#summerqueens

Summer 2021 marks another summer without a SISTAR comeback. As every SISTAR fan, (and hopefully every KPOP fan knows) SISTAR disbanded in May 2017, after releasing their final EP Lonely. I only really got into KPOP in 2018, so I discovered SISTAR much later, but when I heard their 2013 summer hit, Give It To Me, I knew I was going to be dragged into the rabbit hole that is SISTAR’s discography. I loved everything about that era… as a fashion enthusiast and someone with a background in dance, I always look at the WHOLE era, as well as the song, of course, when I’m making my assessment of a KPOP era. That’s what I did first with SISTAR’s Give It To Me.

GITM gives the audience a Moulin Rouge vibe, which I thought was so unique when I first watched the MV and stage performances. That’s one of the things I always loved about the original “summer queens” themselves, SISTAR- their summer concepts were always fresh, original, and unique. It’s easy to think that there’s only so many summer concepts/ideas a group can pull off or when people think of summer concepts, they only think of songs with beachy vibes. But SISTAR pulled off a number of (always classy) sexy, summer concepts- whether it was the flirty, retro theme that Shake It bought upon us in Summer 2015 or the mature, sophisticated theme that was presented by I Like That in Summer 2016. (One of my favorite SISTAR eras overall!)

Shake It reminds me of the “comic book aesthetic” with the bright, flashy colors and the bold-lettered art themes. There’s a minor storyline in the MV, which adds to the songs charm and definitely “feels” like a retro summer, although I couldn’t get over the fact that this song doesn’t really have a bridge or substantial verses. I think this song is simply meant to be fun and not a song where you think too deeply about the lyrics, so in that way, this song excels, because it’s incredibly catchy and whenever it comes on my playlist, its upbeat rhythms always give me a boost of happy.

Like GITM, I Like That is one of my absolute favorite SISTAR eras. The song, choreography (which seemed more complex compared to their previous era dance routines), outfits, and concept in general were unique and unlike anything they had done previously. I also really liked the lyrics in this song, because even though it’s about finding out about a cheating boyfriend, instead of just blaming the douch-y boyfriend, SISTAR blames themselves for thinking that they can “change him,” (A concept that every woman, including myself, has thought in regards to a man… moral of the story: don’t fall in love with potential! But I digress…) which is actually a self-aware twist to something that’s (unfortunately) so common in relationships.

One of the things about I Like That that I liked (😊) is how they made use of props in the most effective and efficient ways in both the MV and the stage performances. There’s something to be said about props being used properly- in my opinion, if you choose to have props in your stage performances, it kind of makes or breaks the performance, because if those props are just a waste of space, it will show. Luckily for SISTAR, they not only used props to enhance the performance, but they made sure to have control over the setting and not the other way around. I especially liked how they used their long flowing skirts as curtains, making it part of their routine, and the stage props (as well as the MV props) didn’t feel too close together or “tight,” adding to the song’s glamour.

Despite all of the good things I Like That had to offer, my only complaint is that member Bora didn’t get enough of a rap verse. With most K-pop songs, l normally don’t think the rap goes with the song, but in I Like That, I thought Bora’s verse actually went with the song, so I wish she had gotten another rap verse in place of the somewhat awkward bridge (“I’m so fine, I’m so fine…”) that seems out of place compared to the melody and rhythms of the song.

If we’re talking about “conventional summer themes,” I would say Touch My Body and Loving U would be the most “summer-y” when it comes to the traditional K-Pop summer concept, but even when they went the conventional summer route, SISTAR stayed true to their unique group flair. Even though the navy crop top and floral print shorts from the Touch My Body era is an ensemble that you could probably buy at Target, it’s still an iconic outfit and one of the stage outfits I think of when I think of SISTAR. 2012 summer splash Loving U is certainly a bop and the outfits from that era seem like laid-back and casual summer outfits that you would wear to the beach or to an amusement park. In terms of the song, it’s a good song if you’re looking for a light pop song, but it’s not on my top 5 list of favorite SISTAR songs.

