K-pop

It is pretty great, and such a huge surprise/turnaround since the group debuted earlier this year with shit no-one cared about. You can always watch the live performances -- they sing well, and do a weird splits sequence, even if the dance is otherwise amateurish.

oh lord at the splits sequence

disappointed they didn't strap on guitars midway through!

Liking this Gummy - There Is No Love (live)

An absolute smash hit from 2NE1. Supposedly a song made for Yamaha as a commercial soundtrack thing, but I hope this gets the proper treatment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5ekB4l-6wg

have to wonder, is this current phase of k-pop running out of steam?

^ you say that after that BANGER?

Well yeah, 2009 was a peak year and set so many milestones that 2010 has ended up as a "well, shall we try to do that again?" year. A very attentive global WWW audience has worked with the same zealous force as Bieber fans in pushing videos to the 'most viewed' section of Youtube and artists to Twitter TT, and we've seen a successful move into Japan and a potentially lucrative future. But the music has felt less eventful than the stories. Meanwhile, those who have actually taken different paths have silently found a bigger success -- group member gone solo Ga-In, who was cheeky enough to take some control herself and put out a record with an oddly fully-fledged tango pop sound, did a lot better than her company expected and reached #1. Secret went the Rich Harrison-route, a sound no one else is doing in k-pop now, and took off, despite a low-key media presence. Countless new rookie groups who have copied others with a lot of attention given to them, meanwhile, have failed sales-wise. That should be a wake-up call.

Prospects: Big Bang is coming back, partly this december and fully in February. They're increasingly self-made, songwriting and producing much of the material themselves now and with the rest of the YG artists represent a more feel-good view of the k-pop industry. Koreas (potential) Taylor Swift (credit: me) IU is coming back in a WEEK and I have no idea what it will sound like, but if it isn't guitar-driven and if she hasn't been given a chance at songwriting herself (obviously something she can do as per her cover arrangements) I might give up on the industry. God knows she's got the potential to single-handedly change it and inspire a flood of self-made girls/ labels giving them a chance, because every little 'featuring' she's had on a song this year has made it reach #1. She's definitely one of the most valuable assets for the industry.

I think that's where it needs to go: Stronger personalities and characters, not another girl group made of long-legged models with 10 members who don't even have the dance/vocal skills we always knew we'd get in k-pop (*cough* Nine Muses) - and I do love k-pop girl groups. But there's a reason the buyers prefer 2NE1, or Taeyang, or this year's "Korean Idol" winners. And I do think it's where they will go, because the industry's turnaround rate is pretty impressive. It's only a few years ago when girl groups were all out of fashion.

My personal best of 2010 list soon.

yeah, the asian penchant for copying things to death is well known. I'm excited for IU - I only have that one song she did with 2AM, but it's fabulous. one of my students was really excited about her because of the reasons you mentioned.

And this gorgeous duet she did with the mellowest voice in Korea. His is the sound of cream poured over strawberries.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcQ7YBjb89A

is there any kind of NK-pop scene? (state sponsored or otherwise)
the last article i read about refugees only had a snippet about a kind of tacitly approved black market in chinese pop stars for DPRK ex-pats.

BBC radio DJ Andy Kershaw noted, on a visit to North Korea, that the only recordings available were by the pop singers Jon Hye-yong, Kim Kwang-suk, Jo Kum-hwa and Ri Pun-hui, and the groups Wangjaesan Light Music Band, the Mansudae Art Troupe and the Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble, who play in a style Kershaw refers to as "light instrumental with popular vocal".[3] There is also the State Symphony Orchestra, the Sea of Blood Opera Company, two choruses, an orchestra and an ensemble dedicated to Isang Yun's compositions, all in Pyongyang. The Pyongyang Film Studios also produces many instrumental songs for its films.

Some of this was featured in the Pop World Cup.

