Opinionated Profile of BESTie

 

BESTie was a group I first noticed when they released their second single “Love Options” back in 2013, but that I didn’t truly start to like until the release of “Thank U Very Much” about a year later. After that, as BESTie released awesome single after awesome single, they were headed straight for my groups-territory. 

I’m not sure if most of you already knew this but three of the BESTie members (all excluding Dahye) were actually originally part of EXID. They left after only a couple of months though, and were only in the debut single. The three of them were replaced by Solji and Hyerin and BESTie debuted about a year later. I find it sweet that while the three of them definitely didn’t feel right about being in EXID, they liked each other enough to regroup and try the kpop thing once again. To be honest, I’m glad they left. I love BESTie and I love EXID’s current line-up. Everything worked out excellently.

4. Haeryung

Birth name: Na Hae Ryung

Stage name: Haeryung

Birthday: November 11, 1994

Official height: 168 cm

Position: Maknae, Vocalist, Face of the Group

Comment: Even though I’m still not hugely familiar with the BESTie girls, I do really like them all, so don’t think that me putting Haeryung last means I don’t like her. Normally when you don’t know a group very well I find that there’s always at least one member that you’re not that fond of or that hasn’t made much of an impression on you yet, but in BESTie I don’t feel that way about anyone.

Haeryung is definitely the cutest member of BESTie. I haven’t seen her do aegyo, which I’m sure she’s good at, but she just has this natural sense of cuteness to her that’s really endearing.

She’s a decent singer, but no stand-out. I’d say she’s the weakest singer in the group, but it’s not a clear decision for me.

Haeryung is definitely a visual; she’s a super beautiful girl. Actually, when I was still unsure about who was who in the group I remembered her as the girl that “looks like the ultimate kpop visual when she smiles” and I still stand by that.

3. Hyeyeon

Birth name: Kang Hye Yeon

Stage name: Hyeyeon

Birthday: December 28, 1990

Official height: 165 cm

Position: Leader, Lead Vocalist

Comment: I find it interesting that while U-JI was the leader when the girls were in EXID, when they got their fresh start as BESTie, Hyeyeon got that position. She is a few days older than U-JI, but it literally is just a few days so it doesn’t seem like quite enough of a reason. Maybe U-JI didn’t enjoy that position? I’m not sure, but it sure is interesting.

Hyeyeon looks absurdly cute but in reality she isn’t at all as cute as her face leads you to believe. There’s actually a kind of sass, or edge, to her that I didn’t expect. Or maybe I just expected her to be sweet as cotton candy so anything less than that comes off as edge to me.

Hyeyeon is the second-best singer in the group, and a good support as a lead vocalist.

2. Dahye

Birth name: Song Da Hye

Stage name: Dahye

Birthday: June 12, 1993

Official height: 168 cm

Position: Main Rapper, Vocalist

Comment: I suppose Dahye was added to the group because they needed a rapper, and because three members isn’t really enough for a proper kpop group. And I’m really glad she’s here.

In the group I think Dahye has the best personality. There’s something that feels really organic and true about the way she is. There’s nothing really cutesy about her, yet she somehow seems cute. Because she’s not. Or something. I can’t explain it, I just really like her!

Even though she is the designated rapper, Dahye is a fairly good singer as well, and I’d say I prefer her voice over Haeryung’s. It’s a close call though.

One thing I find funny is that while I had a really hard time telling Dahye and Haeryung apart when I first tried to learn them, when the girls rank themselves from prettiest to least pretty they’re at opposite ends. I really don’t get that. I’m not saying they’re at all identical and I can definitely tell them apart now, I still have to admit that they look quite similar.

I mean, look. They don’t exactly have widely different face-types. Haeryung is the one with the dark hair by the way, in case you can’t tell.

1. U-JI

Birth name: Jung Yu Ji

Stage name: U-JI

Birthday: January 2, 1991

Official height: 168 cm

Position: Main Vocalist

Comment: U-JI was the member my eyes always went to from the very start when I really started noticing BESTie, which was when they were promoting “Thank U Very Much”. She was clearly the best singer, and she had this innate sex appeal that I really enjoyed. Personality-wise she’s actually kind of cute, but on stage she just has this sexy twinkle to her that I love. Plus she has a killer body that every one of her members acknowledges as the best one.

There’s this thing I love about both U-JI and BESTie as a whole… While they’re really sweet and cute and seem really nice and all that jist that all kpop girls have to be there’s also a sense of realness, of dorkiness and inappropriateness that I really enjoy. It makes them a lot less bland and to me it actually makes them even more likable.

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Yeah, BESTie is a really good group. If you haven’t given them a fair chance yet, you really should. I’m pretty damn sure they won’t disappoint. I’d recommend either their latest track “Excuse Me” or the song that opened my eyes to their glory, “Thank U Very Much”, if you need a starting point.