Hello, Toasties. Your K-pop enthusiast here, now working in conjunction with the brilliant Maddie Lee. The last time we were discussing Korean pop music, we stuck strictly to the female side of the line and tried to get at questions of agency, representation, and how much y’all love Amber. (A lot, natch.) There is also lots to listen to from the guys’ camp; realize, though, that it all comes with caveats. Put it this way: want a K-pop male group whose members get treated well and get some say over their work, and whose management makes sure to avoid misogynist lyrics and culturally offensive photoshoots? So do we. If you see one, let us know. In the meantime, here’s a range of distinctly imperfect yet frequently fun pop groups at work, with guides to their in-house strife, wince-inducing public communications, and most interesting songs—all gathered here, for your convenience.
If You’re Looking to Impress at SXSW: Big Bang
With their attention to craft (and their having won the right to write much of their own work), Big Bang has the name most often dropped internationally. The group skyrocketed to fame in Korea when they ditched hip-hop for electropop, but ironically, it’s their rap connections that have given them the most cultural cachet on this side of the Pacific—leader G-Dragon’s friendships with the likes of Diplo and Missy Elliott, for instance. They’re Western magazine darlings, grabbing features in publications from The Fader to L’Uomo Vogue, and rapper T.O.P is even a Rolling Stone-verified sex symbol, just in case any of the 98 million viewers of “Fantastic Baby” still had doubts.
Internal Strife: They’ve been together since 2006; at this point they can be forgiven for largely pursuing solo projects.
External Missteps: GD is one of those performers who knows just enough about hip-hop and media representations of black America to stick his foot in his mouth (posing in blackface, calling T.O.P. “my n—-”, and so on).
For More, Try: “Bad Boy,” G-Dragon’s solo “Crooked,” T.O.P.’s solo “Doom Dada.”
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If You’re Looking to Impress on Tumblr: EXO
Big Bang has been around a while; EXO is the Hot New Thing. Why? Because there are twelve of them. Six are supposed to go out and conquer the elusive, much-coveted Chinese market by singing in Mandarin, so occasionally they promote as EXO-K and EXO-M. But mostly they benefited from a year’s worth of conversations between music video releases, and did we mention there are twelve of them? The English-language K-pop fandom fell so hard for these guys that in 2013 the EXO tag was the second-most popular tag on Tumblr. (One Direction was first.)
Internal Strife: Was limited to making faces at each other on variety shows until mid-May, when one member of EXO-M sued to get out of his contract, sparking several rounds of rumors and ambiguously passive-aggressive Instagram updates.
External Missteps: EXO’s promotions last year came with a sprinkling of colorism—namely branding Kai, who has slightly darker skin, the “foreign one” and giving him cornrows.
For More, Try: “Wolf,” if you need a laugh; “Overdose,” if you’re in a stadium.
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If You Wonder What K-Pop Would Be Like as a Clifford Odets Tragedy: DBSK/JYJ
Once upon a time, there was a five-man group called DBSK, and they made the video above, and SM Entertainment, one of the biggest agencies in K-pop, was happy. Then three of the five members sued to get out of their “slave contracts.” Four years and much ugliness later, DBSK is a two-man show, and the other three, collectively known as JYJ, are promoting themselves despite a years-long unofficial ban from the music shows most K-pop acts rely on to generate buzz. But a decade, together and separately, is a lot of history, especially in an industry so new and so given to churn.
Internal Strife: Um.
External Missteps: See DBSK’s video for “Something,” from January, in which white women are luxury objects.
For More, Try: “Catch Me” (from current DBSK), “Tarantallegra” (from JYJ member Junsu)
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If You Are Cynical: SHINee
As the industry expands (and Big Bang keeps raking in money), newer groups are freer to pretend that not all is happy and, er, shiny. But SHINee, which debuted in 2008, is made in the older model: five guys who work as a team, no matter what, to produce compelling harmonies and intricate choreography. The tension shows: spend five minutes talking to (or reading fifteen-part Tumblr asks from) someone familiar with SHINee and you’re highly likely to get a long recitation of injuries, slights, in-house fights, possible nervous breakdowns, and an exhausting, inexhaustible font of drama. Are you convinced that everything in entertainment, and K-entertainment especially, is a bankable lie? This is your group.
Internal Strife: Probably not as high or constant as reported.
External Missteps: The wearing of bandito costumes to perform “Macarena” was especially impressive coming two months before announcing a tour of Latin America.
