15 Essential K-Pop Reality Shows: Boy Group Edition

1. The 2PM Show

2PM in general is excellent at varieties, and watching both Idol Army and Wild Bunny will bring the nostalgic feelings for former member Jay Park (and of course the unforgettable episode where Nichkhun x Minho became a thing), but The 2PM Show features the member as more veteran idols on the scene with a clearer ability for entertainment-- the show is hilarious from beginning to end, and luckily they're willing to throw their idol images away pretty quickly for the most amusing results.

2. SHINee's Hello Baby

Ring Ding Dong era SHINee in charge of taking care of an adorable little boy? YES! This variety showed off their cute paternal side (or lack thereof, in some cases), and how much they were able to hit it off with their young charge through several challenges and unexpected turns. I mean, who doesn't want to see SHINee playing in kigurumis, receiving baby kisses, and reenacting Korean legends with each other?

3. EXO Showtime

This show fell right at the height of EXO's post-Growl boom in popularity, and before the loss of two EXO-M members, Kris and Luhan, so I think this one will always hold a special place in fans' hearts, particularly those who were attached to the OT12 line-up. I was admittedly a bit ambivalent about EXO's early variety skills, but Showtime proved they had plenty of captivating charms and had grown more into their celebrity status. I'll always have fond memories of EXO Showtime's memorable moments such as the invention of Sehun's and Baekhyun's trend words, Kris's longing for the Galaxy, and their scary walk through the haunted house.

4. Infinite's Ranking King

Is it really possible to choose only one Infinite variety for this? They're all brilliant, and while I leaned for a moment towards This(Diss) is Infinite, "The Chaser" episode of Ranking King on its own is one of the best variety moments for boy groups of all time in my humble opinion. The concept of ranking the members brings out everybody's competitive spirit, and of course we get a lot of good natured Sunggyu teasing in the process! Whoever decided to unleash the boys on an entire building to play a shooting game with each other was a genius. 

5. Crown the Clown

C-Clown's take on "reality TV" is one of the most refreshing: English speaking member Rome takes control of the camera, filming his members just doing whatever, then edits it creatively, posts English subs, and sends it right off to Youtube for the audience's enjoyment. The members of C-Clown are just weird enough to make it work, and Rome is genius with his edits, making even the most simple interactions downright hilarious with his sound effects and captions. And anytime the horse mask comes out, prepare to die.

6. MTV B2ST

Rather than being an amusing set of challenges, MTV B2ST was a documentary style show that delved into B2ST's formation and early days in the industry. It's heavier stuff, but an amazing look back into the past of one of Korea's current top acts. Their beginnings were humble since they were looked upon as a group of recycled members, which makes how far they've made it since all the more amazing to realize.

7. MTV Diary: BTOB, VIXX, MYNAME, JJ Project

Hundreds of episodes featuring 4 former rookie groups taking self-cameras of themselves doing pretty much whatever they feel like can seem a little daunting, but if you watch them between other shows and don't overload yourself, they prove to be an interesting and funny look at the individual members adapting to their lives as rookie performers. Each has completely different colors from the other, but they're all fun to watch. 

8. IGOT7

GOT7 is quickly following in the footsteps of their 2PM sunbaes when it comes to good variety sense. IGOT7 follows closely to the format of The 2PM Show (even repeating a few of the challenges), but the uniqueness of the characters in GOT7 keep it fresh, particularly the international members who offer a twist, particularly the loud and rambunctious Jackson.

9. WINNER TV

Even if you didn't follow YG survival show WIN, WINNER TV was a fun initiation for WINNER into the K-Pop industry, showcasing their behind-the-scenes work on their music as well as fun hidden cameras, parodies, and even the occasional challenge. WINNER has a very clean sense of variety where nothing is over the top, but its still very entertaining to watch. YG is very light on variety appearances, so might as well enjoy what reality TV you can get from them!

