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On May 27 2013 22:20 klogg wrote: You are just seeing K-pop for what it is for the first time.
Yes, this is what Kpop has always been. Pretty girls trained in a robotic sort of way to do heavily choreographed dances, which they continue to do repeatedly in every live performance with very little innovation or variation in style. In a very sophisticated and competitive market like the USA, the shallow and stagnant nature of Kpop becomes quite apparent.
You contrast their performances, which are literally just recreations of the dances in their MVs with the kinds of performances put on by Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Britney Spears, Beyonce, etc, and what point is there to ever be interested in kpop?
The only real draw for Kpop for foreigners is the fact that they're singing in a language you don't understand with a different aesthetic to the one you're used to, therefore you are one step removed from the shallow, vapidness of it all. That allows you to enjoy it without realizing how mindnumbingly stupid the lyrics are, whereas with songs in English most of you understand it quite well and realize it's mostly doodoo.
Another possible reason is that as Asian-American/Europeans, there is a sense of pride and desire to see people of your own ethnicity playing the pop star. And listening to Kpop is a sort of Asian pride thing.
But even so, at least in American pop, a singer tends to have one specific identity as an artist and writes/performs songs that fit their image. Pink is all rebellious rocker chick. Kesha is ironic party girl. Rihanna is soulful yet dysfunctional bad girl. Britney is fierce girl power. Nicki Minaj is a maniacal BBW rapper.
But then you look at Kpop and most of the groups are downright schizophrenic. They have no identity at all. One song they're going for a "cute concept." The next it's a "sexy concept." After that they're pretending to be middle schoolers. There's no rhyme or reason to it, other than what sort of tune gets tossed their way by the producers/companies. And that leads to shallow music, because the girls are really just glorified back-up singers/dancers.
You know 100% when a Rihanna, Mariah Carey, or Adele song starts to play. Can you say the same for APink? Orange Caramel? Secret? I often find myself really really liking one song from a group. Then the next single they release is pure crap. And why? Because the girls aren't responsible for the music. Some producer is who gets shuffled off to release a track for another group the next month. There are a few exceptions to this. IU is distinctive. Ailee is a knockoff beyonce but at least I know when I hear Beyonce in korean it's probably Ailee. BEG have their own distinct style. There are a few that stand out, but by and large the majority of Kpop is really generic and interchangeable.
All the same, I do like Kpop and find the colorfulness and choreographed dancing etc to be entertaining in their own sort of way. But do I think it will play well in a country that prizes individuality and creativity like the USA? Hell no.
Why are you analyzing it so much? Does anyone truly listen to Kpop or any pop for that matter, for creativity and individuality? All pop is shallow, and mass produced by record companies. Really its not like the US market is made up of sophisticated people.
I just think that Kpops girls are sexier, and their songs have a higher incidence of catchy-ness. There's nothing more to it than that. Though no one should expect more from any genre of pop.
On May 27 2013 22:20 klogg wrote: You are just seeing K-pop for what it is for the first time.
really any type of mainstream pop will do that.
kpop as it is doesn't change the scenario much except it's in korean and maybe a couple years behind Western pop. I think 09 was the best year for kpop.
also, T-ara getting this type of 'wtf are these asian bitches singing?' treatment isn't too far off from what other groups received. I remember WG and even BoA getting shit on; maybe not as bad as the dj ushering them off stage, but the crowd reactions were about the same. like I mentioned before, you can't just transplant your culture from one place to another and expect the audience to understand and appreciate it. either go full western or not at all.
What the fuck happened to T-ara? They used to be my favourite but after watching the videos in the past few pages seems like they had lobotomies and moved to the states? Also some different members?
lol at people analyzing K-pop. To be fair you have good points but you make it sound like this is just limited to K-pop. It's safe to say that the new releases have been kind of lackluster and the amount of drama has been pretty high. I couldn't care less though, K-pop is still the music genre that I listen the most to.
On May 28 2013 05:40 Kaiwa wrote: I'm going to enjoy watching all the SM fanboys sucking it up and loving it.
