Girl Group Dominance: This actually fell flat on its face, what with all the groups disbanding or leaving their labels. Even if you ignore all the departures, the strong showings from the solo acts dominated the charts anyway. Heize, IU, etc. released some amazing music and the overall lackluster girl group performances helped push the standout soloists into the spotlight. The groups weren't bad on average, it's just that the solo acts were great.
Rise Of Subunits: I don't think a single subunit I predicted for did anything in 2017. The only one that really comes to mind is Loona and their couple of subunits. But they haven't even truly debuted so I don't know if that counts. In fact there were more unorthodox / temporary subunits last year than real subunits. Shows like Produce 101 and The Unit all took off in more popularity so those are really the most notable subunits we got to see.
New Solo Ventures: Finally, something I hoped for came to fruition. Handful of solo acts took the stage in 2017. Most notably, Chungha and Minzy made their debuts which was awesome, even though their music wasn't the best. Sunmi's return to being a solo artist isn't exactly "new" since she had already dabbled in solo adventures before but half counts! You also had the likes of Soyeon (from Unpretty Rapstar), Samuel (from Produce 101), and a few group members like Ravi, Youngji, and Soyu.
Controversy Stock Plummets and (After) School Is Back: No comment.
Alright, let's gloss over the bad record from last year and look forward to the 2018 year!
Cut The Cute, Pretty Please
Zaku from Anti Kpop-Fangirl had a term that I really liked called "oppa-pop." Girl groups need to cut the shit with oppa-pop and bubblegum pop and go do other things. There's a reason why my favorite members and groups tend to be less like Apink and more like Sistar. GFriend could've taken on new direction after "Fingertip" but the public slept on that release. Sonamoo twisted my heart in 2016 but have somewhat rebounded with "Friday Night" and "I (Knew It)." Plus Euijin is carrying that team on her back right now. More songs and styles that aren't just "oppa notice how cute I am" would be great.
The Next Big Thing
Nowadays, there are easy names to talk about when it comes to the best active group in Kpop. Twice for girl groups, BTS for boy groups, and KARD for the coed group (not that there was much competition in the coed department to begin with). It'll be exciting to see who the next breakthrough artist will be. Will they rise up from an established team or will it be a new group? More of my money is on the former than latter. But it probably won't be anyone from the Big 3.
Choose One - Comeback Or Disband
This would give me some peace. Many groups lie in limbo (primarily aimed at girl groups), without full activities since the stone age. Other groups are close to reaching that point. Either have the miraculous comeback or give up and officially disband so fans may weep in confirmation. JYP and miss A finally got the clue and announced their disbandment about a week and a half ago. Groups like Secret, After School, and f(x) need to follow suit: give them something to do, or give us fans the solace that these squads are never coming back. No half-assing.
Hey! Listen! Happy Stories
In a more positive light, I want some more wholesome Kpop news. Dreamcatcher's rebirth was a great story from last year, as was the revival of NU'EST. For example, if AOA come back this year at even 80% force in their post-Choa world, that'd be awesome. I'll also gladly take marriage news like 9MUSES' Hyuna and ex-Laboum's Yulhee (even though the latter...). Any group struggling in mediocrity could get an surprise moment and rise to stardom with a standout performance, song, or album. Let's get a bright, happy year of Kpop.
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