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

I'd also like to offer up to other tracks from her new mini-album-
Guitar-looped RnB...love her vocals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aw3g11yVcI
Folk-ish, beautiful mild melody https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKGGOCDak9w

I tried to put those as urls instead of embeds, guess that didn't work.

and you say she writes all her songs herself? I have a new crush

p.s. does anybody else read this thread besides me and philip nunez?

aaaaaand she's 17, so I don't have a new crush

Haha.

I didn't say that, unfortunately, I said I hope she will be composing soon because her guitar cover arrangements that she has arranged herself shows she's got the touch, and she's expressed in interviews she wishes to eventually take full control. She did write some lyrics on this album though, and has associated herself with the right people.

Not sure if anyone reads it.. no one replies, anyway! Frank's doing a fair bit of k-pop posting on his livejournal, though.

On that note, hello everybody, I've decided to jump in on this thread! I run, for lack of better description, a conscious K-pop blog called My First Love Story and was referred here a while back by Frank Kogan. Interestingly I am also a friend of the person who repped Korea Republic in this year's Pop World Cup, but that's neither here nor there. (For the record, he didn't take many of my suggestions!)

I'm here to post this because it's amazing: "High High", from an upcoming side project of two members of Big Bang, G-Dragon and T.O.P. It seems G-Dragon had a hand in a lot of the songwriting/production for this album, which is a level of control/authorship that is quite rare in K-pop.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC66dT6dFBU

It also seems like this has been talked about in relation to Big Bang/G-Dragon before. Oops. That's what I get for tl;dr-ing.

nice to have you posting! your blog looks pretty great

Thanks! I'm looking forward to the discussion here (such as it is).

Here's the video for "High High" featuring cameos from the other members of Big Bang and Teddy Park (a producer with YG Entertainment). There might be others (I'd be shocked if Yang Goon himself wasn't in it) but it's a bit like playing Where's Waldo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1M0UKcq8ro

Welcome!
High High sounds a bit 'Like a G6'-ish, doesn't it? A few listens in and I'm pretty hooked. I'm going to admit I hope the Big Bang album does not sound like this, but it's a great way to launch a side project. Here's the song they did with Park Bom, and she's the best thing about it. Are they shooting an MV for that as well?

The folks at The Singles Jukebox are going through 'lost and found' singles of the year and here's their take on After School's Bang!. A lot of them like it - let's hope they decide to visit this thread.

hah, even the video to how high is kind of simialr to the video to like a g6

bang! sounds underproduced. it needs to sound more massive than it is

Ga-In solo remains one of the best surprises of the k-pop year, now with another single

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2cXvd1aDkg

Retracing the k-pop hits of 2010 I've discovered that it has actually been a fantastic year for singles. I think I could've kept going with this list.

Best of 2010

Singles-

1. 2NE1 - Try To Follow Me
2. E.Via - Shake!
3. After School - Bang!
4. IU - Good Day
5. GD&TOP - Knock Out
6. 2NE1 - Clap Your Hands
7. SNSD - Oh!
8. f(x) - NU ABO
9. Girl's Day - Nothing Lasts Forever
10. Hyunah - Change
11. GD&TOP - High High
12. Ga-In - Irreversible
13. SNSD - Run Devil Run
14. SISTAR - Fake Girl
15. Lee Hyori - Swing
16. Infinite - She's Back
17. Taeyang - I Need A Girl
18. 4MINUTE - Huh
19. KARA - Jumping
20. KARA - Lupin

Honorable mentions:

Sung Shi Kyung & IU - It's You
2NE1 - Go Away
Gummy - As a Man
BoA - Woo Weekend
BoA - Possibility
JJ - Come Closer
YDG ft. Fresh Boyz - 탄띠 (Bandolier)
Rainbow - A
SISTAR - How Dare You
Super Junior - Bonamana
Super Junior - No Other
SNSD - Hoot
VNT - Ye Ye Ye
Lady Jane ft Verbal Jint - Love You Everyday
T-ara - YaYaYaA
Secret - Madonna
Nine Muses - No Playboy
Infinite - Come Back Again
Shinee - Lucifer
Seo In Young - Into the Rhythm
Taeyeon - Like a StarA

Albums/EPs -

1. GD&TOP - GD&TOP Vol. 1
1. 2NE1 - To Anyone
3. Taeyang - Solar
4. BoA - Hurricane Venus
5. Ga-In - Step 2/4

for some reason I forgot Miss A, who def had one of my favorite singles

Ok, so the MBC Gayo Daejun (year-end show for MBC) killed most any k-pop spectacle I've previously had the pleasure of watching, in terms of general smoothness of presentation and novelty of performances.

