In the 2000s, the Second Generation South Korean girl groups such as Girls’ Generation, Wonder Girls, 2NE1, After School, Kara, Brown Eyed Girls, Secret, Sistar, Girl’s Day, 4Minute, and F(X) revived the popularity and consumption of girls domestically in Korea as well as internationally through the second phase of Hallyu Wave. In this article, Channel-Korea will provide you with updates on the Top Songs From 2nd Generation K-Pop Girl Groups That You Shouldn’t Miss! So, stay tuned!
After School’s Flashback
On June 19th, 2012, South Korean girl group After School came back once again with their new song titled “Flashback.” “Flashback” was the group’s fifth Korean single album and it was their comeback after a one year break. The single marked the first appearance of the fifth-generation member, Kaeun, and it also marked the first comeback since one of the members, Kahi, officially graduated from the group to pursue a solo career. Their comeback after one year of break, no doubt brought a lot of sensation not only for fans in South Korea but also all around Asia, including Japan.
Through the new song, the group returned with their sexy concept as it was seen in the Music Video of “Flashback”; the girls are wearing a sexy black and white dress with sexy moves.
The title song “Flashback” contains powerful electronic sounds harmonized with the group’s charisma. The lyrics tell about the longing for when one is in love and also contain a double meaning when After School tried to return to its early stages most desired and liked by fans. The song offers a spectacle that cannot be missed just like that, with subtle electronic sounds by the composer TEXU and the choreography by Kyle Hanagami that really suits After School’s style. After School’s “Flashback” gained generally positive feedback throughout the world. Embrace You magazine described the album Flashback as “creative, fun, exciting, well organized, and demonstrates brilliant production efforts. There are no fillers or musically incorrect additions. Each track has the potential to stand on its own and appeal to not only pop and dance fans, but to lovers of ballads and R&B.”
According to Air Monitor, “Flashback” was the fourth most played song on Korean broadcast and radio charts. The song also managed to beat tough competition from Super Junior, 2NE1 and Sistar. “Flashback” placed at No. 6 on Billboard’s Top 20 K-Pop Songs of 2012.
Girls’ Generation’s Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)
Talking about the top songs of the second generation of South Korean girl groups, we must not forget to mention the song “Tell Me Your Wish” or “Genie” from one of the most phenomenal South Korean girl groups, Girls’ Generation. “Tell Me Your Wish,” or also known as “Genie” is a song recorded by South Korean girl group Girls’ Generation for their second extended play of the same title. The song was released on June 22nd, 2009, under SM Entertainment. It was written by Dsign Music, Fridolin Nordso Schjoldan, and Yoo Young-jin, and produced by Young-jin. The song is the first collaboration of Girls’ Generation with Western composers and producers and it was later encouraged towards the group’s future music release. “Tell Me Your Wish” (Genie) is an electronica-style pop song influenced by the European dance genre, featuring a heavily synthesized intro. The song was originally composed in English with the title “I Just Wanna Dance.” But the song was retitled when Yoo Young-jin composed the lyrics in Korean. The lyric’s theme is exposed by the subtitle “Genie,” which is the metaphorical symbol of “Goddesses of Luck.” Through the new song, the group returned with “Marine Girl” concept.
The lyrics of “Tell Me Your Wish” (Genie) tell about the elements of love and relationships, alongside granting the wishes of their partner. In the music video, Yoona is the first member to appear and she is sitting in a large lamp, the other members sitting around her.
The music video shows back and forth between the group performing the choreography and scenes from three separate rooms, each filled with three different members. Yoona, Yuri, and Jessica are in a large pink bedroom, Tiffany, Taeyeon, and Sunny are in a disco bar, while Sooyoung and Hyoyeon are in a room where there is a large cake from which Seohyun then pops out. The girls are wearing white uniforms and perform on a long runway-like stage with a large heart in the background, while in the other scene, they are in khaki uniforms with the words “GIRLS’ GENIE” in the background.
The group performed their first comeback stage for the song on June 26th, 2009, on KBS’ Music Bank. The song received awards as the most popular album and ringtone downloads.
KARA’s Lupin
South Korean girl group KARA has always released some hits with typical dance in each song. “Lupin” is one of their most phenomenal songs. Lupin is the group’s third mini-album with the title track of the same title. The concept and artwork of the album are based on French writer Maurice Leblanc’s fictional gentleman thief, Arsène Lupin.
Through the song “Lupin,” KARA shows a darker and more mature concept. The music video of the song was released on February 22nd, 2010, garnering more than 90,000 views in the first two hours, and the song topped various charts the following day. Although the group had a cute image with singles like “Pretty Girl” and “Mister,” but “Lupin” would allow the girls to portray a chic concept.
Kara made their first comeback stage for “Lupin” on February 25th, 2010, on Mnet’s M! Countdown. The group also performed on all major network music shows in South Korea. After the popularity of the group’s “butt dance” choreography in “Mister,” fans were curious to see the choreography for “Lupin.” There are parts of the dance in “Lupin,” including the “Emergency Exit” dance and the “Halla” dance stealing fans’ attention. Other moves that caught the eyes of the fans was Goo Hara’s hair flip.
Fans named the dance step ‘Emergency Exit Dance’ because the choreography seemed like the girls were running and climbing a flight of stairs to exit through the emergency door.
