K-Pop:
K-pop is an abbreviation for Korean popular music, specifically from South Korea. There are many artists and groups, such as TVXQ, BoA, Rain, Se7en, Lee Hyori, Shinhwa, Wonder Girls, Epik High, Super Junior, Big Bang and SS501 that have branched out of Korea and have become popular in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South East Asia. The popularity of K-pop is often considered a part of the rise of the Korean Wave, the recent surge of popularity of contemporary Korean culture in Asia.
[edit] History
Since independence, Korea's pop music has developed for a long time. At an early age many folk singers were appeared. In 1970s, rock music was introduced into Korea and mainly popularized by Cho Yong Pil who is remembered as the most renowned musician in Korea. Trot was also a main genre of Korean pop music at an early age.
The emergence of the group Seo Taiji and Boys in 1992 marked a turning point in Korean popular music, as the group incorporated elements of American popular musical genres such as rap, rock, and techno into its music. It brought the collapse of trot. The tremendous success of Seo Taiji and Boys in Korea and other experimental groups, such as Panic, set the trend for the present generation of K-pop groups and artists. Following Seo Taiji and Boys, dance-oriented acts became dominant in the Korean popular music scene of the early 90s including the legendary hip hop duo Deux (듀스). By the mid-90s, Seo Taiji and Boys retired from Korea's pop music scene. After that, teen idol groups that are now often considered "legendary groups" due to their strong popularity during their era, such as Baby V.O.X., Click-B, Fin.K.L., g.o.d, H.O.T., Shinhwa, Sechs Kies, S.E.S., Solid(솔리드), and R.ef were very popular, having strong fanbases and high-selling albums (with some groups having a "million seller", an album selling over one million copies). Starting with the break-up of Sechs Kies, however, most of these groups have since disbanded; it is often stated that at this stage Korean music became slightly better than noise[citation needed]. Although some artists have continued their successes in the following decade, new groups (most notably TVXQ and Big Bang) have since taken their places.
Currently, in the 2000s, pop groups are still very popular although there has been an emergence of Korean R&B and Hip-Hop. Artists such as MC Mong, 1TYM, Rain, Big Bang and Epik High have proven successful. Underground artists such as Drunken Tiger, Tasha (Yoon Mi Rae), and Dynamic Duo have also helped Hip-Hop become mainstream. Recently, rock music has become noticed by the public, with acts such as the Yoon Do Hyun Band and Seo Taiji gaining national recognition. In addition, there are also popular techno/dance artists such as Lee Jung Hyun and Kim Hyun Jung, who both have had very long careers while remaining firmly entrenched in their genre of music. Just as well, ballads and R&B have remained popular, as singers such as Baek Ji Young and KCM, in addition to SG Wannabe, have continued their success for many years.
There are also many artists who have had international success as well. BoA has become the highest-selling international artist from Korea, due to her strength in the J-pop market; this was in part due to Lee Soo Man's adaptation of the Blue Ocean Strategy. Since then, artists such as Rain and Se7en have also released albums outside of Korea, becoming well-known throughout Eastern Asia. Rain has also had his international RAINY DAY 2005 Tour, having tour dates at Madison Square Garden, the first Korean star to do so. He has been recently featured in Hollywood films.
Kim Bum Soo is the first Korean artist to reach the U.S. Billboard chart and ranked as 51 on the Hot 100 chart in 2001. After that, solo female artist, mink and Korean-American group, S.Blush also reached the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play charts, where they ranked #1 in 2006[1][2] and #2 in 2007[3] respectively. Skull, a Korean reggae artist from YG Entertainment also ranked as #3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales[4] and #14 Hot Singles Sales in 2007[5][6]. Se7en who is also from YG Entertainment[7], BoA from SM Entertainment and Min from JYP Entertainment[8] are all currently concentrating on their U.S. debuts. However, there has yet to be a prominent, successful Asian-American or Asian artist in the American music industry[9].
[edit] US debuts
Several Korean artists have or will plan to debut in the US. BoA's debut single "Eat You Up" will be distributed to 300 websites in 31 countries on 21 October 2008. Se7en plans to release a US album; there was a preview party in Hollywood, California on May 2 2008. and a press conference in Los Angeles. Rain has had several U.S. concerts, and although they have only had mediocre sucess he has begun getting international recognize after topping Time's top 100 influential people poll. Rapper Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas has expressed his view that he "does not have a reason why Se7en and Rain can't be popular in the US".
[edit] Current style
K-pop is similar to English pop music, with R&B, dance, and hip-hop being very popular genres in the 2000s. However, unlike English pop music, which had most of its boy bands and girl groups either break up or informally disband, bubblegum pop is still very popular in South Korea. Groups such as Shinhwa, TVXQ, Big Bang and Super Junior continue to be top sellers in K-pop, and artists like Ahyoomee and LPG have released novelty songs, to varying degress of success. However, the 2000s has seen the rise of R&B vocal groups, with SG Wannabe and Big Mama having success with their first albums. In addition, trot music has made a comeback in mainstream K-pop as well, mostly due to the success of Jang Yoon Jung and Hyun Bin Park. Ballads are also very popular, as 2006 has seen the release of ballad singles by non-ballad artists, including Shinhwa and Baek Ji Young. The year 2007 was marked with the release of numerous girl and boy bands, though only a few managed to top the charts, most notably Big Bang for their song "Lie", Wonder Girls for "Tell Me" and Girls' Generation with their songs, "Into The New World", and "Kissing You". Despite new bands debuting, physical sales for CDs have become increasingly low, due to the stagnation of the K-pop industry. The highest selling album of 2007 did not even reach the 200,000 mark with only 190,998 copies sold.[10]
The beginning of 2008 saw the rise of Electronica dominate the K-pop scene.[11][12] Notable examples include Jewelry's "One More Time" and Brown Eyed Girls' "L.O.V.E."[13][14] Even artists that release music in other genres have released electronica-influenced albums to suit the current trends, including Epik High, Gummy, Clazziquai, and Lee Seung Chul.[15]
[edit] Famous Korean Pop artists
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[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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