For More, Try: “Replay,” “Symptoms” (Jessica is mildly obsessed with “Symptoms”)
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If You Already Own Much of Sanrio’s Product Line: B1A4
B1A4, unlike every group we’ve covered so far, is not managed by one of the Big Three agencies (SM Entertainment; YG, which manages Big Bang and also Psy; and JYP, which has had more luck with its female groups). To stand out they had to be distinctive, and by “distinctive” we mean “frequently ridiculous.” The members do get input into the songwriting—they wrote or co-wrote ten of the twelve tracks on B1A4’s most recent album—but how much they subscribe to the deeply silly aesthetic is hard to guess. B1A4 World is one of fake glasses, scarf dances, sprout dances, duck jokes, bright colors, and cupcakes; you’ll either be completely charmed or queasy.
Internal Strife: Group hugs. Lots and lots of group hugs.
External Missteps: The recent photoshoot featuring a wig of dreads, an “Indian” headdress, and blackface could have been rethought.
For More, Try: “Lonely,” “Beautiful Target”
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If You Think K-Pop Needs More Latin American Surrealist Influence: B.A.P
K-pop’s vertical-integration model and prefab groups make many Western observers automatically reach for comparisons to factories or robots. B.A.P’s uniformly bleached hair got them Photoshopped into One Direction’s “Best Song Ever” video as an example of gimmicky boy band concepts, but there’s plenty of personality in the group and their music, whether it’s using traditional Korean drum music (studied by one member in university) as a dance break in a single, or leader/lyricist Bang Yongguk sharing his favourite Kahlo paintings and Neruda lines on Twitter.
Internal Strife: Membership carries high risk of unwanted buttpats.
External Missteps: The attempt, with “Badman,” to provide commentary on how crime tears apart society, while filming in Detroit… did not go well.
For More, Try: “Coffee Shop,” “1004 (Angel)”
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If You Can Ignore the Lyrics (or Believe Guys Who Sing Misogynist Lyrics Should Be Punished by Having to Simulate Homoeroticism): Infinite
Full disclosure: your co-authors are not neutral on Infinite. Your co-authors spent a combined twenty hours waiting in line to see Infinite in concert (at a terrible venue where fans almost got trampled, but that’s another story). Your co-authors may be embarrassingly familiar with the various incarnations of Dragfinite. That said, the group’s catchy 80s-styled discography is nearly all variations on the theme of “Though you have left me, I will ignore your autonomy and pursue you anyway.” And that’s not even counting the song so aggressively about policing a girlfriend’s clothes that it inspired a fan petition to have the video removed from concerts. Feel free to be more taken with Infinite’s dancing and Infinite’s variety-show performances than Infinite’s songwriting team, or refuse to separate the two.
Internal Strife: Hard to tell, given that they’re apparently contractually obligated to flirt with each other daily.
External Missteps: No, really, “Inconvenient Truth” is that bad.
For More, Try: “Paradise,” the brand-new “Last Romeo”
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If You Like a Bro-y Redemption Narrative: Jay Park
Back in 2009, Jay Park was the American-born rapper for JYP’s “beast idol” boy band 2PM. (There is also a 2AM, who sing ballads; when together, they are One Day. Yes, really.) Then his old Myspace rants from when he first started training (“Korea is gay”, among other things) got translated, and the resulting uproar got Jay Park booted out of 2PM and back to Washington state. He has since returned and established himself as an independent artist, releasing mixtapes alongside more traditional videos, appearing on Korea’s version of Saturday Night Live, and starting his own label.
Internal Strife: Seems to feel a particular pressure to be “hard,” which means those mixtapes contain a lot of predictable boasting.
External Missteps: Is no longer calling Korea gay; is still prone to post the odd rape-joke-filled Youtube video, though he did take it down after fans protested.
For More, Try: “10 Points Out of 10” or “Again & Again” (with 2PM); “Metronome” (solo)
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If You’re Ready for What’s Next: BTS
There are many cool things about BTS—their three hypercompetent teen rappers, the fact that the members regularly write their own lyrics and beats, the constant stream of vlogs and goofy candid footage on their YouTube channel—but chief among them is that in 2014, they can do all this and still win the rookie of the year award. With their underground roots, industry breeding and Internet savvy, BTS represent a new era of post-Korean wave rap artist-idols, who are just as likely to make lyrical reference to Kendrick Lamar’s “Control” verse or release a mixtape-style cover of “#Beautiful” on their SoundCloud as they are to offer up the killer drag fanservice.
Internal Strife: Less within the group than with other Korean underground rappers who have dissed them as “idol-rappers”; BTS’s response was a diss track declaring themselves “above the underground,” for what it’s worth.
