An early forecast reveals that the beginning of 2011 will be marked with an
influx of girl group debuts, but with the return of various male groups looming near, fans will get their full doses of testosterone in the near future as well.
Rookies including MBLAQ, Teen Top and Infinite have been generating lots of chatter and interest with their ongoing comebacks this month.
MBLAQ's title track
"Cry" was released just two days ago and has already secured high rankings on various charts including those of Mnet and Bugs. Their
full album "BLAQ Style" will be released on the 10th with a live comeback on the 13th.
Teen Top, whose members got kpop fans doing double takes with their
silver hair concept, released a
MV teaser today for their comeback track "Transform." Due to
member Niel's injury, the group has pushed back their live comeback to the 13th.
Finally, Infinite will be returning with their second
six-track mini-album "Evolution," with
concept photos and
preview videos attracting much attention. Their comeback showcase is schedule to take place in just a few hours today at Seouls' CGV.
On the other end, news of the impending returns of TVXQ and Big Bang, arguably the two largest male groups of the Korean music scene in recent years, has already been dominating headlines in regards to their comeback albums. TVXQ and Big Bang's last albums, "Mirotic" and "Remember", were released in September and November 2008 respectively, so these returns mark the end of two year hiatuses for both groups.
Big Bang's sub-unit duo
GD&TOP made waves with the release of "High High," "Oh Yeah" and "Knock Out" last month, complete with the
most expensive comeback stage in Mnet M. Countdown's history. After Japanese promotion plans were delayed, it was also announced that GD&TOP will have a
second round of promotions for "Don't Go Home." Furthermore, Big Bang's maknae
Seungri will be
releasing a mini-album on January 13, and the entire group will be making a full comeback soon thereafter.
Unsurprisingly, TVXQ & Big Bang's returns are being met with overwhelming receptions - "Keep Your Head Down" recorded
massive sales immediately after release, and GD&TOP enjoyed
200,000 pre-orders for their album.
Like the
2009 domination of countless new girl groups including
2NE1,
4minute,
f(x) and
After School , it looks like we'll be seeing a lot of female debuts this year, but will 2011 mark the return of a boy group craze as well?
myslim ze comebacky chalanksych skupin vyvolaju vazne obrovske ohlasy.. ved len na CB BIG Bang cakaju fanusicky uz strasne dlho a nevieme sadockat ako bude vyzerat co na nom bude a hhlavne kvalitovo predpokladame, ze bude dokonaly
taktiez ma navnadilo Cry od MBLAQ a velmi sa tesim na ich cely album a co sa tyka infinite.. ide pridat clanocek :)