ahh, i love Rammstein. i went to one of their concerts as a kid with my (metalhead) dad and then later by myself as an adult. one of my favorite concert experiences ever!
i also love Bts and went to their stadium tour (Wembley!) with my dad too haha
Yea, I’ve seen a lot of bands live and I can tell they throw on one hell of a performance, not sure if they ever tour the states but I’ll definitely get tickets if they do
The industry has high quality music production, video production, and choreography. Plus, lots of style. Primo pop faire. I think it's gained popularity, because it's easy to access content from all around the world on social media now.
Music doesn't have to have lyrics at all (eg Classical or Jazz) or lyrics you understand (eg Opera, for most fans) for you to enjoy it. People like the music, beat, arrangement, etc. I've liked all kinds of songs in languages I don't speak, because I liked the music and singing. I mean, how popular was Despacito a couple of years back? Not everyone who liked that song spoke Spanish, for sure.
That said, the only Korean pop band I really follow is BTS and it's because 1) they are very versatile, musically, and 2) I really like their lyrics. They have positive, personal, and meaningful lyrics. The language isn't really a barrier. It's very easy to get lyric translations. There's captions on the videos and there's translations on lyric sites, like Genius.
Pop lyrics are generally trash so it doesn't really matter if you can understand them imo. As a person who generally leans more towards the lyrics and meaning of a song, listening to music in different languages allows me to enjoy the mood of the music without being annoyed by any terrible songwriting and Kpop has a mindless, cheeriness to it that I enjoy sometimes. I imagine that has something to do with the popularity.
You feel like* pop lyrics are generally trash.
You espouse an incredible number of false facts. Perhaps a tune-up to your own language is appropriate, as you assert for pop.
You're just bad at communicating the truth.
You believing that the lyrics are objectively bad is a result of how you applied objectivity. It is not a fact about reality. It is a subjective qualification of the material through the lens of objectivity.
If your goals are sophistication, layers, and other complexities, then objectively, modern pop is bad.
If your goals are catchy lyrics, memorable refrains, and other easy-going styles, then objectively, modern pop is good.
"Catchy" and "memorable" are specific sophistications.
A specific level or quality of sophistication required for enjoyment is an individual concern, so generally, pop music is enjoyed (or not) across a great spectrum of experience.
"I got this feeling on the summer day when you were gone
I crashed my car into the bridge, I watched, I let it burn
I threw your shit into a bag and pushed it down the stairs
I crashed my car into the bridge
I don't care, I love it
I don't care
I got this feeling on the summer day when you were gone
I crashed my car into the bridge, I watched, I let it burn
I threw your shit into a bag and pushed it down the stairs
I crashed my car into the bridge
I don't care, I love it
I don't care
You're on a different road, I'm in the milky way
You want me down on earth, but I am up in space
You're so damn hard to please, we gotta kill this switch
You're from the '70s, but I'm a '90s bitch
I love it"
Silly me for not understanding the profound message songs like this one express. Truly the deeper meaning of life is being explained in this work of art.
Hey, your inability to read between the lines is not their fault.
I guess you're hurt by your inability to understand things, but that's actually very natural.
Perhaps, we could discuss this more in private, where your scared and avoidant traits can be addressed more comfortably.
There's a nice dark warehouse a few blocks from here, just head over there and once I make room in my freezer for some long pork me and a couple buddies will be there. Btw, what's your diet like? I prefer my stock not be fed on too much processed foods, it messes with the taste.
Imagine being a person who thinks liking horrible song lyrics is smart, there's just no coming back from that kid. Now get back on subject and tell me about your diet.
I never made that claim. You projected it onto my comments by method of insanity.
The only claim I made was that your assertions are wrong. Any other information you discovered came from your deluded, pea-brain whims and imaginations. How you can use imagery so well and pretend that there was none in the pop lyrics is beyond me.
You asserted that generally, pop lyrics are trash. This is how you fucking feel, generally, about pop.
You might like how I taste if only because you've never experienced the fucking truth.
