kpop 2019

loona are so good arent they

Japanese singer releases Korean single in the Japanese city-pop genre style

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67jSYCSrnE4

Really should post this over on the J-pop thread but on a similar tip, Japanese-Korean artist Chanmina raps/sings in both languages + English. She's a Big Bang fan if it's not obvious.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ1caaQYkz0

just catching up on the past few weeks - posted about it a bit on the Big Bang thread, but what started as tawdry gossip over a nightclub assault has turned into an epic clusterfuck. Like this article doesn't even scratch the surface of what's been reported on so far (if anyone finds a decent primer on it, let me know).

Meanwhile, the rest of kpop world keeps on rolling.

the season of great debuts continues with TXT (I'm annoyed that Spotify lists them by their full name TOMORROW X TOGETHER, which is just awkward):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3iSnJ663II

"Senorita" has really grown on me. Love those horns:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8APgeFfkAk

Park Bom be like "YG who?" I don't love her in ballad mode, but this is nice enough. I'm happy to hear her voice again and she must be so relieved to have escaped YG's dungeon when she did lol.

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

And finally, the best music video of 2019 so far (sorry CRJ):

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dab4EENTW5I

Been talking w my kpop obsessed daughter about the scandal. My colleague's sister was just "wtf is happening!" The whole coverage is weird too. Watching it on youtube, it's weird.

yeh the coverage has been a lil strange

xp that sunmi song rules

re coverage: I think it's because it wasn't a single exposé that revealed everything or a scandal that was focused on a particular issue - it started with a brawl at a club, and unfolded in fits and starts to uncover all manner of wrongdoing in Seoul's celebrity/party/business circles. The central figure in all of the stories is Big Bang's Seungri, who straddles all of these worlds - on top of being part of one of Korea's biggest and most-loved boy groups, he owns a successful ramen chain and has a reputation as a party boy. So all of the reporting has ultimately been about him really, even as it has engulfed other pop stars/celebs.

I will say that as a former Big Bang obsessive, nothing that has come out about Seungri has been particularly surprising, other than being baffled by why he thought it was a good idea to go so far in the first place. I'm just looking back at stuff I wrote in 2012-13 in which I had described him variously as: "a frat douche", "a skirtchaser", "an uncontrollable freak" and "a sociopath" - like even though I was half-joking in most of these, the signs were always there.

I'm mostly heartbroken for the young women and teenagers who worshipped these guys - it's always a huge betrayal when you find out your favourite artist are secretly terrible people. weirdly, it hasn't affected me that much but I've gone off Big Bang quite a bit in the past few years (plus, I think after Jesse Lacey/Brand New, I've come to expect that bands/male artists that mean a lot to me will probably disappoint me eventually).

artists*

Another distinct female rapper hitting it big... outside of all the shitty news stories 2019 is a good year!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcpHE-BpGHA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBBQNCDzeYo

For posterity, and for purely selfish reasons (as I’m in a country rn that won’t allow to see YouTube links): what songs are those?

allow *me

Swervy, young rapper and recent signee on Paloalto's label Hi-Lite, and her debut single "Red Lite", and the new collab single with the rest of the label's crew, "Hi-Lite Sign", which is rising on the charts

Thank you - hopefully the tracks will be on Spotify soon...

recently kpop has been really quite uninteresting unfortunately but there's finally something of note

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P87gzqWr1_U

Lim Kim finally returns with this weird rap track in english that doesn't bare any resemblance to her previous work! i'm not sure how to feel about it but it's at least interesting

Love the synth bass on this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1taLXjVxB4U
Weki Meki • Picky Picky

(from the Songs of the Summer 2019 thread, where it was posted by eric)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBnGBb1wg98

new Red Velvet summer single "Zimzalabim" is all over the place, idk what to make of it yet. the production is quite fun but it doesn't really end up cohering into much and isn't that hooky?

