WINNER and iKON are coming back. According to YG Entertainment, the WINNER members are currently making preparation for their comeback, while they will release their new album as early as April 1. And the iKON members, who are expected to release their new album right after WINNER's comeback will film two music videos for their upcoming new songs soon. I'm sure many of you have been looking forward to the two talented idol groups comeback because it has been a long time since they released their new albums. By the way, unlike their fans, they can't be just happy about their comeback because there are a few things they should prove through their comeback. Let's see what those are.
#1. Still competitive as a k-pop boy group
It has been more than a year since WINNER released "EXIT: E" in February 2016, and iKON's latest song "#WYD" came out in May 2016. It's been a long time, right? However, the k-pop world is changing faster than ever, and so many idol groups have been trying to do continuous entertainment activities because it helps them increase their presence in the k-pop world. You know, during WINNER and iKON's long break, young boy groups such as BTS, SEVENTEEN and GOT7 were busy promoting themselves and they've gained huge popularity, which means WINNER and iKON, who were once regarded as the two most popular young k-pop boy groups can't be optimistic about their victory any more. So, through their comeback, WINNER and iKON need to prove that they're still competitive k-pop boy groups, while WINNER should be more desperate for it because it will be the group's first ever album since Nam Taehyun left the team in November 2016.
#2. Different from other idols
When WINNER and iKON debuted, the groups created a sensation in the k-pop world not only because they were new boy groups of YG, one of the biggest k-pop agencies, but also because they looked different from the other k-pop boy groups. Unlike most of young k-pop boy groups who just do the best they can on the stage, WINNER and iKON showed a polished performance, while their debut songs "Empty" and "My Type" were very sophisticated. However, as time goes by, people begin to doubt if they're really different from the other boy groups because, frankly speaking, there was really nothing special about their new songs such as "Sentimental" and "Dumb and Dumber." YG always emphasizes that its idols are different from the other idols, and yeah, to achieve a big success as YG's idol groups, WINNER and iKON should prove that they're really different from the other k-pop boy groups.
#3. Qualified to be the next BIGBANG
No doubt, BIGBANG is the most popular k-pop boy group. And BIGBANG is indispensable to YG because BIGBANG has been the major source of revenue for the agency. But the problem is that the BIGBANG members got old and they should join the army one by one. So, YG is now trying to make the generational shift of its idols, and the agency is expecting WINNER and iKON to become the next BIGBANG. That's why 2017 will be a crucial year for YG, and WINNER and iKON should prove that they have enough of the capacity which is needed to become BIGBANG's successor through their comeback.
