9 K-Pop Trends Fans Are Sad To See Disappear

Because K-Pop trends come and go with every new generation, here are nine trends that fans are sad to see slowly disappear.

1. Girl Crush Concepts

With the rise in popularity of Y2K, many girl groups are straying away from powerful girl crush concepts in favor of softer styles.

2. Live Singing

Idols of previous generations blew fans away with their live singing and amazing breath control—despite difficult choreography. While those veteran groups continue to deliver impressive performances, some groups now pre-record their singing to make it appear like they’re singing live.

3. Bridges

As a result of songs becoming roughly two minutes long to cater to trends, there is no longer any room for bridges.

4. Idol Variety Shows

Because groups open YouTube channels and create their own web series, fans rarely see idols on real variety shows to showcase their talents and behind-the-scenes stories.

INFINITE’s Sungjong and Girls’ Generation’s Taeyeon filming “Strong Heart.”

5. Fixed Positions

In the past, every group member would debut in an official position, like the main vocalist or lead dancer. The new generations have decided against doing so. They now choose a leader and leave everyone without fixed positions.

6. Long Promotions

Veteran idols remember when they would promote their title track for months and spend an additional few months promoting their b-side track. Groups now spend as little as two weeks on promotions.

7. Full Korean Songs

Fans have noticed a major shift in groups’ target audiences. Instead of building a large Korean fanbase with Korean lyrics, many groups have changed their focus to international fans by releasing English songs.

8. Full-Length Albums

Since single and mini-albums use fewer resources and have a quicker turn-around time, groups release more of them compared to full-length albums.

9. Group Interactions

While girl groups and boy groups could interact more freely with each other in the past, any connection in 2023 can quickly turn into a scandal. So even if a female and male idol are close friends, like NCT DREAM‘s Chenle and aespa‘s NingNing, fans won’t ever see them interact offline.