K-pop
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
K-pop is an abbreviation for Korean popular music, specifically from South Korea. There are many artists and groups, most notably Se7en, Shinhwa, BoA, Rain, TVXQ, Super Junior and Big Bang that have branched out of Korea and have become popular in Japan, 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, or "Hallyu", in the region.
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[edit] History
The emergence of the group Seo Taiji and Boys in 1992 marked a turning point for Korean popular music, as the group incorporated elements of American popular musical genres of rap, rock, and techno into its music. 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 were dominant in the Korean popular music scene of the early 90s including the legendary hip hop duo Deux (듀스). By the mid-90s, teen idol groups, which are now often considered "legendary groups" due to their strong popularity during their era, such as Baby V.O.X., Fin.K.L., g.o.d, H.O.T., Shinhwa, Sechs Kies, and S.E.S. 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, most of these groups have disbanded, It is often stated that at this stage Korean music became slightly better than noise[citation needed]. Although some have continued their success in the following decade; new groups (most notably DBSK, Super Junior and SG Wannabe) have since taken their place.
Currently, in the 2000s, pop groups are still very popular, although there has been the 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 making its way into the mainstream. Recently, rock music has become noticed by the public, with acts like the Yoon Do Hyun Band and Seo Taiji gaining national recognition. In addition, there are also some very 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 like 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 also plans to make a U.S. debut. Skull, a Korean reggae artist from YG Entertainment is working on his U.S. debut and was even listed on the Billboard charts[1]. Se7en who is also from YG Entertainment[2] and Min from JYP Entertainment[3] both hope to enter the English-language music market in 2008. They are not the first Asians to do so; Utada Hikaru and CoCo Lee have released English-language albums before. However, there has yet to be an Asian artist breaking the mainstream American music industry successfully[4].
[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, 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. 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 "Lies," and Wonder Girls for "Tell Me". 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.[5]
The beginning of 2008 saw the rise of Electronica dominate the K-pop scene.[6][7] Notable examples include Jewelry's "One More Time" and Brown Eyed Girls' "L.O.V.E."[8][9] Even artists that release music in other genres have released electronica-influenced albums to suit the current trends, including Epik High, Gummy, and Lee Seung Chul.[10]
[edit] Famous Korean Pop artists
[edit] See also
- Korean music
- South Korean music
- Korean wave
- Contemporary culture of South Korea
- List of Korea-related topics
- C-pop
- J-pop
- Music of the Philippines
- Music of Vietnam
[edit] References
- ^ Digital Chosunilbo (English Edition) : Daily News in English About Korea
- ^ Daum 미디어다음 - 뉴스
- ^ Digital Chosunilbo (English Edition) : Daily News in English About Korea
- ^ Missing: Asian-American pop stars - International Herald Tribune
- ^ Recording Industry Association of Korea. 2007 2007 End of Year Chart. Retrieved February 28, 2008.
- ^ (Korean)가요계, 일렉트로니카(Electronica)가 대세인 이유?
- ^ 흥행의 법칙ⓛ'일렉트로니카' '탈신비'...가요계 흥행 십계명]
- ^ 여가수들, 일렉트로니카 장르 붐
- ^ 가요계 양분화, 색(色) 다른 그녀들...'쥬얼리' vs '브라운아이드 걸스'
- ^ [1]
[edit] External links
- Music Industry Association of Korea (Korean)
- KBS Global Entertainment News (English)
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