Archive for July 2013
K-Drama Review: Panda and Hedgehog
Panda and Hedgehog - 판다양과 고슴도치
What's the good to say about this drama? The first few episodes are really good and the whole drama itself is cute, colorful, makes one hungry for cakes not to mention it has a good-looking cast and happy music all the time.
But sadly this drama, like many other did too, turns with each episode more and more into makjang (막장=stereotypical soap opera) and simply just screws it up.
It started out really cute and had this Disney vibe to it, then a random and unexpected love triangle gets thrown in, complicated back stories form and, of course, there's a dramatic turn of events once everything is revealed.
One word to describe the drama? Messy. I'm not saying that it's horrible--in fact, quite the opposite since I actually enjoyed it, however, nevertheless I had these moments halfway through that I couldn't really figure out where this drama was trying to go (in a bad way).
The reason why I watched the drama in the leading character was none other than Lee Donghae of Super Junior... and also, the fact that I love cute looking cakes ^^.
So, even if I was slightly disappointed of how everything turned out, I don't regret watching it at all! I mean, the cast made the best out of it as they could and damn, those cakes really looked delicious!
2 out of 5 stars for 'Panda and Hedgehog'
CoKF: SNSD's TaeTiSun (Taeyeon, Tiffany & Sunny) at Dodger's Stadium
Just a few days ago, Girls' Generation members Tiffany, Taeyeon and Sunny flew to Los Angeles, California to once again (well, at least for Tiffany) meet with the LA Dodgers however, this time, adding two performances of both the Korean national anthem (performed by Taeyeon) and the American national anthem (sung by Tiffany) and of course, a Korean-styled pitch from Sunny being that Tiffany and Jessica's past pitches obviously weren't worthy of a second chance. Haven't watched the videos yet?
Here's Sunny's pitch which didn't fail (to save time, just skip to 0:30):
And here's Taeyeon and Tiffany's national anthems:
Tiffany: Sunny's pitch was alright, but let's get onto the real business. First off, who made Tiffany perform after Taeyeon in the first place? Never a good decision. Taeyeon nailed her performance, if I do say so myself, pulling it off almost flawlessly as usual... but Tiffany on the other hand? Not so much. I'm not saying it was horrifying, but of course, she could've done much better--you and I both know it. She went off-key maybe every five to ten seconds and likewise, at the end she went off again just when I thought she was going to redeem herself and then tried to do this Mariah Carey-esque bit which kind of sounded... eh. All-in-all, though most people are coming up with excuses that her mess-ups were due to nervousness, she's performed in front of audiences bigger than these, has performed in America and has performed at different sporting events throughout her career... a lot of performing yet it not really adding up. Likewise, others are claiming that it was her nodules in which she even said got treated years ago, however I say, it's just Tiffany's singing being Tiffany's singing. This is not really that new for Tiffany's vocal covers, English or not, and to be honest, it's not all that shocking that she went off-key because I am a Tiffany bias, engross my time into watching Tiffany videos and have seen (more like heard) it a lot... I'm just not delusional and am able to say facts outright. If I had to rate her performance out of ten, I'd give her a ten for effort but like a five for the overall product because she's been doing this for years and years... six years post-debut and nearly four years prior to debut... ten years leaves not that much room for excuses, anymore, guys.
Andi: It's true that Taeyeon's performance was killer and Tiffany didn't quite reach that same level when singing the American Anthem. Unfortunately, with instances like these, it's customary to have the foreign party present their anthem first, then the American Anthem follows. This makes things a little awkward because Taeyeon obviously can't perform the American Anthem, thus she's stuck as the first singer, leaving Tiffany to sound rather dull compared to her. I wouldn't say Tiffany was exactly terrible but when singing the American Anthem, expectations are impossibly high and if you crack even one note (which she did), those eyes are glaring at you like you are Satan spawn sent to ruin everything they consider holy.
Now onto Sunny's pitch. You could taste the awkwardness of that situation. It was almost as if she knew she would throw the flimsiest pitch the world has ever seen. Even afterwards, she kind of walks off in embarrassment. A lot of Korean stars are offered to throw the first pitch for many baseball games (don't ask me why) and most of them are downright terrible. One of the only ones that are notable (which blew up on the internet almost instantaneously) was gymnast Shin Soo Ji's first pitch, which was amazing. She should fly to America and show the girls how it's done.
