The one thing that’s organized in
my life so far is my phone’s K-Pop music folder. As a muso, I try to explore
the different genres of music, but like everything else in this world, I tend
to be unfair. Half of all the songs stored in my phone are all Korean music.
Inside our class, only two other gal pals could relate to the excitement I felt
every time a new group debuts or a senior group does a comeback. Everyone else
think I’m crazy because I keep on playing these songs without the tiniest hint
of their content. Well, it is quite odd. I usually hate people who are into
those nonsensical songs with nonsensical contents. In short, I hate people who
listen to the beat and not to the content. The funny thing is, it seems like
I’m slowly becoming one of them. ‘Till it came to the point when I hated myself
for that-becoming what you hated the most. But I got over the frustration and
now I’m gonna share some facts and reasons and insights on K-Pop. This is neither
to defend my love for K-pop nor to degrade American Pop. This is to explain and
examine the K-Pop phenomenon from an awesome fan’s perspective.
#IDOL’S IDOL
At
the core of K-pop are “Idols”. The groups dominate over the solo acts. EXO,
Bigbang, BTS, 2ne1 and Shinee are among the current popular K-Pop groups. But
most people, even some K-Pop fans don’t really know when and how K-Pop began.
It was 1992 debut of Seo Taiji and Boys, a trio of hip hop singers and rappers
which pioneered the idol phenomenon. Theirs was a mix of Western and Eastern
style and somehow they gained big popularity in Korea and seeing this fame,
other music companies copied this new music style and created their own
idol-groups. It’s also interesting to note that the owner of YG Entertainment,
one of the top three music companies in South Korea, is actually one of the
three members of Seo Taiji and Boys.
#SUGAR, SPICE and EVERYTHING NICE
Are
the three words that best describes K-Pop music. You can’t really give the best definition of
K-Pop but from a fan’s perspective, it’s like the combination of all the good
things in life. It’s like a sugar-coated candy-sweet and addictive. And there’s
something about the beat that I couldn’t really explain. I mean I’ve heard
Japanese Pop (J-Pop), French and Chinese
music. I couldn’t understand the song and so I wasn’t really interested in them
but with K-Pop, it’s different. When you listen to beat, it’s as if you could
relate and understand the song though you don’t understand the lyrics. The
style and the tune bring this weird feeling of joy without knowing what and
why. But the real K-Pop phenomenon is the fact that K-Pop, on a different level
and way than mainstream American Pop does, appeals to not only the Koreans but
to a global audience. Two words. Great and Awesome.
#WHY IDOLS ARE IDOLS
K-Pop
idols are the real idols. So many people ask why I love K-Pop. It is because
there are so many things to love about them. They’re beautiful and handsome
creatures. Their dancing and singing skills are to die-for. And their styles
are so....so....so.... glob. I’m out of words. The thing is, every K-Pop idol
is known for these things. And this defines the thick line between K-pop and
American Pop. Most American pop stars are known only for one area. K-pop stars
on the other hand are multi-talented artists and trend-setters as well. So how
did they become the perfect pop artists that they are? Another interesting
thing is that, K-Pop idols undergo intense training for years under music
labels before they debut. They are scouted at a young age (10 and above) and
trained to dance, sing, host and act well. In short, they are trained to become
the perfect performers. Creepy and disturbing thought yes, but given the
immense popularity they will gain when they debut, I’m quite sure they won’t
mind the pain of the process. That adds up to their appeal to the fans. They
are hard-workers and that’s why they earn a great fan base that idolizes
everything about them.
K-pop
is the “new music”. And like all things, you wouldn’t understand it if you
won’t give it a try. But I’m warning you, it’s really addictive. It’ also the
“new drug”. Again, creepy and disturbing. But WTH, I like creepy things. I do
hope that people will stop judging K-Pop because there is so much more to it
that Psy’s “Gangnam Style”.
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