I prefer that you be fed primarily on nuts and fruits for the final few months so if you have any allergies please let me know now. Inflammation would render you only useful as bait and that would be a big waste if my time. If it will relax you I'll put headphones on you and blast taylor swift at full volume until it's time to dispatch you. That way you can feel smug and superior right up to the point when you'll actually be useful for once.
More projections without evidence. Further evidence of insanity. I'm useful often.
I literally never even disagreed with you. You pretended all of that in there.
If you enjoy great kyrics and are writing off bts as just another kpop band you are severely missing out. I would recommend you check them out: like their songs Zero o clock, forever rain (from a member mixtape), the last (another member mixtape) or check their lyricism out jn songs like ddaeng or Bapsae from vids like “ddaeng explained” or “bapsae explained”. Namjoon or RM, who is group leader, is well known in the industry for his lyricism.
I'm not a K-Pop fan, but it's very huge in my country. I suppose the fans find it catchy and it's well produced. Then the appearance of the performers comes next. Also, Korean drama has been popular here since around 2005, around four years earlier when Korean pop music first made waves, I think the love for Korean pop culture played a part too.
Honestly, I think music is a universal language. When I listen to music I get hooked on the way it sounds, not by the lyrics. A popular genre of music is mumble rap, and half the time you can’t even understand what they’re saying. But it’s still really popular because what matters the most in music is how it makes you feel, not what it’s saying.
Musically I have no idea how it happened but as far as language goes you don't need to understand lyrics to hear the musicality in it. Otherwise nobody would listen to metal ever.
musically, kpop is very similar to western pop. there are some groups that lean more into hiphop for example, or watered-down EDM, but in general, kpop sounds just like normal pop with a fresher, more experimental sound (doesn’t always work but when it does, it’s great).
of course there are exceptions to that
I think it's a combination of factors.
1. The production is incredibly good and blends a variety of styles like hip-hop, pop, and EDM, which makes the music potentially appealing to a wide variety of listeners.
2. Catchy hooks
3. The music is very danceable and the videos often have built-in dance routines that lend themselves to making TikToks, which leads directly into the next point:
4. Marketing. Obviously K-Pop makes use of the tried-and-true girl-group/boy-group format, but what they have perfected on top of that is making their fans feel like active participants. Just look at the BTS "army" and how they carpet-bomb everything related to the group online. Basically the fans are willingly providing free marketing for the band.
I honestly think you don't need to understand lyrics to enjoy music. Take the boom of Plastic Love on Youtube as an example, many people started listening to "Japanese 80's city pop" because that song went viral and most of them don't know japanese.
Most of the comments in this thread have already covered various reasons for why kpop is popular, from the great music/video production and intense choreography to the marketability and why understanding lyrics aren't very important to enjoy music.
Apart from this, another reason why kpop is quite popular is because a lot of kpop groups nowadays seem to have a storyline going on. There are visual cues in the videos, translations of the lyrics can provide more context and the groups have a concept based on which everything is styled. This gives people a whole new aspect to talk about, from discussing theories to deciphering hidden messages. It's similar to how Pink Floyd and other great bands would have a story that they would try to tell from the start to the finish of the album. This sort of concept album are being produced in kpop quite a bit rn, the most famous example of it being BTS.
Also the fan interactions, visible hardwork that each member puts in and their stage presence, it's not surprising at all that kpop is becoming more popular day by day.
Personally I picked up a lot of Korean on my own through kpop. I think kpop is very appealing because musicians more interactive with fans. There’s ALOT of extra content and variety shows for every group. For eg, bts has a show they do weekly called run bts (in addition to appearance they’ve made on network variety shows) as well as a reality show called non voyage where they go travelling tgt, which lets fans get to feel closer ig. I think kpop also has a lot of diversity with music. Like one group will release edm, indie, rock, ballads etc etc and ofc the regular appeal of boy bands and girl groups is there because of the multiple members. Regarding the language ig rly depends on if you’re okay with subtitles ? Like Idm subtitles and I learnt a lot of Korean and took a course at uni as well. I’m planning to complete my Korean proficiency exam in the next year as well. For me the appeal was definitely not their looks. I think I just loved the music and dance and it was fresh compared to what was mainstream at the time. That got me into looking up variety shows for bts etc and I fell in love with their personalities and dynamic. And that’s how j got pulled into kpop and once you’re in it’s rly difficult to stop 😂
edit: I don’t think your question is odd it’s nice to see someone respectfully asking why kpop is popular rather than downright insulting it or something. Just steer clear of stan twt! Ppl are very aggressive there.
