K-Pop (The Comeback Thread) Genre • Page 18

fan of new Exid

 

Any update for me regarding recent R&B heavy releases?

 

Idk, I'm also very late when it comes to Kpop. Once I find something that may interest you, I'll let you know. Have you listened to BoA's new album(s)?

 

No, will check it out. I also liked that Miami Bass song that some group put out this year and was posted in this thread.

 

I'm sure you'll love it! That Miami Bass song was Woo Woo by the group DiA right? It's funny how much it sounded like Superlove by Tinashe.

 

Yeah, that’s it. To be fair all Miami Bass songs sound the same lmao

 

idk about strictly r&b, i feel like a lot of stuff touches on it very lightly but rarely really dwells heavily on it but heres some other stuff you might like given you seem to be open to kpop ggs.

i havent heard the boa album mentioned but i can definitely vouch for her ep from earlier this year. also there's new red velvet coming out on friday if you want to be on the lookout for that. they have another ep that came out in the summer that also has some good stuff on it, though they take a different approach than anything on the perfect velvet.

 

Damn I love this Tiffany Christmas song. I want her up cross over and blow up tbh

 

im one of those people that cant stand christmas music so i have avoided it, but i definitely agree with the latter statement. ive been a big tiffany fan for a really long time and honestly she always got such a raw deal in korea and always got a lot of hate for silly things. i really hope she finds success in america but i wasnt really about her first song, i do like seeing her pop up in american media here and there. you should check out the one solo release she had in korea, it's called i just wanna dance and the whole album is really solid, and is one of the better girls generation solo releases.

 

f(x) did the best Christmas song

 

so i guess i might as well post my eoty list now since its basically done. the new twice song blows and theres new exo and winner coming out soon but screw them for putting out music so late in the year, give me 2019 already, jk but kind of. anyways, as usual did a top 50 and stuck to singles as well as original songs released through competition shows.

1. red velvet - bad boy
2. suzy - holiday
3. apink - im so sick
4. exo-cbx - blooming days
5. momoland - bboom bboom
6. dia - woowoo
7. mix nine - like a star
8. yubin - lady
9. boa - one shot, two shot
10. loona - hi high
11. dreamcatcher - full moon
12. g-idle - hann (alone)
13. chungha - love u
14. coogie, superbee, & d.ark - saimsaim
15. produce 48 - i am
16. taeyeon - something new
17. mix nine - hush
18. iu - bbibbi
19. wjsn - dreams come true
20. nct u - boss
21. loona - favorite
22. pristin v - get it
23. sunmi - siren
24. produce 48 - we together
25. uni.t - i mean
26. chungha - roller coaster
27. gugudan - the boots
28. big bang - flower road
29. wjsn - save me, save you
30. newkidd02 - shooting star
31. gfriend - sunny summer
32. keem hyoeun, chaboom, & ek - pae
33. iz*one - la vie en rose
34. exo - tempo
35. got7 - lullaby
36. uni.t - no more
37. produce 48 - pick me
38. olivia hye (loona) - egoist
39. gugudan - not that type
40. twice - what is love?
41. wanna one - spring breeze
42. nct dream - we go up
43. got7 - look
44. unb - feeling
45. produce 48 - rumor
46. twice - dance the night away
47. april - oh! my mistake
48. the unit - question
49. winner - everyday
50. oh my girl - secret garden

 

2018 is the year I finally was able to more or less catch up with Kpop for the first time since 2014. Lots of great stuff released in the last few months. I think my favorite releases so far were from Produce 48, Laboum, IZ*ONE, Taeyeon, Exid, Pristin V and of course Loona.

I still have to hear all of Red Velvet and Twice's recent releases.

 

yeah I loved that album. Honestly think if she released something like that in English and it was handled properly it would do great

I've fallen off of listening to k-pop just because it's so much to keep up with, but I should check out some from your list

 

Is there like an independent K Pop scene? Away from this icky industry?

 

not really, there are smaller companies but theyre even shadier than the larger companies, with even worse deals for their idols and even some horror stories here and there of idols being mistreated, harrased, and used in ways that the larger companies tend to avoid to save face. not to say idols in large companies dont face any of these things but its much more sinister and pervasive in the smaller ones who tend to prey on vulnerable young kids who have been rejected by the larger companies and are desperate to find some way to live out their dreams.

there is an indie scene in korea but it is completely different from kpop groups and such, they mostly deal in really boring acoustic pop music you'd associate with like starbucks or something, very dull. there is a pretty vibrant rap community in korea though, which produces some of the triendiest stuff over there.

 

So even though there is a vibrant hip hop scene, this scene doesn’t produce r&b singers as an alternative to the singers brought forward by the K-Pop industry machine (I’m not trying to disparage the individual artists btw)? That’s wild to me. Very interesting.

 

hmm... there are a few examples here and there, though some of them have had to pay their dues by doing something within the industry machine, whether it be competition shows or associations with the larger companies that develop idol groups. a big factor in it is that for solo singers as an alternative to idols the korean public much prefers ballad singers due in part to the history of their music (the earliest forms of popular music in korea is called "gayo" which is pretty much exclusively ballads)

here are a few r&b acts who've achieved success, though the success of their songs tends to be wildly inconsistent for some reason. i guess it depends on their hype at that particular moment (to appeal to younger fans) and how well the songs respond to people who regularly enjoy ballads (to appeal to the general mainstream audience).

 

Really interesting. Thanks!

 

I was trying to write “I’m NOT trying to disparage the individual artists” lol just to be clear

 

Yeah the indie scene is a bit difficult to look for. I love Neon Bunny, Saebyeol, Cheeze, and Nieah.

The Koxx is an awesome dancey rock band that reminds me of Foals and early Muse, but outside of them, I haven't been able to get into another indie band.

This site is an useful resource for this: Korean Indie | Introducing Korean Artists

 

I don’t know if you would know but I feel like in Japan what I’m describing is more of a thing, yes?

 

yeah those are some good artists but im not even sure some of them still exist, i havent heard anything from saebyeol or neon bunny in a long time, and im not sure the koxx is still together anymore. the lead singer actually had a pretty big hit this year but it was mired in controversy over chart manipulation which made more people check out the song but also got him a lot of hate. song is bad though.

there's some good new indie acts here and there i guess, the one that first comes to mind is hyukoh.

not sure. japan definitely has a lot of spaces for different types of artists to come up in, but its such a huge and varied industry that i wouldnt really want to make any assumptions. that being said i remember reading an interview with boris who were saying that in japan if youre not a huge artist youre basically nobody, then again it was boris who are pretty extreme so idk. the japanese music industry works in such a bizarre way though and is so massive that its hard to really anaylyze, but i guess that's what allows so many different kinds of artists to make the music they want to make.

 

I think it is. I couldn't describe how as I've been out of touch with Japan music these last years though.

edit: Much better answer just above lol

 

I feel like at least in the 00s when I last really looked into it Japan had a pretty vibrant hip hop (including r&b) scene, as far as I’m aware it’s still that way to a certain extent, though of course they might not actually be doing big numbers

 

yeet