Korean Pop Music - Research Paper Example

K Pop Music Korean pop music, also more commonly known as K Pop, has been expanding exponentially interms of popularity and market. The K Pop culture has spread beyond South Korea to United States, Europe, Middle East, and Asia, and the music continues to expand in far off places reaching its huge international audience. In 2011, the MTV EMA (Music Television European Music awards) held in Belfast declared Big Bang, a K Pop boy band, as the Best Worldwide Act depicting the immense popularity of K Pop music at home and abroad. While K Pop music is indeed distinct in its style, its catchy music and unique dance moves have hit the audiences with a K pop fever. As of yet, K Pop musicians have held a plethora of successful concerts internationally in major cities such as Chicago, New York, Paris, London, and Barcelona. With their unique style and multiple talents, two K Pop stars including Psy and the Rain have swept international audiences with their hit music and performances in films. The famous K Pop singer, Psy shot to popularity in 2012 when his single Gangnam Style went hit with over one billion views on YouTube within a few weeks of its release. His single went viral over YouTube reaching millions of international fans with approximately two billion views as of yet (Gruger, n.pag. (a)). Subsequently, his signature dance move to the lyric “Oppa Gangnam Style” became so popular that sports players, politicians such as Mitt Romney (Perera, n.pag.), and TV hosts could not get away from maneuvering to the renditions of Gangnam Style. The song made new records of worldwide popularity and engagement with international audiences which even earned Psy’s lyric, ‘Oppa Gangnam Style’, an entry in The Yale Book of Quotations as being one of the most famous quotes of the year 2012. Psy’s music video was a huge success all over the world. With its dancy music, hilarious yet interesting dance moves, funny lyrics, and catchy video, the single made it to the top of the charts as a dominant musical entry. The immense popularity of the song and its video reached worldwide audiences taking Psy to new heights of fame and recognition. Another popular K Pop star, Rain is an actor, singer, producer, and model. The Rain is also known as the ‘King of K Pop’ due to his popular music and his influence outside South Korea. The Rain starred in a 2009 movie called Ninja Assassin where he performed a physical role of the assassin belonging to the Ozunu ninja clan. For his role in the movie Ninja Assassin, the Rain even won an MTV Movie Awards Golden Popcorn for his performance in the American movie (Rosenberg, n.pag.). Following the success of his debut album n001, Rain went on to release further albums and was even signed to a KBS drama which made him even more popular among the native people. The Rain frequently kept appearing in television dramas and after the success of his second drama called Full House, the Rain released his third album which sold millions of copies around Asia expanding his popularity to the whole continent. Just as Psy, the Rain has been famous for his unique dance style and his stage performances during concerts. However, Psy has a tinge of humor in his music videos and in his dance style while the Rain adopts a more serious dance style. Psy’s popularity due to his single, Gangnam Style, made his video to be the most viewed video on YouTube ever (Gruger, n.pag. (b)). The popularity of Gangnam Style had larger implications on the genre of K Pop, whose worldwide popularity increased after the release of Psy’s hit single on YouTube. According to data from Google, the viewership of other Korean K Pop artists increased subsequently after the worldwide popularity of Gangnam Style (Gruger, n.pag. (b)). Psy went on to release his new single called Gentleman, which itself broke records of viewership. However, understanding the global reach of his music and fame, this time Psy chose to include more words from English in order to cater to his growing international fandom. The lyrics from his new single read “I’m a mother father gentleman”. Hilarious as it may sound the new single topped the charts and was viewed almost 1.5 billion times on YouTube. Again, the music had a catchy tune and the beats were sure to spur dance moves. Rain entered the mandatory military services in 2011 after his last nation-wide concert in Seoul. This concert was his last one before he entered his military service lasting for 22 months. Rain is famous for his unique music style with austere beats and chorus and spectacular group dance performances which is what characterizes his name. He initially rose to popularity due to his professional dance style and his music. The entertainment agency which signed him saw him as a perfect candidate due to his dance style and songs however the agency thought that he was not as good looking due to his single eyelids. Nevertheless, the Rain rose in immense fame after his debut albums and his appearances in the television soap operas which paved the way for his future career as a singer, dancer, and actor. Unlike Psy, Rain’s music touches deeper aspects of living and love. Also, Rain’s dance style can be described as contemporary and hip hop which is the most central element of his music videos. Perhaps his popularity lies more in his dance than his vocals in songs but overall the Rain takes the lead in terms of quality music and style. The two K Pop artists despite their common genre share little commonalities in terms of music style. Apart from being K Pop artists, Psy and the Rain have little in common. Psy’s music is more focused on catchy beats and kicks. Psy’s lyrics are a creation of creative and humorous words that reflect his sense of humor and his funny side. The lyrics from Psy’s two hit singles including Gangnam Style and Gentleman have a distinct tinge of humor in it. Also, Psy is most known for his signature dance move to the lyrics “Oppa Gangnam Style” which can be thought of as being the foundation for the song’s popularity around the world. On the other hand, Rain has been a trained dancer and singer whose music style differs significantly from Psy’s music. Psy’s music has deeper thematic expressions than Psy’s music which is largely based on a few common ideas that do not say much about the meaning of the lyrics. The Rain also has a significantly different style of dance which is contemporary hip hop while Psy usually has a series of simple steps skillfully crafted into a whole move. Rain has more controlled motions in dance and his style is definitely different as compared with that of Psy. However, it is evident that both artists have global reach and are famous for their style of K Pop music. The two artists, Psy and Rain can be praised for being the means of K Pop culture expansion around the world. In countries where K Pop was not even recognized as an independent and distinct genre now recognizes its appeal among large audiences. K Pop music has successfully crossed borders to reach huge fan followings for the music. The appeal to the K Pop music has plunged to new heights following worldwide popularity of Korean music in the international arena. Now, K Pop has emerged as a distinct genre in the global music scene. Works Cited Gruger, William. "PSY Reaches 3 Billion YouTube Views." Billboard, 2013. Web. 18 Jan 2014. . Gruger, William. "K-Pops Profile Expands Exponentially, All Thanks to Psy." Billboard, 2014. Web. 18 Jan 2014. . Perera, John Henry. "Video: Mitt Romney dances to Psy’s ‘Gangnam Style’ at Arizona concert." Hot Topics, 2014. Web. 18 Jan 2014. . Rosenberg, Adam. "Rain Takes The MTV Movie Awards Golden Popcorn For Biggest Badass Star." MTV Movies Blog, 2014. Web. 18 Jan 2014. . Read More