This is a fave songs article if you squint. Welcome to another #10YearsAgo article, the series where I showcase my love of songs and albums that are celebrating their 10-year anniversaries 
. I have a special love an appreciation for Crayon Pop, despite me showing up a bit late to the party. I’ve always meant to dive deeper into their discography. I don’t remember exactly how I came across “Dancing Queen” after discovering them with “FM”.
But “Dancing Queen” is my second favorite song of theirs (and their second single released as a group). I crank it up every time it pops up on shuffle. It’s such a great song. The horns with the “ba da da ba ba” flow so flawlessly together. Kpop just doesn’t sound like this anymore. It’s like how Pop from 2005-2009 in the West has that old but classic sound so specific to that era.
Anyway, not here to gush about how wonderful “Dancing Queen” is. But if you enjoy “FM”, I highly recommend listening to it as well.
Crayon Pop originally a five member group, later four, debuted in 2012 under Chrome Entertainment. Their sound is described as a mix of Trot, Dance Pop, and Nu-Disco. The current lineup is Geummi (leader, main dancer and vocalist), Ellin (lead dancer, lead rapper, vocalist, and visual), and twin sisters Choa (main vocalist) and Way (main rapper and lead vocalist).
Soyul was the group’s main vocalist, lead rapper, and maknae when she was in the group, but left in 2017 after contract expirations. They also had another member at some point, according to Kprofiles, Arisa, who was a member for their Japanese promotions only. But left the group shortly after the group’s debut (“Saturday Night” era).
I remember this being a thing for a while in Kpop where they would have foreign members or like hidden members for special events or subunits. I always thought this was weird vibe wise because the members you see together more are obviously going to have better relationships with each other, verus the members who see each other one or twice a year?
I’m glad this isn’t common place anymore. Their fandom name is Sketchbook and the fandom color is apple green. The group is currently on an indefinite hiatus. Some sites have them listed as disbanded. Their last release (on Spotify at least) is “Vroom Vroom” from 2016.
Crayon Pop has some cool concepts, but the Sailor Moon concept they went with for “FM” is my favorite. I’m such a sucker for a Sailor Moon/magical girl concept.
Very low-budget music video, but it totally adds to the charm. And the song is catchy af (thank you, Shinsadong Tiger) and their vocals and harmonies are perfect.
The choreo is great. The fight scenes and plot is and the special effects are so entertaining. One of the reasons why they went viral with their biggest hit to date, “Bar Bar Bar” was for the uniqueness of it when it came to their outfits and choreography.
“FM” stands for ‘field manual’, slang for a rule follower, but not in a good way, according to the FM wiki. So Crayon Pop is like, stop being a rule follower and be with me instead. Love that. Looking closer at the lyrics as well, I never caught the “moon prism power” line. Sailor Moon says that before her transformation. Love the attention to detail.
The Tuxedo Mask in the music video is played by Yeonkyun, formerly of the boy group K-MULCH/Be.A, label mates of Crayon Pop. Now, I have heard of plenty of boy groups in Kpop, but I had no idea who this was. And it’s difficult to find anything about them under the name Be.A or K-MUCH just plopping them into Google on their own. Yeonkyun and I have the same birthday, so that’s cool. But, yeah, you learn something new every day.
FM is the groups’ second mini album. I really like the b-side “Hapataka“, written by Kim Yoomin, who also wrote “Bar Bar Bar”. I can hear it, lol. Although I prefer this one over “Bar Bar Bar”. It’s a little too Trot for me (“Bar Bar Bar” that is).
The other b-side, “1, 2, 3, 4” is fine. The issue with Crayon Pop (for me) is that their music is consistent in sound, but the ones that really hit, knock a crater size whole in your heart. The ones that don’t just feel middling despite the fun, upbeat sound.
OMG we’ve hit 300 post on ATK!!! 
Thank you all for being a part of this journey! We won’t be stopping anytime soon 
. Oh, so while working on this article, I did listen to more of their discography. I saved “Hapataka”, “Bing Bing“, “Hey Mister” and “UH-EE” so now I have 6 Crayon Pop songs saved. So I’m going to start jamming to those, along with my established love of “FM” and “Dancing Queen”. But I want to know what y’alls thoughts are on Crayon Pop and “FM”. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Threads, & BlueSky.
Take Care!
Ash