MV Review | Lee Michelle - I Can Sing

The song

The guitar sounds good and groovy. I kinda like it. Her vocals were on point.

Now I don't understand why she didn't do a vocal performance thing on this song...you know, she says "I can sing" so that's what you could expect, a girl who would sing the hell out of this song, you know what I mean? 

Why did she make her "doom doom" part so short (from 1:25 to 1:35) ? THAT was the best part of the song to me, she was doing some RnB singing and I was like "yes, go ahead girl!" and then she sang the chorus and then rapped...you can sing girl, but why rapping? She's not bad at it, but c'mon, all of a sudden, a rap part...it didn't really suit the classy and groovy character of the song, in my opinion. 

This song was too soft, too "good girl" to me...when it could (should?) have been fierce and memorable.

It's a good song, but for the most part Michelle's songs sound too standard, too safe. They're not really exciting. But they probably sound like her, to be honest. She's said before that she's not adventurous or something like that. She's simple, and there's nothing wrong with that. But as a new artist trying to break into a saturated and highly competitive music industry (Kpop), you would expect her to show us something different in order to stand out, and be more visible in a sea of pale-skinned, thin sexy young women. 

Well, YES, she already stands out. She's thick, half black and doesn't show skin. She doesn't dance and she didn't dye her hair blond with blue contact lenses. Good. But still, music-wise her song is not outstanding; emotionally, vocally and visually.

She preferred to keep it cool and low-key, almost like an accoustic song.

The visuals

It's not a bad idea, it doesn't put Lee Michelle in the spotlight, you can see her but it's very subtle and sober with a playful light. I do worry a little bit about the reason being that she's not the "conventional Korean beauty"...which might be why they don't put day light emphasis on her face and body.

There are seats in front of her, but nobody is sitting to watch her sing. How sad you'd say, but that's interesting, she knows she's not super famous, she knows she has few fans and is just debuting as an artist. She's (still) introducing herself and proving herself.

I like that she doesn't look thin. She has nice legs. Her outfit is good but it kinda makes her look older or too serious. The necklace is great, the pants and shoes too. 

But it saddens me a little to see her hair like that. Korean hairdressers don't really seem to know how to handle kinky or frizzy hair (cf. Michelle's promotional pics). Now, she probably doesn't give a shit about that, she's probably fine with her hair this way, and if that's the case then I shouldn't say anything. 

MV Review | Cheetah - My Number

I wouldn't say that I was disappointed, I didn't have expectations to begin with and I'm not a fan of her. Still, I know she's a good rapper as I've watched Unpretty Rapstar.

What do I think of this MV?

Too Kpop for my taste. Flashy colors, pink, yellow, no story. The only good point was the Pinky Cheeks dancers. Oh, that and the "men use half naked women as props, lemme do the same but with men on my promotional pic". That's how I understood it (I kinda like this tongue-in-cheek thing) though I also get a feeling of usng drags as props as in a way to make a buzz and get more views...
The song is "meh", I'm not fond of the saxophone and it's not catchy as a whole, no hook. The lyrics are basic. Cheetah's flow was kinda boring too, not much energy in it.

It's funny how Cheetah's fans reacted to this...they're all like "But why didn't she show all she can do? Why does this MV look Kpop and not Hip Hop or badass? She can do better!"

Lol. I get you folks. But Kpop doesn't give a shit about badass female rappers. If so you would have already seen solo badass female rappers on the mainstream scene (which means Kpop) and on the charts. But that's not the case, right? No, CL is NOT badass. She SAYS she is. Nuance.
Kpop has a mold and it wants all of its artists to fit in with a certain image, a certain sound. It's all about toning down the strong ones so that they can still be palatable to the mainstream audience, and hyping up the weak ones so that they look decent and kind of talented.

No surprise here. Cheetah's no exception to Kpop's mold. Though I must say I was a little bit surprised  that she decided to start off with pop instead of Hip Hop. Usually Hip Hop artists do it the other way....like a natural "evolution" as an artist (which means getting a bigger fanbase). But the thing is, why would she be seen as an Hip Hop artist? Because she can be kinda badass in reality TV show Unpretty Rapstar? As a matter of fact, AOA's Jimin did too. And she's an idol, she's not Hip Hop.
So, unless Cheetah releases a full Hip Hop album, I won't consider her a Hip Hop rapper. She'll just be a Kpop rapper in my opinion. Which is fine. I'm not talking about talent here. But there's a difference and we shouldn't mix the 2. Rapping doesn't equate Hip Hop. Period.
And to those who are already calling her "Queen" and "at Yoon Mi Rae's level"...folks, get real. She has released like ONE Kpop song, where's her album? Just wait for her to show consistency before snatching Tasha's crown.

