9 Competitive K-Pop Promo Periods That Turned Into Battle Royales

K-Pop is always a competitive business, but sometimes promotion periods get so intense that they go down in K-Pop history! Here are 9 promo periods that fans will never forget.

 

1. When 2NE1, Girls’ Generation, and 4MINUTE faced off

Fans were biting their nails when these three power groups competed for the number one spot on Inkigayo in March 2014. The competition was intense, but at the end of the day, 4MINUTE was declared the winner.

 

2. When these megahits dropped within a week of each other

TWICE‘s “TT” dropped on October 24, 2016…

…followed by BLACKPINK‘s “Playing with Fire” on November 1.

The following year, TWICE’s “Knock Knock” was released on February 20, 2017…

…just 7 days after BTS‘s “Spring day”!

 

3. When SM Entertainment decided to give everyone a comeback at the same time

Summer 2017 was a treat for SM Entertainment fans, but it may have been an organizational nightmare for SM Entertainment staff because multiple groups came back around the same time. Girls’ Generation’s “Holiday” dropped in August…

…and so did NCT DREAM‘s “We Young”.

EXO‘s “Ko Ko Bop” came out in July…

…and so did Red Velvet‘s “Red Flavor”!

 

4. When Busker Busker, B.A.P, and EXO battled it out for “Best New Male Artist”

In 2012, fans coined the term “Busker Buskered” after Busker Busker uscooped up this rookie award at MAMA. According to Urban Dictionary, “Busker Buskered” describes a situation in which an unexpected candidate wins between highly contested candidates. EXO and B.A.P fans had been at “war” for weeks leading up to the award, and were shocked when neither of their groups won it.

 

5. When BLACKPINK and MAMAMOO came back on the same day

Last year, both BLACKPINK and MAMAMOO came back on June 22.

This same day comeback sparked a heated competition for music charts and music show wins.

 

6. When girl groups annihilated 2014

More than 10 incredible number of girl groups released new music in early 2014, including AOA…

…Girl’s Day…

…Ladies Code…

…and 2NE1.

 

7. When girl groups annihilated 2015

You’d think that after 2014’s promotion craziness things would have slowed down, but no. Once again, girl groups flooded the K-Pop world with hits. From June to August, 12 different girl groups released new music, including MAMAMOO…

…SISTAR…

…and Apink.

 

8. When literally everyone debuted in 2017

Nearly 40 new groups and subunits debuted last year, including Wanna One, The Boyz, DREAMCATCHER, JBJ, and KARD. Fans could barely keep track of all the news!

 

9. When summer 2017 became the war of promotions

As if dozens of new groups weren’t enough to keep fans occupied, last summer was also an intense time for established K-Pop groups, including BTS, BLACKPINK, EXO, Red Velvet, and Girls’ Generation. They all released new songs during this time!