i think what makes kiss of life stand out is because their creative director, lee haein (former kpop trainee), has a clear vision for them. she's selected great staff members to work with her and it's paying off. the kiss of life documentary goes in depth about their debut project process, which includes staff's input. it's so refreshing! also their music and concept leans more western, which makes them more unique compared to other rookie and even current ggs.
Omg wait, there's a documentary?? Just did a quick search. Is this the BBC documentary or is it something else? I recently watched XG's one and yea, it's really interesting to see how the music industry kinda goes through it's process and trains the trainee to get to a level where they think they're ready to debut
Hot Issue came at the wrong time & I loved them so much. I hope for the best for Kiss of Life, they’re all insanely talented & I hope they get major recognition
Yea, defs not the best time for freshly made company to set up a group. I mean they've got their foundation-ish now but it came at the cost of Hot Issue
Hot Issue was also extremely rushed. The members had basically no time to get to know each other-I know for certain Hyeongshin was in the company less than a month before the members were revealed-and some of them point blank refuse to interact with each other to this day. Chemistry is an often overlooked factor in longevity, and Hot Issue seemingly didn’t have it. Although the members all had impressive resumes, none of them were particularly popular, and a lot of people who had heard the lineup rumors (Chowon, Juhyeon, Dayeon, PD48 Gahyeon) were disappointed when none were in the lineup. The hype around the ex-Cube director’s girl group faded when they didn’t have any of the popular Cube girls, and what remained moved to Lightsum when they were introduced just a week or two before Hot Issue’s debut.
Wait damm, I didn't hear about the members having such a relationship. Did they really not vibe with each other like that? I really only associate them with their music. Never got to learn about their group dynamic. As for the whole ex-cube director hype, yea, that only lasted for a bit before it was kinda meh.
Strength of KISS OF LIFE - Lee haein (actual winner of idol school) is their creative director - Natty and Julie already had some fans before debut. - Belle got some hit songwriting credits
20k sales for their debut is already wayyy higher than Dreamcatcher's. It is a pretty good start and I believe the minimum target for all groups these days is 100k sales to generate, what I believe will be a decent income to keep them going and some margin of profits (depending on expenditures). Purple Kiss started out well but has been stagnating somewhat in terms of album sales while Kep1er started out strong but face declining sales with each comeback thereafter. Then again, their sale figures are still so much higher than most female groups outside the big 4.
Yea, Stayc and High up Ent started to make profit in 2022 with Run2U and Beautiful Monster era, which is wild considering how popular 2021 was for them with ASAP and Stereotype. It really depends on the group but these figures seem good and if that's foundational figures and not debut hype figures, then they can only grow from here
YESSS, I'm defs excited to see what's to come with their first comeback. Real solid debut so will they continue the same direction or switch things up to show their ability to be versatile but in the best ways
Something about Kiss Of Life gives me such Mamamoo vibes. Not musically, because Shhh is vastly different to rookie era Mamamoo, but in the 4 members no minors, small company, with members who are already contributing to song creation (though i think that is getting more common in kpop ggs in general) and some impressive vocal moments. I'm excited and hopeful for their progress and success because it feels like I am seeing or hearing them all over kpop social media lately. Also being that my ults have been 4minute and Mamamoo, I feel very targeted by KIOF.
Kiss of Life's creative director is Lee Hae In, fellow Idol school contestant along with Natty, but sadly we all know they got rigged out. I normally don't buy albums but decided to buy this one to support them. It's shockingly well thought out, over 200 pages with elaborate behind the scenes info, MV concept sketches, staff interviews, heartfelt letters from the girls etc. I've spent hours google translating & slowly reading through it. The whole thing is so dang stylish to look at and doubles as a coffee table magazine. I hope their next album will be similar
Omg, sounds so cool. I've only bought the albums of Chungha at the moment but might have to add Kiss of Life depending on how the next comeback does. Literally their debut album was perfection to me, so if they can match this energy then I'd be sold.
