Korean Music Wave in Google Headquarters

  On May 21 at 7pm PST, Mountain View, CA is going to be hopping with 10 of  K-pop’s most popular idol groups. Hosted by Girls’ Generations’ Taeyeon and Tiffany at the Shoreline Amphitheater, the MBC Korean Music Wave in Google is sure to be a concert to remember. And here’s the best part: it’s free!

  Word got out earlier this month through Osen and  Star News that Girls’ Generation, TVXQ, Super Junior, KARA, SISTAR, MBLAQ, BEAST and the Wonder Girls all had a trip to Google Headquarters scheduled for the end of May. But while the concert was no secret because it had been reported that the performances would be broadcast live through YouTube and MBC from company headquarters, most assumed that it would be a private affair.
   However, just yesterday Powerhouse confirmed that the concert will be open to the public, and revealed full details about the final artist line-up, time and location, with instructions for ticket acquisition. Tickets will be available on a first come-first served basis on their website starting May 12. (Their server is going to be crazy this Saturday!) Tickets to SM TOWN LIVE in Los Angeles, which will take place on May 20, are also  currently available on their site.

Photo Credit: Powerhouselive.net

  This is the first time that a concert of this nature will be broadcast live from a major internet portal like Google, proving once again that the appeal of K-pop is not defined by continental borders. A representative for the event stated, “After hearing the news that Korean artists will be performing at the Google headquarters, curiosity has peaked even among the local event organizers. I think that previous performances by Korean artists were targeted towards Korean-Americans or the Koreans living abroad, but this time its appeal will spread to all fans of pop music in the US.” 
  If you can’t make it, don’t sweat it! The concert will be broadcast live via MBC’s YouTube channel and on the YouTube Presents. channel at the above mentioned date and time.

Underrated Members Within Groups

   In becoming an idol, there are usually only two paths available to you. You either become a star with all of Korea adoring your every breath, or you just never get off the ground and bask in the darkness of your eternal irrelevance.
  However, there are some individuals that straddle the line between these two paths. These idols are neither adored nor are they irrelevant. They simply exist, latching onto the fame of their more recognized group members. It can be hard to argue that these idols are unpopular, but they certainly don’t have the same popularity that is proportionate to others in their crew. These individuals, while underappreciated, are immensely talented in their own way. The companies that house them should reconsider how to market them. Let’s take a look at four idols who are being left at the wayside.

Soyu – SISTAR

While 4minute is known as Hyuna + friends, SISTAR is known as Hyorin, Bora, and the two others. Soyu is one of the “others.” Surely, some of the fame is attributed to her participation (or lack thereof) in Sistar19. Probably the biggest reason for both her popularity and unpopularity is Hyorin. The main vocal’s unique and powerful voice will overshadow most idol singers, including Soyu, who actually has a great singing voice. A recent ranking of female vocalists placed Soyu above more well known singers like Park Bom and Song Ji-eun. Had Soyu been in nearly any other group, her vocal talents would be recognized and appreciated. Alas, she is in a group where the main vocalist’s popularity exceeds the group as a whole. Aside from Hyorin and Bora, Starship Entertainment seems to have trouble getting their artists on variety shows, which is the easiest way for Soyu to improve her popularity. If she could only catch a few glances from the public, her talent will draw in a crowd. Little known fact: Soyu almost debuted with 4minute. Seeing as how member recognition pans out for them, this is probably for the better.

Jia – Miss A

Jia falls under what many would consider “The Junho Syndrome.” She is an extremely capable dancer, but maybe not as strong as Min. She is also an extremely capable vocalist, yet as a whole, miss A is essentially on the same level. Like many Chinese idols in the industry, the language barrier makes it difficult for them to fully participate in variety shows. While f(x)‘s Victoria and Amber have appeared on We Got Married, Invincible Youth, and Invincible Youth 2, their unfamiliarity with the language becomes apparent (and sometimes part of their character).Contributing to Jia’s  lack of fluency (and probably Fei’s as well) is how much of their pre-debut activities were spent in China. Jia had only been signed by JYPE in 2007, with much of 2009 being spent in her home country. It’s very likely that Jia is not as strong in Korean as Victoria or Amber, making her public appearances very limited. JYPE actually tends to distribute lines extremely evenly between all members of a group, but for that reason it’s hard for members to truly stand out, especially in a group where the scope of talent is fairly uniform. Popularity in miss A is largely based on solo activities. For Jia to improve her popularity, she should honestly just put herself out there. It doesn’t matter if you can’t speak the language well, use it to your advantage. Luckily, Jia and Fei have been casted in a drama and will get them somewhere.

