K-pop 2013

"CrayOn"? K-pop in general has been obsessed with Batman for a while - GLAM and Girls' Generation have been wearing the Bat-logo in their videos, and then there was Epik High as the villains of Arkham...

― Roz, Saturday, April 27, 2013 5:56 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark

ah i totally forgot about that part of crayon, also the batman earring at the beginning

that epik high performance is amazing, high school drama club with million dollar record label production values, love it

Batman is a kind of inside joke in Kpop world. In D-Unit's Talk to My Face, the guy is reading a book called "RIP Batman", while in HyunA's Ice Cream, there's a protester holding a sign that says "Batman He is Dead". Roz also pointed out that Zion.T's Babay MV is basically a scene out of the first Batman movie.

New T-Ara - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74_3c_5SVBM&feature=youtu.be

SPEED rapper guy is not bad! I guess I agree with what Frank wrote on his blog, that T-ara N4 are vocally anonymous on this, but the song's not too bad, really.

I mean, it's kind of forgettable except for that sax part, and I kept hearing parts that reminded me of other (better) songs, but aside from that.

I like the new Secret... is Very Cheesy but is fun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0sVjn5DGrc&feature=youtu.be

like that a lot!

Are these aegyowaifs really Secret? ;_;

lol a week after i had just claimed that k-pop wasn't really influenced by kawaii culture

LOL, really? Where was this?

i'm not telling

:p

i was watching too many slinky, late-night danceclub lazer-filled k-pop videos for a while, that' smy excuse

Cute Secret is shit Secret! Although I've never cared much for the group they had a thing going with the hip hop pop thing and Poison was a pretty catchy song as well.

can we talk about DICKPUNKS and how they sound nothing at all like what their name implies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FODnA8jGC0Q

I did not expect 70s pop complete with strings from a band with the name DICKPUNKS. Is it a case of weird translation?

I think they just like calling htemselves the DICKPUNKS. see the logo

What I was thinking but didn't even hint at in my comment (i blame phone typing): I was hoping that some seventies band like BREAD translated weirdly in Korean and so this was a spin on a prior translation error. The logo is pretty obvious as to their own intent.

omg @ DICKPUNKS

can't wait for their long play

I'm sure it'll be a banger

not feeling this new single but i'm sure it'll grow on me

hopefully they'll push all the right buttons

XD

Don't know wtf is this, but i love it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xF7ENo_utA

I hear "Kai Bai Bo" which is Korean for "Rock Paper Scissors"

Apart from that... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ pretty funny though

The new Younha single is great. The lyrics are great http://youtu.be/JHPBT4yYzu0

Fireworks off that EP is great http://youtu.be/eKihko_ZipY

I've been the first to label Hello Venus a useless, anonymous, rubbish group, blandly cute and daft and nothingy, but their new single forces so much play out of the euphemism "Do you want some tea?" ('Do you want to have sex?') that I find myself charmed http://youtu.be/dyH2O_te-ss

The Hello Venus song is so adorably and hilariously subversive XD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqpStn7sioY

Controversially "Gee" at #3

Haaah. Well, it's hard to argue with Abracadabra, and it was clear 10 entries in that whoever made this list a huge BoA (and Big Bang) fan, so far enough, I suppose XD. Also, everyone says this, but 2009 really was a great year for Kpop, huh.

This is kinda old but it's been confirmed that San E is, indeed, leaving JYP. Dude sounds pretty relieved to be out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfkFoXa9F-Q

Twas the Popjustice (k-pop listening) users collectively.

Ahah San E. Well, I think it shows that even if the people on top mean well it's often not a good idea to join one of the three big labels. Dude didn't release anything for ages. I have to doubt how the companies are run at times. You see it at YG - they just don't seem to have the resources to nurture all their artists careers evenly. SM as well, look at someone like J-Min or The Grace. Except for those from K-pop Star (Lee Hi, Jimin) the talent show standouts seem to go to other labels and get to release stuff immediately - look at Roy Kim, Busker Busker, the new ballad stars. Half of them would probably nervously wait in the basement of YG JYP or SM. See Lee Michelle and her group signed to YG and then released. Immediately she has music out.

Ah okay, in that case I'm surprised the list came out as evenly as it did! It is however missing one of my favorite songs from 2009, which is One Two's Starry Night.

And, agreed, the big three idol agencies often seem to have more talent than they know how to manage. SM at least sometimes allows talented members of overlooked groups to write music or produce, but YG and JYP... forget it. Half of Cube are former JYP trainees. (Though I believe there is some kind of business relationship between JYP and Cube.)