Highlights:

After School introducing a new guitar-wielding (and guitar-majoring, music academy-graduating) member in the oddest, greatest stunt of k-pop 2010. A few questions to ponder: When will expert electric guitar talent ever come in handy as a girl group member? If they do make use of it, how can it not be the greatest thing ever to have her break into ridiculous solos for all future middle eights?

Rainbow with the greatest remix of the night, a new 'A' version. Takes on a bass-heavy, dirtier quality.

Fairly badass BoA tribute.

GD&TOP feat. 2NE1

IU and Luna (of f(x)) (and Onew of Shinee) joining two slightly dull indie rock bands... with a pretty great result?

Run Devil Run really is the best of last year's SNSD singles when it comes to live performances.

INFINITE showing supreme dancing skills. Look at that synch!

Davichi w/ Sunset Glow cover

2PM, Miss A and particularly Fei doing some sweet moves.

for some reason I forgot Miss A, who def had one of my favorite singles

― abcfsk, Sunday, December 26, 2010 11:56 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark

I love good girl bad girl, which has such a melancholic feel

Jan. 23
Lee Eun Mi (South Korean pop singer on 3 city US tour, NYC, Orange County & the Wash. DC area) at 7 at George Mason University Center for the Arts, 4400 University Dr. Fairfax, VA

k-pop don't stop etc. first batch of 2011 releases/videos

TVXQ/DBSK, now only 2 members strong after members leaving, forming their own group (JYJ) suing SM Ent etc., finally make a comeback. Recall earlier discussions about 'Cassies', ie the most zealous fanbase in Korea. Keep Your Head Down wants to sound epic and important (horns, always horns in _big_ tunes), but it's a bit "eehh" isn't it?

My favorite among the various GD&TOP lead singles, Knock Out.

Production/songwriting duo E-Tribe have started their own girl group, 'Dal Shabet'. In a sort of Xenomania/Girls Aloud / TheDream+Tricky/Electrik Red (not anymore, I guess) way they'll be responsible for their output. Supa Dupa Diva is not for you if you've ever made the argument that k-pop producers stuff too many ideas/songs into one composition.

Re: new DBSK, since this will inevitably be compared to JYJ's American single(s) I might as well do it now and say that I like this a lot better, though I acknowledge that it has something to do with my expectations for K-pop being different from my expectations for North American-oriented pop. The video, though, is on about the same level of embarrassing and overproduced as Ayyy Girl's, so there are no winners there.

I prefer JYJ's song. I don't love that one either, and think they should take some more English classes, but at least it's closer to my sweet spot, ie smooth rnb that goes down easy. The DBSK video is trademark SM Ent on autopilot -- shiny, clean, gray surroundings to dance in front of.

HANTEO physical album sales 2010*

OVERALL
1. SNSD 312,000
2. Super Junior 263,000
3. SHINee 155,000
4. JYJ 128,000
5. B2ST 112,000
6. 2PM 107,000
7. 2AM 96,000
8. 2NE1 64,000
9. BOA 63,000
10. KARA 54,000

*Hanteo is but one chart. Although it's got some credibility to its name they only count select stores. The ranking is probably accurate, the numbers way too low. Note that these are general album sales counting all albums/mini-albums sold by the artist in 2010, including old releases.

Not to mention they don't count December sales (ie IU and GD+TOP)

Another point to consider here is that a group like Super Junior is super strong on physical sales rankings (bc of super devoted fan base?), but non-existant at the top of digital sales rankings. This is not true for SNSD, their presence is strong everywhere and they can be considered more of a mainstream act and less at the mercy of supporter loyalty (that's how I read it anyway). 2NE1 is the #1 ringtone artist of the year, by the way. As far as I know there's nowhere to see digital album sales in Korea, or digital numbers at all. The GAON chart counts both physical and digital, but sales info...? And international sales, like 2NE1 with their US Itunes chart showing, is of course a mystery.

