Enlistment dates for four SM artists this year have been confirmed, entertainment reports said Wednesday.
They are Super Junior's Choi Siwon, 28, Eunhyuk, 29, and Donghae, 29, and TVXQ's Changmin, 27. Eunhyuk and Donghae of Super Junior _ who also double as the"D&E" duo _ will enlist in October. Eunhyuk will enlist on Oct. 13 and Donghae on Oct. 15.
They are expected to enlist quietly, as other stars have done. Choi Siwon of Super Junior and Changmin of TVXQ will enlist on Nov.19. The two will serve as conscripted police officers.
Other SM artists doing compulsory military service include Super Junior members Shindong and Sungmin and also Yunho of TVXQ. |
Showing posts with label k-pop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label k-pop. Show all posts
Thursday, 10 September 2015
Singer Younha will release an EP album titled "View" in Japan on Wednesday, Yonhap reports.
 It will be her first album in five years. Her agency C9 Entertainment said the singer, 27, was seeking to recapture the popularity that followed her debut in Japan in 2004 with the single "Yubikiri." She was dubbed the "Oricon comet" when her song "Comet" reached No. 10 on Japan's Oricon weekly chart. For her latest Japanese album, Younha wrote the song "View," about troubled youths and their dreams. The album also includes three songs from Korean dramas, including the popular "Pinocchio" that starred hallyu actors Park Shin-hye and Lee Jong-suk. |
Tuesday, 8 September 2015
EXO will release their first single in Japan on Nov. 4, the K-pop band said in Tokyo on Sunday.
They were in Japan performing along with Japan's top singers including Ayumi Hamasaki at one of the island country's largest summer festivals.
They were in Japan performing along with Japan's top singers including Ayumi Hamasaki at one of the island country's largest summer festivals.
EXO perform at a stadium in Tokyo on Sunday. /Courtesy of SM Entertainment
EXO captivated over 50,000 audiences at a stadium in Tokyo with their charismatic performances.
EXO will hold concerts in Tokyo from Nov. 6 to 8 and Osaka from Nov. 13 to 15, and recently they decided to hold additional concerts in Fukuoka from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1, due to high demand.
EXO will hold concerts in Tokyo from Nov. 6 to 8 and Osaka from Nov. 13 to 15, and recently they decided to hold additional concerts in Fukuoka from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1, due to high demand.
Saturday, 8 March 2014
Super Junior ends world tour in Beijing
By Kim Ji-soo K-pop group Super Junior wrapped up its world tour with a performance in Beijing, Saturday. The group sang about 28 songs, including popular numbers such as “Sorry Sorry,” “Mr. Simple” and “Free & Single,” as well as presenting “character” shows where the members transformed into characters from the movie “The Avengers.” With that performance, Super Junior wrapped up its world tour titled “Super Show 5” which took it through 20 cities around the world. Among the cities they toured were Buenos Aires, Santiago, Lima and Manila, with an estimated audience of some 450,000 fans. Members of the group have been holding the “Super Show” since 2008, with a total of 97 performances in front of 1.35 million fans. |
Rock the world!
