As k-pop keeps getting immense popularity worldwide, appealing to a wider audience and slowly getting into mainstream territory, there is one group that despite both local and global success remains largely overlooked. And there are definitely not enough videos out there about them, so let's dive into it! ♪ MAMAMOO ♪ ♪ We would like to welcome you ♪ ♪ Hwasa, Moonbyul, Solar and Wheein ♪ MAMAMOO is a four-member south-korean girl group from an underdog company, that debuted in 2014. Making them part of the third k-pop generation of idols. Renowned for their exceptional vocal abilities, their range, charisma, emotive delivery, and overall brand. They are set apart as a group with unparalleled talent and originality in the industry. From the moment they started, MAMAMOO has been consistently disrupting the conventional norms of the korean music scene, forging a genre of their own. Their concept is neither "cutesy" or "badass", but offers an alternative that challenges the usual stereotypical portrayal of girl groups, often designed to cater to the /male gaze/. Instead, they went with their own style, debuted older than what is the norm, and subjected themselves to the harsh criticisms of a public that wasn't used to idols not abiding to their impossibly high standards. Normally there's a pattern to k-pop groups. Did you think that you would succeed? We never thought of it. "You aren't tall like models and aren't very pretty" "You should compete with great songs and performances." They were often disrespected for their "unconventional" visuals and personalities. Not embodying the cute and innocent image that female idols usually adopt. You were almost expelled as soon as you debuted? Ah well... yes. Why? Because of my appearance, many weren't happy. "How can someone like her be in a girl group?" They said things like this. They petitioned to kick me out. Hearing all those prejudices about me, I thought I could change them into better ones. As young trainees, Solar, Moonbyul, Wheein and Hwasa, had to prove their way to success with the one element that truly matters and is too often dismissed. Music! First ever artist of their company "Rainbow Bridge World", the girls had one chance to make a lasting impression. And that they did. [New group MAMAMOO 'Full of anticipation' ahead of comeback] [Who are they?] [Are they really rookies?] Even though they gained attention with this first stage, the girls had very little to build upon. Not benefiting from what the already established agencies with money and reputation do. In the early years, RBW couldn't even afford them a choreographer, leaving the group to make their own dances, and promoting their songs with streets performances, while other groups would access large scale promotions and resources upon debut. Not only were the girls struggling financially, they would also mention how they'd feel out of place and snubbed from industry actors. But despite the hardships, MAMAMOO would start growing a small fandom and achieve some success. Like their first music show win with the song "You're the Best". Over the course of their career, MAMAMOO has shown significant maturity and evolution in their music. Consistently delivering high quality performances and attesting that there is no genre or style they cannot master. And even though there aren't many topics on which the k-pop community aligns, the girls indisputable talent, charismatic stage presence, and flawless live vocals, are a unanimous agreement. To survive in an industry that entertains most of the spotlight, on visuals and hard choreographies, MAMAMOO would stand out by participating in vocal centric shows like /Immortal Songs/, And infuse their performances with fun moments and adlibs in award shows that are usually a little more... serious (boring). Jung Woo-sung, will you go out with me if I take this shot? (movie quote) At this point, you might see how MAMAMOO's fresh and forward attitude may have shaken pre-established models. Yet we've only scratched the surface of the extent to their influence and artistry, starting with their music. Their discography explores so many various styles: From the jazz, soul and funk influences of their first EPs, To pop and R&B with projects like the '4Season' EPs or the album 'Travel'. Or even hip-hop and blues in 'Reality in Black'. The one video I can only urge you to watch if you want a fast introduction to their catalog, is the Killing Voice special (on dingo) It's really worth it! Although profit-driven control has limited creative agency of many idols within their company, the members of MAMAMOO are invested musicians with hands-on input on their work. They are, in fact, the most credited girl group in KOMCA history, the Korea Music Copyright Association, that registrates when an artist participates in the writing of song composition, lyrics or arrangement. "Taking it off, bringing myself out from within〜" "Taking it off..." "Bringing myself