Saskia: Even though I'm not really a fan of those girls, SNSD in general, Taeyeon's performance blew me away! I never listened to any Girl's Generation songs beside 'I Got a Boy' and well, they all sound okay-ish in my opinion, but too hear Taeyeon singing this song.. just amazing! Tiffany though.. it seemed like she tried to hard. Her voice sounded nice (even if it cracked at one point!), but one can't compare it to Taeyeon's performance.
What's there to say about Sunny's pitch? It was cute and gave me good laugh. She seemed really awkward throwing the ball, though.
Jeana: Just like everyone else, I'd have to say that Taeyeon's performance was truly stunning. Her voice was melodious, beautiful and extremely uplifting, filling up the whole sports stadium like an angel's voice above the crowds. In terms of the techniques, she was brilliant as well - notes were all spot-on and vibratos done perfectly. Tiffany was evidently less confident than Taeyeon in the way she carried herself. Though she clearly lacked control over her voice (struggling with the high notes - in addition to the fact that she has a low voice range - and going off pitch at several moments), her voice was still rich and soulful. Nonetheless, she should have worked much more on her vocal techniques prior to the performance, given that she is, after all, singing America's national anthem, in which is woven the national pride of 313.9 million people.
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Now onto Sunny's pitch. You could taste the awkwardness of that situation. It was almost as if she knew she would throw the flimsiest pitch the world has ever seen. Even afterwards, she kind of walks off in embarrassment. A lot of Korean stars are offered to throw the first pitch for many baseball games (don't ask me why) and most of them are downright terrible. One of the only ones that are notable (which blew up on the internet almost instantaneously) was gymnast Shin Soo Ji's first pitch, which was amazing. She should fly to America and show the girls how it's done.
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| Anyone who tries to tell me this pitch is not amazing is wrong. |
Saskia: Even though I'm not really a fan of those girls, SNSD in general, Taeyeon's performance blew me away! I never listened to any Girl's Generation songs beside 'I Got a Boy' and well, they all sound okay-ish in my opinion, but too hear Taeyeon singing this song.. just amazing! Tiffany though.. it seemed like she tried to hard. Her voice sounded nice (even if it cracked at one point!), but one can't compare it to Taeyeon's performance.
What's there to say about Sunny's pitch? It was cute and gave me good laugh. She seemed really awkward throwing the ball, though.
Jeana: Just like everyone else, I'd have to say that Taeyeon's performance was truly stunning. Her voice was melodious, beautiful and extremely uplifting, filling up the whole sports stadium like an angel's voice above the crowds. In terms of the techniques, she was brilliant as well - notes were all spot-on and vibratos done perfectly. Tiffany was evidently less confident than Taeyeon in the way she carried herself. Though she clearly lacked control over her voice (struggling with the high notes - in addition to the fact that she has a low voice range - and going off pitch at several moments), her voice was still rich and soulful. Nonetheless, she should have worked much more on her vocal techniques prior to the performance, given that she is, after all, singing America's national anthem, in which is woven the national pride of 313.9 million people.
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Rant: Double Standards: Male vs. Female Idol Bonding
Throughout the years, it's been revealed numerous times by male idol groups such as SHINee and Big Bang that all the members aren't 'best friends' with each other nor have a strong and intangible 'bromance' (in fact, SHINee's Onew revealed that his feelings for his fellow group members doesn't exceed beyond 'co-worker' level). Most male groups put on a brave face, perform a good show then, later in the evening (whether or not they've been together for years and years, through the sweat, blood and tears of training and the sasaengs, hard schedules and painful diets), still don't look at each other as 'brothers other mothers' nor have those little fandom terms like 'SHINeeBond' or 'Power of the Thing Scientists Claim Started the Universe'. Yet still, after all these somewhat shocking secrets of a lack of bonding within the male group are released for the world to see and hear, full fandoms continue to stay strong by the male's side, caring for them and protecting them with every last bit of their strength (which is most of the time, annoying) however, on the other side, when a similar or even lesser 'incident' happens within a female group in which there is the slightest bit of controversy or drama going on amongst the members, it weighs so heavily on them that some even get attacked with death threats and petitions for disbandment... everyone wanting to get to the bottom of why the girls aren't getting along and who's to blame for the 'disruption of peace' within the group. And though everyone is so caught up in what seems like petty arguments between members, the question people should be asking isn't 'Why is this girl group fighting?' and instead, 'Why is there such a double standard?'.Whether you like it or not SONEs, Taeyeon and Jessica either are not the bestest of friends currently or have had a long awkwardness towards each other before. In fact, it goes to show that a lot of Girls' Generation aren't exactly the bestest of friends (whether it's simply one day's arguments or just a prolonged indifference towards another member) and don't skip and fart unicorns in their dorms 24/7, don't constantly talk about their 'girl' (since of course, they don't age) problems while scooping a thousand scoops of Gangnam Style-flavored ice cream from sugar-coated rainbow spoons and having to deal with with the heartache of singlehood (since of course, they've never dated before, either), indigestion, menstrual cramps and anything else a typical female deals with during her lifetime.
