Showing posts with label confessions of a kpop fangirl. Show all posts
CoKF: SM Entertainment's Controversy (Red Velvet & Sulli)
Not even a day into their debut and SM Entertainment's newest group, Red Velvet is in hot waters. Not only have they been in controversy with their name scandal (a K-Indie band entitled 'Red Velvet' who apparently did not buy rights to the name and therefore, had to kind of fight with the agency only to have both group's keep the name) and then this one, SM Entertainment having Red Velvet's own debut music video, Happiness, feature the Japanese Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb incidents as well as a reference to the United States' devastating 9/11 incident. Of course, SM Entertainment is now removing Red Velvet's music video until further editing out of the scenes however, us writers at K-Pop Ranter want to shed light of the scandal revolving this group and SM Entertainment's carelessness.
Tiffany: This is like... explosive carelessness. Not even using just one countries unforgettable moment but using two to simply make a point for this music video? It's seriously beyond my head as to what this company was thinking when they incorporated that in there. There is literally no respect for international fans that don't have a big enough market as SM Entertainment gets with China. None. And what's funny, to people who are defending this (yes, I have actually seen some commenters say that it's 'no big deal'), is that everyone would be up in arms if there was incorporation of, for example, the Sewol Ferry incident, in a music video because that was a tragic accident as were the other two for the differing countries. There's no reason for the defense and especially no reason to believe SM Entertainment's excuse that they didn't 'catch it'. They surely did. They incorporated those elements on purpose regardless of it being a different language. All of those newspapers behind Irene? All English however, all focusing on the Japanese atomic bomb incident. This clearly wasn't a 'let's just google English newspapers' ordeal. This was intentional. The only reason why they're acting like this now is because they were caught, red-handed.
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| SM's policy: Don't give a fuck til' the public gives a fuck then act as if you actually give a fuck |
Likewise, as we are focusing on SM Entertainment scandals, we wanted to bring forth the ongoing scandal between Sulli and what seems like the world, starting in 2013 with a full explanation of her scandals here and still going on towards the end of 2014, the scandal mostly revolving around none other than her relationship with Choiza. Because we have time on our hands, we can discuss both of these scandals that are brewing in the SM Entertainment headquarters and causing ruckus especially with f(x) who halted their Red Light promotions abruptly without giving much word as to why.Tiffany: There's this ping-pong effect over who's fault this whole controversy is. Obviously, f(x) halted promotions randomly. Obviously, Sulli was in controversy prior and during the promotions. Obviously, the controversy mostly surrounded Choiza. However, after seeing deleted pictures online of Sulli and Choiza's date/vacation with each other, everyone is now putting the blame on Sulli as if it's her sole fault. I truly believe she should be able to date whoever she wants as everyone should. But not only is SM Entertainment continuously denying the cold hard facts that they're dating/not even saying anything anymore (which really isn't much of an issue, in my opinion) but Choiza is just having a ball with this scandal. He's mentioning it everywhere, uploading pictures, doing anything he can to ensure that everyone knows that Sulli is taken by him. And though it's cute that he's claiming her as his girl, it's somewhat... unprofessional especially at this time where she's promoting and the scandal was just dying down. Him leaving his wallet? His fault. These pictures going around? His fault. And no one is realizing that. Sulli shouldn't be blamed for loving him. He should be blamed for acting like a brainless douche who could care less about Sulli's condition but more about his own happiness. I speak for Sulli who hasn't been speaking much at all when I say that Choiza is ruining his own image as well as Sulli's and should just stop.
Andi: I completely agree with Tiffany. In the world of Kpop, females are viewed more critically and are bashed more frequently and with more ease than males. Choiza should know and understand this especially when his girlfriend is busy promoting her group's latest song. This is when people are paying attention to them the most and here's Choiza, not giving a damn about neither his own or his girlfriend's reputation. Sulli has already been in numerous scandals as it is and if she's trying to make up for her mistakes she made in the past, Choiza certainly isn't helping her situation at all. SM Entertainment isn't helping either by continually denying it. By now, SM should just accept the truth that the two are dating and release an official statement to hopefully put an end to all this madness.
