A comeback, in terms of publicity, is a return by a well-known person to the activity in which they initially obtained their fame. Comebacks can occur in all walks of life, and have been noted to occur in entertainment, sports, and politics.
A comeback may occur after a public figure has been forced to withdraw from the public eye due to a real or perceived scandal.
An entertainer may make a comeback after having been absent from their area of entertainment for a time.
In South Korea, Comeback (K-pop), talent agencies stage-manage the debut of new acts in order to create anticipation for the new act, which will often officially debut live on one of the main television music programs with a "debut stage". For the debut single, acts will have an overall "concept", a marketing hook, which influences the name of the act, clothes, choreography, catch phrases and how they are presented; within bands individual members will have a personal concept, this being a role that they will play within the band, e.g. leader, visual, maknae, rapper etc. Once a rookie act's debut cycle has ended they enter their second promotional cycle with a "comeback", called as such even when the musician or group in question did not go on hiatus. [1] Each promotional cycle will be presented with its own concept.
In sports, a comeback occurs where an athlete or a team returns to success after a period of poor performance or inactivity. "The comeback may be the most compelling phenomenon in sports. ... Comebacks in individual sports like tennis, boxing, or golf occur more commonly than in team sports, as athletes in these games have more control over their destiny". [2]
A politician may make a comeback after having left public life, either voluntarily or through loss of an election. [3]
A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Many boy bands dance as well as sing, usually giving highly choreographed performances. South Korean boy bands usually also have designated rappers.
K-pop, short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, rock, jazz, gospel, reggae, electronic dance, folk, country, disco, and classical on top of its traditional Korean music roots. The term "K-pop" became popular in the 2000s, especially in the international context. The Korean term for domestic pop music is gayo, which is still widely used within South Korea. While "K-pop" can refer to all popular music or pop music from South Korea, it is colloquially often used in a narrower sense for any Korean music and artists associated with the entertainment and idol industry in the country, regardless of the genre.
Shinhwa is a South Korean six-member boy band based in Seoul, composed of Eric Mun, Lee Min-woo, Kim Dong-wan, Shin Hye-sung, Jun Jin, and Andy Lee. Launched by SM Entertainment on March 24, 1998, the group signed with Good Entertainment in 2004 before creating their Shinhwa Company to manage their career as a band. The band struggled initially with their first album before finding commercial success with their sophomore album T.O.P.. When their contract with SM Entertainment expired in July 2003, all six members signed with Good Entertainment and assumed creative control with the release of Brand New. That same year, members began to pursue individual careers.
Jung Ji-hoon, better known by his stage name Rain, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, dancer, actor, and record producer. Rain's musical career includes seven albums, 28 singles and numerous concert tours around the world. He achieved breakthrough success with his third Korean album, It's Raining (2004), which spawned the number one single of the same name. The album sold a million copies in Asia, and established Rain as an international star.
Groove Over Dose, known by the acronym g.o.d, is a South Korean boy band formed by SidusHQ. Debuting in 1999, the group became one of the most popular boy bands of the early 2000s in South Korea. The members had gone on to solo careers in the entertainment industry after indefinitely discontinuing group activity in 2005 following the departure of a member. However, they regrouped as a quintet and made a comeback in July 2014. Although the group is largely known for their "story telling" lyrical style and signature blend of R&B and rap, their repertoire features a diverse array of genres ranging from hip hop to funk.
BigBang is a South Korean boy band formed by YG Entertainment. The group consists of four members: G-Dragon, T.O.P, Taeyang, and Daesung. Originally a five-piece band, Seungri retired from the entertainment industry in March 2019. Dubbed the "Kings of K-pop", they helped spread the Korean Wave internationally and are considered one of the most influential acts in K-pop. They are known for their trendsetting musical experimentation, self-production, and stage presence.
Wonder Girls (Korean: 원더걸스) was a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The group debuted in February 2007 with the single "Irony" and 5 members: Yeeun, Sunye, Sunmi, Hyuna and Sohee. After Hyuna's departure in July, Yubin was added into the group prior to the release of their debut studio album, The Wonder Years (2007). The album spawned the hit single "Tell Me," which topped various South Korea's on and offline music charts.
