Underrated Old K-Pop Girl Groups You Might’ve Forgotten
The K-Pop industry has grown and evolved a lot in the past decade, giving birth to new generations of Hallyu idols. This evolution paved the way for new girl groups to explore new and broader horizons in music. New generation girl groups like Itzy, Aespa, Le Sserafim, New Jeans, and XG now dominates the K-Pop scene.
The prominence of these new K-Pop girl groups might have led you to forget these once-upon-a-time legends. These underrated old generation girl groups once dominated the K-Pop scene and influenced the industry the way it is now.
Underrated Old K-Pop Girl Groups You Might’ve Forgotten
Sistar
Who could ever forget the stars behind the hit songs ‘Touch My Body’ and ‘Ma Boy’? Starting the list strong, Sistar stood out from every other girl group with their mature concept and natural sexy aura. Sistar was also iconic for wearing high heels—like really high heels—for their performances, fully embodying the grown-up concept. The girl group consisted of Hyolyn, Bo-ra, Soyou, and Da-som. The 4-member girl group debuted in 2010 under Starship Entertainment with their song ‘Push Push’.
However, the group confirmed their disbandment in 2017 through a farewell letter to their fans after performing their biggest hits. Hyolyn, the group’s lead vocalist, pursued her solo career and went on to make hit singles and K-drama soundtracks. To this day, Sistar remains to be the only girl group to embody the mature sexy concept successfully.
4Minute
Back in 2010, the girl group 4Minute was the ‘Hot Issue’ all over the K-Pop scene. 4Minute formed under Cube Entertainment, consisting of 5 members—Hyuna, Ji-hyun, Ga-yoon, Ji-yoon, and So-hyun. The 5-member girl group rose to stardom with their debut song, ‘Hot Issue’. 4Minute was known for their edgy dance-pop style, boyish, and ‘girl crush’ image which attracted a large female fan base.
The group disbanded six years after their debut due to unsuccessful negotiations in contract renewals. ‘HUH (Hit Your Heart)’, ‘Crazy’, along with ‘Hot Issue’ were among the group’s biggest hits. Throughout the group’s career, HyunA achieved the most success as she successfully launched her solo career with ‘Bubble Pop’. She also featured in Psy’s biggest hit song, Oppa Gangnam Style, back in 2013. After the disbandment, HyunA went on to pursue the solo career she started while in the group.
Miss A
Miss A is undeniably an underrated old generation K-pop girl group. The quartet consisting of Suzy, Fei, Jia, and Min demonstrated great potential with their debut song ‘Good Girl Bad Girl’. Their debut song dominated music charts leading the group to bag the Mnet Asian Music Award (MAMA) Song of the Year. This song made Miss A the first ever rookie act to win MAMA Song of the Year.
The quartet also produced hit songs ‘Hush’, ‘I don’t need a man’, ‘Touch’, and ‘Only You’. In December 2017, JYP Entertainment officially announced the group’s disbandment after Jia’s and Min’s exit in 2016 and 2017 respectively. The girl group even made it to Billboard’s Top 10 K-Pop Girl Group of the Past Decade in 2017.
f(x)
You can never leave out f(x) when talking about underrated old generation K-pop girl groups. The 5-member group consisting of Krystal, Amber, Sulli, Victoria, and Luna debuted in 2009 with ‘La Cha Ta’. f(x) is known for their eclectic and electropop-based sound which was relatively new in the K-pop scene at the time. The group exhibited a promising trajectory after being one of the first few groups to be internationally recognized.
The group also joined Miss A in Billboard’s Top 10 K-Pop Girl Group of the Past Decade. f(x) produced a remake of ‘Hot Summer’ and ‘Electric Shock’. Although the group has not officially disbanded, the members already went their separate ways.
Apink
Apink remains to be the only active group among this list. The group was originally a seven-piece group until Hong Yoo-kyung and Son Na-eun left in 2013 and 2022 respectively. Apink debuted in 2011 with the release of their EP, Seven Springs of Apink. The group was known for their soft and girly concept which attracted a large male fan base. ‘Mr. Chu’ and ‘No No No’ were the group’s greatest hits.
The group continued on as a five-member and recently made their comeback with the song ‘D N D’.
