Author: Mac Turija

Taking the Spotlight: BTS Members’ Solo Music

Post author By Mac Turija
Post date 02/24/2022
No Comments on Taking the Spotlight: BTS Members’ Solo Music

I am sure that the ever-faithful ARMY has been counting the days since Permission to Dance and My Universe were released. So while we are patiently waiting for the next group comeback, here’s a look at the individual activities of the six members.

BTS Jin

Let’s start off with the oldest among the seven, the world-renowned “worldwide handsome,” Jin. Known for his falsetto voice nowadays, things didn’t start as rosy as it is with our visual, at least in the vocal department. As the member who would often have the fewest lines in songs recorded by the group, it used to be that Jin was dismissed as the member whose main contribution would only be limited to his looks and not much else in other facets like dance, song production, and vocals. Even his inclusion in the group really started off that way – with so many people having not a lot of confidence with his skills as a singer. After all, as early as his junior high school years, he was already scouted off the street by SM Entertainment, which he declined at that time. Years later, Big Hit Entertainment scouted him again while he was walking down the street, proof that talent scouts really saw star potential in him with just his looks.

However, try to watch even just one video of the group in BTS and you will realize that of all the members, it is Jin who is known for being the most industrious in terms of improving his skills, particularly in singing and dancing. Thus, through the years, you will most likely notice the improvement in his vocal skills. What used to be rather plain and emotionless singing from Jin noticeably became more secure and layered, complete with a wide emotional range you can hear from his performances. Thus, nine years after debuting, while Jin is obviously still primarily known for his undeniable good looks, he has also gotten recognition for his emotional rendition of his portions of BTS songs and even in his solo performances. You know when it’s time for a powerful Jin performance when you see a vein popping on the right side of his neck, which you’re almost 100% will get when he sings his solo track Epiphany from the compilation album Love Yourself: Answer.

Aside from Epiphany, Jin has also released two solo songs in BTS’ albums — Awake in 2016, which was part of their Wings EP, and Moon, which was part of their 2020 EP Map of the Soul: 7. Epiphany is so far his most successful solo song, while Moon is his highest-charting locally. Aside from collaborating with V in It’s definitely You for the Hwarang OST in 2016, Jin has also contributed to the OST of the 2021 drama Jirisan with the single Yours, which topped Billboard’s World Digital Song Charts in late November last year.

Have we mentioned Jin also treated ARMYs with trot song Super Tuna?

BTS Suga aka August D

Now it’s time to talk about the sleepyhead but perhaps the most successful record producer among the seven, Min Yoongi, aka Suga, aka Agust D. The number of his stage names can only be surpassed by the number of roles this multi-hyphenate portrays – rapper, songwriter, record producer, and just overall slayer of life. Just by looking at the seven members, you wouldn’t really point out Suga as the most successful of the bunch, definitely not with his seemingly introverted demeanor and his unexcitable ways. Considering he is a rapper and his fellow rapper in the group are the leader and chatterbox RM and the eternal ray of sunshine Hobi aka J-Hope, the first impression everybody has of Yoongi would be that of a reserved, if not internally intense rapper. But a quick browse through his profile and you’ll know he’s not some shy passive personality who’ll just let his members claim all the fame.

His personality considered, it may be true that Suga will let his members take more of the spotlight, as it’s not really his style to be overly engaging with fans. We can see how benevolent he is in BTS concerts when he lets the entire group perform Daechwita with him instead of keeping it a solo act. However, when Suga (better yet, Agust D) comes out of the shadows of Yoongi, we see a confident performer who spits fire when he raps and owns the stage. When you’re listening to an Agust D track and you’re keeping still without grooving to it, you’re dead inside, I tell you.

As expected of a bonafide artist, Suga writes, composes, arranges, mixes, and masters all of his releases. According to the Korea Music Copyright Association, he has been credited with over 100 registered songs, which most definitely has caused him to be promoted to a full member of the association as early as 2018. He has dropped two mixtapes, Agust D in 2016 and D-2 in 2020, which charter in numerous international charts, including Billboard. He has several songs that have charted both in Gaon and Billboard, with Daechwita peaking at #1 in the Billboard World Digital Songs Chart and Strange (featuring RM) peaking at #2. He scored a number 1 in Gaon’s Digital Chart in 2020 when he was featured in IU’s Eight, a song he also produced. Aside from IU, Suga has also produced songs for D-Town, Suran, Epik High (who also happen to be his idols growing up), Heize, and OMI.

BTS J-Hope

From one rapper to the next, we move from Suga to J-Hope. While Suga is known to be intense and quiet, J-Hope has all the energy and brightness cornered. You simply cannot hold your smiles when you see J-Hope. He’s just a bundle of positive and delightful energy, a source of cheer for both his members and his fans. Of course, J-Hope has his moments of seriousness and formality and his gleeful personality isn’t really on 24/7.

In fact, if you watch interviews of BTS members talking about each other, they are quick to point out that before debuting, Hoseok or Hobi wasn’t particularly overly cheerful and bright as he is now. Members claim that J-Hope used to be clueless as to dealing with stress, as he used to get easily overwhelmed with facing the challenges of his career as an idol trainee. In addition, during the early years of BTS, it seemed like the first ARMY had J-Hope as the weakest of the seven members as he was pretty much a lead and not the “main” in everything – Jimin is the better dancer, Suga is the better rapper, V is the most charismatic, Jin is the most handsome, RM has natural leadership skills, and everybody just loves Jungkook. Good thing, despite his threats of leaving the group as far as their pre-debut days, the rest of the group did not allow him to quit and talked him out of it. RM, knowing his worrier personality that obsesses on things until they become what he wants them to be assigned him the role of being the mood maker of the group. And with that role, it seems that J-Hope has developed a passion for making himself and the people around him always positive, smiling, and looking at the bright side of life.

The upbeat and energetic characteristics he has developed while in the group have bled into his music and style of performing. If you listen closely to his songs in his 2018 mixtape Hope World, you will notice that although his songs may be energetic and upbeat, they also present stories of his challenges as an idol and how he overcomes them. Thus, his music is quite relatable to a lot of people who choose to be positive and optimistic even when faced with difficulties. Talk about artistic genuineness!

His efforts have not gone unnoticed, as Hope World peaked at #1 in the Billboard World Albums Chart in 2018. Daydream, Airplane, and Chicken Noodle Soup have charted in the Billboard World Digital Singles Chart. Chicken Noodle Soup actually got into Billboard’s main Hot 100 Chart, making J-Hope the first and so far only BTS member to have a solo song that charted in the Billboard Hot 100. He has also recorded solo tracks that have been included in BTS EPs and has written a good number of songs for his group and even for 2 AM’s Jo Kwon as early as 2012.

BTS RM

Next to Suga, the next member who can be considered the most successful in their solo careers in music is RM. The group’s leader isn’t just a highly skilled rapper, but just like his two co-rappers, is also a prolific writer and music producer not just for himself and the group, but even for other artists. But then, who can question RM’s skills? Even as a tween, he already posted poems online and was interested in pursuing a career in literature which he decided not to pursue.

Fans would also know that RM is intellectually gifted and didn’t have difficulties getting high scores in the national university entrance exams, so he could have chosen any career path. His parents were even opposed to his choice of pursuing his interest in music, but he prevailed in the end and got his career started by becoming active in the Korean underground hip-hop scene and later auditioning for Big Hit Entertainment.

As the leader of BTS and with his handy proficiency in the English language, RM has taken the role of being the group’s spokesperson. It goes without saying that his intelligence and way with words have an impact on the songs he has written and produced for himself and his group. A certified bookworm, you would know which pieces of literature have had a tremendous impact on RM. A good number of songs that he has written for his group heavily reference books and literary characters.

As part of 2015’s The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 2 EP, the song Butterfly alludes to Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami, which is about a teenager who runs away from home and experiences various situations where he asks himself if what’s happening to him is true or just figments of his imagination. Another example is 2016’s Blood, Sweat & Tears from the album Wings, which has a ton of symbolism from Hermann Hesse’s Demian, which narrates the struggles of a man on whether to side with the good and the evil.

A year later, from the You’ll Never Walk Alone comes the title track Spring Day, which from the Omelas signage shown on the music video is an obvious reference to Ursula K. Le Guin’s story The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas, which is about this magical place that has to sacrifice an individual to keep its blissful state. And that’s just three of more than 170 songs the Korean Music Copyright Association has attributed to him. If those literary references don’t convince you of RM’s excellence in writing, then nothing will!

https://youtu.be/e0PCwdF7USI

Armed with skills and a brilliant head above his shoulders, it comes as no surprise that RM would succeed in his career as a member of BTS and a solo artist. He has produced two mixtapes for himself, RM in 2015 (which was a critical success but went unnoticed commercially as understandably, BTS was still a bit obscure that time) and Mono in 2018, which was both a critical and commercial success. Aside from being a top contributor in BTS’ releases as a songwriter and producer, he has also collaborated with other artists like Steve Aoki and labelmates TXT to produce songs for them. Not bad at all for an intellectually-gifted student who ditched his academic career for a shot at being a hip-hop artist.

BTS Jimin

Jimin is one of those people who you would think of as an idol with even just one glance. He just looks the part – he has a unique face, the way he moves confirm an affinity to dance, and his overall aura just reflects the charisma of someone who’s part of the entertainment industry. Alas, his life before BTS reflects this, as even before he became a trainee, Jimin was already studying different dance genres in dance academies in his native Busan. When he passed his auditions in Big Hit Entertainment in 2012, he transferred to Seoul and as they say, the rest is history.

Though Jimin is primarily considered as BTS’ main dancer, which is testament to how his skills in dance are more highly regarding than his skills as a vocalist, this hasn’t stopped Jimin from releasing solo singles every now and then. In 2016, he released Lie as part of the group’s studio album, Wings. This dark and dramatic song was praised for being in line with the album’s overall moody concept. The next year, his solo track Serendipity, which was included on the Love Yourself: Her EP of 2017 was described by Korean music critics as “unraveling the joy, conviction, and curiosity of love.” It took three years before Jimin contributed a new solo track to BTS’ discography with Filter, which was included in the group’s 2020 studio album, Map of the Soul: 7. People described his latest solo song as radio-friendly with a noticeable Latin pop influence. All three songs charted at the top 20 of Gaon’s Digital Charts and reached the top 3 in the Billboard US World Digital Songs Chart.

In 2018, both Serendipity and Lie have surpassed fifty million streams on Spotify. A year later, Serendipity’s full-length version from BTS’ Love Yourself: Answer (2018) compilation album also achieved the same feat. With this, Jimin joined a rather exclusive set of Korean artists — that so far only has Psy to have three solo songs with more than 50 million streams each. Both Serendipity and Lie have also been the only solos by a BTS member to be included in the Official Chart Company’s list of the top 20 most streamed BTS songs in the UK.

Jimin’s winning streak continued in 2019 as he became the first BTS member to have a solo music video achieve 100 million views on YouTube with the MV for Serendipity. He was also the only BTS member with multiple solo songs in the January 2020 update of the Official Chart’s top 40 list. Filter continued its predecessor’s record-breaking tradition as it set a record for the biggest streaming debut among all Korean songs on Spotify with over 2.2 million streams in its first 24 hours of release. It eventually went on to become the fastest Korean solo in the platform’s history to surpass 20–60 million streams. It is also the first and so far only solo BTS b-side track to receive a Song of The Year nomination at the Gaon Chart Music Awards.

Jimin has also released a solo song that hasn’t been included in a BTS release with Promise, which was made available for free on BTS’ SoundCloud page in 2019. SoundCloud then announced the song had surpassed the record set by Drake’s Duppy Freestyle for the biggest 24-hour debut in history. Aside from his solo tracks, Jimin has also co-written some songs for his group, including Christmas Day in 2014, which he performed with Jungkook, Friends in 2020 that was included in the Map of the Soul: 7 album, and Dis-ease, which was a track in the group’s Be album. Considering that it is accepted that he is the group’s most popular member (ranking 1st as the most popular idol in an annual survey conducted by Gallup Korea in 2018 and 2019), we expect nothing less from Jiminie.