I think with two asian-american members and their girl crush identity they should be pushed 100% into the U.S market. Now to the degree of Wonder Girls but maybe do a fanmeet in a couple American cities to get the ball rolling while still building up their korean fanbase. Considering the popularity of Fifty Fifty Cupid KIOF should release a all english song as soon as possible and maybe sign with a U.S label to help it get radio airplay.
Yea, defs a plan in the future. I feel like they might just want to wait for there to be a strong indicator that there is a fanbase for them in the states because they're still so new into their careers that it could be a double edge sword trying to determine which market to target first and kinda build up, when neither is completely solidified.
as a kpop fan of 8 years, kiss of life is the first rookie group in a while to really move me. their creative team seems to be putting in the work so i really hope they go far.
Ohh for sure; bad news feels like such a good blend of different vibes and songs that I've heard and placed all to work in a way that's not completely simple and unoriginal, What did you think about their comeback?
Came back here after seeing how Kiss Of Life is blowing up with 400k+ likes in a week for their new cb and 60k+ sales. It's kinda crazy how this company in a few years created 2 ggs so vastly different and one so successful
Yea, I mean there is clearly such a different way they approached both groups. Unfortunate what happened to Hot Issue but glad to see Kiss of Life thriving this much.
I would also add with that Lee Haein (former pd101 and idol school), she was rigged out of being the center of fromis_9 being their creative director is also pulling in fans. She has been very transparent about her creative process i.e. kiss of life being inspired by SKINS. Which is quite refreshing and people want to support her
Yea, she and Adora have helped give so good expertise advice to solidify Kiss of Life's debut era. Hopefully, we see Lee Haein in this role for a while to solidify the growth of Kiss of Life.
Icons was in my top 5 kpop songs of 2021, i loved hot issue and was so sad about the surprise disbandment, i'm so happy for kiss of life tho, they really debuted with a bang and i hope they can keep the momentum going !
They've been generating so much hype and with the different people they have behind the scenes who'll continue to help them like Adora and Lee Haein, seems like so much great things to come.
Ohh nice. Never really got into F(X) so not what they were like but I think i get what you mean. This whole debut era was just so well thought out that it was an easy instant stan for me
It's way more than that, i personally believe that u can see it when a group have a career plan, vision, and a proper branding (that they're developing) as much as i love Hot Issue, they kinda was a group to taste water, and they didn't have any foundation to where they wanted to go in the career (marketing-wise) meanwhile Kiss Of Life already pre-debut promotions were such a well plan to present them to the world, with a storytelling that was intrigued by people, what's crazy for me at the time (and still) was the budget they were receiving (which they deserved tho) but.... i'm so sorry for hot issue
Ohh for sure. The whole story telling with each members solo to eventually culminate in their debut song. Like there was an actual plan for them. Plus with the aid of Lee Haein and Adora; there is a direction that S2 entertainment want to take them. Hot issue just had good songs but there was nothing that made them seem certain or distinguishable.
@@cloudchungxiao yess!!! And that was very sad for hot issue cause the company didn't have a purpose for them, and they were gone the same time they arrive, but anyways... hope the girls can find success in their new ways
As always, great video. I love Kiss of Life. Maybe a video on Pixy? Or Dreamcatcher taking time to get into the Korean eye but being popular world wide pretty fast?
I don’t blame S2 for disbanding hot issue, their debut timing was sad but I understand that they didn’t have the funds to wait it off a year, and when the sales aren’t doing well and the money was starting to run out I understand why they had to disband. And I’m glad they learned from their mistakes and are applying their new strategies to kiss of life. Hopefully all the hot issue girls find success
Yea, we're starting to see of them slowly re-appear in the industry throughs survival programs and re-debut, so hopefully they get more out of those experiences.
