And now After School XDDD
This is an extremely messy post that began as a response to both this post on possible distribution techniques AS can use to gain more popularity, and also this post on After School's 2nd place ranking in this week's M! Countdown, their last chance per se to get 1st place now that the big names are coming back (these different tiers/levels would be an interesting discussion for another day), and the following question: Can the graduation system survive in K-pop? Honestly, this mess of a post doesn't touch that question as much as I'd like (re: not at all XD) because it involves a discussion on the differences between J-pop and K-pop in terms of promotions, fandom leadership and cohesiveness and I simply don't have the knowledge of J-pop to really discuss this. So J-pop people, care to take a stab at that question?
What I do want to talk about is how unique After School is because of the relationship between their graduation system and their concepts and what this means for their fandom. It's all really interesting to me as I've only really followed SNSD before this. One difference I've noticed between SNSD and AS is the difference of unity among within their respective fanbases. SNSD fans have that fevered, almost manic "Nothing without 9" mantra whereas among AS fans, there's a fear of losing a member to the graduation system. There is still support for AS as a whole, but Kahi's graduation has shown how much the system affects the group. Kahi was the foundation of AS so of course, many fans are sad to see her go. Many don't like the changes that this has brought to AS. But this is where AS can shine, if handled correctly.
A note about Bekah
That AKP post says the following about her: "Why wasn't it such a huge blow to see Bekah leave? Was it because she simply did not stand out enough or had she not had her rightful time in the spotlight?" My response would be that Bekah's graduation *did* deal a "huge blow" to AS but it wasn't seen until now. Bekah was a member who had a lot of "badass" in her, supporting Kahi's overall BAMFness. Now when Bekah left, it didn't seem like AS lost that component because Kahi covered a lot of Bekah's lines - for all intensive purposes, AS still had swag. But now that Kahi has left, that component of badassery is gone completely. The last song AS promoted in Korea was Shampoo - both Kahi and Bekah were still present. Now, both are gone and it's a very different AS. People are focusing on the effect of Kahi leaving and rightly so, but the fact that Bekah is not there either is big part of the why AS is so different now.
Individuality within After Sschool
Again from that AKP post: "What After School and Pledis Entertainment need to make sure to do is to give each member their time in the spotlight." ..."If After School and Pledis can make sure that all their members are distinct in their own ways when the time comes to graduate, they could very well find themselves with huge presence in the Korean entertainment world." I agree that they need to focus on individuality, both within the group and within K-pop. It's a problem every K-pop group has to deal with, but this is exacerbated within After School because of their graduation system and the group's core concept of sexiness.
Pre-Flashback AS had always combined that sexiness with a level of badass strength. But as noted earlier, that badass component - Kahi and Bekah - is gone and the thing is, AS can't ever go back to that because they're simply not the same group anymore. Look at what has happened with 2PM and Jewelry. 2PM was changed significantly when Jay left - their dynamics and concepts are very different now. However, they adapted and continue to be relevant in both Korea and Japan. But what makes After School's case unique is that with this graduation system, it will be a continual process of change.
Because of this, After School must build up their individual members - not with the end goal of being so popular they can't leave, but being so popular that when they do leave it will make an impression. That, I think will be the most powerful thing about After School. If they continue to make a group with stand out members and stages that continually promote how different they are as a group because of those members, AS has the potential to consistently bring in new fans, to have attention on their group, and rise and popularity.
(I think SNSD had tried to do something similar with a "It's [this member's] year!" but it didn't really pan out. They changed concepts but the dynamics remained the same - i.e. line distribution focused mainly on the vocal line. Something I've loved about B2ST is that giving Dongwoon more lines really helped his popularity and the popularity of the group as a whole, because people took note of that change.)
Flashback as a successful comeback
Let's talk a little about Jewelry: I remember Jewelry from their debut in 2001. They weren't very popular but as they changed their line up and changed their image because of it, they eventually found success. But now, their lineup has completely changed - no one from the original line up remains. The newest Jewelry made a debut/comeback last year to very limited success. I think the two biggest factors were that Seo Inyoung and Park Jungah left at the same time and that the new concept for the debut/comeback was way too different from what Jewelry had been known for, which, like AS, was a certain brand of sexiness.