External Missteps: According to the video for “Boy In Luv,” the way to confess to your crush is by shoving her against a locker and dragging her through the school hallways by her wrist.
For More, Try: “We Are Bulletproof Pt. 2”, “Satoori Rap”
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If You Can Only Keep Up with One Single Per Year:
…then let it be “Manyo Maash.” But back to the male side: ZE:A is not a particular standout (says Jessica; Maddie begs to differ), and yet last year they offered “Ghost of the Wind,” a testament to what a good set of strings in the right place can do to the ear. Which is to say that the guide above should get you started but not limit you: in a genre with dozens of new groups appearing every year, the chances for musical serendipity are many. Tell us how we missed your fave in the comments.
Tags: jessica doyle, k-pop, music
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I love the girl groups more than the guy groups generally but I have to tell everyone to listen to Smoky Girl by MBLAQ. Thank me later.
(Also, I really love Nu’est! Except the one sexist member who I ignore unless I’m laughing at his ineptitude.)
I am not a big fan of “Smoky Girl” (particularly the chorus) but “Be a Man” is great.
It’s definitely a polarizing song! I love ‘Be a Man’ as well but I think 12개월 might be my fave on that mini album.
Maddie here, and YES, heartily seconding 12개월. I’ve been very impressed with all of the songs Thunder’s written for MBLAQ, really – “Dress Up” was my favourite on the last mini, too.
Yesss, Dress Up was my favourite too! I hope he continues to impress!
No Shinhwa?!?! Disappointed.
Not speaking for my co-author here, but I could definitely use a Shinhwa primer.
I know. I think Shinhwa could have an entire article themselves. They’ve been around the block enough times to merit it! I’ve had This Love on repeat lately (AGAIN) and I have no regrets. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45wH_HHnJBg
I know basically nothing about k-pop (well, besides what these articles have taught me), but This Love was legitimately one of my favorite songs from 2013. SO GOOD
I KNOW RIGHT 😀 ahhh I love it so.
And no Super Junior! Please solve the mystery of why I can’t stop listening to “Mr. Simple” despite it not actually being that good of a song
I miss the High-five of Teenagers…maybe they weren’t dirtbag enough? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqRv2Md6Slg
First of all, I am tickled that my request for “tell us who we missed” has been answered so quickly.
Second, note the strange mathematics of authorship: contributors increase by 100% but the level of awesome goes up by 3000%.
WELL I KNOW WHAT I’M LISTENING TO TODAY.
My faboo Toasty-Mix-CD-maker included that Big Bang song on my collection and I love it. I have two of their other albums, but I obviously need MOAR.
Thank you for this!
Thank you for this! One of my good friends is really into K-pop, and all I have gleaned from her (and her tumblr) is that “V” and “Rap Monster” are really cute? Also… “Bangtan?” I don’t know! But thanks to you I have dipped my toe ever so slightly into the pool of knowledge.
BANGTAN!!!! (Just watch the dance version of Boy in Luv.)
Amazing post! Seeing KPop on the Toast! I’m so happy 😀 😀 😀
Can I also recommend VIXX? Like, if you want a really new-ish boy band that seems to have less drama and are still in a stage of cute/gooey friendship? This video of them dancing to SNSD’s I Got a Boy makes me happy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrOp_gJlWNU
I wish Korean girl groups and boy bands would all agree to switch choreography for one week. It would be amazing.
Let’s bring these back! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dOGTjcvxwE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrS0iZhG2oo
I don’t know if it’s my gacexual nature coming into play here, but damn. I love the fabricated, over-the-top feeling that the K-Pop girl groups have (whether sexy, goofy, or both – omg Bubble Pop and Ice Cream I love Hyuna so much, that woman works so hard, it’s impressive), and their overly made-up appearance, but even though the boy groups are basically the same thing, I just can’t get into them.
Also, there’s something about how all the guys in just about every video I’ve seen look like they’re wearing wigs. In stills, they look okay, but once they start dancing… it’s kind of unnerving.
I want to love them, but it just hasn’t clicked yet. 🙁 (I’ve never been able to get into Western boy bands, either.) I’m at work so I can’t watch these videos yet – maybe it’s the ultra-pop songs? Which of these guys are less poppy.
