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e Singers Bc Singers I would have liked to see Wonder Girls tied into this, seeing as they toured with the Jonas Bros and actually did chart on the billboards…
BoA also charted on the billboards. Billboards don’t mean anything unless you chart on their main top 20 list.
There biggest problem, and I will keep saying this, is that they don’t focus on getting their music out there. RADIO! RADIO! RADIO!
No one cares that you’ve worked with [insert name here].
No one cares that your famous in Asia.
No one cares that you’ve been interviewed by TVs hottest talk hosts.
shoot, people don’t even care what your individual names are. Here in the States its the music that counts. Granted, the music can be shitty or make no sense and we will still eat it up but we have to HEAR IT first.
These agencies try to operate like they do in Asia. ‘Look, were all really friendly and have good personalities’ -we. don’t. care. I mean sure, once you’ve established yourself we will start taking interest in who you are but first deliver the music.
I’ve heard and seen numerous times where they announce an interview with this person and a connection here (and that may be fine and dandy when inside the business -like setting a name for yourself amongst the higher ups) but to reach the masses they need to get their music to as many radio stations as possible.
I lack the funds to purchase myself a car but when in the car with a friend and I hear a song on the radio that I like or at least hear it enough times it definetly sparks my interest and I at least take the time to look it up and 9/10 I will purchase it.
I’m sure one of these agencies will figure it out sooner or later. I’m curious though – do these music companies have to pay the radio stations to sometimes play their stuff, I know some DJ’s make recommendations and plug a song when they personally like it!
It’s called Payolla. These days you need a abig corporate record label to back you up if you want them to shell any form of money to get your song played on the radio.
U beat me to it… Yes Payolla!
it is actually illegal to pay or give gifts a DJ to play your records n the US (
2005/07/26/business/26music.html?pagewanted=print ) and i believe last year there was a scandal in S.K. about artists paying DJ’s to play their songs. I THINK (don’t quote me cause i cant find the article) someone’s manager was arrested.
You are right about that, but its still a system set up. There’s always a way around it.
My hunch is that, in the UK, K-pop will need to appeal to the pink pound for its initial success. I think that the high concept but mostly nonsensical music videos are quite camp, and the club-friendly or disco/retro themed songs would do quite well in the gay market.
Also, Europe may be more receptive to Korea, simply because people there are more used to seeing forgeigners in their charts. While I lived in Italy (for a few years), I heard chart hits from acts from UK, US, France, Germany, Spain, Brazil and Romania. Add Korea to the list? Why not.
The euro gay market…very interesting thought. I really don’t get the musical preferences of gays…why do they like the eurovision song festival so much? But maybe you are right.
If Britney Spears, Jonas Bro, Justin Bieber etc were smashing commercial success, then I don’t see how some of these manufactured kpop groups cannot succeed in US and sell millions of albums. Its fallacy to say or think that you have be some great artists to make big in US…its all about good looks, sense of individual styles and some foot works, songs/music and marketing marketing these days….
Because they’re Asian. When was the last time you saw an Asian-American not portrayed as a nerd or martial artist in the mainstream media?
Dingsingdingdingdgin
^ this.
I’m a huge YGstan, but I think JYJ just has enough looks, talent and star power to make a considerable dent in the West. If only… they hadn’t ruined the “Ayy Girl” video. Even Kanye, as out of place as he was, couldn’t ruin that song. It’s the apron. The curly hair. The bad effects. Shiiiiiii. I wish for them just ONE catchy song and better pronunciation.
2NE1 are awesome performers, but they’re just not artists yet and there will always be a condescending view of them and how they are just manufactured. On the other hand, Big Bang got it all, but they just look too different – like Lady Gaga’s Male alter ego from the east. And we all know they’re probably not gonna tone it down for a while.
JYJ has announced they’re doing another English album, which YAY! I’m hoping they’ve learned from the mistakes of the past and that CGI and unnecessary rappers will stay as far away as possible. (I say this as both a JYJ and Kanye fan.) If you listen to songs from “The Beginning” during their more recent concerts and compare them to the album versions, there is actually of lot of improvement. Jaejoong, whom I consider the weakest of the three, sounds like he actually knows what’s coming out of his mouth.
That all said, will it sell in the West? Yes. Will it garner any new fans? That I don’t know.
I’m a huge YGstan, but I think JYJ just has enough looks, talent and star power to make a considerable dent in the West. If only… they hadn’t ruined the “Ayy Girl” video. Even Kanye, as out of place as he was, couldn’t ruin that song. It’s the apron. The curly hair. The bad effects. Shiiiiiii. I wish for them just ONE catchy song and better pronunciation.
2NE1 are awesome performers, but they’re just not artists yet and there will always be a condescending view of them and how they are just manufactured. On the other hand, Big Bang got it all, but they just look too different – like Lady Gaga’s Male alter ego from the east. And we all know they’re probably not gonna tone it down for a while.
I’m a huge YGstan, but I think JYJ just has enough looks, talent and star power to make a considerable dent in the West. If only… they hadn’t ruined the “Ayy Girl” video. Even Kanye, as out of place as he was, couldn’t ruin that song. It’s the apron. The curly hair. The bad effects. Shiiiiiii. I wish for them just ONE catchy song and better pronunciation.
2NE1 are awesome performers, but they’re just not artists yet and there will always be a condescending view of them and how they are just manufactured. On the other hand, Big Bang got it all, but they just look too different – like Lady Gaga’s Male alter ego from the east. And we all know they’re probably not gonna tone it down for a while.
I feel like the West also looks down on the fervent obsession of the fans… especially because the artistic material the idols release don’t validate that kind of obsession.
I don’t know. I think 2NE1 should debut already in America, but part of me is nervous for that too. I mean, I ask myself, am I ready for them to be labelled as knock-off Lady GaGa wannabes? It would break my heart to hear that. Sure, they are talented, but knowing how harsh the American market is, I don’t know. I’m having second thoughts. I mean, have you read the comments about Girls’ Generation’s debut in that David Letterman Show? While Kpop fans praise them to death, majority of American comments are rather negative, to a point hurtful already. Sigh, the problems of a Kpop fan.
I think it comes down to two things for the U.S. market. The songs have to be in understandable English and then the songs have to be be heard, again and again and again, on the radio, on TV shows, etc.– which means getting the backing of a major U.S. label. The artists themselves don’t matter until AFTER the songs are popular and familiar.
But step one is the crucial step, not step two. The most catchy song ever will not get play in the U.S. until it’s in English that the general audience understands. To use just one example, I love TOP more than I can say, but half the time I can’t recognize when he’s rapping in English. Get working on the pronunciation, kids, then try breaking into the U.S. market.
I’d rather idols sing in Korean than Engrish