Korea Music Content Association Analyses What Sets SEVENTEEN Apart From Other Groups

SEVENTEEN’s music is considered a big factor.

The Korea Music Content Association has released another group-specific analysis of K-Pop sales and chart performance on their YouTube channel OK POP!!. This time, Steve Choi, the K-Pop instructor, chose SEVENTEEN as his focus. Following the group’s unit debut BSS, he analyzed SEVENTEEN’s sales and chart history while discussing why they’re different from other K-Pop groups, specifically boy groups.

SEVENTEEN’s BSS | @pledis_17/Twitter

Despite debuting in 2015, meaning they’re an eight-year-old group, SEVENTEEN still feels fresh and trendy to the public, according to Choi. He shared that most groups feel old-fashioned after a long time passes since their debut, but this didn’t prove true in SEVENTEEN’s case.

| Pledis Entertainment

Steve explains the reason is that the group always shown various experimental aspects in music and performance, which has stopped them from getting “boring” even though fans and the public have been watching them for a long time.

SEVENTEEN is a group that enjoys taking risks. Instead of worrying ‘What if we don’t top the charts again with our next album?’ it’s more like ‘Hey, let’s just do what we want to do!

— Steve Choi

| Pledis Entertainment

Another contributing factor is the amazing organization the group has. All thirteen members have added specific skills, in which they excel, to the group: some vocals, some dancing, and others rapping.

Even with so many members, they have divided their roles very well that they make great synergy together.

— Steve Choi

SEVENTEEN’s Vocal Unit | Pledis Entertainment
SEVENTEEN’s Performance Unit | Pledis Entertainment
SEVENTEEN’s HipHop Unit | Pledis Entertainment

Choi then mentions the group’s discography. When going through all of their releases from the debut, Steve notes that their songs are very diverse and it seems like they don’t limit themselves to a specific genre. He says that rather than following trends or trying to appease the public all the time, they create music the members want to make on the spot.

They focus on doing something fun exciting and different with their fans, hence why they delivered different messages through their albums.  Choi adds that whenever SEVENTEEN release a new album, people expect them to show a certain level of performance and based on that standard “they go up and sometimes down.”

| Pledis Entertainment

Similar to most boy groups, SEVENTEEN also rose slowly in popularity and in the charts according to Choi. He explained that, as opposed to female idols who can have a hit and reach the top of the charts “right off the bat,” male groups take a little longer to do so. Choi highlights the sales of SEVENTEEN’s 1st mini album 17 CARAT  with 25,000 units sold and their latest full album Face The Sun which surpassed 2 million units sold. But different from most groups in the industry, SEVENTEEN didn’t gain some big momentum at any point, but they took it step by step, rising slowly and steadily.

It is correct to say that SEVENTEEN has been steadily growing since its debut.

— Steve Choi

“SEVENTEEN Special” | OK POP!!/YouTube

One point that Steve Choi highlights is the takeover of PLEDIS Entertainment, SEVENTEEN’s agency, by HYBE. He shares that HYBE’s capabilities, sales strategies, and other factors combined, helped SEVENTEEN reach a completely different performance level.

 

“SEVENTEEN Special” | OK POP!!/YouTube

Choi then went on to talk about the group’s chart performance and how their music did well on the charts, unlike most boy groups. “Their music was well received by the general public, not just their fandom,”  he shares.

In fact, SEVENTEEN has been one of the few boy groups that have been able to pull off both album sales and charts from the beginning.

— Steve Choi

The K-Pop instructor goes on to explain another factor that sets SEVENTEEN apart from other groups is their ability to climb back up on the charts after falling in popularity. Steve Choi says that if the group is determined to be on the chart, “they can go up whenever they want”. When analyzing the graph of the group’s streaming history, he notes that it’s more up and down than the sales one. Choi explains that even when the streaming chart goes down, their physical album still sells well, which makes SEVENTEEN such an interesting group.

“SEVENTEEN Special” | OK POP!!/YouTube

The K-Pop instructor finalized his analysis by emphasizing that both charts prove the point that SEVENTEEN has not lost its popularity and the group continues to appeal to the general public. Proof of this is the chart that shows the group’s Unique Listeners’ data. He explains that their songs have different peaks and falls of listeners demonstrating that the general public listens to their songs, as opposed to only their fans, and they keep listening if it appeals to them. But if the song doesn’t resonate with them, they stop listening, causing the falls in Unique Listeners.

“SEVENTEEN Special” | OK POP!!/YouTube

The main factor that has contributed to SEVENTEEN retaining its popularity, according to Choi, is the group’s exciting and refreshing music with great vocals and great rap. He finishes the video by applauding SEVENTEEN for sustaining their popularity and organization for what’s soon to be 10 years.

Source: OK POP!!

SEVENTEEN