It’s crazy that this small company is able to actively manage them effectively. Their sticky mnet stage is so different from their nobody knows stage! As well they where able to produce 4 comebacks (kiss of life, born to be xx, Midas touch, and now sticky). They also was able to make a great light stick. They seem to be also taking a note from blackpink and promoting the members in anyway they can (ambassadorships, shows, and live performances). I can see the girls eventually getting some valuable ambassadorships with this company. While hot issue was not a good success, s2 learned from their mistakes and made kiss of life. I think S2 is doing good in the conditions they have. With the big 4, payola, and many more factors that take place. But to rap up S2 can promote this group right and I think kiss of life will be THE success story in the future.
Yes! Seeing all the new lightsticks in their recent stages makes me soooo proud!! They’ve come such a long way in a year and they’re continuing on an upward growth. The company is doing a really good job of promoting them, esp with the recent high profile collabs/stages/variety appearances. And I think it was a genius move for them to have an individualistic approach within the group’s concept. They started by giving each member a solo song predebut which established each member as an individual and their personalities built the concept of the group, instead of the other way around where the concept was already formed and they had to fit a predetermined mold (also thanks to the creative mind of Lee Haein). And now each of them has such a unique demographic/personal appeal because they’re seen as their own individual personalities while still being a part of the broader group identity (the “hot girls” hahaha). I like to think of them as a modernised yet subtler version of the spice girls. Like haneul as sporty spice and belle as posh spice etc. which is definitely a promising move for future brand ambassadorships
@@hello1868 I agree! I’m so excited to see where they go! The kiss of life girls give off a bts vibe so much and blackpink vibe. The individual personality’s help a lot too! It’s also crazy seeing how the line up formed. It’s almost like if you where to get a trainee from Each big 4 and put them together. Natty (jyp), Julie (Yg ,even tho she was apart of the black label it’s still a subsidiary of yg), Belle (sm, she was a writer for them and I wouldn’t be surprised if she ever got some training from them. She is good friends with Wendy.), Hanuel (Hybe trainee). Its so incredible to see what a group with this large of a background can do. I’m so excited for the future for them.
@@zacharymendez1880lol yeah! I remember when they first debuted there was a lot of misinfo about their previous companies and everyone said they were like the avengers who each trained in the big 4 and got together😂 I can’t wait to see what’s next for them too. Big things I’m sure of it
Yea, it really will come down to promotions that continue to add to Kiss of Life's future. It's definitely been amazing to see so much investments to each member. I mean the solo debuts to reintroduce the members definitely was a great distinguishing factor about the group. But one thing that I hope they dont fumble with is the complacency. I do see this notably with Big3/4 companies where they let the initial success or the company recognition do most of the talking where their promotions seem to faulter. Kiss of Life is in an amazing spot and so hopefully it's not taken as a sign to slow down with anything.
I'm a Kissy, a major KIOF stan, BUT I think it's too soon to be making ANY declarative statements about them. They've only got a few months under their belt, that's not enough to predict what the future will hold for them. I've seen groups debut as the hottest thing in the world, but were gone the next year. (bugAboo comes to mind). You never know what's going to happen, in other words. Now, of course I want Kiss of Life to a top group, but that will depend on fan interest, hits, sales, and most importantly exposure. If they can manage that I think they'll be okay. They've had a great start, but they need to maintain that momentum with their next album. If the company can't afford the same care they put into debut the group might lose steam. As a smaller company they have to actively work harder to be noticed, so basically KIOF have to be hitting that gimmick they established hard and hope fans stick around for them.
Defs too early to know their future for sure, but Idk if Kiss of Life and bugaboo would be on the same levels of how they came out onto the scene. But defs know what you mean. The trajectory of some of kpop idols and groups that I have talked about in my previous videos have defs changed so we never know. They will need to put in the work to solidify Kiss of Life's momentum but they do have so much behind the scenes people that have so much experience that it's a good foundation and seeming hopeful-ish
I STAN Kiss of Life & I really hope they make it. They truly have it all. From visuals, to vocals, to rapping & dancing. I hope the girls will be around for a long time.
when i tell you i was disappointed by s2 ent when they announced that they were planning to debut another girl group trust me bc i was FURIOUS. hot issue was one of my all time fav groups and i couldn't stand seeing them getting replaced but honestly i love kiss of life and i consider them roty, also their debut was probably the bast one of 2023 so far so i'm happy s2 learned how to properly manage a girl group!!
