If COVID-19 did not make its appearance, many K-Pop groups will be heading for concerts or even fanmeetings in different countries, interacting with their fans worldwide. On the other hand, because of the severity of the pandemic, traveling had been impossible. There were even serious cases of groups disbanding due to the agency’s financial issue.Many might have thought that compared to 2019, there would be fewer K-Pop groups making their debut but it turned out that actually, there were more groups which debuted in 2020 than 2019.In 2019, there were 32 teams which had made their debut. Compared to 2020, a total of 37 groups had made their debut.While there were cases where certain idol groups had to disband because of financial issue, it is an interesting observation to notice how more groups had decided to debut despite the unsettling economy.To name a few who made their debut in 2019, the groups include ITZYfrom JYP Entertainment, TXTfrom Big Hit Entertainment and AB6IXfrom BRANDNEW MUSIC.As for 2020, debuts of groups like TREASUREfrom YG Entertainment, aespafrom SM Entertainment and ENHYPENfrom BE:LIFT were long awaited from K-Pop fans.So why are there more groups debuting in 2020 than 2019?Do take note that this are just possible speculations. #1 X1 disbandmentMany would recall that X1had unfortunately disbanded earlier in 2020, causing the 11 members to return to their original group and agency. Among 37 teams which had made their debut, there were 4 teams who had debuted with former X1 members.They are none other than CRAVITY(Kang MinHee & Song HyungJun), WEi(Kim YoHan), DRIPPIN(Cha JunHo) and BAE173(Lee HanGyul and Nam DoHyon).CRAVITY was the first group to debut after the disbandment and back then, many had thought that Starship Entertainment had rushed their debut because they did not want “Produce X 101” effect to die down.Same goes for DRIPPIN as Cha JunHo had debuted as a member along with other trainees who had also made their appearance on “Produce X 101”.As for WEi, there was a saying that OUI Entertainment was waiting for the completion of contract for 1THE9. This is because two members, Yoo YongHa and Kim JunSeo, were from 1THE9. They eventually debuted under WEi together with Kim YoHan, causing some to speculate the reason behind their debut which only happened in October. #2 Importance of timingSimilar to the point above, many companies have high hopes on trainees who had appeared on Mnet “Produce X 101”. Hence, groups such as B.O.Y, E’LASTand GHOST9had also made their debut this year.If they were to wait longer, some might not really remember the hype of “Produce X 101”, hence lowering the chance of them becoming a successful group. #3 Audition programsThere were also 3 groups who had debuted after going through the competitive audition programs. Near the end of 2019, TOO undergone “WORLD KLASS” and they made their debut in April 2020.As for TREASURE, many would recall that they were supposed to debut earlier but because of the controversies in YG Entertainment, they had also postponed their debut to August this year.Finally, the audition program by Big Hit Entertainment and CJ ENM also gave birth to ENHYPEN. #4 Others This year, there were also many female groups that debuted too. Groups such as Weeeklyand aespahad debuted years after their agencies had debuted a new girl group.Since most of the contract duration for a K-Pop group lasts for about 7 years, many companies tend to debut new groups especially when the contract of a group is about to expire.Weekly is the first female group 9 years after Apink from PlayM Entertainment and aespa is the female group 6 years after Red Velvethad debuted under SM Entertainment.While there is no definite reason why there were more groups that debuted in 2020 than 2019, one thing that we can confirmed is the fact that there are just so many talented K-Pop idols fighting the chance for K-Pop fans to recognise and acknowledge their skills. All of them deserve love and attention no matter which agency they are from.
