In a previous post we touched upon why Kpop is so popular in the UK right now. It may very well be the lack of all the energetic dance moves and catchy beats that current UK artists come out with, or it could be something completely different.
Kpop songs generally are very catchy and upbeat. Both these aspects have tendencies to stay with people whether they like it or not. Not only are the lyrics catchy, the dances are choreographed to fit the song perfectly and the artists bring together their different personalities and share them with the fans. The relationship between Kpop artists and their fans are much more close knitted than those of the Western artists and their fans. This is because of all the fan service provided and variety shows they attend.
The choruses in most Kpop songs tend to be very repetitive and pretty simple to sing along to. This inadvertently helps people to remember the lyrics even if they don’t know anything about the Korean language. If after hearing a song for the first time you don’t have an instant liking towards it, once a part of that song gets stuck in your head, be it the lyrics, the beat or both, you might as well admit defeat, because no matter what, after a while you will end up liking the song, maybe even loving it.
HwanHee – Love Pain
You don’t need to understand the language songs are sung in to know what they are saying. As long as the artist is good enough at conveying the right emotions for the song, practically anyone can understand it. This is something I find that most of the Korean artists out now are insanely good at. Take HwanHee for example. Having only just recently heard about him before he came out with his solo album, self titled HwanHee, I had no idea how good he was. The instant I heard him singing Love Pain, I knew that he is exceptionally talented. The tone of his voice and the way he projected his emotions in this one song got me hooked. I wanted to hear more of him. Most Kpop artists are exceptionally talented when it comes to singing, and they can sing LIVE! When I got into Kpop it was for the lack of actual talent in Western artists, they were coming out with good songs, but at any performance I saw they just weren’t up to scratch. I wanted to see someone actually sing and bring the song to life, not just sing it for the sake of singing. Kpop did this for me and I am thankful for that.The Video:
Kpop music videos are on a level of their own when compared to music videos of the Western world. They are much more interesting, more fun, more colourful, and quite a lot of the time pretty random. Not to mention the perfectly executed dance moves and the funky wardrobe the used by the artists. Put these together and you have a pretty interesting video that people are more than likely to watch over and over again.
2NE1 – Fire
2NE1’s Fire is a perfect example of how a catchy beat and random yet interesting music video can help lead to instant success. With the success of Fire, (2NE1’s official début song on 6th May 2009) 2NE1 has become extremely popular in the world of Kpop, almost if not as popular as their label mates Big Bang. Having worked with Will.I.Am for a period of time it is rumoured that 2NE1are the inspiration for all the Hangeul, Korean presenter and audience in his video Check It Out featuring Nicki Minaj.
Any avid Kpop fan would know the lengths that their idols go to to provide them with such top notch music. The idols train for a number of years in all musical areas before they début. Once they get popular they get less and less time to themselves as their days are jam packed with schedules all over the place, performing here, appearing on a variety show there. Not to mention photo shoots, MV and CF filming, then interviews and concerts. You could say that Kpop idols practically live for their fans once they début. This dedication to their fans is part of what separates them from Western artists. Because of this, fans all over the world feel the need to show their idols their appreciation and thank them for all their consistent hard work. It is the continual interactions that keep fans interested, we all have our favourite artists and through their fan service we feel connected to them and so we want to show our support any way we can.
Put everything together and you have the mix for a music genre that is capable of making an audience out of any group of people. Although Kpop may at first glance seem like a music genre for teenage girls, it is loved by men and women of all ages and races. There is something MASSIVELY addictive about it and that is what makes it so popular. The Korea Herald recently posted an article about the growing foreign fan base for the “Hallyu Wave”. Having crossed the 3 million mark a while ago and currently standing on 3.3 mil, the growing influence of the Hallyu wave in the Western music industry is only just cracking through. Who knows what that fan base will be like in as few as 2 years.
So we leave you with these questions, why do you think Kpop is so popular? And what about it got you so hooked?