the summer queens image and why every group fails to achieve it

[@Sparksnglitter]

How do you manage to come up with such interesting topics?? All your videos so far have been so unique, well thought out and such a fun or different take on things!

[@dearyoongi]

This is so sweet, thank you so much! 🥺 honestly they come to me at the most random times, and it's ones where I think 'hm has anybody actually spoken about this yet?' 🤣💖

[@overthinkingkpop]

Tbh I'm super okay with no one reclaiming this title because I think it's super limiting as a group concept. Fine for a video or two here and there, but quickly stale if it's a group's entire repertoire.

[@dearyoongi]

I absolutely agree with that! In the current kpop landscape, a group would quickly get forgotten about or struggle to succeed if they only come back once a year, or if they only release summer music can get accused of being 'samey'

[@Yumedekiss-me]

Hiiii I saw your community post, I hope your doing alright, take as long as you need 💕

[@izonexbae]

I feel like Red Velvet was very close to it, since all their summer songs have been big hits. Red flavor, power up & umpah umpah were huge in Korea and were received very well.

[@dearyoongi]

Definitely! It really helps that they all became hits 💖

[@victoria-cp4ui]

rv will always be my second summer queens w cosmic now + can’t blame them for a group gap because Wendy could’ve died from her fall

[@dearyoongi]

Absolutely understandable, it makes sense as they're one of those groups who came so close!

[@aylah7041]

SISTAR were able to succeed with this model/image because they were from a completely different generation. In their time, there were no where near as many groups as there are now. K-pop now if way too fast-paced for this to be a group's only concept. SISTAR also went for a sexy summer image, which none of these other groups really went for, which I think also helped the girls and of course their heavenly vocals were a huge plus.

[@tonyn1628]

i know they are very new, but IMO KIOF has a good chance of filling the summer queens title. You can argue that their debut song Shhh can be considered a summer song (release 2023). And of course, their recent release of Sticky and Te Quiero are definitely summer bops. Many ppl have said that Sticky and Te Quiero would be songs that SISTAR would release for summer if they were still active. I know KIOF would need to keep up this summer release schedule for many years to come b4 ever earning that title, but the members themselves have expressed their interest to continue releasing summer songs every year. AGAIN .. KIOF is no where close of deserving that title, but of any current gg, i feel they have the best chance.

[@evi6629]

If KIOF keep releasing a summer song every year (even as their currently crazy busy rookie schedule eventually slows down) they could definitely do it, but you're right that it's way too early to say. They do seem to have the market cornered for a new generation group that is still able to do the sexy concepts that have been slowly fading from the scene (mostly because every other group has 15 year olds in it these days) which does overlap very well with the summer queens concept. Who knows?

[@itswildflowers]

I think the only group that almost got there was Red Velvet, however Red Velvet as a group would never solely rely on summer releases and I think that's why that title will never be replicated again, because it's career suicide to only release one single type of music when the industry is as oversaturated as it is, unlike the time Sistar was active

[@haewonized]

sistar still does summer amazingly through solos too like woah

[@dearyoongi]

Yess that's another thing omg, they've even managed to keep their summer queens image intact as soloists!

[@liliumgrace9873]

Coincidently the other GG that comes to mind as summer queens is AOA which are sistars contemporaries ofc so maybe it was also a generational thing. Not a GG but early on I think Kard had summer “queen” potential with their beach and Latin pop vibes. Even now I’d say their concept still aligns with the summer vibes in a some sultry way but they aren’t mainstream enough unfortunately to warrant the title.

[@Mal.victory]

SISTAR Had so much more potential as a group even though I'm proud of their success I feel like Starship Should've also Focus on their individual career during their little hiatuses after summer releases. The Company could've really launched Hyoyln & Soyous solo career To compete with Idol group-soloist Hyun-a & Taeyeon. Focus more on Bo-ra & Da-som acting career giving them small lead roles or cameos.Or some solo Eps every 2years The real reason for the beautiful separation of sistar was due to the lack of individuality among the members individual brand & identity. This group could've really put starship higher up in the label ranks

[@namanh8439]

