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Stray Kids: JYP’s new direction

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Ever since the conclusion of JYP Entertainment’s survival reality program Stray Kids, where the nine members of the group took part in various challenges set by the company to prove that they were able to debut as a whole group, the victorious (and complete!) group was busy with promotions for their pre-debut EP, Mixtape, which featured the group’s tracks that were mostly performed during the program.

Following its release, Mixtape proved to be a fan favorite and topped charts in the States, and also proved to encompass the essence of what is unique about this group and, by extension, showcased the new direction that JYP Entertainment is taking in debuting this group. All the seven tracks on the EP were composed in some way by the members of Stray Kids, be it in lyric-writing, songwriting or arranging. In particular, the members of “3RACHA,” a previously established trio within Stray Kids consisting of leader Bang Chan and rappers Han Jisung and Seo Changbin, wrote the lyrics for all the songs and took part in the music composition for six of them. The ownership and individuality shown here is rare in the K-pop industry, considering this is a group who has yet to officially debut.

Also on Kultscene: Artist Spotlight: Samuel 

It is even more surprising considering JYP’s usual management of their groups. With the exception of rock band DAY6, whose debut EP was also composed of songs created by the members, JYP’s boy groups mostly started out with EPs and title tracks composed by Park Jinyoung himself (i.e GOT7’s “Girls Girls Girls” and 2PM’s “10 Out of 10”). The members of these groups eventually went on to create their own music for their later albums and title tracks (i.e Jun K’s “Go Crazy,” JB’s “You Are”) after a few years, which is a common practice in the industry. Stray Kids releasing Mixtape could thus be an indication of a shift in JYP Entertainment’s priorities for their new groups: no longer are they optimizing safe and polished debut performances but instead highlighting releases that showcase more musicality and creative freedom. Perhaps this is to align with the current trend of self-composed music in the industry but whatever it is, it is definitely paying off for Stray Kids.

The exceptional composing skills of the members, especially the members of 3RACHA, were constantly displayed throughout the program, an instance being their rap face-off with YG Entertainment trainees, where Changbin and Jisung wowed with their original track “Matryoshka” (from their third mixtape, Horizon).

Since last January, the trio have been releasing their original tracks through SoundCloud and YouTube, with a total of three mixtapes out at the moment. The exposure they received as trainees does explain their prowess now especially for long-time trainee Bang Chan, who has so-far single-handedly done the producing and mixing for most of 3RACHA’s tracks, with Changbin and Jisung contributing to the lyrics.

The trio’s experience shows in their works, and really helped the entire boy group establish a very unique musical identity right off the bat. With the music video of “Hellevator,” the title track of “Mixtape,” racking up millions of views on YouTube before the reality show even premiered, anticipation was high for Stray Kids thanks to this intense song which highlighted the various strengths of the members, in particular their synchronized dancing. The group continued to impress with their music through the missions on the show, where they took on challenges such as performing at a live broadcast and busking on the streets.

While the group as a whole is definitely still a rookie one, especially with regard to the vocal areas, Stray Kids has proven that they can (and do) distinguish themselves from other rookie boy bands, not just musically but with their fresh personalities as well. Often displaying tough and charismatic images on stage, they played up their youthful charms on the show once off stage and even now on the occasional V-live broadcasts that they do. With an average age of 20 (youngest member Jeongin is a 2001-er), the members are cute and playful especially when they interact with each other.

Also on Kultscene: Weki Meki’s “Lucky” Album Review

Speaking of which, the unity of this group is remarkable, despite only being formed a few months before the show. Perhaps this is where Stray Kids differs most from Sixteen, the survival show from which TWICE was created in 2015. In Sixteen, the 16 members competed against each other to get into the seven member group (it was later changed to nine members), which naturally created a lot of rivalry among the members. Stray Kids, on the other hand, was promoted and run as a show where the group “fought” with JYP to debut together. Their adorable friendship and dynamic were on display from the start, and got viewers passionately rooting for the group to stay together. The most unique part of this survival show was the lack of competition between the members and the cooperation they displayed. There was very little “fighting for the main part” that often goes on in such shows, and instead, there were so many moments where the more experienced members sacrificed their own practice time to help those who were lagging behind or in danger of elimination. The hard work and effort that the whole group put in to help each other improve led to heart-wrenching and tear-jerking moments for members and fans alike when a few members ended up being eliminated through the course of the show (they were eventually brought back in the final mission), further endearing the group to the viewers.