Dongwoon – BEAST

Dongwoon is an interesting case. He is essentially left behind in the pool of talent that is BEAST. Dongwoon is known for his atypical looks and his quiet reserved role as maknae. In Cube‘s quest to find an effective marketing strategy for ANYTHING, Dongwoon has participated in a few solo endeavors. He released a single with Davichi‘s Kang Min-kyung entitled “Udon.” It received a pretty warm response from the public, but many broadcasting channels would not air the song due to the mere fact that the title is in Japanese. His second solo activity comes in the form of singing a song for Shinsadong Tiger. However, to be perfectly honest, “In The Clouds” doesn’t fit his voice at all and really highlighted his faults as a singer. His greatest strength most likely lies in his personality. Given the right mentor (like Yoo Jae-suk was for Daesung or Kim Shin-young was for Sunny), Dongwoon could really develop into a memorable variety character. When compared to the other members, perennially aegyo-fied Yoseob and silly yet seductive Kikwang has its limits, but a truly 4D personality like what Dongwoon seems to exhibit can take him far in the industry.

Jungshin – CNBlue

Jungshin is CNBlue‘s bassist as well as back-up rapper and vocalist. FNC actually recognized Jungshin for his rapping ability moreso than his abilities as a bassist. His proficiency at rapping is relatively unknown since, at debut, he had inner braces. These braces hindered his ability to rap, causing most of the rapping to fall onto the lap of Yonghwa. Although his braces are now off, the effects are still felt. With CNBlue being rock-oriented, rap is generally avoided. Even when raps are present, Jungshin will have to divide it between Yonghwa and himself. This was actually a bad decision for FNC/Mnet as a whole to debut Jungshin in a pop-rock band. He’s tall (1.86m), good looking, and he can rap. Shouldn’t it be clear that he belongs in a more conventional idol group? Who knows, maybe he has two left feet (a la TOP) and they thought he might not be able to keep up with the normal choreography T-ara or Co-Ed School get. For some reason, it just feels like Jungshin is being wasted in CNBlue.

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These four individuals are just a few of the idols that really make you want to take another look at those popular groups. Sure, when you think about a group, generally the most popular comes to mind first. However just think about that member in the back, who seems to not belong. While the public might not recognize him/her for whatever reason: marketing strategy, language barrier, personality, you might come to realize he or she was placed in that group for a reason.

And Then There Were Nine

 
  Many of Korea’s top girl groups are singing and dancing in large packs these days. A Pink, Rainbow, Nine Muses, and quite a few others have debuted over the last few years with seven or more members. Of the large groups, three have earned reputations as the best of the best – gaining popularity through promotions in South Korea, Japan and then all over the world. And interestingly enough, they’re about to share something else in common: the number of ladies. How did they arrive at so many? Is there something special about nine idols together in a group? 

   Let’s start with the group that made the number famous: Girls’ Generation.

GIRLS’ GENERATION

SM Entertainment, one of Korea’s “top three” agencies alongside JYP and YG, debuted Girls’ Generation in 2007. At the time, nine was an unusually large idol group – the second largest in SM next to brother group, Super Junior. Most other groups of both sexes at the time were limited to trios, quartets and quintets.
During an interview on Radio Show Ya Shim Man Man 2, members Sooyoung, Yuri and Yoona revealed that the trainee competition to join the group was fierce. Apparently, the original plan was for a three-member group, but was extended to 10 after three extensive line-up revisions. After the departure of Soyeon (who later debuted  with T-ARA), the final roster consisted of leader Taeyeon, Yuri, Sunny, Tiffany, Sooyoung, Jessica, Hyoyeon, YoonA and Seohyun.
 As of April 2012, Girls’ Generation introduced their first sub-group, TaeTiSeo. Though the group name was drawn from the names of the first three members, Taeyeon, Tiffany and Seohyun, according to OSEN, representatives from SM stated that the members were interchangeable, so future promotions may include other members of GG.