BTS V

Arguably the most popular member of BTS (pending the objection of Jimin-stans, of course), V also happens to have the most diverse career trajectory in the group. He is the first BTS member to have appeared in a television drama via a supporting role in 2016’s Hwarang: the Poet Warrior Youth, a feat that up to now still hasn’t been replicated by other members and even by himself, as he hasn’t acted after Hwarang. V’s versatility (for all we know, his stage name also stands for versatile aside from the commonly accepted ‘victory’) has been noted from the start, even before his debut with BTS. After acing his audition, BigHit Entertainment named… or rather hid V’s identity, announcing him as a member of the company’s soon-to-debut group without revealing his identity. People did wonder why V’s identity wasn’t revealed until it was time for BTS to debut.

Since BigHit did not offer any explanation up to now as to why they made V a hidden member prior to the groups’ debut, people eventually presented their own theories. Perhaps the most popular conspiracy theory on this issue was that at that time, the company wanted to avoid bigger companies from pirating V from them after his successful audition. As V was (and still is) an all-around ace with a unique husky voice, passable dancing skills, and arresting good looks, BigHit didn’t want to alarm the bigger companies and give them the opportunity to strategize and lure this diamond in the rough. Thus, the company made an effort to hide their gem until it was time for BTS to actually debut. Smart, eh?

Since his debut, V has figured in a good number of solo projects. His first solo track Stigma, which was included in the group’s 2016 album Wings, went on to top the Billboard World Digital Songs Sales Chart. Two of his solo songs appeared in 2018 and 2020 in the group’s next two full-length albums, Love Yourself: Tear and Map of the Soul: 7, respectively. Singularity and Inner Child also topped the Billboard World Digital Songs Sales Chart during their release.

In 2019, V released Winter Bear—an MV he also directed and starred in.

Aside from his solo tracks, V has also contributed to a number of OSTs, his first being It’s Definitely You with Jin, included on the Hwarang OST, a show which he was also part of. He also recorded Sweet Night, which was part of the Itaewon Class OST in 2020, and Christmas Tree, which was part of the Our Beloved Summer OST months ago.

V has also flexed his songwriting muscle several times, contributing to the group’s catalog su0ch as Hold Me Tight in The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1 EP, the group’s breakout hit Run, which was part of the EP The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2, and Blue & Grey from the group’s Be album, to name a few.

As of the moment, V’s Christmas Tree has posted another record for landing at No. 1 on iTunes in over 80 countries including the eight largest music markets in the world: the United States, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Canada, Australia, and the Netherlands. His OST for the K-drama Our Beloved Summer is his second song to claim the top spot in those countries following his Itaewon Class contribution Sweet Night.

So, what does the future hold for BTS’ resident Good Boy? Only time can tell, but ARMY is assured that only good things are in store for V, with his boundless charms and talent.

BTS Jungkook

Last but not the least, it’s time to talk about the Golden Maknae, Jungkook! We know that all members of BTS are all-rounders, being skilled in singing, rapping, and dancing, but everybody would agree that Jungkook just takes everything to the next level as even those who don’t have him as their bias would have him as a bias wrecker. That’s because he’s just so good in all facets of being an idol.

He is the main vocalist of the group, with his voice fitting each BTS song to a tee and remaining stable even with the most intense choreographies, and we know BTS has a lot of that. He has also rapped on various occasions and his skills are commendable as well, especially for someone who has already established a reputation in the vocal department. His dancing skills, although not as flashy as Jimin’s, are more precise and very controlled, which makes him a perfect sight at the center. Finally, there’s his magnetic stage presence which for some reason compels everyone to look at his direction despite being on stage with six other people who, depending on who you’re asking, can perform better than him.

In terms of likeability and being the total package, Jungkook is among the top idols in the industry, which makes him a popular pick to be a guest in TV shows. With his music career, he has released three solo tracks in BTS releases — Begin in 2016’s Wings, Euphoria in 2018’s Love Yourself_ Answer, and My Time in 2020’s Map of the Soul: 7. All three songs have topped the Billboard World Digital Sales Charts upon their release and charted in Korea’s Gaon Singles Chart as well.

His latest solo effort is an OST for the group’s webtoon 7FATES: CHAKHO entitled Stay Alive, which, as expected, has been breaking music chart records left and right. It has been reported that the song has hit No. 1 on iTunes in 105 territories.

This track, produced by Suga, achieved that feat in only ten days. Obviously, it is expected to make a killing on the World Digital Song Sales Chart.

Kookie is also a skilled songwriter, having been credited with the writing of several songs in the group’s discography, including familiar hits such as No More Dream, Run, Your Eyes Tell, and Stay, among others.

With the sheer volume of solo activities the hardworking BTS members have, fans are assured of so much music to last them until the next group comeback, which hopefully will be really soon!

Featured image: 7FATES: CHAKHO with BTS (방탄소년단) | Official Story Film (Full ver.). Photo: 7FATES: CHAKHO by HYBE 7FATES: CHAKHO by HYBE/YouTube

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TikTok and the Dance Challenge Insanity in Today’s K-Pop

Post author By Mac Turija
Post date 02/24/2022
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I’m sure you’ve come across a ton of dance challenges the moment you open your TikTok account. In the K-pop world, the trend has been used to the point of exhaustion for some people. But then, it wasn’t exactly like this. Let’s look book at arguably a couple of the earliest uses of TikTok to amplify a song and one that has proven to still be effective despite the fatigue a lot of users have with the trend.

‘Any Song’ by Zico

We cannot talk about K-pop songs that have gone viral on TikTok without mentioning the song that started it all – Zico‘s Any Song. It’s not actually that this song was the first to have ever exploded on the platform, but the way the song utilized TikTok to bump up its popularity was at that time, quite new. Zico does not usually go to variety shows or promote his songs on music shows, so bringing his singles onto public consciousness solely depends on his reputation for releasing bops. Everybody knows that any Zico song would be a hit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiyxhaS_xwQ

However, the rapper did not leave anything to chance this time, as Any Song would be one of his last songs before his military enlistment last year. Thus, the marketing minds of KOZ Entertainment (which he is also CEO of) thought to use the power of this emerging social media platform to their advantage. So, they had a video of their CEO singing his song and doing the choreography with some of the biggest names in K-pop and posting them on his TikTok account.

TikTok-verse caught on the craze of the song’s choreography, which was usually done in pairs as Zico did with his first two guests, MAMAMOO‘s Hwasa and Chungha. The song was already a hit, with its release very well-timed as it only had to battle on the charts with one other major release – Red Velvet‘s Psycho. However, its virality was aided a million times with what then became the #AnySongChallenge.

@kozico0914
#AnysongChallenge #ZICO #지코 #화사 #아무노래 #Anysong #아무노래나틀어주세요 #KOZ

♬ 오리지널 사운드 – kozico0914 – kozico0914

The trend became THE thing that even celebrities who meet Zico by chance posted themselves dancing with him on their own social media accounts. For example, 2NE1‘s Dara, who only met Zico at their common hairdresser’s, also did the challenge and posted the video on her Instagram. Ultimately, the TikTok craze spread to other social media platforms, with dancing pairs doing the Any Song choreography and posting their videos on their personal accounts. Since then, the song itself has also been used in the background of other TikTok videos, even those that do not involve people doing the dance challenge.

‘Dumhdurum’ by Apink

If two songs that charted well were not enough to prove to the public that then-9-year-old girl group Apink had a successful change of image from teenybopper tweetums (from Mollayo to Five) to sophisticated elegance, the group released the third song in April 2020 to complete this trinity of “Apink is all grown-up” songs. And just like the group’s two previous releases, the song was successful in reminding the public that Apink has successfully transitioned to being more adult. Both the EP Look and the single Dumhdurum peaked at number 2 in the Gaon album and download charts, so it goes without saying the song was a hit.

The song itself was a huge departure from the usual Apink fare. For one, lead vocal Namjoo opened the song, a responsibility that maknae Hayoung usually carries. Then, you can hear main vocalist Eunji spit lines in almost-rap cadence in the chorus. And things only got better with the song’s music video and live stages. The unique choreography of the song on its first 30 seconds alone had people trying it out for themselves, because why not? That’s what social media is for, isn’t it? To show to the world your skills in copying K-pop choreography less than a day after the live stage and dance practice videos are released?

So, there’s this move when visual goddess Naeun sings her part in the first stanza, which has been referred to as “illusion choreography”. It is when Naeun combines her arms with Bomi, who until then was behind her. Their arms get tangled, then she’s free the moment she finishes her line. It got TikTokers so confused that they did the only thing they could do whenever they get confused with something – make a video out of it. Netizens shared clips demystifying the dance that reminded a lot of people of childhood games where kids tie their limbs in confusing knots.

@jazlynebaybee
THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO SENT ME A LINK TO THIS SONG! ALSO THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO KINDLY ASKED ME TO ADD IT☺️ performed by @official_apink2011 on 4/13

♬ Dumhdurum – Apink

Alas, with success, is a bit of controversy ever far behind? A couple of TikTokers posted a video of them doing the illusion choreography and not crediting the group or the choreography studio Freemind. When the Pink Pandas came out in full force in the video’s comments section, it was first turned off. Then, the post was taken down. After a couple of days, the video was re-posted with credits to Apink with a disclaimer that they didn’t know that it was a K-pop video.

‘Permission to Dance’ by BTS

Any K-pop list these days won’t be complete without mentioning THE group of the moment year century, BTS. When the group’s third all-English single Permission to Dance came out, TikTok was already rife with a gazillion dance challenges, but obviously, there would always be room for RM and the group. After all, the music video for the song featured seemingly ordinary people dancing and performing sign language moves to the song, so it was practically a TikTok challenge waiting to happen.

The HYBE marketing team wasted no time and collaborated with YouTube in issuing the #PermissiontoDanceChallenege. As with anything BTS-related, the trend spread outside the video-sharing website and reached other platforms, where ARMYs posted videos of them dancing to the song and posting them on TikTok. The challenge went full steam ahead with everyone from self-professed ARMYs to K-pop idols and even international celebrities joining the craze. Everyone from medical front liners to senior citizens and neighborhood ladies who miss their zumba group sessions and even the likes of Elton John rose up to the challenge.

Inevitably, the song’s profile rose (well, come to think of it, anything BTS-related is bound to explode) and it peaked at number 1 in Billboard’s Hot 100 Charts. Back home, Permission to Dance won the group eight music show trophies and the song peaked at #3 in the Gaon Singles Charts.

🎶When the nights get colder, And the rhythms got you falling behind 🎶 @BTS_twt #permissiontodance pic.twitter.com/3pDhkOiY35

— Elton John (@eltonofficial) August 6, 2021

Now, almost every song released by idol groups would most likely have a TikTok challenge to accompany its release. Nothing beats organic popularity, of course, but if TikTok virality works, then who are we to stop its use in promoting the latest releases of our favorites?

Featured Image: Screengrab from BTS – Permission to Dance Official Video

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The Genius of the Genius Game: Exploring the Brilliance of the Game Show

Post author By Mac Turija
Post date 02/22/2022
No Comments on The Genius of the Genius Game: Exploring the Brilliance of the Game Show

Has the Netflix hit Squid Game have you pining for more Korean shows where people play games for money? Don’t worry, there has been quite a number of Korean game shows that have been produced that had contestants compete for money, just like in Squid Game. The good thing is, the contestants in these shows don’t have to resort to violence and death.

The show we’re going to explore is The Genius, a game show that ran for four seasons, from 2013 to 2015. When it was aired, it became a huge fad in Korea.

The Genius was a reality game show with 13 contestants from different backgrounds. There are some celebrities known for their social skills, professionals known for their particular skills in their work, and finally some “regular folk” known for their exceptional intelligence. These participants compete to be on top in every episode, which provides them with immunity from elimination. On every episode, one contestant is eliminated after two rounds of games – a Main Match and a Death Match.

During the Main Match, all players who have survived the previous episode’s elimination will play to win and to be immune from elimination via a token of life. There have been some Main Matches where more than one contestant receives the token of life and therefore, is exempted from elimination. In Main Matches, the winner receives an additional token of life which they can give to a fellow contestant, sparing the recipient from elimination as well.

The contestant who performed the worst in the Main Match will face off with an opponent of his or her own choosing from among the contestants without a token of life in the Death Match. There have been episodes where there are joint losers, in which case the winner(s) of the Main Match will have to nominate the Death Match player from among the losers. Obviously, the Death Match loser is the eliminated contestant of that episode.

