Deep down the dark streets of Seoul in big entertainment companies, lived the uncountable number of Korean bands. Every now and then they would come out with addictive, upbeat songs, dressed in the trendiest of outfits, dancing perfectly in oddly lit boxes. Grabbing a few awards once in a while, this bunch of hard-working teenagers worked even harder to come back with crisp and flawless dance moves and songs to make all the fangirls swoon.
WHO ARE THEY? HOW ARE THEY SO PERFECT? WHAT DO THEY WANT?
Before these questions could be answered, a crazy old man came in their way.
'Dress classy, dance cheesy' he said.
'Oppa Gangnam Style' he said.
Stealing away the spotlight,he galloped to yet another oddly lit stadium claiming himself a 'Gentleman' By the name of Park Jaesang he goes. As a Korean phenomenon he's known. But what if I tell you, there's more to the genre known as Korean pop than just the famous (or infamous?) Gangnam style?
In an industry where fame comes quickly and fades just as rapidly, Korean pop has been on a major roll ever since the decade started. After years of intense training, Korean entertainment companies form bands with the best of talents which can feature as many as 17 members. Not only do singing skills matter but so does the ability to be a powerful dancer. Later come the artsy music videos. These ever-growing bands are creating a frenzy among their fans by selling out concerts within minutes and breaking through billboard music charts. Every once in a while these girl and boy bands come back with new singles or full albums. What is unique is the fact that their new acts are further promoted through music shows where all these bands compete against each other and show strong live performances with some high notes here and there, and impressive but tough, well synchronized choreography.
Immensely dedicated fandoms are another special factor of Korean bands. Having a group filled with different personalities, these bands manage to attract a large audiences. International awards are more like a battlefield and boy can things get ugly. Fans even buy the CDs, which no one in this generation seems to do. Never underestimate the power of a fangirl. They can even get their oppas a mansion in Gangnam, a Taj Mahal and Beyonce. Thats right! The key word here is 'Obsession!'
Riddled with idol groups after idol groups, the magical genre of K-pop has painted a picture of loud, crazy and colourful worlds with songs like Go crazy, Gee, Like This and many more. However it also knows just when to step back and slow it down with melodious ballads like Blue, and 0330. But things do not end here. In the last few years, many east meets west collaborations have been seen. From Kanye West to Diplo, K-pop is slowly entering the American market and gaining a lot of interest. K-pop is all but usual- a mix of expected and unexpected.
All in all, my life being in this K-ingdom has been more of a roller coaster ride. With its crazy dance moves to major outfit fails where you just want to burn the stylist to bits of broken english (see; nonsense) to the pride it gives you when you see your favorite bands taking away worldwide awards. Korean bands not only taught me how practice makes perfect but also the fact that music has no language. Mad props to these people for changing my life's motto which now goes as
YOLO- You Only Love Oppas!
By: Fizzah Riaz Sheikh
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