With all the hype and popularity Stray Kids has already gotten so far, their debut is definitely a highly-anticipated one. It still has to be proven if the “free-reign” direction JYP is taking with this group will last in the future, but for now, it’s producing results and I cannot wait to see how far this group will fly from here.

Have you been keeping up with Stray Kids? What do you think of the new direction JYP is taking with them? Share your thoughts in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.

The Big Three: K-Pop Record Label Mid-Year Review

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taeyeon bigbang twice jyp yg sm

Whether you’re an Inspirit, Pink Panda, Blackjack, S<3NE, B2UTY, or anything in between, you probably know the names of some of K-pop’s biggest record labels. From SM to YG to JYP to Cube to others, each label plays a huge role in the present and future of K-pop’s stars and the industry as a whole. And every year, some labels grow in power while others get closer and closer to obscurity.

Halfway through this year, some labels have tons to work on, while others are definitely killing it. Let’s take a look at some of K-pop’s biggest record labels and talk about their strengths and weaknesses from throughout the year. The evaluation will be based on the following five categories: Artist Management, Artist Popularity, Music Quality, Music Popularity, and Overall Success. For the first part, I’ll be discussing SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, and JYP Entertainment, affectionately known as the Big Three labels. With the biggest overall success, popularity, market share in some areas, these companies are on a separate level than other labels, and therefore deserve an article of their own.

Also on KultScene: Unicorn’s “Unicorn Plus: The Brand New Label” Album Review

SM Entertainment

SM Tiffany Taemin Taeyeon NCT U

The worldwide leader of K-pop entertainment is still thriving. With major artists like EXO, Taeyeon, Red Velvet, and more leading the first half of the year, SM has clearly spared no expense in maintaining its seat on the throne for K-pop kings and queens. It seems like every week or two brings a new album release out of SM, along with actual weekly song releases through SM’s ambitious STATION music project. Collectively, the frequency and efficiency with which SM releases are things other labels can only dream of emulating.

And with that, there’s an emphasis on solos and subunits. So far, we have seen solo releases from Taeyeon, Tiffany, Jonghyun, Taemin, Yesung, Ryeowook, Luna, Amber, to name a few, with rumored solos in the works for Seohyun, Yuri, and Onew. The amount of fanbase power that each artist, whether in solo, subunit or full-group releases, ensures SM’s continued relevance and money-making abilities. Each mini-album sells a few ten-thousand albums and brings the label more profit. Artists are also receiving more creative freedom, with SHINee members Taemin and Jonghyun having extensive control over their own solo releases. With Taemin, NCT’s Ten, and Hyoyeon all participating on Mnet’s “Hit the Stage” in addition to tons of schedules for non-enlisted Super Junior members, Girls’ Generation members, and f(x) members, it seems SM is also doing a good job of keeping its artists within the spotlight.

SM’s only major weakness this year, however, is completely self-inflicted (and also very noticeable). With minimal promotion for some solo releases and a seemingly compulsive desire to dive into alternative and electronic genres, SM is losing the Korean crowd on digital charts. EXO’s “Call Me Baby” made #2 on 2015’s First Half-Year Gaon Chart, proving that “Call Me Baby” was a strong and popular release throughout and beyond its promotion cycle. On 2016’s Half-Year Chart, the highest-charting SM song is “Everytime” by Chen and Punch at #11. This song wasn’t even part of SM’s promotions, as it was part of the “Descendants of the Sun” OST. Aside from a few STATION releases that went without promotion on music shows and 2015’s “I” by Taeyeon, the only SM song in the Top 100 that was actually promoted this year is EXO’s “Monster,” which sits at #100. Clearly, SM is taking horrible losses in the digital market.

