My first exposure to K-Pop came every time my favorite Japanese R&B online radio station J-Jams Radio would go offline. As mentioned in my previous post Hooked on J-Pop, I would switch to listening to online K-Pop radio station Big B Radio. I would find out later that Big B Radio was not exactly playing the most recent K-Pop songs (absolutely no BTS). Around this time I also came across the Korean female rap competition/reality show Unpretty Rapstar. I found some of these Korean girls could really bring it. In April 2018 J-Jams Radio went off the air for good at about the same time I was completely upgrading my home entertainment system. I found Pandora had a very good streaming service for music, but very little if any J-Pop. It was at this point I began streaming some of their K-Pop channels.
After 6 months of listening (and it pains me to say this) K-Pop is superior to J-Pop. Much of this is due to how they approach the music industry in a systematic, almost assembly line sort of way. Essentially music management companies have large numbers of teenage trainees enter training camps filled with intense 12-hour days of training in singing, dancing and fitness. Trainees are strictly separated by gender and may live in dormitories with other trainees. They do this all in the hopes of being scouted by one of the big 3 South Korean management agencies – S.M. Entertainment, YG Entertainment or JYP Entertainment. Even after being scouted and being linked with other artists to form a K-Pop idol group, it could be as long as 10 years before you debut. This in conjunction with youth obsessed South Korean culture mean a short shelf life for any but the most successful artists. While the K-Pop industry and their slavish (almost inhumane) dedication to churning out the next big act is too deep of a topic to get into, you can’t argue with the results. Even the most girly, cutesy of groups like Twice can still blow away any J-Pop idol group like AKB48 in that they can actually sing, along with solid music backing and beats.
The majority of K-Pop acts are in the form or idol groups which can range in size from 4-12 members. Many of the members will have their own specialty whether it be singing, rapping or dancing. Almost all are single gender groups – either girl groups or boy bands. It is more rare to see solo acts with many of the solo acts being breakaways from idol groups.
All of this contributes to K-Pop being immensely popular worldwide. As a result I don’t need to use my Japan iTunes account to download music. I can simply use my US iTunes account. I haven’t totally abandoned my Japanese studies though as many K-Pop artists will release either Japanese versions of their songs or whole Japanese albums. I am often surprised when listening to K-Pop when I can actually understand what they are singing because they are singing in Japanese.
As before I have included a sample of some of the songs currently in rotation in my K-Pop playlist.
BTS
BTS is the most popular boy band in the world. It is often said K-Pop didn’t exist before 2013, referring to the year they debuted. The amount of content BTS produces every year is astounding with nearly all of it exceptionally good. Due to the makeup of the 7-member group their musical style can range from pop to R&B to ballads and hip-hop. They are known for composing, writing and producing their own music. They produce a bit of something for everyone and by far the largest amount of my K-Pop collection consists of their songs (18 songs and counting).
Let Go
Fake Love
Anpanman
Fire
A Supplementary Story: You Never Walk Alone
Red Velvet
If BTS are my favorite boy band, then Red Velvet are my favorite girl group. Like most female idol groups, they skew on the cutesy side but their songs are always backed by some solid beats, as seen in the heavy bass-backed Kingdom Come. They are currently ranked 3rd among K-pop girl groups but have the most number one albums out of any other girl group.
BoA
BoA was my first introduction to K-Pop mostly due to her popularity throughout Asia but also her wide presence within the J-Pop music scene. Despite the fact that she is only 32, she is pretty much a K-Pop legend, the equivalent of Japan’s Namie Amuro. Scouted by SM Entertainment at age 11 and debuting at 14, she has already had a very long career. She was groomed from the beginning to be an international artist learning Japanese and English in order to break into the Japanese and US markets. Although she still releases content it has slowed considerably in recent years and she has been overshadowed by younger artists. My much younger K-Pop obsessed cousin referred to her as an “old lady” (ouch!).
JUNHO
Junho is a current member of the boy band 2PM. Like BoA I heard quite a bit of his music as he is quite prevalent on the J-Pop music scene having released a number of solo Japanese language albums. When I first began listening to his music I never realized he was even Korean. Name aside, there are a few Chinese, Korean, Malaysian and Taiwanese music artists in Japan. His song Instant Love is a definite favorite of mine.
2PM
Since Junho often goes by the moniker JUNHO (from 2PM), it wasn’t long before I came across some of 2PM’s Japanese music. 2PM is a 6-member K-Pop boy band that debuted in 2008, so 10 years on they are one of the older boy bands out there with less content released in recent years. They originally consisted of 7 members however their leader Jaebeom (Jay Park) left under controversial circumstances and now performs as a solo artist (see his profile below).
GOT7
Back to more current artists, GOT7 would be my next favorite boy band clipping on the heals of BTS. GOT7 is a 7-member multinational boy band consisting of 4 Koreans, 1 Thai, 1 Hong Kong member and 1 Taiwanese-American member. Considered more hip-hop, they are known for their “martial arts tricking” in their performances. Although a top 10 boy band in 2017 they have recently fell out of the top 10 in 2018. Then again the competition is pretty fierce in K-Pop but their musical quality is still top notch.
