It's the 10 year anniversary of Girls Generation's The Boys! What else came out in 2011 K-Pop?
Disclaimer: This will only include girl groups because OP never paid attention to boy groups. But I welcome you to throw in any other songs or tidbits in the comments!
Happy 10 year anniversary to ‘The Boys’!
Click to viewThe nation’s girl group’s endeavour into the US’ market may not have made the splash overseas SM hoped it would, it was still an incredible moment in K-Pop history. With this track, SNSD managed to be the first K-Pop group to perform on a US late-night talk show! I can remember the bad faith “who is the most popular girl group? SNSD, 2NE1 or AKB48?” debates almost like it was yesterday.
Did the song hold up? If by holding up you mean “do you still sing along when this starts playing”? Absolutely. Though admittedly, it’s definitely a song only Girls Generation can pull off.
Are they still together? To quote this iconic track, life is a mystery!
So… where are they now? Jessica was dismissed from the group in 2013, in a situation that OP doesn’t know nearly enough about to start describing. She released some solo music but has since dedicated her time to her clothing brand ‘Blanc & Eclare’, as well as released a young adult novel inspired by the K-Pop idol trainee life. In 2017, members Tiffany, Sooyoung and Seohyun decided not to renew their contract with SM. The remaining five members are still with the company, though the group itself is on the ever-so-vague “hiatus”. Most successful member is Taeyeon, without a doubt, though all of them remained booked and busy in their own ways.
f(x) - Pinocchio (Danger)
This song brings up amazing memories for OP. ‘Pinocchio (Danger)’ further helped f(x) cement their experimental sound (as far as K-Pop was concerned) and would become the group’s first number one. While people often forget the ‘Pinocchio’ album, especially as it was followed by the giants that are Pink Tape/Red Light/4 Walls, this release laid the foundation to a group that would continue to showcase itself unlike any other.
Did the song hold up? OP still finds this song incredibly catchy. The chorus is catchy and everyone’s vocals are distinct and playful. Also that outfit change scene in the MV is imprinted on OP’s brain!
Are they still together? Well, technically yeah, but none of the members are under SM. Though, if Luna has any say in it, there’s no need to refer to f(x) in the past tense!
So... where are they now? Not gonna lie, it was tough for OP to figure out a writeup for this one, especially as a f(x) stan from the very start. I started watching ‘Pinocchio (Danger)’ to find the right moment to gif, and ended up going through their entire catalogue again - kinda reminiscing. Krystal has mostly stuck to modelling and acting, not really showing any desire to make music any time soon. Her instagram @vousmevoyez is aesthetic eyecandy. Victoria has a rather successful career promoting in China nowadays booking acting gig after acting gig. Amber kind of switched between a YouTube career and music, neither proving very fruitful for a myriad of reasons, but it seems she has now found her footing in China as well. Luna released a new song titled ‘Madonna’ about two weeks ago, and the people that weren’t into her previous ballad trajectory may enjoy this one a lot!
Sulli left her mark on us all, and will continue to live in our hearts forever as the inspiration she is.
T-ara - Roly Poly
WHAT A SONG! WHAT AN ERA! Roly Poly was one of the many incredibly memorable T-ara songs. It became the most downloaded song of 2011 and helped cement them as a potential top girl group. Things fell in the water for reasons you are free to yell about (with me) in the comments.
Did the song hold up? Yes. A million times yes.
Are they still together? Needless to say, T-ara’s lineup went through many trials and tribulations, but the girls are in fact still together! At least 4 of them are. Jiyeon, Qri, Hyomin and Eunjung confirmed they will be making a comeback before 2021 ends.
