So you really think Korean girl groups could compete with groups like the Spice Girls, the Sugababes, Girls Aloud, Little Mix and All Saints?

All Saints and Sugababes (the first two lineups) were indeed talented and made great music, but that was years ago. I was referring to current UK girl groups like Little Mix (have some talent but need better music), Neon Jungle and The Saturdays. And yes I would say that 2NE1, f(x) and Girls Generation at their best could compete with any of the groups you mentioned.

The Japanese certainly do.

With a bit of cutting, pasting and calculating, I found the Japanese group AKB48 have had seventeen million selling hits in the last four years. Total sales including downloads, are 35,164,874.

They obviously appeal to the Japanese, though I find them nothing special, I only searched this out to find an example. Not my kind of music. Mind you, anything's better than the Spice Girls.

I'm reminded a bit of the film Kamikaze Girls.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnwDjdjifyI


I found an example of a South Korean Girl Group, (it might have been a similar song), singing to a big audience of enthusiastic young South Korean troops all in fatigues and most wearing the same sort of glasses. Maybe that was a form of indoctrination?

But the problem with 360 deals is if you aren't selling music, you're going to get less endorsements, less tours, less TV offers.

Frankie is pregnant. It was announced tonight on The One Show.

I don't know the history of k-pop or J-pop groups but if we're talking about current active groups like Little Mix, The Saturdays & Neon Jungle then 2NE1, f(x), Girls' Generation, 4Minute etc are easily as good. The UK has had some of the best pop groups in the world throughout our history, the last decade though I have to say, personally, South Korea are on top form.


I hope The Saturdays don't get dropped though, their first two albums were great it would have been nice to see them continue like that. Maybe it's their day though.

Congratulations to her and Wayne

Ah, didn't realise you meant current groups. K pop and J pop groups aren't really my thing. To me the looks/vocals aren't very distinct between members. I think the groups members could be replaced by any attractive Asian girl and it would all be the same. Also the members always seem very submissive. Even in that f(x) group, I watched a song by them called Red Light which had similarities to Little Mix's song Salute but f(x) are just not convincing at acting strong or tough at all. Little Mix do it much better.

Don't get all the hate towards the Spice Girls either. They could be cheesy but one thing J pop and K pop groups certainly don't lack is cheese. Plus most of the Spice girls actually have better and more distinctive vocals than members of J pop and K pop groups.

The "hate" word rarely is used on this forum, but those enamoured of anything or anyone, often attribute it to those who aren't "fellow travelers." Not caring for the work of any performer in any field of entertainment, doesn't equate to hating them.

Another baby? haha they've been churning those kids out non stop since the release of My Heart Takes Over.

Really?! Congrats to her and Wayne

That will be the end of the band I should think. 2 members now pregnant, band down to a 3 piece while they are on Maternity leave. I can't see the label wanting that so I suspect they will be dropped.

I think if they were dropped it was more to do with the fact the last single only got to #38 and the greatest hits album has so far sold less than 20,000 copies which is just horrific and so sad given that its one of the best pop greatest hits I've ever listened to.

That's not true at all. Look at Cheryl...she's absolutely everywhere yet her album flopped...X Factor, tv adverts, magazine interviews. Same with The Saturdays...they're constantly in the media, Frankie just done strictly, Rochelle is presenting. The label will still be raking in money despite all their flops, and that's how they still remain signed.

Hmm..

Frankie might need to go back to work.
According to Wiki, Wayne Bridge has got to pay (a court ordered), around £700,000 to Vanessa Perroncel for the upkeep of their son Jaydon over the next ten years. £7,000 a month from 2006 to 2024, when the boy attains the age of eighteen.

£7,000 a month? Does the child eat frigging gold?

These figures are always based on what the father is presently worth/earning/earnings potential. The order was made when he'd left Chelsea and was then with Manchester City. The order was in 2010, not 2006 as I said in my post, that was when the child was born. But it still works out at around £700,000 over the ten years until the boy is 18..

As he's not played for a big Premier League team for at least two years and only had spells at Brighton and Reading before retiring from football year, he's earnings will have dropped dramatically, if he's earning at all. He may have applied to have the amount reduced.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure he didn't miss £7,000 a month it just seems so crazy.

That's certainly true. But that's why most of these deals (that last) involve young females (what with the biggest consumer being young females). They don't really need to sell records at all, as long as they say their pop stars and look like pop stars magazines will plaster them all over their pages.

But as the title '360 Deal' suggests, it's the endorsements that also sell the music. Not to the little spenders like you and I but the big paying advertiser who license music. So if you have a bunch of pretty girls all over mags and tv then marketing people like to have their poppy tunes play in their ads or as background music. Universal have done very well from licensing Girls Aloud and Saturdays music.

However it could be incredibly feasible that they could be close to being dropped even if they are making good money. If they are coming to the end of their deal and have to renegotiate management may demand they get a bigger cut for their client especially if it's the non music stuff that's making the money. And if that renegotiation isn't viable for the record company they may just decide to walk away and let them go.

I am surprised by this as they seemed to be performing well. It doesn't matter really as they are signed by multiple record labels.

On another point it really is beginning to look like splitting time for The Saturdays as there shelf life is starting to pass. Like Cheryl Cole said 2006 groups only have a limited shelf life she predicted that Girls Aloud had only a few years left and she was correct since 2009 was really when they split up as 2012 was only really a reunion. The Saturdays have been going for 7 years now so it is looking like time for them to hang up their jackets and go solo.

Isn't a Saturdays Greatest Hits album somewhat of an oxymoron?
Anyway, they just seemed to me like a generic pop group who never really had any distinguishing features, great songs or a string of hits. Cheap, factory produced pop fodder and they never really took off or established a big following.

I'm pretty sure there were a section of posters on here that thought they were the greatest thing going though, and that it was all the labels' fault that they didn't have a stack of no.1s etc.

Thats what I was thinking, Rochelle will probably get pregnant again soon anyway and she's already got a kid so it will be difficult to do tours etc when their are 3/4 babies in tow or someone pregnant.

I'm predicting that they will announce a hiatus in the next few months and then in a year or two they will do a Farewell/Goodbye tour, followed by a failed solo attempt, then featured in the Daily Fail sidebar daily going to Tesco or making endless appearances on Loose Women.

I don't think being on a 360 deal will save them forever, as even the endorsements they are being offered are getting cheaper and tackier. They've always been more about flogging body spray and satellite TV to me than being a pop group. It's why their greatest hits flopped; the average Joe on the street would be hard pressed to name one of their "hits".

Ok, then I don't understand how "anything's better than the Spice Girls" when they are actually quite talented. Fair enough if you don't like their music but to say any girl band is better than them is a bit ridiculous and I can't see why you'd think that unless you hated them. BTW I am not "enamoured" by the spice girls or have any "fellow travelers."

You can say what you like about any female group, I don't mind, why should it bother me?

But then I guess some can take things so personally on here. It's not worth the bother of even discussing. So I'd suggest you shouldn't concern yourself so much with my opinions. The Spice Girls were never much cop singing live, but that's just my opinion.

By the way, you can only be enamoured "of" someone. and "fellow travelers" means "people of like minds."