It seems, however, that SM knows their songs aren’t demolishing the charts, and seems to value the quality and quantity over digital success and public popularity. While it might be frustrating seeing our faves so low on the charts, SM seems to have an agenda — even with new group NCT, which is aiming for world domination. We’ll just have to wait to see more of what SM is planning. The only other weakness is scandals, which have hurt artists like Krystal, Kai, Victoria, Lay, and Zhoumi. Since we have yet to see the full effect of these scandals in the context of a musical release (except for Zhoumi, but there aren’t many negative effects since he was never super popular in Korea to begin with), these scandals are still only minor losses for SM.

For the first half of 2016, they get a solid 8.5/10 from me.

YG Entertainment

yg akmu akdong musician winner lee hi

Angry fans everywhere can tell you that YG is slacking. The once-great label was home to domestic and international chart-topping groups, with huge fanbase power in tow. Now, it’s another story, and YG is entirely to blame for its mistakes. As expected of a group with ten years under its belt, BIGBANG is slowing down with releases, especially considering the fact that none of the five members have enlisted in the military yet. As a result, we are left with the remains of 2NE1, which continues on a downward spiral of mismanagement, and newer artists like WINNER, iKON, Lee Hi, AKMU, and, originally “by the end of July” now August 8th, Black Pink. These artists are by no means bad, but YG fails to give them the proper management to make them succeed. They still don’t make many TV appearances, and have huge hiatuses between comebacks. Lee Hi lost a lot of traction and momentum once YG delayed her comeback for over three years — WINNER had a similar situation, waiting over a year for a comeback as well.

This isn’t to say that YG doesn’t have some successes this year — while many say that WINNER’s comeback was a failure, this isn’t entirely true, as their one mini-album yielded three top ten singles this year. Lee Hi shot the same number of songs to the top ten with her album “Seoulite,” and Akdong Musician achieved a number-one hit with the catchy “Re-Bye.” Even iKON got into the top three without any promotion with “#WYD.” Not everything is in shambles for YG, as their newer artists are clearly decently popular, but there’s definitely a lot to criticize.

Let’s look at the current situation — 2NE1’s three-member summer comeback is nowhere in sight, WINNER’s E.X.I.T. series, which was supposed to yield four albums throughout the year, has only seen one album release with the year’s seventh month having come to a close. iKON’s July comeback never happened (aside from a few random singles), BIGBANG’s MADE album from last year is still lost in the void, and only the next week will be able to show us whether YG actually puts out Black Pink on August 8th like the company is saying. It seems the only good things about YG this year are the quality of the music (even though it takes an eternity to be released) and sub-label recruitments from HIGHGRND and The Black Label. On the whole, YG gets a 4/10 from me. Burn.

JYP Entertainment

GOT7 JYP Wonder Girls TWICE Baek Ah Yeon Baek Yerin

Arguably the most successful label of the year, JYP has made quite a comeback of its own. I love a good underdog, and seeing JYP rise from the ashes of its pre-2015 decline has been quite exciting. With the explosive success that is TWICE, the label is definitely raking in the dough this year. Based on further analysis of the Gaon Chart, it’s evident that TWICE’s second mini album “Page Two” has already sold more than any previous Wonder Girls or Miss A album, and TWICE’s two mini albums have, in less than a year, collectively outsold the entirety of Miss A’s discography. With tons of CFs and variety appearances in tow, TWICE has clearly given JYP new life.

But TWICE isn’t JYP’s only success this year. With successful releases from Baek Ah Yeon, Baek Yerin, and Wonder Girls, the label is a huge success in terms of musical and artist popularity this year. Wonder Girls is an especially large win, considering that the group was in danger of becoming irrelevant after last year’s “I Feel You.” Through “Why So Lonely”’s breakthrough success (the song still tops charts almost a month after release), Wonder Girls have proved the resilience of both their group and their label. JYP teaches us all that a label is truly successful when both its older and newer groups can make waves in the K-pop world.