Crazy EXOtics Pull Yet Another Rediculous Stunt
Tiffany: I really have nothing to say to this whole scandal cause frankly, I'm tired of EXO and their crazy ass fans appearing in the news every single day. It's sickening, it's frightening but for the love of all that is Bang Yong Guk, it's tiring. And I know all you secret EXOtics in the comments are going to be like "dun genaralizeee oui r nawt al da saym" but I tell you, after you see a few people who are bad in the fanclub--and gosh, 400,000 signatures is by new means "a few"--you start to think of the whole fan club as a bunch of batshit apes who lost their way to the empire state building and fell in love with a human (King Kong reference for all you dip shits who don't understand). As stated before, I'm exasperated at the EXOtic fan club and seriously, at this point I could give less shits of what I say. EXO should just disband cause nothing else will help this 12 year old girls who just got their periods other than a nice glass of ass whoopin'... which EXO managers haven't been doing much of (weird cause most SM managers are eager to get a good handful of sasaeng face). Come at me, EXOtics. I'm ready for your shit.
Andi: I agree with Tiffany when she says that EXO should be disbanded. They've been receiving a lot of attention lately that isn't necessarily good and it's all because of their fans. I personally would like for EXO to stay together and continue performing because they really are all quite talented and I like a lot of their music. Unfortunately, with such a great amount of stress being put on them like this, I doubt they can last for much longer. However, a small beacon of light may be leading us out of the darkness and that light is EXO Planet. For those of you who don't know who they are, they are the EXO's official fan club. Just recently, they released a statement saying that they were never involved with the whole petition deal and refuse to sign it out of support for EXO. They have even gone as far as to say that they will take legal action if this shit goes any farther and I'm betting it will. Let's just wait and see how this war turns out.
Jeana: To present a different view, I do not think that EXO should be disbanded. While truth be told that they have indeed been infamous for their mindless fans, I do agree with Andi in that their tremendous talents and (pardon me) beauty as a group should not be forgone because of something so unworthy. Previous EXO sasaeng incidents were questionable, but I find this particular one to be plain wishful thinking on the part of those crazy EXOtics, much to the point of absurdity. As per Wikipedia, "Conscription, or mandatory military service or compulsory national service, is legislated in South Korea...". In other words, military service is not optional and all men in suitable condition have to enlist. So do those EXO fans really think that they can influence the government with that petition of theirs (please don't start any attempt to convince me of the possibility that EXO could appear on the list of exceptions for military service)? Honestly I really don't know what anyone should do besides taking legal action (or perhaps taking legal action is all there is to do) as mentioned by Andi, but for me, disbanding EXO is definitely not the answer.
What do you guys think? Comment below!
Confessions of a K-Pop Fangirl: KARA dun fucked
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| yeah Jiyoung it was so hard for you to do aegyo |
KARA has become the most recent group to have landed in the spotlight, but for the wrong reasons. After promoting in Japan for a long while, they finally returned to Korea with Damaged Lady. Yet, it was the appearance of 3 of their members - Hara, Seungyeon and Jiyoung - on Radio Star that caught the attention of many netizens and have sparked much controversy and hatred towards the group as a whole. A quick summary of what happened to the 3 members on the show:
1. Hara - teased about dating rumours, breaks out in tears
2. Jiyoung - asked to do aegyo, cries
3. Seungyeon - questions about controversy regarding her bad acting, blames it on the fact that viewers are used to seeing her as an idol not as an actress
Members Jiyoung and Seungyeon as well as their company, DSP entertainment, have already stepped forth to provide apologies for their behaviour. Representatives from Radio Star have also spoke up in support of the girls. Yet, are netizens appeased?
Today, writers Tiffany, Andi and Jeana have come together to share their thoughts on this whole controversy involving KARA, including some references made to several other groups including f(x) and T-ara.
Tiffany: From what I see, KARA is clearly done for. Radio Star is a widespread show throughout Korea that people watch from all demographic levels. They make jokes and somewhat rude remarks about the groups who appear on the show simply to entertain the viewer but for KARA to go on a show that they know does that and try to take away the “funny” is already enough to say: get the fuck off of the show. What KARA did that day was purely unacceptable… they acted as if they were the biggest shits in the world since they’re successful in Japan when in fact, they've lost a lot of their relevancy in South Korea. KARA’s Jiyoung even cried since she didn't want to do aegyo on the show but in the past, when they were thirsty for fans and popularity, she would have done it quicker than a fat man who didn't eat for a weak and saw a loaf of bread. As netizens say, they lost their roots definitely and need to go back to their rookie mentality. Not everyone likes them whether or not they’re successful in Japan so of course, they need to chill the fuck out.
