Fans Discuss 4 Trends In K-Pop That Are “Disappearing”

Trends come and go in any industry, and K-Pop is no exception. Whether the trend is something regarding fashion, the genre of popular songs, or fan behavior, there are some that are definitely more liked than others over the long run. Recently, a forum post was made in an online community that lists four different trends that seem to be gradually disappearing in the K-Pop industry, and fans had a lot to say about them. Here are those four trends, followed by the comments fans left regarding them.

1. Songs over three minutes long.

Caption: Songs over 3 minutes

The trend is short and impactful songs

NewJeans‘ entire album of Get Up

ENHYPEN – “Sweet Venom” 2:28

IVE – “Baddie” 2:35

LE SSERAFIM – “Perfect Night” 2:39

AKMU – “Love Lee” 2:59

It’s not breaking news that K-Pop songs have seemed to be, overall, getting shorter these days, likely at least partially due to the increasing popularity of streaming and the rise of TikTok. That means more songs are under the three minute mark, and many of them don’t even have bridges anymore, which can make a song feel unfinished.

2. Official positions in K-Pop groups.

Caption: Members per position

Main/sub/center positions have disappeared

Boy and girl groups, especially 4th generation groups, I guess it’s done for the convenience of fans

There are no more established official positions for the members

In past generations of K-Pop, pretty much every group had very distinct positions for each of their members, such as main vocalist/rapper/dancer, lead vocalist/rapper/dancer, sub-vocalist/rapper, visual, face of the group, leader, etc. These days, it’s become much more common for groups to have only vague positions, or no positions at all.

3. High notes in the chorus of songs.

Caption: High notes in the chorus

Rather than having a high note in the chorus, they’re just repeating the song’s title

Cake Cake Cake
Drama Drama Drama
Queencard Queencard Queencard
Baddie Baddie Baddie

This has arguably been a trend in K-Pop for quite a while, and not just in the most recent generations. Repeating a catchy hook that includes (or is just) the title of the song has been used in countless K-Pop tracks, though with songs getting shorter these days, that might make the trend more evident and unlikeable than in the past.

4. Full-length studio albums.

Caption: Full albums

The preference is for mini albums (because of comeback periods and production cost)

NewJeans 2 years into their debut –> 0 full albums, 2 mini-albums
aespa 3 years into their debut –> 0 full albums, 4 mini-albums
ITZY 4 years into their debut –> 1 full album, 8 mini-albums
(G)I-DLE 5 years into their debut –> 1 full album, 6 mini-albums

There seem to be fewer artists that release full albums on a regular basis these days, especially compared to generations in the past. Along with this, many “mini-albums” are hardly that at only 4-6 songs each, with “full-length” albums often only having 8-9 — which may have been considered a “mini-album” in the past. These shorter albums, paired with shorter songs, make for much shorter and, to many, less enjoyable listening experiences.

Here’s what fans had to say about these four “trends” that are becoming increasingly uncommon in the K-Pop industry.

Do you think these trends are around to stay?