“Baby, don't let me stop. You love me. Don't stop!”
The cloying, spoken intro of MINX’s “Love Shake” is deeply disconcerting when you listen to it through retrospective lenses – especially knowing what these winking, pink-wearing girlie girls would eventually become. Don’t get me wrong, “Love Shake” is a catchy, functional, and effective song. But the juxtaposition between this song and their later output forces you to reckon with the power of Korean entertainment companies, and the extent to which they can shape the careers and images of these young women.
Exhibit A:
This is MINX, a five-member girl group composed of JiU, SuA, Siyeon, Yoohyeon, and Dami. This is the lead single from their first and only EP as that group. Don’t get me wrong: it’s a catchy, functional, and well-produced song, but it sounds like literally every other girl group. There was nothing to differentiate them from other groups of the era.
It’s no wonder, ten, that after the group’s debut EP dropped in July 2015 that they almost immediately went dark. A lukewarm response and likely tension behind the scenes led to a complete overhaul of the group.
Two new members were added: Handong and Gahyeon. And a bold new direction was decided on: instead of sounding like every other girl group, MINX was going to do the exact opposite. They were going to become darker, edgier, with a sound that flew in the face of mainstream girl group conventions. The result was something so “not-MINX” that they had become something entirely different.
It was time to re-debut.
As you can hear, this sounds far less like stereotypical girl group K-pop and more like J-pop meets American 00s alternative rock run through a K-pop filter. Big guitars, heavy kick drum on a rock kit, and spooky-dreamy classical piano. This was the breakout hit from the new EP. The one that would kick start their careers as the wildly successful DREAMCATCHER.
Since that time, the 7-girl metal-infused pop group has become ubiquitously known as “The Face of Rock in K-pop.” Their crossover sound has led to a growing international fanbase, and mainstream popularity in Korea. That mainstream popularity was hard to win given their sound, but their authenticity shone through. Their second Korean studio album, Apocalypse: Save Us, dropped in 2022 and was written and arranged entirely by the band’s members. After 5 years, they finally won their first mainstream music show win on MBC M’s Show Champion with “Maison.”
No wonder the group didn’t want to stay MINX. Why be ordinary? Why sound like everyone else? Especially when – deep down – you know you’re really DREAMCATCHER?