Today #GoingSeventeen feels like old Korean reality game show #TheGenius with all the mind gaming. If you want this kind of content you can watch The Genius. The mind gaming is serious like if it's still running Jeonghan will win there. pic.twitter.com/cIzDbxx0SM

— Anin⁺⁺ (@AninGalaxy) April 28, 2021

Aside from the token of life, the winner(s) of the Main Match also win a number of red garnets. A red garnet is equivalent to 1,000,000 won (approximately US$1,000). In the final episode, only the total garnets of the winning contestant are exchanged for his or her prize money. Throughout the show, garnets can be given to other contestants as a form of leverage when negotiating some aspects of the game. Some Main Matches also allow the use of garnets for clues or implements that may win a game for a contestant.

As the show’s title denotes, it would take a genius to win – but not just a genius in the conventional definition of being someone who has superior academic intelligence. As the start of the third season’s first episode showed, there are different kinds of intelligence, according to Harvard psychologist Howard Garner. To win this game show, it is believed that the contestant needs to employ the kind of intelligence that would benefit him or her the most, at least for a particular Main Match or Death Match. It can be interpersonal intelligence, verbal-linguistic intelligence, logical-mathematical intelligence, etc.

The key is for the contestant to realize what skills are important for a victory. Thus, having a high IQ may not be assurance of success in the show, as understanding and grasping concepts quickly also aren’t – other contestants may notice this skill and may consider you a threat, prompting them to ally with other contestants to plot your downfall. Some watches may require more of quick scheming, others may require superior logic, yet others may demand alliances and betrayal.

What are the games played in the Main and Death Matches?

Most, if not all games are made to look like contestants need to be astute in using logic and mathematical skills, but that might only get them so far. A good deal of one’s success in the games also involves strategy and negotiations and building cooperative relationships and alliances with co-players to ensure favorable outcomes. Outthinking and amazing strategic mindsets can also help a lot in giving a contestant a win.

https://twitter.com/colinstone/status/1462612587154132999

For example, in Season 2, Episode 11, TV personality and politician Yoo Junghyun faced comedian Noh Hongchul in the Death Match that required them to play Same Picture Hunt, a game that was also Season 1’s final Death Match. The game involves 16 picture tiles hidden behind 16 letter panels and arranged in a 4 by 4 board for the contestants’ reference. Tiles corresponding to the pictures are then dealt out on a conveyor belt with 20 spaces on it. The candidates then try to locate the picture on the board that matches the next tile on their belt. If correct, they move to the next tile, their conveyor belt not moving. But if they’re wrong, the belt is sent one space backward and the erring contestant loses their turn. This continues until either the winning candidate reaches the end of their conveyor belt or until the losing candidate loses all his or her tiles because they have fallen off the belt.

Seems to be your usual memory game, right? In Season 1, former idol and TV personality Lee Sangmin and former newscaster and TV personality Kim Kyungran played the game in a straight laced-fashion – a battle of memory. That did not happen in Season 2 as politician Jonghyun used his advantage of going second in the game to block out Hongchul. How?

For example, Hongchul wanted to know the picture behind the letter S. As Hongchul’s picture and the picture behind S do not match, it becomes Jonghyun’s turn. Jonghyun does not use his turn to discover what’s behind another letter and instead just repeats Honghul’s chosen letter, S, for his round. Thus, Hongchul is not given new information. Since he comes first in the game, he used up all his tiles before Jonghyun lost his. Smart, eh?

Another popular Death Match that was frequently used in Season 1 was Winning Streak, or simply put, rock paper scissors with politics. The point of the game is to make sure you have more allies with your fellow contestants compared to your opponent, so that you will have a longer winning streak, as you will play rock paper scissors with the contestants who aren’t in the elimination block. If the contestants you have allied with are few and far from each other, then the chances of you getting a long winning streak is slim.

A lot of games were like this, proving that while you can get ahead in the contest with just a thorough understanding of the game’s rules, being strategic on how to use this understanding to win the game is also important.

Who were the players in The Genius?

The Genius ran for four seasons and had popular personalities as contestants. In Season 1, aside from Sangmin and Kyungran who were mentioned earlier, other contestants include former member of the short-lived girl group Tinus Choi Jungmoon (who also happens to be a MENSA member, eliminated in Episode 5), controversial MC and DJ Kim Gura (as in the grouchy panelist in Radio Star and King of Masked Singer, eliminated in Episode 6), INFINITE leader Sunggyu (who was actually quite successful, reaching Episode 10 before getting eliminated), webtoon artist Kim Poong (eliminated in Episode 7), and weather reporter Park Eunji (eliminated in Episode 9). The season was won by former professional Starcraft player and TV personality Hong Jinho, who faced off with Kyungran in the final episode.

i've been saying this for years but the genius is simply just peak game show, i just keep coming back to it years after because i'm apparently not as smart as i think i am and every challenge is like a fresh challenge again for me to re-figure out 😂

— you fucking donut (@d_enasaur) August 30, 2021

Season 1 champ Jinho (who was unfortunately eliminated in Episode 7) and Sangmin returned in Season 2. Aside from Hongchul and Jonghyun mentioned earlier, they were joined by Jaekyung (leader of girl group RAINBOW, 2nd to be eliminated). Jiwon (as in the leader of 1st gen mega group Sechs Kies, who like Season 1’s Sunggyu was also eliminated in Episode 10), magician Lee Eungyeol (who was always in coattails and sunglasses throughout the show, 4th to be eliminated), and former Starcraft professional player Lim Yohwan (as in Jinho’s mortal adversary in the gaming world), who faced Sangmin in the finals.

Season 3 included academy math teacher and KAIST lecturer Nam Hweejung (who rose to fame after becoming the first contestant eliminated in Season 2 as many disliked his arrogance, though he fared better in Season 3, where he got eliminated in Episode 4), former singer and actor Kim Jeonghoon (as in Prince Lee Yul in Princess Hours, eliminated in Episode 6), and eventual winner, comedian Jang Dongmin, who beat then 19-year-old KAIST student Oh Hyunmin. Hyunmin, who then was the youngest contestant to ever appear in the show’s four seasons, went on to become a TV personality.

Season 4 is sort of the show’s “greatest hits” season, where the most popular players of all three seasons reunited.

What was the best season?

The answer to this question really depends on the viewer’s personal preference. I personally prefer Season 1 the most, since the contestants were pretty much left to their open devices on how to play the games and strategize, while the two other seasons already have references from previous seasons and thus, came more prepared.

Season 1 set the bar with the brilliance of the eventual winner, Jinho, whom showed amazing performances in the three Death Matches he participated in and won, as well as winning three Main Matches as well. How he played the games and avoided betrayal as much as possible was also remarkable. The season also showed fantastic runs from Sunggyu, who led on other players by pretending he was mostly clueless of the games to hide his brilliance in tactical thinking and Kyungran, who managed to always be in the right place and the right time and thus, avoiding Death Matches (she only played one Death Match – the last one before the final episode).

Jiwon on another strategy game show? Kinda makes me want to finish S2 and S4 of The Genius… I stopped watching when Hong Jinho lost lol

— Kirua (@KiruaElric) September 25, 2021

Season 2 was a bit of a damper in the sense that most of the season was spent on something that wasn’t really a part of the games – the immunity token. This was introduced only in Season 2 and was not used in the following seasons, which allowed the owner to skip a Death Match. A good amount of play time during Episodes 3 to 5 were spent on players who have clues on the whereabouts of the immunity token looking for it, so they weren’t able to focus on the Main Matches.

Moreover, thing went awry in Episode 6 when Jiwon took the ID of contestant Dohee (known for hacking Seoul National University’s website), which was an important element of playing the Main Match of that episode. As a result of looking for it until the last round, Dohee wasn’t able to properly participate in the game and was automatically sent to the Death Match. Things became more uncomfortable to watch when Sangmin gave him a fake immunity token, which he used, only to find out that he was duped for the second time in one episode. For a show that stated right from the start of Season 1 that “violence or theft is not allowed,” it was very disappointing how the producers did not step in and forced Jiwon to surrender Dohee’s ID.

Season 3 had a very different player dynamic from the past two seasons because of the backlash the show received with the Episode 6 mess and the alliance among celebrities and non-celebrities. Thus, the third season had more “normal” and “regular” people as contestants. The alliance between Hyunmin and Dongmin pretty much ruled the entire season, but what was great about it was the two did not make their relationship too obvious and still allowed the other players to display brilliant gameplay, especially Yeonseung who considered himself an outsider the entire season, yet managed to be part of the final 3. The games themselves were not as dynamic as the first two seasons, but we were allowed to see the vulnerabilities in all the players.

Sadly, The Genius is not streaming on any platform, although subtitled episodes have been available on YouTube and Dailymotion. International diehard fans have also made it something of a cult classic, with reddit and Discord forums still alive six years after the last episode was aired. It can be said that the show’s popularity can be narrowed down to three factors: The novel but interesting concept, the genius-level editing of the show’s episode (the fast forward and flashback scenes get people to anticipate what’s happening and why things turn out they way they eventually did), and finally, the relatability of the contestants who really made sure they played the games to the best of their abilities, which made the show all the more watchable. Hopefully, we can get tVN to release the show’s four seasons in a streaming platform for more audiences to experience it.

Featured Image: Screengrab from Tvn Youtube Channel “The Genius Game” trailer

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The Rise, Fall, and Weird Future of MOMOLAND

Post author By Mac Turija
Post date 02/07/2022
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Featured image: Momoland - Ready or Not showcase. 사진기자머길, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

If you started following K-pop in 2017, it’s inevitable that you know the song Bboom Bboom. But then, the next question you may likely ask is, whatever happened to Momoland, the group that shot all the way to the top of Korean music charts with that viral song? Sit back and read on as we trace the group’s humble beginnings, their sudden success, and their unfortunate and uncertain future.

A JYPE-Inspired Start

Patterned after the success of JYP Entertainment with SIXTEEN which produced the final lineup for the group TWICE, Finding Momoland premiered a year later, featuring 10 trainees from Duble Kick Entertainment (now known as MLD Entertainment) competing to debut in the K-pop girl group Momoland. The first episode premiered on July 22, 2016 and ended on September 16, 2016, revealing the group’s final composition on the 10th and final episode.

During the competition, the contestants displayed their talents in dancing and singing abilities while showing their charisma and personality in order to gain the favor of the judges and the public, survive the search. As mentioned earlier, the lineup of the group was announced in the finale of the show, with the group set to debut under Duble Kick Company, which was represented in the show by producers Rhymer, Duble Sidekick, and Shinsadong Tiger.

So, among the trainees Hyebin, Yeonwoo, Jane, Nayun, JooE, Ahin, Nancy, Heejae, Daisy, and Shinsia, the latter three were eliminated in the final episode, with the seven remaining contestants composing the final lineup of Momoland. From the start, the group already encountered initial problems as Finding Momoland’s Final Mission could not collect 3,000 spectators, which in turn resulted in the delay of the group’s official debut. Suffice to say, while the show had decided on the final lineup for the group, they were not able to amass the needed fan count and finances to support the group’s debut. This included physical copies of their CD, costumes, live stage venues, and music videos.

Thus, while still amassing the funds needed for the group to properly debut, the entertainment agency booked the new group in free, goodwill appearances to raise their public profile. For example, on October 26, 2016, the group was appointed as ambassadors for the international relief development NGO Plan Korea. While these appearances were happening, the company held crowdfunding events to cover the cost of producing the physical format of the group’s debut release. The company eventually succeeded in raising funds for the group, accumulating more than 10 million won.

A Rocky but Promising Start for Momoland

Finally, the group’s debut showcase was held on November 9. The next day, their debut extended play Welcome to Momoland was released, for which the group made their debut performance of their single Jjan! Koong! Kwang! through music television program M Countdown. As part of their Plan Korea ambassadorship, the group traveled to Phuc Luong Village in Thai Nguyen, Vietnam from December 12 to 16 to encourage Happy Mov students to participate in constructing a kindergarten in the region. On December 27, the six members of the group except for Yeonwoo, who had lower back pain, attended SBS Gayo Daejeon.