For AS, though Bekah left last year, because AS did not do promotions in Korea after Shampoo, the effect of both Bekah's and Kahi's graduations has been felt at the same time in this comeback. However, Pledis made a good move by basing Flashback in AS's original concept of sexiness. They didn't try a concept that was completely different, as seen with Jewelry, but different enough to accommodate for the fact that AS is now a different group. What makes Flashback seem like a step backwards is that it's sexy without the badassery.
This, however, was a necessary and crucial step for AS. I think Pledis played it very smart by going with a sexy concept. What I think was even smarter is their choreography (which is a whole 'nother post altogether OMG DX) because it's obviously sexy, but it does not rely on the same movements other K-pop girl groups are employing - it's very unique, showing off the new dynamics of their group, and allows for each member to really bring their own character into each performance. That's the power of using cute stages and/or sexy stages - when done right, each member has the potential to bring out their individual charms and again, bringing out individuality is very important to AS right now.
Hurdles to jump
A big problem that AS will face is that Pledis is still focused on promoting AS in Japan. Splitting time between two countries is extremely difficult but add to that the fact that you essentially have a new group to promote, that's going to complicate things. I personally think AS needs to spend more time in Korea so that people can get used to this new "generation" of AS members. (This can also help Kahi because the more the public gets used to seeing AS without Kahi, the easier it will be for Kahi to be seen as a solo artist.)
Their real test will be their next comeback. As mentioned in the post about AS's second place rank, they can't win #1 with SuJu back - I mean, look at what happened when they were up against f(x). For M! Countdown this week, f(x) had more than 50% of the votes, while After School and Sistar were duking it out in the 20% range. Granted, keeping second place is very admirable, especially with how off-kilter AS's fandom is now, which is already considerably smaller than f(x)'s to begin with, and how well Sistar's "Loving U" has been doing on the charts.
Their comeback stages promoting Rip Off with Flashback followed the same kind of combination we saw in Bang! and Shampoo, keeping AS very unique and fresh. What I think they need to do with their next comeback is really pay attention to the song. Flashback was pretty safe and allowed the audience and fans to note the different direction AS is taking now. But their next comeback has to be strong. This also has to be in conjunction with non-performance work too (e.g. appearances on variety shows, MC spots)
Tangents
Orange Caramel was probably the most successful of AS's subgroups. SNSD's TTS was also really successful. Do y'all think that subgroups are better than having a graduation system?
Lastly, because AS has been really interesting in the extra performance they combine with the single they're promoting, what do y'all think would be interesting for AS to try? I mean, they've already done drumming, tap dancing and canes/top hat/tuxedo stages. I think pole dancing would be awesome 8D (Though, wasn't there that one group that said they were pole dancing but it didn't really pan out?)
What I do want to talk about is how unique After School is because of the relationship between their graduation system and their concepts and what this means for their fandom. It's all really interesting to me as I've only really followed SNSD before this. One difference I've noticed between SNSD and AS is the difference of unity among within their respective fanbases. SNSD fans have that fevered, almost manic "Nothing without 9" mantra whereas among AS fans, there's a fear of losing a member to the graduation system. There is still support for AS as a whole, but Kahi's graduation has shown how much the system affects the group. Kahi was the foundation of AS so of course, many fans are sad to see her go. Many don't like the changes that this has brought to AS. But this is where AS can shine, if handled correctly.
A note about Bekah
That AKP post says the following about her: "Why wasn't it such a huge blow to see Bekah leave? Was it because she simply did not stand out enough or had she not had her rightful time in the spotlight?" My response would be that Bekah's graduation *did* deal a "huge blow" to AS but it wasn't seen until now. Bekah was a member who had a lot of "badass" in her, supporting Kahi's overall BAMFness. Now when Bekah left, it didn't seem like AS lost that component because Kahi covered a lot of Bekah's lines - for all intensive purposes, AS still had swag. But now that Kahi has left, that component of badassery is gone completely. The last song AS promoted in Korea was Shampoo - both Kahi and Bekah were still present. Now, both are gone and it's a very different AS. People are focusing on the effect of Kahi leaving and rightly so, but the fact that Bekah is not there either is big part of the why AS is so different now.
Individuality within After Sschool
Again from that AKP post: "What After School and Pledis Entertainment need to make sure to do is to give each member their time in the spotlight." ..."If After School and Pledis can make sure that all their members are distinct in their own ways when the time comes to graduate, they could very well find themselves with huge presence in the Korean entertainment world." I agree that they need to focus on individuality, both within the group and within K-pop. It's a problem every K-pop group has to deal with, but this is exacerbated within After School because of their graduation system and the group's core concept of sexiness.