Along with profits piling in from TWICE, GOT7, and a successful Japanese release from 2PM, JYP is killing it in all aspects of success. It’s also definitely notable that its artists are being promoted well — many are given creative freedom, constant releases, and stable promotion. Each TWICE member has made upwards of seven or eight variety appearances since debut. While Tzuyu and Sana are currently the most popular members, JYP is taking the time to bring Jihyo and Momo some attention as well, given their recent appearances on shows like “King of Mask Singer” and “Hit the Stage,” respectively.

Keeping all of this success in mind, JYP has taken a few hits this year, specifically in GOT7’s scandal and Fei’s recent solo release. While GOT7’s controversial actions definitely hurt their reputation in Korea and possibly abroad, the group still has a lot of room for upward advancement, given their increasing sales and ability to tour worldwide. Fei was never incredibly popular, and her recent support of China in the South China Sea dispute has really hurt her Korean reputation as well. The result was catastrophic — the single fell off of most charts within a day of release. Recognizing these minor losses as nothing more than, well, minor losses, JYP gets a stellar 9.5/10 from me.

Also on KultScene: An Ode to SHINee on the Eve of KCON LA 2016

And that wraps up the Mid-Year Review of the Big Three. For the first time in years, it seems like JYP has become the overall best label of the year so far. We can only hope that their success continues, while praying that SM can get themselves a hit or two before the year’s end and that YG lives up to at least a fourth of its promises.

The ranking is as such:

  1. JYP Entertainment — 9.5/10
  2. SM Entertainment — 8.5/10
  3. YG Entertainment — 4/10

What do you think of the Big Three so far this year? Share your thoughts in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.

Playlist Sunday: Worst Korean Singles of 2015

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Worst Korean Songs of 2015


Now that 2016 is well under way, we’re definitely ready to say “goodbye” to some of K-pop’s worst singles of 2015. For this week’s Playlist Sunday, KultScene’s staff members each picked their least favorite songs of the year.

[Disclaimer: These picks are based on individual taste, so feel free to disagree in the comments.]

I get it. “Lion Heart” is the epitome of what Girls’ Generation represents: The archetype for the perfect feminine and demure woman. The song’s beat and the overall styling of the music video takes us back to the ’50s and early half of the ’60s, when young women aimed to look like their older and glamorous mothers. When the sexual revolution and women’s liberation was about to explode and a woman’s value equated to her looks and how refined she seemed. But fine, it’s a pop song, and every woman can choose to be anyone they want and dress however they want. But. That. Chorus… If you want to torture someone, just play “Lion Heart,” it’ll make their eardrums bleed. Truth is, SNSD’s latest album and singles (with the exception of “You Think”) were largely disappointing compared to their previous work. Especially considering that the album had better bubblegum pop with throwback feel contenders like “Fire Alarm.” The whole concept behind “Lion Heart” makes sense for a group like Girls’ Generation, yes, and we all like them for their girly ways. However, musically, they don’t have the vocal chops to carry that chorus, no matter how nasally and high they make Yuri sing.

— Alexis

Girls’ Generation’s “Party” makes me want to dive into the body of water that they’re filming the music video on and stay submerged for as long as humanly possible (without dying, of course). Can someone please tell SM Entertainment and Girls’ Generation to stop it with their attempts at rapping? Oh, and for Tiffany to stop it when her random ass English segments in their songs. Yeah, yeah, we get it, it’s party time. “Party” had a lot of ups and downs (emphasis on the down) moments for me; I couldn’t figure out if they were trying to make this a summer anthem or if it was an attempt of them being sensually cute by experimenting with livelier beats and adding alcoholic beverages in their lyrics but either way, I was disappointed. There were too many transitional breaks throughout the song, too many moments that had me waiting for someone to hit a higher/lower note than they actually did. Sure the music video was semi fun to watch, also very scattered, but the song just makes me want to pull out every strand of hair on my head. Can they have more concepts like “Oh!”, “Run Devil Run,” and “The Boys”?