The accompanying music video for the group’s debut song Jjan! Koong! Kwang! was uploaded onto 1theK’s YouTube channel at the same time as the release of the single. Bae Yoon Jung of Yama & Hot Chicks—more known as the terror dance mentor in the Produce 101 series who was also a judge in Finding Momoland—served as the choreographer of the video. A dance version of the music video was released on November 14 and a dance practice video was uploaded two days later.

The group’s first EP, Welcome to Momoland peaked debuted and peaked at number 28 on the Gaon Album Chart for the week of November 12. For the month of November of 2016, it was the fifty-third best-selling album, selling 1,915 physical copies.

New Momoland Members and Breakout Recognition

On March 28, 2017, the company decided to add Daisy and Taeha to the group. If the name Daisy sounds familiar, that’s because it is the same Daisy who was eliminated in the finale of Finding Momoland. Meanwhile, Taeha, fresh from her stint in Produce 101 as a trainee of Starship (Sistar, K.Will, and I.O.I‘s Yeongjung who was Taeha‘s co-trainee in PD101 and later joined Cosmic Girls), left her former agency and joined Dublekick and eventually, Momoland. In April 2017, the group released Wonderful Love, which was their first single album. This was followed four months later with Freeze!, their second EP, which featured the single of the same title. While Wonderful Love failed to chart, Freeze! peaked at number 17 in the Gaon album charts after its release, eventually selling more than 2,200 copies.

The group started 2018 on a great note, pun intended as they released their third EP entitled Great!, along with the single Bboom Bboom. The EP at the start was embroiled in a bit of controversy as a Russian girl group by the name of Serebro claimed that Bboom Bboom is plagiarized from their song Mi Mi Mi. Shinsadong Tiger, the composer of the song, while pointing out that the song does have similarities with the Russian girl group’s single, “the bass line (is) commonly heard in retro house or electro swing genres, as well as the 4-stanza chord.”

After weathering the first storm of controversy, Momoland was in for a surprise as the song became a viral sensation. The catchy and easy-to-follow choreography for the song that the group used for the video and their live performances prompted online content creators not just from Korea but from other countries such as Thailand and the Philippines to create dance covers that also became viral. Alas, individual members also started getting attention, particularly Yeonwoo and Nancy for their visuals, and JooE for her animated persona that bagged her an ad deal with Tropicana Sparkling beverages. All these factors aligned to propel the group and the song to new levels of popularity.

Thus, the song slowly but surely climbed to the top of the charts, from its debut at number forty-eight on the week of January 20, 2018, to number eighteen on its second week, until it peaked in March 2018 at number two. While it was only their albums that used to enter the charts, Bboom Bboom was their first song to enter the digital charts. It was eventually certified platinum by Gaon Chart in August 2018, with more than 100 million streams. It was the first by a female artist to be certified platinum and only the second to receive this certification, the first being Love Scenario by iKon, which happens to also have been released in the same month in 2018.

The success of the single also prompted the group to try promoting overseas, with promotional events held in Japan from February to March. The group also signed with King Records for the release of the Japanese version of the song on June 13. As for the music video, the girls were featured in what appears to be a home shopping TV show. As of press time, it has amassed more than 537 million views on YouTube alone, while the dance practice video has been viewed more than 102 million times.

Bboom Bboom also gave the group its first music show wins, with a record number of 12 consecutive weekly nominations and two wins in Inkigayo. The song also won twice in M Countdown (which was the first win for the group on January 11 and the second win happening more than a month later on February 22) and once in Show Champion, The Show, and Music Bank.

So then, the question was, how can the group and the company capitalize on their sudden rise to stardom? After five months, with Bboom Bboom still charting quite high, the group released their fourth EP Fun to the World, with the single Baam! The song was not as commercially successful as its predecessor, although music critics thought it was actually an improvement from Bboom Bboom. The EP peaked at #6, while the single went as high as #13. Interestingly, as its chances may have been cannibalized by Bboom Bboom, Baam! did not give the group any music show wins.

As for the song’s music video, it features the group in backdrops depicting the Philippines, Korea, Vietnam, France, Mexico, Egypt, and the United States, as a sort of tribute to the areas where the group made a killing with Bboom Bboom. As of this article’s writing, the MV has accumulated more than 225 million views.

The Start of Momoland’s Decline?

On March 20, 2019, Momoland released their fifth EP Show Me, which featured the lead single I’m So Hot. The cracks in the group started showing as I’m So Hot did not include Daisy and Taeha. The song only managed to peak at #81 in the Gaon Digital Charts, though it managed three music show wins.

More causes for concern among the Merries (Momoland’s fandom) started appearing as the group’s first Japanese studio album, Chiri Chiri, also did not have Yeonwoo, aside from Daisy and Taeha. In a sudden move, the group and MLD Entertainment (which has changed its name from Duble Kick, thanks to the group’s success), signed a co-management agreement with the Philippine media company ABS-CBN Corporation. The group made several appearances in Philippine TV shows, although the three were still nowhere to be found.

Alas, the event Merries were most afraid of happened the following month, as MLD Entertainment announced the departure of Yeonwoo and Taeha from the group, although they also mentioned that they were still in negotiations with Daisy about her future in the group. The year ended with the group releasing Thumbs Up, their second single album. Daisy was not part of the single, its MV, and promotions. Although the album peaked at #4 in the albums chart, the single only managed to chart at #137. The group still won in M Countdown on January 9, 2020.

Momoland’s Uncertain Future

While the group was still at the thick of promoting Thumbs Up, Daisy issued statements claiming that Finding Momoland was rigged. In an interview by KBS with Daisy and her mother, the member on hiatus said that she knew she was going to be joining the group even if she was eliminated in the show’s finale, as the company’s executives met her the next day and told her that she will be be included in the group after promotions for the debut EP end. Also, she claims that she was charged by MLD Entertainment to appear in the show and the company has asked for payment of 70 million won for her inclusion in Finding Momoland.

MLD Entertainment responded to Daisy’s allegations by releasing a statement that refuted all her claims. The agency further said that they will be taking legal action against Daisy. After five months, the agency announced that Daisy had left the group, as if we don’t know that yet.

On June 11, 2020, the group released Starry Night, a non-promoted “special” EP” which didn’t really fare well, as expected as it wasn’t promoted. On the same month, the company announced that announced that the group have signed a contract with ICM Partners with plans to enter into the American market. Since a lot of plans have been shelved because of the pandemic, any activities stemming from that contract have yet to materialize. Moreover, the group’s management contract with the Philippine media company ABS-CBN has remained in limbo because aside from the pandemic, the media company also lost its franchise to operate its main business, a television station. Thus, earlier plans of the group releasing an English-Filipino language EP via the company’s record label Star Records, as well as Nancy headlining a drama are all in limbo.

On November 17, 2020, the group released the third single album Ready or Not, containing the lead single of the same name. The song has THE Psy as a lyricist. The song had a lackluster performance on the Korean charts, as the EP peaked at #25 and the song only reached number 81.

It is unfortunate that Momoland was not able to capitalize on the phenomenal performance of Bboom Bboom. The unstable member lineup may also have turned off a good number of fans, which can only be attributed to the company not taking proper care of their talents. With more or less zero activities this 2021 for both the group and all members, we can only wish 2022 will be the year the public finds its way back into loving Momoland once again.

Featured image: Momoland Ready or Not showcase. 사진기자머길, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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Knowing IU’s First #1’s: The Five Songs That Capture Her Rise

Post author By Mac Turija
Post date 02/01/2022
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Korean singer-songwriter IU has released, as of October 19, another single that has been anticipated to break records anew. And she did that without breaking a sweat as the new song, Strawberry Moon, has reached the top position in MelOn and Bugs (both daily and real-time charts), Genie (real-time and #5 in daily charts), and FLO (which only has real-time charts) HOURS after its release. Yes, it didn’t even take a day for her to be numero uno!

In celebration of her nth #1 song (seriously we’ve lost count, although a quick Wiki search may give us 17 Gaon #1s), let’s check out the first five songs that got Ms. Lee Jieun on the top of Korean music charts.

아이유 <조각집>
Special Teaser

🗂 2021.12.29 18:00 (KST)#아이유 #IU #조각집 #Pieces pic.twitter.com/WbhdaeUx4x

— 아이유(IU) 공식 트위터 (@_IUofficial) December 23, 2021

“Nagging” ft. Lim Seulong (2010)

IU wasn’t exactly a breakout hit when she started her career in 2008. She was 15 years old then, and debuting as a solo artist at 15 was not something that was common. Even now, idols who debut early are usually part of groups and reap the benefits of having a broader fanbase before launching their solo careers. Even K-pop legend BoA had to start her career in Japan first before getting recognition in her own country. IU released some singles that didn’t really accelerate her rise to stardom, before finally making it big two years later.

And how! Her first song that went to #1 on the Gaon Chart was actually a duet featuring 2AM‘s Seulong. It might be argued that the song became a hit because of Seulong, so IU can’t really take full credit for it. However, for a female soloist to have a #1 song after only two years on the business is already quite an achievement. The non-album single went on to sell more than 3 million copies, so we can safely say that Nagging was the start of her career’s rise.

Unfortunately, there is actually no official music video released for Nagging, although Seulong and IU have performed it live in music shows, which means the couple did promote the song when it came out. This is quite interesting because IU is not a JYP talent and yet, JYP Entertainment allowed Seulong to participate in the song’s promotion.

Come to think of it, this may be JYP’s (as in the company’s former CEO Park Jinyoung) way of showing remorse. After all, IU did audition for the company and got rejected. JYP’s former CEO was later vocal about his regret as he thinks of IU as the one talent who got away. Nagging brought IU and Seulong their first music show win in Inkigayo, where she won the trophy on the show’s June 27, 2010 episode. They also won two other trophies in Music Bank. The Nagging wins were also among Seulong’s first music show wins.

Aside from JYPE rejecting her, IU was also rejected nineteen other times by other entertainment agencies before LOEN Entertainment (now EDAM Entertainment) signed her.

“Good Day” (2010)

If there were still doubts that IU was going to make it big even after her first number 1, they were eventually silenced six months after Nagging’s release as she dropped her third EP Real with the iconic single Good Day. Yes, it’s that song that people attempt to sing on everything from variety shows to audition survival programs because of that oxygen-depleting IU rendition of the line “I’m in my dream” with three key changes.

This song cemented IU’s place in K-pop as she amassed new fans with the song. Moreover, she also recorded a Japanese version of the song, which reached a top 5 position in the country’s Oricon Charts. In her home country, she managed to outsell her first #1 song, as Good Day sold a total of close to 4.5 million copies.

The music video for this song is arguably one of IU’s most known. It starts off with IU visiting a general shop with her pet, a giant parrot. We discover that she actually has a huge crush on the shopkeeper and is thinking of ways to get his attention. But then, her giant parrot began saying, “saranghaeyo oppa.”

And that’s just the first 30 seconds of the video.

So we see IU through the rest of the video overanalyzing things, with singer-pianist Jung Jaehyung making random appearances in her house. The dance sequences are cute, of course, and if you notice, her dancers on this video are the dancers she features on her music videos and concerts up to now. Talk about loyalty!

Anyway, the video ends with the shopkeeper going to IU’s house, with IU expecting him to confess as well. Alas, he only returns the parrot who outed her. But no, IU goes after her oppa and hugged him from behind, but shopkeeper oppa turned around and only patted her head.

If that’s not a rejection move, then nothing is.

So, IU sings the last lines of her song while looking out on her window and catching falling snow. On the other hand, shopkeeper oppa takes one final look back at IU’s direction before walking back to his store. Will shopkeeper oppa notice her in the future? Only time will tell.

On the music video for the Japanese version, the general store is replaced by a violin workshop, with shopkeeper oppa replaced by a violinmaker. Japanese violinmaker oppa doesn’t really mind IU Japanese version’s obvious flirtations as he goes about his day polishing wood and doing the usual things violinmakers do. He also has a pet parrot, while IU has a smaller green parrot who doesn’t pre-empt her confession. Instead, the green parrot gave her a set of keys that may open the violinmaker’s bedroom. Creepy, right? Well, considering shopkeeper oppa just barged in IU Korean version’s room to return her talkative parrot, getting access to the room of someone you like may not be a huge issue in IU’s music videos.

