There was a group from the 60’s who caused a scandal because of their “girly” moptop haircuts that the girls went absolutely wild over. What was their name…something about it bugs me! 
Japan also has AKB48 and its sister groups with well over 100 members in total. Members “graduate” as they gain individual popularity. Three members are currently in the reality survival group Kpop group Iz*one. https://kprofiles.com/izone-members-profile/
I don’t like the tone of the above, but have to agree with the over marketing of KPop (JPop, CPop, American pop, European pop, et. al). However in the case of Kpop, you can’t argue with success. JYP Entertainment manages Twice (arguably the girl group equivalent of BTS) with extremely strict management rules and savvy marketing. And ITZY, their new group introduced this year is set to potentially overtake Twice, which started in 2016.
“…overproduced, overstyled, overmarketed…”? Definitely. A model for success? Definitely!
Edit: BTW, I’m a fan of Twice in that, while their songs may be “bubble gum”, they’re really catchy and addicting! Can’t have just steak and potatoes all the time!
One thing K-pop always makes me wonder about is what music do disaffected Korean teens listen to.
Speaking of Twice, tickets for their US tour went on sale today, and I got a couple for their show in L.A. Good thing I did because it’s just about sold out.
I present to you, Kim Hee Chul https://www.google.com/search?q=kim+hee+chul&rlz=1C1MSIM_enUS785US785&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjckpyryJLiAhWpilQKHXBODkQQ_AUIDigB&biw=1280&bih=879, the most stunningly beautiful male I’ve ever seen. And this is from a hetrosexual male who admires and loves women a bit too much (…recalling the really dumb things I’ve done to get just a bit closer to a woman).
The first time I saw him on the Korean variety show Knowing Bros/Ask Me Anything, I seriously thought he was actress Lee Na Young https://www.google.com/search?q=lee+na+young&rlz=1C1MSIM_enUS785US785&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjmsamqyZLiAhUUs54KHaxgD0wQ_AUIDigB&biw=1280&bih=879, who is one of my favorite actresses and was genuinely confused about my sexually for a few moments!
I saw them on the cover of, was it Entertainment Weekly or Rolling Stone? One of the two. Haven’t read the article yet.
I just pulled up “Boy with Luv” and I thought it was pretty good, actually.
Can you show us the exact word you used in your OP to mock yourself? Something like “Damn, I’m getting old.” rather than “I couldnt shake myself of the terrifying certainty that underneath those garish outfits, everything was smooth. Everything.” and “Maybe theze things arent human??”
That should be pretty straightforward to point out the words you used to mock yourself. If, infact you were doing that.
Jesus Christ, indeed.
Things like me saying I was leaving this world to live on the moon; not understanding things that used to make sense me, used to be comfortable.
No foolin’?!? :eek: You, Sir, have just made my day. . . no . . . my week.
Damn, those geriatric types can rock, and will show those kids a thing or two.
Tripler
This thread made me dust off my Houses of the Holy CD.
My daughter is on her way to their concert right now. Not my thing, but enjoying them has been very helpful for her mental health this year.
That’s really weak sauce. You clearly know how to mock when it’s Asian men, and it appears in the OP that you thought that the world was crazy, and not you.
Whatever. It’s not a huge thing. I know people who are outright racists, such as my brother-in-law, and you don’t seem that.
I probably wouldn’t have thought much about this if this weren’t just right after your Tupac thread. For some reason, male singers and sexuality or gender seems to be an issue with you.
I can’t relate myself. Maybe because I’m pretty clueless, but I’ve never really wondered if rappers can or can’t be gay, if high school students’ acquired mannerisms determine their sexual orientation for their entire life, or if men in “garnish clothes” are or aren’t in possession of dangly bits, let alone felt certainty about the answer or the need to share those thoughts with the world.
People often suppose that since I live in Asian, that I love Asian culture. Actually, there’s many things I don’t like and others I simply don’t care. I can’t name a single k-pop group (other than this), and despite living in Japan for 25 years, with the constant exposure to j-pop, I just never got into it. I just don’t see the need to mock them.
I’m aware it’s a model for success. That’s why it’s repeated over and over again - boy band/girl band gets thrown together, marketed the crap out of, releases a couple of factory-produced hits, and hormonally-tumultuous teens go mad for them. It’s been going on for a couple of generations, although the marketing has gotten slicker and the music less interesting.
Usually what happens is that after a few years of adulation one or more band members decide that they’re the real talent of the group, go off to launch a solo career (successfully or not) and the rest of the group goes on “hiatus”. Then the solo career falters, there’s a reunion tour and they’re relegated to the easy listening stations while the next big manufactured thing takes their place. To use the UK scene as an example: One Direction lasted about five years before Harry Styles left. Take That, roughly the same before Robbie Williams left. The Spice Girls were huge, yet only really had four years between “Wannabe” and the breakup. A few groups hang on longer - Girls Aloud and Westlife managed almost a decade, and Boyzone about seven years.
If you enjoy BTS, I’m not begrudging you that enjoyment. There have been manufactured bands whose music I have enjoyed too. But as I said - this too shall pass.
I think it’s more obvious when the cut off is for boy/girl groups, but everyone has a pretty finite window for maximum popularity - even AC/DC, Def Leppard, the Stones. Your permanent playlist is pretty locked in by your early 20s, and it’s been decades since music has been a noticeable percentage of my spending, and only notably so when I track down something from that early period (finding Big Pig’s BONK was a bit of a hassle).
The real difference is what’s driving them. Boy/girl groups of all cultures stop when the company driving their success decide they’ve made enough of a return or the talent’s too much of a hassle. Bands formed on their own can keep going despite dwindling audiences, if they want to.
I believe this is limited to Kpop (in which singers can be in training for years before debuting, if ever), but once they debut, they typically begin a seven year contract under which the majority of their earning from the music goes to repay the debt collected during their training period. In addition, particularly for groups, the agency continues to provide room and board, adding to their debt. It takes most Kpop stars years to erase their agency debt and begin to earn money from their music.
However, in general, most of the money they earn from non-music appearances such as acting and commercials are theirs and they can use that to pay down their agency debt early.
All South Korean males must serve at least two years in the military by age 28. Several of the BTS members are in their mid 20’s and (if they haven’t already served) will likely join in the next year or so (it’s considered bad form to wait until you’re 28 to join). With very rare exceptions, this means that they’ll be out of the public eye for at least two years. An eternity in Kpop.
Also, members rarely join at the same time. So it may be much more than two years before they’re a complete group again.
During that time, the remaining members will create sub-units or carry on as individuals. This is one of the reasons Kpop groups (both male and female) tends to have a large number of members. The group can lose or replace several of the least popular members and still continue on.
By the way, BTS is the first group since the Beatles to have three Number One albums on the Billboard 200 chart in the span of twelve months. So anyone who keeps up with current pop music should have heard of them.
They were on Colbert last night. Considering their grasp of the English language, it was certainly better thanPink Lady and Jeff.
Also saw the Colbert show. Very much less than impressed. I think the retro-Sullivan Show thing Colbert did doesn’t work with a group like this.
Just a lot of posing while half pretending to lip sync to generic music. “Meh” is too high of praise.