have been showing the most potential to be the industry leaders — according to Korean K-Pop fans!

1. ITZY

Having debuted the earliest out of the three, ITZY became “monster rookies” in February of 2019. With all five members being powerful vocalists as well as powerful dancers, ITZY have been fearless with breaking industry norms and trying bold, new concepts.

Korean fans believe the unbreakable bond the members show among themselves attest to the success that ITZY will see as a group!

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ITZY has now sold over 3.5 million copies of all of their albums, including becoming million sellers with each of their past two mini-albums, Checkmate and Cheshire. It’s safe to say that ITZY is one of the leaders of the 4th generation of girl groups!

2. STAYC

STAYC debuted in November 2020 amid some high anticipation, as the group’s producer Black Eyed Pilseung revealed that it took him three years to “find the members that had the right talents and the right personalities.” The time and effort that went into creating STAYC has surely paid off though, as these rookies immediately began sweeping the music charts with every release.

In fact, according to Korean fans, Black Eyed Pilseung really outdid himself with putting the group together — as STAYC members have not only the right talents and right personalities, but also the right visuals!

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STAYC have been a huge success, especially for a girl group not from a big company. Both “RUN2U” and “Teddy Bear” ranked in the top 5 on Korean music charts, and STAYC turned a profit in under three years, a remarkable feat for a girl group nowadays.

3. aespa

With all eyes on them for being the first girl group to debut from SM Entertainment in six years, aespa debuted in November 2020. And dubbed the agency’s most experimental debut yet, combining K-Pop with an innovative AI concept, the members and their computer-generated counterparts are currently making history in the field.

While at first Korean fans had their doubts about the unprecedented concept, they have come to agree on one thing for sure: aespa is next level K-Pop, whether they learn to accept it or not.

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Even with only three mini album releases, aespa have sold over 4.6 million copies of their albums, becoming the highest selling 4th generation girl group. My World, the group’s third mini-album, is nearing 2 million copies sold!