Is that a shocker for some of you?
Really, it shouldn't be, the struggle to be friends 'forever and ever' with fellow group mates already exhibited or hinted by few groups, specifically in T-ara where Jiyeon, maybe didn't admit to bullying however, admitted there was less bonding with ex-member Hwayoung--which turned scandalous--, whereas in B.A.P, Zelo vented his frustrations of always being picked on or thought less of because of his age from the rest of the group members--which turned not so scandalous.
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But why is it so hard for female groups to not be goody-goody, lovey-lovey with each other if they group truly isn't--females getting into controversies over simply not smiling or loving each other with all their hearts and esophagus while males idol groups having the ability to have hatred and disputes amongst their members (exhibited by B.A.P Youngjae vs. Zelo in Killing Camp) and get the get-off-scot-free card. Really, why? What's with this double standard?
I think it's because most people have the belief that girls (regardless of mood swings, periods and of course, simple proneness to spread gossip and seriously just wanting to smack a bitch every five seconds) in the idol industry are perfect and have no problems at all--or at least are marketed that way--and when even the slightest thing is revealed (for example, Girls' Generation Jessica and Hyoyeon almost got in a fight! Oh no, stop the presses!) it's so outrageous yet guys have always seen to be tougher and less caring of one another therefore having the ability to not care for one another and no one gives a shit. Regardless, though women and men are marketed differently in the industry, people should maybe try to understand that maybe one day CL won't like Bom because she ate all her corn, or maybe the next day, Jaekyung feels the need to slap Woori for stealing her boyfriend since the boyfriend prioritizes tits and ass over her and that there's always going to be conflict even with friends for years and years... it's just human nature. Female idols are not locked in a happy prison in which they have to smile and wave like puppets on strings all the time because they're human-beings just like me and you... and if surely one side of the coin can do it, the other side should be able to do it, too.
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I think it's because most people have the belief that girls (regardless of mood swings, periods and of course, simple proneness to spread gossip and seriously just wanting to smack a bitch every five seconds) in the idol industry are perfect and have no problems at all--or at least are marketed that way--and when even the slightest thing is revealed (for example, Girls' Generation Jessica and Hyoyeon almost got in a fight! Oh no, stop the presses!) it's so outrageous yet guys have always seen to be tougher and less caring of one another therefore having the ability to not care for one another and no one gives a shit. Regardless, though women and men are marketed differently in the industry, people should maybe try to understand that maybe one day CL won't like Bom because she ate all her corn, or maybe the next day, Jaekyung feels the need to slap Woori for stealing her boyfriend since the boyfriend prioritizes tits and ass over her and that there's always going to be conflict even with friends for years and years... it's just human nature. Female idols are not locked in a happy prison in which they have to smile and wave like puppets on strings all the time because they're human-beings just like me and you... and if surely one side of the coin can do it, the other side should be able to do it, too.
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Review - Brown Eyed Girls Kill Bill
It's been quite a while since we've last seen Brown Eyed Girls promoting together as one group. Between their solo promotions, Narsha's acting, and participation with variety shows, fans were starting to wonder if they were ever going to come back together long enough to promote a full album. Of course, earlier in the year they did drop the digital single Recipe which managed to top the charts, but was meant to be more like a taste of what’s to come. Finally, they've returned in full and released the music video for their title song in their latest album, Kill Bill. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out below!