BLACKPINK
BLACKPINK are a fairly recent girl group having debuted in August 2016. In those 2 years they have quickly rose through the charts to become the number one K-Pop girl group in 2018. The 4-member group consists of 3 Korean members and 1 Thai member although 2 of the Korean members were brought up in Australia and New Zealand. Although I rank them behind Red Velvet, they do have some catchy tunes and even more so their reality shows and other non-music content is hilarious.
SUPER JUNIOR
SUPER JUNIOR is currently an 11-member boy band who debuted in 2005. Despite being around for 13 years they are still a top 10 K-Pop group in 2018. Their team up with Latin music artist Leslie Grace for the Korean/Spanish/English song Lo Siento is one of the reasons they are still able to top the charts.
KARD
K.A.R.D. is a bit of an anomaly on the K-Pop scene. Not only are they unusual for their mixed gender makeup (2 guys and 2 girls) but all of their music has a subtle reggae vibe to it. They are still a relatively new group having pre-debuted late in 2016 and officially debuting in 2017. So far they have had 3 top 10 hits and are pegged as a group set to breakout worldwide.
SEVENTEEN
SEVENTEEN is a top 10 KPop boy band consisting of 13 members. The 17 in their name is in reference to the medium age of their members when they formed in 2015. They are currently seen as a group to watch out for.
MONSTA X
MONSTA X is a 7 member boy band that debuted in 2015 as a result of the survival/reality show NO.MERCY. Like GOT7 they were a top 10 boy band in 2017 but have dropped out of the top 10 in 2018. They show a variation in songs and styles similar to BTS.
EXO
EXO is a 9 member boy band who debuted in 2011 and are currently the number 2 KPop boy band in 2018 following closely on the heels of BTS.
Jay Park
Jay Park is a Korean-American singer who was originally the leader of the K-Pop boy band 2PM. He was forced to leave the group after a controversy over past comments on his MySpace account surfaced. In 2010 he embarked on a solo career eventually starting his own label AOMG in 2013. He has slowly amassed some talented artists under his label including Loco, Hoody and exceptional rapper/producer Gray (think of a Korean DJ Khalid). Jay’s Gray produced RUN IT featuring rappers Woo Wonjae and Jessi (from Season 1 of Unpretty Rapstar) is the pinnacle of Korean hip-hop in my opinion.
Hoody
Hoody is a solo singer and former member of the girl group Amourette. She was the first female artist signed to Jay Park’s AOMG label in 2015. Since then she has been a constant fixture at AOMG often appearing in collaborations with Jay Park, Crush, George and others. She always supplies smooth, laid back R&B vocals to any project she is a part of. She is definitely my favorite solo female artist.
DEAN
Like Hoody, DEAN is a serial collaborator, appearing with artists such as Eric Bellinger, HEIZE, Syd, Anderson Paak, ZICO and Crush. He was unique in that he made his debut not in Korea but in the US alongside Eric Bellinger with his single “I’m Not Sorry”. He always improves any song he is a part of with his crooning style whether supplying R&B vocals or rap.
j-hope
j-hope is the rapper/dancer of BTS. The album Hope World released in March 2018 is the culmination of his solo project. While his rapping as part of BTS tends to be a little energetic, he tones it back for a bit more mellow pieces in the album. Piece of Peace makes some clever use of steel pan mixed in among the hip-hop beats.
Hyolyn
Hyolyn is the former leader of the girl group SISTAR. After SISTAR disbanded in 2017 she embarked on a solo career, forming her own record label Bridge. Since going solo, she has been allowed to expand on her musical style without the restrictions often imposed on girl groups by their management agencies. Her Gray produced song Dally is an example of her evolution (risque music video aside).
SUNMI
Sunmi is a former member of the girl group Wonder Girls. She left the group in 2010 to return to school, returning in 2013 as a solo artist. She would later rejoin Wonder Girls in 2015 but continued to release solo tracks. Her song Gashina is a catchy tune described by one critic as “tropical reggaeton” which seems pretty fitting.
NU'EST W
NU’EST is a 5 member boy band who debuted in 2012. The W in their name for the song Where You At comes from the fact that one of their members is currently a member of Wanna One until the end of 2018 as a result of winning a survival/reality show. The remaining four members have to release songs under the name NU’EST W until he finishes up his contract with Wanna One. Thus the W stands for waiting for him to return. In a strange twist of fate the initial (underlying) piano chords in Wanna One’s Energetic sound very similar to the ones in Where You At.
ZICO
ZICO is the rapper and leader of the boy band Block B but also releases solo albums. Admittedly I only stumbled upon his song BERMUDA TRIANGLE as a YouTube recommendation and the fact that it had Bermuda in the title (although I don’t see the relevance of the reference). In this pure hip hop song he teams up with rapper Crush and singer DEAN for a pretty intense hit.
BONUS MASHUPS
As a bonus, here are two excellent mashups of my two favorite groups – Red Velvet and BTS – done by RYUSERALOVER.