Anyway, IU Japanese version sneaks into the room that looks more like a greenhouse but contains violinmaker oppa’s personal effects, including what looks like a diary or notebook, which IU reads with creepy gusto. Alas, violinmaker oppa catches her, takes away the notebook from her, and… pats her head. As in the same thing shopkeeper oppa did upon receiving IU Korean version’s back hug.

I guess both Japanese and Korean oppas didn’t see the nation’s little sister as a woman yet, even with three key changes and a line that was sung for 10 seconds in one breath.

“Only I Didn’t Know” (2011)

Taken from Real+, which was the reissue of IU’s 2010 Real EP. This 2011 song became the third song of IU to take the top spot in the Gaon charts. The single reached more than 2.9 million sales, while Real+, the EP, where the song came from, reached close to 24,000 copies in sales. The Japanese version of this song is so far, IU’s only #1 in the Billboard Japanese charts.

The music video that accompanied the song’s release features IU wearing a black dress and singing the song while splayed on the floor, crying.

“You And I” (2011)

The title track from IU’s second full-length album Last Fantasy, “You and I” was quite historic as it reached No.1 not only on Korea’s Gaon, but was also her first song that charted in the US Billboard World Digital Songs charts, where it peaked at number 3. You and I is also a very important song in IU’s career because up to now, it still is her highest-selling single in Korea with over 6 million units sold.

As for the music video of the song, two versions were released – the main version and a performance video, both getting more than 30 million views. The main music video has a quirky storyline with matching locations, including what seems to be a clock tower and a train. It’s in the clock tower where IU seems to live, where ironically, she also looks like a watchmaker while taking care of a boy who looks like he’s in a coma. Well, she has tried everything from drawing something on his wrist to tickling him with a feather she got from her pet goose (Oh, IU and her penchant for weird pets – remember her talkative bird who outed her with her oppa in Good Day?)

In the middle of the video, IU finishes making what looks like a cog which she uses inside a booth that looks like a TARDIS in Doctor Who. The moment she gets the machine in the booth to work, it looked like she time travels until Mr. Comatose wakes up. However, Mr. Comatose wakes up, approaches the time machine booth, sees IU, and cries. Beats me what that was about.

Cut to the last scene where apparently, IU is this saleslady in a jewelry or gift shop where she sells something to Mr. Comatose who doesn’t recognize her until he was halfway out the door. It seemed like he remembered something, looked at IU, and flashed a smile, while our girl gave an “I thought you’d never remember me” look back. End of video.

“Every End of the Day” (2012)

This song from Spring of a Twenty Year Old, IU’s 3rd single album (and her 2nd Korean one) sold 3.2 million copies getting to No.1 on Gaon in May 2012. The song also topped the Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100 a week after it was released internationally. The music video for the song is actually a featurette that included a short interview and behind-the-scenes footage of the video shoot, where IU is in some foreign country buying fruit, getting drenched in the rain, playing her guitar beside a canal, and riding a ferry while remembering some guy.

Stay tuned for more IU #1s!

Featured Image: IU Official Twitter

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Where are the SIXTEEN Contestants Now?

Post author By Mac Turija
Post date 02/01/2022
No Comments on Where are the SIXTEEN Contestants Now?

In 2015, JYP Entertainment got into the craze of shows where idol hopefuls compete for spots in a group that will be debut after the program’s run. JYP, in collaboration with Mnet, produced SIXTEEN, where sixteen trainees had to compete against one another to secure a spot in a girl group, which before the show ended, was revealed to be named Twice. The sixteen contestants were assessed with the usual prerequisite skills of singing and dancing, as well as their personalities and their charisma. For ten episodes, the sixteen trainees duked it out on several challenges, with JYP Entertainment’s A&R team and Park Jinyoung deciding who would compose the “major” and “minor” groups.

This is where the initial controversy with the show started, as the contestants who were classified in the “Major” group were given better treatment, including living in a better dorm (at least for a week), having mentoring sessions with then-current JYP idols, having a van to take them to the show’s shooting locations, and finally having prime training time from 9 in the morning to 9 in the evening. On the other hand, contestants appointed to the “Minors” group had less than stellar living conditions and only had access to the company’s practice room from 9 in the evening until 9 the following day. If that’s not emotionally abusive and sheer cruelty to the contestants who only want to realize their dreams of stardom, then nothing is!

If that’s not enough, controversy pursued the show until its final episode when two contestants who have been eliminated were eventually included in the final line-up for Twice. Momo, who was eliminated in the 4th mission and Tzuyu, a contestant who made it to the final episode but was not chosen to be part of the debuting group but was brought back because of fan opinion, somehow found their way to the final group.

JYP selects final members for new girl group Twicehttp://t.co/D0jBxMJWsP #Twice #JYP #SIXTEEN #Mnet #Kpop pic.twitter.com/Gfehpcj2vV

— KpopHerald (@Kpop_Herald) July 8, 2015

Moreover, it was weird how some contestants like Natty and Somi, who were designated to the Minors group only twice (pun not intended) throughout the show’s ten episodes, not only ended up getting eliminated in the final episode, but were also not considered at all for the final line-up. The reason: JYP said they were a bit too young to debut. That’s confusing, considering Hyuna debuted with Wonder Girls at age 13 and Suzy debuted with Miss A at 15, and Tzuyu was only a year and nine months older than Somi.

Anyway, those dissenting opinions regarding already-eliminated contestants getting a second chance at the expense of better-but-“underage” contestants were only countered by a statement the company released after the show’s finale: “We apologize for failing to clearly communicate the selection process, and we’d like to explain it in detail once again. The condition to be chosen as a final member was the votes made by the audience and viewers. However, leading up to the final episode, we thought that the seven members selected officially may leave something to be desired. So, in addition to the seven, we decided that one member would be added solely from the viewer’s opinions (Tzuyu) and one from solely Park Jin-young’s opinion (Momo).”

A bit fishy, yes?

Tzuyu is one of the 9 ‘Muggleking’ idols known to the public (non KPOP fans)

“Receiving attention for her dazzling appearance since Sixteen”

“if you are led by Tzuyu’s good looks regardless of gender, then you will be in love with all TWICE member’s charm in no time#트와이스 pic.twitter.com/1Fnfpun55e

— SK (@SubjectKpop) January 21, 2018

After the program, the nine “winners” of the contest – Jeongyeon, Nayeon, Mina, Sana, Dahyun, Jihyo, and Chaeyeong, plus the two added on the final episode, namely Momo and Tzuyu, debuted as Twice and released their first single “Like Ooh-Ahh” on October 20, 2015. Immediately after the show, Jiwon, who was eliminated in the showcase episode, decided to leave JYP Entertainment.

Also read: The fun relationship of JYP and Twice’s Dahyun

After Jiwon, Minyoung also left JYPE. In an interview with news site OSEN, she said, “I will be pursuing my dreams somewhere else. I haven’t given up. While I was at (JYPE), I wanted to communicate with the fans, but I was frustrated because I couldn’t. I wanted to say that I got all of the gifts you sent me…I am really thankful; they were a great source of strength for me.”

Despite losing in the program, Somi was next to be in the spotlight as she competed in the Mnet reality girl group survival series Produce 101 in 2016. She eventually finished in first place and debuted with the show’s project girl group I.O.I. While Somi was at the tail-end of promoting with I.O.I, her name, along with the remaining JYPE trainees – sisters Chaeyeon and Chaeryeong, as well as Natty and Eunsuh began surfacing as probable members of a new group JYPE will debut in 2019. However, it wasn’t meant to be as Chaeyoung, Natty, and Eunsuh decided to leave the company in 2017.

On August 20, 2018, JYPE also announced that Somi has terminated her contract and left the company. A month later, she signed an exclusive contract with YG Entertainment’s sub-label The Black Label, where she eventually debuted as a solo artist in 2019 with her title track Birthday. Somi has since then done two comebacks with her latest, Dumb Dumb, being the most successful, and news is rife that her full-length studio album XOXO will be out very soon!

But before that, while Somi was winding up her promotions with I.O.I, Eunsuh, Natty and Jiwon competed on another Mnet reality girl group survival show Idol School. It was only Jiwon who secured a spot on the show’s girl group, Fromis 9, as she finished 6th in the show.

✅ KPOP STAR (2013)
✅ Sixteen of (2015)
✅ Produce 48 (2018)
🆕️ Street Women Fighter (2021)

This is Chaeyeon’s 4th survival show and I know she’ll do great. Wishing the best of luck to our pride ❣ pic.twitter.com/NLsINLLQkk

— 밍.__.쥬 (@minjoossama) July 12, 2021

Chaeyeon, the first contestant eliminated in SIXTEEN, has since then followed Somi’s footsteps as she competed in Mnet’s Produce 48, the third staging of the Produce 101 program, where she represented WM Entertainment (home to B1A4 and Oh My Girl). She finished in 12th place, securing her a spot in the show’s project girl group, Iz*One, which debuted in October 2018. There’s still no news about the continuation of her singing career, whether she will promote herself as a girl group member or a soloist. She is currently a contestant in Street Woman Fighter, another reality competition, this time featuring all-girl dance crews. Fans are a bit concerned about the treatment of her by other dancers on the show, who dismiss her as an idol rather than a serious dancer. Others speculate that she is just undergoing the usual Mnet character development of a contestant who has many disadvantages at the start of the competition but leaves her underdog image behind towards the end of the show.

In 2020, Natty finally debuted as a solo artist after signing with Swing Entertainment with the single Nineteen. She has since then released another single in November entitled Teddy Bear. She has yet to resume promotions this year.

After quitting JYP Entertainment, Minyoung seemed to have given up on being an idol. She has been working at an international school and has since gotten back in the spotlight earlier this year with the launching of her YouTube Channel, where she has posted her own music compositions, song covers, and vlogs, including, of course, some insider info of her time in Sixteen.

After joining Idol School, we haven’t heard a lot about Eunsuh. She got embroiled in a social media tiff after a Facebook account with her name left a shady remark on Somi’s video where she covered Sunmi’s Gashina. She claims that the account is actually a shared account among her friends who don’t have a personal account (most probably because they’re not of legal age yet) and that particular comment was left by one of those sharing the account. She vowed to leave that account and not use Facebook and Facebook Messenger anymore. As for her other social media account, her last Instagram post was in September last year.

Finally, loyalty and persistence have paid off for Chaeyeon’s sister, Chaeryeong, who is the only JYP trainee who didn’t get a spot in Twice but chose to remain with JYPE. She finally debuted as a member of the company’s new girl group, Itzy, in February 2019.

So, we can conclude that the entire SIXTEEN alumnae body has somehow been successful. Twice even released a comeback album, Formula of Love: O+T=<3, in 2021. Now, only if we can have more updates regarding Eunsuh, a new Natty comeback, a successful Somi album, and for Twice to have better songs, then the OG fans can be happier.

Featured Image: Photo: Twice/Twitter

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Squid Game and Korean-Culture Hot Items Through the Years

Post author By Mac Turija
Post date 12/28/2021
No Comments on Squid Game and Korean-Culture Hot Items Through the Years

South Korean Netflix series “Squid Game” has been the hottest thing on TV (rather, OTT [over-the-top] media services, geez this thing about Netflix and streaming platforms has everybody confused on what to call their content) these days. Imagine, a drama that is not in English has been topping Netflix’s most-watched show list. Even the streaming platform’s earlier breakout hits that are not in the English language – Spanish programs “Money Heist” and “Elite,” the French Japanese manga-inspired “Lupin,” and the German Yiddish-language “Unorthodox” cannot claim that distinction!

Just when we thought that South Korean soft power is showing signs of plateauing, our Hallyu content creatives somehow manage to churn out something that has the entire world lapping anything they produce. Like every year, most of us Korean culture otakus who speculate that maybe this year will be the year that the Korean Wave will recede and start to decline in popularity, it is not the case at all. The thing is, I have been anticipating this since 2014, when so many scandals have hit a lot of our well-loved Korean celebrities. Not to mention that the Sewol Ferry tragedy felt like it did a huge number of the collective South Korean national psyche. But year after year, I have been proven wrong.

2015 had K-pop reawakening with a vengeance with JYP and YG debuting Twice, iKon, and Day 6, SM Entertainment finally debuted Girl’s Generation’s Taeyeon as a solo artist, and who can forget the iconic MAMA performance of 2NE1 in December of that year?

