The Best Concepts of Your (My) Favorite Groups

To help ease the Kpop-fan experience, it would sometimes seem appropriate to divide comebacks and releases into eras. This does not only occur within the Kpop universe, but really in any kind of musical context. Other bands that I listen to and follow have also had their specific era that usually involve a period of time in which some kind of promotion was taken place. It makes things easier you know, when you have something to refer back to if you would wish to do so. With each era and each promotion, there's usually a planned out concept that follows. Concepts can both lift or sink a comeback, depending on how well they are executed and how they fit the song. Down below you can read about some of my absolute favorite concepts from some of my favorite groups, enjoy!

SNSD - The Boys

Fine, maybe I wasn't a huge fan of The Boys in terms of musical quality and originality, but everything else about SNSD's 2011 comeback was perfection. Yes I know the video wasn't amazing either but it didn't really matter because all the girls looked their absolute best and worked the hell out of that concept. It was sexy, yet not raunchy, and it was confident and mature. My admiration could also be due to the fact that this was one of my first encounters with this group when I first became a Kpop fan way back in early 2012 when this was their latest comeback. However, it doesn't change the fact that it was a spectacular era.

B.A.P - One Shot


One Shot was everything I wanted from B.A.P, and I was screaming my way through the entire video when I first saw it. This concept is dark, gritty and bloody, and all the boys looked amazing as wannabee gangsters. I love black and I love me some leather pants, and the song and video are both awesome too. Although I could never really understand that Bang Yongguk was speaking of Martin Luther King in his rap in the beginning until I read the translation but that's OK!

One Shot

f(x) - Electric Shock

Oh f(x), how I wanted to choose Rum Pum Pum Pum because I adore Pink Tape, but the promotional period was way too short and also quite badly executed. Like with "The Boys", this comeback era was the first one that I encountered while becoming familiar with this group, and I still love it to bits. Objectively, the video was very basic but the song was amazing and the girls just looked too great to ignore. Whenever I watch the video again I get flashbacks to when I first watched it, back where I in some strange way thought Luna and Sulli looked like twins.

Infinite - Paradise

L's bare back - do I need to say more? Also suits. And black. And everything about this goddamn era. Infinite had a great 2011, and their follow-up track Paradise was just more icing on the already perfect cake. I have to say though, Be Mine was pretty flawless too, but I do have a huge soft spot for good-looking guys in nicely fitted suits who sing in falsetto while hip-thrusting passionately. All their outfits for this comeback was spot on, as well as all the hairstyles and overall styling. Also, the song is perfect and the choreography is one of my absolute favorites ever.

After School - Flashback

If you've seen the video for After School's Flashback, you'd know why I put it on here. This comeback seriously rivals SNSD in terms of visual appeal, because damn these girls look hot. The entire video just oozes sexiness and confidence, and every single member look like a supermodel. They all have flattering hairstyles, the makeup is amazing and the clothes are spot on as well. It was honestly a flawless era, and I need them to go back there soon.

4Minute - Volume Up

I was this close to choosing Huh as the best era for 4Minute, because the song and concept is my jam, but Volume Up had the most fantastic visuals as well as an great song and video. I feel as if their 2012 comeback was greatly overlooked and underrated, and it's a shame because it's one of their best ones to date. It clearly beats both What's Your Name and Whatcha Doin' Today both in terms of musical quality and eye candy. This was also the first ever video I saw by this group, and let's just say it put the bar pretty high.

Vixx - On and On

On and On was what made me a solid fan of Vixx, and it is to this day my favorite work of theirs. A lot of people prefer Hyde, which is perfectly understandable, but I find their vampire inspired comeback a lot more interesting. Admittedly, the video is quite strange and does neither the song, choreography or concept any justice, but I'm willing to overlook that because everything else was splendid. I just love watching live performances of this song - it's visually appealing, the choreography is top notch and I just adore the contact lenses.

Spica - Tonight


Oh Spica, how you blew me away with this comeback. In all seriousness though, what a great summer release. I simply loved everything about Tonight and its promotions, every single bit of it. The styling was just the right amount of hippie clothes and flower crowns, the song was fresh and uplifting and the the video was so well done. And of course, those vocal skills are hard to beat.

SHINee - Ring Ding Dong/Sherlock/Dream Girl/Everybody


I know this is technically cheating, but could you choose only one era for SHINee that could be named their best? For those of you who think I'm being extremely unfair because this is my bias group, just look at Infinite! They are my bias group too and I only chose one concept for them. It's not that I can't admit that once in a while a concept is disappointing or downright bad, but it's just that SHINee has very few of those. And even when it's bad, it's still good you know?

I do think that comeback concepts are really exciting and a huge reason why I find Kpop so fascinating, because you're always looking forward to what your favorite groups have in store. Sure, most groups have their own niche, more or less, but it's never the exact same. This helps keeping the industry creative and allows more out-of-the-box thinking, and that's one of my favorite things about it.
So, what are your favorite eras of your favorite groups?