79% of THIS K-pop Girl Group's Fandom Are Filipinos — Label Highlights Its Advantage
Amid its strong and famous competitors, Rookie girl group UNIS is establishing its position in the K-pop scene with the power of its Filipino fandom. Why are they popular in the Philippines?
On July 15, the K-media outlet YTN wrote an article about the influence of Filipinos on the current status of UNIS.
UNIS is an eight-member girl group launched in March 2024 by F&F Entertainment. The team comprising Hyeonju, Nana, Gehlee, Kotoko, Yunha, Elisia, Yoona, and Seowon was selected through the idol survival program, “Universe Ticket.”
Despite its low viewership rating, the 5th-gen girl group from a small/medium-sized label has surprisingly high topicality from netizens, especially on short-form video-sharing platforms like TikTok.
On March 27, UNIS released their debut mini-album, “WE UNIS” and this album ranked 8th in the initial week of debut albums by girl groups, and did well on global music charts in Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, Latvia, Malaysia, Mexico, the United States, Switzerland, Thailand, Finland, and Australia.
Among the aforementioned countries, UNIS is extremely popular in the Philippines. In fact, during their ‘U&iS Fansign Philippine Tour’ held in Cebu and Manila, they filled the whole mall with spectators, in addition to the limited fans who were able to attend personally.
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During an interview, F&F CEO Choi Jae Woo acknowledged UNIS’s popularity in the country and said:
“We analyze the gender, age, and region of people who follow UNIS on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. We also analyze the language of people who comment on UNIS’s posts to develop strategies.
In the beginning, the Filipino fandom was around 79% due to the popularity of the Filipino members. Now, it has decreased to around 60%, but the overall fandom has increased. I think UNIS fandom has expanded to other countries.”
In particular, Filipinos initially supported the team mainly because of its members from the Philippines, Elisia and Gehlee, and its half-Filipinos-Korean member, Hyeonju.
However, as the group became more known in the country, Filos eventually recognized the skills and charms of the other members and the group.
Seeing this, CEO Choi declared that the Filipino fandom will “serve as the foundation for UNIS’ future growth.”
He also highlighted its advantages, saying:
“Since the Philippines is an English-speaking country, English is also used when creating secondary creative works related to UNIS. As a result, users in North America and other English-speaking countries have more opportunities to access UNIS’s content. Right now, UNIS’s songs and content are spreading to other Southeast Asian countries based in the Philippines.”
UNIS will then return to the music scene on August 6 with its first single album, “CURIOUS.”
As a spoiler, F&F hinted that the octet’s concept and music will follow what the fandom wants to see and hear, retrieved through data analysis.
Whether UNIS’ achievements during its debut activities, such as ranking 8th in initial sales of girl group debut albums, were “beginner’s luck” or the insight of the fandom that recognized her potential, will be determined during this comeback activity.
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