Zahara

  Well, it was a long time coming but starting this year, I've finally decided to stop consuming K-pop music altogether after nearly 11 years. I honestly never thought that this day would come and that I'd just soldier on, but the writings were on the wall and I knew it was time to finally move on.  My earliest memory of exposure to K-pop is from 2009 when one of my acquaintances at school introduced Super Junior & the subunit Super-M to me. At the time, I feigned interest and played along I was more into Japanese entertainment and was just going with the flow. However, fast-forward to March 2012 when a friend of mine showed me a video of the K-pop group SHINee's Sherlock (Clue+Note) music video. I was entranced by Taemin who had long hair, the slick choreography, and the song's catchy chorus "I'm so curious yeah!" She also gave me a website where I could go to keep up with the latest K-pop news and I was hooked.  What drew me to K-pop was the music vi...

From top to bottom: Stray Kids, ATEEZ, and Tomorrow X Together Most people agree the 4th generation of K-pop idols started in earnest in 2018 which means since we're four years into the next generation, there are surely some frontrunners who stand out amongst the crowd. It's no secret that 4th gen male idols at least in South Korea are not doing as well digitally on the charts while their physical album sales are high. However, I believe the following three groups represent the 4th generation of male idols: