Fiction by B2ST - Cover by Jessie + Jenny Lim

A Rant : In the Defence of K-Pop + Other Artistes Who Have Been Subjected to Uncalled-For Trashing

As some of you may know, I have recently taken a liking to some of the fastest rising acts that hail from South Korea, and they are –say it with me- Big Bang, 2NE1 and B2ST to name a few. Talk to me about K-Pop a few months ago and you’d have been greeted by a smirk, as if I  knew better.

Honestly, I wasn’t always so accepting of their music which is pretty much all it is hyped up to be. There was a time when I -gulp- would not even cast them a second glance or listen. Why though? Why was it that before I even really knew what they were about, I had shut them out? Maybe it was the matching costumes which I found cringingly cliché, maybe it was the unfamiliar way they choreographed each move before a show, leaving no space for mistakes which is quite the opposite of the way western artistes –who I’m so used to- roll, maybe it was the unmistakable way their melodies sounded like each other’s. But funnily enough, now, I find their complementing outfits adorable –even when Seungri had a blue little cape in ‘Lollipop’-, I’m trying to learn their dances –B2ST’s are real b*tches even in slow motion- and I sing along to every catchy melody now –think ‘I Am the Best by 2NE1-.

Just a few days ago, I had the misfortune of coming across an article in the Star2 section of the Star newspaper titled ‘The K-Pop Cult’. Hoping that Big Bang or B2ST would be mentioned in the article, I proceeded to read it. I was not prepared for its contents. I should’ve seen it coming, with the line underneath the header reading ‘The Hallyu wave seems no more than clone-like stars, manufactured sounds and weepy fans’. But the two pictures illustrated by the article were deceiving, as were their captions –one was of K-Pop giants Super Junior and the other of the then five-membered TVXQ. The more of the article I read, the more I felt irked. I guess it’s safe to say that I’ve become big enough a K-Pop fan to have felt defensive of the genre.

Anyways, I strongly feel that the way in which the writer had described K-Pop was very much injected with prejudice and little knowledge, enough to set a permanently bad impression of the genre in the minds of those who have yet to experience the Hallyu wave themselves. Now, I believe that one has to keep one’s mind open when accepting something new and otherworldly; I’m not sure how the writer had first approached K-Pop but even if the experience was nothing to shout about for her, was it really necessary to write about it in such negative fashion? I imagine K-Pop fans everywhere utter a cry of unfairness after reading her article, as I had. But instead of just letting my emotions toil inside me, I’m spilling them out in words, hoping that it might just do K-Pop a little bit of justice.

The writer had called the K-Pop perpetrators out on a few issues and one of them was how they look. Sure she’d been right about the girls being figure-perfect and the boys lookin’ a little like their female counterparts but hey, if they can deliver in terms of vocals, stage presence and other qualities an artiste should possess, why should they get flak for what they look like? Besides, infatuation is not the case for real fans; we appreciate their music and the dedication they churn out for their work. Of course, looking good while doing so never hurt anybody.

Alright, when you live to be near the end of your adolescent years and have been living as a normal teen, you must’ve come across at least thousands of songs in your current lifetime. The radio, TV and internet have made that possible. Now, can you tell me honestly that songs in the same genre do not sound alike? Sure K-Pop songs generally have elements of electropop and hip-hop beats in it and melodies may sound similar at the first listen but the latter is also true for pretty much all other genres out there so why single K-Pop out? Just because you don’t understand the language and Korean songs sound like a bunch of sounds to you doesn’t mean you write a hater-like article about it for the eyes of the public. Wow, I will never let that go.

As for autotune, not all K-Pop groups use it and even if they do, it is for added effect, not to enhance their vocals. On top of that, where would T-Pain be if not for autotune at the beginning of his career?

I’m not really sure what goes on between the music companies and their starlets and if the exploiting bit is true. Yeah I’m aware that the stars are not as affluent as their western counterparts and they must be exhausted all the time especially if you think about how much they’d have to practice to get their shows perfect like they do. But after watching their documented band moments, you’ll realize these boys and girls are exactly like us –albeit better looking and more talented- when they’re together. They love, support, respect and look like they have a whole lot of fun when with each other, exploited or not.

Anti-fans. Is there a reason they should even exist? Yeah, their main goal in life is to tear down the image of the stars they hate and fuel the fire between themselves and the fans. Every time I see people writing negative comments about the artiste on the artiste’s video itself, I resist the urge to let them know that their idols would probably not commend such behavior. Just the other day an SNSD fan dissed Ke$ha and called her version of ‘Run Devil Run’ something I will not post here. The same fan added that Ke$ha’d better know that SNSD out-famouses her by miles too. I tsk-ed to myself, SNSD would surely not advocate this kind of behavior, even if it were in their favor.

Of course, K-Pop hasn’t been the only victim of trashing; I find a lot of the artistes I root for constantly subjected to literal forms of bashing. And why. Adam Lambert –notorious for the plain fact that he’s gay-, Taylor Momsen –alright she’s make-up leaves a lot to be desired and outfits leave little to the imagination but a good performer, nonetheless- and My Chemical Romance –more so in their Black Parade days- are a few that have been criticized for their music being too shallow and a lot of other blah. I just don’t get why people take the time to all-out hate them if they don’t fancy what they do. Sure, Justin Bieber has probably been the biggest victim and I’ll say I’m not a huge fan of what he does and how he does it either but you won’t see me writing about him in a literally sneering way or commenting on his videos negatively. If you ask me, anti-fans should just really be non-fans instead, and non-fans and fans should co-exist in the same environment.

I think what hurt the most was when the write kept referring to the Korean starlets as fabricants. Clones, literally. That’s not nice. That’s how the Korean pop culture is. Okay, you don’t find American boybands in matching outfits who dance in sync; but that’s the beauty of K-Pop. Not only do they do a good job with the music live, they serve as eye-candy too, all while making sure they don’t smudge their make-up. Haha. Dear writer of the article ‘The K-Pop Cult’ who I will not mention by name, you’ve hurt me and I imagine, many other K-Pop fans. I hope you give it a second chance and even then, if it still isn’t your cup of tea, please don’t write another article confirming your hate for them. Don’t be a jerk. I end my rant here, hoping that I’d been a bit of a saving grace for K-Pop.

V. I. <3