Kaleidoscope 2021: 5 K-pop Groups To Debut And Steal In 2021

IVE (Twitter @IVEstarship)

JAKARTA - Every year, more than 10 K-pop groups come to try their luck in the South Korean entertainment industry. Armed with years of training, song material, and a number of survival shows, the music scene seems not to be dimmed by new talents.

Global K-pop makes the competition even tougher. Sure enough, many have managed to steal the attention since debuting in 2021. VOI chose 5 K-pop groups that started their careers this year and managed to attract the attention of fans. Listen here:

LIGHTSUM

Three years have passed since (G)I-DLE in 2018, Cube Entertainment debuted a girl group called LIGHTSUM. Consisting of eight members, their debut song, 'Vanilla' offers a cheerful side of K-pop with an electro side.

Five LIGHTSUM members have competed through survival such as The Unit (Juhyeon), Produce 48 (Chowon, Nayoung, Yujeong), and Dancing High (Juhyeon). Their talent is unquestionable and the group managed to win the Female Rookie Idol Award by the Korea First Brand Awards.

PURPLE KISS

PURPLE KISS is the second girl group under RBW Entertainment after MAMAMOO. Not wanting to lose to their seniors, they chose the track Ponzona as their debut song. Interestingly, they wrote this song while they were trainees.

The vocal mix of seven members makes PURPLE KISS a dynamic group. Their strong debut song left a good impression and it is certain that they will continue to shine in the years to come.

T1419

This junior from MOMOLAND marked their debut with the track Asurabalbalta which coincided with the release of the album BEFORE SUNRISE Part. 1. Their debut will remind us of Block B which is thick with Hip Hop and EDM.

Apart from that, the Potential Singer winner of the Asia Artist Award has an interesting group concept. Their debut music video even touched 31 million views, a number that is not small for a new group.

EPEX

It's been a long time since I've heard of a group that champions rap and EPEX comes with Lock Down's debut. The EPEX debut was also received positively by listeners. They were named the rookie group with the best sales in 2021, which was 33 thousand copies.

EPEX also received the Best New Male Artist award at the 2021 Korea Culture Entertainment Awards.

IVE

IVE does have two heroes who are former IZ*ONE members: Jang Wonyoung and Ahn Yujin. But don't forget the other six members: Gaeul, Liz, Rei and Leeseo who helped complete the group.

Eleven's catchy debut track received a positive response from music listeners. To date, IVE has bagged four music show wins and the biggest album sales for a debut girl group in 2021. Their first song also debuted on the Billboard charts, QQ Music, Line Music and the music video has been watched 52 million times since its release on 1 last December.