#9. Eunji
At one point, I loved every member of this group. Of course that doesn't matter in a ranking. Eunji will have to take last though not really her own fault. Then again, she did leave after "Glue" which cut her longevity. The irrational part of me disliked her for taking away more of Erin's rapping greatness but she needed a role. Plus she didn't do half-bad in the secondary rapping role either. It would've been interesting to see how 9MUSES would've shaped up had she stayed, but that goes without saying.
#8. Sem
Sem the giant follows Eunji at the bottom of the pile. She departed early compared to the rest of the members and she didn't have a clear identity within the group besides "be tall and gorgeous." Her beauty is striking and her short hairstyles distinguished her from the rest of the gang. The more members a group has, the more difficult it is to stand out appearance-wise but 9M were always able to do that no matter what their lineups were.
#7. Minha
In the same way that Chanmi caught my attention as the pretty maknae, so too did Minha during 9MUSES' legendary 2013 run. She originally was the cute member of the group but blossomed into her own beauty as the releases went by. Like some other members, she didn't have much to offer besides a pretty face and passable voice. To her credit, she improved as a vocalist throughout her career much like Hara of KARA and others. But that's not enough to go very far up the list.
#6. Hyemi
While I consider Sem to be the baseline of the group in terms of looks, I consider Hyemi the baseline in terms of overall talent. She is currently the main vocalist of the surviving 9MUSES roster but she was further down the depth chart back in their glory days. She still possesses a crystal clear voice and if this group has anything left in the tank it'll be because of her leadership. Hyemi is cool but that's where we're at.
#5. Sungah
Congratulations on getting married Sungah! Go get 'em girl. She's the latest departure from the group and hopefully the last, at least for a while... Hands down, pound for pound she is the most attractive member of the group by a good margin (with Hyuna second to her). Her brief stint as a rapper was uninspiring but that's a given when your teammate is Erin. She had a breathy and husky tone that was a good compliment to the other voices on the roster. At least her spiritual successor in that regard is Sojin who's done better in both singing and rapping.
#4. Hyuna
There needs to be a group with Hyuna and other velvety voiced girl group members. That would be quite the magical collaboration. Hyuna's voice was distinct in a group with many clear voices, and her figure was amazing. She and Sungah were always ahead of the rest of the pack. She also seemed like the most down-to-earth member and maybe that's because of her age and wisdom. Maybe she should be added to the ultimate noona club. You know, with Victoria, Sojin, Irene, etc. Not bad company.
#3. Sera
Truth be told I don't remember when Sera surged up the rankings. Probably between the promotions of "Gun" and "Glue." Looking back, I did always have a soft spot for her. Her eyes are beautiful and I could never look away when she stared at the camera. After she left, you could feel the void in the group. Although they did recover, it took time. Nowadays she is doing the Youtube thing and mostly flying under the radar, but she continues to pursue music and that makes me happy. Plus her fluent English is always a plus.
#2. Erin
Yet another tribute to one of the best girl group rapper's the industry has ever seen. Erin was lightning in a bottle as far as rappers go and her ability was always on display with 9MUSES. Her portfolio is damn impressive and right up there with LE, Yezi, etc. despite the short career. Erin's 4D personality was another drawing force because too many members (within 9MUSES and in general) have that quiet reserved status. At least she's living the good life, as you can see through her Instagram posts.
#1. Kyungri
Kyungri was pretty much always the #1 muse. Ever since my discovery of 9MUSES with "Dolls," she has had the top spot on lockdown. There's been tight competition from Erin, Hyuna, etc. Everyone else has tried, but everyone else has failed. Kyungri's mixture of voice, dance, and looks are splendid and something other members can't claim. Her appearances on variety haven't been bad either. And ultimately she's still part of the group today. Without her or Hyemi still on board, this would've stopped being 9MUSES a long time ago.
No comments:
Post a Comment