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As more and more groups debut each year, it’s becoming more important
for groups to establish themselves in some unique way. They need to
stand out or have some characteristic that distinguishes them from the
rest of the pack. Aside from extraterrestrials traveling to Earth and
eccentric marketing tactics, an aspect that that proves significant is
the group’s sound. It’s the part of the music that tells the listener
that it’s a certain band. It should be present in all the group’s works,
even though there might be progression through different styles.A large part of sound has to do with the voices of the group members. It makes sense: often voices will be used in the same manner if it provides the desired impact or is well suited for a certain part. For example, SHINee‘s Jonghyun often is the one holding the long notes or doing the ad-libs. Big Bang‘s Taeyang tends to sing the chorus because his voice best brings all the other voices together. Since it’s the same set of voices used to create music in groups, it should bring familiarity to the music anyways. But that isn’t always the case, especially as some members improve to acquire a larger skill-set. Sound also has much to do with the type of music the group progresses into and how they still integrate characteristics that are true to themselves. Unfortunately, in K-pop, it’s possible to hear several of a group’s songs and still not find out what their true concept is, especially since songs tend to be doled out by an entertainment company. Along that note, I’m still not sure what f(x)‘s concept is as a group. I liked “NU ABO” and some of their songs prior to that, but then “Danger” came out, changing their sound quite a bit. It was slightly off-putting to see such a huge change, but it seemed to work out for the better as “Danger” claimed multiple triple crowns on music shows.
Aside from establishing that sound, it’s important to keep changing it while keeping it–a confusing concept. A group needs to keep progressing and developing their sound, but keep it the same just enough to retain their identity. They have to be careful to not continue with the same sound, even if it was successful the first time around. Although it seems as if using a very similar sound the next round of promotions should not be a detriment, especially if the sound was well-received the first time around, it really should be avoided due to how the K-pop system works. Listeners are always looking for something new and development of groups as they progress their sound and adapt to the changing trends. Releasing similar content may work with groups that have strong fanbases, but for the rest, it’s merely a bore, even if it’s done well.
Three groups that I find to have found themselves in an unfortunate rut, sound-wise, are Infinite, 2AM, and Super Junior. While there most likely are other groups, these are my picks from the groups that I enjoy listening to.
2AM:
Ballad group. The concept is thrilling because of the focus on music
and vocal ability. However, I think it does the group a disservice as it
limits what they can truly do. 2AM’s first win on a music show came
with “Can’t Let You Go Even If I Die.” The song had an impact and truly demonstrated that each member had true vocal ability. But then along came “I Was Wrong.”
Lo and behold, there was a dance routine, faster tempo, and change in
style while the slight melancholy overtones were still around, something
to be expected with progression. But apparently some fans decided it
didn’t fit the group; I thought they did just fine with the puppet
movement. Thus, when they came back later, it was without any routine
and with another strong ballad. But it was along the same lines of
“Can’t Let You Go Even If I Die.” “I Wonder If You Hurt Like Me”
is a spin on their previous hit: soulful, captivating, but
oh-so-boring. While they are a ballad group, 2AM should be able to move
past their mastery of sadness and pain and sing about brighter days. It
would be nice to see those vocals turn joyful and upbeat.
Perhaps the kings of keeping the same sound are Super Junior. After their smash hit “Sorry, Sorry,” SM Entertainment and the founder of SMP style–SM Performance–Yoo Young-jin kept with the same vein of music to create “Bonamana.”
I didn’t mind that similarity. “Bonamana” was “Sorry, Sorry”‘s darker
and more sensual brother that worked just fine. But round three, “Mr. Simple,”
pushed the extent of the use of the concept too much. It felt like a
mash-up of “Sorry, Sorry” and “Bonamana,” a lame effort to put out an
album just for the sake of putting another one out. The sound was
chaotic, electronic, and used far too many sound effects. “Sorry, Sorry”
was simple, “Bonamana” was darker, and “Mr. Simple” was just harsh to
the ears, but the biggest downfall for Super Junior is that they all
sounded too similar to be three different full-length albums.