My inclinations proven somewhat right with the first digital album ranking for 2010. It's just for one store, MelOn, and they strangely count 'single albums' as well as actual albums (which means singles from album campaigns are not counted, but singles that were not featured on an album might be).

You can see the list here http://www.allkpop.com/2011/01/melon-releases-results-for-2010-top-100-album-chart - I don't want to post the whole thing just to show that Super Junior is as low as #85 with their album, while SNSD is at #2. Perennial bores 2AM with their mini-album at the top are best left unmentioned.

1. 2AM – “Can’t Send You Away Even If I Die”
2. SNSD – “Oh!”
3. 2NE1 – “To Anyone”
4. DJ DOC – “Taste for the Arts”
5. IU & 2AM’s Seulong – “Nagging”
6. CNBLUE – “Bluelove”
7. “Baker King Kim Tak Gu” OST Part 3
8. Homme by Hitman Bang – “Homme”
9. T-ara – “Braking Heart”
10. CNBLUE – “Bluetory”
11. miss A – “Bad But Good”
12. Blue Brand – “Trauma”
13. Davichi – “Innocence”
14. Hyori – “H Logic”
15. Hot Potato – “Seesaw”

my new kpop fave

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they already won m.countdown with this, congrats

also, so many great songs mentioned in this thread, but not much beast, i'm really surprised.
yg artists are the most popular internationally right now i guess, but beast is gonna take over soon i guess.

fixing the embed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL0sfti1DcA

also, the beat is kind of a straight rip of

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UlhLd76IzQ

thanks for fixing my failed embed

yeah it's a possible rip cause diplo already made a few remixes of perculator & knock out is the first kpop produced by diplo.

diplo dıpןo
its true kpop is soo #based right now
10 hours ago

still going through your post abcsfk, but oh my BoA may be my new favorite k-pop artist. it's a lot easier to glom onto a single person rather than an anonymous 5 person front.

also that sistar song in the top 20 is great. also like the gummy track so far

No one does 'casual cool' better than BoA imo

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

She rose to 5th on the list of richest stock investors in the Korean entertainment industry last year, btw. Deserved.

Here's my Korean top twenty for 2010, very similar to Mat's, which is not surprising given that I was basically following his and anhh's recommendations as to what to listen to. You'll notice that I rank the wrong E.via track and the wrong Miss A track higher than the right ones. "Knock Out" is 2011,* and I'm not sure where I'll put it; it's slow and strange at first, then it gets good and strange. TOP's hair is as white as Jim Jarmusch's.

1. After School "Bang!"
2. E.via "Pick Up! U!"
3. E.via "Shake!"
4. 2NE1 "Try To Follow Me"
5. DJ DOC "I'm A Guy Like This"
6. GD&TOP "High High"
7. Girl's Day "Nothing Lasts Forever"
8. Miss A "Breathe"
9. Rainbow "A"
10. Lee Hyori "Swing"
11. IU "Good Day"
12. 2NE1 "Can't Nobody"
13. DJ DOC "Together (Remix)"
14. Ga-In "Irreversible"
15. SNSD "Oh!"
16. T-ara "Ya Ya Ya"
17. Kara "Jumping"
18. Miss A "Bad Girl Good Girl"
19. 4minute "I My Me Mine"
20. 4minute "HuH"

I discuss some of these as part of my year-end singles wrap-up over on my lj, if anyone wants to visit. Also on Friday tried to get a discussion going regarding "Ya Ya Ya" to inaugurate Problematic Korean Video Friday but didn't get many takers so far. If you have any candidates for further problematics, let me know.

*Actually, I'd count a lot of these tracks as eligible for 2011, also, anything released in December for sure and maybe some in November.

