Returning to that 30 Day Kpop Challenge that I started back in March, here's day 5 - Your favourite track from a Korean group.
This is actually really sad that I could only make it consistently through 4 days of the challenge. Pathetic.
Epik High ft. K.Will - Music (is my life)
This song has always been on my all time favourites list since I first heard it back in 2007. I was already in love with Epik High, and then this song introduced me to K.Will. Omg I fell in love with that guy almost instantaneously. His voice is so good and I jumped on all of his solo stuff for the first little while after his debut. For a while I was seriously telling everyone that I'd marry this guy for his voice (which was actually saying something since in Korea K.Will gets made fun of a lot for looking like Daesung, and that standard to Koreans is very low in terms of looks. Truthfully I think they're adorable and if a guy can sing... that's good enough for me.)
Anyways, I loved this song because it was simple, fun and I connected with the lyrics. I'm a big music appreciator, and it's definitely got me through a lot of ridiculousness in my adolescence. I know all of the words by heart and I always sing this song when I go to karaoke with my friends. Yes, I can rap. Just this one though.
Showing posts with label 30 Day Kpop challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 30 Day Kpop challenge. Show all posts
Thursday, 12 July 2012
Thursday, 22 March 2012
[Day 4 Epik High]
I'm going to have to pre-write some of these posts in preparation for the upcoming week and a half. Exam period is near and I'm feeling the pressure :(
Day 4 // Your favourite non-idol Korean singer/group
Korean music is not all idols. The younger generation of singers typically promoting in groups, all of the members have to sing and dance on stage despite their role within the group. Thankfully, there are very talented non-idol artists in the industry as well. They're the ones that have me still sticking to kpop.
There are multiple non-idol groups that I absolutely love, such as Clazziquai Project, Winterplay, and Brown Eyed Soul. But Epik High is the group that I love the most. I've been following them the longest, and I have great respect for them, having witnessed all of the out of the norm risks they've taken with their career to express what they feel and think through music.
Epik High is a trio of a hip hop/rap/pop genre. Member DJ Tukutz creates their beats, and Tablo and Mithra rap to it. All three write lyrics and compose their songs, they also feature some amazingly unique voices in Korea in their tracks. The contrast in their voices (Mithra generally sounding like a wild husky voiced lumberjack) and their clever lyrics with Tukutz's style of beats combine for some amazing songs of love, politics, fears, hope and some random topics of pure amusement. Tablo, having done an English degree at Stanford in the States not only manipulates the Korean language in his amazing lyrics but also English, in the couple of English tracks they have done.
Day 4 // Your favourite non-idol Korean singer/group
Korean music is not all idols. The younger generation of singers typically promoting in groups, all of the members have to sing and dance on stage despite their role within the group. Thankfully, there are very talented non-idol artists in the industry as well. They're the ones that have me still sticking to kpop.
There are multiple non-idol groups that I absolutely love, such as Clazziquai Project, Winterplay, and Brown Eyed Soul. But Epik High is the group that I love the most. I've been following them the longest, and I have great respect for them, having witnessed all of the out of the norm risks they've taken with their career to express what they feel and think through music.
Epik High is a trio of a hip hop/rap/pop genre. Member DJ Tukutz creates their beats, and Tablo and Mithra rap to it. All three write lyrics and compose their songs, they also feature some amazingly unique voices in Korea in their tracks. The contrast in their voices (Mithra generally sounding like a wild husky voiced lumberjack) and their clever lyrics with Tukutz's style of beats combine for some amazing songs of love, politics, fears, hope and some random topics of pure amusement. Tablo, having done an English degree at Stanford in the States not only manipulates the Korean language in his amazing lyrics but also English, in the couple of English tracks they have done.
Monday, 19 March 2012
[Day 3 Alex]
I had to think a lot for this one. A LOT.
There are so many solo acts in Korea that I love and I really wanted to focus on a singer that debuted as a solo artist from the beginning, but I love this guy's voice too much.