J-dramas - The suicide issue

Now I'm going to "rant" about something I noticed in a recent drama. A woman in her early twenties (she was probably a bit younger) was admitted in a hospital because she tried to kill herself. She doesn't want to be treated, she doesn't want to see a therapist so the medical staff gets mad at her and bluntly tells her that the hospital is for people who want to live and that if she really wants to kill herself again (which she does) she should find a way to not bother people in any way.
This was a very insensitive remark from a doctor, I don't like it. That and making the girl look like an immature and spoiled drama queen who just got heartbroken. Suicide is a serious issue in Japan, there have the highest (or close to that) rate of suicides in the world. Writting such a script is ridiculous and insensitive. I mean, their high suicide rate isn't all about mere heartbreaks, this is obvious. Why not talking about the more serious issues of the nation, right?
The collective spirit tend to prevail over the individual, especially in Japan it seems, which means individuals should think about the comfort of the group before their own. The thing is, it is impossible to not bother people. Impossible. Where can she die without bothering people ? In her appartment ? She'll make it hard for the landlord to sell it later. In the street ? She'll shock random people. Our mere own existence bothers those around us to an extent. If people really valued life and are against suicide, they would be more empathetic to depressive and suicidal people in order to listen to them and make them feel heard and non judged.

My selection of dramas

I like watching dramas but I've become very selective now.
Here's my top 15 for Korean dramas and Japanese dramas.

South Korea
1. The End of The World
2. A Wife's Credentials
3. Dal Ja's Spring
4. White Christmas
5. It's Okay It's Love
6. Bridal Mask (Gaksital)
7. My lovely Sam Soon
8. Daughters of Bilitis Club
9.The Queen's Classroom
10. History of A Salaryman
11. Vampire Prosecutor S1& 2
12. Misaeng
13. I Need Romance 1

Future special mention (probably): Oh, and...I've been watching "Yoo Na's Street" so I'll finish this drama in July and see if I add it to my top 13.


Japan
1. Saikou no Rikon
2. Kazoku Game
3. Mondai no Restaurant
4. Soredemo, Ikite Yuku
5. Woman
6. Kazokugari
7. I'm Home
8. The Queen's Classroom
9. Nodame Cantabile
10. Doctor X (the 3 seasons)
11. Kimi wa Petto
12. Otoko demo Onna demo nai sei
13. Othros no Inu
14. Dragon Zakura
15. Date

Special mention: "Hirugao" and "Sutekina Taxi". They were entertaining and had a clear concept but not that great. I did like the creative theme (you know, when they pause the drama in the middle with the theme song), as well as the characters :) I enjoyed these 2 dramas, especially "Sutekina Taxi" because of the ending and the message, as well as the acting of the lead actor who was quite funny.
I'm going to watch "Iryu"...so be prepared for a future addition to my Top 13 :)

Not exactly in that order, but I really like all of those in that list.

Is it me or J-dramas have more of an emotional growth focus than K-dramas?

K-dramas are all about showing strong emotion: anger, jealousy, revenge, bitterness, humiliation, love, greed, worry, frustration...
But most of the time they don't openly focus on the emothional growth of the character... in romance genres and sometimes revenge genre too. It's like the Charming Prince will come our way and fix everyting just by being handsome and rich and clingy-stalkerish.

What I also like with J-dramas is that they don't always shy away from broaching some "delicate" topics...a serial killer couple that kills families, a family actually falling apart, moms cheating on their husband, feeling like your spouse is a stranger, sexism in the workplace, a woman who stock her years-old trash all over her house, a woman who hits her child, a female teenager who sleeps with middle-age men for money ...

What I also like is the novelty in choosing unusual personality/life experience types (a tall thin woman who's an overachiever who doesn't care about dating nor in love, NEET, Otaku, orphan, a girl who was born without a gender, a young mother who has cut ties with her mom, etc).
It doesn't happen all the time, but sometimes it does and it's refreshing.

As for K-dramas, I like the intensity when it's positive or well-conveyed. I also enjoy the little things displayed between a couple...like everyday life, it's cute, funny and relatable.

I do think that J-dramas kinda have this rigid, perfect recipe taste, it tastes good but not passionate (even if it tries to) nor very natural in general (though my Top 5 Jdrama list does have passion and rawness in my opinion). While K-dramas have an addictive taste that have strong (emotional scenes) and very bland flavors (OST, Chaebol memes, and unnecessary scenes) at the time, which makes you feel conflicted: bored, irritated and excited.

