K-pop boom or doom? Why bands like Twice need to follow BTS’ example and ditch trite cookie-cutter songs

The future of many Korean pop acts is in doubt because they have fallen prey to their backers’ extreme commercialism at the expense of creativity, critic says

BTS members have taken an active part in creating band’s inventive music and have inserted compelling stories in their songs, this critic adds

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K-pop girl band Twice may see their popularity slide if the South Korean music industry does not change its ways.

Published: 10:03pm, 7 Feb 2019Updated: 1:27pm, 20 Feb 2020

By Dong Sun-hwa

The pan-Asian K-pop girl band Twice have been making waves in the music scene, releasing several hit songs and winning dozens of awards since they made their debut in 2016.

But the nine-piece outfit will not have much of a future if they fail to come up with more durable musical content, according to critic Jung Min-jae, who writes for online music magazine IZM.

“I am quite sceptical about the future of Twice – this band just makes a comeback three to four times a year with cookie-cutter songs,” Jung said. “This is wearisome for listeners.”

Twice may come unstuck because of the endless repetition and extreme commercialism in the K-pop music business today.

Jung said Twice were not the only group at risk – most K-pop outfits were in jeopardy. They had fallen prey to extreme commercialism promoted by agencies that mostly pursue short-term benefits.

“The music market has been vitalised in an abnormal way – the agencies make several different versions of many albums, hold fan singing events and encourage duplicate purchases,” he said. “Most seem to prioritise profits over music content.”