Celebrating K-pop girl groups this International Women’s Day
From feminist anthems to heartbreak ballads, let's look through some iconic achievements of our favourite female artists.
H1-KEY. Image: GLG
Girl groups and soloists are an essential part of K-pop culture with many releasing power pop anthems that you can strut away your problems to. From Girls Generation to NewJeans, girl groups have had a hold on our hearts for years and continue to impress us with their impeccable dance and vocal skills. In celebration of International Women’s Day, Cherry Chu Magazine looks back on some of the best recent releases and achievements of our favourite women in the industry.
BBGIRLS
We can’t talk about iconic girl groups without mentioning BBGIRLS. Consisting of MINYOUNG, YOUJOUNG, EUNJI, and YUNA, you probably know the group from their viral tune, “Rollin”, which they released under their previous name, Brave Girls. The track topped the Melon weekly chart for eight consecutive weeks. This new surge in popularity allowed the girls to rebrand as BBGIRLS. Their music video for “Chi Mat Ba Ram” managed to rack up 30 million views in only 10 days.
HWASA
HWASA has always been 100% carefree and unapologetic about who she is. Alongside being a member of MAMAMOO, HWASA also debuted as a solo artist with her song “TWIT” and the following year became the first Korean female soloist to reach number one on the iTunes US Album Chart with her first mini album, Maria.
HWASA “I Love My Body”. Image: P NATION
Her track “I Love My Body” tells its listeners to not care about what other people think and promotes self-love. HWASA’s powerful energy is infectious.
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This girl group consists of members JEEWON, SEMI, CHAESOL, BELLE, SELINE, CHLOE, and DOHEE. In 2022, the seven girls were awarded the Blooming Star Award, highlighting their already successful career and their prosperous future. Currently, two of their music videos have already amassed over 10 million views. Member BELLE has also since debuted in the group UNIS, which was created through the SBS’ reality show Universe Ticket.
WHEE IN
Another MAMAMOO member currently slaying is WHEE IN. WHEE IN has been releasing preppy pop tracks and R&B-inspired songs since 2018. Some of her most notable releases include “EASY” featuring Sik-K and “water color”. WHEE IN’s second mini-album debuted at number three on the worldwide iTunes Album Charts. She’s collaborated with a variety of artists and has a prominent place in our hearts for her beautiful OSTs. She also recently released her single “Wheee” which you can listen to below.
H1-KEY
This group’s name is based on the term ‘high-key’ meaning that these girls are striving for confident and healthy beauty. Even though they only debuted in 2022, H1-KEY have already managed to place third in the Girl Group Brand Reputation for February behind BLACKPINK and NewJeans. Their latest track, “Deeper”, has an enticing live performance for fans to watch.
All of these artists can act as role models for any K-pop fans. In spite of the difficulties they may have faced, these women have powered through and released tracks that we can conquer anything whilst listening to. We can’t wait for the future releases that these talented women have got in store and the achievements that are coming their way.
Edited by Chelsea Cheetham.