These days I've been more into Jdramas, maybe because I'm less patient and want to watch slightly less conventional dramas.

Review series | My selection - The powerful Korean female RnB vocalists

Part I-b) The powerful female vocalists: BONI | Ailee

I noticed that there are more Korean soul male singers than soul female singers. I wonder why. Or maybe I haven't searched enough. I have a theory: soul music requires sensuality, "exposure" (sort of) of your feelings, as well as mastering one's voice to be tough and powerful on demand. Young Korean women aren't supposed to do that according to society's expectations. The soft, cute, neutral, high pitch voice is what they tend to have massively. They do show sensuality with their bodies but not with their voices.

BONI 보니

Very clear voice, nice rythm and skilled. She's young and her music is old school RnB! I prefer her over Ailee because of her music.

BONI 보니

Korean RnB needs more women with powerful voices like her. Women can be strong in their vocals, but they can be sensual vocally and even sexual. Time will tell. BONI could work on her emotions when she sings, she has the potential for something more than strong vocals.
***

Ailee

Ailee 에일리

Her voice is very RnB, but can be pop as well, she is between somehow. her ease when she sings is remarkable, she's skilled. Like BONI, she needs tp work on using her emotions to move people when she sings.

Honestly, Ailee has a quasi "old-fashioned" Korean sound to me...like her voice is very modern and young, but her music is not fresh enough for my taste, aside from her songle "Heaven", the rest sounds non fresh. Besides, her songs just don't do it to me, unfortunately, it's too pop :(  Great vocalist though!!

***

Honorable mention:

Insooni 인순이

She has such a rich and deep voice. I love her low register. This woman is in her early 50s. Yes. She can SING, dance and captivate an audience. The way she sings is old school, of course, but she has this serene energy that makes her look cool even today. She's too pop sadly, her music is not really RnB.

***
BMK 비엠케이 (here's her wikipedia page)

Don't look at her weight, she's beautiful! Her voice is rich and deep like Insooni's but they sound different. BMK has her own touch and feeling in it. Like Insooni, her music is too pop balladish for my taste, and for this blog post as well. But I had no choice...I have to include them, no woman can outsing them with such power in Korea.

BMK 비엠케이

This is a track from her new mini album.

Kpop and the addition of Western elements

Hello, another article on kpop. It's a fascinating and addictive topic, right? lol

I'm not here to talk about cultural appropriation. I won't talk about race either.

My post is about incorporating Western elements that are not from pop music in kpop. The way they do it, how they benefit from it, and how they manage to have some credibility.

Let's start with the recent buzz with the brand new girlband WASSUP who was announced to "bring twerking to kpop".

Oh-kay...

So, twerking is clearly from hip hop, the Caribbean and Africa...which have nothing to do with massively mainstream pop music. Why not putting this girlgroup in the hip hop or dancehall category? Have you seen Katy Perry twerk? Even Beyoncé doesn't really twerk, she basically shakes her booty and hips but that's it. She's too classy for that ish.
So, this Korean music label is using these dance moves from non pop music to make a buzz in Korea and promote their new kpop girlband. Desperate strategy, that's low. Will Koreans really like it?? Doesn't seem like it. They don't seem to have a concept for this twerking thing, the teaser vids look ratchet or plain, low budget. It's just a copy/paste thing.
Are the girls good at it? One is decent, the others suck.
Why make a buzz about it if your girls can't do it right?? Because some white girl (Miley Cyrus) made it acceptable to twerk awkwardly so Koreans want to do it too (they actually showed her video in their first promotional "interview").

Same thing for hip hop clothes, swag and cliches. Why CL from 2NE1 had to do that, with gangsta-looking dudes in the background à la G-dragon (in One of A Kind)? CL is an idol rapper, which means POP rapper, which means she's from a pop girlband. Really she wants to claim her queen's crown as the baddest female? Isn't this pretentious hip hop-wannabe idol shit right here? Like, she ain't hip hop and she ain't that good but she claims she's the shit in that genre? IT WORKS. Hype is so manipulated. Do you see Yoon Mi Rae wearing these clothes and having an old school hip hop MV, acting all that and repeating how bad she is? Nope but she would have every right to do so. YMR did say a few times (in tracks she was featured) that she's the "illest in town" and that the crown is hers but she actually IS the shit and a hip hop rapper. She doesn't need all that bling bling, cliches and try-hard attitude to look credible.

