Don’t cry over a K-pop band breakup. They’re doing just fine
The era of the K-pop superband is over, along with their cult fandoms. No need for tears. Stars like Rosé and Jennie are proving they shine brighter solo
At the MTV VMAs last month, Rosé from Blackpink won Song of The Year for APT., becoming the first K-pop artist to do so. When APT. released last October, Rosé, 28, already had two albums and seven singles. But APT. felt different. Reels picked it up. We all know the dance moves, even the ones who haven’t danced to it. Students in South Korea tried to avoid listening to it before exams because it was so catchy. Suddenly, everyone was shipping Rosé and Bruno Mars.
Rosé isn’t the only Blackpink member chasing solo success. Jennie came out with Solo in 2019, three years after the group debuted. Lisa released her own solo album, Lalisa, in 2021, collabed with Meghan Thee Stallion and Doja Cat, and made her acting debut with The White Lotus this year. In every instance, even with other K-pop bands, the solo works have been more fun, more sparkling, more creative. So, has the K-pop band peaked?
It’s been more than a decade since groups such as Girls’ Generation, BIGBANG, and SHINee were it. They had rebellious, edgy, cool-kid energy. Now, templatised groups are debuting faster than you can pull up a finger heart. In India, K-pop hype exploded between 2017 and 2020, with obsessions over BTS and Blackpink. Siddhi Konduskar, 25, a creative producer based in Seoul, says the interest was driven by social media (new then), easy access to Korean content (new then) and “fans who were eager to discover something beyond Bollywood or Western pop”. The excitement was palpable. “Everyone was making merch, starting fan projects, hosting streaming parties, and K-pop events were filling up venues.” It was easy to drum up cult-like devotion to a Korean music idol, to endlessly stream their videos to help them break records, and defend their every move. You like Jungkook more than his hyungs? You don’t deserve to be an Army!
When BTS announced in 2022 that they’d head off, one by one, to complete their mandatory military service, hearts broke by the million. But by and large, fandoms moved on. “Fans who discovered K-pop in their teens are now in their 20s or older, juggling studies, jobs, and responsibilities,” says Konduskar. “Their loyalty is still strong, but the way they engage with the band and fandom has changed.”
Sure, some sasaengs (obsessive fans) are still around. They’re the ones who fuelled the backlash to Jennie’s solo debut. They’re the ones who worried that Hwasa’s fame was overshadowing her group Mamamoo, when she started releasing singles in 2019. But listeners outside the bubble picked up on the fact that the solo work was braver, nicer on the ears.
Across music history, band break-ups have come at a point when the #BetterTogether formula stops working for everyone. It gives artists freedom to test the waters, break free of one manufactured person and try on another. It allows fans to grow up. When Boyband GOT7 chose not to renew their contracts with JYP Entertainment in 2021, their fanbase, Ahgases, mourned the end of an era. But many of its seven members, particularly Jackson Wang, BamBam, and Mark Tuan, went on to have successful careers in music, fashion, and film. In January this year, they released an album together after three years. It’s almost like monogamy was holding them back creatively.
Meanwhile, fans are playing the field too. It’s okay to be a fan of New Jeans, 1Verse, and Babymonster at the same time. And it’s harder for one group to stand out the way EXO or BTS did back in the day, says Konduskar. “The ‘once-in-a-generation’ energy that earlier debuts carried isn’t as easy to replicate because the market is oversaturated.” She’s optimistic that the superband has a future. “Solo work doesn’t dilute a group,” Konduskar says. “It just expands its legacy.” There might be a new BTS rehearsing some choreography as you read this.
From HT Brunch, October 04, 2025
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