— Tam

JYP Entertainment had a great year in terms of music. miss A released a pretty solid album, Wonder Girls finally came back, and the company even debuted two new rookie groups, both of which quickly grew in popularity. They did everything right and more… Except for one disservice. I don’t know what they were thinking with giving the green light to 2PM’s “My House,” but the song is a far cry from their usual good releases. I get that they want to spice up their sound and want to show that they are more than party boys and sex icons, but something feels lacking. Where are the interesting beats? Where is the build-up? Maybe it’s because I have been babied by fast-paced songs like “A.D.T.O.Y.” or “Go Crazy,” but “My House” feels bland. It’s very forgettable, and doesn’t add much to their already remarkable repertoire. The only saving grace was the video, which contained an underlying fairy tale thematic.
Oh well, better luck in 2016, boys.

–Shelley

Maybe I loved “Can’t Stop” way too much to have realistic expectations for anything CNBLUE could offer for their comeback but I was woefully disappointed with their 2015 release “Cinderella.” They may have achieved a lot of commercial success (as usual) for this song but while the song isn’t horrible, I’ve definitely seen (and heard) CNBLUE do so much better than this auto-tuned track that seems to only have two lines and a bridge that hardly seems like part of the same song. To make it worse, their album “2gether” actually has some great B-sides such as “Roller Coaster” and “Radio” that overshadow this title track completely. Seriously, what was going on in the heads of the album producers? In a K-pop industry with more and more popular bands (both indie and idol ones) CNBLUE really has to step up their game in 2016 to show fans what they’ve truly got.

–Anna

Let’s get one thing out there. Park Jin Young aka JYP is a great producer. But he’s a misogynist, and his hit song “Who’s Your Mama?” highlights that more so than just about everything else he’s ever said or done. The song’s funky, jazzy beat is good, and Jessi’s solo rap is nothing to sneeze at, but Park Jin Young is literally describing his perfect woman’s ass and saying that that’s all what he looks for when looking at women. I wish I could say that it’s satire a la Psy’s “Gentleman,” but that doesn’t seem the case. The song begins with Park asking a woman what her hip and waist measurements are before going into a song describing his love of big butts. “Shake that booty” is one of the most prominent lines of the song as Park diminished women as anything other than physical beings for him to oggle. “Who’s Your Mama?” is K-pop’s “Baby Got Back,” and the song did exceptionally well on charts, but that still doesn’t make it okay. 2015 was the year of the booty, but JYP took it to another level in a way that was blatantly sexist. We’re in 2016, let’s put an end to this obsession with equating women with their ass-ets.

–Tamar

I could have picked any song from the many iKon released towards the end of the year, but for sheer lack of imagination, I’ll go with “Airplane.” Apart from their whole shtick being based off what’s popular in K-pop right now (rap,) iKon also come across like Big Bang-lite (so like another WINNER but even less interesting.) “Airplane” has twee synth and piano sounds that are used to make their ballad sound less like a ballad. I’m all for ballads not sounding like ballads but this screams of trying too hard, “it’s not a ballad guys, we rap, we’re cool, I was on that rap show remember?” Speaking of Bobby, I’m also not one to care too much about line distribution but this is ridiculous. It’s unfair to both B.I and Bobby who should be in a duo or going solo and to the rest of the members whom might as well not exist. Mostly I hate how YG thinks he can put a bit more rapping into a song and that makes it good enough to be recycled over and over. It was great back in 2008, but it’s time to move on.

–Joe

Intro to G.Soul

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JYP Entertainment’s newest artist, G.Soul, is about to show Korean music lovers what he’s made of. He has been a trainee at JYP for fifteen years and he will finally debut on January 19th with his first mini album Coming Home. G.Soul is JYPE’s first R&B solo artist, which is very exciting not only for JYP, but for K-pop fans in general. It’s nice to see artists who specialize in other genres than pop have a chance to promote their music at the larger entertainment companies.

