In some of the competition threads, you might have noticed some references to the Korean pop music playing during warm-ups and in-between skaters. I thought it would be fun to link to some of the tunes and talk about some of the artists you may have heard this week.
Korean pop is best known by its abbreviation, K-pop. K-Pop is a bit of a misnomer given that the songs can take on a number of different music genres including hip-hop, dubstep, house, soul, etc. etc.
K-pop could arguably be one of the major exports of the Republic of Korea, i.e. South Korea, along with cars and consumer electronics. There has been a great interest in K-pop worldwide. And many of you know Psy's "Gangnam Style," a song that went viral in the summer of 2012.
K-pop hasn't totally been a complete success story. Korean pop artists work crazy hours and basically bound to these long-term contracts. Promotions could include multiple performances in a single day and little to no sleep. Some artists have had to sue their record companies to get out of long contracts (know as slave contracts) or to get the money they earned.
Here are few links where you can get a little more insight on the music genre.
Factory Girls - A really comprehensive look at K-Pop in The New Yorker
K-Pop Discord Spotlights Artist Lament -- from the Wall Street Journal.
So now for the music. Here are a few artists you've heard this week.
Girls Generation -
Since debuting in 2007, this eight-member girl group (formerly nine, more on that in a sec) has dominated the Korean market. They are also known as SNSD, an acronym for their Korean name, So Nyeo Shi Dae. The ages of its members range from 23 to 25. Their early songs were super candy cute, but as they got older, they started working with producers who integrated different styles to create a more mature sound. They also have built a very successful career in Japan as well. Last year, the group was down to 8 when one of its members quit/got fired. The details are murky but the claim is that that member, Jessica, wanted to pursue other activities, including a fashion line that was in conflict with the group.
What you heard in the arena:
The Boys - This song came out in 2011. This was also the song they used when they debut in the U.S. They performed this song on The Dave Letterman Show.
Oh! - This song came out in 2010. It's a pretty peppy song and the group incorporated a sports theme in their live performances. In fact, Girls Generation did an homage to Yuna Kim, who had just won the OGM at the time, at one live performance (you'll see a reference to her beloved James Bond SP).
KARA -
This group debuted in 2008, but went through several member changes. For most of their tenure, they were a five-member group, but then two members left. They were replaced with a member that was chosen through an American Idol-like television show.
They were moderately successful in Korea, but their bread-and-butter was their career in Japan. Arguably they were more popular there than in Korea. In fact, their later songs had more of a J-Pop feel, a contrast to some of their more cute songs.
What you heard in the arena:
Lupin: This song came out in 2010. This is arguably one of the most popular songs they had in Korea. The song is a bit dark compared to some of their past songs. The song is noted for some key dance moves, such as the "emergency exit dance."
Pandora: This song came out in 2012. This is one of the songs where I feel their time in Japan was quite influential. This has a more electronic J-Pop feel compared to some of their songs up to this point.
Mama Mia: This song came out late last year, the first for KARA as a four-member group. With the new group dynamic, there was yet another change in style. Namely to a more sexy vixen, rather than the energetic dance pop in their last few singles.
Hyuna
She is actually part of the four-member girl group, 4 Minute, however her charisma has enabled her to stand on her own. She sings and raps. Several of her songs have gotten notice from American music critics. She has a vixen image, though outside of her stage persona, she seems to be a down to earth person. Before 4 Minute, she was part of the popular girl group Wonder Girls. However, she left after the first single back in 2007 due to sickness. She debuted with 4 Minuted in 2009.
What you heard in the arena:
Bubble Pop: Despite its sweet sounding name, Hyuna has the sex appeal on full tilt in the music video. The actual song is very peppy. It was mentioned in an article on K-Pop on pitchfork.com.
Other bands heard in the arena (going to add details in due time)
SISTAR - Touch My Body; Alone
Crayon Pop - Bar, Bar Bar
EXID - Every Night
Big Bang - Fantastic Baby
Psy - Right Now, Gentleman
Super Junior - Sorry Sorry
EXO -
APINK - No No No, Luv
9MUSES - Dolls
4 Minute - What's My Name?
I'll be writing more about other songs you've heard in this post. In the meanwhile, let's talk K-Pop.