The Video: Kpop meets Quentin
Tarantino with the Brown Eyed Girls take on the popular movie Kill Bill. Normally, I would be highly
skeptical about something like this but the Brown Eyed Girls are possibly the
only group that I think can pull something like this off and maintains that
quirky zany feel of the original movie without going too far with it. On your
first watch, it might be slightly confusing, but don’t worry, Andi’s here to
take you by the hand and lead you through this to help make sense of it all. Ga-In takes the roll of “The Bride”,
the main character of the movie who swears revenge on all of the members of the
Deadly Viper Assassination Squad. Miryo too
seems to be portraying the roll of The Bride but in a different form. However,
her death is similar to that of Vernita Green’s in the movie. JeA has the role of Elle Driver, the
most vengeful member of the squad who tries to poison The Bride while she’s
comatose but fails. Narsha seems to
be the female version of Budd, Bill’s brother. Since the whole video is just
the four girls, there were a few changes here and there to make up for the lack
of a whole cast to fill out the whole movie. It works because they manage to
actually combine a few scenes together as one while adding their own little
spin to it and you can still tell that they are acting out scenes from the
actual movie.
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| Say goodbye to that eye of yours, JeA |
The video starts
off with Narsha who is with Bill
(who is presumably already dead) while in bed, painting his name on his back. Now
because Bill was a player, we can safely assume that they were all in love with
him in one way or another. Combine that with Narsha having already killed him,
the girls are all filled with anger and jealousy and are looking to exact their
revenge on each other. Right off the bat, the four duke it out and kill each
other. Ga In shooting JeA in the face, Narsha stabbing Ga In in the head, and JeA’s
failed attempt at killing Narsha with a poisonous spider managing to kill Miryo
off after she shoots Narsha with her shotgun. We then get an overhead shot of
them all laying on the ground dead. Or are they? If they were dead already, how
could they continue on with the rest of the scenes in the video? That, my
friends, is because they aren’t dead. Ga In’s in a coma because Narsha got her
in the head with her hair ornament and JeA lost an eye when Ga In shot her in
the face. The other two must have come close to death but managed to survive.
Thus they have fanned the flames of eternal revenge.
The rest follows
the movie pretty closely with the exception of what might be the most confusing
part of it all for me: Miryo and Ga In both depicting scenes that are supposed
to be of The Bride. My guess is that they had to incorporate the feeling of
being wronged with her having the scene of Miryo
being buried alive instead of Ga In because an attempt at Ga In’s life was
already made when JeA tried to poison her earlier. In the end, their thirst for
revenge gets them all killed by each other.
The Visuals and Dance: I spent so
much time dissecting the story behind the video that I had to make a separate section
for the visuals and dance which I usually just include in the video section.
The dance is simple and easy yet brimming with sexy confidence as per Brown
Eyed Girls tradition. We got a little crotch thrusting here and a little booty
shaking there but without the blatant ass shots we’ve seen so often in today’s
Kpop. As for the visuals, we usually see Miryo
with her hair pulled up in one way or another. It was nice to see her with
her hair down for once and it looked really
good. Ga In sports the short brunette
look again, which in my opinion is much better than the blonde she wore for her
Bloom promotions. Narsha always looks bombastic with
bangs and JeA looks as cute as ever.
The plain hair styles work well with the cowgirl type concept of the outfits
they wear in the dance segments.
The Song: There is so much whistling in this video. Too much, even. I was okay with it at first but it quickly becomes
grating to the ears after the excessive repetition. Now that’s not to say the actual
song itself has too much whistling. If I were to listen to just the song alone,
I probably wouldn’t be as annoyed with it. However, I was almost turned off by
the song by the time it rolled around because it started off with that same annoying,
whistling tune. Kill Bill has more of an upbeat Abracadabra feel to it rather than the powerful and explosive Sixth Sense or the subtle yet emotional Cleansing Cream. Their vocals aren’t showcased as strongly as they
could be but Miryo’s rapping is as
powerful and captivating as ever. The song is pretty catchy but again, that
whistling just gets in the way. I know it’s supposed to accentuate that cowgirl
feel of the song and it does its job well but it’s not my cup of tea.
Overall opinion: Brown Eyed
Girls never cease to amaze and captivate me and despite the few flaws in this
video and song, it’s still something that I would recommend to my friends. I
would have talked about the lyrics too, which were pretty interesting but that
would have made this article a little longer than it needed to be. It’s nice to
see that BEG are still going strong and I have high expectations for their
album Black Box.
Confessions of a K-Pop Fangirl: K-Pop V-Card - You can only swipe it once!