However, even though this was bad, something similar to this happened not even that long ago on the same exact show but wasn't deemed near as controversial. Boring as hell f(x)’s Krystal and Sulli came only to look disinterested and unconcerned. But why isn't f(x) receiving the same treatment as KARA?When f(x)’s show took place, I’ve seen numerous comments only shaming the two girls who appeared and saying the other members, Victoria and Luna could do better, while on this episode when only three appeared, everyone’s bringing the whole group down. Are Nicole and Gyuri the same exact people as Jiyoung, Seungyeon and Hara? I’ve only seen one comment saying Gyuri wasn’t like the rest while the rest are basically saying KARA as a whole are over. Get the fuck out.
What’s with the double standard here?
Is it just another exhibit of SM’s power crawling on even this small little show?
Or were netizens already waiting for KARA to get in a scandal, hate in their hearts and memories of them leaving Korea for their archenemies Japan, Junhara’s break-up, Lee Soo Hara’s friendship, Hara’s ever-increasing plasticness… and basically just Hara’s existence?
Either way, I can just feel the unfairness creeping to this small broadcast between the two groups and to be honest, it’s not that fair especially when Krystal is constantly reprimanded for her attitude. Not to mention, Hara was in the same position as Sulli, Sulli in the midst of controversy during the time of appearance on the show.
Andi: At this point, I don't even see why KARA is even bothering with promotions in Korea anymore. They've been focusing so much on Japan that they've basically put themselves in a bit of a rookie status when it comes to relevancy in the Kpop world; and then they have the audacity to act like their the best thing since sliced bread publicly on broadcast. DSP Entertainment should seriously bear down more on KARA if they're wanting to actually fix up their situation.
We all know that it starts with a public apology and then some time to "reflect". Afterwards, if KARA intends to make themselves more relevant in Korea they should really take whatever CF job they can get and maybe do some charity work. Then instead of just disappearing to promote in Japan, they should actually give a damn about Korea and do something, anything to keep themselves relevant.
However, the chances of something like that happening are really low. I theorize that they will say nothing about the whole ordeal, finish up their promotions for Damaged Lady and then return to Japan, which is really the worst possible route they could take. Doing so would just show that they don't give a damn and basically looks like they're saying "f*ck this sh*t. Let's go back to Japan" which will really make them damaged ladies in the eyes of Korea.
Jeana: I do agree that KARA's behavior on Radio Star was rather unprofessional. They should have minded less about themselves as individuals and considered more about the entertainment value of Radio Star. Jiyoung shouldn't have minded so much about herself when asked to do aegyo but should have considered more about how viewers might want to see her do aegyo on the show and just do it. Furthermore, as celebrities, they should know how often controversies are brought up on variety shows and thus should somewhat know how to respond to their own controversies. Yet, Hara let her emotions get the better of her, while Seungyeon responded in a way that reflected badly of her attitude. All these details really put KARA in a bad light.
I do think that KARA needs to reflect more about themselves. Entertainment has never been about the I My Me or Mine, it has always been about the show, the viewers. They, as idols, should always be humbled and grateful, for their music careers could never have been possible without these key players. And given the unique situation that they are in, having been promoting in Japan for so long and finally coming back to Korea with Damaged Lady, they should all the more be respectful to viewers, or perhaps the fans that have waited for them for a long time. But they didn't, and it is already reflecting in their poor song charting. Knowing how scary netizens are, who knows how long the backlash might last. They are already beginning to be labelled as "The New T-ara"! I just hope that this becomes a huge wake up call for them, and maybe when their true beautiful characters start to surface during this time of adversity, netizens might come to accept them again. But of course, the chances of this occurring is extremely low, looking at T-ara's very experience.
What are your thoughts on this whole controversy? Do you think that netizens are being too anal and critical or is KARA's behaviour really deserving on a backlash? Do share your comments in the section below!
