THE PINKETTES debuted fresh off of the survival show THE PINK TAPE in 2018 with the mini album WELCOME 2 UR TAPE! which featured their iconic title track, BOOMBAYAH. it was no wonder the group was a success from the get-go, considering the line-up had already had its share of limelight pre-debut, its two most popular members apart of the renowned LEE family and KANAROT family. taking after their company girl group predecessors, they earned their first win at debut. the song went onto bag six music show wins, often praised for the art direction of it’s respective album, which would go on to be a recurring point of acclamation for the pinkettes.
in the earlier half of 2019, the quintet had their first comeback with the mini album PINK IS THE NEW BLACK, and while they achieved domestic success, they were met with an influx of international success, fueling the girl crush concept with the album and title track, BLACK DRESS, which went onto score seven music show wins. this same year, the girls came back with their single GET IT, which peaked at #1 on music charts and earned them their first PAK. however, with this commercial success came the critique of the girls’ image. the groups fashion choices were often criticized for being too provocative and they were being picked apart by netizens, especially male netizens, for their supposed debauchery and individual feminist agenda. they were regularly slut-shamed, commonly being accused of trying to be too “ sexually liberated ” for the general public.
PRETTY SAVAGE was the groups first release of 2020, a controversial single which was presumably a response to the criticism they received from netizens. during this era, they wore even more immodest stage outfits, purposefully challenging the discourse surrounding them. due to this, a boycott lead by male k-netz was formed against the pinkettes, with the intent of opposing their concept and comeback. though the backlash was considerably hefty, this didn’t stop them from bagging three music show wins—while substantially less wins than their previous releases, their streams and views outshined, racking in at 9M and 24M respectively in just 24 hours. although this would not be nearly the peak of their success, with their second comeback this year and first full album being released: HOT PINK. this album and title track went onto be their biggest comeback so far, selling 1.7M copies overall and earning them their second PAK. they also promoted the b-side CRAZY OVER YOU, which also charted fairly well alongside the other side tracks on the album. hot pink was one of those songs that was everywhere and so were they. the girls went on many variety shows during this era, often going viral for funny moments as well as a plethora of other things (ending fairies, performance skills, outfits, etc.) this was like the signature sound for the pinkettes franchise/brand or a theme song, at this point, with how iconic it became within the industry.
their first comeback after officially solidifying themselves as a powerhouse in their generation was in 2021 with their EP HAVE MY CAKE AND EAT IT 2! and while it performed well commercially, earning four wins, fans seemed to be disappointed with how different the title track BIRTHDAY sounded from the hit that was hot pink. they wanted that girl crush, sexier sound that they found from previous releases, but failed to find in birthday and their second comeback of this year with the mini album TOTAL SERENDIPITY. this also performed well, the title track RING THE ALARM scoring six wins and charting in the top 10, but this lead to BFF’s, casual fans, and netizen’s alike to raise the phrase “ LOSING THEIR SOUND ” + “ FORGETTING THEIR ROOTS, ” regarding the group. this era, however, would mark the first piece of music that was self-written, or at least the first self-written or self-produced work that was publicized.
the pinkettes kicked off 2022 with the hit single MIDNIGHT PROMISE, another work written and co-produced by LONDON. it strayed from the concept fans were so desperately waiting for to return but it struck gold nonetheless with its retro sound and styling. the song was so popular that it even attained a RAK. they continued to build up on that triumph with the mini album THE VILLAIN, a fan-favorite among BFF’s. they climbed their way back into the hearts of the general public and netizen’s with it’s nine win claiming title track ATTITUDE, peaking at #1 on charts.
in JUNE 2023, the group came back with the release of their second full album THE DEVIL WEARS PINK which in-turn, they saw the HOT PINK EFFECT return. in spite of the major criticism regarding the title track QUEENCARD’s cringey lyrics, they still went onto earn yet another PAK and sold close to 2M copies. all of the side tracks in the album saw spots in the top 20 in charts, especially its promotional b-side BYE BYE. though some say that bye bye exceeds queencard in musical quality by miles.