Veteran rock band YB going global By Park Si-soo “BANG BANG BANG BANG du-dung du-dung ...” Powerful drum beats open the track. The solo performance is soon overrun by the noisy but rhythmic sound of electric guitar. The sound instantly stirs listeners to shake their shoulders and tap their feet. It goes on for seconds and then the voice comes in: “Cigarettes is what she sells, I never saw such a beautiful face. Long hair, smoky eyes looking prettier everyday...” The vocalist sings the story of a man’s witty and tenacious attempts to go out with the girl and marks the end of the song’s first bar by shouting: “Saechimttegi,” a Korean term that can roughly be translated into “mean girl.” This is the beginning of “Cigarette Girl,” an English-language digital single Korea’s top rock band YB released on Feb. 18 on international music websites such as iTunes, Amazon and Spotify, in its very first step toward making inroads into the world’s two biggest music markets: the United States and the United Kingdom. Originally released in 1987 by folk singer Song Chang-sik, the song was transformed into a classic rock piece by YB in 1999. It was recently modified once again, this time for the band’s official foray overseas. To that end, the five-member band — composed of vocalist Yoon Do-hyun, bassist Park Tae-hee, guitarists Heo Joon and Scott Hellowell, and Kim Jin-won on the drums — hired Doug Goldstein, a former manager of the legendary U.S. rock band Guns N’ Roses, as its manager for overseas performances. ‘We’re excited about new journey’ YB members are set to leave for the United States in early March to make its debut there. They plan to travel to the U.S. and U.K. before releasing the band’s first full-length English-language album containing 10 or 12 songs in June. During a recent interview with The Korea Times at the band’s office in Mapo, northwestern Seoul, YB members appeared to have mixed emotions of being excited and anxious ahead of the much-anticipated journey. “We are very excited because YB is the first Korean rock band going overseas,” said YB’s leader and vocalist Yoon Do-hyun. “At the same time, we feel some anxiety because this is something nobody has attempted.” YB was formed in 1995 and has since released nine albums and numerous singles. Not only has the band’s musical prowess been recognized through the several domestic music awards it has received, but it has also hosted sold-out concerts here for many years. Yoon said it was the band’s long-held dream to knock on the door of the international rock scene. This seeming pipe-dream began to take shape after Yoon received an email from a screenwriter American friend last summer. “Sending the email on behalf of Doug, my friend wrote that Doug was interested in YB. He asked me to send YB albums to Doug. So I did it immediately,” the 42-year-old vocalist recollected. “Days later, I received an email from Doug. I could feel from the email that he (Doug) already had a crush on YB. Since then, everything has gone smoothly.” Knocking on the door of the Western market with “Cigarette Girl,” YB will release two full-length albums by 2018 under Goldstein’s guidance. “We are currently selecting songs, in coordination with our American agents, to be included on the first album,” he said. “We already have more than 100 songs released in Korea. They (agents) are reviewing all of them to pick out songs that meet the musical taste of our target audiences ... In the process, I’ve realized that the taste of foreign audiences is very different from that of local fans because our hit songs here were mostly excluded in the selection.” Joining YB in 2011, British guitarist Hellowell said the band’s powerful and dynamic music and performances, as seen in “Cigarette Girl,” will strongly appeal to international rock fans. “You may feel energy with our music and performances,” he said. “It’s not easy to see rock bands playing as actively as we do on stage... But we can make it without stage props, smoke or stuff like that.” Yoon echoed his view, saying “flawless” live performances are the band’s biggest strength. Translation matters YB members said the Korean-English translation of lyrics was the biggest difficulty they faced when making the digital single. “The lyrics were completely re-translated. It was changed at least four times,” Yoon said. “Four different people were involved in the translation in an effort to not lose the cultural context.” Hellowell, who took part in the translation work along with three other translation specialists, said it was “impossibly difficult” to translate the original lyrics into English with the witty storyline and humor of the original preserved intact. Reviewing the English lyrics of the song, Chon Hee-kyong, a professional Korean-English interpreter and translator, said, “Overall, it’s a fun translation of the original Korean version and even gives