Cray Cray EXOtics banned from Inkigayo
Just a few hours ago it was revealed that EXOtics would not be able to attend Inkigayo to see their beloved group EXO perform their new song Growl due to their inability to maintain a peaceful environment during the live show as well as previous instances where they broke rules, damaging the fandom and labeling them as 'crazy' with a harsh blow. While the extreme behavior of these fangirls (commonly classified under the umbrella term of Sasaeng fans) is definitely not foreign to EXO and to kpop in general, this official news release taking a firm stand against these fans is definitely an unexpected one.
Do these EXOtics who have perhaps simply gone slightly wild in the pursuit of their EXO biases deserve this treatment? And to the bigger question - do Sasaeng fans actually belong? Members Andi, Tiffany and Jeana share their views below.
Andi: So I've seen some pretty crazy stuff regarding fangirls and the stupid/crazy things they do to catch the attention of their oppars and the like. Some have managed to follow idols into the bathroom, others have even gone as far as breaking into idols' homes. Woollim Entertainment even once issued a notice stating that if the fangirls didn't calm the fuck down, they would postpone Infinite's comeback. Fangirls do a lot of crazy shit, but lets take a moment to look at the pinnacle of crazy fangirls: the EXO fans. If you haven't heard of it already, there was an incident before where someone was recording an EXO fans' stampede towards the line for Inkigayo and getting slapped for it. If you look at the picture above, you can see obscene posters fans have made and waved them about proudly in the hopes of Kris seeing them. I don't know about you, but I'd be pretty creeped out if my fans were waving that around at my concerts.
This kind of behavior is the reason why the EXO fandom in particular is now banned from Inkigayo. EXO fans have become violent, irrational, and to be honest, they've been acting like a bunch of meth addicts. Not only that, this shines a bad light on the members of EXO themselves because idols are always associated closely with their fan base. Now that's not to say that this is a symptom of EXO fans alone. SONEs too have shown to be rude and disrespectful, particularly towards ELFs when they wanted to take over the section cordoned off for Super Junior fans during a concert. Plus, don't forget the whole concerning the whole Only13 deal. This says a lot about SM fans as a whole.
Tiffany: I'm actually somewhat pleased that they're banning EXOtics from Inkigayo, but not in the devilish, anti-EXO way that you're probably thinking of. I feel like with this small little step of banning fans who broke the safety rules that actually kind of endangered some of the actual EXO members, it can open up wider doors in the future... maybe laws to protect idols from sasaeng fans or at the very least, better company security (I'm pretty sure they have enough money to hire a few more bodyguards) to prevent another thing like Taeyeon being pulled off stage to happen again.
Now, I'm not saying that all EXO fans are bad, but being that EXO is a quasi-rookie (word stolen from Andi) and are already receiving a bad reputation like this, let's think of what could happen with EXO in five years if they last that long and don't get the amount of protection and the less delusional fans that they need? What about ten years?
Taken from a tumblr post is legit audio of fangirls sneaking into EXO-M's Tao's hotel room and recording him showering and singing to G-Dragon's Crayon.
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| D.O. seeing sasaengs and fleeing |
This has seriously just been coming to madness and really, I feel no sympathy to anyone but the actual sane EXOtics who wanted to go to the concert to see EXO, the f(x) and Henry fans who have experienced EXO fans pretending to be their fans, sneaking in, causing ruckus and putting a bad reputation on them as well as for EXO because it seems like out of every single active K-Pop group so far, they're the ones that should be most fearful for what happens next... them not wanting to end up like John Lennon who got murdered by a guy who was supposedly one of his fans.
Andi: Like Tiffany said, I too feel bad for EXOtics that aren't absolutely insane and just want to support their favorite group without causing trouble. Unfortunately, for cases like these, it makes all fans look bad despite that not being the case. Because there's so much attention on the bad side of it all, the good side barely gets any recognition. This is also bad for EXO's moral due to the fact that their fans won't be around to give them support during music shows. On the other hand, this is good for the safety of others until EXO fans can learn to calm themselves.
Jeana: I agree with Andi and Tiffany in many ways. Firstly, I do feel indignant for the not-so-crazy EXOtics who had their genuine hopes to watch EXO's comeback stage on Inkigayo burst like bubbles, because of the erratic behavior of fellow EXOtics. Yet at the same time, it is heartening how someone of authority, in this case Inkigayo, is finally explicitly drawing a limit to the accepted conduct of fans When Sasaeng fans get so deluded and irrational by blinded love for their idols that they continuously strive to push the boundaries of fan behavior, I believe that a third party should eventually step in when things get out of hand, for the sake of the idols themselves. The 3 of us don't live in Korea, so the only Sasaeng situation we know to happen there is that of several accounts depicted here and there through social media, something I believe to be completely unrepresentative of the true situation there. Beyond threatening the safety of EXO as previously mentioned, Sasaeng fans exert immense emotional and psychological stress on them. [Check out: Tao addressed fans that had recorded him singing in the shower through his weibo] Honestly, just by scrolling through stories of Sasaeng-EXO encouters, I am genuinely worried for EXO.
