The number nine seems to be quite popular these days among top girl groups.
SNSD is known for having nine members, while After School promoted with nine members for a few months before Bekah “Graduated”. Now with After School’s newest addition KaEun, along with the future members of T-Ara; all three groups will soon be promoting with nine members.
Various opinions which range from excitement to despair over the changes in After School and T-ara’s line ups have been expressed and become a popular topic in online community boards. The recent announcement of SNSD’s first sub unit is also gaining a lot of attention.
All the groups above have members with individual schedules that include Drama/CF filming, modelling, and television appearances among other activities. Because of this it is sometimes hard for all the members of a group to perform together at events. When group and individual schedules become intertwined a group with a lot of members is at an advantage because one individuals absence isn’t felt too much. At the same time big groups run the risk of having a few members become overshadowed which is when solo activities and promoting in sub-units is beneficial.
Some of the top reasons for having a group with nine members are:
◆ “Reducing the burden of individual activities”
Many members have individual projects which include acting, modeling, and Television appearances among other activities. These members may feel pressured to complete both their personal activities along with all of the groups promotional activities. With more members the loss some fans may feel when a certain member isn’t performing will hopefully be minimal.
While some members are busy or wish to rest sub-unit activities allow for specific members to express themselves in a different way from the main group. They are also able to show off skills they weren’t able to previously display.
According to a Pledis official, in After School’s upcoming performances if a member is absent fans “…will not be able to feel the lack in the stage”.
◆ “Enhanced vocal lines”
The more members a group has the richer the music style will be.
Each member brings something unique to the group from treble to bass singing styles along with rapping variations.
Having more members takes the burden off of main vocalists who will no longer have to sing the majority of songs. This will help strengthen the remaining members vocals and allow for better line division (hopefully).
◆ “Stage performance improvement”
With nine members in a group their stage performances can be arranged in aesthetically pleasing formats likes triangles, diamonds, and lines among a large variety of other dancing compositions. Choreography in a group of this size has no limitations.
There is also no need for backup dancers. With only the group onstage fans and viewers attention will be solely be directed toward the group without any distractions.
◆ “Possible long-term activity, however, competition is inevitable”
A nine member group is able to stay active for a long time due to the strength in talent.
While in the group members can work together and strengthen their skills by learning from and with one another.
Members are also able to pursue their personal interests like acting and modelling without pressure to chose between the group and going solo. By remaining a member but taking breaks to complete personal projects a member can help bring promotion towards the group as a whole while attracting new fans.
However, competition within the group can not be avoided. A group with nine members may have fierce competition within it due to specific attention/popularity certain individuals have.
But, with the use of sub-units and solo activities all members should be able to partake in the personal activities that make them happy while remaining a valuable member of their group.