Whether it was from a boy group or girl group, from the year 2000 or just yesterday--we've all had that one K-Pop group that got us into K-Pop. Of course, most of the time, the person remains fans of the group throughout the whole duration of them being K-Pop fans however for others, that's not the case--other groups in K-Pop rearranging and shifting our biases lists so much, we neglect our so-called "first loves". Yet, regardless of that fact, the writers of K-Pop Ranter, Saskia, Tiffany, Jeana and Andi came together and confessed their experience of getting into K-Pop... telling us all how they lost their K-Pop virginity by swiping that infamous K-Pop V-card that you can only swipe once..jpg)
Saskia: I'm not exactly sure how to answer this. My friends showed me about a year and a half ago this really weird music video in this really weird language I've never heard before - Co.Ed School - Bbiribbom Bbaeribbom. Before I got into K-Pop I was a big J-Rock fan and still am an Otaku (= person who's obsessed with anime and manga), and I didn't want to admit to myself that I actually enjoyed this MV. I just wanted to forget about it and concentrate on my love Japan, but my friend started to sent me more and more of those 'K-Pop' music videos.
One day, she told me about this new debuted band called NU'EST and when I saw their music video Face, I became obsessed with them. And while 'stalking' them I came across other K-Pop music videos as well, and one of them were EXO, who also just had their debut. I liked their few songs, but I wasn't as amazed and drawn in by them as I was with Nu'est - though my love for nu'est got smaller and smaller over time and I'm an obsessed EXOtic for almost a year now :p
All in all, I guess I can say that Nu'est are the guilty ones and got me into K-Pop. By the way, they are also the culprits when it comes to may mom's love for K-Pop ;D.
Jeana: Unlike most people who usually forget their first experiences, I clearly remember the first group to get me into KPOP to be SHINee. I've actually been into KPOP for only 2+ years, which is incomparable to many of the KPOP 'veteran' fans out there. Back then, I was first introduced to the music video of SHINee's Hello by a close friend, knowing literally nuts about what I was going to be in for. I couldn't appreciate it much at first, but my class in school somehow seemed to find it really fun, especially at the part of the chorus which goes 'Hello Hello!'. I was gradually influenced by them. My friend then began introducing to me more about the members of SHINee and their past songs, and so my interest in them as well as KPOP as a whole grew exponentially over time. It can be said that I am who I am today because of how the music video of Hello by SHINee impacted me at that fateful moment in time.
Tiffany: To be honest, I actually kind of knew about K-Pop and Korean music but I never really cared about it for years... I mean, I knew artists like Hyori, BoA, SHINHWA... but it was only till a lot of my friends (specifically one who was my true breakthrough friend) were getting into K-Pop that I really started to pay attention. I think the first group that I really started to care about was SHINee when I watched Noona Neomu Yeppeo and also a bit of Girls' Generation and Super Junior. What's funny is that the first time I watched Big Bang, I was so against them (their style was off-putting for me) however, now, they're one of my favorite groups.
Now, readers, who's the group or soloist that swiped your V-card? Comment below!
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K-Movie Monday: Confession of Murder
Confession of Murder - 내가 살인범이다
Basically the movie is: 10 woman who get murdered and then 15 years later some dude writes a book about himself being the killer. And because he’s a good-looking and attractive guy, a lot of people like him and don’t want him imprisoned for such a crime... however, a small group of people want him to get the 'ultimate punishment' (i.e. death) however PLOT TWIST! Suddenly, another old dude appears and claims he’s the actually killer of the ten women…
The genre of the movie says action, thriller and psychological, however even though psychological is my all-time favorite genre, the movie was... okay...ish. It wasn't bad, but to be honest, while I was watching it I wanted to stop so many times. It lacked that special... something /:.
The only thing I did like about the movie was the plot twist around the last 30 minutes. I mean, I kinda knew ‘it’ from the beginning, but it still surprised me :p
I give the movie 2 out of 5 stars.
Mean Girls: K-Pop Edition
Mean Girls... ah, yes. The 2004 film that had everyone talking and is still arguably one of the best school-related movies in the world. With the incorporation of numerous cliques and basically school 'social classes' in the movie, one can easily tie them back to everyday life--specifically, the life of K-Pop--and place ones we know and love in the classes without ease.
Disclaimer: Obviously this is a joke.
