This week I started an intellectual experiment of posting a TikTok a day, so if I’ve crossed your FYP… thats why. I know that I’ll spend (at least) a meaningful chunk of my career in the internet world, so I figure its time to get my hands dirty and learn with making content feels like. My TikTok’s are jaw-dropping, sensational, revolutionary, and also once-in-a-lifetime, thank you - but no, this is not the start of my influencer era. I’m just preparing for when I’ll be the CEO of the next Mythical Entertainment. Let’s get into it.
Will America ever be ready for girl groups?
Boys World, I miss you already.
In case you missed it, American girl group Boys World announced their disbandment earlier this month. Given what the girls are saying online, it seems the label disbanded them and dropped the project.
Boys World was a project born from KYN entertainment; KYN is a joint collaboration label between Live Nation and the former president of Syco Music (Syco as in, Simon Cowell’s label). Their first foray was boy group PrettyMuch, who debuted in 2016. They were discovered online and assembled to live and train together under the watchful eye of Simon Cowell - if this sounds familiar, this the K-Pop trainee model.
I’m no music industry expert, but it’s easy to see that Simon Cowell was trying to recreate the One Direction & CNCO magic for America. The strategy feels obvious and bulletproof, and PrettyMuch got quite far - they had several EP’s and albums, late-night performances, and headlining tours. If the boys hadn’t gotten into so many scandals in 2020, maybe they would become sensations. I guess we’ll never know.
But while PrettyMuch was crumbling, KYN set out to do the same with a girl group - in 2020, Boys World arrived quietly on the TikTok scene after spending a year living and training together. I’m pretty sure one of their first TikTok’s went viral: “Our voices 1 week into being in a girl group” [cut to] “Our voices 3 months into being a girl group.” I mean. That’s everything babes.
And they were everything!!! From a marketing perspective, they had it all:
They built a loyal fanbase online through TikTok and YouTube vlogs before their first single (it didn’t hurt that the pandemic put everyone online, ready to fall in love with them).
They took on Spice-Girls-like personas that they could (and did) play up in storytelling to make them memorable.
They went for the full pop girl group package: they helped write their own music, had full choreography for every single, and committed to looks/visuals/concepts.
They got even closer to their fans between promo cycles through Discord, Twitter, Instagram.
But most of all, they were just so good. I saw them on tour last year, and the stage presence these girls had frankly outshined much bigger acts I’ve seen live. Their music was good, their vocals were incredible, they were fantastic dancers. There is nothing they didn’t have, and I can’t emphasize this enough. [Lorde voice] I would ride for you BoysWorld.
So what went wrong? It’s hard to ignore that BoysWorld did not get the same access to promo for their debut single that PrettyMuch did - no late-night appearances, no cross-promo with bigger artists, etc… Feels like they didn’t get the same starting point. And exposure is everything, right?
But I have to ask - is it also something bigger? Is America’s culture just… not conducive to girl groups? Many strong ones have come and gone - Little Mix took the globe by storm but couldn’t make a dent in the US (credited to label fumbles, but ultimately the same outcome). Even Citizen Queen is officially down 2 members as of this year, and have been stagnant in popularity for years. I was hopeful that Blackpink’s US success could change the cultural tide, but it seems like there hasn’t been a lasting effect.
Famously, the music industry doesn’t want to bet on women because they believe male pop stars bring bigger, more monetizable fandoms (teenage girls). Fujoshi culture also serves boy groups in a way that makes them more promising bets than girl groups. Personally, I don’t buy this for two reasons: (1) Girl group fandoms are… also teenage girls. Boys World’s fandom would ride for them, because their core message of friendship and girlhood sold. (2) Disney Channel culture in the 2000’s is a perfect case study - Hannah Montana made more money than Jonas Brothers. K-Pop has a thriving, money-making, girl group ecosystem. But I guess labels arent willing to bet on girl groups yet.
America’s individualist culture is also obsessed with isolating a group act’s singular breakout start; the search for the Beyonce. It influences all media coverage of a group act right from the start. Frankly even solo pop acts arent immune - Rahul brought up a good point in the comments last week, that even the new wave pop-girls are not collaborating with each other (despite Chappel Roan telling us they are supportive sweeties behind the scenes.) Every brand wants to steer clear of becoming the target of a tabloid culture built on pitting women against each other, which I get. But what about the beauty of friendship guys? It sells when you really believe in it!
I have hope though. I really do. I mean, we live in a world where the sports industry is having to reckon with women’s buying power. Citizen Queen is still kicking as a trio, and I think they’re unbelievable talents. It speaks volumes to me that Kaedi & Nina are finding huge success as producers (they wrote TWICE’s Moonlight Sunrise), but they’re still committed to the Citizen Queen project.
But nothing embodies my hope for a girl group phenomena more than FLO. FLO was put together by Repulic & Island records, and I think they’re the second coming of Destiny’s Child. They seem to have what no girl group has had in years: full investment by their label. And they are doing wonders with it. Keep your eyes on FLO.
On my soapbox, assigning homework
She’s short, she’s cute, she’s condensed. 10-songs only going from RnB tracks to slower ones, and ending with pop songs.
Special spotlight to one of my favorite live clips of all time:
This is excellence babey.
Music video hall of fame:
Funfact#1: FLO’s primary producer is MNEK. Legend.
Fun fact #2: Boys World’s Gone Girl MV is directed by PrettyMuch’s Brandon Arreaga.
Fun fact #3: Did I mention Citizen Queen work closely with Scott Hoying? So random.
Ok that’s all for today thank you pls love girl groups forever
See you next week cuties.
sitting my ass down and doing my homework!
I think fifth harmony could've been bigger. But ofc when a group is forced together (Same with 1D) instead of coming together naturally it will have its disadvantages. But I really think BW needed a better team supporting them. I saw so much support for their vocals and songs across various social media's. And Flo is proof that a good team will lead to good results. There's such a boom nowadays in popular female artists all over the world, I think it's not a question of if a gg can blow up here but when.