Yea, the lack of proper reasoning for why hot issue disbanded kinda annoyed me but I wasn't a complete "follow them on socials" fan to feel mad when kiss of life was announced. Lowkey didn't even realise they were from the same company until last month when I wanted to know more about kiss of life. But yea, their treatment of kiss of life will kinda influence how I see future S2 groups for sure.
Kiss of Life seriously blew me away. I'm not a strong album buyer in general and especially no debuts usually (if at all later when they had a few albums more) but their debut album was the first debut album I ever bought.
Literally, contemplating getting their album too. Like you said, I also don't really buy albums unless they're basically perfection and literally this album is potentially a no skip album for me.
THIS! I had the same concerns and was very worried about the group as well as hesitant to be more invested in the group. I saw the entertainment company label in the thumbnail and i wondered why that looked familiar. and then i realized that it was the same company as Hot Issue and I was like oh dear... But yeah i feel like this time it really will be different.
I remember being blown away by kiof's debut rollout then my sister pointed out it was the same company as hot issue and i was baffled especially with how they could get these trainees and make music like these. I started getting so interested in them but was also scared because if they didn't succeed sooner s2 might've also axed them. As time went on, i learned about lee haein and how the members themselves are very involved in their output. And honestly that's the formula. To have a clear vision and identity for the group perfect for them ( theirs being freedom and being hot girls ) and to know what the members want and reach a compromise from there, while at the same time, knowing how to stand out in the ocean of oversaturated kpop songs and concepts today 1 year later i am so proud with how far kiof has gone already. Reached 100k sales, rookie awards, awards performances, amazing chart placements and first #1 on bugs and their first two music show wins. Also glad s2 is taking it slow (for now) cuz their initial plan to debut a new group every year to expand the company is so crazy and ambitious for a small comapny lol Also to add i do think it was the perfect time for kiss of life to debut. (Even if a popular survival show bg debuted a week later) It was the start of a new gen of kpop, and if they debuted a year earlier or later, they would've gotten overshadowed by big company ggs and their debut probably wouldn't have gotten as much attention as it actually did
Yea, Lee Haein defs did a lot to help propel the success of Kiss of Life for sure. I do have two questions that I wonder if we got to see the alternatives. Like what would have happened if Lee Haein took control of the creative direction of Hot Issue. But then also what would have been the concept if S2 took complete control of the concept of Kiss of Life without the help from th emembers or Lee Haein; like would they have succeeded at a slower rate or just not at all. Having creative input into the group defs helped them out but I think the marketability of the said concept helped so not sure whether they took that into complete consideration or whether it was also luck that helped the concept fit within the current kpop climate.
Yea, if they can do better than Shh, then they will have officially won me over to top my kpop stan list to like top 3. But for the whole advertising like fifty fifty, I think there might need to be a bit of some natural hype that cupid had before they put in that extra effort to heavily push the songs or it'll be a bit of a risk
Thanks for making this video! I was interested in the company's history so I'm glad to have found a video on it Just to clarify though Belle wasn't an SM trainee she addressed the rumour herself, she used to work as a songwriter for SM
Ohh thanks for that. Honestly, she is a little SM-coded so I could kinda see it hahaha but glad she got that songwriting experience to legitimise herself before heading to S2
For now, from what i can see there is not much promotion going on for kiss of life. At least the company must find a focus or pivotal members to promote for each promotion period. It is not favoritism if the members on focus is shifted for every comeback.
kiss of life is doing pretty well for a rookie group coming from a small company. their performances have lots of views, they've done a few youtube variety contents, and have been going to radio shows a lot. natty's sugarcoat song is gaining popularity among korean general public and kpop fans. a rookie group getting 1m views on it's live is pretty good, and their tiktok is doing well. i don't think they have to promote specific members each era, especially when there's 4 of them who all bring something different to the group. natty stood out the most in shh/debut, then belle with her vocals. julie and haneul are also gaining attention for their personality and talent.
