I don’t know how or when it happened. It was like I woke up one day and all I cared about was Korean Pop music. I was 10 feet deep in MVs, live performances, dance practices and English Subbed interviews and game shows.
I went from not knowing anything about Korean Pop music, to knowing all the names and birthdays of members of a 12 piece group. My recommended videos on YouTube went from alternative rock videos to all Kpop groups.
I am Kpop Trash. Its official.
I basically don’t listen to anything else right now, and my friends and family’s concerns are growing stronger by the day. I don’t normally read YouTube comments, I actually never read YouTube comments, but when it comes to Kpop videos (especially a group I am listening to for the first time) I read the comments. Not just the top few liked comments, I read a few pages of comments! And I actually laugh or have the urge to like or reply to a comment.
Who am I? I ask myself everyday.
But, I have accepted this lifestyle and I am working to embrace it. I am listening to my philosophy that good music is good music, no matter what genre or country its from. Kpop makes me feel good. Yea, I don’t know what they are saying, but it makes me listen to the music more. It makes me focus on how the song makes me feel.
I’ve noticed the music of songs more from listening to Kpop and I find myself commenting on the actual instrumentation of songs more so than the lyrics or the vocals. Its also great sometimes to listen to a song and create your own meaning or interpretation of the song. Yes, you can do this with all music, but when you can understand the language you have a better idea of what it is actually about. But when you don’t know the language, you can use the feeling and even sometimes the music video to come up with your own story for the song. That is what I find fun about it.
So I like Kpop. I love Kpop. But I also like and love all the genres I loved before and I continue to keep up with all my other favorite artists and genres. I am slowly swimming back to the surface after taking a long LONG dive into the Kpop ocean.
If you are a Kpop fan, you understand everything I am saying. If not, you will. Kpop is not for everyone, but trust me, if you are a sucker for catchy songs and pop music in general, you will get sucked in and never return.
For all my Kpop fans, my favorite artists are (in no particular order):
1. EXO (all of the units)
2. BTS
3. Got7
4. Jay Park
5. Taeyeon
6. Seventeen
7. Pentagon
8. NCT U
9. Lay (heart attack when I found out about his solo mini album)
10. Dean
I obviously listen to more, but these are my top ones that I listen to the most. And, because you are going to ask, my EXO bias is Lay and Chanyeol. They both kill me every time. My BTS bias is Jungkook, but my bias wrecker is V. And my Got7 bias is JB but my bias wrecker is Mark. (literally shaking my head at the fact I just admitted this by using fandom terminology)
If you’re curious on Kpop and want to watch something to get introduced by it and not be overwhelmed, I would suggest these videos:
Jay Park – Drive (Ft. Gray) (for my friends that like more hip-hop)
Taeyeon – Starlight (Ft. Dean)
I could post more, but I think this is a good start. You got Got7’s “A” for more Pop side, Jay Park’s “Drive” for more hip hop, and then EXO’s “Monster” and BTS’ “Fire” for a medium ground. I also threw in a female voice to represent the feminine side of the genre, and Taeyeon is my favorite female vocalists in Kpop and this song “Starlight” features another one of my favorite artists, Dean.
I picked my favorite songs by my top 5 artists listed above, and again, I could list more videos because I’m trash.
My absence is all do to the fact that I’ve signed my life away to Korean pop music. I’m ashamed and proud. Please, if you’re reading this and a Kpop fan, be my friend. I have no friends that like Kpop. I need you. (in the least creepy way possible, of course)
I’m back, more posts to come.
-Stefanie
OHSTEFNE 