I hope that EXOtics can learn to respect and love EXO with more sincerity. Life as an idol is tough, and so instead of putting them down with self-seeking acts, let us love EXO wholeheartedly and to support them in whatever they do. Love isn't self-centralized - It's not about us going all out to receive attention from them - but it's about wanting to protect the other party, and wanting them to succeed. It's definitely hard, but let's all learn to suppress our urges to run up to trace our fingers along the hot bodies of our idols. After all, love is about respect.
What do you think of the crazy EXOtics already causing ruckus to the world? Comment below!
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Confessions of a K-Pop Fangirl: Twerk Group, Wassup
Hosted by Sony Music Korea and Mafia Record, a new, seven-member hip-hop group named Wassup is about to debut, revealing their twerkalicious teasers just yesterday which can be viewed below.
Jeana: I am looking forward to Wassup’s debut. Their prominent street dance hip-hop group concept is something, I feel, to be severely lacking in the K-Pop scene. While there have already been several noticeable attempts at hip-hop concepts for female groups in the K-Pop scene, none of them hit hip-hop in the target as well as Wassup did in the short video. To me, previous hip-hop K-Pop concepts came off as either too techno/eccentric (The Baddest Female by CL) or too feminine (I Got A Boy by Girls’ Generation). So i'm glad that Wassup might just pave the way in K-pop hip-hop.
At the core of Wassup’s hip-hop concept lies their move to bring twerking to the K-Pop scene like never before. Twerking is definitely not new to K-Pop (Bubble Pop by Hyuna), but it has comparatively been much more subtle and laid back as compared to what Wassup displayed. Honestly, as a fellow female, twerking disgusts me, disturbs me and completely puts me off, which is kind of self-explanatory. But on a whole, my anticipation for their hip-hop concepts rises above everything else.
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| Look at the girl on the far left, LOL. |
Tiffany: To be honest, I don't even understand all the hate for this group, at all. I'm one of those odd people who actually don't really hate twerking nor really care if someone twerks to their hearts desire therefore when I saw the teasers, instead of cringing in my seat like I do with most people who booty shake and do explicit choreography, I simply just sat there and watched the whole thing through like it was no big deal... because it really wasn't. Likewise, the girl in the grey tights (who looks healthier than most idols) was working it--she looks kind of mixed, though... is that the reason why her badonkadonk is so large?
Many people on the comments are using the 'it's degrading' card--one that I use a lot--which I can't really argue with but the song hasn't even come out yet... give them a chance. No one said shit when Miss A's Min did it, why is it different here? And lastly, people are complaining how they have no ass (which is true, only the grey tights one has a some apparent but really... how many of you have huge asses?
Andi: When you live in the Atlanta area like I do, twerking is no big deal and practically everyone knows how to do it. I've seen all types of people do it of different statures and racial backgrounds (though I doubt anyone would want to see a chubby Hispanic guy twerk his way into oblivion) so it doesn't really effect me the same way some of the commenters on the videos are effected. It's just a part of street hip hop, and like Jeana said, there's very little of that accurately portrayed in Kpop. I think part of the reason there's so much hatred for the group could be the fact that a good majority of Kpop fans are so big on slut shaming that if you dance like a slut, you are a slut, and you deserve to be hated for it. Of course, I don't feel that way but it's disturbing to see it happening so often with netizens' comments.
As for Wassup's debut, I'm not really sure how I feel about it personally. I'm interested to see what they bring to the table and I will be on the look out for them but I generally don't get too hyped up about new groups coming to the scene. I will say that the first video reminded me of something I'd see happening around where I live so it was something I felt comfortable watching it and I even found it a little refreshing. We don't usually see idols trying to appeal to that type of crowd without seeming pretentious or missing the point entirely.
