*KPop, also known as South Korean Pop music, is a diverse multimedia performance of music dedicated to performance, style, and sound.
1. Choreography
Do you like hip hop dance moves with a cool clash of break dancing? They've got it! When watching their synchronisation, one would suppose the moves are fairly easily, but guess again. There are many sleepless nights going in to prefect these moves. Don't believe me? Well, throw on your dancing shoes and start one of the thousand YouTube tutorials.
2. Style
Korea is known for their love of bright colors and accessories. Well, these performers embrace it wholeheartedly. Every performance, music video, photo shoot, etc. has its own stylistic story that resonates with the individual member and many have multiple styles throughout the show. They may start out in street apparel, while transform into 80's or retro fashion, and end with a sophisticated, sexy look all in one performance. From school boy to army officer, costume is an immense factor of success these KPop stars have, and many pride themselves in.
3. Music and Lyrics
Though their style definitely accentuates their popularity, it's no compensation for the dedication and thought put in to their music. Many 1st time, American listeners wonder why many of the choruses or other parts of a Kpop song are written in English. This is due to the fact that KPop was made for a world wide audience and can be more relatable when everyone can sing along. Since KPop is such a broad spectrum of dance and style, the music doesn't fall short of that. Many girl bands tended to be more bubbly music, while the boy bands were on a hip hop and rap scale, but in recent years these stereotypes seemed to have changed. Many girl groups started to lean more towards grunge and hard core rap, while boy bands played a lighter sound, with relation to English boy bands, such as One Direction or 'N Sync. And of course, each group has their own variety of fast and slow songs to which you can choose to your liking, making them able to switch from genre to genre however they please and broadening their audience in the process.
1. Music Videos
Though KDramas are also a huge part of their culture, Korea's media, unlike America, prides itself in their music videos. These million dollar amusements are portrayed through exotic sets, stories, and costumes that allow the audience to go on a vigorous journey with the members. Often times, music videos are combined together to make a longer plot with twists and turns in each new song. This has the fans at the edge of their seat, waiting to know what happens in the next music, very much like an American TV show. These three minute spectaculars are what gain KPop the most publicity on social media, especially YouTube, and continue to keep the amazement by making the next bigger and better.
5. Performance
Similarly to their music video hype, KPop doesn't loose that energy on stage. They are always trying to engage their audience in every show. Most groups often do the same complex dance moves shown in their music videos with a little flair. They also tend to joke around with the other members in order to connect with the audience, and they do special things, like sing each other happy birthday or mess up another's hair. No matter what they choose to do, they love to do it with confidence and enjoyment in order to please their fans.
6. Fans
The KPop stars know they wouldn't be anything without their fans and embrace it. They are always going on talk shows and making videos on their adventure, in order to keep the fans updated. This allows the fans to have a sense of closeness even when they're 6,000 miles away, while gaining more publicity with fans connecting with one another about their biases and sharing the members videos. This also can keep fans updated on tour dates or other events they may be able to attend. One thing that KPop members tend to do is to go out of their way to let their fans know how much they mean to them, which allows them to have the most diverse, outgoing, and dedicated group of people, any star could ask for.
Still don't think KPop is for you? Go out there and try for yourself, I bet after a few days you'll have already started calling your bias oppa.