Disclaimer: Obviously this is a joke.
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The plastics - "I'm sorry that people are so jealous of me... but I just can't help it that I'm so popular." Raise your hand if you've been personally victimized by Sunny. |
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The has-beens
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| The girls who resort to acting bad-ass as an excuse to why they don't get dates |
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| I love CL, though. |
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The girls who're all-you-can-eat buffets and will be future strippers.
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| The guys who get all the pussy. |
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| "That's some nice pussy... why does it smell like fish, though?" |
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The bullies
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| The druggies who get all the pussy. |
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| Oh... wrong Big Bang? |
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| The girl who acts nice and kisses up to teachers but in real life, she wants the D as much as everyone else |
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| She has a fetish for monkeys. |
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| The guys who're in theatre class, enjoy dressing like monks and acting like wolves and swear they're not gay but you're 99% sure they are. |
Lastly, the twerk team captain
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Miss A's Min |
Song Suggestion Saturday - Week 1 - Slow & Simple
Whether you're a fan of boy groups or not, this song is definitely addicting. What I like about it most is that it's not one of the common love or heartbreak songs and instead, digs into the roots of the group Bangtan Boys with the song meaning... some of the members even rewriting the lyrics themselves. All in all, great track and I definitely suggest giving it at least one listen (unless you're a priss and are scared of cuss words).
Next on the list is Girls' Generation's Taeyeon's OST BYE for movie, Mr. Go. The sweet sound of Taeyeon's vocals accompanied by the slowness of the backtrack simply just caresses and completes the song... in fact, this OST actually makes me want to watch the movie! If you're a fan of ballads or just a fan of Taeyeon, BYE is most definitely the song for you.
Comment-ception: "SM is fucked when SNSD disbands"
Recently, on an article reviewing f(x)'s Rum Pum Pum Pum by our extremely awesome and new addition to the staff, AndiSweets, a commenter (thanks for that, by the way!) said this:
At first, I was mentally shaking my head--I mean, come on! SM Entertainment is one of the most fearsome contenders of the elite-like 'Big 3'... is it even possible that they could fall from the throne? However, after giving a few more seconds of thought, I realized that the comment actually held some truth in it--SM Entertainment most likely being fucked after the disbandment of their power group, Girls' Generation.
Every company has their own power acts--YG Entertainment has Big Bang, JYP Entertainment has... 2PM?, Starship Entertainment has SISTAR, DSP Media has KARA... and so on and so forth. However, the fact is that most companies truly rely on one group to keep them afloat and then somewhat neglect or basically lack for the other groups--SM Entertainment being the prime suspect of this case.
Super Junior - Super Junior is basically done for. With some members either having to go to the military or are already in the military, some members exceeding the age of 30 and of course, maybe wanting to settle down and get married as well as the ONLY13 mumbo jumbo being long gone, I'd expect Super Junior not lasting that long or being enough to hold SM Entertainment up. In fact, I don't even expect them to pull a SHINHWA and last a bajillion years after SM Entertainment because of all these setbacks as well as their dwindling popularity and respect in the business.
SHINee & f(x) - My two favorite groups from SM Entertainment, SHINee and f(x), seem to have a long time left to die-hard fans... in fact, some even claimed that f(x) could've rised above Girls' Generation with their recent comeback song (which seriously seemed like a duller version of Electric Shock) however, I think that since they didn't already climb to the very, very top during their years of being together (SHINee - 5 years, f(x) - 4 years) because of SM Entertainment basically disabling them to (of course, these groups can't climb over our older groups SuJu and SNSD!!!11), they don't have much time left. In fact, to me, it feels like as soon as Girls' Generation disbands, the two groups would be nearing their expiration date, as well.
TVXQ & BoA - Though I'm not a huge TVXQ fan, unlike Super Junior, I think it's actually possible they could last kind of long... staying with SM Entertainment? Maybe. BoA is somewhat the same; unlike other acts, if she wanted to pull a Lee Hyori and get married, she'd still have her career in tact being that she's one of the most respectable and oldest acts in the business.
Last but not least is EXO, Henry and of course, SNSD. Honestly, I don't even know about EXO's future. From what it looks like, they're the equivalent to British boy groups like One Direction and such, marketing to little teeny-boppers then when the boys get a little older and the fans get a little older, they move on... but it could be different. Either way, I don't expect EXO's career to be as elongated as the group they've basically been sent to replace--Super Junior. Henry is also the similar, I don't know what to expect especially being that he just debuted... (but I think he has more going for him than EXO). And of course, the SNSD edition decoding my thoughts of their future can be viewed here.