By this point, I knew I was a fan, and as I was discovering more of SISTAR’s songs, I came across their debut song from 2010 called Push Push. It’s a catchy enough, electro-pop song, which is decent, but if that was the first SISTAR song I listened to and not Give It To Me, it may have taken me longer to get into SISTAR’s music. There wasn’t a discernible “concept” surrounding Push Push, so it’s hard to really place it on the same level as some of their other summer jams. I will say that one of their live performances of this song was at an amusement park (which you can easily find on YouTube), and that was a cool aesthetic and it must have been a fun experience for the girls.

A song that’s less popular, but still one of my favorite SISTAR songs is 2010’s Shady Girl. It received moderate success when it was released in August 2010, and SISTAR were still a “rookie group” at this time. (It had only been 2 months since they debuted in the industry at this point!) I thought the flight attendant theme was a little cliché, but the outfits were still on point. Most SISTAR choreography is fairly easy, and Shady Girl is no exception. This era is still one of my favorites, despite the fact that they went the conventional route and it wasn’t really the “sexy summer” theme that SISTAR are known for; however, I think because this group was still trying to find their footing in the Korean entertainment industry as rookies, this concept tended to be “safer” than some of their other concepts.

And of course, the song that put SISTAR on the map and defined their superstar status was none other than 2011’s So Cool. So Cool is a dance-pop tune that stayed in the Top 10 for 5 consecutive weeks and was the first number one single by this group. If you watch the music video and the stage performances, you’ll notice that the choreography in the music video is different from the stage performances, because of a dance move in the MV that was deemed inappropriate in South Korea’s conservative society; hence the slight choreography change for the stage performances. I like the general idea behind the lyrics of the song- that idea being the way to get revenge on a horrible ex-boyfriend is to look amazing (which they do! I love ALL of their stage outfits during this era…) and to remind yourself that you’re “too cool” to waste your time being sad over him. So, in a way, I like the sexy, empowering theme behind this song; however, while the song is catchy, it is easy to get tired of after a few listens.

Spring 2012 brought Alone upon us. Although this comeback was not during the summer (obviously), it was different than what SISTAR had previously done up until this point, and when I discovered this song, I was here for it. The black and red combo for the concept pictures really suited the vibe that the song gave. Alone is a ballad that talks about heartbreak and the feelings of loneliness that you experience afterwards, which is not only real, but it is also a universal feeling that anyone can understand and relate to. While I liked the outfits during this era, I thought they were purposely made “plainer” to emphasize the jewelry, which is a fashion statement in and of itself.

One of the things about SISTAR that I find so admirable is that they were able to hold their own against artists from the “Big 3 Companies.” Any K-Pop fan knows that if a group hails from SM, JYP, or YG, that group is almost guaranteed to be successful in the K-Pop industry, because of the resources, connections, budget, and experience that the CEOs of these Big 3 Companies have managing (successful) artists in the industry. It is a well-known fact that SISTAR is not from one of the Big 3 Companies- they were managed by a smaller company called Starship Entertainment. Even despite the fact that their success wasn’t guaranteed when they first started, they were still able to “sell the concepts” for every one of the songs that Starship churned out when comeback season came.

A girl group from a smaller company was able to, not only compete with girl groups from Big 3 Companies, they were also able to become the most streamed girl group EVER with over 1 billion streams in their 7-year career together! And not only that, they have THE MOST consecutive #1 singles by a K-Pop girl group EVER with 9 singles under their belt. Not bad for a girl group that came from a smaller entertainment company. I think it is human nature to root for the underdog, so it really speak volumes about how hard SISTAR had to have worked to compete with girl groups from the Big 3 Companies, which makes me even prouder for them when they achieved their success together.

Eu era e ainda sou uma grande fã de Sistar, é uma pena elas terem dado disband há algum tempo atrás... ~ chorei muito, inclusive

Sempre serão meus amorezinhos e estarão no meu coração, é como dizem... summer queens até o fim.

Fico realmente feliz de terem acabado na paz, no momento certo, com o consentimento de todas e depois de ter feito história, não podia ser um disband melhor e digno das rainhas do verão q elas são <3