I just have a bunch of random kpop thoughts that I wanted to spit them out in one go instead of making a post for each one. There used to be more posts like this, but I haven’t seen them recently so I hope it’s still allowed. Anyway:
- Kpop as an industry is still so young. I feel like most fans still haven’t grasped the implications of this fact. We ooh and ahh when we hear about 2nd gen groups going on big tours (SuJu, TVXQ, now BigBang) but imagine what the landscape will look like several generations later. (Really crowded, actually.) Have you thought about how your faves will handle tours in the future? I’m already starting to see it with my ults (BTS) – less demanding choreo, for example. As for my less popular faves, I hope they can still be around to do, like, a special anniversary tour, but my expectations aren’t that high. They’re already starting their paths to solo careers. On a tangential note, has SNSD said anything about their 20th anniversary tour? (Wow. 20th anniversary. 20TH.)
- Right now it seems the current leading candidates for 5th gen’s “It Girl” are Wonhee and Ian. They don’t seem to fit the mold of recent/current It Girls, though. Jennie, Wonyoung, Karina all have a glamorous and sophisticated image. Ian and Wonhee are cuter, more girl-next-door than cover girl. I could see them doing really well on variety a la Taeyeon. Does this mean they’re It Girls or just popular girls? I don’t know if my perception is influenced by my getting older or the groups they’re in or if this is really just the way they are. If I were to think of more glamorous It Girl types, Anna and Ella from Meovv are my picks.
- I think to have a healthy “relationship” with kpop you have to have a certain degree of cynicism – not too much, not too little. The ones who have too little are naive, taking every word or action from their faves at face value and thinking their idols really are perfect angels. Then when things go sideways their whole world implodes and they have so much difficulty adapting to change or accepting reality. The ones are too cynical tend to become conspiracy theorists or just doomers. For them, all idols are liars, they’re so fake, they’re evil – well, then why do you insist on staying in kpop spaces? To avoid ending up as a toxic mess, fans have to learn to straddle the middle ground. For example, I think it’s okay (and even healthy) to assume idols are mostly good people, or that they try to be good most of the time, but it’s also important to acknowledge they are human, that they could be tired and cranky on some days, or they could be ignorant in some respects, but maybe they can grow and evolve. (And yes, there are a few truly rotten apples in the barrel but those are rare.) I also think it’s appropriate to assume that all companies just want to earn money at the end of the day, that it’s impossible to make art without the proper financial support, but these companies also happen to be staffed by some individuals who DO care intensely about art and music and creating something that resonates with fans. It’s a perpetual tug-of-war between art and business, and ideally both can be achieved but that doesn’t always happen.
- More people need to understand how to make a proper critique of music. How you say it matters just as much as what you say. It’s totally valid to dislike a song, yes. But you need to offer up something besides, “It sucks!” And this might be mean of me, but I’m irrationally annoyed by posts along the lines of, “Give me a song title and I’ll tell you what I think about it!” Like who gaf about what some rando thinks about this song or that song? Unless you can thoughtfully break it down and explain WHY it doesn’t work for you or HOW you think it can be improved I don’t think a simple “it’s good” or “it’s bad” offers much food for thought. And that’s the whole point of this sub. THOUGHTS.
- A few years ago it was SM releasing more experimental and polarizing songs, now HYBE, of all companies, seems to have taken the role. With gusto. Not sure how I feel about it, since my tastes tend to fall more onto the “conventional” side of kpop and that’s what HYBE mostly specialized in up until a couple of years ago. YG has also undergone a transition of sorts, from producing GP darlings to more fandom-focused idols. You can see this so clearly with their younger groups. SM has also changed… with LSM at the helm, it was like… kpop on crack. He was a visionary, always coming up with big, BIG ideas that were crazy and exciting and a little stupid but fun. I kept waiting for H2H to hit us with something bonkers but they’re more traditionally kpop, with some parallels to SNSD and Red Velvet. Nothing wrong with that. SM is just more… JYPE-y now. Consistent and safe.
- Apologies in advance for this tired topic, but… I no longer believe the Burning Sun scandal had much to do with the domestic reception to 4th gen boy groups. Because why would the gp reject a bunch of boy groups that had absolutely NOTHING to do with the scandal and still embrace BigBang, the group that has the most famous connection to BS? I think the disbandment of X1 and the rise of NCT + SVT played a much bigger role. With fans flocking to those groups (combined with the dominion of BTS), there was little oxygen left for the rookies at the time. Anyways, it’s been a while since I’ve seen any domestic fandom on the scale of Exo-Ls, Armys, and Wannables. Rather than coalesce into one or two gigantic forces, domestic fans seem to have splintered into supporting several groups, and that’s a good thing.
- Looking forward to Red Velvet’s comeback. 🙂
That’s it. I was bored and just wanted to get this off my chest. Thanks for reading. Have a great week, everyone.
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