90 - Upki Girl

< Girl Group Brand Rankings > Today marks the release of the December 'Girl Group Brand Rankings.' Compiled and announced by the 'Korea Brand Evaluation Research Institute,' these rankings are calculated using a comprehensive analysis of five key areas: album and song sales, brand reputation, and big data from search engines, releasing a list up to the 50th position at the end of each month. Beyond mere media exposure or music sales, these rankings serve as a credible indicator of a group's overall recognition and fame, making it a trusted resource for entertainment industry stakeholders, fandoms, and the general public. Of course, with the data covering only a month, inactive groups inevitably see a drop in rankings. However, even rookie groups can rise in the ranks if a standout member or those known for variety show appearances manage to shine. Upkick Girl has never made the list since their debut. Typically, new groups might rank within the 30th to 40th positions in their first month, but unfortunate incidents involving Lee Jong-hwan and Jo In-ju plummeted their buzz akin to the depths of the Mariana Trench. On the brighter side, Yo-na, who gained popularity through solo activities, provided some consolation by entering last month's individual girl group brand rankings at 77th place. The kids have learned early that "the higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment," so they seemed unconcerned. However, the company holds some hope for the December results. And rightfully so. Eun-bit & Aliyah have recently gained significant attention as the "Snapper Idols" over the past week. At the very least, they are expected to rank quite high in the individual categories. Rankings are announced at 2 p.m. The girls, preoccupied with practicing their performance repertoire for an event happening the next day, seemed oblivious to the rankings. But the staff felt differently. Given the survey's credibility, just getting a name on the chart could alter the quality of broadcast appearances and event invitations, which might in turn affect company schedules and album production plans. In the employee office, which was recently remodeled from CEO Yeom's office, a betting pool had been running since lunch. Staff wagered on expected rankings for both the group and individual members, agreeing to split the pot among those closest to the actual results. Manager Kim Sang-in placed his bet first. "I'm guessing the group will be 42nd, Eun-bit at 44th." CEO Yeom placed a slightly more conservative bet with no rank for the group, and Eun-bit at 57th. Most others predicted the group to end in the high 40s and individual rankings between 40th and 60th. In reality, individual rankings are tougher to predict than group rankings, as even inactive groups may have members actively working in acting or variety shows. "What about you, Yun-ho hyung?" Yeom asked. I placed a 10,000 won note on the desk and made a bold bet. "Group at 1st, Eun-bit at 1st. As a bonus, Aliyah at 2nd." "Are you serious?" Despite Manager Kim's skepticism, I was unwavering. "Isn't this how a man places a bet?" "Hehe, personally, I hope you win, Yun-ho." "The rankings are out!" exclaimed a female employee, causing everyone to perk up and pay attention. "Do you want me to read them?" "Yes, please." "Alright! Drumroll, please!" "Hmm... the group is ranked 18th." "Wow, amazing!" "Really? Did she say 18th?!" "Yes, in individual rankings, Yo-na is 39th, Aliyah is 36th, and Eun-bit..." It was a shocking leap beyond everyone's expectations. Everyone crowded around the monitor in disbelief, verifying the results with growing excitement. I, too, confirmed on my phone before heading to the dance practice room where the girls, having finished rehearsing their event repertoire, were listening to the demo guide for a drama OST that Eun-bit and Seo-won were set to record. "Pause the music for a moment. The brand reputation rankings are out." "Are we on it?" Seo-won inquired. "Yes, both the group and individuals have climbed up." "Wow, judging by the manager’s expression, it looks promising!" "Is it the magic of the 'flapping fish' meme?" The girls looked at me eagerly, waiting for the details. Without further ado, I announced, "Upkick Girl at 18th!" The girls erupted into a variety of joyous exclamations and started a circle dance. "Wow!" "No way!" "Amazing!" "Yay!" "Awesome!" "In individual rankings, Yo-na at 39th, Aliyah at 36th!" "Yo-na went up too!" "Wow, is Aliyah really 36th?" "Yeah, it's true." "That's still not good enough. Aliyah deserves to be 1st." "Hey, right below you are Neptune’s Lim Seo-young at 37th and Red Shadow’s Ji-yun at 38th." "And what about Eun-bit?" Hong-yi asked about the most crucial ranking. Instead of immediately announcing it, I compared it with others to emphasize its significance. "1st is Liz Girls’ Han