BTS have Army, but K-pop girl group Brave Girls have the Republic of Korea Army: how YouTube and the military boosted their popularity
- YouTube reaction videos to soldiers going crazy at a Brave Girls performance have given the group a big boost, 10 years after their debut
- Their song Rollin’, released in 2017 to little acclaim, has been topping Korean charts recently
By Park Ji-won
While the BTS Army fan club helped the highly popular boy band’s breakthrough, the actual Republic of Korea Army was there to help K-pop girl group Brave Girls rise above the K-pop cluster.
Although Brave Girls – a K-pop girl group under Brave Entertainment – debuted in 2011, the quartet have only recently begun to enjoy a sudden rise in popularity thanks to YouTube’s algorithms and a firm military fan base.
The four-member girl group have been topping various local music charts such as Bugs and Melon since last week with their song Rollin’, which was released on March 7, 2017.
The song didn’t reach the media spotlight on its release and the group never took centre stage in the entertainment industry. But after reaction videos over its performances for soldiers went viral on YouTube – one of the videos uploaded last week exceeding six million views – the group are appearing on major TV and radio shows such as SBS’ Inkigayo, one of the main K-pop music shows.
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Fan activity also contributes to the popularity, such as derivative videos based on K-pop content such as dance covers and reaction videos.
In addition to the algorithm, Brave Girls’ fan popularity among soldiers and reserve forces likely helped the group.
The girl band have been appearing in official and unofficial shows for various military units, which is common for K-pop groups, but not the most desirable job because it is not highly paid and requires them to travel great distances.