That's what I thought the first time around; then I lost all faith in humanity. SM probably trying to push the boundary of "how much shit can our fans eat before they get tired?"
I really like when something is done really well. One thing is to make a bad song, it's another thing to make a bad song in a way that nobody expected or thought was even possible, and actually go through with it! Even though the song is laughable, still has better choreography than most other groups regardless! Looking forward to the music video!
On May 27 2013 22:20 klogg wrote: You are just seeing K-pop for what it is for the first time.
Yes, this is what Kpop has always been. Pretty girls trained in a robotic sort of way to do heavily choreographed dances, which they continue to do repeatedly in every live performance with very little innovation or variation in style. In a very sophisticated and competitive market like the USA, the shallow and stagnant nature of Kpop becomes quite apparent.
You contrast their performances, which are literally just recreations of the dances in their MVs with the kinds of performances put on by Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Britney Spears, Beyonce, etc, and what point is there to ever be interested in kpop?
The only real draw for Kpop for foreigners is the fact that they're singing in a language you don't understand with a different aesthetic to the one you're used to, therefore you are one step removed from the shallow, vapidness of it all. That allows you to enjoy it without realizing how mindnumbingly stupid the lyrics are, whereas with songs in English most of you understand it quite well and realize it's mostly doodoo.
Another possible reason is that as Asian-American/Europeans, there is a sense of pride and desire to see people of your own ethnicity playing the pop star. And listening to Kpop is a sort of Asian pride thing.
But even so, at least in American pop, a singer tends to have one specific identity as an artist and writes/performs songs that fit their image. Pink is all rebellious rocker chick. Kesha is ironic party girl. Rihanna is soulful yet dysfunctional bad girl. Britney is fierce girl power. Nicki Minaj is a maniacal BBW rapper.
But then you look at Kpop and most of the groups are downright schizophrenic. They have no identity at all. One song they're going for a "cute concept." The next it's a "sexy concept." After that they're pretending to be middle schoolers. There's no rhyme or reason to it, other than what sort of tune gets tossed their way by the producers/companies. And that leads to shallow music, because the girls are really just glorified back-up singers/dancers.
You know 100% when a Rihanna, Mariah Carey, or Adele song starts to play. Can you say the same for APink? Orange Caramel? Secret? I often find myself really really liking one song from a group. Then the next single they release is pure crap. And why? Because the girls aren't responsible for the music. Some producer is who gets shuffled off to release a track for another group the next month. There are a few exceptions to this. IU is distinctive. Ailee is a knockoff beyonce but at least I know when I hear Beyonce in korean it's probably Ailee. BEG have their own distinct style. There are a few that stand out, but by and large the majority of Kpop is really generic and interchangeable.
All the same, I do like Kpop and find the colorfulness and choreographed dancing etc to be entertaining in their own sort of way. But do I think it will play well in a country that prizes individuality and creativity like the USA? Hell no.
Why are you analyzing it so much? Does anyone truly listen to Kpop or any pop for that matter, for creativity and individuality? All pop is shallow, and mass produced by record companies. Really its not like the US market is made up of sophisticated people.
I just think that Kpops girls are sexier, and their songs have a higher incidence of catchy-ness. There's nothing more to it than that. Though no one should expect more from any genre of pop.
Are you incapable of following a simple conversation? T-ARA went to the USA. So far, their debut has been a total flop. People wondered why that is. I suggested some reasons for it. Maybe instead of telling people to stop analyzing so much, you should analyze more.
On May 28 2013 05:59 Moonwrath wrote: hurr this is so shit guys hahahaha amirite? who listens to this crap that I don't like lolol you peasants have no taste. brb listening to indie kpop
Nah. This shit too abstract for all our plebian tastes. Right? I mean sm ent is soo avant garde. They just have their hand on the pulse of zeitgeist, clearly the future of kpop is here. And exo is the forefront of this modernization of kpop, just like warhol was to pop art. Amirite? + Show Spoiler +
EPT