AOA is a South Korean girl group formed by FNC Entertainment. The original 2012 eight-member line-up included: Choa, Jimin, Yuna, Youkyung, Hyejeong, Mina, Seolhyun and Chanmi. Youkyung left the group in 2016, while Choa left in 2017 due to mental health reasons, followed by Mina in 2019 to pursue her acting career, and Jimin in 2020 due to bullying allegations. Yuna and Seolhyun left in 2021 and 2022 respectively after their contracts expired. The group currently consists of only Chanmi.
AKMU, also known as Akdong Musician, is a South Korean sibling duo consisting of Lee Chan-hyuk and Lee Su-hyun who debuted under YG Entertainment in April 2014 with studio album Play after winning SBS' K-pop Star 2.
First Love is the sixth single album by South Korean girl group After School. The maxi-single marks the first main single release not to feature a line-up change for the group, as well as the group's last Korean release before going on an indefinite hiatus.
"Mr. Chu" is a song by South Korean girl group Apink. The song is their 5th Korean single and served as the lead single from their 4th mini-album Pink Blossom. It was released on March 31, 2014, by A Cube Entertainment. The song composed by Duble Sidekick. The song's music video was directed by Digipedi and released on the same day. Apink performed the song for the first time on KBS's Music Bank on April 4.
Boys Republic is a South Korean boy band consisting of five members: Onejunn, Sunwoo, Sungjun, Minsu, and Suwoong. They are Universal Music's first K-pop idol group. Boys Republic debuted on June 5, 2013 with the single "Party Rock". On September 12, 2018 they announced that they would go on indefinite hiatus.
Music programs of South Korea are broadcast weekly, with different artists performing on the shows to promote their music.
Lovelyz (Korean: 러블리즈) is a South Korean girl group formed in 2014 by Woollim Entertainment and is the company's first girl group. The group consists of eight members: Baby Soul, Jiae, Jisoo, Mijoo, Kei, Jin, Sujeong and Yein. Their debut album, Girls' Invasion, was released on November 17, 2014.
Reboot is the third and final studio album by South Korean girl group Wonder Girls. It was released on August 3, 2015, through JYP Entertainment. The Wonder Girls were more involved in the composition of this album, with each member having writing and/or production credits on at least one song; each song has credits for at least one member. This is the first album in years to feature member Sunmi and the first since the departure of members Sunye and Sohee. The album musically conveys a 1980s-inspired style, incorporating genres including synthpop, hip hop, pop rock and dance-pop.
Chained Up is the second studio album by the South Korean boy band VIXX. It was released on November 10, 2015 under the label of Jellyfish Entertainment. It features the single "Chained Up".
The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 2 is the fourth extended play (EP) by South Korean boy band BTS. It was released on November 30, 2015, by Big Hit Entertainment. Available in two versions, the EP comprises nine tracks, with "Run" as its lead single.
R U Ready? is the second studio album recorded by South Korean girl group Lovelyz. It was released digitally and physically on February 26, 2017 by Woollim Entertainment and distributed by CJ E&M Music. The album was re-released under the title Now, We on May 2, 2017.
"Lo Siento" is a trilingual song that was recorded by South Korean boy band Super Junior. The song features Dominican-American singer Leslie Grace and producers Play-N-Skillz; it was released on Replay (2018), a repackaged version of the band's eighth studio album Play (2017). SM Entertainment, Label SJ and iriver released the track as the album's lead single on April 12, 2018. Daniel "Obi" Klein, Charli Taft, Andreas Oberg, and Juan "Play" and Oscar "Skillz" Salinas composed the song, and its lyrics were written in Korean, Spanish and English by Kenzie, Mario Caceres, Yasmil Marrufo, Grace, as well as Super Junior members Heechul and Eunhyuk. The song describes love at first sight; it marks the band's first collaboration with foreign artists and their first venture into Latin pop.
Shape of Love is the eleventh extended play by the South Korean boy group Monsta X. It was released by Starship Entertainment and distributed by Kakao Entertainment on April 26, 2022.
One of the unique things about album releases by K-pop artists is that they are routinely called 'comebacks' even when there's been no evidence that the musician or group went away or, in the conventional sports usage of the term, experienced a setback or loss.