@@Mal.victory wait a minute?!!! Im their fan since 2014 and i believe Starship did promote their solo careers a lot during their group hiatus. Hyolyn got her solo debut in 2013 and it was a huge success. Later she got a duet with Joonyoung and it was also a success, and then another solo project. Soyu hit so big with the duet Some. It was literally the biggest hit of 2014, earning the title Queen of Duets, and many other subsequent duets, then later she got her own solo debut. Dasom got various acting roles, including a main role and a main antagonist. Bora was brought to Hit The Stage as a contestant. Besides that, Starship promote them, esp Hyolyn in a lot of TV shows. Hyolyn got many appearances in singing contests like Immortal Songs, I Am A Singer. For a small company at that time like Starship, I, as a Star1, feel quite pleased with their efforts to showcase the members' talents. Literally everyone got their chances. They have also been able to keep the group profile clean and scandal-free. My only regret is that they bailed out Sistar19 too soon

[@suzyocean7392]

I would add fromis to the list of potential summer queens if it hasn't been for their mismanagement. Because all their recent songs have been summery bops.

[@sevte3n]

Was wondering why nobody mentions the summer queens 😞

[@tommytomikawa332]

I always feel bad for Red Velvet missing the Summer Queens crown, because it wasn't even their fault :( But yeah Sistar could never be replaced, I play 3 songs at the start of Summer: Red Flavor (like the filthy Reveluv I am), I Swear, and Touch My Body. Like, nothing compares to feeling the sunshine, windows down, driving with I Swear blasting and destroying your car speakers. I sort of wonder if any new girl groups are even gonna try to mimic this summer concept, like I can sort of imagine Kiss of Life doing it, but other than them, I can't even say which other group could-which is sad cause that is like the peak of that 2014-2018 kpop (especially 2015, my citation being Mera's Dreamcatcher video).

[@CaramelChristian]

I feel like comparing them to sistar is wild. These girls just came out and had 1 summer hit reminiscent of sistar and now they’re the new summer queens over one song like no they need more time for a title like that

[@RedRose-gh5eh]

I also think that another factor could be that there aren't a lot of group and x producer collaboration (I know that there are exceptions tho). To get that consistent summer sound, you would need to work with one or two producers who KNOW how to make the hottest hits and to make a perfect pop song. Basically a producer who has the summer formula in their brain, an usually don't get out of that formula. I think in the previous generations of kpop it was more common to work with one or two producers who gave a group a signature sound. But in the current generations, groups work with a lot more producers, so that is a lot harder. Also, in the current climate it is more frowned upon to have a signature sound because that makes you "stale" and "boring", so the agencies dcide that it's better to have frequent comebacks that are pretty different to one another, instead of having to wait a year and bearing the possibility that people forget you. And to add to the last point about the authenticity: I personally don't think that the companies or the groups or the fandoms of those groups can declare that a group are "summer queens". I think that only the casual listeners and the general public decide whether or not a groups deserves that title. Excelent video, as always :)

[@Sheepy16able]

For me BBGirls are the summer queens because they had more summer related songs in their discography (most of them were the Besides of Chi mat ba ram but still it counts) and released a song called Lemonade last year which also was a summer vibey song.

[@RobbyU712]

For the newer gen, KIOF has a good start with Summer songs like Sticky and Te Quiero. Also, Cignature with Smooth Sailing and Poondung. I would also give honorable mention to GFriend who had great summer vibe songs like Navillera, Sunny Summer, Fever and even Mago. Sistar will always stand alone since there are a wide variety of concepts for KPop now. I continue to thoroughly enjoy your videos and your unique take on the topics you choose, Fran. 💕🥰✌️

[@AMIA111]

id love to see groups be themed as winter even just for a single comeback idk i love the aesthetic

[@jasoninthea.m7471]

No, but why is this video so good. The editing, and the topic. I like it.

[@Krissy143]

dear yoonhi I love you I saw this immediately after it dropped

[@dearyoongi]

Aw thank you so much, ily2!💖

[@kellyb7561]

I think such a big part of sistar being summer queens is that it’s their unifying concept as a group, the members are all super super different on paper and had things to occupy them during the rest of year (hyolyn and soyou with osts and collabs and bora and dasom with more tv gigs) so in a way the summer felt like them finally coming together to do their thing. Groups like twice and rv don’t really need that because they have much bigger concepts. My next pick for a future summer queens group is probably kiss of life in like 4 or 5 years but that would be a different iteration than sistar for sure

[@AnejaJohnson-rj2xu]

Hi dear yoongi if possible can you do kpop summer kings i know this title aint popular but from reddit the closest to summer would seventeen but let me know who you personally think owns the summer kings title and what it is

[@dearyoongi]

ooh this is a really interesting idea thank you! I'll definitely look into it 🥰

[@CaitCher]

OMG I already have like three boy groups at the top of my head who fit this role immediately.