To sum it up, with SM Entertainment's most recent group, EXO, and the impression that they won't be as strong or influential as older acts, I really can't see SM sustaining themselves at their high position after Girls' Generation starts to cool down... Super Junior probably disbanding or going into an indefinite inactivity around if not before that time, SHINee and f(x) not really even getting the chance from SM Entertainment to blossom to their full potential and overtake their older co-workers and TVXQ & BoA simply being awesome as hell.
What do you think of the claim? Is SM Entertainment fucked after Girls' Generation disbands or will they find another source of putting the dinner on the table? Comment below!
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Web Surfing: 2NE1's 'I'm the Best' was plagiarized?
I found this track through a friend who sent it to me and I seriously just laughed while listening to it. I'm not sure if the track was supposed to be a joke or serious, but either way, it sucks. Haven't listened to it yet? Check it out below!
FREE STUFF you say? HallyuLA is the only way!
Dear unf-alicious readers,
With out most recent and simply fucktastic affiliate, HallyuLA, (who rated this site 'PG-13' in an article, *insert death glare of all death glares*) we've decided to hold something special for the sexy beasts who read our blogs.
Although this is just a warning, keep K-Pop Ranter and HallyuLA on your bookmark or whatever you want to do for the next few weeks (specifically during KCON 2013 time *winkwink;nudgenudge* for KCON videos, interviews... and maybe free stuff?
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| You're not really bitches.Click JYP to be redirected to HallyuLA |
Is There a Different Approach for Pushing Feminism?
Almost every single week there's a new girl group debuting or coming back with a music video where they either shake their crotch, wear very short clothing accompanied by skyscraper heels or talk about how much they want to get kissed (which is simply a cover-up... we all know they want more than that) which just further drifts K-Pop towards the sexual direction. However, although most people try to defend the new trend of having racy and overly sexual concepts by saying that they push 'feminism' and that many of the girl groups who do it are simply expressing their sexuality, I want to go towards the unpopular opinion that these concepts and songs aren't truly pushing feminism and are leaning more against it, just giving men another reason to treat women as if they're sex toys and of course, not making the misogynistic country any less-misogynistic.
Miss A is the perfect example of a group that shoots for feminism without having to expose way too much skin or sing about how much they want sex. With their last comeback promotional track, I Don't Need a Man, not only did the group basically show 'hey, women can be both independent and have a good future ahead of them' but they also subtly exhibit their own sexuality and want to be viewed as more tough and strong despite the male-dominated society they are living in. Two other great examples of groups that approach feminism in a way that doesn't involve racy concepts would probably have to be the strongest and among the most popular girl groups in the business, Brown Eyed Girls and 2NE1. Regardless of the abhorrence exhibited for 2NE1 everywhere, we can all agree that their 'bad' and 'tough' image actually does shoot for a more woman empowering feel... and of course, Brown Eyed Girls' title tracks exhibit so much resistance towards male-over-female customs that they even admitted that people were scared to approach the four mature women in the waiting room due to their 'scary' and 'tough' image.
So why do girl groups have to lean towards ass-popping, tit-groping and booty-shaking concepts when they could seriously do so much more? Although you could argue that the group members don't have much say in what they do, I'm truly targeting the companies. They have a voice and they probably do realize that there's two sides of the feminism coin... one being a bit repugnant and distasteful while the other having much more meaning, a stronger grip on the audience and of course, resulting praise. But why don't they do it? I know, I know... sex sells... but 2NE1, Brown Eyed Girls and Miss A sell, as well.
All-in-all, there are different ways to flaunt and showcase sexuality for women and though it's somewhat unfair that if men have the ability to rip off their shirt in public whereas women are called cheap and harlots, its backlash could be avoided with smaller steps towards the concept rather than huge, leopard leaps. I feel like if instead of trying to market sex so quickly and then saying that it's a great, efficient way to control the male-dominated society (which in my opinion, it isn't--it just gives men another reason to think of women as objects), maybe, they could attempt a sexy yet tough concept similar to that of the three female groups stated above, one with more meaning and less of a reason for people to spam 'slut!' on the Youtube comments... because really, that just seems like the best way to go.