Western listeners a peek into Korean culture by leaving some of the words unchanged in Korean. Still, I found some parts of the song to be somewhat awkward, both in terms of the translation and the way they sounded as lyrics to a song.” Yoon said he pins high expectations on the band’s broadening of its horizons, adding he won’t be let down even if it goes awry. “Of course I hope to see YB songs ranked on the U.S. Billboard Chart and played globally. It’s not easy, though,” he said. “I just want to enjoy this moment.” Bassist Park echoed that view, saying his hope is that the band’s Western debut will pave the way for other talented Korean rock bands to expand their presence beyond local borders. Drummer Kim was somewhat more confident than the others. “Come and see our performances,” he said. “You will like it.” YB is scheduled to hold concerts in Atlanta, Dallas and Los Angeles, as well as performing at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, next month. |
2NE1 splashes on Billboard
By Chung Ah-young K-pop girl group 2NE1 has set the record for the highest-ranking K-pop album on the Billboard 200 with its latest album “Crush.” 2NE1's second full-length album was No. 61 on the Billboard 200, Wednesday, one of the main charts along with the Hot 100. The album sold 5,000 copies in the week ending March 2, according to Billboard.com, quoting Nielsen SoundScan. "Crush" broke the record for K-pop albums, set by Girls’ Generation’s TTS unit’s extended-play album “Twinkle,” which reached 126th in 2012. The four-member 2NE1 also landed in fifth place for World Digital Songs, Billboard’s genre chart, with "Come Back Home," a song from the new album. The Billboard 200 is one of the two major Billboard charts along with the Hot 100 singles chart, on which Korean rapper Psy held the second spot for seven consecutive weeks with his global viral hit "Gangnam Style" in 2012. 2NE1 made its debut in 2009 under YG Entertainment, one of the nation’s big three talent agencies, which is home to a slew of iconic K-pop stars, including BigBang and Psy. |
Wednesday, 1 January 2014
North America votes most for EXO, Japan for Kim Hyun-joong, Europe for SHINee
K-pop artists have established different popularity turfs in different countries, a global survey conducted by CJ E&M showed.
According to the poll results released Friday, the most popular K-pop artist globally turned out to be the girl group f(x) who won the highest percentage of votes at 16.4 percent, thanks to their Chinese fandom.
K-pop boy band Shinhwa won 15.1 percent and SS501 leader Kim Hyun-joong 9.3 percent, placing them second and third, followed by boy bands EXO and SHINee. EXO won the most votes from the U.S., Canada and Korea, whereas Kim Hyun-joong ruled in Japan and SHINee in Europe, Mexico and Argentina.
Such results came from CJ E&M’s analysis on about 5 million people from 178 nations who participated in “M Wave” (mwave.interest.me), an online poll for cable network music show M Countdown, on their favorite K-pop singers from January to December in 2013.
CJ E&M said the K-pop popularity charter was most diversified in the Asian continent, where different countries had different favorite K-pop stars, while countries from other continents showed similar tastes.
Among the Asian countries, f(x) was most popular in China, Kim Hyun-joong in Japan, and boy band FT Island in Taiwan. Girl group 2NE1 topped in the Philippines, EXO in India and Super Junior member Henry in Saudi Arabia.
“Foreign fans have different preferences for K-pop stars according to the national characteristics and the K-pop artists’ activities in their countries,” Seo Jeong-min, a global operation senior official at CJ E&M, was quoted as saying. He added that such an nalysis can be helpful in the future promotion strategies of K-pop stars.
By Chung Joo-won
According to the poll results released Friday, the most popular K-pop artist globally turned out to be the girl group f(x) who won the highest percentage of votes at 16.4 percent, thanks to their Chinese fandom.
K-pop boy band Shinhwa won 15.1 percent and SS501 leader Kim Hyun-joong 9.3 percent, placing them second and third, followed by boy bands EXO and SHINee. EXO won the most votes from the U.S., Canada and Korea, whereas Kim Hyun-joong ruled in Japan and SHINee in Europe, Mexico and Argentina.
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| (Photo provided by CJ E&M) |
Such results came from CJ E&M’s analysis on about 5 million people from 178 nations who participated in “M Wave” (mwave.interest.me), an online poll for cable network music show M Countdown, on their favorite K-pop singers from January to December in 2013.
CJ E&M said the K-pop popularity charter was most diversified in the Asian continent, where different countries had different favorite K-pop stars, while countries from other continents showed similar tastes.
