Review: K-pop Wrecking Ball
Love it or hate it, most people are probably somewhat aware of the music genre that has been blowing up over the last few years called “K-pop”. Originating in Korea, K-pop is music that draws its influences from all over the world, and relies heavily on its use of synthesizers and flashy music videos. However, it seems that the main focus of the genre is the attractiveness of those making the songs rather than the quality of the music itself.
After watching one of these colorful videos and seeing all of the “idols” (to which stars in the genre are commonly referred to) on screen for a certain song, I have come to the conclusion that listening to the same song without the video is pointless. This explains why the average view count on Youtube K-pop music videos is much higher than other music genres, while K-pop streaming numbers from streaming sites such as Spotify are much lower. Fandoms and fangirls seem to rarely praise how good K-pop songs are, and instead choose to go on and on about how cute the guys making the songs are. The fact that many of the most popular songs follow a simple blueprint is completely ignored by diehard fans.
Another problem along the same lines is the lack of experimentation across the entire genre. Some songs are so similar that it is nearly impossible to tell them apart. Furthermore, the lyrics are often incomprehensible. Lyrics that are either originally in English or translated into English from Korean rarely make any sense at all or have any meaning.
In conclusion, K-pop’s popularity is understandable, but not deserved. Maybe it is deserved and everyone who does not like it just does not understand its intricacies. Either way, I’ll pass.
.5/5 Anchors
