KMK: K-pop Shebop 2

It’s been quite some time since my post on the Korean pop music scene. So, I thought I was long overdue for a follow up. Last time I blogged about DBSK, Rain, Super Junior and the Wonder Girls. This time around I have a whole new slate of K-pop mommas and poppas to dissect and analyze for your reading pleasure.

First I’d like to say that I’ve come really appreciate the K-pop scene. I didn’t use to, but I’ve learned to accept K-pop for what it is and not what I want it to be. If you want Coke you don’t buy Tab, drink it and then complain about it. Nope. If you buy Tab you should accept Tab for what it is: fizzy gooey bubblegum pop. So when I listen to K-pop I go in with the knowledge that it exists to feed the great pop culture machine and not to pluck the strings of my heart.

So, with that said I thought I would tackle:

Lee Hyori

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The Korean Christina and Britney hybrid debuted 1998 in the girl group Fin K L and has been on the K-pop scene ever since. Her image as you can see is sex kitten. She’s like a lone Pussycat Doll out on the street doing her own thing her way. I can’t really comment on her personality because all the interviews I came across were in Korean and I understood zippo. However, her ultra sexualized photos and videos says everything that needs to be said about where she’s coming from and where she wants to go. She’s what the folks of yesteryear might have called a Lolita, except she’s about ten years past that Lolita expiration date so we’ll have to put her instead into the booty shaker category which is a step above video vixen but a step below pop princess.

Video U Go Girl

Hyori takes a page from Christina and goes retro with a throwback look. She takes her inspiration from the fifties and mixes in a little good school girl versus bad girl school mum. Of course the good egg goes through her ugly duckling transformation which amounts to taking off her glasses and letting her hair down because let’s face it she ain’t in the least ugly. She also manages to avoid the pitfall of Skankatude that Christina and Britney routinely fall into.

The video has a Mariah Carey crazy off my ass charm complete with lolly pops, ice cream and strolls through colorful backdrops. One of guys from Big Bang adds some much needed testosterone to the goings on.

The ending girl versus guy dance off needs a few more edgy moves but the overall it’s a fun frilly time complete with outtakes! How can anyone hate outtakes? The song is bubble gum pop at its best. Enjoy it for a minute and then toss it away after all the sweetness has been sucked away and what’s left is a bland piece of crap.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PfHhFbd84A&hl=ko&fs=1]
SG Wannabe

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Since their debut in 2004 this K-pop boy band has been releasing an album every year to great success. Most notable about SG Wannabe is that they don’t appear in their videos and do limited publicity because they want their music to speak for itself without all the trappings of music industry. I think that’s commendable especially in the music business where often than not it’s about the pretty and not the vocals. And it might be unfair to categorize them as pop since they do fall more into the R&B ballad corner. I’m not even sure commenting on their image is warranted since they actively work to deemphasize that aspect of their careers, so I won’t.

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Partner for Life Video

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjoF9Q_9zdM&hl=ko&fs=1]

The video brings the drama. Since the group never appears in their own videos t this one stars Dongwan as a thug for hire who kidnaps ties up and duck tapes a helpless young lass. He watches over her and takes care of her while his gang thug friends try to ransom her back. Of course while he does his job he inevitably falls for his lovely captive. Lucky girl. It must be said she really doesn’t seem at all scared, threatened or even mildly inconvenienced to be held against her will. Who can blame her when your kidnapper looks like that?

I have to say that the video proved to be far more involving the actual song. It was okay, but really didn’t stand out. It felt more like the plucked power ballad 112 out of their bag of tricks. Their voices are good. The lads can sing, but I wish the arrangement was a bit more interesting.

Uhm Jung-hwa

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Know as the Korean Madonna for multiple reincarnations, Uhm Jung-hwa has been on the pop scene in Korea for years and is going strong against those young up and coming whippersnappers. You can see why her moniker is Queen of Charisma. Uhm Jung-hwa delivers playful, flirty and sexy while not making it unseemly or scandalous. She’s like a washed up, scrubbed clean, Asian Barbie doll version of Madonna which may or may not be good depending on the person.

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DISCO

She gets points for opening with a Boombox mandroid. She breaks out the multicolored disco lights, neon explosions and some costumes reminiscent of something Kylie Minogue would wear.

The rapper Top from Big Bang makes a cameo appearance to give her some added youth appeal.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6Pi4B7rfs0&hl=ko&fs=1]