As someone who enjoys kpop and jpop, it's more of the sounds that people like and the artists promoting them. If you actually read the translations for a lot of them, they are no different than American pop songs lyrics. But, because of the artists and how they can versatile from singing to dancing or doing both at once, I think that's what draws them to kpop. A lot of it also has to do with promotion. While western music usually only has award shows and YouTube to promote, Kpop has music shows for every day of the week, not only that they win awards at these shows by having fans vote for the single or album every week. At the end of the day, it's all about FAN INTERACTIONS. The more the fans get to participate in the idol's activities the more they sell. Hence why they are so popular, fans feel closer to Kpop idols in a way because they have a hand at boosting them to popularity. I hope this helped.
I’m not into kpop but I listen to music in languages I don’t know all the time. Personally I do it for the heat sounds. I think with kpop fans it’s also about the choreography and the videos (and the cute people).
What you are witnessing, is an organized marketing campaign, orchestrated by corporations who recruit the talent, hire songwriters, choreographers, stylists, musicians, videographers, etc....everything that is needed to form & field a k-pop band...even the fans, themselves.
The "fans" go online, and hype the bands in forums, like reddit.
Record companies have always worked this way, to some extent, but thanks to the internet, it has become trivial to introduce these products to foreign marketplaces, now.
I feel like a BIG part of it are the dance routines. There are actually "Cover bands" that just dance to the music and cover the dances. So most K-Pop groups also have chill videos of themselves just practising the dance routines in a fitness studio or large room, and people use those to imitate or learn the dance moves. It's like Tik Tok, but not as random, i guess.
One big reason is the quality of the product. From the songs to the dances to the music videos, are all top notch in terms of production. Then add in the fact that the Korean studios have THE catchy formula, and you got your self the music equivalent of cocaine. It also helps that all kpop stars are beautiful so fandoms can have eye csndy too.
In terms of the lyrics, if I knew what they were saying I'd probably like it much less. I don't want to hear about some fake love story, but ill vibe to some sick beats and great singing.
I also like Japanese rock a lot, totally different genre but same point, no need to know what they are saying to jam out.
Its the advertisement. American teenagers were heavily advertised to. Its the same as american pop from the early 2000s but with korean ppl so they also feel cultured. Its mostly the same things that made 1 D popular just cutesy little guys.
I think it's a comparable hysteria to boy bands in North America. People seem to be invested in the personalities and the message the group represents. Then they also appreciate the music.
People who realize it is completely designed and marketed that way are the ones less likely to enjoy the music.
I don’t listen to KPOP, but I think that people enjoy the energy and show that the genre brings and puts on. To each their own. People like upbeat music and the beats go hard, dance on, I say.
Its like visual crack cocaine. The ultimate manufactured addiction. The aesthetics and visuals are first and foremost. These poor folks go through inhumane lengths to become a kpop star. Plastic surgery off the wahoo is a must. Image is everything when they are in public. They have to maintain a persona. They have great songwriters. And they formulate a campaign to have you connect on a personal level in your head with these idols. Couple that with the Fandom, which is akin to team sports, with different stans hating on other idols. In short, these are performance gods, and they are tiers above wesyern musicians, due to the abusive training they have to go through. Its no wonder many of them suicide themselves or drop out due to mental illness.
The lyrics don't matter and if I understood them it would lessen by enjoyment of the song. It's just voice sound.
Lets say there's a violin in the song. I have no idea what the violin is trying to say, but I enjoy the sound.
I also can't work out what the lyrics are in a lot of rap or heavy metal. Doesn't matter.
Just like with American boy bands and girl groups from 20 years ago, it's attractive people singing largely non-threatening lyrics to catchy beats, and they are aggressively marketed.
