Can CRAXY Escape “NUGUDOM”?
SAI Entertainment
It’s rare for K-Pop groups to acknowledge the pitfalls of the industry, but CRAXY, a girl group under SAI Entertainment, is doing just that with their new single “NUGUDOM”. “When it hurts, more pain, the bigger I smile,” CRAXY declares in the single before admitting, “We won’t be loved/ I know/ I know, right?”
The video for “NUGUDOM” is visually powerful. Half of the video takes place backstage as the group prepares for a concert. Intercut throughout is the group performing in a theater space with masked figures who conceptually resemble the nasty virtual peanut gallery that makes fun of smaller groups. “Come on shall we dance?” They ask, but it’s not necessarily a question as a dare. Try to take your best shot at these girls.
The label nugu is rarely a compliment in K-Pop. The term translates in Korean, literally, to “Who?” Say it and you can feel the bitchiness skate off your tongue. For K-Pop idols who have trained for years to debut, nugudom is likened to a dungeon. The term refers to an idol who comes from a small company with little funds to support audience growth. For some fans it’s a term of endearment, but for many fans, to be nugu means you’re mocked or looked upon with pity.
CRAXY fits the bill of a nugu group. The five members, Wooah, Karin, Hyejin, Swan, and ChaeY debuted in 2020 just two weeks before the pandemic shut down the world. CRAXY’s debut was funded, largely, by a Makestar project, which raised over $7,000 to release their first album “My Universe”. The album was well-received by a small number of critics, and each subsequent release has shown a great potential of growth. But while CRAXY has worked hard over the last three years to gain new fans, their comebacks have gone unappreciated.
“NUGUDOM” strikes back at this fact. In pre-release marketing materials, SAI Entertainment described the song as one “meant to criticize people who ignore and mock smaller artists because they are unknown and share their ambition to survive in the industry.” This comeback poses a larger question, too. Is an artist who debuts at a larger company really all that better than an idol who signs with a smaller company? Or do these wealthy companies just have more money and resources to market their idols well?
For decades K-Pop’s biggest groups came from the “Big Three'' companies: SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment and YG Entertainment. But in recent months, SM Entertainment has been the center of a bidding war between Kakao, a Korean industry giant, and Hybe, one of the first K-Pop conglomerates that houses BTS, NewJeans, SEVENTEEN and LE SSERAFIM.
“One of the first signs of upheaval came in February when SM Entertainment pushed out its founder, the producer Lee Soo-man, considered the godfather of K-pop, over allegations of financial improprieties,” John Yoon wrote in a story for the New York Times.
Soon, Kakao and Hybe began a war over ownership, each with their own goals for advancing their weight in K-Pop’s global expansion. But SM’s staff saw Hybe’s acquisition as a hostile takeover, and protested the move. Both companies released several videos that appealed directly to fans and shareholders; in one corner was SM pushing for Kakao and in another was Hybe, who pledged to “respect” SM’s artists but promised “an era of change”. Hybe sought an injunction to block Kakao’s move to own the company. “In the end, Yoon wrote, “Kakao’s deep pockets won out.”
The potential fall of SM Entertainment was inconceivable even a year ago, and the ensuing feud for ownership was nasty. But this story underscores something murkier: As K-Pop expands, it is becoming increasingly difficult for small companies like SAI to make an impact. The groups that are thriving are those backed by companies with deep pockets.
Of course, there are exceptions. Just two weeks ago, FIFTY FIFTY made history by entering Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for the first time with their single “Cupid”. They are the only group from a small label to do so. FIFTY FIFTY’s success was a shock even to their label ATTRACT’s CEO Jeong Hongjoon who told Hankyung, a Korean publication, that he sold his car and ate cheap meals to finance the group’s debut.
"I hadn't even thought of Billboard,” he said. “There was no global marketing budget, so I visited local label companies and asked them to listen to our music at least once.” FIFTY FIFTY’s success is only acelearting. This week they charted at number 85 on Billboard.
PIXY, another girl group from a small label, is also receiving unexpected North American support with their tour KARMA IS A B. Their latest EP “CHOSEN KARMA” goes beyond the typical girl crush concept by creating a concept that positions them as powerful, autonomous women. The girl group is currently traveling to 22 cities across America, and several shows have sold out. That tour has successfully focused closely on top-level experiences for PIXY’s fans, named WINXY, with affordable merch prices and several VIP options for fans to meet PIXY. When Leo Presents, the tour’s promoter, unveiled plans for a lightstick the response was so overwhelming that the company decided to produce enough for every fan at each stop.
But CRAXY’s direct engagement with the classicism in K-pop presents something lacking in other releases: a genuine sense of scrutiny, and an active questioning of why girl groups, specifically, are undervalued so much. Under this internal dialogue, listeners are prodded about what we want from K-Pop groups: Are we here, CRAXY seems to ask, for the talent or for the excellent marketing that unfortunately leads to parasocial relationships?
“You can bet on me,” the girls prod us on “NUGUDOM”. “I’ll never stop” Their tenaciousness is being rewarded, at least incrementally. Compared to previous releases that barely broke 400k views on YouTube, “NUGUDOM” has already surprised 1 million views just 2 weeks after its release. Say what you want about the strategy. At least CRAXY is audacious enough to call out the inequalities in the industry.