Hmm, I’m not sure if I can recommend you a boy group that is “less poppy”, since all of the ones I like best I like because they have ideal pop sounds. A few stray recommendations:
– Big Bang at their less poppy, all the additional songs linked above
– MBLAQ’s recent mature R&B tune “Be A Man”
– the more low-key album tracks of BTS, B1A4 or Infinite
-MR.MR’s “Highway”
-Beast’s songs composed by Shinsadong Tiger: “Fiction” and “Midnight”, or even Shinsadong Tiger’s (overblown) charity single “Yesterday”
but honestly, most of these skew ultra-pop at their best, and if you like it in the girls but not the boys, there might not be much for you. You may have to seek out folky artists like Roy Kim or 10cm or Busker Busker, or Korean indie or K-rock, in which case I have different recommendations.
How excellent to see all my faves present and accounted for, including the adorable countryside bros B1A4! (They usually don’t make folks’ lists despite their rising popularity in Korea – but I knew I could trust Jessica and Maddie to include them. On the other hand, I don’t own any Sanrio products so…)
For anyone looking to complete the B-group hip-pop trifecta (alongside B.A.P. and Bangtan), Block B is your group. Like B.A.P. and Bangtan, Block B is led by an underground-rapper-turned-idol-producer named Zico, and the seven members revel in pushing boundaries, musical and otherwise. Lots of external missteps for this group in 2011-2012 led them to a long hiatus and new management last year. You can get a sense of Block B’s flavor from songs like Nillili Mambo and Very Good.
No love for Block B or U-Kiss? I has a sad.
SHINee 4Eva! Because of the glorious human being that is Jonghyun (has spoken out on behalf of LGBTQ folks)(publicly!)(see also: criticizing the guv’ment) The unbelievable (gorgeous) talent that is Onew (Lee Jinki), the preciousness of of Key (recently gave support to a girl who was cutting, see also: charity work), and whatever the hell it is Taemin and Minho do.
I might be a little biased.
Seriously tho, Block B!
PS: Block B’s Zico was made aware of problematic language in a recent rap and changed the lyrics. I know Block B has said some…dumb…stuff, but they are willing to learn, yeah?
As for SHINee’s Macarena…I just can’t.
Also, what about Kris and the shenanigans with SM?
(This is Maddie) The way the Thailand scandal played out absolutely indicates to me that Block B, or at least Zico as figurehead of Block B, are willing to learn from mistakes, which is encouraging. Do you know offhand the song with the lyrics he changed?
A bit of self-promotion: Jessica and I have discussed in brief the SM-Kris thing on a podcast earlier this week: http://www.thesinglesjukebox.com/?p=11474 For the record, I think his betrayal is not cool, neither is the way SM treats its artists (you’d think they’d learn after so many lawsuits), so I’ve largely been staying out of it.
some other worthwhile songs/groups from the male side of k-pop-dom:
– Block B: Nillili Mambo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AYJZvHeKFo) is an enduring favorite. Lots of strife here though – potentially homophobic and racist remarks; a scandal about insensitive comments made in regards to the flooding in Thailand a few years ago; and in 2013, a group lawsuit against their company.
– VIXX: the best group for camp and drama in a music video, imo. On and On (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TcXHDJIShI) was a phenom that I haven’t recovered from more than a year later. (I might be a little biased here, but VIXX are some of the sweetest, funniest, hardest working idols out there, and they deserve all the love.)
– Beast: I actually prefer the solos from the members of Beast – I want everyone in the world to adore Junhyung’s Flower (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyO2h1mjVCM) as much as I do. Yoseob’s Caffeine and Hyunseung’s duet with Hyuna, Troublemaker, are also very worthwhile.
Love me some K-pop.
I still have a soft spot for FT Island. Mostly because Hong Ki’s voice is just perf.
I saw this on OmonaTheyDidn't: 'Obs: After fans contacted the company and explained what the n-word meant, Zico edited "I'm Still Fly" and replaced the n-word with "baby".' http://omonatheydidnt.livejournal.com/13262567.ht… (also the main story is heartbreaking and he was wonderful to do that)
Yesss, Dress Up was my favourite too! I hope he continues to impress!
When I first heard of EXO a few months ago, I spent hours watching the Growl music video. I don’t even like the song that much (or the rest of their videos), nor find any of them particularly attractive. I just…something about that video mesmerized me. Maybe it had something to do with being the middle of the semester.
I hate to say this, but there has been more than a “sprinkling” of colorism in Exo. There are constant skin tone comments to poor Kai and Tao from certain members of the group, and Lay recently let one slip, too.
http://24.media.tumblr.com/88c12ff760a506bab79547bc87477914/tumblr_n61b2aEUON1qe7lq8o3_250.gif
If the authors are not referring to Infinite’s One Great Step in NYC, I’d be surprised. I was there, and am happy to report I survived.