I really like Roy Kim's Spring Spring Spring, btw. He has a lot of charisma as a performer, too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3-BDy55tq4

lol 2009 was when I first moved back to Southeast Asia - K-pop was just starting to blow up here but "Gee", which was inescapable (along with Super Junior), made me actively not want to explore it further. Unpopular opinion I know, but I really don't like that song, even though I've come around to SNSD (still kinda hate SuJu though, haha).

2NE1 was my gateway to K-pop a couple of years later (a friend of mine was visiting from the Philippines and played me a bunch of their songs) but I didn't get heavily into it until early last year I guess.

I missed this as well as all-girl Korean group Miji's Saturday free performance at the Korean embassy. Just discovered this after the fact

http://usa.mofa.go.kr/english/am/usa/mission/notice/index.jsp?sp=/webmodule/htsboard/template/read/engreadboard.jsp%3FtypeID=16%26boardid=13910%26seqno=694279%26tableName=TYPE_ENGLEGATIO

What: K-Style DC
When: May 1-3, 2013
Where: Washington Dulles International Airport (2nd floor lobby)

The Korean Cultural Center Washington DC is taking the local Korean Wave to new heights with K-Style DC, a 3-day event featuring traditional-modern fusion music, Hanbok fashion shows, Taekwondo exhibitions, and interactive K-Pop dance performances at Washington Dulles International Airport, May 1-3.

Sure to delight guests are a lively rendition of Psy’s Gangnam Style on centuries-old instruments by performance group MIJI, and the designer fashions of Joo Young-sook, whose clothing has appeared in several Korean dramas. Both will be visiting from Korea for the event.

so I finally checked out SHINee's Lucifer album and... i really like it! where else can i hear this mid-2000s era high-production R&B (The-Dream, Cassie, Kelis) sound in K-pop? I haven't really checked out guy groups much at all.

A pre-2010 Kpop fan could probably answer this better, because I think this was *the* Kpop style from 2006-2009 (just when it was starting to break internationally).

Off the top of my head, though, I'd say 2PM (Still 2PM era), also other SM groups like EXO; TVXQ (one, two, three); early SNSD (one, two); and probably a bunch of BoA songs absfck could tell you about. Or if you want less processed vocals, anything by Taeyang but especially his (great) album Solar; and Chocolat; and SPICA (one, two).

Whoops, wrong link for Taeyang. Here's Solar. Big Bang - Remember is the most Taeyangish of the Big Bang albums, though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqxHy4G9FMI

This kind of pop-rock isn't my thing, but always admire B1A4 for handling their own production & songwriting and being unafraid of putting 6-7 melodies in a single song (because there's always more where they came from).

Also maddie links to these songwriter notes and omona points out the similarity of the video to this.

Nine Muses 'Wild' MV http://youtu.be/fwN_Axs7pL4

It's missing the burning anger that fueled their previous singles with Sweetune, I think. Not bad but the beat just kind of sits there.

LC9 debut with a dramatization of the selection process for idols: http://youtu.be/gaxwMw2Qctc

This must have been pretty dangerous to film, I'd surprised if there weren't some injuries. I know BAP had some when they their car-smashing MV for Warrior.

I'd BE surprised if there weren't injuries, I know BAP had some when the FILMED their car-smashing MV...

First SALTNPAPER album has some very nice Goo Goo Dolls/Third Eye Blind late-90s alt-rock vibes: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh1FnrV6pZe-tFqKZjq7Xq7qXAb9CeX_M

Nine Muses plagiarism accusation: http://onehallyu.com/index.php?/topic/1518-nine-muses-under-fire-for-plagiarism-allegations/

It's smarter as a more-work-than-you-can-handle hot Korean producer to do it the Brave Brothers way, and just borrow from yourself.

Lee Hyori on living without regrets even when you aren't happy with your plastic surgery:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLlD9HYWeRo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=gaT8j1yIbCg

Not quite sure where to put this, but on balance it's more in line with Kpop trends than Jpop trends, even though it's in Japanese.

Anyway: !!!

Aw, no preview. You should click, though! Certified jam!

i don't know if someboy has posted Crayon Pop already but they are hands down the best thing i've seen all year... and possibly ever?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0yii3pPNKw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2M5eTEmwaI

it's like they took everything unintentionally awesome about how cheesy T-ARA can be and just went with it. i've never seen a girl group so cheeky and confident.