What about the other members? I will not be going into wherever Jiae and Jiwon went to because, sheesh, I don’t know. I had to google their names. Soyeon hasn’t blessed us with her gorgeous vocals in a bit, her last official activity having been a tv show ballad. Her IG tells me she has a shop opening up soon but I can’t tell for the life of me what she’s selling. Boram did some variety here and there, but it’s been quiet for a while- though she still celebrated T-ara’s anniversary this year. I don’t know if Dani really counts but she no longer seems to be involved with the idol/trainee life. Areum tried her hand at the survival tv show ‘The Unit’ but unfortunately didn’t make it far, this being the end of her idol career. However, it seems Areum has settled down and gave birth to a healthy baby boy last year! And Hwayoung is hopefully somewhere having a terrible Monday! (in Minecraft!)
2NE1 - I Am The Best
At a time where Teddy wasn’t continuously missing, 2NE1 amazed many with ‘I Am The Best’. This song is likely the first one you’d show to anyone looking to get acquainted with YG’s first girl group. It became the group’s 4th #1 single and remains, to this day, pretty unmatched in regards to the ‘girl crush’ concept within K-Pop.
Did the song hold up? It’s still pretty great. The song is loud and blaring, but somehow not headache-inducing, and god knows we have enough of that in K-Pop nowadays. And isn’t Bom the cutest thing in that purple mini dress?
Are they still together? We are breaking the “eternally on hiatus” curse with this one, cause 2NE1 officially disbanded in 2016, though leaving fans with the bittersweet single ‘Goodbye’.
So... where are they now? Talk about another group that we can have some angry discussions about in the comment section. Gone too soon, 2NE1’s members have luckily found some footing here and there. Park Bom withstood a grueling career setback following a controversy regarding prescription medicine (that OP really doesn’t want to go into cause Good God), but was able to begin regularly releasing music in 2019 until today. Dara was the final member to leave YG and has delved into variety tv shows and musical theatre. Minzy has been consistently releasing music, though not incredibly successful. ‘Teamo’ was released 3 months ago. After finally leaving YG in 2019, where she wasn’t given the chance to release her solo music, CL has also been consistently releasing music. Mixtape ‘In The Name of Love’ consisted of songs that were kept in the vault during her time on YG, and she is preparing to release her debut album ‘Alpha’ in 3 days.
Wonder Girls - Be My Baby
The only loosely inspired by ‘Single Ladies’ (LOOSELY!) ‘Be My Baby’, showcased the Wonder Girls at their best. The song is great, the choreo is great, they look great, and the girls reminded everyone why Wonder Girls was considered a top girl group before JYP sent them on a weird USA promotion trip. Unfortunately they were sent on another USA trip again after (no, we won’t talk about the TeenNick show). The album ‘Wonder World’ also is considered to be one of the best in K-Pop, of all time.
Did the song hold up? YES! I genuinely believe if this was released today, it’d still sound just as good as it did back then.
Are they still together? After a surprising reshuffle (past member Sunmi returned and Sohee left), the Wonder Girls still managed to have a good run with ‘I Feel Good’ and ‘Why So Lonely’. Unfortunately the group officially called it quits in 2017.
So... where are they now? Sunmi has had an incredibly successful solo career, becoming a staple in the landscape of female soloists in the Korean music industry. Sohee turned to acting and modeling. Yubin had a pretty good career in variety tv, becoming a contestant on Unpretty Rapstar, and has since been releasing music with her last single to date having been ‘Perfume’. Hyerim went back to school after Wonder Girls’ disbandment, but has recently signed to Yubin’s label. Otherwise, it’s been rather quiet. Yenny releases her music under the name HA:TFELT, under Amoeba Culture, with her last song having been 'Summertime'. Sunye is… well, she has been going on Christian missionary trips, which isn’t great. I don’t know if I’m supposed to be mentioning Hyuna, but she’s of course been doing more than fine!
Honorable mentions
Sixth Sense by Browned Eyed Girls
Goodbye Baby by Miss A
Midnight Circus by Sunny Hill
Shampoo by After School
Mirror Mirror by 4Minute
To Me by Rainbow
Love Is Move by Secret
I Don’t Know by APink
Step by Kara
Sources: Me, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
feel old yet, ONTD?