10. Super Junior's Exploration of the Human Body

Super Junior learns about the functions of the human body... by testing out questions on themselves. How could such a flawless setup go wrong? SuJu makes it even better by bringing DBSK in for a little bit of DBSJ feels, and including a mouth-to-mouth breathing challenge featuring the members themselves. Add that to SuJu's early era hair and the fact that Hangeng is still in the line-up, and the whole thing is golden.

11. BTS American Hustle Life

In comparison, American Hustle Life is a much more modern reality where BTS goes to America and are mentored by hip-hop rap producers to up their rap game. It's one of the most interesting varieties since it forces the members to overcome a language and culture barrier (RapMon is the only member fluent in English), particularly since BTS has several aliens among their line-up... V, I'm thinking of you

12. MBLAQ Sesame Player

An even better pick now that we're losing MBLAQ's original line-up :( In spite of their current difficulties, the group's five members always had great chemistry with each other in their shows, and one of the highlights of the show was when they trapped members in the bathroom and forced them to answer questions honestly (or at least in the way the asker wanted to hear) or risk having fart bombs thrown at them. The way they handled each other's personalities was clever and fun to watch, and will definitely be missed by fans!

13. Teen Top 100% Rising

This one is a favorite of mine. I was originally a Teen Top fan, but transferred a huge portion of my affection to 100% when I met them through this show. The premise is that both groups engaged in face-offs to become "hot issues" by challenging records set by other idols-- of particular importance to 100%, who were undebuted rookies at the time and could use some positive press. The show also had a sequel following 100%'s debut pitting the two groups again with new challenges and building the groups' competitive spirit and labelmate bond.

14. U-KISS Kiss of Chef

Another throwback! This one featured the original line-up of U-KISS + Kiseop picking up cooking skills so they could run their own charity restaurants as both cooks and the wait staff to earn money for good causes. While educational because of the amount of cooking tips you can pick up from it, the number one thing about Kiss of Chef was the Elvin vs. Vinseop shipping that went on, of course!

15. B.A.P Killing Camp

This one gives me a sort of odd feeling in light of the group's lawsuit against TS-- I mean, the poor boys were being overworked, and their so called healing camp that they visit in this variety pretty much winds up being boot camp, but it's still fun to watch these boys in action, particularly since Daehyun doesn't wind up muzzled like he does in Ta-Dah! It's B.A.P.

Single Review: Battle of the Rookies- GOT7's "A", Cross Gene's "Amazing- Bad Lady", BIGFLO's "Delilah", HISTORY's "Psycho", 100%'s "U Beauty", LU:KUS's "So Into U"

GOT7: "A"

My take: I'm a big JYP fan, namely because the label does an excellent job of highlighting member talent, and, you know, actually having legitimately talented members. The label's girl groups Wonder Girls and miss A have enjoyed the freedom of being more than just "sexy girls" by embracing a diverse range of concepts ("Like This", "I Don't Need a Man") and 2PM is about as divine of a pop/R&B group as you can hope for when you consider the range of vocals and dancing ability (and beast-like bodies) among the members. New group GOT7 shows plenty of potential, but I was admittedly a bit disappointed by lead off single "Girls Girls Girls," not because it was bad, because it certainly wasn't, but because it didn't deliver as much in the way of vocals as I was hoping for. Everyone in the group has flawless dance ability, and their hip-hop flavor is good enough to compete against the plethora of hip-hop artists we've been seeing lately, but the straight up vocals seemed to be missing from their overall vibe.

Once again, I think "A" could have had more in the way of vocals that make me go "hot dayum, sing that high note boooooiiii" (I say this a lot, just so you know), but I do like the chill nature of the track. And who doesn't love the swagger of the "It's not working, stop fronting, I know you want me, let's start talkin'" line? This group has a lot of great tracks already, but I think I'm still waiting for a huge breakthrough number. I don't think "A" was it, but it's a step in the right direction, and is simply a fun and likable track for the summer.

