2016 so far has been an…interesting year let’s call it so far. Many of the major second generation girl groups have either disbanded or are basically inactive. SNSD? Haven’t had a decent song in years and are doing solo promotions now. 2NE1? Gone. 4minute? Gone. miss A? Gone. Kara? Gone. I could go on, but suffice to say there’s definitely been a changing of the guard in terms of popularity. Likewise, there’s been pretty big upheaval in this year’s visuals list. We’ve got 4 newcomers and nobody left from my original list from 2012. As always, no restrictions were applied and feel free to post your own list in the comments.
10. Hayoung(Playback)
I’m sure the vast majority of people have no idea who Hayoung or her group is, and that’s a crying shame. Their self-titled debut song last year was pretty good as I said here, and the group is pretty easy on the eyes all around. The best of them though is their bubbly, English-speaking rapper from LA. She instantly stood out the first time I saw their group’s MV and I can only hope that they make a comeback soon now that Jessica’s solo is out of the way and has sufficiently funded their management company.
9. Ji Eun(Secret)
It’s quite a drop off for last year’s number 5, but she still barely makes the cut. Secret as a group may be dead given their lack of any group activities and rumored internal strife, but Ji Eun’s at least still found work as an actress on an apparently well regarded weekend drama. She’s still as pretty as ever, though, and will always be a personal bias no matter what she does.
8. Sana(TWICE)
JYP sure hit a homerun with his latest girl group, and especially with the J-Trinity as some of their fans have come to call them. Of the three Japanese members, Sana is the cutie, that clumsy kouhai who’s always trying to get your attention. When they first debuted, I wouldn’t have expected her to climb up my visuals list as fast as she has, but I guess like many in Korea, I’ve caught the “shashasha” virus.
7. Irene(Red Velvet)
I was really looking forward seeing Red Velvet live in LA at KMF 2016, and I was not disappointed in the slightest. Red Velvet was one of the highlights of the night, in particular, I was amazed at how much better they all looked in person. Though she might be on the older end of the spectrum as far as idols go, she’s easily one of the best looking and one that will rank high on my list for years to come.
6. Yura(Girl’s Day)
While it’s been almost a year since Girls Day released a song, Yura has been active with her various gigs. Ever since her stint on WGM, her popularity in Korea has grown and it’s allowed her the chance to get out just being the rapper of Girl’s Day. I’m actually a little surprised she maintained her number 6 spot on this list, but not that surprised because she’s flat out attractive.
5. Mina(TWICE)
If Sana is the cute kouhai, Mina is the pretty sempai whose attention you’re always trying to get. While I wasn’t a fan of the red hair at their debut, she is rocking the natural hair color during these latest promotions. I’ve always been drawn to the pure pretty types and Mina is definitely that. Like with Sana, she was not one of the members I thought would make this particular list, but she is and she’s here to stay.
4. Eunjung(T-ara)
She may have dropped a ranking since last year, but it’s hard to see Eunjung dropping out of my top 5. Eunjung still looks great no matter what hair style or color she tries and I would love to see her more active in Korea. Of course, what I really want is to be able to see her in person, but with each passing year that seems less and less likely.
3. Momo(TWICE)
The last and best of the J-Trinity makes her appearance on the list. Momo is the hot yankee girl who doesn’t show up for class often, but you feel drawn to her whenever you see her. She was hot as a blond during debut and she cranked it up to another level for “Cheer Up”. I thought TWICE had the potential to be one of my favorites, but I never expected it to be this soon nor did I anticipate how quickly they would become one of the top visual groups. Further study must be done on them. For science, of course.
2. Minah(Girl’s Day)
Last year’s number 1 dropped a spot, but that has more to do with who beat her than Minah herself. She’s slumming it a bit in the looks department for her new drama, but I’m sure she’ll pull a Coffee House style makeover a la Eunjung. No matter, she’s still gorgeous and her smile gets me every time. Like with Eunjung and T-ara, still waiting for the day I can see her and Girl’s Day live.
1. Seolhyun(AoA)
She got barely edged out last year, but there was no stopping her from taking the top spot this time around. While the group in general seemed like it lacked energy at KMF, Seolhyun still looked amazing in real life and I have no regrets about paying for front row seats for it. She’s run into a little bit of controversy right now, but I’m sure she’ll make it through and continue to be the marketing powerhouse she is.
K-POP! rage 