221 - Upki Girl

<It's Not Hoarding, Is It?> <The Majestic Rise of ‘Up the Dog’: ‘Upkey Girl’ Sets the Charts on Fire with New Album> The momentum of Upkey Girl’s mini album 'Violet Aura' is nothing short of extraordinary. Their title track ‘Violet’ currently holds the number one spot for three consecutive days on six major music platforms, outpacing strong competitors like Yuktan Defense and Liz Girls. Not only have all the songs from the album secured positions in the top ten, but their debut track, ‘Hold Me,’ has also climbed back up the charts, reaching the pinnacle of what is called the "battle of the stars" in the May music charts. These results were unexpected even for their fans. Chart rankings nowadays shift frequently between day and night. During the day, ordinary listeners typically dominate, while in the early hours, idol fandoms heavily stream songs. Yet, Upkey Girl has maintained the top spot, both day and night, for three consecutive days. This indicates something significant—they have simultaneously satisfied both public appeal and fandom demand. Considering their competitors include Liz Girls and Yuktan Defense—current idols known for their massive fandom power—this achievement is all the more meaningful. Not only in digital tracks but also in the physical album sales—an indicator of fandom size—Upkey Girl scores high sales. Even formidable superstars such as 'Cheeky Cousins,' 'VNF,' and 'Sominjeong,' scheduled to make comebacks next week, are reportedly watching to see if Upkey Girl’s momentum will wane. In a phone interview with us, Upkey Girl's agency expressed, “The members are wondering if the company has been hoarding albums,” barely able to hide their bewilderment. Meanwhile, Upkey Girl will commence their full-fledged album promotions with a showcase performance tonight at 8 PM. ―――――――――― <Fans’ Meaningful Return Gift(?), The Unique Affection of Upkey Girl’s Fandom> The act of fans gifting celebrities is termed ‘tribute.’ It ranges from small snacks or lunch boxes to extravagant offerings like diamonds or foreign cars—varied in type and magnitude. Conversely, when a singer gifts fans, it's called a ‘return tribute.’ However, there's a girl group and fandom that have reversed this meaning. The protagonists are Upkey Girl, who is conquering music and album charts post-comeback, and their fandom, 'Ahbbuba.' Since their debut, Upkey Girl has drawn attention for their unique fan love. While most idol groups sell merch and fan meeting tickets, Upkey Girl has given these freebies away. They even host surprise anniversary events, cover food, and travel expenses for fans visiting recording locations, earning the nickname 'generous idols.' This led other fans to envy Upkey Girl fans, suggesting with jealousy that the idols were gifting tributes to their fans, turning fans' presents into return tributes. They were so generous that fans initiated a signature campaign to refuse free merchandise and fan meeting invites. But this time, the fans returned the favor handsomely. They took it upon themselves to promote Upkey Girl’s first mini album, 'Violet Aura.' On release day, they placed advertisements on subways and buses nationwide, and also promoted through radio, newspapers, and portal site banners. Moreover, by conducting ‘legal hoarding’, the fans have propelled the album to the top of sales charts three days post-release. On Upkey Girl’s official fan café, photos evidencing the purchase of 10 or 20 copies each became a trend. Under this momentum, it’s expected they’ll surpass last year’s best-selling single album by a girl group, VNF's first full album, which sold 300,965 copies. Additionally, their music video views have also surpassed records previously held by VNF and Liz Girls during the same period, threatening the positions of the "Girl Group Battle Royale Era (GBG)" top five (Charming Carpet, Liz Girls, VNF, KGB15, Red Shadow). ―――――――――― “Director, we didn’t really do any hoarding, did we...?” “Hehehe…” The cautious yet sincere inquiry from Yona elicited a chuckling response. “No, we didn’t.” This time, Seowon squinted at Riya and asked. “You didn’t do it, did you?” “Nono. Alya predicted this would happen, so there was no need for hoarding.” “This is amazing…” “Does that mean we actually beat Yuktan and Liz Girls…?” Despite it being three days since the release of their digital and physical albums, the children are still having a hard time accepting the reality. Emojisong, being somewhat informed, even speculated wildly about a North Korean DDoS attack on the music ranking system. “You sound like Kim Jong-un writing a book review on 'Kim Ji-young, Born 1982.' Are you going to say something weird during the showcase interview again?” “Hmph, Yeo Eun-bith is just being Yeo Eun-bith. Is that a problem? It's not the first time, so just let it slide, won't you?” “Sure, I love how boldly brazen you are, damn.” We were on our way to the mini album showcase at Olympic Park after getting our makeup done at the salon. Typically, showcases happen on the album release day, but ours was three days later. We planned to do a fan club inauguration at the same time, which increased the number of ticket holders, and we had to change the venue, leading to a delay. The result? All 5,000 seats sold out. We kept this a secret from the kids. Since we finished rehearsals the day before, we arrived an hour before the showcase start. The Handball Stadium vicinity was packed with 'Ahbbuba' fans who had come from all over the country. As soon as we entered the parking lot, fans recognized our vehicle, waved, and shouted. When the kids lowered the windows to greet them, the sound of camera shutters filled the air like rapid typing