K-Pop has officially turned into a worldwide phenomenon. With international boy band BTS performing in the Billboards and reaching the top of the Billboard 200, it’s a known fact that they are here to stay. However, in a world full of boy bands, shouldn’t we also recognize their female counterparts? So, in this list, I’ll be introducing you to six girl groups of this generation that we should all know. After all, these females can be as fierce and work as hard as boy bands do!
1. TWICE
This South Korean girl group has been dubbed the “Nation’s Girl Group.” They debuted back in 2015, after participating in the survival reality show SIXTEEN. Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu made the final line-up of the competition and thus, TWICE was formed. Their comeback, “What is Love?” had a very interesting concept—it broke barriers that haven’t been seen in K-Pop before. Not only is it filled with amazing movie references, but the girls play as each other’s love interests in their respective scenes. Make sure to listen to their latest single, “YES or YES.”
2. GFRIEND
This girl group also debuted in 2015. They’re known for their amazing choreographies and vocals. It consists of six members: SinB, Umji, Yerin, Yuju, Eunha, and Sowon. Their most known song is “Me Gustas Tu,” which went viral because of a video of the girls performing the song while it was raining. In the video, you can see the girls fall multiple times during their performance. Check out their latest release, “Sunny Summer.”
3. MAMAMOO
Mamamoo is hands down the vocal queens of this generation. This four-member group, consisting of Solar, Moonbyul, Whee In and Hwasa, are known all over South Korea for their amazing stage presence. They aren’t afraid to experiment with different genres and are unique with their approach in the K-Pop scene. Their single “Yes I Am” was all about female empowerment and loving yourself for who you are. Make sure to check out Mamamoo’s last release, Egotistic.
4. Red Velvet
Red Velvet debuted back in 2014, it consists of five members: Irene, Seulgi, Wendy, Joy, and Yeri. The latter was added to the group in 2015, during their first mini-album Ice Cream Cake. Even though we can totally see a cake theme with these girls, their group name definitely doesn’t take inspiration from it. Their name represents their dual concepts. The Red side represents their vivid, bold, girly image and the Velvet side represents their more sensual, classy side. If you want to check out their Red side listen to their latest song “Power Up,” but if you want to touch their Velvet side, hear their release “Bad Boy;” you won’t regret it.
5. (G)I-DLE
Compared to the other girl groups, this one debuted recently. (G)I-DLE debuted this May, but they are already making an impact in the K-Pop scene. They became the third girl group with the fastest win in the weekly award shows. The group has six members, Miyeon, Minnie, Soyeon, Sujin, Yuqi, and Shuhua. Make sure to check out their performance of their debut single “LATATA,” and their last self-composed single “HANN,” with their amazing choreography and vocals. They won’t disappoint.
6. BLΛƆKPIИK
BLACKPINK is YG Entertainment’s second girl group after the legends known as 2NE1. The group consists of four members, Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa and Rosé. They debuted in 2016 with their two singles “BOOMBAYAH” and “WHISTLE.” The girls are currently the only girl group to score No.1 three times on Billboard’s World Digital Song Sales chart and with their latest mini-album, SQUARE UP, they broke even more records. If you’re looking for a fierce girl group, BLACKPINK is definitely it. Make sure to listen to their mini-album SQUARE UP, and their recent collab with Dua Lipa, Kiss and Make Up!
Girl groups are very underrated in the K-Pop community, so hopefully, this list an idea of what to start with. These are the most known girl groups of this era, who were greatly influenced by K-Pop legends like Girl’s Generation, Wonder Girls, 4MINUTE and 2NE1. Please make sure to give all these girls a listen and support their future activities.