In 2016, a new Korean entertainment company called Blockberry Creative announced a project for their new girl group, the likes of which had never been seen before in the K-pop industry. This girl group, called LOONA, or “Girl of the Month” in Korean, was set to have 12 members, one for each month. Each member of the group would debut individually with their own solo songs, then in small subunits, until all 12 were revealed and they would all perform together. This was a very unconventional and costly project, costing Blockberry Creative millions of dollars, which was what made LOONA such a risky project in the first place. In an industry where it’s very hard to succeed if you’re not under one of the major labels (JYP Entertainment, SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment or HYBE), Blockberry Creative took a very big gamble not knowing whether this group would be successful. The question of whether or not it paid off is a hard one to answer.
When LOONA started off with their first solo member debut, things were looking bleak. HeeJin, debuting with her solo song “ViViD,” was the lowest selling album in K-Pop that year, with only 657 copies sold. While things weren’t looking great, over time, LOONA accumulated a loyal following that would eventually help put them on the map. In 2017, when the sixth member of LOONA, Kim Lip, debuted with her solo “Eclipse,” LOONA began to take off. “Eclipse” is a dreamy R&B track, which was a 180 degree turn from the previous members’ and subunit’s concept, which showcased a more youthful and upbeat musical style. And it was after Kim Lip’s debut that everything began to change for them.
Soon after this, LOONA’s fanbase began to grow and the phrase “stan LOONA” was born. In and of itself, this phrase wasn’t anything special. Fans of K-pop groups would often use this phrase, inputting the names of their favorites, but it was the way that LOONA’s fans took the internet by storm, promoting them any chance they got. In its early days, you would often see “stan LOONA” with “Eclipse” ’s music video attached to it, then “Girl Front” by Odd Eye Circle, Kim Lip’s subunit with members Choerry and Jinsoul, who debuted after her. In addition to this, you would also see “stan LOONA” with fancams, vertical videos focusing on one member performing. While you may see fancams for Western artists as well as Korean ones all over Twitter, not many people know that the “stan LOONA” movement is where it originated from, because, despite having such a large impact on stan culture today, LOONA was never at at the same level as bigger groups like BTS, BLACKPINK, or TWICE. Much of LOONA’s success can be attributed to their loyal fanbase constantly campaigning for them and promoting them whenever they got the chance, even if it wasn’t appropriate at times. Even Kim Chi, a well known drag queen, was seen tweeting “stan LOONA.”
Anyone who was on Twitter from 2017 to 2018 was bound to come across a “stan LOONA” tweet at least once. Many current fans even say that it was what pushed them to check out LOONA in the first place, but it is also why the group can be polarizing. Many K-pop fans as well as non K-pop fans have sworn off the group because they found the fandom’s presence to be suffocating while “stan LOONA” was at its peak.
LOONA had reach in more ways than just one though. Within the K-pop industry, their concept caught many other companies’ eyes. In 2019, shortly after LOONA’s second group release, they posted a dance cover to popular boy group NCT 127’s “Cherry Bomb.” The video went viral due to their impressive dancing, garnering more views than NCT 127’s dance practice of their own song. Lee Soo Man, founder of SM Entertainment, the company which NCT 127 is under, then reached out to LOONA to make an album with them. While this may not seem all that exciting, Lee Soo Man had never given an album to a group outside of his own company, and still hasn’t given one to a group other than LOONA to this day.
Together, they made two albums, “[#]” with its title track “So What” and “[12:00]” with the title track “Why Not?,” where LOONA really made an imprint on the K-pop industry, especially with their cinematography style. To this day, you can see other groups taking heavy inspiration from their visuals and concepts, specifically from these two comebacks. In 2022, when the new JYP Entertainment girl group NMIXX dropped their teaser for their debut, people couldn’t help but notice the striking similarities to the “Why Not?” music video
Another recently debuted girl group, LE SSERAFIM, has shown many similarities to LOONA. While not a blatant copy like NMIXX, their cinematography and storytelling has shown to be very reminiscent of LOONA’s. For me, the most striking resemblance has been between LE SSERAFIM’s “UNFORGIVEN” and LOONA’s “So What.” They both share a similar concept and storyline: The story behind “So What” involves lighting everything on fire and burning the dark side of the moon, while some of the quotes from the promotion of “UNFORGIVEN” include “Burn all the forbidden things” and “Flame reveals the unknown.” LE SSERAFIM even shot the music video for “UNFORGIVEN” in Thailand, just like LOONA did for “So What.”
While LOONA has seen a considerable amount of success since their debut, thanks to their fans and their unique creative perspective, you would think they would have seen more with the amount of groups that have taken inspiration from them — especially groups that come from major labels. If you’re lucky enough to debut under one of these labels, you’re essentially guaranteed success, while groups under smaller or unknown companies, like LOONA, are not afforded that same opportunity. Despite this, LOONA has prevailed. As of right now, they hold the spot of the K-Pop girl group with the most number 1 hits on the US iTunes album chart, as well as the first girl group outside of one of the big three companies to break the Billboard Artist 100 chart.
As of right now, LOONA are no longer together due to issues with their company. Just this past year, all 12 members won injunctions to suspend their contracts with Blockberry Creative due to mistreatment. While they are all broken up into different groups and soloists, they have stated that one day they hope to reunite and come back as 12 members. Despite many factors working against them, LOONA has proved to have had a successful career so far. While most groups from small companies like Blockberry Creative rarely end up seeing much success or recognition, LOONA has solidified a spot in K-Pop history.