All about the 3rd generation of K-Pop: 2012 - 2019!

K-Pop Blog > Overview > K-Pop Generations

Now that we've given you a brief overview of the four K-Pop Generations and what they're all about, it's time to take a closer look at each generation, right? Today we're going to take you through the 3rd Generation, which includes BTS, Twice and Blackpink among others!

• When did the 3rd Generation begin and end?
  
• What makes up the 3rd Generation?
• Which bands belong to the 3rd Generation?

When did the 3rd Generation begin and end?

Quite a few would argue that the the boy group EXO from SM Entertainment started the 3rd generation. They debuted on April 8, 2012.

For groups that debut earlier in the year like B.A.P in January or EXID in February, there are disagreements on whether they are still part of the second generation or already part of the third generation. One or two would even count a couple of 2011 bands as third generation already, but in general the majority has agreed on 2012 and EXO as the starting point.

The end point is a completely different discussion. No generational change is discussed as much as this one: While some claim that the fourth generation only started in 2020, others argue that it already started in 2019, 2018 or even mid-2017. However, the cutoff is most likely in 2018/ 2019.

In our article on the fourth generation, we looked at the issue in a bit more detail.

What makes up the 3rd Generation?

During the third generation, K-pop made its international breakthrough mainly thanks to BTS. Although Korean artists had fans all over the world before, global media finally became aware of K-pop. In addition, there was a clear development in the music: While strong American influences had been felt before, K-pop had now evolved into something of its own.

Furthermore, more Survival shows were produced than ever before!

Don't worry, we'll go into more detail now so that no questions remain unanswered:

The international breakthrough

Girls' Generation

The so-called Hallyu Wave (Korean Wave) refers to the rising popularity of Korean culture such as K-pop and K-dramas in particular. The Hallyu Wave started with the earlier generations. It mainly took off in the second generation , when Korean K-pop groups and solo artists such as Rain, Girls' Generation , and Big Bang gave concerts outside of Asia for the first time - for example, in the United States or European countries such as Spain and France. But although more and more fans around the world became aware of K-pop, the music did not yet gain international attention in the second generation.

The third generation, however, produced a boy group that finally made the breakthrough. We are talking about BTS, of course!

Girls' Generation

The career of today's world stars started rather slowly. The first songs and albums in 2013 did not last long in the charts, the third album Skool Luv Affair in 2014 was the first of BTS, which topped the Korean charts and only in 2015 the boy group won a trophy in a music show for the first time with the single "I Need U". It even took 3rd place in the Billboards World Digital Song Sales Charts.

From then on, BTS popularity kept rising, but it was only in 2017 that the boy group officially made its breakthrough. In fact, the album "You Never Walk Alone", which was released in February 2017, is generally referred to as the trigger. It topped the American Billboard World Album Charts and the title track "Spring Day" topped Billboard World Digital Song Charts, followed by three other tracks from the album at No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4. While it was not the first time that BTS topped the Billboard charts - for example, the previous album "Wings" (October 2016) also achieved great success - it was in 2017 that BTS's international success really became clear.

In May, the boy group won the award for Top Social Artist at the 24th Billboard Music Awards. It was the first time ever that a K-pop group won a Billboard Award! Moreover, BTS beat out global star Justin Bieber, who had consistently claimed the award for the past six years. At the latest now, the boy group and thus K-Pop in general was sure to get the attention of the international media!

You surely know what followed: Besides BTS, other K-Pop groups like Blackpink became increasingly popular and a real hype around Korean music and culture broke out. Today, new K-pop groups are building an international fanbase even before their debut, world tours by Korean artists are no longer a rarity, and hundreds of thousands of fans around the world are even learning Korean thanks to their new enthusiasm for South Korea.

K-pop is now a global phenomenon!

The musical development

The first two K-pop generations still closely resembled classic pop and were clearly influenced by American music. The second generation began to experiment more with their music, laying the foundation for the future.

The third generation showed the changes that had already begun in the second: By now, K-Pop went beyond classic pop and combined elements from many different musical genres, such as techno, rock or tropical house.

SHINee's song "View" is a mix of deep house and pop

The K-Pop scene had found its style, the labels knew which concepts worked and still dared to keep trying something new. Even today, the music is constantly evolving, even if the old familiar elements can still be found.

The rise of Survival Shows

Already in the second generation, one or another band like 2PM, 2AM, VIXX or Big Band was founded by a survival show . However, these shows still closely resembled documentaries, mainly showing how the groups were preparing for their debut.

A year after the beginning of the third generation, YG Entertainment aired the survival show "Win: Who is Next", through which the boy group Winner was formed. This was just the beginning of a wave of Survival shows that followed in the next few years, giving birth to a number of now very popular K-pop groups. Here are a few examples:

2013
Win: Who is Next - Winner

2014
Mix & Match - iKON
Kara Project - A new member for Kara

2014 - 2015
No Mercy - Monsta X

2015
Sixteen - Twice

2016
BOYS24 - IN2IT
Finding Momoland - Momoland
Pentagon Maker - Pentagon
Dance or Band - SF9 & Honeyst

2017
Stray Kids - Stray Kids
Idol School - fromis_9

2017 - 2018
The Unit - UNI.T & UNB

2018 - 2019
Under Nineteen - 1THE9

2016 - 2019
Produce Series - I.O.I, Wanna One, IZ*ONE & X1

As you can see, the popularity of survival shows continues unabated. Not only are they entertaining for viewers, but they also offer some benefits for the labels, which is why they keep producing new shows. Most importantly, the participants gather fans behind them early on, and thus the resulting group usually has a large fan base built up before its debut, which supports it from the very beginning.

Of course, the fourth generation will continue to produce more survival shows, such as "YG Treasure Box" (Treasure) and "Nizi Project" (NiziU) in 2020 or "Girls Planet 999" (Kep1er) in 2022. We are sure that many more will follow!

Which bands belong to the 3rd Generation?

Among the most famous male representatives are:

• EXO
• BTS
• GOT7
• Monsta X
• Seventeen
• NCT
• WINNER
  
• iKON
• Wanna One
The most famous girl groups from that time are:

• Red Velvet
• Twice
• Blackpink
• Mamamoo
• Gfriend
• Oh My Girl

When did you start listening to K-pop? Did you become aware of the music through BTS Breakthrough, or did you meet another band first? Feel free to let us know in the comments!