Please feel free to skip to wherever you want. The Current Situation: Numbers In terms of numbers, KickFlip has not been doing as well as one would expect for a new JYP boy group. However, I think most non-fans are receiving false reports, misinformation, and half-truths surrounding KickFlip's actual current position. KickFlip is not a flop and is definitely not a failure. KickFlip has a small fanbase, but the fanbase is still a noticeable one and is constantly growing. It doesn't help that this fanbase seems to exist nowhere on the internet outside of KickFlip spaces lol, but they do exist. I remember seeing the comment section of "Umm Great" (Their pre-debut song) flooded with comments of STAYs showing their support for their favourite group's new juniors. Those comments have since disappeared for the most part in KickFlip's next three music videos. However, despite the loss in streaming help from STAYs, the views stayed solid and despite lackluster international promotion, KickFlip has received some solid Korean promotion and member Minje has grown to be quite popular. Now, Reasons why KickFlip COULD be the future... (Keyword "could", this is not proof.) KickFlip's Musical Identity is Surprisingly Quite Varying and Diverse Now, this may kind of seem like a crazy thing to say to people who haven't heard KickFlip's entire discography yet or only heard it once. However, KickFlip's diverse musical identity will allow them to deliver on whatever is trending while still staying true to the group. KickFlip's musical identity can be split up into these three sounds in my opinion: NCT-esque/NCT-Adjacent Abstract and Catchy Cute/School Concept Music The first sound can mostly be found in the b-sides of KickFlip's first album "Flip it, Kick it!". The second sound can mostly be found in "Umm Great" and pretty much every b-side in KickFlip's second album "Kick Out, Flip Now!". (JYP can be really good with this type of music, see ITZY's "Dalla Dalla", and have already found a pretty good way to incorporate this style and sound with KickFlip.) And finally, the third sound can be found in both their title tracks, "Mama Said" and "FREEZE" Chances are, at any given point in time, one of these sounds/concepts will be trendy and have viral potential. KickFlip can keep switching between these three sounds while not just not losing their musical identity, but actively growing and solidifying it. This will also make all their distinct sounds eventually all recognizable to them (which I think they are well on the way to doing already), which will help with gaining long term fans. JYP Has Faith In Them Now, quietly, an agency having faith in their group can be one of the most important determining factor in that group's success and future. JYP does not need this group to be as big as Stray Kids, they just need them to gain a solid fanbase and at least be a group of some notice and attention to most people. I thought after the disappointing numbers of their first EP, JYP may have instantly took over and rewrote the plans for this group. However, this is not what happened. Imagine my surprise when KickFlip started preforming their first comeback, "FREEZE", on music shows, and the mics were ON and LOUD. And not just that, but nothing was over choreographed, many moments were improvised by the members and just had them doing kind of whatever they want. Did this all lead to a performance with some shaky vocals and a bit of a mess to watch? Yep. Was it fun af though? Yep. And the audience was eating it up. The most important thing is though, KickFlip stood out. JYP even put them on Lollapalooza, showing their faith and effort that they are willing to put into KickFlip. Mood I think mood will also be one of the biggest reasons of KickFlip's success. When I talk about mood, I am talking about mood in relation to three things: The Music The Group/Concept The Members The music is good, but most importantly, the music is a mood. The music has personality, the music creates an easy going fun atmosphere that is super addicting. The Group and their concept is fun, silly, goofy, rebellious, and reminiscent of a time when life was simpler. Especially in the rigorous and stressful education system of Korea where music that prescribes all those attributes stated above is proven to consistently become hits among both the Korean Youth and Korean Adults craving nostalgia, KickFlip's music is a highly effective method of escapism. The members are just hella stannable. They have cute visuals, are shy around their seniors, awkward around each other, just very lovable and sweet. Very easy to want to root for them. The End I could go on but I don't want to make this longer than it already is so i will stop here. I am not saying any of this will happen, just that KickFlip has the potential to be big. I still have many doubts and issues (mostly with JYP and their track record with certain things), but I am hopeful this group can make it. (I am not a stan btw, just a casual enjoyer.) submitted by /u/SnooOranges829 [link] [comments]
