Is the ‘five-year lifespan’ jinx for idol groups still valid?

There’s a long-standing jinx amongst idol groups in the Korean music industry, and it’s that their life span rarely lasts longer than five years. Although many have fallen to the curse, a lot more have proved it wrong, the representative case being Big Bang.

The group debuted back in 2006 and declared themselves to be artists that are between an idol and a musician in terms of talent and style. Many believe that the group’s ‘life line’ was elongated because of their consistent (and successful) adapation of new styles.

G-Dragon commented, “We’ve been around for five years, six years if you count this year, and promoted in Japan for two to three of those years. While promoting, we worked hard to work out the problems we had with the systems. It’s upsetting for us to see other friends not be able to resolve conflicts with their agencies. We want to become the answer sheet to idol groups.”

While Big Bang is the representative case, they are certainly not the only ones who broke away from the jinx. TVXQ, who debuted in 2004, encountered an unfortunate divide in the midst of their flourishing career, but still managed to maintain their ‘TVXQ brand’ and power as a Hallyu icon. Super Junior, who debuted in 2005, has one member serving in the army and another who recently left, but they are still considered as one of the longest-lasting idol groups due to their strong international fanbase.

One representative of the industry stated, “Those in the industry often say that no matter how popular a group is, there’s a sort of ‘change in tide’ every five years. But lately, seeing groups like Big Bang, there’s been a change of thought. Depending on the direction and the musical mindset groups have, their lives are lengthened or shortened. Idols are better prepared these days, and in order to avoid becoming replaced, they advance into other markets like acting, which has become a necessity now.”


source: allkpop