out from within?" Yeah. We change the scene here, when I tilt my head. Here I'll be dancing alone. And the scene changes again, I put down my leg and then I'm in the audience. You? Yes. So you'll be staring... Yes. With themes like heartbreaks and trying to cling onto something that's falling apart, the turbulence of modern life with introspection on pain, growth and loneliness. or uplifting anthems that bring a message of self-respect and confidence. The quartet's mission is to creatively evoke powerful emotions in their audience. Something they achieve brilliantly by incorporating vivid imagery and metaphors that add richness and dimension to their storytelling. ♪ Red ♪ ♪ The moment of your passionate embrace ♪ ♪ A volcano erupted in my heart ♪ ♪ A crimson mark that remains in my memory ♪ ♪ It's still warm ♪ One of their most recognized works in that aspect is their conceptual project entitled 'Four Seasons Four Colors', a year-long multi-EP installment that represented each member through a seasonal themed lens. In South-Korea, the 4 seasons are very distinct. So you can feel specific emotions in each season. The '4Season' albums have those emotions in each of them. This era enabled the group to capture the attention of new fans and make a significant turning point in their career, reaching heights they had yet to achieve. But with more success comes more scrutiny, and as a team that has made clear from the very start that they would not play by the rules, or answer to please, the girls had to face numerous backlash in that time. "Even she looks uncomfortable." "I don't understand why
the stylist makes her wears such clothes." The stylist didn't make me wear it. It's just what I wore. I don't know why they leave such malicious
comments about a face and personal attacks. Not only personal attacks, whatever we wear and we do. It just shows who we are. To add context, South Korea is still drowning in conservative ideology, the word feminist alone is enough to cause outrage, and idols out of all people are to remain in line and not cause controversy. Which is why most of them don't openly affiliate with any social movements. The Harvard Political Review states, "In South Korea, an activist can face barriers to her political career, a k-pop star is met with fans burning her photos, and youtubers receive death threats. Politicians refer to feminism as "toxic as terrorism", and even women's rights activists hesitate to use the term "feminist" to describe themselves in fear of discrimination and judgement. In those circumstances, you can see how female idols that deliberately exercise their confidence on stage, Encourage fans to step out of the mold and explicitly don't care for the prejudices thrown their way, are judged as a threat to some. MAMAMOO are not ones to abdicate, and when they don't answer directly to those critics in interviews and videos, they do this. In 2019, they come back with 'HIP', a single that will cement their
position as a main actor in the industry. The chart topping track gathers most of the ideas that the group has been trying to convey, with each of the girls embodying different characters that initiate important conversations. "For those who provoked me, thank you." "For idiots who stopped at this, take that." Criticism is not alwways bad, but slandering is. With a single song, they managed to make a statement about climate change, give exposure to drag queens represent strong women from every profession and address the media criticisms. The song will go on to become a massive hit, peaking at number one in many countries, as well as in the Billboard World Digital Song Sales, and the Worldwide iTunes Album chart. A milestone for a girl group that doesn't come from the Big Three, and has basically build itself up. Later on, they continued to break records with new songs like AYA, and walked their own path out of the mainstream trends by releasing an album made entirely of ballads. Very bold move for a k-pop act. But MAMAMOO's cultural and political impact doesn't stop there. While misogyny intersects with other social issues, such as race and sexual orientation, the girls have made themselves advocates and allies of marginalized groups. Using their platform to shed light on important topics or create a safe space for underrepresented communities. [Performed with genderfluid dance group Pinky Cheeks at MMA 2016] [Solar invited drag queen Nana on her youtube channel] When the news was shared that a donation was made to the Seoul Queer Culture Festival, all members reacted positively, but Moonbyul especially. [Solar raised awareness and spoke against FGM
on The International Day of Zero Tolerance
for female genital mutilation.] [Changed the lyrics from "Shy boy" to "Shy girl"] Actually, I don't like to specfiy gender (in lyrics) so since we had the opportunity, the company heard our opinion. I hope they'll think about this in the future. While queerbaiting has been a rising conversation in k-pop, MAMAMOO's stance and actions speak for themselves. There are so many more examples
