EPT
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAhhZPxZMjQ Sadly, I can't find 차차차 so you'll have to live with this
This blog post, as twisted as it can be, aims to give a decent overview of the late 90s KPop. This is because that's when I stopped following it cause I didn't go to Korea as often anymore and I moved away from NYC at that time. I wonder how crazy I would be now if I wasn't separated from this kind of music. Also, as a disclaimer, this is just what I remember from when I was like, 10, so prepared for bias: you shouldn't take it that seriously other than to laugh with me on how silly korean music is!
In the mid 1990s, after the days of SeoTaiji (I was too young for him!), these songs were popular.
Songs like this often competed against ballads and other songs like this
There was two extremes, fun music, and ballads. I didn't like ballads back then, and all I remember is like 조성모 and back then I never cared for them.
Eventually people realized that they can make music together by forming bands. Few of the early attempts are documented here.
This is CLON. You may have heard their stuff if you played PIU or something. This song was a smashing success, and I think nearly every Korean knows it today.
What happened though, is that one of the members got in a car accident and got paralyzed from the waist down
But that didn't stop them, and they came back eventually and the guy gained immortality by being so badass and coming back with a wheelchair dance.Which is sadly not on Youtube.
This is DJ DOC, who debuted in 1994. They became popular I think with Summer Story, but I like this song better. They actually had some sort of TV Special where some aliens came over, stole their dancing ability/singing ability and then became super popular pop group, and so they had to use some trap to steal their abilities back and embarrassed the aliens on stage. That'll show them.
They were pretty popular and then eventually they started going more and more into POLITICAL COMMENTARY in their songs. It's funny to see one of them (이하늘) is a TV variety show personality who is completely worthless now
THEN THESE TWO CAME ALONG and then showed that, maybe KPop should be more about dance than anything else. This is Turbo. I'm sure if anyone follows the Korean Variety Show scene, they'll recognize one of them (yeah the one in yellow jersey is 김종국, who is known for his mosquito voice). Anyway this song is pretty popular, it's pretty much parodied in commercials and everything you can imagine.
There was also a few One shot wonders. The most memorable is of course,
I'm sure you've all heard this if you played Pump it up, it's the best beginner song :>
And of course, you can't forget
I think they're pretty much only known for their songs about love backstabbing and their ridiculous Music videos. But as you can see, these people set a trend, and all korean groups to follow had ridiculous music videos. Anyway, Cool is known for their wacky, fun songs. The guy is also a phenomenal singer if you actually see him sing things that requires talent.
Soon after, the concept of a pretty boy band was stolen from Hansen. What was created was an atrocity. It was known as High Five of Teenagers (HOT)
Of course, they tried to go with a ridiculously cute image. Awww, look at the fluffy and ridiculous clothing they're wearing... and they're dancing! Dancing... just for you. At this point, they were so silly that you just couldn't take the MVs seriously other than "awww how cute". + Show Spoiler +
(Unlike Super Junior, who covered this song, who took it seriously.)
I watched this video, and I was so frigging creeped out for the next few days that I couldn't sleep. This was too creepy ;_; they're all serious and they're all dancing and there's so many of them HELP
I watched this video, and I was so frigging creeped out for the next few days that I couldn't sleep. This was too creepy ;_; they're all serious and they're all dancing and there's so many of them HELP
Then came Sechskies.
Obviously, they tried to pull off a more BADASS IMAGE. And they were the only actual competition to HOT at this point. Then again, with competition like + Show Spoiler +
Of course, the people behind HOT was like, hrmmmmmmmmm i guess this badass image sells. This lead to HOT completely changing their image for their future albums.
...yes. A few videos up, these were the boys dancing all so happily to cheery upbeat music in floofy outfits. Then again, I guess they were pretty emo after all that fighting and crying they've rumored to have done over frigging outfits.
The fangirl war has begun. HOT and Sechskies pretty much alternated the music charts (although imo Sechskies was better)!
(I used to completely memorize this song and be able to sing the entire thing on cue)
Eventually HOT disbanded in a giant flash of drama, after stopping/resuming activity along with Sechs Kies for god knows how long. Fangirls killed themselves just like they did for 서태지, and life went on.
Eventually they realized "Hrm... it worked with pretty guys, will it work with pretty girls?" From this came SES and Finkl(FINE KILLING LIBERTY). I didn't like SES so here's a Finkl song to compensate.
Yes. That is Lee Hyori in that video. No one cared about her. Song Yuri was the person everyone raged about.
This song is apparently the #1 song every korean guy wants to hear his girlfriend sing to him. So if you're a non-korean who wants to woo over a FOB korean, just sing this song. I remember a lot of Korean girls fighting over which band was better and everyone accusing each other of plastic surgery. Please. They all had it.
There were girlgroups before this. They just weren't PRETTY girl groups. See: Diva, Uhm Jung Hwa
Oh did you know, the woman in the last video?
This is her. About 12 years later. She looks better now I think.
Of course, there were more artists. Like Yoo Seung Joon, for example.
Straight from LA, yo. I actually knew the owner of the school (it was for troubled students) that yoo seung joon went to, and i got to read his essays and stuff. That was cute.
This guy was known for his ridiculous dances in the choruses. Eventually, after saying he would serve in the military, he didn't and ran away and dodged it, and now Korea has completely barred his entry. He is now active in China iirc.
There were other artists. Honey Family is from around then, with Jinusean and Drunken Tiger.
DO YOU KNOW HIPHOP?!?!??!?!?! (One of them is now active as Tiger JK now, he also shows up in korean variety shows a lot). But I never really followed this scene.
Soon came Shinhwa. They're the longest running boyband today, cause they never actually disbanded.
They debuted with this song one summer. It was very catchy. Girls liked some other songs in the album however, like this one
Around this time was the Y2K. So naturally, music produces just had to cash in on it. But nope, no youtube videos since they were only a flash in the pan!
There was also this guy who came on and sang about how the devil was coming back. He was part of SeoTaiji's old gig, so he was popular for a bit. He milked out that one song and went away.
Then came GOD and Fly to the Sky. I didn't like them, so I stopped listening. There was also a lot of solo attempts, but in general Korean pop artists came and went as flash in the pans -- they had one catchy song that was popular forever and ever, and then eventually died out.
Anyway, that is my twisted overview of Mid/Late 90s Kpop. Respect your roots, yo.
Congratulations. You made it to the end. You probably lost a few brain cells doing so.
EDIT: I can't believe I forgot Diva and Uhm Jung Hwa
