Korean Music is taking over!

I'm not kidding. As much as I love Japanese music, I have to say that the Korean scene is doing pretty well. With Japan I tend to follow the female music scene more but with Korean it's all about these boybands. I'm not really sure why I prefer different genders when it comes to different countries, but that's just how it is. I've discovered the bands "Super Junior" and "SHINee" through friends, but "DBSK/TVXQ/Tohoshinki" I discovered through Japanese music artist Koda Kumi. I've talked about DBSK before and I've even shown you two of their music videos in a previous post, so I'll give you another song that I was recently addicted to.

Of course, I have no idea what these guys are singing. I don't know a single word in Korean nor do I plan to learn it, but what I like about songs in foreign languages is that you get to concentrate on the actual music itself, the rhythm, pace and the effects they use. The Korean songs I've tended to like have been a mix of R'n'B and Dance which are usually genres I'm not that bothered about. However, these guys have got it going. They've got the looks (most of them, anyway), the style, the hot moves, and of course the voices. These guys are all talented and in it for the long run which is more than what I can say about other bands I've seen come and go in the English world. (DBSK have been around since 2003 and are currently on a hiatus due to a lawsuit, and Super Junior started in 2005)

The thing with DBSK's song "Mirotic", is that is was actually apparently banned in Korea for being too dirty, and the video would only be shown on TV passed 10pm. The video itself isn't dirty at all, and I've googled the translated lyrics and I've definitely read dirtier lyrics, but I guess that's Korea for you.

"In November 2008, the Korean Commission of Youth Protection ruled that Mirotic was detrimental to youths and declared that the lyrics were provocative and overly sexual. As a result, the album was labeled with stickers indicating that it was unsuitable for people under 19 years old and any performances of the song would have to be broadcast after 10 PM. In response to the ruling, SM Entertainment agreed to make a clean version but also had filed an injunction to overrule the commission's decision"

When I first heard this song I admit that I thought the tune and rhythm was annoying due to being repetitive, but when I heard it again a couple of years later and watched the entire video, I found myself wanting to learn the dance and not wanting the music to stop. So, for your entertainment (hopefully), here is...

DBSK MIROTIC


Next in line is a large group who call themselves "Super Junior". I discovered these very recently so I don't know much about them, but I do know that their super catchy song "Sorry, Sorry" and the album with the same name earned them a lot of awards, as said by "Wikipedia":

"Super Junior's third album, Sorry, Sorry, was released on March 12, 2009 with acclaimed reviews. The title single of the album, "Sorry, Sorry" was digitally released on March 9, 2009. In less than a week after preorders were announced, over 150,000 copies were pre-ordered. Sorry, Sorry was their first album to debut at #1 on the Hanteo Charts, and it sold over 29,000 copies the first day, defeating Seo Taiji's record of 25,000. Promotions for the album started March 13 with the performance of "Sorry, Sorry" and "Why I Like You" on Music Bank. Two weeks later, "Sorry, Sorry" became the number one song of the week on the same program. During the group's performance on music program Popular Songs on March 15, ratings went up to as high as 14%, the highest in recent years. From March to May, "Sorry, Sorry" collected a total of ten #1 awards with consecutive wins in Korea, having the single becoming a national and international success. After only a month of release, the album became South Korea's best-selling album of 2009. Sorry, Sorry was also a critically and commercially successful hit in other Asian countries, opting the group to become the only overseas representative for the second time at Taiwan's annual Golden Melody Awards. "Sorry, Sorry" was also #1 for a record-breaking 33 weeks in Taiwan.Sorry, Sorry was a best-selling Korean-language album in Taiwan, Thailand, China, and the Philippines, in which the latter listed the album to be the first K-pop album to reach #1 in music charts from the country. Super Junior won three awards in the 1st MNET Asian Music Awards - Overseas Viewers Award, Mobile Popularity Award and CGV Popularity Award despite not attending. Super Junior's Sorry, Sorry won Daesang at the 2009 Golden Disk Awards."

So, does this song live up to it's standards in your opinion? Check it out for yourself and let me know what you think.

SUPER JUNIOR SORRY, SORRY


This next group is my latest discovery. Out of the three, these have the youngest members (16, 18, 18, 20, 20) and they've only been around since 2008. This song I'm about to show you was released only last year and is insanely catchy. It took me a while to actually learn the "ring ding dong" bit and that's freakin' English. Hah! Here it is. Don't forget to put your dance shoes on.



If anyone has any recommendations, feel free to share! I'm an open book.