Will AOA ever go back to their band concept?

Article: AOA goes with the safe route, a bitter reality for girl groups trying to survive in the industry

Source: TV Daily via Nate

Article talks about how once again AOA is going down the bubbly yet sexy dance group route, which leaves out their 8th member Youkyung. They haven't done a band concept since 2012, instead opting for the safe route of sexy concepts that guarantees a bigger level of success. Fans are questioning whether their 8th member will ever come back.

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1. [+721, -27] It's just how the industry works. You'd think that talent would trump all but in the end, the most popular members are usually the visuals.
- They're idols after all. They have no worth as products if they don't have a pretty face or body.
- Mamamoo, Spica...
- Idols are idols for a reason. Visuals are #1 most important.
- It's what fangirls ultimately care about in the end: visuals. If talents mattered, idols wouldn't be all the rage.

2. [+660, -79] Their faces have also changed a lot since their early band days.

3. [+599, -88] They fixed up their faces a ton aside from Seolhyun before making the switch to sexy concepts. Unfortunately, sexy concepts can only get you so far.

4. [+34, -6] EXID may have gotten popular for their sexy concept but they managed to prove to the public that they're talented enough for longevity. In AOA, Choa's really the only one known for having any talent but she's not even considered among the top tier of talented idols. Once their sexy concept has run its course, they really have nothing to fall back on because the public will stop caring.

5. [+31, -1] Who didn't expect this to happen? No one even glanced their way when they were a band but as soon as they took their clothes off and started dancing, people started reacting immediately. Would you want to go back to playing the guitar after getting a taste of that?

6. [+30, -2] No one cared about them as a band, they had no choice. It's better go to the safe route. Unfortunate that just as the group was about to hit it big, Hani came out and blocked them.

7. [+26, -2] Choa's well known in the group but it's really Seolhyun hard carrying them.

8. [+21, -4] ㅋㅋ I hate when people who never cared about them when they were a band start talking about how they liked the group better as a band. So many people claim they care about musicality but it's idols who are sweeping the charts. Why blame them for trying to make money? It's not like they're musicians who only care about music... they're products that carry investment from their companies which they need to pay back.

9. [+17, -13] Nothing you can do about it... people on the outside claim that they care about musicality and everything but they only ever show interest once you take off your clothes and show a pretty face.

10. [+17, -17] Boy groups go through different concepts like hip hop, dance, ballad to get popular but girl groups only get attention if they wear short clothes and dance erotically. The sexy concept is a career changer when it comes to popularity and money so of course girl groups will go down that route. I liked AOA's 'Moya' and would like them to at least try the band concept one more time.

11. [+16, -1] AOA should not be blamed for this at all. They're simply providing the public with what they want, it's a survival tactic. I honestly never even knew they used to have a band concept until I read the comments.

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