Korean Music Discussion - Page 3458

Just to follow up on my SNSD post, I think people should acknowledge that they've had an extraordinary amount of success for a Kpop group internationally. I'm sure a Sone could do a much better job of detailing the various details about their success, but I don't recall any prior groups having the same level of international success.

Sure, a lot of is the work of SM, but it's not like SNSD played no part in their success. They were still the ones who had to put in the work and execute the performances. They had to deal with all the potential pitfalls of being Kpop idols, not to mention the problems that inevitably come with having 9 girls spending that much time together in constantly stressful situations. You can argue about their level of natural talent, but you can't question their passion and work ethic in developing themselves into an elite pop group. Those are all things to be commended.

Even if prior Kpop artists had done what they had done before, they had never done it to this level of success. Performing on The Late Show was not a small deal, neither was having a successful world tour that spanned both Western and Eastern countries. Those were accomplishments that had not been achieved by an Asian pop group previously, and due credit should be given to them for pulling it off. Again, you can't give SM all the credit simply because they're the management company because the girls themselves still had to pull it all off.

I'm no SNSD expert, but I do think that even a cursory knowledge of their career makes it pretty obvious that they've pushed the boundaries of what a Kpop group can do internationally, and dominated the market in a way that no one else really has up until now (especially considering how much competition they've faced over the years and even now).