Among the Asian countries, f(x) was most popular in China, Kim Hyun-joong in Japan, and boy band FT Island in Taiwan. Girl group 2NE1 topped in the Philippines, EXO in India and Super Junior member Henry in Saudi Arabia.
“Foreign fans have different preferences for K-pop stars according to the national characteristics and the K-pop artists’ activities in their countries,” Seo Jeong-min, a global operation senior official at CJ E&M, was quoted as saying. He added that such an nalysis can be helpful in the future promotion strategies of K-pop stars.
By Chung Joo-won
The four-member K-pop group Girl’s Day comprising Yura, Minah, Sojin and Hyeri will release their mini-album on Jan. 3.
A well-known duo of composers commonly known as Double Kick (Park Jang-gen and Milkey) produced the album. Four new songs including “Something,” “Show You” are featured on the album. According to Dream Tea Entertainment, the agency of Girl’s Day, Double Kick Music was in charge of both composing the music and writing the lyrics. The team has composed numerous K-pop hits by artists such as Sister and K-will. Girl’s Day won over K-pop fans last year with catchy music and sexy dance moves. The group will hold the showcase on the day of releasing their mini-album with a special performance on KBS’s Music Bank. |
By Kim Ji-soo
The much-awaited return of top K-pop star Rain will occur in the first week of the new year. The singer’s agency Cube DC, which is an affiliate of Cube Entertainment, said Tuesday that he will release his sixth studio album “Rain Effect” Thursday. The release date has been brought forward because the schedule for filming of his Hollywood film “The Prince” has been reset. “The Prince” — starring Bruce Willis and John Cusack —is the singer’s third Hollywood film following on the heels of “Speed Racer” and “Ninja Assassin.” “New additional dates for the film have been added, so we’ve decided that it would be better for fans that waited for Rain to meet him earlier than planned,” Cube said. The 31-year-old singer whose real name is Jung Ji-hoon on Tuesday disclosed teasers of the songs “30 Sexy” and “La Song” which are on the new album. Rain wrote the music and the lyrics of the six songs for his sixth album. The “30 Sexy” is dance music that entails a trendy synthesizer sound played repeatedly over hip-hop drum beat, and is expected to demonstrate his stage performance to the full. Rain appears in a retro-suit wearing a 10-centimeter heel, exuberant accessories and a dark kiss mark on his chin in the teaser images shown for “30 Sexy.” In “La Song,” Rain unveils Latin hip-hop sound with dance moves that portend to become instantly addictive. Since his discharge in July from military service, Rain has been under scathing public scrutiny that stemmed from him taking excessive leave while in the army to meet his top actress girlfriend Kim Tae-hee. He maintained a low profile, appearing on overseas stages including a concert through Japanese cities in November. But the singer who made the “100 Most Influential People Who Shape Our World” in a Time Magazine website article in 2006 is a dance and performance phenomenon recruited in 2007 by producer/singer Park Jin-young of JYP Entertainment and still heavily waited by fans. At his first official meeting with fans in October after his discharge, about 3,000 fans including those from abroad, gathered to show support for the singer. The solo act with hit songs such as “Ways to Avoid the Sun,” “I Do,” and “Rainism” still stands out amid the plethora of K-pop girl and boy groups. His return to the stage is also the first among the planned returns of the “titans” of K-pop, thus further heightening anticipation from fans. |
Thursday, 28 November 2013
Two idol groups will celebrate Christmas with their fans. The five girls that make up f(x) will work with the 12 male members of Exo to stage joint concerts at KINTEX in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Both belong to top talent agency SM Entertainment. f(x) have enjoyed continuous popularity since their debut in 2009, while Exo have recently emerged as one of the hottest K-pop boy groups.
The two groups will perform their hit songs and Christmas carols, accompanied by dance performances.
Meanwhile, SM Entertainment will offer year-end concerts from Dec. 21-29 under the banner of "SM Town Week," featuring Girls' Generation, SHINee, Super Junior and TVXQ.