In 2016, it was Korean cinema’s turn to keep Hallyu on top with Train to Busan, A Violent Prosecutor, and The Age of Shadows establishing astronomic box office figures and Park Chanwook’s The Handmaiden and Na Hingjin’s The Wailing killing it in international film festivals and giving Korean movies more global recognition.

The age of cinema and drama

And before 2016 ended, ageless Gong Yoo, who already had a banner year starring in two of the three highest-grossing films of the year (#1 Train to Busan and #3 The Age of Shadows) and also starring in A Man and a Woman with Cannes darling Jeon Doeyeon, gifted the world with Goblin – The Lonely Shining God (Guardian: The Lonely and Great God in other countries), a TV show that would further Korean TV already-stellar year. The year was dotted with worldwide hits such as Descendants of the Sun, Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bokjoo, and Love in the Moonlight.

Since 2016 was also a banner year for TV dramas, it was also a great year for its OSTs. OST songs really dominated the Korean charts for most of the year, not just in their separate OST category, but in the main top single streaming and downloading charts as well.

The Song couple-led Descendants of the Sun was everywhere with not one, not two, not three, but FIVE songs charting high when they were released – Gummy’s “You are My Everything“, Davichi’s “This Love“, Chen and Punch’s “Everytime”, K.Will’s “Talk Love“, and Yoo Mirae’s “Always“.

Who could forget Jung Seung Kwan’s addictive ballad “If It is You“, included in the OST of Another Miss Oh which has been used countless times in singing reality competitions? We’re not even counting Goblin’s three impressive songs that were released early the following year – Soyou’s “I Miss You“, Chanyeol’s “Stay With Me“, and of course, Ailee’s modern-day classic “I Will Go to You Like the First Snow“.

One word: BTS

And what can we say about 2017 than to keep it in three letters – BTS. Out of nowhere, the group that has been considered as a nugu group with flash in the pan success internationally proved that they can also sell domestically when they released a repackaged version of Wings entitled You’ll Never Walk Alone that had songs “Spring Day” and “Not Today“. This was followed up by the group getting international exposure for the rest of the year and not looking back since then.

But we simply can’t rely on BTS to raise the flag for Korean pop culture every year, yes? Doing that will only allow people to believe that Korean soft power is a fluke since it only relies on a single entity to keep it afloat.

Once the popularity of our Bangtan Boys will wane (which of course we will never accept but, just for academic discourse, say it might be a possibility), international audiences will quickly revert to asking, “Why are there Chinese shows on TV?” when we watch K-dramas or “Is that Japanese?” when we listen to K-pop.

2018 proved that Korean pop culture is right back at the center of the world’s stage as 2NE1’s CL and EXO performed in the closing ceremonies of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. On the TV front, the year cemented the arrival of two actor-dols in Astro’s Cha Eunwoo (My ID is Gangnam Beauty) and EXO’s D.O (100 Days My Prince) and yet another oppa who has shown promise in the past but broke out in 2018 with What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim? – Park Seojun.

In 2019, the world renewed its appreciation for Korean movies when Bong Joonho’s Parasite took every award there was, including American ones, which has had a history of being reluctant when it comes to recognizing films that are not in the English language.

It started with 2018’s Burning, directed by Lee Changdong and starring premiere character actor Yoo Ahin who has also proven his abilities as a lead star, and Steven Yeun, who was at that time most known as Glenn in the US TV show The Walking Dead. Burning was heaped with praises by film critics and award-winning bodies, managing to win the FIPRESCI Prize and Vulcan Award in the 2018 edition of the Cannes Film Festival. However, when it came to the biggest event, the Academy Awards aka the Oscars, the movie only managed to crack the final nine-film shortlist, but was eventually dropped off the final five nominees.

Thus, that Parasite didn’t just win the following year in the Cannes’ Palm d’Or and the Oscars’ Best Foreign Language Film and Best Picture gave the Korean film industry another full year to take the world’s center stage. The movie exposed the class divide between the haves and the have nots, with no clear protagonist or antagonist. It therefore leaves the decision on who are the heroes and villains of the movie to the audience – the poor Kims who have managed to leech off their subsistence from a wealthy family, or the rich Parks, who seem to be distanced from the harsh realities of the world and not really caring for their employees?

As critics opined, the movie solidified the creation of a unique genre by the movie’s director Bong Joonho: not quite a drama, not quite a suspense thriller, not quite a legit black comedy, but a balanced mixture of all three elements.

The year where everyone was home

When 2020 had people thinking, this will be the year that Korean culture’s popularity will finally begin its decline, they were disappointed again. How can movies and dramas possibly be popular this year when people are not allowed to go out and watch movies in a cinema? That’s where Netflix and other online streaming platforms barged in with their promises of binge-watch-worthy content. Thus, everybody got to know the gallant North Korean soldier Captain Ri (Hyun Bin) and self-made tycoon Seri (Son Yejin) in Crash Landing on You, as well as the wronged wife Dr Ji (Kim Heeae), the philandering Lee Taeoh (Park Haejoon) and the blindingly beautiful Dakyung (Han Sohee) in The World of the Married. Both showed broke domestic and international records in terms of viewership and made household names of their actors. Both shows have also been (and still are) available on Netflix.

2020 also brought us another gem in the film world – the Korean-American co-production Minari. Although it can be argued that the movie slants more towards the American sensibilities of its director Lee Isaac Chung, the scenes and emotional tug are distinctly Korean. It even won an Oscar for Korean acting icon Youn Yuhjung, the first for any Korean actor.

This brings us to 2021, when the popularity of Korean TV shows has been further established with Squid Game’s phenomenal run. Before Squid Game, the most popular Korean export is the history zombie thriller Kingdom, which stars Ju Jihoon. With Kingdom only releasing a special episode this July and another one in the works that won’t be released until 2023, it’s safe to say that it was Squid Game that really reinforced South Korean soft power, something we fans can be happy with because this definitely means that we will be having more Korean dramas, k-pop music, and Korean movies for more years to come!

Featured image: Squid Game besties HoYeon Jung (Kang Sae Byeok) and Lee Yoo-mi (Ji Yeong). Photo: Still Watching Netflix/YouTube

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Three (+1) Popular K-Pop Duos You Should Know

Post author By Mac Turija
Post date 12/28/2021
No Comments on Three (+1) Popular K-Pop Duos You Should Know

In the world of K-pop, it look like groups have dominated for years. For every IU, BoA, Chungha, Ailee, or Sunmi, there’s at least three or five groups you can mention to prove the discrepancy in the number of successful soloists to groups. While it is true that the rate of failure among girl and boy groups is very high, the number of soloists getting their breaks in the first place is smaller.

And then, there are the unicorns of the Korean music industry: The K-pop duos. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a good number of pairs that could rival Simon and Garfunkel, Outkast, Daft Punk, or The Everly Brothers.

So, we’ve gathered them for you. And believe us when we say that knowing them is quite rewarding!

DAVICHI

Early beginnings: Any K-pop fan who has been around the block for years would know Davichi. Those who swear by K-dramas would surely know them. After all, you cannot really get through a season of K-dramas without hearing an OST contribution from this legendary K-pop duo. Having already celebrated their 10th year in the Korean music scene in 2018, Davichi has proven their career’s longevity without resorting to a lot of tactics that most K-pop acts have used to achieve their stardom, from multi-billion-won marketing blitzes to appealing to the younger crowds.

Formed in 2008, Davichi consists of two female vocalists Lee Haeri and Kang Minkyung. The duo’s name in Korean actually means “shining over everything”, and considering the power and longevity of these two, their names feel appropriate.

Davichi’s discography as of 2021 is composed of three studio albums and six extended plays, which for a lot of observers may not be the body of work of an enduring K-pop artist. After all, their output would only mean a release every year, which isn’t really a strong showing for anyone in the Korean music industry. However, what Davichi lacks in EPs and albums, they compensate with participation in countless soundtracks. Once we consider their work in OSTs for television dramas like Big (2012), Iris II (2013), It’s Okay, That’s Love (2014), Descendants of the Sun (2016), Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (2016), and Now We are Breaking Up (2021), we definitely cannot discount how extensive their career had been.

Their debut single “I Love You Even Though I Hate You” was already a commercial success – Davichi is really no pushover. Since then, they have accumulated seven (yes, 7) number one singles and their OSTs are consistent high rankers as well. So, even if they are not exactly the textbook definition of what a “K-pop act” should be with their distance from pop sounds we’ve associated with K-pop, their unique blend of power ballads and R&B-influenced songs have cemented the duo’s place in the K-pop canon.

Davichi debuted with their studio album, Amaranth, on February 4, 2008. As early as then, they already experienced success with their promotional track “I Love You Even Though I Hate You” getting awarded the “Rookie of the Month” award for February at the Cyworld Digital Music Awards. They promoted “Sad Promise” from the same album as their follow-up track and later released a repackaged edition of their first album titled Vivid Summer Edition, with “Love and War” as the promotional single.

Davichi’s debut year got off to a strong start as they quickly gained vast fan following and critical acclaim. The duo has been in the industry since 2008. Photo credit: Davichi official twitter

To say that Davichi’s debut year was a success sounds about right as they did not only enjoy strong sales and radio play but also quickly accumulated a vast fan following fast and unquestionable critical favor. By the end of the year, they were the recipient of “Best New Artist” awards from the Mnet Asian Music Awards, Golden Disk Awards, and the Seoul Music Awards.

Rise to Fame: After the success of their debut efforts, Davichi was set to prove that they weren’t just the recipients of beginner’s luck. They went to the top of the charts with seven songs – “Time, Please Stop” (which featured T-Ara’s Eunjung on the music video), “Don’t Say Goodbye“, “Turtle“, “Be Warmed” (featuring Verbal Jint), “The Letter” (편지), “We Were in Love” (a collaboration with T-Ara), and “Cry Again“.

They also have a considerable number of singles that peaked at numbers 2 and 3, and their 2021 single “Just Hug Me” reached #8. The first holiday single of their career entitled “Everyday Christmas” has reached #16 in the Korean charts as of the second week of December 2021.

Davichi is also notoriously popular for their heart-wrenching power OST ballads, and with 14 OST appearances, you can argue they have amassed more popularity in them compared to their own releases. Arguably, the most popular among these 14 OSTs is the song “This Love“ from the 2016 K-drama Descendants of the Sun. As with many of their OST contributions, “This Love” became so popular that the duo was invited to music shows for special stages to sing the song live, something they do not commonly do with their songs, particularly their OSTs.

다비치 (DAVICHI) | 2021 크리스마스 인사 메세지 🎄

▶ https://t.co/w6irtYanDL #다비치 #DAVICHI #이해리 #LEEHAERI #강민경 #KANGMINKYUNG #매일크리스마스 #Everyday_Christmas pic.twitter.com/occp05lOGq

— official_Davichi (@officialDavichi) December 25, 2021

By the way, aside from their duo activities, the two have also dabbled with acting. Minkyung has actually appeared as a lead actress on some K-dramas aside from singing OSTs as a solo artist, while Haeri has also portrayed lead roles in musical theatre and has become a TV personality with her participation in several musical programs.

Must-Listens: The top two Davichi sings are OSTs, of course, with “This Love” and “Forgetting You” from the Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo OST. As for their releases, “Cry Again” and the breathtaking music video filmed in Budapest takes the cake.

AKMU

Early beginnings: We’ve had Donnie and Marie Osmond, the Jonas Brothers, and The Carpenters battling it out for the title of most talented siblings in showbiz, but for K-pop, there can only be one: AKMU. Akdong Musician, composed of the Lee siblings Suhyun and Chanhyuk, has been a staple in the Korean entertainment scene since 2014 and have been regarded since then as the country’s premier brother-sister musical duo. Basically, anyone in Korea who doesn’t know who AKMU is met with disbelief.

Lee Chanhyuk and Lee Suhyun did not spend a lot of their growing up years in Korea though. They lived with their missionary parents in Mongolia for almost five years before returning to South Korea. The siblings were home-schooled by their mother in Mongolia and returned to Korea in 2012 to participate in the preliminary auditions of K-pop Star 2 in Seoul. Chanhyuk was 16 and Suhyun was 13 at that time. In spite of their lack of experience and youth, everybody, especially the judges panel composed of YG Entertainment’s Yang Hyunsuk, JYP’s Park Jinyoung, and SM’s BoA, was nothing short of impressed when the siblings sang a cover of Miss A’s “Breathe” and an original song titled “Don’t Cross Your Legs“.

