Dance trend brings a 13-year-old song and its disbanded girl group back into the spotlight
A K-pop girl group that disbanded eight years ago is enjoying an unexpected revival after one of its 13-year-old songs went viral on social media, climbing music charts and introducing the group to a new generation of listeners.
Bestie, a four-member group that debuted in 2013, has seen its second digital single "Love Options" gain renewed popularity after fans began pairing it with dance performances by younger K-pop idols.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the song had peaked at No. 14 on Melon's Top 100 chart in South Korea. It also reached No. 3 on Apple Music's chart in Taiwan and No. 10 in South Korea and Vietnam.
The resurgence began in late July when a K-pop fan uploaded a short-form video pairing "Love Options" with footage of rookie girl group Hearts2Hearts performing on KBS' music program "Music Bank" earlier that month.
The video drew attention for how closely Hearts2Hearts' choreography matched the older song, despite the two having no connection.
As the clip spread, other fans began pairing "Love Options" with performances by Hearts2Hearts and other K-pop acts, generating similar videos across TikTok and Instagram Reels.
The trend gained further momentum when groups including Zerobaseone, Stay C and Rescene joined the challenge, performing the song's signature choreography and sharing videos on social media.
The fan-driven trend eventually brought Bestie itself back into the spotlight.
All four members reunited on Oct. 17 to release a choreography video before returning to a televised music program for the first time in more than 4,000 days.
A video of the group's performance, uploaded Saturday, had garnered approximately 4.75 million views on YouTube as of Tuesday.
Music critic Lim Hee-yun attributed the song's renewed appeal partly to its distinctive sound, which contrasts with contemporary K-pop trends.
"At a time when trendy songs involving international songwriters dominate K-pop, older songs like 'Love Options' really stand out to listeners," Lim said. "I think audiences have been craving these kinds of cheesy, old-fashioned melodies."
He said younger listeners may find the song refreshing precisely because it differs from the polished productions that dominate today's industry.
"Even younger K-pop fans find songs like 'Love Options' entertaining because there simply aren't many songs like that these days," he said.
However, Lim cautioned that Bestie's renewed popularity may be temporary, noting that older songs periodically resurface through viral trends.
"For Bestie to create a sensation like Rescene, there would need to be another extraordinary wave of content, followed by a third," he said.
jaaykim@heraldcorp.com