^ i feel pretty much the same. what a mess.

yeah it's a mess even by kpop kitchen sink pop standards. i feel like with a better structure and a proper chorus it could have been good, there's enough good ideas in the production, but it doesn't amount to much at all as it is. a real shame after how great "Sappy" was

It'll prob never happen but I would die for a Sunmi + Chungha collab.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycYLPbtxU1Q

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

on that note, seems that 90's r&b is this year's summer trend

xpost woops wrong link although that (G)I-DLE song is good too! Snapping was what I meant to post lol

yeah i like both, Soyeon and Chungha are both real stars

I wrote a bit about Seungri over on Frank's livejournal, like Roz I was surprised by the extent of Seungri's actual crimes but not that we was involved in unsavory stuff in some way (https://koganbot.dreamwidth.org/373664.html)

Also in small world news, our boy Jakob is out here getting interviewed by the Reacttothek youtube folks, but I think the interview is locked to their Patreon supporters. Maybe only of interest to a small circle of people anyway...

I haven't been around at all this year because I was so disappointed in myself for not recommending Heize's Jenga for the 2018 year-end poll, and then I didn't like most of the big singles. But maybe there will be something in this post that draws me back in.

Will this work? Let's see:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDKrFJ3mq3E

From the end of that interview, described as following the emo-rap trend, but with like RnB instead:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8mF7CBVCf4

Jakob says the rapper sounds like he's almost screaming, but I think he sounds like he needs to clear his throat... maybe needs to watch his technique or he won't have any voice left soon.

Apparently Day6 is touring. My 13yo asked if she go to the gig. Duh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EfjXQgE1e8

Baek never disappoints; jazz watch 2019

Love this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-iJZ0gfKPo

Not sure where else to post this but I love this vietnamese track, thought folks here might enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU4s65RAAKQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHS9E6JFja8

new red velvet "umpah umpah" is a big improvement over "zimzalabim", not really up with their best but considering how dull this year's generally been i'll happily take this

God, that Toc Tien track rules.

Really the only track I like this year is Baekhyun's "UN Village" and the only Mini I like is his mini "City Lights"!

I mean, I stopped listening actively to Kpop but still.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bck8PTQGujo

the only track i really love from this year has been red velvet's "sappy". feels like everything's even more caught up in bland trop house than before so i've been increasingly uninterested

for me it's mostly just been

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bRyQbD9U9c

feeling “UN Village” and “Love Talk”, thanks for those!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ymwOvzhwHs

twice go deep house on "feel special", it's fun enough

OKAY there are TWO tracks I like this year... one is Baekhyun's UN Village and the other is GWSN's The Interpretation of Dreams!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_j8OKeZMHg

It's a throwback to the alt-RnB sound Kpop had in 2012-2013 and I'm here for it.

https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20191014008551315

RIP Sulli, f(x) were the greatest so this is very sad

it's being investigated if her death was suicide and i've seen some places claim to confirm that it was, which would be extremely tragic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnku4o3tRB4

Just saw this news, so heartbreaking. f(x) were indeed the greatest. :(

Yeah, rip :( The Pink Tape is the best k-pop album, and one of the very best pop albums of the decade, imo.

"Airplane" still rules

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70MBQrlsr_M

I always felt bad for Sulli, she was treated very badly by the Korean press over her dating "scandal" and basically not fitting in the image her label had crafted for her.

yeah if it is indeed suicide it would unfortunately be not that surprising considering all the ridiculous shit she's had to deal with from the public and the press on top of her struggles with anxiety and depression

Just watched this from June, have people seen this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5uE7KDkDFE

I'm sad about Sulli.

There's a photo that circulated a while back, of f(x) on the set of variety show A Song for You on their press junket for.... I can't remember? The one before 4walls.

Anyway the episode was edited to make it look like Sulli was not there, only the other four were. And they laugh and joke like everything's fine. But in the photo Sulli is sitting right next to them on set, basically catatonic/too depressed to function.

I think about this often because it shows the gap between image and reality. And Sulli more than others really suffered from this gap, I think.

