It's a K-pop Thing

Play This! SB19's "GENTO" and Other Beast-Idol Tracks We Love

Alkemie Sound Lab Season 1 Episode 11

For this edition of Play This! we’re discussing “Gento,” a song by Filipino-boy-group SB19. While it’s not K-pop, per se, the song has been making its way around the industry’s boy groups, thanks to numerous idols doing the “Gento” dance challenge.

But, what is it about this song that has male idols flocking to it? Is the popularity of SB19’s “Gento," maybe due to changes in concepts for K-pop boy groups? Are male idols simply missing the hard-hitting choreography we once associated with “Beast Idols” in K-pop?

More importantly—what actually happened to the “beastly idol,” or “beast idol,” or “beast-dol” boy group concepts from the 2010s?

In this episode, we share our theories behind the popularity of "Gento" and we give you a brief history of "beast idols" in K-pop. Plus, we share other songs by some of our favorite "beast-dols" as well as our predictions for where boy groups go next.

Buckle up—as MONSTA X says — "we are BEASTMODE!"

LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST ON SPOTIFY: "SB19's Gento and Other Beast Idol K-pop Songs"

EPISODE RUNDOWN (with timestamps):

PART 1: SB19 & The History of Beast Idols

  • Episode Intro (1:39)
  • SB19 Quick Bio (4:56)
  • "Gento" Song Analysis (6:48)
  • Our theory behind "Gento"s popularity (12:27)
  • How have K-pop boy group concepts changed? (16:50)
  • How do we define "beast idols" in K-pop? (22:36)
  • A brief (and VERY unscientific) history of beast idols in K-pop (31:15)

PART 2: Other Beast-dol Songs We Recommend

  • 2PM — "I'm Your Man" (45:18  )
  • MBLAQ — "This is War" (50:16)
  • MONSTA X — "Shoot Out" (58:02)
  • B.A.P — "Warrior" (63:37)
  • Special song mentions:
  • DMTN, MYNAME, ZE:A, Hotshot, SPEED, Block B (72:17)

FINAL THOUGHTS

  • Is Y2K boy group nostalgia up next? (75:00)

TAKE OUR POLL ON SPOTIFY: What’s your favorite “Beast-ly” Boy Group in K-pop? Do you think we should have more groups with this type of concept today?

It's a K-pop Thing is hosted by two journalists and longtime K-pop stans, Alexis Hodoyán-Gastélum and Theresa Avila.

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