Girls Generation and TaeTiSeo (Unit Group)

AFTER SCHOOL

After School Debut Members

  Pledis Entertainment took an interesting approach to their first idol group, After School, by declaring from the start that there would be an “admission/graduation” system. New members would be “admitted” into After School, and would “graduate” when it was time to move on to other projects – making member changes appear more natural. Many idol groups cut and add members, but not without much speculation and suggested internal conflict. Announcing from debut that active members are interchangeable took the bulk of negative pressure away from the agency whenever they decided to add to or withdraw from After School’s membership.
  A.S. originally consisted of leader Kahi, Bekah, JungAh, Juyeon and Soyoung in 2007, and admitted UEE, Raina, Nana, Lizzy and E-Young by 2011. Soyoung graduated in 2009 and Bekah graduated in 2011 respectively. Newest member Gaeun was introduced on April 10 in Japan, and will bring the group’s total active members to nine when she joins A.S. for their album release this June. But in an interesting twist, After School’s capacity may come back down to eight soon, as Pledis CEO Han Sung Soo announced through an interview on May 2 that another graduation will take place (StarNews). After School currently has three promoting sub-groups: Orange Caramel, After School Red and After School Blue.

After School Current Photo and New Member Gaeun

 After School Sub-Groups: Orange Caramel (Left), After School Red (Top), and After School Blue (Bottom)

  

T-ARA

T-ARA Debut Members

 

  Core Contents Media formed T-ARA in 2009 with members Eunjung, Hyomin, Jiyeon, Jiwon and Jiae, though it is unclear whether they initially planned to add more. After the departure of Jiwon and Jiae just before their official debut, the group gained Boram, Q-ri, Soyeon and Hwayoung, bringing the current total to seven. Although there have been no sub-groups announced for T-ARA yet, several members have become popular personalities on variety shows and even acted as leads in movies and television dramas.
   CEO Kim Kwang Soo announced earlier this year that two more girls would be added, bringing the total up to the 9 for this group as well. His official statement not only confirmed the member addition, but also served as a warning to members becoming comfortable in their top star position.  “I’ve seen a portion of the celebrities I’ve created become conceited and idle about three years after they’ve risen to popularity. Although T-ARA is working hard, I have decided to make changes to show them that they must continue to try and work even harder onstage and offstage.”  (Kim Kwang Soo, Naver)

Current T-ARA to Add Two New Members

IS 9 THE MAGIC NUMBER?

   Agencies with large groups are well aware of what comes with them – uneven popularity among fans between members, issues of pay distribution and visibility during off-promotion activities. Internal issues aside, it does provide an agency with a larger pool of artists to work with; side projects like sub-groups and acting in dramas and movies is much easier to facilitate when audiences are already familiar with the talent from their high-time in a popular group. Some members may even achieve enough popularity and support to have a second solo career, returning to the group only for group promotions.
   It’s a bit of a reach to say that the number “9″ is specifically the ticket to big success, but as far as we can tell, it seems to sit right in the perfect range. There are enough members to spread out and break down into solos or sub-groups as the agency sees fit, but not too many that fans are put-off by the amount of names to remember and activities to follow. With a wide enough range of personalities and talents, a group of nine has a better chance of appealing to a wider range of audiences.

All Image Credits to Respective Agencies.

What do you think? Do 9-member groups have a better chance at lifting off?

HelloVenus Releases Debut Mini Album and MV!!

 

   Say ‘hello’ to the debut effort of Pledis Entertainment‘s rookie girl group, Hello Venus! Hello Venus’ teasers introduced a concept that sits at the intersection of cute and elegant. Sure, the girls are all smiles and charm, minus the clichéd “cute” duds like school uniforms and bloomers.  Groups like Girl’s Day and A Pink have the “little sister” thing on lockdown, so it’s refreshing to see “cute” done different and well, without having to put post-high-school-graduation ladies back into blazers and pleated skirts.
   And now that the mini-album and music video are out, will they live up to expectations?

