When people hear "idol groups", they think of up-tempo songs. However, that trend is coming to an end as idol groups are climbing up the music charts with slow-tempo songs.

B1A4's January single "Lonely" was a mid-tempo song that was lead mostly by brass and guitar. It was a song about breaking up a relationship with a loved one, and the song was given the top spot by the fans in most music programs during the month of January.

CNBLUE's "Can't Stop" is also a mid-tempo song that begins with lead vocal Jung Yonghwa's voice singing over a piano melody.

MBLAQ released their new title song "Like a Man" on March 24th. It's a slow-tempo R&B ballad.

These songs clearly demonstrate the breakaway that K-Pop idol stars are having from powerful, up-tempo songs. What is the reason for this trend?

One reason might be that while girl groups can change their concept from cute to sexy, it's much more difficult for guy groups to completely change their concept without changing the style of music.

However, there may be more to it than just a simple concept change. One music producer commented, saying, "It's an attempt on their part to bring a more mature execution of music to the fans. The best way to show the public maturation in musical abilities is to execute slow songs well."

They say that it takes most idols close to two years before they are cemented as one of the staple idol stars in K-Pop. The two year period is a time of establishing their identity as a group that is different from the sea of idol stars that is flooding the K-Pop scene day in and day out.

However, it is equally important to continually evolve musically so that the fans are not experiencing the same thing over and over again. B1A4, CNBlue, and MBLAQ are all over 4 years old as idol groups, and it was due time for a change.