What do you think of the 'feminism' approach as well as the sexy and racy concepts? Comment below!
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The Idiot's Guide: What MIGHT Make a Rookie Group Successful - Female Edition
What seems like every week, there's news that a new girl group will debut--some sticking out and others managing to blend into the wall. With every rookie group that happens to become irrelevant immediately after debut, it seems like it's because they all manage to follow the same exact paths to flop-dom which was due to them not being any different. Though it's sometimes hard to differentiate and know the right from wrongs when making a girl group, with the Idiot's Guide, it'll be more apparent as to what you what you should and what you shouldn't do when making a girl group.
What you'll need:
•A girl group
Let's get straight to the point:
There's some things that girl groups need to win over the fans
Obviously, this is simply opinionated, however, I don't believe any recent rookie group has actually tried all of these things at once... if they did, who knows? Maybe they could get popularity!
1. No 'bad qurl' concepts, please!
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| She looks like Tiffany and Suzy mixed in one person, tbh. |
2. No 'excessively cutesy' concepts, either!
I believe having a somewhat neutral to maybe even mature ground nowadays will truly be more apparent than the aegyo-zilla concept... maybe something along the concepts of Girls' Generation's 'Into the New World', IU's 'U&I' and basically anything Nine Muses does would suffice. No excessive aegyo like BPPOP and no excessive sexiness like BESTie until you have a decent following already (Girls' Day did, that's why they were able to do Female President). Not to mention, more neutral concepts give more room to explore and try things different later on, so when you actually want to start showing off your aegyo (which I still don't encourage--you're not getting any younger so stop) or actually do want to wear shorts all the way up to your crotch, you can do that.
3. Have large numbers
Of course, it will definitely cost more to train more but most rookie girl groups that stick in the typical four to five member mark and aren't from a big company and simply don't stand out. Groups from smaller entertainments like Nine Muses, LeaderS' (wasn't a real group but it definitely got attention!) and arguably Rania (before they downed their numbers) and Rainbow got at least some bit of buzz because of their large numbers... so do it!
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| I'm definitely not a douche for hitting a girl. |
4. Have pretty members that look naturally pretty (even if they're not)
Have pretty members that look naturally pretty (even if they're not). I cannot stress this enough: looks weigh more than talent for females in the industry. It's harsh, but it's reality so get over it. Groups like Nine Muses are arguably pretty, yet, as revealed in their documentary were seen as ugly to the general public... and whether or not the reason for the opinion was from the obvious nose jobs... or the obvious everything else jobs, either way, it lessened their aesthetic appeal. Having most, if not all, beautiful members (again, harsh, but true) will boost the fan base dramatically and will generate both male and female fans.
I've realized going above and beyond with talent is actually not much of a necessity... because if that was the case, people like SPICA and Ailee would be much more popular than groups like Girls' Generation and 2NE1 (what? unnir iz sho tallent!!!11). Nevertheless, it's nice to have a reason as to why you shouldn't claw your ears and eyes out when listening or watching a performance. Ideally, to have around a third the members who can hold a note, a third who can dance a step, maybe one or two who can do at least one of the already mentioned decently as well as rapping... even if the rapping is shit (looking at you SISTAR's Bora) and the rest being talentless buffoons is a good set-up.
6. Variety till your fingers bleed and you acquire urinary incontinence.
Go on all the variety shows your butt is offered. Contrary to what YG Entertainment made 2NE1 do for the past few years (before they changed), you should definitely go on as many shows as possible. It'll boost your fanbase especially from international fans which keep the Hallyu and K-Pop afloat and people will see your big, bright personality... whether or not it's staged.
7. Last and probably least if judging the song quality companies have been releasing these days...
Release decent songs and music videos will build fan base and attention. For example, when Ladies' Code debuted, many people watched the song and video because of course, others recommended it and said it was a good listen... and it turned out it was. Releasing generic tracks will not help anyone.
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| Judging you, rn. |
Extra Things Probably You'll Need to Know
•The Idiot's Guide is not responsible for group's flopping
•Exercise until your throw up has throw up. Learn languages like English, Japanese and Chinese... one member in the group mastering in the languages per language (don't stick all the languages on one person! You want to build up international fan base for certain people)
•If you flop, there's nothing wrong with being a stripper.
•If you flop, there's nothing wrong with being a stripper.
