Oh, So Everyone Loves Girl Groups Now…

The Girl Group Renaissance. Pictured: Spice Girls, Fifth Harmony, Katseye

Somewhere in her room in the year 2005, a 10-year-old Missy slips a VHS tape into her VHS player. After the lackluster commercials, a scene of technicolor buzzes onto the screen. I scream as the silhouettes that I know so well appear with the sound of a jazzy back beat. I was, of course, watching Spice World. Again. Much to my mom’s dismay.

Being a girl group fan was in my blood from day one. I was obsessed with the way that they moved. The sharpness of their moves, the beautiful costumes, and the vocal runs that would replay in my head for days. After the Spice Girls, I had the Cheetah Girls, Play, and the list goes on and on. I never got sick of “girl power” lead lyrics and overpriced merchandise in K-Mart, no matter how old I got. Some of my best memories were born because of my interest in girl groups. My friends and I made up routines based on the music videos blasting from the speakers in the middle of my living room, to purchasing new CDs for my walkman that I would replay until my mom made me brush my teeth and go to bed.

I thought my dedication to girl groups would have ended in my early teens, but record labels were relentless. The entrance of Little Mix and Fifth Harmony in my high school years made it certain that I would not forget the importance that female musicians had on my life. The riffs. The tiffs. The fandom drama. I was obsessed with it all. I spent hours reposting photos on Tumblr and crafting my Spotify playlists around them. I watched interview after interview on YouTube until it was impossible to keep my eyes open.

Being a girl group fan is in my bones, so it was no surprise that once I stepped foot into the K Pop space in 2022, I landed right where I left off. Sure, BTS and Stray Kids were my entrance to the K Pop world, but I found out quite quickly how incredibly talented the girls in the K-pop world truly were. It took me only a matter of days to find the sugary backbeats of Twice, the bass-heavy world of Purple Kiss, and, of course, the Girl Crush icons that are Itzy. I had never been so blessed with so much content and SO. MANY. GIRL. GROUPS. It can sometimes feel impossible to keep up with all of their schedules, and the music is so good that I end up becoming a fan of almost every one that I listen to. I dipped my toe back into Western girl groups at the same time, listening to duos like Chloe x Halle and even fell for another UK group called Flo.

But even then, my girl group fascination always felt like a niche interest. Yes, I know that all of these girl groups have a ton of fans, but I honestly felt like I only ever had one friend (if that) to gossip to about them. To discuss their album concepts in length, to dissect their lyrics until I wasn’t even sure I believed my own theories anymore. Then, suddenly, I was sitting on WeVerse (a Korean music app for artists that gives you updates on releases, schedules, etc.), I found out that Hybe was teaming up with Western powerhouse label Geffen to create a Western girl group based on the KPop model. This meant that the new girl group was going to go through the intense dancing and singing training sessions I had heard about from my favorite idols. This girl group was going to be chosen by the fans, who would vote for their favorites each week based on a set of performance videos released.

Favorite girl groups: Citizen Queen, GIRLSET, Say Now and 3Quency

The concept confused me, but I was intrigued nonetheless, watched the performances each week, and placed my vote. Watching these girls try to achieve their dreams reminded me of my years of watching American Idol, and the amount of serotonin that my washed over my body when I finally saw them make it. When the final lineup was released, I was overjoyed. The lineup was filled with beautiful, talented ladies who I knew were creating beautiful music together. And when they released their first song as a full group, now called Katseye…. I already knew that I was going to be a big fan. The synchronization was on a whole other level; the visuals were absolutely captivating. I couldn’t wait to see what they released next. Their first EP, SIS, felt a little disjointed to me, and I wasn’t sure if it really stood out in the way that it might need to in the West. I was definitely drawn in by their next single, “Touch,” which showed off the girl’s incredible dancing skills and lent itself very nicely to TikTok challenges.

However, I was not aware that the girls weren’t actually prepared for this to be a competition show… and that the fan voting and performances that led to this EP were taped along with behind-the-scenes content for a documentary-style show for the public. One that captured the petty arguments and the emotional moments, along with the good. I was shocked, sitting there seeing more and more people talking about them online. We were watching these girls being their most authentic selves, dealing with the trials of being a teenage girl, finding friends while also begging for their shot at their dream. It was messy. There were moments from the show that I still cringe about, but it is an integral part of their story.

There was more shock than anything, but I did notice that the documentary hadn’t fully hit the mainstream. I saw tweets about it in other fandom spaces, K-pop fan groups, etc., but more of my friends in my everyday life still didn’t know who I was talking about. I encouraged almost anyone who would listen to check them out, and aggressively did free promotion on my Instagram stories, but little came from it. Two of my friends finally caved, and I finally had people to discuss this girl group with, and I definitely took advantage of it while enjoying the Touch viral moment on TikTok.

Then it happened.

Gnarly.

A song that took me fully by surprise. If there was an anthesis to the SIS EP, it would be this song. It was jagged, it was aggressive, it was filled with sound almost to the point of frustration. The first time I listened to it, I texted my friend. I told her that it was going to be really hard for me to actually like this song. None of it made sense. Boba tea? Party in the Hollywood Hills? The chorus was even more off-putting. It included slices of sound effects and intense talk-rapping. I found out later that this is just everyday producing for well-known hyperpop/EDM writer Alice Longyu… but for the first time, I thought that I might be too old to be listening to something… to “get it.”

Three or four listens later, and somehow I came around on it. Then I watched the magnetic choreography that went with it, filled with as much personality as the song itself. And I watched it grow in popularity. It was fascinating to see my FYP flip entirely from those who were strongly against the song, to all of those same people commending them and asking why the song was actually “so catchy.” After a while, nothing felt out of place anymore, and I was singing it constantly.

I started to see larger content creators discuss the group, and a few more of my friends reached out asking why they actually really liked this silly little song. However, it was the recent GAP ad that caught my friends’ attention. With Milkshake by Kelis playing in the background, the girls came together to do a collaboration with the brand that brought the conversation to a whole new level. The clean dance moves, the timing, and the face cards definitely had the entire world in a chokehold. I had friends texting me telling me that they were finally getting into Katseye, or asking me if I had seen the documentary. It held me back from being the “I knew Katseye before they were cool” comments because I couldn’t be happier that these girls were getting the spotlight they deserve.

I have to say that I think that Katseye’s popularity has spurred a new appreciation for Western girl groups in a way I haven’t seen in a while. You’d have the occasional girl group appear and unfortunately disappear due to label budgets, breakups, etc. (I still love you, Girls World). Now, it seems like there are intentional efforts to create groups. I see great groups pop up on my FYP daily, and I even found myself watching the new Building the Band series on Netflix, which focused on creating Western groups for the music world, and gushing at the collaborations that come from the K-pop collaboration show “KPOPPED.”

There’s something to be said for groups like this coming around at a specific time and place. The music is great, of course, but what I think truly brings audiences in and makes them stay is the differences that come with multiple members in a group. The ability to find your favorite and latch onto them. To see the members interact and be brought into their friendship and their world, even for a little bit… from a distance. There’s a sense of comfort in seeing the pure interactions and true care for one another that comes along with creating music together. Or, at least that’s what I receive from them: A sense of joy, a look at what female friendship really looks like that warms my heart… along with fantastic music to listen to.

So… I’m not judging anyone for getting into girl groups now, but I am a little disappointed that it took you this long. But welcome to moments of pure womanhood, empowerment, and enough great lyrics to cry about for days. I welcome the girl group Renaissance with open arms.