Meanwhile, SM Entertainment will offer year-end concerts from Dec. 21-29 under the banner of "SM Town Week," featuring Girls' Generation, SHINee, Super Junior and TVXQ.
Singer Taeyang of boy group Big Bang debuted a new song Tuesday night during a concert in the United States.
Titled “1 AM,” the song was part of a show Taeyang did for a concert series hosted by MTV Iggy and Intel called the Music Experiment 2.0.
In addition to introducing the new song, he also performed many of his other hits such as “Look at Me Only” and “I Need a Girl.” Music producer Choice 37, who has composed many hit songs for YG Entertainment including “Bad Boy” and “One of a Kind,” performed as a guest.
The Music Experiment series has included such artists as Empire of the Sun and Arcade Fire.
The two versions of Taeyang’s latest single “Ringa Linga” have racked up 10.6 million and 6.1 million YouTube views since they were released three weeks ago.
By Lee Sun-min
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| Taeyang |
Titled “1 AM,” the song was part of a show Taeyang did for a concert series hosted by MTV Iggy and Intel called the Music Experiment 2.0.
In addition to introducing the new song, he also performed many of his other hits such as “Look at Me Only” and “I Need a Girl.” Music producer Choice 37, who has composed many hit songs for YG Entertainment including “Bad Boy” and “One of a Kind,” performed as a guest.
The Music Experiment series has included such artists as Empire of the Sun and Arcade Fire.
The two versions of Taeyang’s latest single “Ringa Linga” have racked up 10.6 million and 6.1 million YouTube views since they were released three weeks ago.
By Lee Sun-min
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| SHINee. (S.M. Entertainment) |
On top of preparations for the performances, the group is also preparing a special stage for the concert, which will take place on Nov. 30 in Shanghai Gymnasium.
“We are paying a lot of attention to the lighting and musical aspects of the stage,” a representative stated, adding, “We are checking even the smallest detail to make a perfect performance that fans will not be able to forget.”
Since debuting in 2008, the K-pop group has gained popularity all over the world, with strong fan bases in Japan and China.
SHINee recently released its newest EP, “Everybody,” in October and won the Best Dance Performance of the Year at the fifth annual Mnet Asia Music Awards held in Hong Kong.
After performing in Shanghai, the group is set to perform in Beijing on Jan. 18 of next year.
By Cha Yo-rim
Earlier this month, K-pop girl group Girls’ Generation beat out big names Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and even Korean YouTube sensation Psy to take the “Video of the Year” award at the first-ever YouTube Music Awards.
The initial reaction of the crowd gathered at the awards ceremony in New York can be summed up with one word: Huh?
Despite being one of the hottest groups in Korea and most of Asia, their name still does not ring a bell immediately in U.S. mainstream music. On YouTube, however, the group has emerged as a force to be reckoned with.
“I Got A Boy,” the song that grabbed the top video honor for Girls’ Generation, has accumulated nearly 78 million views as of Thursday, along with well over 449,000 likes.
The nine-member group is not the only K-pop frontrunner that has enjoyed success on the video sharing website. Boy band Big Bang’s “Fantastic Baby” garnered 89 million views in less than two years, and many still remember the worldwide impact of Psy’s “Gangnam Style” last year.
They are not quite global hot shots like Bieber, Lady Gaga and Cyrus, but individual fans’ reactions to K-pop certainly create a buzz.
What is called “reaction videos” -- where Internet users record their reactions on YouTube as they view certain videos -- for K-pop are sprouting up all over the Internet.
Although some may find it hard to understand why such reaction videos are made in the first place, K-pop reaction videos shed light on how Korean singers captivate a wider range of audiences.
“It’s great. It’s like a colorful chaos,” said one YouTube user in a video made by online producers Fine Brothers after watching the music video for “Fantastic Baby.” Another user said bright colors, dancing, chaos and key English lines in the video combine to make up K-pop.