Saem." "Han Saem? I never understood why she’s so popular," remarked Seo-won. Yo-na offered an explanation. "Guys really like her. Plus, Liz Girls recently made a comeback." "I honestly don’t get the appeal. She's just so fake. Men and women really see things differently. What do you think of Han Saem, Manager Gwak?" "Han Saem? She’s pretty. They say she's a real-life goddess." "Ugh, annoying." Why ask if you don’t want to hear the answer? "2nd is Charming Carpet’s Ryu Jin." "Aww, our visual genius Ryu Jin is just too beautiful." Eun-bit was thrilled as if her own name had been called. Charming Carpet is admired and considered a role model by our girls, so there’s no animosity there. "3rd is VNF’s Ha-yeon." Eun-bit’s expression soured. "What? Ha-yeon is a surprise. She’s talented and pretty but not 3rd place material, right?" Hong-yi nodded in agreement. "Yeah, our Yo-na is much better." "4th is Love Melody’s Soo-jin." "Soo-jin, definitely. She looked so pretty in the recent drama. But is Love Melody still on the rankings? They disbanded," noted Seo-won. Eun-bit asked, "But they haven’t officially disbanded, right?" "When two members leave, it's essentially disbanded," Seo-won replied. "6th place. Neptune’s Lee Song-ha." "Wow, I’m envious. Neptune doesn’t even promote here, yet they’re 6th." "Lee Song-ha has been consistently working in films and dramas. It's stranger that she's only 6th," Yo-na added her analysis. "It's probably because her actress image has become too strong," she pondered. "True, she does seem more like an actress than a girl group member," said Hong, who had gained 2kg after the ‘Hug Me’ promotions ended, provoking Seo-won to take a playful jab at her. "You also seem a bit too big to be in a girl group." "Want me to crush you with my big body?" "Manager, Hong is bullying me!" Seo-won protested. "Both of you, out," was my matter-of-fact response. "Ugh, annoying." "But seriously, you skipped 5th place, you silly!" "Oh right, 5th place is Upkick Girl’s Eun-bit." "Pfff! What? Me?" "Yes, you're the 5th most popular girl group member this month. Our queen of the 'Snapper Idols'." "Wow!" "Eun-bit, you’re amazing!" "Unbelievable, Eun-bit!" "Haha, is it because of the 'flapping fish' clip?" "Probably, right?" On YouTube, the official 'Hug Me' music video stood at 45,098 views, whereas the Eun-bit & Aliyah's "Snapper's Cry" video had 2,149,741 views. Even the views for 'Hug Me' increased almost double after the infamous snapper incident, highlighting how massive the snapper video's impact was. Most significantly, it being featured as 'Today's Trending Video' on the 8 o'clock national news boosted its reach exponentially. Not only did Eun-bit and Aliyah gain fame, but Producer Kang also saw his notoriety rise due to Aliyah's 'murderer' remark, earning him nicknames like 'Fish(魚) assassin' and 'Serial Snapper Killer'. A comical gif, titled 'Kang Pro Fishing Up Seaweed Boots', where he catches boots styled like seaweed, gained massive popularity as well. It was a true WIN-WIN situation for both Upkick Girl and the 'flapping fish' phenomenon. The program producer even thanked us and extended an invitation for a 'Fukuoka Offshore Fishing' segment early next year, asking for another appearance, hopefully featuring Aliyah this time. Given the mutual aid from the 'flapping fish' incident, I promised we’d participate. "It's incredible. Turning a documentary moment into pure entertainment," said one of the girls. "I'm really curious to see Eun-bit on a variety show," another added. "She was sensational even on No-DO," someone chimed in. "Yeah, I watched it. It was hilarious." "The edited version was just a glimpse; during filming, the reactions were over the top. Her Taekkyeon segment was hysterical." Slightly embarrassed to receive all the praise herself, Eun-bit shifted the focus to Aliyah. "It was Aliyah's bold comments to Producer Kang that were the highlight. If it were just me, it wouldn’t have been as big of a deal." "We were genuinely sad, but why did people find it funny?" Aliyah still couldn't wrap her head around it. Both she and Eun-bit were so traumatized by the snapper incident that they couldn’t even eat sashimi or grilled fish. "Hugging a dead fish and sobbing, what else can be funnier?" Seo-won said with a laugh, mirrored by Hong, who added her own chuckle. "When Eun-bit did mouth-to-mouth on the snapper, I thought I'd die laughing. You did that for laughs, right?" Hong continued. "No, it wasn’t like that! You all should have seen the eyes. They were genuinely heartbreaking. Right, Aliyah?" Eun-bit defended. "Yeah, they seemed to be pleading to be returned to the sea. Just thinking about it makes me tear up again," Aliyah agreed. I had to admit as well. "Yeah. With its size, it did seem like there was real emotion in its eyes. I think of it every time I eat fish." "See, Ben? Stop eating