[@namanh8439]

Honorable mentions: Oh My Girl. They have released a lot of summery songs: Windy Day, Aing, Bungee, Nonstop, Dolphin, Dun Dun Dance.

[@dearyoongi]

Ooh yess, this is a great honourable mention!

[@jmecular56467]

I'm a Red Velvet fan so I have to say they will always be the new generation of summer queens to me!! Their new comeback Cosmic isn't the most summery-sounding song like Shake It and Touch My Body, but the MV literally takes place during midsummer's day celebrations (aka the summer solstice, the longest day of the year) and shows them worshipping some kind of sun deity, so you can't really get more summer than that lol. In terms of other recent releases, Twice's new Japanese album (Dive) is a nice take on a the "summer queens"/summer comeback concept - the first 3 songs on the album are ocean/water themed which fits summer really nicely. The MV for Dive also features them underwater rather than on the beach, which is a nice changeup from a lot of other summer MVs. Other songs on the album deliver a softer but still summery vibe (e.g. Peach Soda, Echoes of heart) while towards the end, songs like Dance Again and Hare Hare give that more danceable fun pop sound for summer. Kiss of Life's Sticky is another great release, the song is so summery-feeling and the MV manages to evoke the season without ever showing a beach, especially by using the fountain as a centrepiece and bringing a bunch of water at the end. (The performance video does take place on a beach though!)

[@stefnick2010]

I don't think that releasing only summer songs is a requirement for Summer Queen; I think it's more important for the group to be associated with the summer image. Sistar released songs or promoted during times other than the summer months, but they have just become synonymous with summer, even when Sistar19 made comebacks in the middle of winter. While Twice's summer releases were fun, they've had much more iconic songs and been more associated with their cute, youthful image than a summery image. The same is true for Red Velvet, with the group having both the "red" and "velvet" concepts and a quirky image. BB Girls' biggest hurdle was less authenticity and more that they were a failing group saved in the final hours by a viral hit, and their company had more ambition than marketing sense. I can see why many are citing Kiss of Life as the second coming of Sistar and crowning them the next Summer Queens. I don't think we need a replacement-no one can replace Sistar-but I love that a kpop group can exist in this gen that can achieve that same vibe. They are the only 'summer queen' candidates who also have that natural, sexy vibe that Sistar was known for, and it's like finding an oasis in the desert. Sticky and Te Quiero are so fun and sultry. I'm rooting for them.

[@Nameless_mixes]

I think Red Velvet is a special case because they had an unplanned hiatus between Wendy’s injury and Irene’s scandal. Who’s to say? We may have gotten another summer concept for 2020 if Wendy wasn’t still recovering? I guess we’ll never know. Side note: It’s pronounced “reeve” (one syllable) 😊

[@Lady_bugg9316]

I don't care Red Velvet are MY summer queens. All of their summer songs are absolutely amazing 👏🏻

[@revebitcreative]

i don't think there will be another true 'summer queen' like sistar. i think it's a concept of its time, and like you said, it's very restricting to the type of music a group can release. there are other groups that i can add to my summer queen lineup though. that will be sistar, red velvet, twice, (g)i-dle, fromis_9, and kiss of life. there are also other groups that i think could fit the summer queen title well. itzy, kep1er, and billlie... i think would be great groups that can dip their toes in this summer queen pool. viviz is also there but i feel like they still need to refine their summer sound.

[@onceorbitneverland1129]

in my opinion AOA came the closest to stealing this title. they were also releasing albums in the same time so it's not like Sistar didn't have any opponents

[@niecienorth5880]

The issue with Red Velvet's team is that sometimes they'll release title tracks at the wrong time

[@DianaOsazenaye]

it hard to fill

[@dearyoongi]

I agree!

[@loonadelrey5198]

Red Velvet did not achieved it because SM messed up. Their last summer-oriented before Cosmic was almost 5 yrs ago, with Umpah-Umpah

[@OnixRadieux]

KIOF can't. They need more than twerking at 180bpm on a 60bpm song

[@ebtheblue]

I feel like NewJeans are the new summer queens. I think summer princess' would be the better title. They always have a summer comeback with a fresh and youthful concept that encapsulates the energy of summer break with your friends perfectly.