In just one year of their debut, Crayon Pop has become a sensation in the music industry. Is this thanks to noise marketing or because they are unique?

Five-member girl group Crayon Pop's popularity is astounding. Their song 'Bar Bar Bar' is in the top 10 in various music charts, and many parody videos have been uploaded onto YouTube. Not only that, even cheerleaders are doing the now famous 'Five-cylinder Dance' at baseball games, complete with the helmet and white glove attire.

What's even more interesting is that 'Bar Bar Bar' is just now gaining popularity, more than a whopping month after its release. In the digital music community where a song's success is decided in real-time immediately upon release, this song's belated and sudden increase in popularity is quite peculiar. In a time when many artists and idol groups debut and are quickly forgotten, how did Crayon Pop become so popular? We will try to get uncover the secret to Crayon Pop's success.

Did Crayon Pop Use the 'Ilbe' Controvery to Its Advantage?

Since there are many places to read about the controversy of one Crayon Pop member's language on 'Ilbe' (a politically conservative website) or the incident with the agency representative's website, we won't go too far into details about them. On the other hand, many believe that the group had a lot of help making a name for itself from the 'higher-ups.'

There are very few people who acknowledged Crayon Pop when they debuted into the music industry with their first mini-album and single release on July 12, 2012. Unlike other girl groups, they took on the image concept of troublemakers, with retro Euro-dance music from the 1970s and 1980s. Even still, in the flood of pop idol groups, Crayon Pop likewise had a difficult time making a name for itself. Being signed with a small agency did nothing to help increase awareness of the group, either.

And despite whether it was Crayon Pop's intention to become the center of controversy, it can be said for sure that they were a hot topic on the Internet last June, right around the time when their fourth single, 'Bar Bar Bar,' was released. This was as a result of the 'Ilbe' controversy, and some say that this was a tactic of 'noise-marketing.'

Furthermore, fellow celebrities' comments on social networking sites and on air about Crayon Pop's issues further contributed to increased public awareness of the group. As a result, there was a significant raise in number on Internet search engines for 'Crayon Pop' and 'Bar Bar Bar.'

Did the Novelty of the Group's Image Make Them Popular?

For the most part, it can be said that Korea's girl group images have already been established. They either emphasize a feminine sexuality or a strong and defiant 'women warrior' image. Otherwise, they try to go completely the opposite way and package the groups with 'purity.'

Then what about Crayon Pop? Much unlike other groups, Crayon Pop comes onstage in helmets, white gloves, and workout-type clothes. They then dance and sing in a comically juvenile way on stage. Perhaps the friendly and cute image of Crayon Pop makes them more approachable.

It is also noteworthy that instead of a younger audience in their teens and twenties, Crayon Pop fans are mostly men in their thirties and forties who enjoy the group's song and dance. It seems as if these older fans enjoy the charm of the members who are like kids having fun with music instead of performing songs as a career, like some other groups.

Crayon Pop's 'Bar Bar Bar' has a title and chorus that is familiar to everyone worldwide, and gives one a sense of having heard the song before. That is why middle-aged and older people have come to like this addictive song even more. For a song of the 21^st century, some might say that the song's melody and lyrics are too simple or childish, but it can be argued that this is actually an advantage and a great factor in the growing popularity of the song.

All of this makes one wonder just exactly how long Crayon Pop's fame will last. Hopefully people will stop attributing the group's success solely to 'noise-marketing' and instead point to Crayon Pop's unique music as the reason for their rising popularity in the music industry.