G.Soul was sent to NYC for training when he was a young boy after JYP discovered him and was impressed with his talents. He was supposed to debut in America as part of JYPE USA until things fell through and it closed down. While he was training in NYC all of these years, G.Soul did perform at gigs and in competitions where some of his fellow JYPE labelmates supported him, such as the Wonder Girls, Min, Jo Kwon, J-Liim, and others. Past Christmas videos on Min’s and Jo Kwon’s Instagram accounts show off G.Soul’s soulful vocals and the closeness of the JYP artists.

Also on KultScene: YG Entertainment And Authenticity In K-Pop

He was based in Brooklyn while in the States and will undoubtedly pull from his experiences and training while there. The first teaser for his first single Coming Home shows G.Soul in multiple settings in black and white and with only the beat and music of the song. The final few seconds listeners hear his unexpected vocals. His teaser for You is very similar in style with the black and white, the music and quick shots of a certain scene. Then at the end, we hear G.Soul’s voice.

Although there is only a small snippet of G.Soul’s vocals in both teasers, it’s enough to entice listeners to pay attention to his debut. His vocal quality has similar elements to Zion.T and to Bumkey, but then there is something within in that makes it his own. From the snippets it seems that he has a great voice and that his long awaited debut will not be in vain.

In the first teaser for Coming Home there is a shot of a record cover from an R.Kelly record, which is a good indication that he is a musical inspiration to G.Soul. G.Soul’s vocals do share similar qualities to R.Kelly’s vocals and it will be interesting to hear to a full length song to really be able pinpoint his sound. After listening to G.Soul’s covers on his Soundcloud, it’s clear he is heavily inspired by R&B vocalists and soulful artists, from Rihanna, Bruno Mars, Stevie Wonder, Beyonce, Pharrell, and more.

G.Soul wrote and co-wrote every song on his mini album, which shows that he is more than a musician, he is an artist who takes pride in creating to share with fans. Whenever an artist has a significant hand in creating their musical work it gives them a bit more credibility because it shows they feel a deeper connection to the music and the lyrics and they are proud to deliver their creations to the fans.

From his teasers, G.Soul will have a decent debut. G.Soul’s fluency in Korean and English will only aid him as he embarks on his debut. His songs will utilize both languages and could possibly attract more followers and fans because of it. Since he is not an idol and not strictly pop music, G.Soul will present a fresh sound with his cultivated vocals and Western-influenced style.

Also on KultScene: Artist Spotlight: DaeNamHyup

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Let’s Discuss: Is JYP Still One Of The Big 3?

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This is a bit of a loaded question – JYP Entertainment has been one of the three most prominent entertainment companies in the K-Pop industry for years, and it’s still treated as such. However, nowadays, the main competition is between YG Entertainment and SM Entertainment, and it’s worth looking at why exactly this is the case.

The Success

Park Jin Young, JYP himself, was one of Korea’s most popular singers in the early and mid-1990’s. In 1997, he founded JYP Entertainment, and ended up producing idol groups like g.o.d, which was one of the K-Pop groups that started the first Hallyu wave in Asia. g.o.d’s popularity is still so immense that the group recently made a comeback, to celebrate its fifteenth anniversary.

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JYP produced several other acts, but in 2002, it was Rain who ended up becoming JYP Entertainment’s pride and joy. Other popular JYP acts from the early 2000’s included Noel, Park Ji Yoon, and Byul.

In the mid 2000’s, JYP scored major successes with the debuts of Wonder Girls (2007), 2AM, and 2PM (both 2008). The three groups became some of the most popular acts in K-Pop and immensely popular throughout not only Asia but also the world.

The Wonder Girls gained enough attention to result in Perez Hilton showing off their songs, like Tell Me and Nobody; the group ended up touring with the Jonas Brothers and filming a show for Nickelodeon in the US.

2PM started a trend of “beastly idols,” known for athleticism and masculine concepts, which was different from the flower boy trend of other groups like TVXQ, SS501, and Super Junior.

