My Kpop Bias for Girl Groups (Disbanded)

Part two of my comprehensive bias list is here, this is for the old heads out there, because it’s all disbanded groups.

After School- Nana

Nana was one of my favorite idols for years, not so much in association with After School. Their incredible last song, First Love, came out pretty soon after I entered kpop. Instead, I really enjoyed Orange Caramel Nana, maybe the best sub-unit in the history of kpop. She showed a great sense of humor, strong talents, and through some variety, like Roommate, seemed to be a genuinely nice person, for all that shows reflect real personalities.

EXID- Jeonghwa

I don’t really know why Jeonghwa clicked for me, I originally liked LE and Hani and then at some point it just changed. Jeonghwa has a really interesting voice, it adds something fairly unique to EXID’s sound, and her dancing is genuinely enjoyable to watch. I also enjoy her fun and optimistic personality, it never felt like she was down during their harder years.

Fiestar- Jei

This is just largely a visual factor, I don’t know Fiestar particularly well, but Jei is super pretty.

Girl’s Day- Yura

My ultimate bias, Yura, had a fantastic combination of being a great dancer, a solid vocalist, and an extremely strong personality. Yura did a fantastic job of playing the goofy dumb role on shows, was running around doing the League of Legends announcer voice even though no variety hosts knew it, and has the greatest laugh in the history of kpop. Also, she ran into the Weekly Idol wall, which was just incredible. On top of all this, Yura has, as far as I know, the highest insurance on a body part of any idol, insuring her legs for nearly half a million dollars.

Gfriend- Sowon

Sowon really appealed to me as a leader, she showed great skill in this regard, and I’ve always respected leaders in kpop groups who are visibly good at their job. Sowon also has some pretty funny clips getting angry at the members because they constantly tease her, it was very cat and mouse, and I love that dynamic.

Gugudan- Sejeong

I don’t really know the other Gugudan members very well, so this is kind of a default win, but I still include it because Sejeong is fantastic. She’s brave, she’s tough, and she’s one of the most clever idols in the industry. In terms of personality Ithink Sejeong feels the most like mine, so I definitely have a bit of affinity for her. Also, have you heard Plant? That song is incredible. Also, Busted, which is my favorite Netflix exclusive ever, perfect variety show and Sejeong is the best part of it.

Hello Venus- Lime

There are two standout members of Hello Venus in my opinion, Alice and Lime. What has me sold on Lime is that she has some incredible lines in their songs that she delivers so incredibly straight, like “I know you’re looking at my apple hips,” which just makes me laugh. That said, seriously, great presence, she hits everything she’s given, delivers with such amazing confidence, I think Lime is awesome.

Hinapia- Minkyeung

So, this is mostly just Pristin members with an added 5th, and as I’ve said in previous articles, I adore Pristin. I did have a weird revelation here though, I prefer Rena overall to Roa/Minkyeung in both Pristin and general, but in Hinapia’s one song, Minkyeung steals the show for me. Drip is basically just Minkyeung owning the performance, they want you to pay attention to her, and she gets it. Minkyeung is a real talent too, not just in visuals and performances, but she dances well, and sings quite well too.

Iz*one- Eunbi

My favorite active idol, Eunbi is just it. She’s the vocalist, she’s the leader, she’s a visual powerhouse, and was only overshadowed as a dancer in Iz*one because Chaeyoung, who is insanely talented as a dancer, was in the group. She’s also got this hilarious personality that is a combination between extreme passion and ambition to achieve everything she does, and a fantastic selflessness to try and lift other people up around her. If you don’t love Eunbi, watch some of Iz*one’s content and her content, she’s easily one of the best idols of all time.

Kara- Hara

I entered kpop watching Invincible Youth on my wife’s recommendation, and Hara stands out as an incredible bright spot in the show. Her happiness and enthusiasm, her determination to do her best in the face of every challenge, she’s fantastic throughout. On top of that, Hara seemed genuinely sweet and could dance and sing with the other strong idols of her generation. I really hope her death, along with the other idols in the last few years who went the same way can help lead to a better mental health system, at least for idols and former idols. Rest in peace Hara.

Lovelyz- Mijoo

Mijoo is a variety monster, she’s so willing to bring gen 2 levels of chaos in a 3rd and 4th gen world. I can always tell how the vibes are in a show based on Mijoo’s energy level, if she feels reserved, the vibes are off. I also know that a lot of people didn’t like it, but her ridiculous model posing coming out of the group vehicle was hilarious to me, such a power move response to all the cameras that were always pointed their way.

Lunarsolar- Taeryeong

I liked her on their Weekly Idol episode, she seemed cool.

Miss A- Suzy

She was the “it girl” for years, her popularity was so extreme that it more or less broke her group apart. You don’t get that popularity for no reason, she was entertaining on shows, talented, and has a strong visual presence. Newer fans may not realize how big Suzy was, but you couldn’t go a day in kpop without her name mentioned in some capacity. And, I’m with the masses here, Suzy is great.

Nine Muses- Kyungri/Gyeongree

Just using both spellings of her name since people may not realize it changed. I think Gyeongree is a ton of fun, her Knowing Bros episode with Hyosung was riotous, and she is good in other variety shows too. On top of that, she really held out with Nine Muses, staying in the group until the end, and ultimately being the core of it all. She’s not just entertaining and tenacious though, she’s a great idol, and helped keep the late Nine Muses music as good as it was.

Orange Caramel- Nana

I know it’s an After School subunit, it was just so independent for years that Orange Caramel almost feels like its own entity. For my reasons, scroll to the After School section.

Pristin- Yehana

She was never the member that Pledis highlighted, but to me she stood out more than anybody else. Yehana is a great singer, probably the second best singer in the group, which is pretty good of a group filled with decent to good singers. But the real highlight is her happy stage presence, always smiling and seeming like she’s having the time of her life. The most criminal thing about Pristin’s random disbandment was it ending Yehana’s idol career, she could have drawn the same popularity that the Brave Girls do now after their boom.

Rainbow- Jaekyung

I mentioned that I love strong leaders in kpop, Jaekyung is just that, even going so far as to get the group back together for a little reunion song more or less entirely under her own efforts. She also went to school while being an idol and would use her outfit making skills wherever she could. Of course, Jaekyung was also fantastic as a performer and vocalist, never feeling out of place in any of Rainbow’s concepts, and even in Rainbow Blaxx.

Redsquare- ChaeA

She drew me in during their stages, just absolutely the strongest attention grabber in the group. That said, they lasted for exactly a debut, so I don’t know the members particularly well.

Secret- Hyosung

Hyosung has talent and confidence like crazy. That’s really it, she’s super likable as a personality and as an artist, a great classic idol.

Sistar- Dasom

Dasom caught my attention instantly, and I’ve enjoyed her in all the content she or the group was in that I consumed since. 

Stellar- Minhee

Minhee is an idol that I really hope can find success long term, she’s tried a bunch of different things since Stellar’s disbandment and just hasn’t stuck with any. As an idol, she danced well and was a great singer, she quietly did a lot to hold the group together musically. She also handled the really extreme over-sexualized concepts well, despite how uncomfortable the group was with them, which is commendable. I also love that all the core 4 Stellar members meet up every few months, it’s a great statement about their genuine love and camaraderie with each other.