Another example of pop with hint of hip hop is SNSD's "I Got A Boy". These girls represent kpop and cutesyness. Why oh why would they try (yes, "try") to shake their bottoms and wear hip hop clothes? For hype. Just like when Korean singers cast white models in their MVs, it's for edginess and hype. SNSD sucked at that hip hop thing. Why make a fool of yourself?? Because Korean fans wouldn't know that they suck anyway? They brought the standard lower so fans are not going to expect much.

Korean pop music sacrifices quality for hype, and it has been doing it a lot these days. I can't take kpop fans seriously when they say stuff like "American pop is crappy so now I listen to kpop". Really? Kpop is currently as crappy as American pop. But kpop will soon fully embarass kpop fans so much that they won't say shit like that anymore. Unless they're stans.

What bothers me is the fact that they're taking undeserved hype for something unrelated to them or they didn't work their asses for (because they suck). International kpop fans will love everything they do and say how kpop is the best when it actually keeps borrowing from everywhere. Instead of focusing on themselves, they prefer borrowing what's already successful in the West. What's next? Brazilian funk? Pop rock? Jazz?

Opinion | Hallyu...I'm talking to you

Kpop's influence is limited.

Reason #1
Most of this scene is idols, who were trained, manufactuted, mold into a specific image, and heavily controlled by their company, their fans and the MOGEF. This strips these idols of most of their freedom, individuality, creativity, and independence which are essential for a brand new global recognition. Remember the American artists until the early 00s? They were THE shit. They MADE the global standard.  American pop is manufactured too, yes, it has become a crappy mess these days, but in order to deviate the center of attention from America to Korea, kpop will need to level up and bring excellence and novelty back as the standard if they want recognition nowadays.

Now why the West would love seeing hundreds of identical Asian groups doing the same basic routine with boring personalities again and again? When they can see fierce, familiar-looking decent-to-good performers who are fluent in English on TV. How can Korea think that they can give the world the next Micheal or Madonna given what I've said? (Yes, one of their dramas said so) Our media already thinks they can only give us clones of what we already have with Asian faces.



Reason #2

The music is no different from what you can hear in the West. Actually kpop is heavily inspired by it and follow Western trends instead of being avant-garde or making their own distinctive genre or evolution. In general there's a lack of music experimenting, a lack of interesting or unusual collaborations. All I hear is recycling, recycling and mixing, sometimes at the cost of music quality. Kpop is no better than American pop. Instead of promoting "uniqueness" and substance, they  both want to promote their hype and formulaic glam. Well, the only one who will win this game is the international language one, Amurrrica. Duh.

Reason #3
The biggest music labels are not ready (except JYP but he failed) to invest money, time and energy in the unknown markets such as the US by making their big music icons live abroad and expand their network and knowledge of the business there, which means giving their idols more freedom. They want to do it "palli palli". I mean that they want to do it quickly, they want fame quickly, and if they don't have it instantly they want their biggest musicians back at home quickly so they won't lose too much money, they just don't take their time to expand and make the necessary efforts and steps (and sacrifices) for what they want. Paying Quincy to do a funding for them and promote them isn't what I'd call a risk and a real investment. It's like  "let's try with this guy, it might work out later somehow".

Reason #4
Hallyu pushes itself on us instead of making us want to like it and have it come to us (no I'm not talking about international kpop fans obviously). Why would we need something we have no interest in? Even those like me who are fed up with current mainstream American pop, why would we turn to the same music but in a language we don't understand and have no interest in? That's a fail especially considering all what I said above. The more popular kpop gets among their niche international fans, the more crappy and low quality their music gets. So why would Americans turn to kpop if they find the same thing? They also don't take racism against Asians AND against other ethnic groups abroad into consideration in their quest of fame. Focusing on the US where racism against Asians is blatant in Hollywood and music business. Korean media  holds ignorant or racist views against non Koreans as well. The latter can backfire their quest of fame, and the former will just block them from being successful there. Bad strategy for expansion.

In conclusion: Hallyu, just be yourself (focus on your own growth) and grow some balls if you're going to keep saying how global you are. You want the world's attention? Then, bring something "refreshing" by challenging things to gain respect. You either get attention by being respected first, mocked or hated first. Your choice.
However, I see that kpop is basically trying to buy American media's attention by paying some TV studios to host their acts, they even sollicited Quincy Jones to promote kpop globally. The Korean businessmen are handling Hallyu like a simple business thing but it's really more complicated than that...they'll soon find out.