The K-pop music videos have plenty of attractive features beside their catchy tunes. The singers’ fashion, abundant use of color or exaggerated gestures are only some of the eye-catching characteristics.
Some people find their music videos downright odd. As one person put it, “This is the most confusing thing I’ve watched in the past 48 hours.”
K-pop videos are gaining greater popularity on the strength of such peculiar features.
After all, “Gangnam Style” -- the most beloved K-pop video ever and by far the most viewed YouTube video in history -- is all the more popular due to its eccentric nature.
This reaction from a U.S. man who watched Shinee’s music video may best explain the unexpected surge of K-pop videos on the YouTube: “Ridiculous …But I like it.”
By Yoon Min-sik
Friday, 22 November 2013
'2013 MelOn Music Awards' Winners Revealed - SHINee, EXO, and Busker Busker Take Home Top Prizes
Check out the full list of winners and clips of their acceptance speeches
(Photo : MelOn)
On the evening of November 14 (KST), MelOn, one of South Korea's biggest music sites, held their annualMelOn Music Awards ceremony in Seoul at the Olympic Gymnastic Arena.
Now in its fifth year, the MelOn Music Awards is counted among K-Pop's biggest and most important awards shows. The ceremony's popularity is largely contributed to the emphasis on fan votes and digital sales to determine winners, thus making it a more accurate representation of the Korean music industry's international appeal.
Some of this year's winners did not come at all as a surprise to fans, while other, lesser known artists took home some awards for their hard work.
Check out the winners for each category below as well as some clips from the awards show that was broadcasted live on MBC.
As previously announced, Ailee, B2ST, Busker Busker, Davichi, Dynamic Duo, EXO, G-Dragon, IU, SHINee, and SISTAR were all recognized as this year's top ten artists and during the awards show each artist or group was recognized on stage for their achievements.
However, the night's highest honor, Artist of the Year, went to SM Entertainment male idol group SHINee.
Busker Busker managed to impress fans this year with the release of their '2nd Album' which went on to win the MelOn Award for Album of the Year.
"Growl" from 12-member Korean-Chinese boy band EXO took the prize for Song of the Year, which altogether was not entirely surprising considering the group's widespread international fame and high record sales. This distinction also gained the group the Netizen's Choice Award.
When Psy was announced as the Global Artist Award winner, few were surprised. His hit songs "Gangnam Style" and this year's "Gentleman" have broken records the world over and have made him one of the most recognizable stars on the planet.
Rookie artists BTS and Kim Ye Rim were recognized as the best of K-Pop's fresh new faces with their acceptance of Newcomer Awards while Crayon Pop and Rose Motel took home Hot Trend Awards.
B2ST's "Shadow" music video and its director Lee Gi Baek won the Music Video Award and songwriterShinsadong Tiger was acknowledged for his contribution to this year's rich musical offers.
Colorful girl group f(x) was recognized with the MBC Star Award.
As for the various Music Style Awards, "Shower of Tears" by Baechigi and featuring Ailee took the prize for Rap/Hip-Hop while Yoon Mirae scored the OST Award for her track "Touch Love" from the Master's Sun soundtrack.
Balladeer Huh Gak scored a win for "Monodrama" and K.Will nabbed recognition for his R&B tune "You Don't Know Love."
The Pop Award distinction went to American Bruno Mars whose single "Young Girls" was also widely popular among South Korean fans this year.
Big Bang's G-Dragon & 2NE1's CL Start Off 2013 MAMA On A Winning Note
By Adrienne Stanley | November 22, 2013 09:06 AM EST
G-Dragon wins the Best Music Video Award.
Within the first hour of the four hour 2013 MAMA ceremony Big Bang's leader G-Dragon received the Nissan Juke Best Music Video Award and 2NE1's CL was the winner of the Best Dance Performance-Female Solo Award. During the Red Carpet, many artists expressed excitement for the comeback stages of Big Bang, TOP's solo stage, as well as 2NE1. G-Dragon also received the award for Best Male Artist, which was given to him by America's very own living Barbie, Paris Hilton. G-Dragon thanked YG Family and his fans, VIP for the win. Audiences were treated to humorous expressions and plenty of aegyo from G-Dragon, as well as his group mate Seungri.