The three in combination made Super Junior’s sound become synonymous
with copious amounts of processing and little talent when in actuality,
the group has several talented members. As the group is coming out with
their sixth album this year, it would be to their benefit to ditch the
full force of SMP and instead focus on their vocal abilities, creating
real music that hasn’t been hacked into pieces by editing software. They
could go back to “Sorry, Sorry” and instead progress from that.But enough of the unfortunate. While those are just of the groups that could do more exploration with their capabilities and likes, there are groups that have been fairly successful in creation of a sound and development of it to suit their selves. My picks are MBLAQ, B1A4, and the Brown Eyed Girls, though I’m sure you could pick out others.
I’ve
always seen MBLAQ as an underdog. They’re successful, but not as
successful as they have the potential to be. From their debut single, “Oh Yeah,” up until now, with “It’s War,”
MBLAQ has this incredibly chic and polished sound that transitions well
to different styles. Their music has been different from the others,
from their returns to Spanish influences to the large orchestral impacts
that seam well to make dramatic music. Another aspect that factors in
more with MBLAQ than with other groups is their dance performance. Even
though the discussion is about sound, MBLAQ’s dance performances do a
splendid job of staying in your mind as something distinctly MBLAQ.
There’s the guitar-playing from “Mona Lisa”
and the upper body rolls from “It’s War.” When you hear that part of
the song, you see those moves clearly, which is most certainly not the
case with most songs from even the most popular artists. As a result,
MBLAQ’s music becomes even more defined. That refinement in MBLAQ’s
music brings it to a higher quality that can’t be replicated by other
groups. And with every new release, they bring something new or revisit
something old, but with a twist, which is how groups should progress.
Although
B1A4 is still technically a rookie group, they have done fairly well in
projecting their image through their title songs. “O.K.” and “Beautiful Target”
were remarkably cute and got past my aegyo-barriers in an
embarrassingly fast amount of time. Their abrupt progression to maturity
in “Baby I’m Sorry”
should have changed their sound, distorting it because cute does not
fit mature, but instead, when I heard the sound, I just immediately
accepted that it was the group. B1A4 tends to have similar beats in all
their music, which works well to accommodate their vocal abilities. They
also spread lines among their members in fairly predictable manners,
with maknae Gong-chan usually getting the least. With
all of this, it seems as if their music should have fallen into a rut.
But instead, B1A4 has done pure exploration by trying to perform music
from both ends of the spectrum. While they still have a lot of maturing
to do, they have done the super cute music and the more mature music
while keeping musical similarities through technical aspects and their
voices. But everything else has melded into something more along what
they like, especially as leader Jin-young is at the
helm of their music production. It has allowed for greater incorporation
of their styles, which most likely will remain similar through their
years as a group.
My
last pick is my one favorite girl group, the Brown Eyed Girls. Four ladies
with sensational voices that are truly capable of a wide range of
emotions and styles. Their popular dance song “Abracadabra” showed that these girls could be just as sexy as those much younger than they while still providing strong vocals. “Sixth Sense” and their entire album, Sixth Sense, only compounded on their strong image, but added in a rebellious touch. “Cleansing Cream”
continued with that matured sound, adding a greater range of emotions
and feminine delicacy. It’s fair to say that the Brown Eyed Girls have a
distinctly womanly sound that is full of maturity and power, even when
there is vulnerability. They have been able to carry that unique sound
because it is theirs: they own it, and no other group could sing the
same songs and have the same impact. It may be because their image is
full of maturity, but that image couldn’t have been formed without the
vocals to back it up. The background music that accompanies their music
tends to be full, rich, and not overly complicated, complementing their
voices instead of attempting to overwhelm them. The group’s music ends
up being a wonderful delight to look forward to.