While it looked bad for 2AM, since ballad groups were losing popularity in favor of K-Pop acts in the past, these guys are actually more popular than their label mates, the Wonder Girls and 2PM. Unlike the average K-Pop group, 2AM attracts all sorts of fans, not only the more typical, young fans who tend to be attracted to pop music.

The Slow Downward Spiral

Wonder Girls, 2PM, and 2AM gained a lot of success and were able to promote competitively against Kara, Super Junior, Girls’ Generation, Big Bang, and other groups that were popular in the late 2000’s. Songs by the three JYP groups were extremely popular, and, for a few years, it seemed that JYP was at the very top of its game.

Miss A debuted in 2010 to much acclaim, but it was another two years before JYP debuted a new group, which was the duo 15&;. While 15&; is very talented, it hasn’t attracted as much attention as other YG groups.

It was around 2009 when JYP started to suffer. Out of JYP’s top three teams, only 2AM has kept its original member line-up. This was due to the leader of 2PM, Park Jay (Park Jaebeom) withdrawing from the group and the Wonder Girls focusing on their American promotions. The Wonder Girls also had a lineup change; Sunmi left the group and Hye Lim joined.

Both groups were still considered leaders of Hallyu, but, since then, the Wonder Girls have disbanded, and 2PM, despite promoting continuously to much success, isn’t as active as groups like Big Bang and Super Junior. Furthermore, the influx of rookie groups also endangers 2PM.

Miss A is popular in its own right, but Suzy has become one of Korea’s darlings; the rest of Miss A’s members are well-known, yet not half as popular as Suzy. Miss A last promoted Hush in 2013, and it is almost the end of 2014. It is now JYP’s oldest girl group, but Miss A is hardly active as a whole.

JYP’s other three current acts are two former Wonder Girls, SunMi and Yeeun (who made her solo debut recently as HA:TFELT). Both solo artists are extremely popular and hint to JYP regaining its stride, but that will still wait to be seen.

This year, JYP also debuted GOT7, which achieved a lot of success abroad but has met less acclaim than YG Entertainment’s yet-to-debut group WINNER.

While this could all just mean that JYP is in third place, after the other two largest entertainment companies, that doesn’t really seem to be the case. JYP is still popular and considered one of the best primarily because of its past — the current idols are good, but in an over flooded marketplace, they don’t particularly stand out.

JYP is also rumored to release another boy group and girl group this year, which seems like it would simply overstretch the company’s capabilities.

Other than the fact that few of its artists have as large fanclubs or as many hits as artists at SM and YG, there are a some other reasons JYP is no longer really the top.

The most important factor is the fact that JYP is not one of the biggest three earners in Korea’s entertainment industry.

In March 2014,  SM Entertainment had over 30% of the market, and YG had over 14%, while JYP wasn’t even ranking in the top ten. This was a continued trend that further revealed itself in 2013, when JYP Entertainment was relegated to the “Other” category, rather than gaining its own ranking on Gaon’s market share chart.

KPOP sales 2013

[Credit: ALLKPOP]

JYP is also facing an investigation into being illegally funded by JYP’s in-laws, who have a relations to the company that is currently being tried for homicide in the Sewol Ferry tragedy. The Korea Herald reported that JYP tried to avoid an investigation by selling JYP Entertainment to YG Entertainment’s CEO, Yang Hyun-Suk. This has resulted in JYP’s stock price plummeting.

Between the financial scandal and the lack of aggressive, constant promotions (unlike SM Entertainment and YG Entertainment), and the fact that the CEO tried to sell the company, JYP is in serious trouble.

Could the company be saved? Maybe.If JYP has successful comebacks from 2PM, 2AM, and Miss A within a span of a few months, and the company’s solo and rookie artists do extremely well, JYP may be able to return to a competitive standpoint. But at the moment, it seems that it is barely managing to hold onto its fading glory.[This inadvertently became part of a series, pointing out issues with each of the big three entertainment companies. The one about YG Entertainment HERE. Look forward to my discussion of SM Entertainment’s practices in an upcoming “Let’s Discuss.”] Be sure to share your thoughts and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and Bloglovin’ so you can keep up with all our posts.