Another MV roundup! 2NE1, Sagging Snail, T-ara, JoKwon

I didn't want to do another one of these posts so soon but there are just too many recently released interesting music videos that I want to talk about, so let's just get into it!

2NE1 - I Love You

I love this. It's one of those party beat love songs but what I really like about this song and video is that it really makes sense to see what we are seeing with what we are hearing. There's a mixed Asian quality to the sound and it's really well reflected in the theme of the video. I can't exactly locate which country the colours and patterns remind me of but it's definitely not just one country. I really love that about 2NE1; they seem to incorporate all different kinds of sounds and looks in their promotions that represent and are relatable to more than one country. Anyway this video is beautiful, CL and Minzy are working their sexy, Dara looks fucking fierce with that hair and Bom is pretty pretty pretty. I really do love hearing all of their unique voices changing up the song - not one member sings the same part of the song throughout.

[Day 2 2NE1]

At this point, there's already a pretty clear bias forming here. I am clearly in love with YG artists over the rest, but I try to be fair. In terms of favourite girl groups though, this one dominates.

Day 2 // Your favourite kpop girl goup

Ever since there were even talks of a Big Bang sister group forming in the depths of the kpop industry, I was taken. When they released short "trainee videos" of the members, I watched them in awe and anticipation.  2NE1 represented a fierce girl power right from the beginning, and I loved the fact that they were different from all of the ultra feminine girl groups sporting uniform stage outfits prancing around with their long wavy hair. Although I'll admit that my first impressions of them were slightly tinted with influence from my Big Bang bias, but I was completely in love.

2NE1 sticks to their style, not only with their bold fashion sense and the confidence to pull it off, but there's also a level of continuity in their title tracks with the various use of "eh eh eh eh". They have incredible versatility and they know how to bring something different to the kpop scene. They're successfully transitioning into the Japanese market with a Japanese concert tour already under their belt and planning their English album release, produced by will.i.am.



I love Big Bang as a die hard fan, but with 2NE1 they were really role models for me. There are lots of things about them that I wouldn't copy, such as their outfits, their hair or makeup, but the energy that they bring and the way that they conduct themselves in front of the camera is just great. All 4 have such different personalities, but there's an aspect of how they keep their privacy that I admire (and I just love their adorable nature). I really admire artists that can bring it to the stage, which is exactly what these girls can do. I am a proud viewer of all three seasons of 2NE1 TV, which clearly depicts how much love and energy they bring into their amazing stage presence. Although I wouldn't say that they can't bring it as much as Beyoncé (yet!) they're pretty close when looking at the any of the female singers in Korea.

Members:

Wuddup world it's a kpop blog

Kpop is my guilty pleasure.

Considering that I am Korean, I was a bit late on catching on to the kpop scene. To be fair though, I didn't grow up with a lot of Korean kids around me. I never went to a big Korean church, which any Korean immigrant knows is the number one way to make Korean friends. All of my schools had next to nothing of a Korean (or East-Asian in general) population, so I didn't meet many fobs until I got to high school.

[clicking on the captions will take you to a music video from the album. They get better, I promise.]

SeeYa - Scent of a Woman (2006)

Epik High - Swan Songs (2005)

SG Wannabe - The 3rd Masterpiece (2006)

That being said, I did watch a couple of Korean dramas with my mom during middle school, but I didn't like them very much because they were like super dramatic soaps infused with a bit of comedy. What I did like were the ballads that they used in their soundtrack, which was basically where I started my interest in Korean music. I managed to get a hold of some drama OSTs (official sound track), and from there I was introduced to Clazziquai Project, Epik High, SeeYa, SG Wannabe, and Brown Eyed Girls. In high school, there was a sudden increase in the East-Asian population around me and my new Chinese friends were asking me if I liked Big Bang and Epik High. That basically sparked the explosion of kpop domination in my world. Because of my advantage of being able to understand Korean, I understood songs, dramas and variety shows without having to wait for subtitles (a service that took a  lot more time to provide back then). I was slowly able to reconnect with my Korean side through the Korean entertainment industry.

Big Bang's spread in their Hot Issue EP booklet (2007)

From about Grade 12 until now I've grown just a tiny bit weary of the whole thing. I stopped jumping on all of the new groups pretty much after 2PM because I couldn't deal with all of these 5+ member groups that all sang and danced in perfect synch. I stuck with my bias groups and gave a chance to the groups that were recommend to me by multiple people. I've definitely slowed down my drama consumption since high school (which was more out of responsibility than anything), but I still like to pop by Dramabeans to keep myself updated.

Alex - Just Like Me (2011)

Big Bang's Alive (2012)

Clazzi - Infant album (2012)

Tablo - Fevers End (2011)

2NE1 - 2nd Mini Album (2011)

Winterplay - Touché Mon Amour (2010)

That being said, I still can't let go of Korean music, which is why I've started this blog. I want to share thoughts and favourites from the Korean entertainment industry in general. I like to laugh at Engrish and I love following a lot of the fashion that explodes out of that scene (Eiffel in Seoul is a pretty good blog for that). 

So tell me, how did you start listening to Korean music?

[all images from Bugs, a Korean music site]