Pre-Flashback AS had always combined that sexiness with a level of badass strength. But as noted earlier, that badass component - Kahi and Bekah - is gone and the thing is, AS can't ever go back to that because they're simply not the same group anymore. Look at what has happened with 2PM and Jewelry. 2PM was changed significantly when Jay left - their dynamics and concepts are very different now. However, they adapted and continue to be relevant in both Korea and Japan. But what makes After School's case unique is that with this graduation system, it will be a continual process of change.
Because of this, After School must build up their individual members - not with the end goal of being so popular they can't leave, but being so popular that when they do leave it will make an impression. That, I think will be the most powerful thing about After School. If they continue to make a group with stand out members and stages that continually promote how different they are as a group because of those members, AS has the potential to consistently bring in new fans, to have attention on their group, and rise and popularity.
(I think SNSD had tried to do something similar with a "It's [this member's] year!" but it didn't really pan out. They changed concepts but the dynamics remained the same - i.e. line distribution focused mainly on the vocal line. Something I've loved about B2ST is that giving Dongwoon more lines really helped his popularity and the popularity of the group as a whole, because people took note of that change.)
Flashback as a successful comeback
Let's talk a little about Jewelry: I remember Jewelry from their debut in 2001. They weren't very popular but as they changed their line up and changed their image because of it, they eventually found success. But now, their lineup has completely changed - no one from the original line up remains. The newest Jewelry made a debut/comeback last year to very limited success. I think the two biggest factors were that Seo Inyoung and Park Jungah left at the same time and that the new concept for the debut/comeback was way too different from what Jewelry had been known for, which, like AS, was a certain brand of sexiness.
For AS, though Bekah left last year, because AS did not do promotions in Korea after Shampoo, the effect of both Bekah's and Kahi's graduations has been felt at the same time in this comeback. However, Pledis made a good move by basing Flashback in AS's original concept of sexiness. They didn't try a concept that was completely different, as seen with Jewelry, but different enough to accommodate for the fact that AS is now a different group. What makes Flashback seem like a step backwards is that it's sexy without the badassery.
This, however, was a necessary and crucial step for AS. I think Pledis played it very smart by going with a sexy concept. What I think was even smarter is their choreography (which is a whole 'nother post altogether OMG DX) because it's obviously sexy, but it does not rely on the same movements other K-pop girl groups are employing - it's very unique, showing off the new dynamics of their group, and allows for each member to really bring their own character into each performance. That's the power of using cute stages and/or sexy stages - when done right, each member has the potential to bring out their individual charms and again, bringing out individuality is very important to AS right now.
Hurdles to jump
A big problem that AS will face is that Pledis is still focused on promoting AS in Japan. Splitting time between two countries is extremely difficult but add to that the fact that you essentially have a new group to promote, that's going to complicate things. I personally think AS needs to spend more time in Korea so that people can get used to this new "generation" of AS members. (This can also help Kahi because the more the public gets used to seeing AS without Kahi, the easier it will be for Kahi to be seen as a solo artist.)
Their real test will be their next comeback. As mentioned in the post about AS's second place rank, they can't win #1 with SuJu back - I mean, look at what happened when they were up against f(x). For M! Countdown this week, f(x) had more than 50% of the votes, while After School and Sistar were duking it out in the 20% range. Granted, keeping second place is very admirable, especially with how off-kilter AS's fandom is now, which is already considerably smaller than f(x)'s to begin with, and how well Sistar's "Loving U" has been doing on the charts.
Their comeback stages promoting Rip Off with Flashback followed the same kind of combination we saw in Bang! and Shampoo, keeping AS very unique and fresh. What I think they need to do with their next comeback is really pay attention to the song. Flashback was pretty safe and allowed the audience and fans to note the different direction AS is taking now. But their next comeback has to be strong. This also has to be in conjunction with non-performance work too (e.g. appearances on variety shows, MC spots)
Tangents
Orange Caramel was probably the most successful of AS's subgroups. SNSD's TTS was also really successful. Do y'all think that subgroups are better than having a graduation system?
Lastly, because AS has been really interesting in the extra performance they combine with the single they're promoting, what do y'all think would be interesting for AS to try? I mean, they've already done drumming, tap dancing and canes/top hat/tuxedo stages. I think pole dancing would be awesome 8D (Though, wasn't there that one group that said they were pole dancing but it didn't really pan out?)