The two went on to deliver performances throughout the contest that were sometimes outstanding and sometimes a bit inconsistent. In the end, they went on to win the competition. A month after winning, the siblings and the contest’s second placer Bang Yedam (currently with the YG group Treasure) signed an exclusive contract with YG Entertainment.

Rise to Fame: It took a whole year from winning K-Pop Star 2 before AKMU debuted with their first album, Play, with three singles to be released – “200%” chosen by Yang Hyun-suk, “Melted” chosen by Akdong Musician, and “Give Love” determined by the fans. Play took number one spot on the Gaon Charts and number two on Billboard’s US World Albums Chart, while “200%” topped all South Korean charts. Akdong Musician then released the digital single, “Time and Fallen Leaves” in October. Although it was planned as the lead single for Play, it was delayed to suit the season. The song made an “all-kill” two consecutive days after release, but was not given a music video so the listeners would imagine their own stories.

답답터지는 수현과 그저 웃긴 찬혁. 그들은 서로에 대해 얼마나 알고 있을까요? 🤔 하루 중 제일 좋아하는 시간은? 요즘 즐겨듣는 노래는? 현실남매 케미! 악뮤 #추측인터뷰를 지금 바로 유튜브에서 만나보세요! 👫#마리끌레르 #악뮤 @official_akmu

👉🏻 https://t.co/Wuj8qGRoc7 pic.twitter.com/HU1vZJhDfI

— Marie Claire Korea (@marieclairekr) August 4, 2021

Suhyun joined labelmate Lee Hi to form Hi Suhyun, which released their debut single, “I’m Different“, which won them music show trophies. After the success of “200%” and “Time and Fallen Leaves“, AKMU has had three more number 1s with “Re-bye” (from the Spring EP) in 2016; “How Can I Love the Heartbreak, You’re the One I Love” from 2019’s Sailing; and “Nakka“, a collaboration with IU from the EP Next Episode, which features AKMU collaborating with various artists.

Through those years, AKMU even snuck in a hiatus as Chanhyuk enlisted for his mandatory military enlistment in 2017 with the Korean Marines. During this time, Suhyun occupied her time with solo activities as a radio DJ at KBS Cool FM’s Volume Up, a permanent cast member on JTBC’s Begin Again, and a soundtrack release for the TV drama Mr. Sunshine, among others. Once Chanhyuk successfully fulfilled his mandatory military service, the EP Sailing and the lead single “How Can I Love the Heartbreak, You’re the One I Love” served as their comeback.

It was a massively successful comeback with the single eventually selling more than 2.5 million copies and cementing the duo’s stardom and status as “digital monsters”. The subsequent releases revealed that the duo has decided to stay officially as “AKMU” to reinforce their more mature image. As of 2021, the duo has re-signed with YG Entertainment for five more years.

#AKMU ‘낙하 (NAKKA) (with IU)’ | #OUTNOW AKMU in ‘수현의 숲’

‘수현의 숲’ 월요일 밤 10시
👉https://t.co/ux7S0ikppU

‘수현의 숲’ 다시보기
👉https://t.co/vl0bBYyTU1 #악뮤 #LEECHANHYUK #이찬혁 #LEESUHYUN #이수현 #CollaborationAlbum #NEXTEPISODE #네이버나우 #수현의숲 #YG pic.twitter.com/qXf17q3TbN

— official AKMU (@official_akmu) July 29, 2021

Must-Listens: It is definitely not a joke when we say that every single AKMU song is a must. But if we were to choose three, the first would be their debut single, “200%“, which showcased their singer-songwriter prowess at the start of their careers. The second one would be “Time and Fallen Leaves“, which showed their depth and artistry as young as they were, and finally, “How Can I Love the Heartbreak, You’re the One I Love“, which will just guarantee your transforming into an emotional wreck after listening to this song.

TVXQ!

Early beginnings: We all know TVXQ! nowadays as being composed of two members, Changmin and Yunho. Old school K-pop fans from the 2000s, however, would know that this wasn’t the case. Up until 2009, TVXQ was composed of five members, with the two mentioned along with Junsu, Jaejoong, and Yoochun.

You mean, JYJ?

Exactly. Before JYJ and before TVXQ dwindled down to a duo, SM’s premiere second-generation group used to have five members. The group became wildly popular not just in Korea, but also in Japan and China.

The duo, Changmin and Yunho – the current members of TVXQ! Picture credit: TVQX official twitter

Unfortunately, along with massive popularity came issues. In July 2009, members Jaejoong, Yoochun, and Junsu launched an attempt to split with their Korean management S.M. Entertainment.

They claimed that their thirteen-year contract was excessively long, schedules were held out without the permission of the members, and that there was an unfair distribution of the group’s profits from their activities.

The Korean courts sided with them momentarily and granted them a temporary contract injunction, causing the activities of the five-member group in Korea to be canceled. To make things more awkward, Changmin and Yunho released a statement expressing support of their agency and urging their three groupmates to work things out with SM so that they could continue their activities as a group.

There was temporary peace and order among the five members, at least on their Japanese activities as they continued to promote as five members in the country. They even released their 28th and 29th singles before releasing a greatest hits album in February 2010 and releasing their 30th single a month later. In April, Avex, the group’s Japanese agency, announced the formation of a special unit JYJ. This was also launched in Korea later by the three members’ new agency C-JeS. So while JYJ proceeded in launching their new group and battling it out with SM Entertainment in the courts, TVXQ! was (un)ceremoniously converted from a 5-piece group to a duo.

Rise to Fame: With full backing of their entertainment agency, Yunho and Changmin started a new chapter of TVXQ!’s history, this time as a duo in 2011 with the single “Keep Your Head Down”. The single gave the duo seven wins in music shows and won album of the year at the Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards. Its Japanese version also brought the duo back to the top of the country’s charts and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan.

Of course, with their first song as a duo, comments from the public arose that “Keep Your Head Down” is throwing shade towards their three former groupmates, telling them to be humble and not embarrass themselves by getting into a legal dispute with their former company. The duo clarified that the song is not a diss track and is actually about what a man wants to say to an ex who has left him.

최강창민의 응원 방문! ㅎㄴㅎ
🍓🍑 음중에서 만난 듀오👏👍#유노윤호 #U_KNOW #최강창민 #MAX_CHANGMIN #동방신기 #TVXQ! #東方神起 #NOIR #EenyMeeny #음악중심 pic.twitter.com/iviTmDXadX

— TVXQ! (@TVXQ) January 30, 2021

Since “Keep Your Head Down“, TVXQ! has continuously released music in both Korea and Japan, with the duo releasing ten more Korean singles since 2011 and 21 more Japanese singles (including “Why?”, the Japanese version of Keep Your Head Down).

Aside from the group’s first hiatus when JYJ broke out from them in 2010, TVXQ! had its second hiatus when Yunho began serving his mandatory military service for the Republic of Korea Armed Forces in 2015. Changmin joined the Military Police months after. The duo staged a comeback in 2017 and have been active both in Japan and Korea since, even during the pandemic.

Must-Listens: For TVXQ!’s discography as a duo, their debut single “Keep Your Head Down” is a definite must. Their 2014 track “Something” is another song that has signaled the shift of the duo in terms of their sound from a very hard-hitting hip-hop-rock fusion to a more bluesy R&B one. Finally, there’s 2018’s “The Chance of Love” that has continued the duo’s swing jazzy sound they are now more known for.

BOL4

Alas, there’s Bolbbalgan4, or later known as BOL4 – a duo that has unfortunately become a solo act in the pandemic. Jiyoung and Jiyoon, who make up the duo, grew up together in Yeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. They were classmates. Like AKMU, BOL4 also tried their luck in a singing reality competition. They joined the sixth installment of SuperStar K in 2014 with the likes of Kim Feel, Kwak Jineon, 4th Impact, and Song Yuvin. Unfortunately, they were cut off during the elimination rounds.

That did not hinder the pair from realizing their dreams – they went on to sign with Shofar Music. In 2016, they debuted with the name Bolbbalgan4, with the goal of making pure, honest music that is reminiscent of adolescence. In English, their name translates to blushing puberty and between the two, Jiyoon is the “blushing” one because of her shy personality and Jiyoung is in charge of “youth” because she portrays adolescence well. Actually, the complete Korean word for puberty is sachungi, which is the same as number four (sa). This is why the group’s name is shortened to BOL4.

Rise to Fame: For a new group from an unknown company, their debut EP peaked at number 30 in the charts, which isn’t bad at all. However, it was their second single “Galaxy” that propelled them to instant success, as it sold over 2.7 million copies and their first studio album where “Galaxy” is a part of peaking at #15 and selling more than 25,000 copies.

The duo quickly shot to fame and released five successive singles that sold more than 2.5 million copies. With singles such as “Hard to Love“, “Tell Me You Love Me“, “Some“, and “To My Youth“, they immediately earned the reputation as “digimons” – digital monsters who sell singles by the millions, an elite circle occupied by artists such as Zico, IU, Heize, Lee Hi, and one of our duos earlier, AKMU.

“Some”, “Travel“, “Bom“, and “Workaholic” eventually topped the Gaon Digital Charts, and there seemed to be no stopping the duo from achieving continuous success despite a number of odds, including stiff competition, the small company, and persistent rumors of a breakup because of alleged unequal treatment between Jiyoung and Jiyoon. Those rumors were constantly denied by the girls and their agency, much to the relief of the fans.

That was, until April 2020.

After an entire career filled with speculations on the real relationship between the two, Shofar Music announced the one piece of news every BOL4 follower has dreaded – Jiyoon is leaving the duo. The month after, Jiyoung released an EP Puberty Book II, with the lead single Leo featuring EXO’s Baekhyun. Jiyoon later resurfaced in the music scene as soloist ODD CHILD and with a new song entitled “DODO“, which listeners have observed sounded like a direct hit at her former partner.

[Behind]
⠀
2019 BOL4 Tour Concert ‘Two Five’ in Gwangju
⠀
지난 주 크리스마스 한정판(!!)무대로
많은 러볼리의 부러움을 샀던 광주🎄🎁
⠀
어느덧 전국투어의 마지막!
마지막까지 많은 사랑과 응원 부탁드려요💓💓
⠀
📷더 많은 사진은 공식카페에서 확인~!
⠀#BOL4_TOUR #TwoFive #Gwangju pic.twitter.com/IqvjTI2n1X

— BOL4_Official (@BOL4_Official) December 26, 2019

In August, she issued a lengthy statement on Instagram, claiming that she actually wanted to end her stay with BOL4 properly, like in a concert. However, she was informed that Jiyoung wanted to kick her out of the duo as soon as possible, so she left the group sooner. She also claimed that she wrote the song years ago, so it hurt her that people would think that she was only taking shots at Jiyoung.

Must-listens: The entire BOL4 discography is healing and just a pleasure to listen to, but if you need to choose only three songs, that would be “Some“, “Travel“, and “To My Youth” (which unfortunately doesn’t have a music video).

So, there you have it – three K-pop duos. If you want more, there’s MeloMance and Fly to the Sky. Be sure to have a listen to our recommended tracks so you can appreciate these duos more.

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Why Has Squid Game Invaded the World?

Post author By Mac Turija
Post date 10/10/2021
No Comments on Why Has Squid Game Invaded the World?

Still from behind the scenes of Squid Game. Picture credit: Screengrab from Netflix

As of the moment, it seems that the world has gotten addicted to the Korean Netflix show Squid Game. Not that anyone’s complaining though, because the show is really something. Plagiarism claims aside, the show manages to captivate everyone’s attention, not just those who have gotten bitten by the K-drama bug. And that’s good since the show’s universal appeal means that nobody can argue that its popularity only stems from K-drama fans crazily streaming the show non-stop.

A still from the shoot of Squid Game. Picture credit: Screengrab from Netflix Youtube

Netflix has actually not just shown a lot of K-dramas, but has actually broken through the Korean market in 2013 by being the sole distributor of Kingdom, a show produced by Korean production company AStory, but was solely shown on the streaming platform and not on any Korean TV channel, free-to-air or cable. It then struck a deal with producers NEW (Next Entertainment World) and JTBC to release the Lee Jungjae-headlined Chief of Staff on the same day as its premiere on the cable channel. Since then, Netflix has not only distributed K-dramas and movies but has also dabbled into producing content that would make up the company’s Korean-language original programming.