fish and meat from now on." "I never liked fish, anyway." "Good boy." Our posthumous thanks to the snapper for boosting the team’s morale after the debut album flopped unnoticed. It taught us not to dismiss small broadcasts that seemed destined for obscurity. The girls made a pact to remember this humble mindset even after they become stars. Kids, humility is meant to keep, not to forget—but I refrained from being a wet blanket. It was only thanks to Info Window’s advice that we didn’t reject the program outright, so a heartfelt gratitude to Info Window before the snapper. One regret remained: despite the boost to our brand value, there was no miracle of a chart resurrection for 'Hug Me,' which still languished outside the top 100. This is where reality hits hard. "What rank are they? Eye Contact," Seo-won inquired. I replied nonchalantly, "16th." "What! They're still higher than us!" "They've just had a fleeting media moment; it won't last. Their song is dropping in the charts, too." "And how about individual rankings?" "Let's see… Sumi is 45th. None of the others made it." "At least we beat them there." *** Two days later. Eun-bit and Seo-won were scheduled to record an OST for the drama ‘Age of Dreams,’ currently airing on SBS, set to its 7th episode. The theme song is for a supporting female character. While its ratings linger around 5%, earning it last place among the three major Wednesday-Thursday dramas, being part of an OST has its merit. As we were heading back to the dorm after the recording session, we received news that Planmaker's 'Happy Joy' debut mini-album had been released. Despite failing to secure a main vocalist, the existing members went ahead with their debut, being pitched as the successor to PlanL. I connected my phone to the car audio via Bluetooth and played the title track. "A new girl group from Planmaker has debuted." "Isn't that the team Eun-bit was originally supposed to join?" "Yeah, that's right." "The song isn’t good. It doesn't catch your attention. They can't sing. Ugh, why is it so whiny? Is there no main vocalist? Eun-bit, it's a good thing you didn’t join. If you had, you would’ve been overworked like the primary breadwinner of a household. This is definitely a mysterious loss for PlanL." Han Seo-won, our resident critique doll, didn't miss a beat in critiquing other groups today. Her prediction of Eun-bit being the main breadwinner if she had joined was spot on. "Manager, you didn't tell us what game we're playing during tomorrow's recording, did you?" "No, they're choosing randomly from mobile games released within the month." "Ugh, I'm not familiar with the new releases." Tomorrow, Seo-won is set to record a gaming broadcast. A single recording is rebroadcasted throughout the week, giving it considerable exposure among enthusiasts. Plus, there's a certain charm in women playing games that appeals to male viewers, contributing positively to Seo-won’s image. The MCs for this program include Lee Dong-ha, an entertainment specialist from KU Entertainment's veteran boy group 'Maximum TapTap (MTT),' and Jang Sae-mu, known as a comedic genius. Apart from Seo-won, there's another guest, splitting into teams for a 2v2 match. Both MCs bring a sense of humor and versatility, ensuring a fun broadcast regardless of team pairings. Though, the real worry lies with Han Ga Nam... Additionally, the reality program I once discussed in passing with scriptwriter Eom Seung-mi from No-Do is set to start filming. It's slated for an Internet TV web variety format, and by tomorrow evening, cameras will be installed all over the dorm. "Seo-won, we'll head to the salon for your hair and makeup tomorrow; get some sleep early for your skin's sake." "If you’re so worried, why don’t you sleep next to me?" Seo-won teased. "Yes, Manager," she conceded. Right on cue, Manager Kim Sang-in called. "I have some very good news and some slightly bad news. What do you want to hear first?" "The very good news, please." "SBS's Jungle Expedition Season 3..." "Of course, we have to do it! Is it for Eun-bit?" "No, when that season ends, there's going to be a girl group variety show in that timeslot." "Oh, I see." "They want Upkick Girl for it." "Of course, we should do it. What’s the format?" "It’s something like this: girl groups in their first three years who have never made it into the top 10 in music shows or charts compete through weekly missions. It looks like there will be some trainee groups involved too." "A desperate survival audition for the underdogs." "Exactly. But we can't dismiss a Friday 10 p.m. slot. The Jungle Expedition currently pulls between 10% and 15% ratings. I sent the proposal to your email, so check it out." "Thank you for your hard work. Now, I guess it's time to hear the slightly bad news." "It’s nothing major compared to the good news." < Girl Group Brand Rankings > End