K-Pop has already taken over the world, but 4th generation is taking over K-pop! ICYMI, 4th generation, or “4th gen” for short, is any K-pop group that debuted during or after 2018. Some of those groups include TXT, NewJeans and Stray Kids — but there’s so many more 4th gen groups to look out for, so created a list for the ones you *should definitely* be paying attention to.
Keep reading for all the 4th gen K-pop groups you should be listening to.
One of the most impactful (and refreshing!) K-pop groups that debuted within the 4th generation is, of course, NewJeans.
NewJeans is a five-member girl group that debuted in 2022 under BTS’ company HYBE. What makes them so different, is their complete subversion of the usual K-pop formula.
Instead of an elaborate debut schedule, the girls came onto the K-pop scene completely randomly, releasing their first song and music video for “Attention” on July 21, 2022, without any warning.They then released four separate music videos for the same song called “Hype Boy,” another music video for “Hurt” and then their official debut song and music video for “cookie.”
“Before debuting, our president would invite us each into her home for a meal, and there was one time she invited us over as a group,” member Hyein recalled during an interview with Rolling Stone in June 2023. “She asked us, ‘How would you want to roll out teasers for your debut?’ I think she was curious about what we would say. I just said, ‘I think it would be fun to just have no teaser at all,’ and she said ‘Oh? That’s actually what we’re planning on doing!'”
Another great 4th gen group is Stray Kids, who debuted in 2018. What makes the 8-member band so unique is that they pretty much have written their entire music discography — which is a rarity in K-pop. What’s even more, members Bang Chan, Han and Changbin have created their own music production group called 3RACHA, which is where they write their own music without outside collaborators.
Click through our gallery to uncover all of the 4th gen K-pop groups you should be listening to (immediately).
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