Perez Hilton asks, in reference to 2NE1, "Why can't we have girl groups this hot in America???"

I prefer "Lonely" to their latest (the voices don't match that sort of dance song, in my opinion -- at least the intro. Maybe it's just that one member...):


What was the last popular native girl group here in the States? Pussycat Dolls? Destiny's Child? I don't think Danity Kane made it big...

Korean girl groups have been  pushing the boundaries of decency in South Korea and igniting controversy as a result, but they're not as bad as our artists(Lady Gaga being the latest example). Given the standards of Korean society, girl groups and female singers may mix sexiness in with "innocence," but for the most part they will work to preserve the innocent image because having a bad reputation can negatively impact business. In contrast, Uhmerican women don't mind details of their sex lives getting out so much -- sometimes they'll even be the ones revealing the information in an interview. (Stupid, stupid women.) In South Korea, any hint of a sex scandal is a career-killer. (See what happened to IVY -- her career has stalled and her recent attempted comeback fizzled, as far as I can tell.) Korean male fans still prefer a virginal image.

Anyway... some possible explanations for the absence of "hot girl groups" here:
(1) The record companies may think that there isn't much of a market for girl groups in the U.S. (Korean girl groups are trying to become crossover successes here, but I don't think they are making much of an impact.)
It may not be the right time, though in any mass-marketed fashion trends are cycles...

(2) Uhmerican women are such narcissistic princesses that the days of maintaining a good work ethic within a group made up of women are long gone. In South Korea, even if one member a group becomes popular, that person is still expected to keep her or his public persona relatively low-key. Some may eventually start a solo career, but any news about conflict or feuding within a group reflects poorly on them. It may still be easier for males to form a group because of the male orientation towards the group. And they all have a vested interested in keeping the group together because of the benefits their work brings. But for (Uhmerican) women, the desire to be on display and the resulting competition with other women works against group harmony. (Those men seeking seek fame and stardom may be appearance-conscious and attention whores, but I think their ego feeds less of perceived intragroup popularity among the general populace. As long as their fame brings success with individual women, that suffices?)

(Girls groups have become a joke in Japan, with the various Morning Masume projects and AKB48?)