Being a fan of various artists throughout the years, I always brace for the period a kpop group goes through which my friends and I dub the “Journey to the West” phase.
Typically a JttW phase is when a kpop group’s comebacks and lead singles gain a noticeable change in several aspects. Most apparent is increased English/decreased Korean (eg a full English rap verse for the first time or a full English chorus, or a full English bridge). Also apparent is a forced execution of a concept that , frankly, feels like pandering because the executives’ perception of their new target audience (i.e. us) is slightly different than who we really are. It’s a journey to the Western market, so to speak.
Anyways, I was upset by some recent comebacks because I felt the tracks compromised whatever group identity or cohesion built in the past 1.5 years. Underutilising vocals while increasing difficult to execute English rap verses written by people who didn’t think about how it would fit with the idol (if at all) was particularly egregious. And to top it all off, many idols by this stage have few comebacks left because they get phased out by newer groups. I am worried this comeback will be a last one in a while.
This. always. happens. BG or GG. And I can only complain to the echo chamber about this.
submitted by /u/Schmidt_Spiel
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