in a busy PC room. What caught my eye first was the merchandise tent. Yet, not a single fan was using it. All items were marked ‘SOLD OUT’. Nowadays, merchandise sales by individual members are often used to gauge popularity, so less popular members can get hurt by poor sales. I once witnessed a pride battle over sold-out merchandise among the Teenagers members at a fan meeting during a Riplegate shoot. A member, surprised by lower-than-expected sales, was provoked by another, leading to an argument. It's the same for both girl and boy groups. On-screen, they appear close, but off-camera, they might form cliques or squabble over song parts and choreography positions. It would be strange if all peers, ranging from four to over ten members, got along seamlessly. In our case, we've only sold merchandise twice, and both times the speeds varied, so we can't determine a popularity rank yet. The first time, it sold out in the order of Eun-bith, Yona, Hong, Riya, and Seowon. The second time, it was Yona, Seowon, Hong, Eun-bith, and Riya. But individual popularity can vary depending on the song concept or media exposure, so there's no need to get too caught up. Fortunately, our kids have figured out this dynamic on their own, and personal fandoms or popularity have never caused any tension. Primarily because each of the five has unique characters and visual appeal, distributing fan support evenly. Just last week's episode of ‘Well, Let's Live Well, Mung-Goong Yang’ spiked Seowon's popularity with the rice cake episode, and Riya’s popularity soared after her bob haircut transformation in the Riplegate finals. In my opinion, when the ‘Violet’ stage is unveiled, it'll likely shuffle the team's internal popularity ranks again. *** The showcase began. A screen for the intro video separated the stage from the audience seats, so the kids couldn’t see the audience until reaching the stage. Once the intro video ended, the screen lifted with the opening chords of ‘Hold Me’ which greeted Upkey Girl with 5,000 howling 'Ahbbuba' fans. "Wooooo!" The thunderous roar was on a different scale compared to the 100 fans present during the ‘Hold Me’ showcase. Goosebumps covered our bodies as chills ran through us. Jang Woo felt the same. “Hyung, I’m getting goosebumps all over.” “Me too…” If those of us watching felt like this, what about the kids? I briefly worried they might cry from the opening song, but they were far from the kids they were six months ago. Their gaze flickered momentarily in the overwhelming cheers. Still, even Eun-bith, the emotional prodigy, remained focused on the stage, completing the opening song with unnerving composure. “One, two, three!” “The girl group raised by Ahbbuba!” “Hello, we are Upkey Girl!” “We missed you so much!” After finishing the ‘Hold Me’ stage, the members proceeded with their opening talk. The first comeback stage on a music show for Upkey Girl was SBS's DaeSeGayYo, the same network as Riplegate, when a call came from PD Moon. Before, there was a minor issue with eyes contact during Yona’s solo, but after a hearty fix from Riya, our relation with Moon PD became quite amicable. “Jang Woo, I’ll step out to take this call with PD Moon.” “Sure.” I left for backstage to answer the call. “Yes, PD.” “Is today the showcase? Congrats.” “Saw the wreath from DaeSeGayYo. Thank you.” “Oh, it was nothing.” “Next time, could you send a rice wreath? It’s not a funeral, flowers are outdated and inedible.” “The new writer lacks sense. Are you free to talk?” “Yes. What prompted this call?” “Well, it’s nothing major. I wanted to suggest coming up with a small promise for this week’s 1st place candidate spot.” “Wait! Are we a candidate for 1st place? We haven’t even done the comeback stage yet.” “Not interested? Forget it.” “As if! Who are the other candidates?” “Public channel candidates are all familiar—Yuktan and Liz Girls, who else?” We're really rising, no joke. Someone casually joked about hitting number one immediately on the comeback, but perhaps that was more prophetic than we knew. “Oh, and Music Champion will have you as a 1st place candidate too.” Music Champion is a cable music show broadcasted by SBS. “This week, it’s a three-way battle between Yuktan, Liz, and Upkey Girl.” “In your opinion, PD, what are our chances of taking first place?” “It’s going to be tough. Forget Liz Girls; Yuktan is incredibly strong this time. Plus, VNF, Cheeky Cousins, and Sominjeong are all coming out next week. I think the fact that Upkey Girl is a contender at all is amazing. Your team was just scrapping with Eye Contact in the basement coop waiting room not too long ago. Haha.” “Thinking about it that way, we really have grown a lot.” “You might have had a better chance if you’d come out two weeks later. By then, Yuktan would be out, too, so you could have aimed for Music Champion.” “If we try to dodge this team and that, we’d end up releasing next year.” “That’s the truth.” I finished talking with the producers of the five remaining music shows about halfway through the showcase. The content was the same across the board. First place candidates right at the comeback stage. And as Moon PD predicted, the lineup was the same. Yuktan, Liz, and Upkey Girl. Uniformity. Gone are the days when Seo Taiji and Kim Soo-hee would face off for the top spot, it seems. How can Korean pop progress like this...? Ah, right, Yuktan did hit number one on the Billboard charts. Quite a leap forward. Honestly, even coming in second would be remarkable for us. Let’s take down Liz Girls at least. On the showcase stage, Yona was introducing the next performance. “Now, we’ll perform the title track from our new album, ‘Violet.’” <It's Not Hoarding, Is It?> End.