Spotlight: SPEED, Look at Me Now

The music industry is a ruthless one, and there's no guarantee every group who snags a record deal is going to make it big. The major record labels YG, SM, and JYP have a huge advantage in the sense that even before their groups debut, there's a huge amount of anticipation surrounding them. After all, these were the guys who gave us Girls' Generation, 2PM, Big Bang, 2NE1. Wonder Girls, and TVXQ among others, so how can they go wrong? Even if they were less charismatic than they are, EXO was pretty much guaranteed to be the most well-received debut of 2012, and fans were much more lenient on them during their awkward phase of television appearances because they could put faith in the SM-quality of idols that would soon emerge.

For the rest of groups, it isn't quite as easy. If they don't catch a lot of buzz when they debut, they can quickly get labelled a "nugu group" and receive minimal attention from listeners. Some groups may genuinely be lacking that something special, but others simply suffer due to low funding from the label, poor song selection, or competition from more popular rookies. No matter what the cause is, the slow start puts them in the position of having to fight their way to the top. It's not an impossible battle-- other groups, like U-KISS for example, have managed it and become the better for it-- but it's a difficult one.

Seven member group SPEED is one I'd pinpoint as one that absolutely should fight for that attention, because they've got a lot going for them. They've proven with their last releases "Don't Tease Me," "Zombie Party," "Why I'm Not," and now "Look at Me Now" that they have a strong rap line, solid vocals, insane acrobatic skills, creative talent (courtesy of Zico's brother Taewoon!), and a good sense of humor. They did have somewhat of an unconventional entrance into the industry with Co-ed School which quickly split up into SPEED and F-VE Dolls (still waiting for a K-pop mixed gender group with as much appeal and staying power as Japan's AAA), and while they were on plenty of people's radars, they did get a bit lost in the shuffle following their debut.

With all their new releases, they've done a great job of fighting back, and I'm rooting with all my might for them to get even more respect in the industry. I'm not the biggest fan of Core Content Media from their several gaffes with T-ara, and while I like SPEED's MVs, you can tell they aren't the highest quality production-wise. That being said, they ought to poor more resources into promoting SPEED. I see plenty of potential in this group and will be looking forward to seeing what they do next!