#but all of aespa's choreo has been really heavy on second gen style point moves and throwback imagery

[sanstropfremir]

I saw the comment on your last ask and wanted to ask what's your 5th gen theory? I know that for me actually looking at the years 5th gen should have started already but it feels like we're still in 4th gen because no one other than a few girl groups have blown up the way that 3rd groups both boy and girl had and anyone who has gotten popular has been in last year or two. Making a big three comparison exo in their 3rd or 4th year was in a very different place than stray kids or treasure now

fifth gen HAS already started! just not where or how you would think. and for clarity's sake: i don't categorize gens by group popularity, and that would be a moot point anyways because the success of previous gen groups is never going to be replicated on the same scale because of how dramatically the industry has changed.

my fifth gen theory is this: there's already starting to be a generation change in the last year, but it's being lead by smaller companies who are unable to sustain the current fourth gen performance model, and subsequently there's either going to be a delayed transition where the big four companies will be the last to debut fifth gen groups, OR there's going to be a full split where big four and other well funded companies can keep producing groups in the fourth gen method, while every other smaller group has an entirely different performance method.

the main characteristic of fourth gen has been very strong and heavy dance skills paired with difficult choreography, on a scale that's much more extreme than previous gens. although a lot of third gen choreography was probably harder on its idols' bodies thanks to the acrobatics, third gen idols were still trained as well rounded performers and were able to transition smoothly out of their stuntmen eras and still be able to maintain their group's artistic identity. in order for companies to ramp up the spectacle factor from this, instead of tricking + stunts they prioritized technically difficult dance, which has translated into the bulk of fourth gen idols being by large, probably the most technically skilled generation of dancers. however, like i've said in previous asks, that has come as a detriment to pretty much every other skill that used to be trained into idols. making the sacrifice of dance vs singing is fine for companies that have the funds to support having big spectacular cbs and have large stable fanbases that consume uncaringly, but it's more of a problem with smaller companies who are getting priced out of being able to afford cbs to even hope to match the scale that fans are coming to expect. so as a result, they're going back to training their idols as more holistic performers and simplifying choreography. i know a lot of people are not paying attention to the rookie bgs but a lot of the ones from the last year and change have been a totally different calibre of performer than the established fourth gen groups, and it's likely to continue that way. my hypothesis is that the last company to catch on fifth gen is going to be the next jype bg, and how they perform is going to be the indication of if there's going to be a staggered transition or a full split.

#fourth gen has been the shortest gen (only 2-3 yrs) bc its such an unsustainable performance style #you can already see some of the big groups falling off in terms of ability + consistency #the shape of fifth gen is probably gonna look like a combo of second and third gen #kpop questions #sm groups almost always lead a gen transition without actually being part of the gen itself #see: tvxq (i subscribe to jaejoong's theory that they're gen 1.5) exo and nct #and they've lead into fifth gen again with aespa #sm has also always holistically trained their idols so tbh i would argue that sm has NO fourth gen groups actually #but all of aespa's choreo has been really heavy on second gen style point moves and throwback imagery #which has been picked up by a LOT of other groups #and some groups are pulling references from early third gen (like fifty fifty billlie trendz + just b) #anyways #no guarantees any of this actually plays out im just speculating based on what i've seen #also ppl always say that fourth gens are just nct knockoffs but they are NOT! #we are likely actually to see more fifth gen groups be nct knockoffs than fourth gen ones bc fifth gen groups will actually have the skills #to do so. see tempest dragon and atbo attitude #text #answers