Girl groups are going electronic — and the charts are proving them right
KiiiKiii (Starship Entertainment)
Electronic dance music has been a go-to for K-pop for over a decade: think Psy’s “Gangnam Style,” f(x)’s “4 Walls” and SHINee’s “View.”
The trend resurged last year and has continued into 2026 with no signs of slowing, particularly among girl groups.
The standout subgenre is house music. Aespa’s “Supernova” and “Whiplash,” Le Sserafim’s “Crazy” and Hearts2Hearts’ “Focus” all drew on house influences. The wave continued this year with Starship Entertainment act KiiiKiii’s “404 (New Era),” which topped Melon’s Top 100 chart after its January release and swept multiple music broadcast awards. Ive, also under Starship Entertainment, joined the trend in February with “Bang Bang,” a UK hard house track that topped the same Melon chart for five consecutive weeks in March.
SM Entertainment’s rookie girl group Hearts2Hearts has perhaps leaned into the sound the most. Since debuting in February last year, the group has built much of its identity around house: digital single “Style” released in June 2025, the first EP’s title track “Focus” released in October that year, and digital single “Rude!” released in February, all fall under the house umbrella.
Hearts2Hearts (SM Entertainment)
Music critic Lim Hee-yun describes the trend as a natural evolution between two long-compatible genres.
“Electronic music is not an entirely new genre in Korean pop history. Groups like Noise and Clon in the 1990s incorporated house music and found great popularity with it,” Lim said.
“The reason house and EDM are frequently used in K-pop is that house is built on a steady four-on-the-floor beat, which is fundamental to dance music. K-pop is also electronic dance music at its core, so the combination is natural.”
Beyond house music are tracks such as Blackpink’s “Jump,” a techno-leaning lead single from their third EP “Deadline,” released in July. Le Sserafim is set to follow with “Celebration,” which the group describes as hyper techno, while Belift Lab rookie act Illit returns this month with techno-house track “It’s Me.”
Lim said shifts in how people consume music have also raised the appeal of EDM.
“The house beat is simpler compared to other genres, which means it is accessible and easy for the public to embrace. It also lends itself well to short-form challenges, where a song has to make its appeal felt in seconds,” Lim said.
“K-pop songs are increasingly being played not just within the K-pop scene but in American TV dramas and clubs overseas. Incorporating house makes a track far more useful in a club setting.”
Blackpink (YG Entertainment)
Lim also offered an explanation for why the house trend has taken hold far more visibly among girl groups than boy groups, pointing to fundamental differences in fan consumption.
Boy group music, Lim argued, places a premium on precise, synchronized choreography and clear individual member differentiation — elements that the relatively straightforward rhythmic structure of house does not easily showcase. K-pop, at its core, is performance-driven music meant to be watched, whereas house is built on a repetitive beat designed for dancing in a club setting.
“For girl groups, while individual fandoms and distinct personas matter, the music and stage itself are consumed somewhat differently,” he said. “Boy group songs tend to be consumed more within fandom circles, while girl group songs more frequently reach the top of mainstream charts. Girl groups have less pressure to highlight individual members or performances to drive fan engagement compared to boy groups.”
jaaykim@heraldcorp.com