#SquidGame creator Hwang Dong-hyuk hints at a Season 3:

“I’m in talks with Netflix over season two as well as season three. We will come to a conclusion any time soon.”

🔗: https://t.co/f9zJGY5bsd pic.twitter.com/ip4Zy9t7BX

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) December 29, 2021

But even with the original content they produced, it always felt like Netflix’s Korean original programs catered to a niche audience. True, a good number of the shows they produced and distributed had become famous even internationally, but as mentioned earlier, most of them, even Kingdom, were still confined to an audience with an affinity for Korean-language content.

So, even if there are a lot of people overseas who have watched Kingdom, it was assumed that these viewers were Korean-Americans or those who have already liked Korean dramas in the past. It seemed that the audience the show connected with continued to be limited to Korean drama fans, unlike other foreign Netflix shows like Lupin, Elite, and Money Heist, which have amassed huge followings from countries that aren’t French or Spanish speaking, plus haven’t had any particular loyalty to French or Spanish language content.

That is until Squid Game came along.

The website FlixPatrol, which analyzes streaming figures on the world’s leading online streaming platform, claims that Squid Game topped global charts on Friday, September 27, only a week since its release on September 17. It has since then kept the top position. As of press time,it still holds the top position, keeping other Netflix shows such as Sex Education, Maid, and Lucifer at bay. The fact that it has dislodged English-language shows on top of the charts and is keeping its #1 placement even in countries with very particular audiences such as the USA shows that it has really won over a huge audience, especially those that are not particularly fond of content not in English.

My Top 10 Shows of 2021: #Happiness #InspectorKoo #OnlyMurdersInTheBuilding #Yellowjackets #HospitalPlaylistS2 #YumisCells #SquidGame #MoneyHeist #TheGoodFight #TheGreat
To read more about these amazing series: https://t.co/RhTdL5Bx4V pic.twitter.com/wnGmAkHHY7

— Tiffany Vogt (@TVWatchtower) December 31, 2021

In fact, the show has now gone down #2 in markets that are known to consume a lot of Korean language content such as Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines because of the weekly episodes of the Kim Seonho drama Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (which coincidentally also has Shin Mina, who was also part of the aforementioned Chief of Staff), while maintaining the top position in other countries that are not that keen on following the shows of Hallyu stars.

So, what is it exactly about Squid Game that has audiences from all corners of the planet wanting more? Everyone, from armchair TV critics to cultural researchers, has had their opinions amplified on mainstream and social media, and it seems to boil down to three factors:

The storytelling is unique yet universal.

A lot of concepts of the show’s story may be distinctly Korean but they are exactly the same elements that hit foreign audiences hard in their feels. For one, Squid Game is about people who are psychologically and financially desperate – something so many of us can definitely identify with since the start of the pandemic, with job losses and mental health struggles abound.

Finally finished Squid Game last night.

As a Korean-American, I’m proud that such a popular, well-made (albeit at times disturbing) show is from Korea and became an international success.

Can’t wait to see what mysteries are uncovered in Season 2.#Netflix #SquidGame pic.twitter.com/PQaRtHRPby

— David (@ActualDavidLee) December 30, 2021

While it may not be true that the rest of us outside Korea get hounded by gangsters working for loan sharks when we run away from paying our debt (though according to Koreans themselves, that actually happens, but is not an everyday occurrence), we can relate to the desperation Gihun (Lee Jungjae) and the other 455 players feel when they are willing to risk life and limb to take home some serious money. We can relate to how Gihun’s feelings toward childhood friend Sangwoo (Park Haesoo) turned from idolization to disappointment after the former realized throughout the game how morally iffy some of his hometown hero’s decisions were.

TONIGHT! #SquidGame star Lee Jung-jae talks about taking a picture with @LeoDiCaprio. #LSSC pic.twitter.com/s9dTXnl4Ht

— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) December 24, 2021

Finally, we can all relate to the sense of nostalgia playing those childhood games brought to the participants, particularly to mastermind player 001 Ilnam (Oh Yeongsu). Although we have resumed a lot of our activities, we have to admit that things have not been the same as they used to be, so it is inevitable that we long to remember simpler and more comfortable times when we did things such as playing just for the fun of it and not because there are consequences to our every move.

The show tapped into people’s psyche.

Speaking of relatability, the show works not only because we can relate to the plight of Gihun and the 454 other players in terms of their desperation and police officer Junho’s (played by Wi Hajoon) urgent attempt to fight his brother, but we can also relate to the foreign VIPs, The Front Man (played by Lee Byunghun) and beloved old man with a twist Ilnam.

Wait, what? Are you saying we have things in common with the game’s disconnected spectators?

Of course, as the audience, we occupy a similar position to the VIPs as spectators of the game, as we satisfy our base instincts of voyeurism in finding out who survives in the rounds and who ultimately wins. It’s like an unfortunate accident happening right before your eyes that you’re telling yourself to look away, but you simply cannot.

Rarely has high-stakes tension looked so delicious – THR’s TV critics pick the honeycomb in #SquidGame as the best supporting snack of 2021

More end-of-the-year picks: https://t.co/H401qW06hp pic.twitter.com/u2E4ZMSXtD

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) December 30, 2021

Allowing us to sympathize with the players and yet having a safe distance from them as we watch their activities from the comforts of home has given the show’s producers a perfect formula on how it can get us audiences hooked to the social message of the story while not making us too uncomfortable.

With Squid Game, while we sympathize with the characters, the line between them and us is very clear, as they are the ones playing the games. We have the option to sympathize with them and at the same time be guiltless spectators just like the VIPs. After all, the VIPs are only spectators just like us; they are not the ones running the game – the workers in pink jumpsuits are actually the ones rolling out the games and dealing with all the dirty work.

Episodes from #WandaVision, #PoseFX, #SquidGame and #OnlyMurdersintheBuilding made THR’s list of the best episodes from 2021, courtesy of @TheFienPrint and @ajhan

See the full list: https://t.co/fTdXMEgeCU pic.twitter.com/ZvdLnkmdyR

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) December 30, 2021

In horror movies, even those set in a game theme like Battle Royale or the Saw series, there are no spectators, so we cannot help but actually have 100% of our sympathies to the players. And it is only later when the games are through when we start to really consider if we could carve the perfect shape out of the honeycomb cookies or if we can distinguish which glass can hold human weight and which will break. In Squid Game, we are constantly reminded that we can also be detached spectators just like the VIPs. Squid Game is escapist entertainment masterfully done.

The production values are off the charts.

It cannot be denied that the production of Squid Game is just fantastic. From the secluded island where the players were confined to the playground where they played the first couple of games, the sleeping quarters that looked like a storage facility, there was nothing that was spared to make the series believable and exciting. What’s great about the sets they used for the show is that there were some easter eggs hidden in them that keen-eyed viewers may have noticed while watching the episodes.

The fact that most of us have seen something like Squid Games’ premise in Hunger Games and Battle Royale has not deterred us from watching the show because the scenes have been filmed in such an attention-grabbing manner.

For example, while the sequence of games was told in advance to the Doctor (Yoo Sungjoo) the evening before the game as they helped them harvest organs of the players who were killed, there were actually murals on the walls of the players’ sleeping quarters that show the major points of the games. So, players who were more aware of their surroundings should have noticed that. But then, since they were constantly tired and paranoid of their fellow players who may attack them when the lights go out, they may not have the energy to be that sharp.

For most of the past year, we have been confined to our movements and activities, so watching shows and movies from other countries may give us some sort of comfort and pleasure that we can experience the cultures, places, and ways of living of people far away from us. We may be awed at how we have actually a lot of things more in common with people from other countries, but since they have different customs and environments, there are also interesting twists and differences that we should look out for. So for now, we just need to enjoy the show while learning some lessons from it.

Featured Image credit: Still Watching Netflix Youtube

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What Exactly is BLACKPINK’s Lisa Doing in Paris?

Post author By Mac Turija
Post date 10/05/2021
No Comments on What Exactly is BLACKPINK’s Lisa Doing in Paris?

Blackpink Lisa for Paris Fashion Week 2021. Photo: jc.babin/Twitter

Finally, after days of anticipation, with everybody asking, will she or won’t she, Lisa finally took that flight to Paris and joined (well, sort of) her three BLACKPINK sisters Jisoo, Rosé, and Jennie to revel in Paris Fashion Week celebrations.

As we have reported earlier on Blackpink in Paris Fashion Week 2021, Jisoo and Rosé were first to book their appearances in the shows of the fashion houses they endorse. Jisoo was first to make a splash as she attended the Christian Dior Spring-Summer 2022 Paris Show at 2:30, local time, last Tuesday, September 28. BLACKPINK’s visual wowed everybody as she posed for photos wearing a white mini dress with black embroidered Greek statues and motifs, which according to Vogue, is from the Dior Resort 2022 collection. Talk about effortless chic!

But before the fashion show, Jisoo also explored the House archives of Dior. At Dior Heritage, Jisoo had her picture taken holding the original Lady Dior bag that was carried by Princess Diana. Dior’s social media accounts also posted a photo of Jisoo at the Eiffel Tower, all decked in Dior. “I love you Paris,” the K-pop idol is heard saying in Korean in the video.

Not to be outdone, Miss Rosé who arrived in Paris with Jisoo, also made sure her presence was felt when she stole the show at Saint Laurent Spring-Summer 2022 at 8:00 in the evening on the same day as the Dior event. Wearing a sheer black chiffon minidress with silk trim over a pair of black hot pants, BLACKPINK’s main vocal was again the toast of the fashion scene after making a much-publicized and historic appearance in the Met Gala, where she, along with CL, was the first female K-pop idol to grace the event.

After attending the Saint Laurent show, Rosé did a couple of shoots for YSL Beauty before going back to Seoul and thus, missing the arrival of the next member to arrive in Paris.

Since Solo artist Jennie is known as a brand ambassador for major fashion brand Chanel, fans thought it was inevitable for her to join the two in Paris. And that she did! In the afternoon of the 29th, Jennie arrived in Paris, dressed in Chanel from head to toe. Upon her arrival, she took to Instagram to present her proof of life, as she met her bandmate Jisoo and the two went out for dinner together the same evening. Both idols had cardigans on to warm themselves warm as the autumn weather in the city of lights was in full blast.

As of press time, Jennie has finished attending the Chanel Spring-Summer 2022 Paris that happened at 10:30 AM, local time. She was a vision in red, wearing a red bouclé crop top and mini skirt with pearls, making her look prim but with an edge.

Finally, we have Lisa, With her arrival in France on October 4, Lisa began trending on Twitter as fans started talking about her leaving South Korea and joining the three other members in order to attend Paris Fashion Week. However, having all BLACKPINK members in Paris at the same time was not meant to happen because as mentioned earlier, Rose was already in Seoul on the 29th, while Jisoo left Paris on the 4th, the same day Lisa arrived.

As to why Lisa is in Paris, there is still quite a lot of mystery pertaining to that. Celine, the French fashion brand where she is the global ambassador, does not have any shows for this season, This led to people speculating that Lisa may have accepted an invite from another fashion house, Miu Miu, which will have an event today (October 5) and has been worn by the idol on her recent appearances. Also, reports have surfaced that BVLGARI, the jewelry brand Lisa is also an ambassador of, is staging events, including a showcase at the Paris Opera today, October 5.

But then, YG Entertainment stepped in.

On an Instagram post, Bulgari’s CEO, Jean-Christophe Babin posted Lisa’s picture with the caption:

“Our great ambassador @lalalalisa_m is in Europe. Unfortunately, due to COVID, her agency prefers [that she] not [participate in] events or shows. That’s also the reason why insofar we could not shoot her together with @zendaya, @lilyaldridge and @vittoria for the @bulgari Brand Campaign 2021/22 and [why] we could not run a major event yet together.”

So, the mystery remains: What is Lisa doing in Paris? If YGE has barred her from joining events (which is so weird considering the three have already joined numerous events), why did they fly her there? Let’s hope we get further clarification the soonest.