than the ones I've shown you, like how they're the first ever k-pop group to have a queer fanclub that raises funds for LGBT+ projects, or how Moonbyul used to write letters every year on National Coming Out day. To MAMAMOO, being different is not something you need to hide or be ashamed of. And as each member forged a distinctive solo career alongside their group activities. They continued to convey the team's beliefs and artistry while exploring their own. Hwasa's career as a solo artist is very much in resonance with MAMAMOO's message. She often addresses the pressure and expectations placed on her as a public figure, and confronts the societal standards that have affected her self-esteem. If from the outside her songs may sound upbeat and fun, the lyrics are often introspective and expose the inner demons and
struggles she deals with everyday. ♪ Maria, Maria ♪ ♪ I'm saying this for you ♪ ♪ It's a starry night ♪ ♪ Don't torture yourself ♪ And while she remains the main target of hate she has leveraged it into a source of strength, becoming one of the most successful and admired soloists in the country and maintaining a consistent
presence on the music charts. Like other members of the group, Hwasa's recognition also comes from her impact on the korean hip hop and R&B scene with the multiple collaborations she's worked on with rappers like Loco, DPR Live, Epik High and others... Wheein's expression for the majority of her solo work has been delving into the turbulence of young adulthood through soft pop and R&B inspirations paired with poetic imagery. As she grows to appreciate herself more as an artist, she learns not to dwell on the past and look to a brighter future with the newfound confidence fans gave her. Her delicate yet powerful voice makes her an excellent fit for a wide range of music styles, which she had the opportunity to
explore through collaborations with artists like Sik-K, pH-1 or Colde. And while she enjoys taking on new challenges that showcase her incredible versatility, Wheein's core characteristic is defined by her ability to marry disciplines. Like the artwork she created for her song 'Goodbye' where she offers a rare representation of same-sex love in a k-pop music video. As the main rapper of the group, Moonbyul has had the chance with her own music to broaden her artistic horizons and demonstrate her full capabilities. Known for releasing songs with
gender neutral or ambiguous lyrics, she's crafted a unique identity around her androgynous image, challenging the binary view of gender through music which is very well exhibited in the sultry sapphic anthem 'Shutdown' that she wrote and performed with Seori, another icon of the queer community. The rest of her catalog either delves into introspective storytelling where she lays be her emotions and tackles themes like loneliness and self-hatred or into more uplifting songs with a few collaborations with mostly female singers. Compared to the rest of the members, Solar is still at the start of her solo journey. And aside from the soundtracks of k-dramas, some covers and a handful of collaboration, her own material came about in the form of refreshing songs and strong visuals that capture her bright and breezy personality. Despite her playful lyrics and demeanor, her music upholds an important message of valuing inner beauty and uniqueness, principles she's steadfastly embraced throughout her career with her carefree attitude and attraction to unconventional concept. Whether it's through her YouTube channel, television appearances or musical theater, Solar has consistently demonstrated that she possesses one of the most spectacular voices of the industry. If pushing artistic boundaries far and wide as a group or as soloists, is part of MAMAMOO's greatest achievements, they also enjoy the calmer phases of their career, using them as opportunities to experiment and maintain their reputation as a constant source of creative surprises. Among those would be their anthology album released in 2021 that revisits their greatest hits with remixes and new arrangements. Or the first subunit of the quartet with Solar and Moonbyul joining forces as MAMAMOO+ While Wheein and Hwasa work on their solo activities, which doesn't stop them from still collaborating together. Throughout their journey, MAMAMOO has maintained their down-to-earth and approachable demeanor, curating a close relationship with their fans but also with each other. Supporting their individual endeavors and harmonizing their talents to create a unique identity and sound. As they continue to walk the "Rainbow Bridge" and captivate audiences around the world with their talent and authenticity, my hope Is that this video gave honor to their legacy and allowed you to get to know them, their art and what they stand for a little better.