Yea, they didn't really go on anything big but I could kinda get it since they're from a smaller company and so they might not have the resources or fame to warrant invitations to go on such programs. I've seen them to other things but yea, it'll have to be a slow climb
@@cloudchungxiao i don't think we can expect many small company rookies to go on many variety shows anymore. there's just not many shows oriented towards idols besides asc, weekly idol, etc. and youtube content is the norm now, either going on youtube channels or making their own content
back when hot issue debuted they were def one of my ult groups but when i saw them getting replaced i got so sad and disappointed. and idk kiss of life just doesn't do it for me. like just the difference in treatment between them and hot issue makes me so mad, they could've been as big as kiss of life is rn if s2 wanted to. i don't see myself stanning kiss of life anytime soon.
Treatment in what way? I feel like there treatment has been pretty similar with some slight differences that offset each other. But yea, defs an unfortunate situation where I could see Hot issue fans being real hesitant about Kiss of Life.
Same for me I’m sorry but I’m not supporting KOL when their shity company just got rid of one of my favorite groups for NO good reason. That company isn’t getting ANYTHING from me EVER again.
Loool im vv late to discovering this vid but I just wanted to say great points! I’m currently falling down another Kiss of Life rabbit hole after their latest comeback and I’d heard of the previous group under S2 however never really dug into it until now Recruiting Belle, Haneul, Julie, especially Natty AND Lee Haein as the creative director was the company’s big break. Seeing as most of them already had prior experience in the industry, as well as connections, public history, established fanbase who'd be eager to support the endeavour, international/American market appeal, fresh perspectives, and obviously INSANE talent. They saw Kiof as the perfect gateway to build their company up from nugudom The company and investors saw more opportunities within Kiss of Life…. Unfortunately for Hot Issue who had to disband due to that. The new venture meant they’d have a new gg in the new generation to maximise their reachability as 5th gen pioneers (instead of getting lost in the oversaturated sea of 4th gen idols). Also being a small company, executing such a task would’ve been infinitely harder had they been juggling multiple groups at once, so they chose to focus on Kiss of Life to pour all of their resources into, and it has turned out to be a huge success that keeps growing exponentially (stream sticky!!!) By sacrificing Hot Issue they were able to reinvest the funds to make sure Kiof would have the quality necessary to compete with today's standards in Kpop So far the management & promotion of Kiof has been great- they seem to put full trust in the girls + the team and theres a lot of creative freedom. Within a year the group has proven how versatile they can be and have already established themselves as a big name in this generation (they’ve collabed with huge names as well). They fill the void of the unapologetic HOT girls in the 5th gen (they stand out among the rest of the dreamy y2k nostalgia/girl crush concepts the other younger groups are doing, understandably). Lots of people are saying they’re the Mamamoo/Sistar etc of this gen + they’re reviving the 2nd gen confidence and boldness!! As well as the 2022/2023 kpop boom that you’ve mentioned in the comments, I think the recent “virality culture” on tiktok/youtube shorts etc also helped in boosting Kiof’s success. This is a whole other topic to get into about internet sociology and how it’s affected the kpop/music industry as a whole ~yada yada~ but in short, in the last 1-2 years (I feel like it started around 2022/early 2023 or around when newjeans took off) I’ve noticed a big increase in trend culture online in the context of kpop- particularly stuff like dance challenges/reposted video clips/viral tiktok audios, most likely coinciding with the boom of tiktok as a whole. Tiktok has become a huge promotional platform for artists bc of the guaranteed success once a viral video or audio is achieved. Safe to say, a lot of what garnered Kiss of Life attention was the circulating clips of their Sugarcoat/Nobody Knows/Midas Touch choreo Just another reason as to why Hot Issue debuted at an unlucky time. They just barely missed when this took off and didn’t get to fully take advantage of short form virality to call attention to their group Ok I think I’m done yappin for now haha
Wow, great insight. It does ultimately feel like direction and timing has done wonders for Kiss of Life in propelling them further than what might be expected from a company that is there size. Yea, I do wonder how much of an overlap there was with Hot Issue's activeness within the industry and the inception of Kiss of Life. There definitely sounded like there was a better starting point from then and so it could have been a reason for such an abrupt ending for Hot Issue. But yea, kinda wild that they just hit their one year mark as of last week-ish.