Possibly problematic video: 2NE1 - Go Away (feat. domestic violence (later, in a live performance of the song, CL convincingly beats down a male dancer)).

I'm surprised at 'pikachu' suddenly at #2. You and the Single Jukebox crew's work on pushing 'Bang!' contributed to me moving it a lot of places upwards.
----

Similarly I've realized that I've underrated SM Entertainment's in-house producer Yoo Young-jin's work last year, partly because of this interview which lead me to put his songs on repeat x 10. Mainly Super Junior's Bonamana and SHINee's Lucifer. I think I was frustrated by the lack of melody when they were released, and how uninterested they were in prettiness. I don't even know how to capture their spirit in words, something about words as bullets and impossibly sharp edges, at least for 'Bonamana', which is the greatest of the two.

He really has found his own sound, and also applied some of it to f(x)'s fantastic NU ABO, which I already had included on my top 10 (and also took a long time to get into), although that song is co-credited to some foreign songwriters.

Not that he's close to being a one-trick pony, as seen on his discography. He's worked with the company from the start and wrote most of their early hits.

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

Interestingly, his only work with SM's big guns Girls' Generation is writing the lyrics for 'Genie'. And this corny little tribute that was shown on their Asian tour concerts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKqhgoKN9g0

Seo In Young - Into the Rhythm

^^ has a 'katy on a mission' vibe to it

Holy shit holy shit

Reports of KARA splitting from their agency, DSP Media Entertainment, has sent shockwaves throughout the music industry. The members of KARA, excluding leader Gyuri, reasoned that they had lost their confidence in their relationship with DSP Media Entertainment, and that it could never be regained again.

Landmark, KARA’s lawyers, reported on January 19th:

“Despite KARA receiving much love from their activities in both Korea and Japan, the members have experienced inexplicable pain that brought them to this decision. They’ve held it in for a long time, but in order to protect their rights and their future, the members have decided to part ways from their company.

KARA has tried their absolute best in compromising with their company prior to their decision, but their agency used their power in forcing the members to fulfill schedules that they did not want, and continuously added activities on top of a loaded schedule without prior consent or discussion. The psychological damages that the members were forced to endure cannot be explained in words, and their efforts have gone to waste. Their misery is severe, and they can no longer remain under such a company, which is why they decided to declare their withdrawal.

Trust is the most important aspect of a relationship between an agency and its artist, but the agency has been using KARA as a way to make money. A variety of issues that have not been stated are still present. The agency has decided the majority of the girls’ celebrity activities without any sort of discussion or meeting, and has rejected requests asking for explanations or for proper documents. Their relationship has been destroyed to the point that it could never be restored again.“

Representatives of DSP Media commented, “This is ridiculous, we are not sure what went wrong. We have yet to understand the situation. We’ll be releasing an official statement soon.”

The final Big Bang side project before their comeback.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QZo5Ji43u8

^Has k-pop ever sounded more American?

I was a huge fan of Lee Jung-Hyun back in the day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0Mtk9NGpU8

Anyone know if her 2010 album is worth investigating?

Between 2NE1's To Anyone, the GD&TOP album, and now Seungri's album, I see YGE's production heading in a direction much more in tune with current trends in American pop music. This song even has a "My Love"-style part in which the rapper tells the girl to go for the singer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnDNbztO1K8

It makes me curious as to what Big Bang's upcoming album (if it ever materializes...) is going to sound like, because I think Big Bang's output has been steadily heading away from directly American-inspired hip hop to the typical synthy K-/J-Pop sound. Are these solo projects just so Big Bang can keep doing what it's doing without stifling its members?

Mr YG himself said that groups break up because the individual members don't get to display their individual creative ambitions. Or something like that. I hope that doesn't mean they'll abandon the rnb sound for Big Bang. They can still do synths, but in a 'Sunset Glow' kind of way. I heard talks about a rock sound, though? Hmm.

You're right, but is To Anyone that Americanized? Some of the songs probably are, but 'Follow Me' and 'Clap Your Hands' is like a step away from the familiar sounds they did I Don't Care and into a more unique, crazy place.