Now that we have given you a short overview of the four K-Pop generations and what they are all about, it's time to take a closer look at each generation, don't you think? Today we will guide you through the 3rd generation, which includes BTS, Twice and Blackpink, among others!
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When did the 3rd generation begin and end?
- What defines the 3rd generation?
- Which bands belong to the 3rd generation?
When did the 3rd generation begin and end?
Quite a few would say that the boy group EXO from SM Entertainment kicked off the 3rd generation. They debuted on April 8, 2012.
For groups that debuted earlier in the year, like B.A.P in January or EXID in February, opinions differ on whether they still belong to the second or already to the third generation. Some would even count a few bands from 2011 as third generation, 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 shift is debated as much as this one: While some claim that the fourth generation only began in 2020, others take the view that it started as early as 2019, 2018 or even mid-2017. The dividing line is most likely somewhere around 2018/2019.
In our article about the fourth generation, we took a closer look at this topic.
What defines the 3rd generation?
During the third generation, K-Pop achieved its international breakthrough, mainly thanks to BTS. Although Korean artists already had fans all over the world before, the global media finally started to take notice of K-Pop. Beyond that, a clear development in the music could be seen: while strong American influences were still noticeable before, K-Pop had by now developed into something entirely its own.
On top of that, more survival shows were produced than ever before!
Don't worry, we'll now go into the individual aspects in a bit more detail so that no questions are left open:
The international breakthrough
Girls' Generation
The so-called Hallyu Wave (Korean Wave) refers to the growing popularity of Korean culture, above all K-Pop and K-Dramas. The Hallyu Wave already started with the earlier generations. It really got going in the second generation, in which Korean K-Pop groups and solo artists like Rain, Girls’ Generation or Big Bang performed concerts outside of Asia for the first time - for example in the United States or in European countries like Spain and France. But even though more and more fans all over the world were becoming 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 of course talking about BTS!
Girls' Generation
The careers of today's world stars actually got off to a rather slow start. Their first songs and albums in 2013 did not stay in the charts for long, the third album Skool Luv Affair in 2014 was the first by BTS to top the Korean charts, and it was not until 2015 that the boy group won a music show trophy for the first time, with the single “I Need U”. It even reached number 3 on Billboard's World Digital Song Sales charts.
From then on, BTS's popularity kept rising, but it was not until 2017 that the boy group officially made its breakthrough. The album “You Never Walk Alone”, which was released in February 2017, is generally regarded as the trigger. It topped the American Billboard World Albums chart and the title song “Spring Day” topped the Billboard World Digital Song chart, followed by three more tracks from the album at numbers 2, 3 and 4. It was not the first time that BTS topped the Billboard charts - for example, the previous album “Wings” (October 2016) was also very successful - but it was not until 2017 that BTS's international success became truly clear.
In May, the boy group won the Top Social Artist award at the 24th Billboard Music Awards. It was the first time ever that a K-Pop group won a Billboard Award! On top of that, BTS beat world star Justin Bieber, who had claimed the award for himself again and again over the previous six years. From that moment at the latest, the boy group, and with them K-Pop in general, were assured of the attention of the international media!
What followed next, you surely know: alongside BTS, other K-Pop groups like Blackpink also became more and more popular, and a true hype around Korean music and culture broke out. Today, new K-Pop groups sometimes even build an international fan base before their debut, world tours by Korean artists are no longer a rarity, and hundreds of thousands of fans all over the world even learn 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 resemble classic pop very closely and were clearly shaped by American influences. The second generation began to experiment more with its music and thus laid the foundation for the future.
The changes that had already begun in the second generation became visible in the third: by now, K-Pop went beyond classic pop and combined elements from many different music 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 work and still dared to keep trying out something new. Even today the music keeps evolving, even though the familiar elements can still be found again and again.
The rise of survival shows
Already in the second generation, one band or another, such as 2PM, 2AM, VIXX or Big Bang, was formed through a survival show. These shows, however, still resembled documentaries very closely, mainly showing how the groups prepare for their debut.
One year after the start of the third generation, YG Entertainment aired the survival show “Win: Who is Next”, through which the boy group Winner was formed. That was only the beginning of a wave of survival shows that followed over the next years and produced a number of K-Pop groups that are very popular today. Here are some 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 is unbroken. They are not only entertaining for viewers but also offer some advantages for the labels, which is why they keep producing new shows. Above all, the participants gather fans behind them early on, so the resulting group has usually already built up a large fan community before its debut, which supports them from the very beginning.
Of course, further survival shows are also being produced in the fourth generation, 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!
