Girlfriend's CEO claims they will never do a sexy concept

Article: Girlfriend's producer CEO So Sung Jin "Girlfriend will never ever do a sexy concept"

Source: Ize via Naver

Excerpt:

How did you plan out the creation of the group?
CEO: ...When I first decided to make a girl group, I didn't have a clear identity or concept in mind. I just knew that I wanted to make a girl group based around a really good song. I then cast junior, high school members and they became Girlfriend. I needed a team that could earn a fandom and the members are young so I didn't want a sexy concept and decided on an innocent concept but a specific type of innocent concept. It was then that I saw pictures and old resources of SES, FinKL, and SNSD on different community sites and drew inspiration from it. I knew there was a niche in this market and began training the kids to fit that.

The girl groups that were already out shot their music videos showing off their pretty visuals on film sets. No matter how we glammed up our kids with make up, they were still rookies and it looked obvious. We decided to set ourselves apart from the other girl groups by shooting the music videos not on a set but outside in the real world. It has now become something of their own unique thing and I'm greatly satisfied with it.

I also realized that it's only now that they'll look this way and I wanted to show that so we purposely dressed them in plain white t-shirts and white skirts and barely any make up. The girls are bound to mature and become prettier in 3-4 years but I didn't want to show their prettiness all at once. I wanted to show them as they are in this moment.

Boy groups are also known for strict choreographies but girl groups don't have that. INFINITE and TEEN TOP are known for their intricate choreographies, right? 'Glass Bead' has a harder dance than it looks. I had their dance trainer rehearse with them on repeat for 7 months. We continued the trend of having difficult dance routines with 'Me Gustas Tu' and have slowly made it our unique and distinguishing factor.

What is your ultimate goal for Girlfriend?
CEO: It's still something I'm working on. But, a staff said something to me and it's that we are never going to have a new member or have a member leave in the group. Even if there's a member who is lacking in something or isn't as popular as the others, we're never going to change the members or add new ones. I'm going to find a goal for the group that doesn't shatter what they stand for.

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1. [+1,625, -112] I hope Girlfriend doesn't change...

2. [+1,383, -148] You can see why Girlfriend is successful from the interview. The group sticks to one concept that makes them stand out, the concept being 'powerful innocence'. They don't try to glam up the members or make them act like they're above the public, they're like girls next door with a natural air to them that both fans and the public can relate to. I hope that the interview remains true and that the group never does a sexy concept in the future.

3. [+183, -12] It's because their CEO knows what he wants that Girlfriend has grown as successfully as they have now

4. [+166, -13] I like the CEO's mindset. Girl groups nowadays are all so bent on the sexy concept, dressing like they work at late night pubs and doing erotic dances. Nothing about them stands out, they all look the same with long hair and white skin. No different from the girls at the clubs..

5. [+135, -5] I like that the CEO never plans to take any members out or add any new ones in. I hope that he keeps his word until the end!

6. [+118, -13] I also hope that Girlfriend keeps their innocent concept forever~^^ I hate sexy concepts ㅠㅠ CEO-nim, you're the best! And I also like that Girlfriend's lyrics don't have English words

7. [+92, -3] I like that the CEO is willing to wait for the members who aren't as popular with the public... he believes in their potential.

8. [+80, -4] I think the fact that Girlfriend isn't glammed up but dressed simply is their biggest selling point

9. [+79, -8] I'm against the sexy concept as well ㅋㅋㅋ Girlfriend fighting

10. [+55, -1] The CEO seems to know what he wants. I like that he says that he doesn't care if there's a member that falls behind or less popular, he's not going to change the members at all and is going to go with them until the end..

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