  The MV for the title track “Venus” ran straight to Cute-ville with no local pit stops. The video is peppered with bright colors, young love and quite a few cameos from fellow Pledis artists. I will say, while I enjoyed watching it and couldn’t help smiling a few times at the onscreen antics, there were more aegyo expressions and gestures than I would ever want to play a drinking game to. This MV probably contains every idol selca (self-captured photo) pose you’ve ever seen – no joke. Anyway, the teaser photos prepared us for soft and pretty, and the music video delivered lively and fun. Check it out:

HELLO VENUS – “VENUS” MV

 

YG Entertainment Auditons in Canada

   YG Entertainment, the label that has brought you big names like Big Bang and 2NE1, is looking for their next starlets with their first ever global auditions to be held in Toronto, Canada.  they’re heading to Toronto, Canada to  their first ever global auditions.
   Auditions will be held on July 11 at the Gallery Dosan Hall of the Korea Times Daily building (287 Bridgeland Ave. Southern entrance), but from now until midnight on June 27, audition hopefuls are invited to send in their registration forms (which will be made available and downloadable from YG’s audition website by next week). Send your forms to uscanada@ygmail.net and be sure to add “2012 YG US-CANADA Audition” in the subject line of  your registration email.
   YG is looking for anyone between the ages of 11 and 21 (born within the years of 1991-2001). Minors must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, with proof (legal documents, birth certificates, etc) of birth at sign up. There is no fee to audition, and YG has expressed that all nationalities and genders are welcome to audition for a contract deal. What’s cool is walk-on auditions are just as welcome.

 In the footsteps of other famous Canadian idols such as SM Entertainment’s Henry Lau from Super Junior-M and Cube Entertainment's G.Na, do you think you have what it takes Canada?

Pledis Entertainment's 2012 Plan

   Despite some minor (okay, pretty major) complaints about the company, Pledis Entertainment is still a fairly formidable force in K-pop. Sure they may have a bit trouble in execution, but they know how to build hype, leading to impressive comebacks and relevant debuts. I was thoroughly impressed with most of After School‘s comebacks, and NU’EST‘s debut was handled pretty well. Sure, Pledis indulges in a lot of gimmicks, (the tap dancing, the graduation system, Ren‘s entire image, etc.) but those gimmicks still manage to get attention and stand out, something important in the vastness K-pop has become. But as savvy Pledis is when it comes to building hype, I don’t know how they (or any other company for that matter) can handle what they brought upon themselves.
Pledis has just officially announced another group-in-the-making named Seventeen, which will consist of 17 members with the average age of 17. 
  Before I point out the major problems that group is going to go through in the near future, I want to mention that Pledis has also officially announced the debut of After School’s sister group Hello Venus, as well as the (possible) debut of another boy group, Tempest, which will feature the remaining Pledis Boys not included in NU’EST. Tempest’s debut as a separate group is still iffy as it is widely suspected that the Tempest boys will instead join the roster of Seventeen (more on that later). So, in all, Pledis will have to handle two or three debuts during th remainder of the year (a total of three or four year-round), along with After School’s Japanese promotions and whatever they want to do with NU’EST (Sadly, Son Dambi moved her comeback to mid June). Pledis sure is reaching a bit too high in the sky with their current schedule, and there are definitely reasons why.

Misty Blue

  In the mood for a little indie? This is your gateway to the Korean music scene and everything it has to offer, which includes artists who may not get as much screen time, but are every bit as talented and worth a listen as those in the almost-visible-from-outerspace K-pop idol scene. We’ve already had a brief look at a few awesome bands in the Seoulsonic tour but make no mistake — not every everyone is a Crying Nut. Let’s take the volume down a notch and check out a band sporting a soft alternative rock sound with airy vocals. Misty Blue, you’ve been Indie ID’d.

Photo Credit: Pastel Music

   Vocalist Jung Woonsoo, guitarist Lee Jungwoo and bassist Choi Kyunghoon make up the trio named Misty Blue. Their first album, Your Star Name is SiriusB, features 14 tracks that range from indie-pop to jazzy to acoustic to ethereal.  They are signed to Pastel Music and since 2005 have released 5 EPs, 1 full album, appeared on  2 OSTs and contributed to a compilation album featuring Pastel artists. And in case you were wondering, all of Misty Blue’s album artwork were created by illustrator Kim Jiyoon.
   “Comfort,” from Your Star Name, was featured in the original soundtrack of the 2007 megahit drama, The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince (more commonly known as just Coffee Prince).