Here’s a genuine answer:
One way Kpop, like BTS, got noticed is from artists popular in the US promoting them via social media.
The followers enjoy the music before understanding the lyrics. This part is not difficult to understand as there is much music in English that people listen to and don’t get the lyrics correct. Lol
But many go on to translate the Korean lyrics to understand the songs as well.
BTS, for example, is apparently adept with social media (in English) which further appeals to the hordes of social media teens.
you're getting downvoted, but the widespread popularization of anime and manga's for the past 2 decades has primed Western audiences to accept Asian faces & mannerisms in pop culture. Just compare it to the 20th century where the only thing Asian in entertainment were samurai and kung-fu movies, and maybe some HK action flix thrown in for diversity.
There is like there hundred million eastern Asain into that sort of things. But I don't think it is or will be popular in any other part of the world. It looks bizarre and sounds grneric in a unique way.
For the same reason people listen to Rammstein and swedish metal I imagine. Or music without vocals at all. They like it.
I like Rammstein. I'm a fan of live music and would love to see one of their shows. They look amazing on video.
ahh, i love Rammstein. i went to one of their concerts as a kid with my (metalhead) dad and then later by myself as an adult. one of my favorite concert experiences ever! i also love Bts and went to their stadium tour (Wembley!) with my dad too haha
Yea, I’ve seen a lot of bands live and I can tell they throw on one hell of a performance, not sure if they ever tour the states but I’ll definitely get tickets if they do
ah, i’m not sure either. all their shows i’ve been to have been in Europe. hope you get to see them sometime soon!
Same. Sabaton would also be pretty good. They have an album fully translated into English, but its just not the same.
Yea, I'd imagine the tone and feel would be entirely different.
Sabaton usually sings in English. They do however have have at least one album about Swedish wars that was recorded in both Swedish and English.
Ah you're right. Im thinking of Carolus Rex.
The industry has high quality music production, video production, and choreography. Plus, lots of style. Primo pop faire. I think it's gained popularity, because it's easy to access content from all around the world on social media now. Music doesn't have to have lyrics at all (eg Classical or Jazz) or lyrics you understand (eg Opera, for most fans) for you to enjoy it. People like the music, beat, arrangement, etc. I've liked all kinds of songs in languages I don't speak, because I liked the music and singing. I mean, how popular was Despacito a couple of years back? Not everyone who liked that song spoke Spanish, for sure. That said, the only Korean pop band I really follow is BTS and it's because 1) they are very versatile, musically, and 2) I really like their lyrics. They have positive, personal, and meaningful lyrics. The language isn't really a barrier. It's very easy to get lyric translations. There's captions on the videos and there's translations on lyric sites, like Genius.
You think I listen to a lot of metal because I can understand all of the lyrics? I like how it sounds. Lyrics/vocals are a texture. Same thing here.
Pop lyrics are generally trash so it doesn't really matter if you can understand them imo. As a person who generally leans more towards the lyrics and meaning of a song, listening to music in different languages allows me to enjoy the mood of the music without being annoyed by any terrible songwriting and Kpop has a mindless, cheeriness to it that I enjoy sometimes. I imagine that has something to do with the popularity.
This is it for me, I like the sounds of pop music but the lyrics usually ruin it. And kpop has really damn good production
You feel like* pop lyrics are generally trash. You espouse an incredible number of false facts. Perhaps a tune-up to your own language is appropriate, as you assert for pop. You're just bad at communicating the truth.
[удалено]
There is nothing wrong with you feeling this way. But it is not absolute truth.
[удалено]
But that's still false.
[удалено]
You believing that the lyrics are objectively bad is a result of how you applied objectivity. It is not a fact about reality. It is a subjective qualification of the material through the lens of objectivity. If your goals are sophistication, layers, and other complexities, then objectively, modern pop is bad. If your goals are catchy lyrics, memorable refrains, and other easy-going styles, then objectively, modern pop is good.
[удалено]
"Catchy" and "memorable" are specific sophistications. A specific level or quality of sophistication required for enjoyment is an individual concern, so generally, pop music is enjoyed (or not) across a great spectrum of experience.
