Teddy is famous for producing hit songs for many famous YG Entertainment groups such as Big Bang, 2NE1, Blackpink.
After announcing the establishment of his own company The Black Label, Teddy has started supporting two rookie girl groups: MEOVV - The Black Label's first girl group, and Izna - a group formed through the idol selection program "I-LAND 2".
With Teddy's history of producing many hit songs, expectations for music products from these girl groups were very high. However, contrary to expectations, Teddy had a gloomy year.
MEOVV debuted in September with the single “MEOW”, with unimpressive digital music achievements. After that, for 2 months, the group almost “disappeared”, not actively participating in promotional programs, nor being discussed on forums.
On November 18, MEOVV returned with two songs “Toxic” and “Body”, but once again failed to create a buzz. Audiences said that these music products were too bland, with nothing attractive to listen to again.
Despite Teddy's years of fame, public interest in MEOVV remains low.
Among them, "Toxic" - the song that Teddy participated in more in the production - is an R&B song with a melodious, dreamy melody, completely opposite to the strong hip-hop style that many people expect from a "Teddy girl group".
In the songwriting credits for “Toxic,” Teddy is listed third, after 24 and Kush. For “Body,” Teddy appears seventh in the credits.
But in Izna's debut song, Teddy's name is listed first. This leads to speculation that MEOVV was pushed aside by Teddy to focus on producing music for Izna.
Even before their debut, Izna was promoted as a “group produced by Teddy.” The group then made their debut stage at the 2024 MAMA major music awards ceremony.
But while Izna is considered to have a rather striking appearance, their debut song “IZNA” itself received mixed reviews for being unimpressive. Critics said that “IZNA” was not attractive enough to become the title track of an album.
According to Ten Asia, the phrase “Teddy-produced group” may have initially been an advantage for Izna, but it ended up overshadowing the members instead of highlighting them.
Both MEOVV and Izna had certain stepping stones before their debut. MEOVV was discussed a lot because of the presence of child model Ella, known to Kpop fans as “little Jennie”. Meanwhile, Izna built a core fan base from the beginning thanks to the survival TV show.
However, for an artist to attract the attention of the public, they first need to convince the listeners with attractive music. But Teddy as a producer failed to do that.
Many opinions say that supporting two groups at the same time has exhausted Teddy and the quality of the songs has declined.
Previously, when producing music for Blackpink, the time between releasing songs was much less, to the point that fans complained that they were "starving for music" because Blackpink had so few products.
But the wait for Blackpink fans has almost been rewarded, as each song the group released has become a hit. Those hits have the signature hip-hop style of YG and Teddy. But right now, it seems that MEOVV and Izna's songs are lacking in vitality.
Ten Asia commented: “It's time for Teddy to reconsider what the public expects from him as a renowned producer, and determine what kind of music best suits each group.
With 5 MEOVV members and 7 Izna members, Teddy's shoulders are heavy with the responsibility of guiding the future of a total of 12 "daughters".
