Friday, February 8, 2013

The Ladies of K-Pop!

Because of the large number of males in class, I wanted to show you guys some of the popular girl groups in K-Pop and how different they are. Some of them are based in bubblegum pop, some in hip-hop, some in R&B, etc. And here are a few examples of popular artists...

1. Girl's Generation/SNSD (SM Entertainment)
Girl's Generation is seen as a bubblegum pop/electropop group. This above video is all in English and they actually performed this version on Live! with Kelly and Late Show with David Letterman early 2012. They also worked with Teddy Riley on this song and the album it's from. To me, this is a little different than their usual style that I'm used to, like in the example below.
When I think of K-Pop, this is one of the songs that come to mind. The playfulness is a characteristic to K-Pop and is seen in other groups. Girl's Generation (also known as SNSD) is made up of 9 girls. Some of them were born in America and are fluent in both English and Korean.

2. Wonder Girls (JYP Entertainment)
Now, let's look at the group which got me into K-Pop in the first place in 2008. The Wonder Girls were one of the first groups that tried to break into the American music scene in 2009 while touring with the Jonas Brothers. Though unsuccessful at first, they tried again in 2012 and appeared in a Teen Nick movie starring themselves. They also released this song with Akon...
This electropop and R&B group are ones to keep an eye on as they continue to break into the American music scene. The 5 member group will soon be a 4 member group due to one of the members getting married last month and will be taking a break from the group.

3. 2NE1 (YG Entertainment)
This hip-hop/R&B group are one of the hottest names in K-Pop. With the above video in English, one can see how they might make it in the American music scene. They had concerts in both LA and NYC last year and have been working with the Black Eyed Peas' Will.i.am on releasing an all-English album for the US with completely new songs. We are all still waiting to hear them.
The leader, CL, has the nickname in the business as the "baddest female". This group has attitude and a lot of spunk that most of the K-Pop girl groups lack. They are different and are definitely something to watch out for.

4. G.NA (Cube Entertainment)
G.NA (pronounced like Gina, which is her real name) is a Canadian-born solo artist. She debuted in 2010 and is taking the K-Pop world by storm. She performed with other K-Pop artists in New Jersey for a free concert in October 2011, which I got to see. She is very popular among the fanboys and I think would be successful in the U.S.
She has a new album coming out in 2013, so keep an eye out for her!

5. EvoL (Stardom)
EvoL is a rookie group that just debuted this past summer. They are suppose to be like the female equivalent of the hip-hop group Block B who are from the same agency. Some even say they are the new version of 2NE1. The song above sounds very mainstream to me and I think they would have a chance in the U.S. This rookie group is another one to look out for!

Let me know what you guys think! Post your opinions! Thanks!

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4 comments:

  1. UnknownFebruary 9, 2013 at 2:37 PM

    Hello Lauren! That was a very entertaining blog. I like how you have several videos posted for immediate reference. I've had some difficulty getting any of my footage to upload. Its neat to see some of the top groups for South Korea. My brother currently teaches english there so I hear a little bit about their pop music from him , but not really.
    It was funny he sent me some Gangnam Style socks before it blew up in the States and I had no idea what the socks really were depicting until a couple months later.
    The Girls Generation I've heard of before, but have never really listened to them before. Their Gee Gee Gee song was really catchy and fun at the chorus. Overall I find your blog helpful and informative. I am surprised to learn the amount of the performers that are from United States and Canada though. I look forward to listening to some more of your favorites.

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  2. UnknownFebruary 9, 2013 at 3:54 PM

    Well since I'm one of the other three girls in the class, I don't know about you but I love some fun poppy dance music. First off I am not a fan of the Gangnam Style song. It reminds me of the macarana and all the other bad line dance songs out there. But! I really enjoyed reading and listening to what you have going on. The Girl's Generation video reminded me kinda of a Pussycat Dolls video but just a bunch of Korean girls. I liked the Wonder Girls - "Like Money" video too, I could totally see that video on the tv screens at the clubs in Boystown. Just sayin'. Go ahead ladies, do your thing! I'd probably listen to some more K-Pop music if it was in English. So my question to you, what else you got? This is fun. Thanks, Lauren

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  3. AnonymousFebruary 10, 2013 at 1:19 PM

    Welll..... that was very interesting to say the least. I think the Girl's Generation would have the best chance to being big in America just because of how many people are in the group. You go, "what wait a minute there's 9 of them?" I really liked the "gee" song because it didn't seem like they were trying to Americanize it too much. Even though the other groups like 2NE1 had the bad girl type of feel to it or the G.NA has the "I'm a Barbie Girl" type feel, it felt like it was already too overused to make much of a pull here in the United States. Maybe they aren't though, maybe they are trying to market to a new target.

    Yes they all look good, yes they have great videos. The only problem is, if I hear that one synth sound from EvoL or that synth chord from Rihanna all my life one more time, I may scream out my window at an harmless pedestrian. I think what they are doing is looking up youtube videos and reproducing the same sound in their country. NO OFFENSE. If they focused more on making a song like "Gee" I think it would end up being more popular.

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  4. lolenickFebruary 12, 2013 at 12:14 PM

    Cole- I'm glad to hear you've heard of Girl's Generation before! I hope you continue to explore K-Pop more and get some other recommendations from your brother. That's really cool. Thanks for the feedback!

    Monique- Thanks for the feedback! I'm glad you are liking some of the examples I've posted so far. I will be trying to post more songs in English because there are plenty out there! There will be more dance-y pop coming your way soon.

    Mike- You are throwing me for a loop. Haha, but in a good way. You see, I'm used to having people unfamiliar with this music tossing it to the side because it's NOT Americanized. They are looking for something close to the mainstream music here. So I found it refreshing to hear that you want to hear more K-Pop that sounds like well, K-Pop. I will try to bring more of the dance-y, playful, bubblegum pop music that K-Pop is all about. Thanks again for the feedback!

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