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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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Confessions of a K-Pop Fangirl: Over-Sexualization of Females in K-Pop
Confessions of a K-Pop Fangirl
A few years ago, with almost every female idol release in K-Pop, you would see school-related costumes, pigtails and of course, that killer aegyo. however, nowadays, that's a different story, recent female idol releases being accompanied by pole-dancing, white
underwear and those unforgettable camel toes.
With the ever-changing and increasing sexualization of women in the Korean entertainment industry, it's hard not to be either enticed or disgusted with the comebacks, almost all of them consisting of too short clothing, raunchy dancing and over-exposing camera angles. Thus, the female members of the K-Pop Ranter staff will talk about what they think of the sexiness as well as some specific groups which use the sexy concept.underwear and those unforgettable camel toes.
1st Question: When do you think it started?
Tiffany: Though, the sexy concept has always been around in K-Pop, artists like Lee Hyori and After School (sometimes referred to as The Pussycat Dolls of K-Pop) demonstrating it the most, I believe the whole "let's jump on the bandwagon to a sexy and more mature concept" all started either after Girls' Generation released their 2011 hit song, The Boys, or 4 Minute's HyunA released her 2011 hit song, Bubble Pop, both being far from the norm of what the entertainers usually release and both being popular and respected performers which have the ability to make and conciliate trends in the Korean idol market. After their song releases, it seemed like more and more people (even though they weren't exactly stripping or "thirsty for sex") were leaning towards either the mature or the sexy concept by then... I mean, think of it, in 2011, G.Na's 2HOT and Nine Muses's Figaro were released, while the following year SISTAR's Alone, SECRET's Poison, T-ara's Sexy Love and even more were released.
Saskia: I think it 'started' long ago, but since Kpop gets influenced more and more with the American 'charm' and they try to get more known out there, they forgot all those things why many people got into Kpop in the first place and just concentrated on being 'sexy' and get America to like them. Does anyone remember RaNia's debut song Dr. Feel Good? It came out even before HyunA's Bubble Pop and since that -more than obvious song about sex- Kpop went for the sexy concept.
2nd Question: What do you think of it?
Tiffany: I think it depends on how the "sexy" is displayed. If you're Brown Eyed Girls (who made a comeback with Recipe, I should add), you're definitely doing it right, however, if you're maybe BESTie who are basically shaking their ass in our face, then I think you might rethink the displaying. To be honest, I feel like sexuality should be exhibited tastefully and like you're not desperately trying to get attention and popularity... like Girls Day Yura's supposed "one-piece tights" which obviously had half her ass on camera.
Jeana: I do agree with what both of Tiffany and Andi pointed out. It is perfectly fine to take on a sexy concept, but what's more important than being sexy is being respectable, and being able to honor yourself and your body. As mentioned, I think sexy concepts sometimes do have their silver lining, because they can emphasize on one's femininity, or masculinity. But first, this whole misconception about what it means to be sexy in KPOP has to be debunked. To some extent, revealing skin does increase one's sexual appeal, be it short skirts for girls and tops off for guys, but beyond these external factors, it is more crucial for the internal appeal to be present too.
Saskia: I agree with everything previously mentioned. It totally depends on how you display it. I know many people who instantly think of sex when they hear 'sexy'. You don't have to wear skirts revealing almost everything or pushing or *cough non-existent cough* boobs and ass into the camera. Sexy is in my opinion jst another word for being fierce and independent
3rd Question: What are the positives and negatives of a sexy concept and name the best and worst ones?
Tiffany: The positives are probably that it gives women a fiercer image and more freedom to express their sexuality... the negatives, though? Most people don't take advantage of that and instead of having a song entitled Female President that actually, well, was about being a female president, you have a song entitled Female President but talking about a girl to kiss a guy first (looking at you, Girls Day).
Andi: Sexy concepts can add a certain flavor and appeal to idols when done correctly. I’ve seen a number of classy and sensual music videos fully utilizing the idea and executing it perfectly. For instance, 9Muses released their song Wild earlier in the year and though they’ve always had a penchant for more mature concepts, it feels like they’ve finally polished it to a point where it fits them perfectly. Wild looks and feels more refined compared to most of the sexy comebacks of the year. On the other end, some groups have tried to take advantage of the recent trend in sexy comebacks and end up looking frivolous or just plain awkward. Girls Day has been repeatedly been brought up in this article and with good reason. The music video is painful to watch at times, such as the booty shaking dance that makes an appearance repeatedly throughout the song. Not to mention the song was meant to be empowering but ended up being rather weak.
