A-Pink : The Next National Fairies?

It’s been a while since we’ve heard the term fairy in the kpop world. These days, most girl groups tend to focus on their sex appeal with suggestive choreographies and extreme stage costumes. However, a new fresh girl group called A-Pink (Seven Springs of A PINK) debuted last week on Mnet’s “MCountdown,” and they have been the talk of the town since. This rookie group, produced by Cube Entertainment, consists of seven members: Park Cho Rong (20), Yoon Bo Mi(17), Jung Eun Ji (17), Son Na Eun (17), Hong Yoo Kyung (16), Kim Nam Ju (16), and Oh Ha Young (14 ). Ever since their debut stage with “I Don’t Know,” they have earned the nickname fairies for their innocent and fairy like charms. Their popularity skyrocketed within the first week of their official debut.  

Their title track “I Don’t Know” was also created by hit maker Super Changddai and has a classic melodic element to it. The song has a light melody that’s perfectly in line with the change of weather and sweet lyrics like “my feelings for you are growing, yet you have no idea” and “I’ll show you my true feelings today.” The choreography is also starkly different from the current trend of raunchy wide spread leg dances and body waves. The seven girls keep it clean and cute with various arm and skipping movements.

Fairy like girl groups were all the rage in the 90s when bubble-gum pop was at its peak. S.E.S. and Fin.K.L. dominated the publics’ hearts with their innocent smiles, adorable costumes, and clean images. Most of their songs were about cute love songs and any signs of raunchiness were nowhere to be seen – not in the lyrics, choreographies, or stage costumes. S.E.S. (Sea, Eugene, Shoo), managed by SM Entertainment, enjoyed phenomenal popularity for six years until their disbandment in 2002. The name of the group took the initials of its three members: Sea, Eugene, and Shoo, and it’s no understatement to say that they were probably the first highly successful kpop girl group.  They shared a friendly rivalry with Fin.K.L.(Fin Killing Liberty) who debuted a year later. Fin.K.L., managed by DSP Media, consisted of Lee Hyori, Sung Yuri, Ock Joo Hyun, and Lee Jin. The fairies appealed to their fans with catchy lyrics about their first loves or breakups. However, it’s not like they went for the same concept year after year. Both groups went through various image changes, from cute to sexy, as they matured.

A-Pink’s image is also reminiscent of Girls’ Generation (SNSD) during their debut days. In fact, fans are already calling them the second Girls’ Generation. They not only resemble Girls’ Generation with their number of members, but the style of their title song “I Don’t Know” is quite similar to the songs in Girls’ Generation’s first album “Into the New World.” The concepts aim to portray young girls and their pure feelings towards love, heartbreak, and life in general.

Regardless of who they remind us of, A-Pink is definitely a breath of fresh air. It’s a sweet escape from the heavy emphasis on everything sexy. The music video for “I Don’t Know” features labelmate Lee Ki Kwang of B2ST and is shown like a scene from a fairy tale. In the music video, the girls express their nervousness and thrill as they decide to make the first move and Lee Ki Kwang is the lucky guy who receives the seven girls’ confessions.

Check out their music video below! What do you think? Are the girls of A-Pink worthy of the title national fairies?