This year, the K-pop scales tipped toward a girl-group resurgence. After what felt like years of dominance by the boys, a handful of girl-powered acts made their marks: IVE dropped hit after hit, the fresh sound of NewJeans turned them into superstars practically overnight, and Billlie carved out a following with their kooky singles. The debuts of Kep1er, Le Sserafim, and N.MIXX injected new life into the musical landscape.And it wasn’t just new groups that had all the fun; established acts had their day in the sun, too. Blackpink returned with their sophomore LP Born Pink, Girls’ Generation released their first album since 2017, and CL turned her performance at Coachella into a 2NE1 reunion when she brought her band members out to perform their 2011 hit “I Am the Best.”Speaking of Coachella, this year saw K-pop staking an even larger claim in the festival scene. Blackpink’s 2019 Coachella set broke the seal for Korean pop acts, and this year’s event also featured girl group Aespa, as well as soloists Bibi and Jackson Wang. But the biggest of the bunch was J-Hope’s headlining set at Lollapalooza, where labelmates Tomorrow X Together also performed.It was a great year for live music in general, with fans turning out in droves as artists returned to regular touring. Groups like Blackpink, Ateez, and Enhypen sold out 16,000-capacity venues across the United States, and saw similar success abroad.Throughout all this change, K-pop’s release cycles remained as relentless as ever. And because B-side gems are often… Click below to read the full story from MTV News
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