Hmm I found the clip - they were promoting Rum Pum Pum Pum just before Sulli's break from the group in 2014. Anyway out of respect I don't really want to link to the video but you can find it on omonatheydidn't by searching "f(x) a song for you".

Anyway the heartless capitalist logic... the social media logic... the entertainment industry logic of always needing to pretend that you are fine. And if you are not fine, well then, you simply won't appear at all.

RIP Sulli.

p basic but i really like ladies code 'set me free'

http:/www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gif0f4_1z2w

also i was only so so on 'bon bon chocolat' so ended up being a couple of months late on everglow's follow up but i really like 'Adios' even though i get the urge to sing a speeded up 'god rest ye merry gentlemen' over the chorus break

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gX_p1VkgA4

didn't see it mention on this thread but one of my favourites from early in the year is mamamoo 'gogobebe'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cp56JdkmE9s

1 billion views (in 18 months) for BLACKPINK's "The Ddu-Du Song"

"Blackpink are the first K-pop band to join YouTube's 'billion views club'"
- https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-50405408

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHNzOHi8sJs

Looks like everyone has been hit with that ddu-du.

So, tell me... Have they hit you with that ddu-du?

Would love to see your list if you did one! Some of the songs on mine I would never have heard if you hadn’t told me to check them out (eg HISTORY, U-Kiss).

Checking out some stuff I've missed and I actually really like Dawn's "Money" - kpop needs more songs dissecting life under late-stage capitalism imo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr8-EFdl6gg&feature=emb_title  

I liked the line where he's going through an existential crisis but he can't talk about it cause his parents are asleep lol... relatable. Dude was always meant to be a solo star, getting kicked out of Cube just sped things up for him. 

And speaking of idols who've left their previous labels, I'm so happy CL is out of YG! She's released more songs in the past two weeks than she has in the previous four years: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuX8lXIexG8dRXFx54CVm2Q

It's funny how every track so far could be read as shade on YG, and she clearly wants everyone to know how pissed she is - all the videos have subtitles in 16 languages.

Most of the songs sound (understandably) unfinished, but you could see how some could have been worked into something better if YG had been serious about releasing them. But I can also see why he didn't - CL had clearly grown past the "tough female rapper" identity and YG doesn't like growth in his female stars. 

These are my faves so far: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=outk3lqsFHc&feature=emb_title  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4Q-DulyShA  

Ah dammit, messed up the embeds again.

Dawn's "Money":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr8-EFdl6gg  

CL's "+ONE AND ONLY180228+":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=outk3lqsFHc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA6sS1ndTM4

SAAY- ZGZG

thankful to TSJ's reader's week for introducing me to this which is surely one of the year's highlights

this is a fantastic playlist, thanks Roz!

Red Velvet wrapping up the year (and decade) on a high - this rules:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR8Mrt1IpXg

i like "psycho" a lot but it's still only their second or third best single of the year

I couldn't get into any of their other singles this year, sadly. Really like "Psycho", but I would - "Bad Boy" is my favourite track of theirs and this is fairly close to it.

Meanwhile, horrifying details about Wendy's onstage accident at SBS' Gayo Daejun: https://omonatheydidnt.livejournal.com/25230978.html#comments#comments

She fractured her right pelvis and wrist and cracked her right cheekbone. She also suffered multiple bruises all over her body. It is expected that it will take months to recover. She's currently in a hospital in Seoul undergoing a thorough inspection. The swelling is so severe that it's impossible to give an accurate diagnosis.

Music aside, 2019 really feels like all of the worst aspects of k-pop coming to the fore. :(

"sappy" is one of my absolute favourites of theirs and "umpah umpah" was solid. "zimzalabim" was a total mess though.

i hope wendy recovers well and that this incident can lead to some of the necessary changes in the industry so that actually caring about the safety of idols, and everyone else, can become important. seems unlikely though :/

rolling kpop 2020

made a new thread at last