Korean pop is best known by its abbreviation, K-pop. K-Pop is a bit of a misnomer given that the songs can take on a number of different music genres including hip-hop, dubstep, house, soul, etc. etc.
K-pop could arguably be one of the major exports of the Republic of Korea, i.e. South Korea, along with cars and consumer electronics. There has been a great interest in K-pop worldwide. And many of you know Psy's "Gangnam Style," a song that went viral in the summer of 2012.
K-pop hasn't totally been a complete success story. Korean pop artists work crazy hours and basically bound to these long-term contracts. Promotions could include multiple performances in a single day and little to no sleep. Some artists have had to sue their record companies to get out of long contracts (know as slave contracts) or to get the money they earned.
Here are few links where you can get a little more insight on the music genre.
Factory Girls - A really comprehensive look at K-Pop in The New Yorker
K-Pop Discord Spotlights Artist Lament -- from the Wall Street Journal.
So now for the music. Here are a few artists you've heard this week.
Girls Generation -
Since debuting in 2007, this eight-member girl group (formerly nine, more on that in a sec) has dominated the Korean market. They are also known as SNSD, an acronym for their Korean name, So Nyeo Shi Dae. The ages of its members range from 23 to 25. Their early songs were super candy cute, but as they got older, they started working with producers who integrated different styles to create a more mature sound. They also have built a very successful career in Japan as well. Last year, the group was down to 8 when one of its members quit/got fired. The details are murky but the claim is that that member, Jessica, wanted to pursue other activities, including a fashion line that was in conflict with the group.
What you heard in the arena:
The Boys - This song came out in 2011. This was also the song they used when they debut in the U.S. They performed this song on The Dave Letterman Show.
Oh! - This song came out in 2010. It's a pretty peppy song and the group incorporated a sports theme in their live performances. In fact, Girls Generation did an homage to Yuna Kim, who had just won the OGM at the time, at one live performance (you'll see a reference to her beloved James Bond SP).
KARA -
This group debuted in 2008, but went through several member changes. For most of their tenure, they were a five-member group, but then two members left. They were replaced with a member that was chosen through an American Idol-like television show.
They were moderately successful in Korea, but their bread-and-butter was their career in Japan. Arguably they were more popular there than in Korea. In fact, their later songs had more of a J-Pop feel, a contrast to some of their more cute songs.
What you heard in the arena:
Lupin: This song came out in 2010. This is arguably one of the most popular songs they had in Korea. The song is a bit dark compared to some of their past songs. The song is noted for some key dance moves, such as the "emergency exit dance."
Pandora: This song came out in 2012. This is one of the songs where I feel their time in Japan was quite influential. This has a more electronic J-Pop feel compared to some of their songs up to this point.
Mama Mia: This song came out late last year, the first for KARA as a four-member group. With the new group dynamic, there was yet another change in style. Namely to a more sexy vixen, rather than the energetic dance pop in their last few singles.
Hyuna
She is actually part of the four-member girl group, 4 Minute, however her charisma has enabled her to stand on her own. She sings and raps. Several of her songs have gotten notice from American music critics. She has a vixen image, though outside of her stage persona, she seems to be a down to earth person. Before 4 Minute, she was part of the popular girl group Wonder Girls. However, she left after the first single back in 2007 due to sickness. She debuted with 4 Minuted in 2009.
What you heard in the arena:
Bubble Pop: Despite its sweet sounding name, Hyuna has the sex appeal on full tilt in the music video. The actual song is very peppy. It was mentioned in an article on K-Pop on pitchfork.com.
Other bands heard in the arena (going to add details in due time)
SISTAR - Touch My Body; Alone
Crayon Pop - Bar, Bar Bar
EXID - Every Night
Big Bang - Fantastic Baby
Psy - Right Now, Gentleman
Super Junior - Sorry Sorry
EXO -
APINK - No No No, Luv
9MUSES - Dolls
4 Minute - What's My Name?
I'll be writing more about other songs you've heard in this post. In the meanwhile, let's talk K-Pop.
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: He's also the least popular :scowl: 
I didn't think that there would be so many kpop fans here 
