I just keep going back on nostalgic moments in kpop these days, I thought I just might as well make it a corner. A segment? A regular.
Miracle
Miracle, Super Junior's debut single. I, with every other kpop fan back in stared at the screen back in 2005 in wonder, at the reality that there was a 12 member super cutie boy band singing and dancing together in the same frame. Sure their hair and number intimidated me, but eventually I learned all of their names (with difficulty) and picked favourites. That was back when I did indeed love them.
I followed their activities from Miracle, to Twins (Knock Out), to U in 2006, which was when they gained Kyuhyun as their 13th member.
U
U was probably the last track I really liked from them as a fan. After this track they become a bit irrelevant to this back in the day post, but I'm going to continue. This blogging momentum, you know?
For the next little while they split off into sub groups such as Super Junior M (promoting in China, where they also had 2 other Chinese members join them) and Super Junior H (in Korea) to promote as unit groups. This is where they lost me. They were boring me, and they were getting super confusing, so I didn't follow any of their sub unit group promotions. They did come out with Sorry Sorry in 2009, which now looks like a big turning point for the group. Sorry Sorry came out just in time to catch the beginnings of the kpop wave being picked up by a lot more countries than ever before. It was also the first video to really mark their black and white, suit bearing, dancing in perfect synch, electronic voiced style. It's You was another single that they promoted shortly after Sorry Sorry, relieving some fans of the hard sounds of the previous track.
Sorry, Sorry
However, this was also a time where they went through a lot of crap involving the members.
Kim Kibum "went on a break" to work on his acting, although there hasn't been much about him since. He made the absolutely minimal appearance in their Sorry Sorry music video, with no solo lines whatsoever. Kangin got into a physical assault case, where then he immediately went to enlist in the army to fulfil his mandatory military service. Hangeng came out with contract disagreements and left the group to go back to China, where he started his solo career.
All of their title tracks that they promoted with music videos and TV performances followed in suit of the Sorry Sorry style. They came out strong without the 3 members, and maintained uber success in their pop boy band genre. The success of Bonamana and Mr. Simple sealed in their titles as a super boy band, kings of the idol world.
Despite their popularity, they never really won me over since their debut moments. As much as their career developments were impressive and their TV appearances were consistent and pretty hilarious, I still felt this disconnect from them. Nevertheless, I still admire their bond and enjoy seeing them on TV. The one song that I really do appreciate from them is from their repackaged Mr. Simple album:
Superman
The lyrics really speak from heart (although I really wonder who the lyricist is) and I love the music tells the story of the artist. It make it that much more genuine.
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