Alex Chu.
<미쳐보려 해도 / Can't Be Crazy - Alex>
Day 3 // Your favourite solo Korean artist
Alex debuted in 2004 as a member of DJ Clazzi's project group Clazziquai Project. Fun fact: Horan wasn't an original member until their official debut. Alex's sister Christina Chu was friends with Clazzi and the brother/sister pair sang in Clazzi's songs until Christina left to the States for her career. Alex stayed and Horan was introduced. Christina still features in a couple of their songs, and she also featured in a couple of tracks from Clazzi's recent album Infant.
Alex was known for his smooth voice and loving yet masculine charm through his appearance on the first season of We Got Married. Although many people called him out for being "느끼해" (which can be interpreted to being an extremely cheesy romantic), you couldn't really help but to fall in love with him.
<Ping - Clazziquai Project>
There are so many solo acts in Korea that I love and I really wanted to focus on a singer that debuted as a solo artist from the beginning, but I love this guy's voice too much.
Alex Chu.
<미쳐보려 해도 / Can't Be Crazy - Alex>
Day 3 // Your favourite solo Korean artist
Alex debuted in 2004 as a member of DJ Clazzi's project group Clazziquai Project. Fun fact: Horan wasn't an original member until their official debut. Alex's sister Christina Chu was friends with Clazzi and the brother/sister pair sang in Clazzi's songs until Christina left to the States for her career. Alex stayed and Horan was introduced. Christina still features in a couple of their songs, and she also featured in a couple of tracks from Clazzi's recent album Infant.
Alex was known for his smooth voice and loving yet masculine charm through his appearance on the first season of We Got Married. Although many people called him out for being "느끼해" (which can be interpreted to being an extremely cheesy romantic), you couldn't really help but to fall in love with him.
<Ping - Clazziquai Project>
Sunday, 18 March 2012
[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:
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:
Saturday, 17 March 2012
kpop 30 day challenge [Day 1 Big Bang]
While I share my love for Korean music through this blog, I'm also going to try to improve my blogging skills. So, I've decided to take up the 30 Day Kpop Challenge. I've also decided to change the list a little (full list after the jump break) to cover all of Korean music, not just Kpop (I know it makes me sound a little anal about wording but a lot of the good music is not in the pop genre!). My modifications also include the Canadian spelling of 'favourite'...
Day 1 // Your favourite kpop guy group
My all time favourite guy group is Big Bang. They debuted back in 2006, right before I started my ventures into the world of Korean music. I've witnessed all of their evolving in fashion, hairstyles and maturity in front of the camera. They're a group that I feel like I've grown up with, through my crazy high school years and their scandals concerning plagiarizing, car accidents and pot.
The 5 member group is YG Entertainment's prize boy band, having extremely successful rounds of promotions in Korea and Japan. They are also planning their world tour this year, which I am extremely excited about (they're coming to Toronto!!). Their music is rooted in the hip hop style, but they've infused a lot of genres like rock, electropop, and R&B into their style. All of the members have done multiple solo tracks, which further displays their experimenting with the different genres.
Members (names in brackets are their secondary stage names, used during their Japanese promotions) :
Day 1 // Your favourite kpop guy group
My all time favourite guy group is Big Bang. They debuted back in 2006, right before I started my ventures into the world of Korean music. I've witnessed all of their evolving in fashion, hairstyles and maturity in front of the camera. They're a group that I feel like I've grown up with, through my crazy high school years and their scandals concerning plagiarizing, car accidents and pot.
The 5 member group is YG Entertainment's prize boy band, having extremely successful rounds of promotions in Korea and Japan. They are also planning their world tour this year, which I am extremely excited about (they're coming to Toronto!!). Their music is rooted in the hip hop style, but they've infused a lot of genres like rock, electropop, and R&B into their style. All of the members have done multiple solo tracks, which further displays their experimenting with the different genres.
Members (names in brackets are their secondary stage names, used during their Japanese promotions) :
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