Tiffany: I agree exactly with those examples
Jeana: For me, the positive part about having a sexy concept is that it definitely gets more heads turning, both girls and guys. Yes, lust is definitely one of human's natural guilty desires. But the negative about having a sexy concept is that it's much harder to pull off than, say, a cute concept. You need the attitude, confidence and charisma to be able to do it right, yet not degrade yourself or appear as slutty (well, unless this is the kind of image you go for, that is). So I'll say that the best sexy concepts for me are The Boys by Girls Generation for a girl act and for a boy act, Paradise by Infinite (though this isn't anywhere as good as GG's). GG didn't really show as much skin as many other girl groups out there, and didn't really have many provocative dance moves, but because they exuded so much power on stage, their worth kind of multiplied by 100000000 times.
4th Question: What do you think of the 'Males Right Group' that blocked Dal Shabet for being 'thirsty for sex'?
Tiffany: Seriously, when I first heard about the news, I was questioning the legitimacy of it. But when I found out it was true, I can't help but think: What the hell? Why does South Korea, an extremely misogynistic country, even have a male rights group? Since when were men inferior in the any society? Did I miss that memo?
Plus, out of all of the videos and songs with an underlying, sexual meaning, you try to block this one. How is this against male rights at all? I must've missed the memo when it wasn't okay for women to want the D. What about Hello Venus 'Do you want some Tea?' which is obviously just a cover-up for 'Do you want some V?' Maybe, it's cause Dal Shabet's underlying rape-y message or maybe it's because the MOK are PMSing, but either way, to me, this ban was just plain stupid. I could probably think of dozens of other songs by both women and men which had suggestive meanings but weren't even looked twice at.
P.S. Is this the same group that banned Baek Ji Young's Good Boy because the song
expressed a man going against a woman’s wishes as ‘barking about,’ or ‘biting his owner.’ The music video actually has dogs in it, as if it is trying to tell the audience that men should be tamed and trained like dogs.
Andi: I actually read the statement issued by Man of Korea and I was quite surprised that they actually made a good point. I also took a closer look at the lyrics for Be Ambitious and found that, though I agree with what Man of Korea are saying, I’m not sure if such drastic measures should be taken. The song talks about how the girls are tired of waiting for their significant other to notice that they are wanting to take their relationship to the next level. Instead of taking initiative and engaging in the act by making the first move, they decide that wearing shorter skirts to show off their legs is the answer and will get it through their partner’s head that they want to have sex. This kind of message is dangerous and insinuates that the man in a relationship is inherently expected to know when their partner is horny whether they are vocal about it or not. [tw: rape] Thinking upon it further, it also perpetuates victim blaming implying that if a girl was sexually assaulted while she was wearing revealing clothes, that must have meant she wanted it. It’s generally hard for me to take anything a men’s rights group has to say seriously but they were actually right for once.
Tiffany: Actually, that's very great insight! However, although Dal Shabet was somewhat at fault because they could have definitely given the song different lyrics (what's weird to me is that the song was apparently self-composed... nasty fantasties from the girls, I suppose) especially being that they were actually forced to change the lyrics once by SBS because of the suggestivity, what I'm really concerned is about legitimacy and proclivity of groups such as these... especially (as mentioned before) songs like Baek Ji Young's Good Boy which wasn't actually... much that bad but was still bitched about by that same group because it supposedly shamed men. And as said by Seoulbeats
The Men’s Rights Organization seems to be one that gets their manly boxers in a twist whenever something seems to threaten their dominant position in South Korea, which is pretty difficult to swallow in 2012 — especially in South Korea.
Instead of Baek Ji Young dancing and singing about how much she loved her oppar like the norm, she instead was singing about being in authority in the relationship (which is rare for a female idol group!) and of course, if the partner does something wrong, you have to call them out on it, am I right? Not to mention, Dal Shabet's previous song, Mr. Bang Bang could have been called out for shaming women's authority, power and position by saying
Though I pretend to be strong, I’m still a girl... With confidence, like a man
which is basically saying "Because I'm a girl I can't be strong. Only men have confidence", but it wasn't.
