Nah, wherever you are, have you ever heard these names of idol groups or even their songs: Super Junior, SNSD (Girl's Generation), Big Bang, 2NE1, 2PM, TVXQ/DBSK? Wherever you are, in Asia or not, I'm pretty sure that a lot of people now at least know one of them. Those are the most popular Kpop idol groups (in my opinion) and there are still a lot of groups out there -and a lot more to come.
The fans.
For me, the most standout difference between Kpop and any other musics is the fans. The fanbases. I am a fan of Big Bang, I call myself an VIP. I admit I'd never thought I would fall for any Kpop groups this much until I knew Big Bang a year ago. My Mom sees me as a 'hardcore' fan. Meh. She just doesn't know the other fans out there... If she figured out how the other fans are, then she'd realize that I'm nowhere near hardcore (please, I don't even have a single physical album of Big Bang).
It's been awhile since I knew Kpop. At first I was... shocked. The fans are so determined to make their oppars/unnies happy and thus make themselves happy. They plan to bulk-buy physical albums, buy all versions of that, wait outside the airport to greet although it's midnight or early in the morning, go to every concerts their idols hold... For a newbie, those things shocked me a lot. Even now, although I already understand the feelings of being fans, their determination and energy for their oppars/unnies still amaze me. Do not underestimate the power and loyalty of fans! (Wait, me writing this, doesn't mean that I think these behaviors are wrong or what!)
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Thousands of ELFs attending Super Junior's Super Show 4 at Tokyo Dome |
In the midst of my shock, I was wondering... why? Why do the Kpop fans behave like that? What's so interesting about these idol groups until they would like to give everything for oppars/unnies?! I read in Tumblr that someone lost her virginity just to get money for buying albums, that some people suicide because their idol groups breakup. S e r i o u s l y... that's just unnecessary, and I'm sorry, stupid. I'm sorry for them. So yeah, back to the question, why? Being a K-idol fan for a year, I still haven't figured out the best answer (because basically I like Big Bang because of their musics, and at first I enjoying their musics only. My curiosity that leads me to 'stalk' them in web and I also don't know why eventually I also care about the other aspects of Big Bang.)
And of course, no need to mention sasaeng fans. Crazy fans who stalk (in real life) their idols every single time, hurt their idols physically whenever they meet... and the rest of their crazy activities can you read here. Oh, delusional people.
The musics and performances.
Being a K-idol fan for a year, who often read allkpop and soompi, I take another notes about this industry. One, is about the idols, their company, and their musics. The big 3 entertainment company in Korea are SM Entertainment (Super Junior, SNSD, DBSK, etc), YG Entertainment (Big Bang, 2NE1, Se7en, etc), and JYP Entertainment (2PM, 2AM, Wonder Girls, etc). Among them, I like YG the most.
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Yonghwa from CN Blue |
YGE lets its artists to produce their own musics. That's why I really like Big Bang which songs are produced mostly by GD, their songs are genuine and evolving, different in every comeback. I also like the other producers in YGE because, yeah, their musics are different than the other. Of course it doesn't mean that the songs from other entertainments are bad. But to be honest, for me, the musics from the other companies have.. the same feelings. Well, for me. It's just like, if I listen to some musics from different groups without knowing the songs first, I wouldn't know that they're sung by different groups. (Test me now. I still can't differentiate some groups by their voices although I've been lurking around listening to their musics.) I think Kpop needs more creativity. So each groups has its own uniqueness. Could it be that because one group is so successful with this kind of music, then the others also do this music to reach the same success?
Yonghwa from CN Blue also famous for his self-writing songs. But again, just because GD or Yonghwa or anyone else write their own songs, all of them are good. And other groups whose their musics are mainly produced by anyone else, doesn't mean that the musics are bad. People have different taste!
Also, Kpop idols dance. In their performances (or in their music videos), they dance. Since I like dancing, I enjoy watching them dancing in synergy on stage! And they're dancing while singing -that's difficult! It's tiring and difficult. And maybe it's the reason why, sometimes, they do lip-sync. I'm okay with lip-sync as long as they don't do it too often. Because hey... they're singers who also dance, not dancers who also sing.
The appearances.
Kpop idols = plastic surgery. Really? Just because they're pretty and handsome, doesn't mean they all had plastic surgery. Personally, I don't really care if someone had plastic surgery because what really matters is the voice and the overall performance. But what bothers me... Somehow it seems like the look is more important. The girl groups being sexy, the boy groups also being sexy. Yes, look is also important since it also sells, but they are singers. Their voice should be put in the first place.
I don't think it's good to produce a group just because they all are so pretty and sexy while their musics are just okay (in other word, not good). I give you an example, a Kpop group named Swing Girls. Read this article from allkpop. Well, so basically this group is formed because... all members have D-cup size of bra. S e r i o u s l y. I quote this from the comment on that article by Kristi: If having Korean D-cup breasts and being 170cm is all you need to become an idol, I fear for the fate of music.
Now I give one example of Korean singer who recently released mega hit song. He's not an idol, not young, and less attractive compared to K-idols. But he successfully grabs international attention even without trying! He's PSY. Only with super fun song and music video of Gangnam Style, he makes it viral. Wall Street Journal, CNN, LA Times even made coverage for this! Psy grabs this attention without being sexy!
The pressure.
Being idols = being role models. That's why they're being watched closely not only by fans, but also the media. One mistake could be a disaster. Well, it doesn't happen in Korea only, it's basically a pressure that all entertainers have. The pressure for being good all the time.
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Tablo |
What makes me sad and angry is this kind response of some people after the idols make mistakes: sending death threats. Death threats are just TOO MUCH. Idols are also humans! Humans do mistakes! After having trauma because of the incidents they make, idols also suffer because of the pressure around them.
The stupidest case I know is Tablo's Stanford degree controversy. Tablo is a rapper. Some people didn't believe that Tablo graduated from Stanford, then they formed an anti-cafe called Tajinyo (means demand the truths from Tablo). Tablo did EVERYTHING to clear these things out. He published the graduation certificate which is a PROOF that he really graduated from Stanford. But those -sorry- stupid people denied this fact and up to now they still continue accusing Tablo. They didn't just say bad things about Tablo, but some people sent threats to Tablo and his family. What a sad life they have. Don't you have other things to do other than disturbing someone's life?!
For you who have interest in this Tablo case, read this article from WIRED.
Kpop is sweet.
This super long writing might be seen as the 'bitter' aspects of Kpop only. So where is the sweet? The sweetest things about Kpop, K-idols, K-entertainers: they are super friendly and FUNNY! I like their personality! I'm a fan of Running Man (a variety show). That show is super funny and it shows us the personality of K-artists when they're not performing on stage. I don't need to know who they are first to love them in variety show lol. Seriously, Kpop idols are sweet. Not only the fans who show love for the idols, but the idols also show love for the fans.
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Running Man - Nickhun & Taecyeon from 2PM episode |
This is only my opinion from what I read and what I heard. Please correct me if I'm wrong with some facts, but mainly this is just an opinion. You may not agree with me but it's okay! We all have different thoughts anyway. And sorry, I know it's full of grammar mistakes!
Enjoy the Kpop musics, guys!
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