This Week's Nugu Idol: 24K, the "Golden Idols"

This week's posts will focus on the "Golden Idols" 24K, Choeun Entertainment's boy group who debuted in 2012 (one of the most competitive years in K-Pop) but didn't really grab much attention until their recent releases "Still 24K" and "Bingo." Today, we'll be analyzing 24K's progress, up until their most recent comeback, "Bingo," and figuring out what changes have been made to this group on their journey out of the "nugu" or unknown/underrated label.

Before 24K's debut, their acoustic pop sub-unit, 4K, debuted with "Rocking Girl" in June 2012. 

This trend of having a "pre-debut-debut with sub-unit members" let companies like Choeun Entertainment test how the audience would feel about the current lineup for their future groups. 4K debuted with vocal members Cory, Seokjune, Kisu, and Sungoh, meaning that right from their first exposure to the public, 24K would be breaking the "idol's can't sing" stereotype. 

However, their official debut "Hurry Up," with its less known industrial genre, threw their first fans for a loop.

24K's vocals were overpowered by the intense mix of pop, trance, and dubstep in the song, and led to the sacrifice of their first fans (those into their acoustics) for new fans (those interested in this uncommon genre). 

Afterwards, their August 2013 comeback "U R So Cute," led to even further confusion, with its blend of house and hard-rock guitar with a lovey-dovey yet funny yet mildly cringe-y video. This comeback might have been Choeun Entertainment's attempt to bring back original fans by mixing 24K's cute vocals with an edgy sound. 

Despite these back and forth concept and image changes, followed by a 2-year-long hiatus and lineup changes, 24K's 2015 comebacks "Hey You" and "Super Fly" were a well-needed fresh-start for this group.

These two songs, released only 5 months apart with more than double the YouTube views than their past releases, cemented them as a group with a hardcore image through the tracks' more EDM and trendy hip hop styles. The freedom that leader Cory and members Jungwook and Daeil received to produce the choreography, as well as, compose and mix the tracks in these albums, definitely benefited the group. 

Overall, I think 24K's approach towards achieving public recognition has taken a turn for the better and will hopefully keep improving as long as they stay consistent with their successful concepts.

On Wednesday, I'll be discussing their most recent music video "Bingo" along with "Still 24K," since the story line for those videos extends into both, but for now let me know, through Twitter or the Disqus below, what you think about Choeun Entertainment's and 24K's approach towards public recognition. Should they have stayed as a more vocal or acoustic group? Is their new concept too idol-like to appeal to a fanbase greater than just idol-biased fans?