CROSS GENE: "Amazing- Bad Lady"
My take: Okay, so K-Pop groups have had Chinese members from early on, but we haven't had much in the way of K-Pop groups with Japanese members. Possibly because the Japanese music industry is one of the world's biggest, and J-Pop singers can earn more money by being active only in Japan, but I still like the inter-country collabs, so I was happy when Japan was represented in Cross Gene's line-up. Thus far, their songs have been good, but mid-tier. They aren't wild and over the top, but solid, and good picks for older listeners who run in fear of too much dubstep. "Amazing- Bad Lady" is frankly their catchiest number to-date, and though they aren't huge in Korea, the track is more than enough to keep them steady in the "skilled-but-under-appreciated" middle ground of K-Pop. As for their Japanese career, I'm eagerly awaiting for them to release more original tracks and take the group to the next level!

BIGFLO: "Delilah"
My take: When I first heard about BIGFLO, my first reaction was "Do we need even more hip-hop idol groups?" Personally, I'm quite satisfied with the ones we have, and the fact that they are "in" right now has led many groups who should stay true to their own identity to cop their style. BIGFLO might have a little too much in common with Block B for some K-poppers' taste, but I'm personally prepared to hear more from them after listening to "Delilah" and the rest of their mini-album. Their main rappers may gave off Zico or PO vibes, but that's not necessarily a bad thing because the Zico comparisons also includes the fresh songwriting that actually incorporates subjects beyond boy-meets-girl romances. I love a little bit of creativity in the industry, and based on the overall mini-album, I'm thinking BIGFLO will be able to find their place without sounding too much like their competition.





HISTORY- "Psycho"
My take: Mmmm, is that a little bit of funk I hear? HISTORY has done their share of flying under the radar, but their sound is quite likable, and they do a lot of fun things throughout "Psycho" that you don't hear a lot from other groups-- the blending of synth sounds with a funk beat, and even adding a little bit of piano. It's a refreshing song, but the chorus doesn't push them as far as they can go vocally, much like GOT7's "A." The song doesn't build up to that "hot dayum" moment vocally, although that instrumental breakdown near the end is quite lovely. This group clearly has something different to offer, but in this particular track, they just needed that extra bit of oomph.






100%: "U Beauty"
My take: The fact that I still have to call these guys rookies is a bit frustrating to me because they're one of my favorite groups, but they're still reaching out to achieve the level of fame their labelmates Teen Top have. Following up on "Beat," they return again with a five member line-up (Minwoo is in the military, Sanghoon's future still seems fairly unclear). This time around, the song isn't as intense of a number, but is more chill like "Guy Like Me," while still maintaining a dance beat for them to deliver their trademark synchronized choreo. This song is very no-frills in comparison to many K-Pop singles, and that in itself is refreshing because it leaves the room to sing and harmonize. Their voices simply sound gorgeous together, so this is exactly what I wanted from them, and I wasn't disappointed. Bonus points to TOP Media for actually doing their part and promoting their secondary group often unlike some labels I know (....yeah, DSP, who are A-JAX and Rainbow, even?)







LU:KUS: "So Into U"
My take: Remember X-5? Well, they're back... kinda! Donghyun, J.ONE, and Jinwan returned to the scene with two new members to bring their talents back to the industry, and all I have to say is YAY. I liked X-5 and was disappointed when they disbanded, but if LU:KUS is as catchy and enjoyable as this single promises, maybe it wasn't all bad. It's a nice blend of hip-hop and dance, loaded with just the right amount of infectious hooks to keep it in your head. Once again, there's probably a lot more vocals in the group than they're showing off here, but for a lead-off single, it's got good elements. Let's stay together, LU:KUS, so you can continue to grow this time around!






My winner: When it comes to overall production and memorability, it's clearly GOT7, but if we're talking about the less-JYP supported group, I would have to pick 100%, though I really love the direction Cross Gene is going in. Not a bad crop of rookies all around, though, so it'll be interesting to see if anyone will break out of the middle-tier level and go for the top!