MAMA 2013 opened with performances by Jaurim, Jay Park, and Lee Ha Neul with the Enter the Dragon stage. It was a fusion of rock and hip hop that was very well received by the audience.
Other performance highlights included a very sexy stage by Trouble Maker of Now. Audiences went wild for HyunA's sensual dance and a very passionate kiss at the end of the stage. Big Bang's G-Dragon and Seungri were particularly funny throughout this performance showing approval for the artists.
INFINITE delivered a very powerful rendition of BTD which segued into Destiny. The group highlighted their trademark synchronization, as well as their rap skills throughout their performance. It is obvious that the group has gained a lot of skill from their world tour.
2NE1 closed out the first hour of MAMA, beginning with their performance of Lonely which led to the live stage of their new ballad Missing You.
Other winners in the first hour of the award included Sistar's win for Best Dance Performance-Female Group and Crayon Pop for Best New Female Artist. The Discovery of the Year award was given to BaechiGi and Best Asian Artist China was awarded to Aaron Kwok.
With the performances and awards just beginning, it is obvious that there will be many more surprises to come. 2013 MAMA is definitely a reflection of the worldwide votes and the 2 billion plus worldwide viewers. With broadcasts and live streams held throughout the world, 2013 MAMA has proven to be an event for true music fans.
Photo Credit: Mnet America
Girls' Generaiton to hold year-end concert Dec. 22
By Kim Ji-soo The K-pop group Girls’ Generation will hold a year-end party at KINTEX, Ilsan,Gyeonggi Province on Dec. 22. Dubbed “Marchen Fantasy,” the concert will begin on 6 p.m. with folktale-like images in the background. The nine members of the girls group are preparing a repertory of Christmas carols and individual stage performances. The Girls’ Generation concert is part of the SMTOWN Week concerts that will take place from Dec. 21 through Dec. 29. Other artists from SM Entertainment including TVXQ, Super Junior, SHINee, f(x) and EXO will perform during the week. Girls’ Generation recently won an inaugural YouTube music award for its music video for “I Got a Boy.” The song is the title track of the group’s fourth studio album that was released in January. The album was composed by Dsign Music, the group of famous composers that composed the hit song “Genie” as well as the top composers of Europe including Will Simms and Sarah Lundback, and the composer from Korea, YooYoung-jin participated. |
Monday, 16 September 2013
B-class acts ridicule authority
 Before rapper Psy became an international sensation with “Gangnam Style” last year, he was considered a “geek artist” relying on a gimmick. Noted for eccentric performances and cheesy raps, Psy has since been synonymous with so-called “B-class” culture that is dominantly pervading the Korean cultural scene. The kitsch code, previously shared by small groups of fans, is now a majority taste for the young ― in particular, among those in their 20s and 30s that are influenced by the Internet culture. The term B-class culture is taken from the term B-movie, referring to low-budget motion pictures that became a genre after successful productions in 1930s but more commonly used to describe a movie of noticeably poor quality. The term B-class culture is widely used in Korean cultural scene particularly after Psy proclaimed he is an icon of the B-class music. There is no clear definition of B-class culture and it deviates from the mainstream culture but receives support from fans. The common connotations include cheesy elements mixed with cult fashion, violence and sex. But the core code of B-class culture is laughter, at least in the Korean cultural scene. More people are fervently responding to cultural content based on self-mocking humor and parodies sometimes mixed with sexual elements and meaningless foolery.
