In an online community, K-Netz listed the "Ultimate Hits" in every generation, citing EXO and TWICE as groups for the 3rd-gen era. However, a debate sparked as some complained about BTS and BLACKPINK not being mentioned.
Recently, there is a list that has been circulating among Korean netizens containing eight "ultimate hits" of each K-pop generation.
1st Gen:
- H.O.T's “Candy”
- Fin.K.L'a “Eternal Love"
2nd Gen:
- BIGBANG's “Lies"
- Wonder Girls' “Tell Me"
3rd Gen:
- EXO's “Growl"
- TWICE's “Cheer Up"
4th Gen:
- TXT's “Sugar Rush Ride"
- NewJeans' “Hype Boy"
The list was selected not only based on the public's personal taste but also considered the song's domestic achievement & impact.
Not BTS? 3rd-Gen Boy Group 'Ultimate Hits' Being EXO's 'Growl' Sparks Debate
While the aforementioned songs for the first-gen and second-gen eras were attested by netizens and K-pop enthusiasts, the third-gen list failed to convince some fans and led to contrasting opinions.
In particular, the current "biggest boy and girl groups in the world" were BTS and BLACKPINK, respectively, thus, ARMYs and BLINKs raised brows as to why the two groups weren't on the list.
In particular, if looking at BTS's discography, they made numerous hits that it's hard to choose but overall, "Spring Day" and "Dynamite" were some of the songs that truly dominated the country.
Also if the topic is a song that amassed domestic popularity, some netters selected iKON's "Love Scenario," a song considered as K-pop's "national anthem" as even toddlers and old people know this track.
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- "Growl is a viral song, but is it an 'ultimate hits' worthy?"
- "I think it should be 'Dynamite' than 'Growl'?"
- "Ignoring 'Spring Day' and 'Dynamite' for 'Growl' is absurd."
K-Netizens Defend TWICE's 'Cheer Up' Spot in 'Ultimate Hits' of 3rd-Gen Era
Meanwhile, there are also web users who complained about why BLACKPINK wasn't on the list when they also have numerous iconic K-pop songs like "DDU-DU DDU-DU."
While people agreed why the quartet wasn't on the list, there are also a lot of Koreans who attested to TWICE's "Cheer Up" worth on the rankings.
Since it was released, it became a global hit that gave TWICE numerous awards including the daesang, "Song of the Year" at the 2016 MelOn Music Awards.
On the flip side, BLACKPINK is yet to have a daesang (grand prize) trophy regardless of its popularity. As a result, fans claimed that although BLACKPINK is the biggest girl group, TWICE remained untouchable for being the "Nation's Pick."
"TWICE was the public’s pick in Korea undoubtedly. What’s there to debate?"
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Written by Eunice Dawson.