I’m praying kiss of life gets the hype they deserve, if S2 does fuck up then they should join BLUEDOT entertainment or GF entertainment ( 2 of my favorite groups are under them , JUST B under bluedot and kingdom under GF)
Ohh interesting. Idk if i can heavily equate them to someone just quite just because of how different they feel in that they feel pretty grown almost like elevated risque without going overboards in that sense. Defs wishing them the best though
Yea, they just continue to elevate their success with each comeback. Can't wait for the next one though. Really wanna see what they do with that whole post-credit scene in Sticky
Hot issues disbandment broke my heart! But I have to say every girl group coming from S2 Entertainment has been nothing but bangers!!! Every title track and album is so SOTY worthy it’s crazy to me I definitely think these ladies are gonna so succeed in their careers KISS OF LIFE LET’S GO!!!! 😩❤️
Omg, I listened to the album sampler and it sounds so good. Defs gonna stay up for the release and if it's all amazing. Imma have to cop both the debut and comeback album
Ohh totally get that. But yea, idk if it's new new but it's a great variation to an existing concept. Not sure if my girl group knowledge is lacking but Idk if i've seen what Kiss of Life have been doing in many groups.
HOT ISSUE DESERVED BETTER they should have just debuted KOL while keeping Hot Issue, I know that that would have been a risk, but it’s a risk they should have taken, I think they would have ended up with 2 popular groups instead of one.
Yea unfortunately there wasn't really a noticeable sign that there were all these issues that led to their disbandment. The default answer would have been maybe financially it wasn't the best to keep them but this may not actually be the reasons. Considering Hot Issue was basically building from ground up with no notable viral moment within their short one year career; it's also pretty hard to say that they would have experienced any exponential increased in attention to just pop them off. But yea, would have been interesting to see what would happen if both groups were around considering it seem like the creative director for Kiss of Life wasn't really around while Hot Issue was also around.
@@cloudchungxiao the only reason KOL became so known is because Natty is in it. If they had debuted KOL while Hot Issue stayed a group and promoted them as sister groups, then they both would have made it
I mean there was more than just Natty who helped increase the attention for Kiss of Life. But yea, defs would have been interesting to see how different things would have been if both groups overlapped like that.
Tactic of Kiss of life. In my eyes kissy. There show there real. And make projects open real concept from member. It's not difficult for fans to fall in love with each other's charms. But for hot issues it mistake production concept. But I hope every one members there has good future after .❤too there well.
Ohh for sure, I feel like the AOA scandal did impact Cherry Bullet in some ways but it was a real temporary thing where it kinda feels minimal in comparison to when Aloha Oe got released and they got with the cultural appropriation claims.
Not that this matters but the reason KOL couldn’t get a set for them on Mcountdown for their debut stage (which was ok) was cuz they already used their money for that on HI but at the same time they didn’t need one cuz they already had different sets on other music shows
Ohh? Where did you get this info from? Hot Issue would have disbanded a while ago and considering they can provide sets for the other show, why would MCountdown be any different?