“Saturday Night Live Korea” (SNL Korea), a sketch comedy and variety show on tvN, which was adapted from the American TV show on NBC, is garnering the enormous popularity with its B-class humors mixing sexual connotations. When the show was first aired in 2011, it received mixed reactions toward its satires and parodies on politicians and sexual jokes which have rarely been seen on Korean television comedy shows. The program hit the spotlight when it broadcast the skit titled “Yeouido Teletubbies Return” last year. The skit transformed the main characters of the popular children’s show into presidential candidates and satirized them as the election neared. It received rave reviews among social networking services and online bulletin boards and became popular on YouTube. The skit recorded the highest ratings among the skits in the show. Since then, the show has been supported by young people who are familiar with the Internet culture where social and political parodies and sexual jokes are relatively freely expressed. It has broken taboos for major broadcasters, becoming bolder and more aggressive in mocking politicians and adopting sexual codes. Comedian Kim Gu-ra gained popularity after spending years on his Internet-based talk show which reveals straightforward remarks, including sometimes blunt hate-talk toward certain politicians and celebrities. Kim was recently featured as a special guest in the SNL Korea, stealing the limelight on the same time slot on Friday night with his trademark “hate speeches” and parodies. The B-class code is also often found in other comedy shows such as “Gag Concert” on KBS which features straightforward parodies and humor in the prime time slot on Sunday, building up its own strong viewership. “Infinite Challenge,” the most popular entertainment show on MBC, also highlights comedians such as Noh Hong-chul and Park Myung-soo who are self-proclaimed “B-class” entertainers. They are willing to reveal their cheesy, quirky comical performances such as “cringe-worthy dances” which are drawing enormous popularity from the viewers. After Psy’s global phenomenon, girl band Crayon Pop, who has been in trouble over its inappropriate comments which are widely used in “Ilbe” (www.ilbe.com), an online message board dominated by supporters of ultra right-wing politics, is one of the hottest K-pop rookies. The group’s single “Bar Bar Bar” has created much buzz with its eccentric choreography so-called “straight-five engine dance.” The girls wear bicycle helmets, polo shirts and sweatpants beneath their miniskirts, which are far from the stereotyped images of the K-pop girl groups. Breaking the common sexy codes in the showbiz industry, the group’s dorky experiment is being evaluated as the next major player following Psy in the B-class cultural phenomenon. A famous web-based cartoon “The Sound of the Heart” by Cho Suk has generated a strong fan base. It is based on the artist’s mundane events which can draw much empathy from the audience such as common mistakes in school days or military service mixed with his quirky humor, irony and unexpected twists in the end. The cartoon has been published into a printed version, selling more than 60,000 copies. A recent book titled “B-class Culture Raids Korea” written by Lee Hyung-suk states that such cultural phenomenon has been created by the generations in their 30-40s who couldn’t join the A-class social mainstream and is enjoyed by the young generation in their 20s. The author analyzes the current trend that reflects social anxiety from those in their 40s who experienced the hard times under the threats of the high unemployment rate and early retirements while going through the financial crisis in the late 1990s. “They have been estranged from the economic mainstream but have anti-authoritarian tendency as they grew up amid the democratic movement in 1980s. At the same time, they represent hedonism and consumerism as they were influenced by dramatic development of the mass pop culture in 1990s,” the book states. The book says that the B-class culture expresses the desires of people who feel a sense of depravity and their yearnings for change and reform deeply ingrained in their minds, bringing an end to grand narratives and stoicism. |
Super Junior’s “Hero,” the group’s first full-length Japanese album, has been released in Korea.
SM Entertainment said Friday that it has repackaged it into two CDs and a DVD. “Hero” was released on July 24 in Japan, immediately topping the Oricon daily chart upon its release. The album will contain 23 tracks that include not only the group’s popular songs of “Sexy, Free & Single” and “Mr. Simple,” but new tracks such as “Bambina,” “Tuxedo” and “Hero.” The DVD will feature the music videos of the group’s hit songs as well as those of the new single “Hero,” and Super Junior-K.R.Y’s “Hanamizuki.” Meanwhile, the group performed on Saturday in Guangzhou, China in the “Super Show5.” |
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