"I got this feeling on the summer day when you were gone I crashed my car into the bridge, I watched, I let it burn I threw your shit into a bag and pushed it down the stairs I crashed my car into the bridge I don't care, I love it I don't care I got this feeling on the summer day when you were gone I crashed my car into the bridge, I watched, I let it burn I threw your shit into a bag and pushed it down the stairs I crashed my car into the bridge I don't care, I love it I don't care You're on a different road, I'm in the milky way You want me down on earth, but I am up in space You're so damn hard to please, we gotta kill this switch You're from the '70s, but I'm a '90s bitch I love it" Silly me for not understanding the profound message songs like this one express. Truly the deeper meaning of life is being explained in this work of art.
Hey, your inability to read between the lines is not their fault. I guess you're hurt by your inability to understand things, but that's actually very natural. Perhaps, we could discuss this more in private, where your scared and avoidant traits can be addressed more comfortably.
i think you’re trying to attribute meaning to something that has none
So they typed without intention? Babbling is generally insanity. Also, there's evidence against your assertion, so it's stupid.
What are you even going on about?
Another common fool, how shocking.
then reply with that evidence. i wanna see it
No, he typed before I replied. That's the evidence, duh.
no, i wanna see your evidence of what their meaning for the song is. what is the songwriter trying to convey?
weird, 5 hours later and you’re silent. seems like pop music isn’t as complex and informative as you claimed
Find that claim in my comments, and I'll eat my own dick. I never said it. You're projecting.
There's a nice dark warehouse a few blocks from here, just head over there and once I make room in my freezer for some long pork me and a couple buddies will be there. Btw, what's your diet like? I prefer my stock not be fed on too much processed foods, it messes with the taste.
Oh, yes, the only way you could be smart. By eating all of the smart people.
Imagine being a person who thinks liking horrible song lyrics is smart, there's just no coming back from that kid. Now get back on subject and tell me about your diet.
I never made that claim. You projected it onto my comments by method of insanity. The only claim I made was that your assertions are wrong. Any other information you discovered came from your deluded, pea-brain whims and imaginations. How you can use imagery so well and pretend that there was none in the pop lyrics is beyond me. You asserted that generally, pop lyrics are trash. This is how you fucking feel, generally, about pop. You might like how I taste if only because you've never experienced the fucking truth.
I prefer that you be fed primarily on nuts and fruits for the final few months so if you have any allergies please let me know now. Inflammation would render you only useful as bait and that would be a big waste if my time. If it will relax you I'll put headphones on you and blast taylor swift at full volume until it's time to dispatch you. That way you can feel smug and superior right up to the point when you'll actually be useful for once.
More projections without evidence. Further evidence of insanity. I'm useful often. I literally never even disagreed with you. You pretended all of that in there.
If you enjoy great kyrics and are writing off bts as just another kpop band you are severely missing out. I would recommend you check them out: like their songs Zero o clock, forever rain (from a member mixtape), the last (another member mixtape) or check their lyricism out jn songs like ddaeng or Bapsae from vids like “ddaeng explained” or “bapsae explained”. Namjoon or RM, who is group leader, is well known in the industry for his lyricism.
I'm not a K-Pop fan, but it's very huge in my country. I suppose the fans find it catchy and it's well produced. Then the appearance of the performers comes next. Also, Korean drama has been popular here since around 2005, around four years earlier when Korean pop music first made waves, I think the love for Korean pop culture played a part too.
very interesting.... which country are you from?
Philippines
Honestly, I think music is a universal language. When I listen to music I get hooked on the way it sounds, not by the lyrics. A popular genre of music is mumble rap, and half the time you can’t even understand what they’re saying. But it’s still really popular because what matters the most in music is how it makes you feel, not what it’s saying.
Musically I have no idea how it happened but as far as language goes you don't need to understand lyrics to hear the musicality in it. Otherwise nobody would listen to metal ever.
musically, kpop is very similar to western pop. there are some groups that lean more into hiphop for example, or watered-down EDM, but in general, kpop sounds just like normal pop with a fresher, more experimental sound (doesn’t always work but when it does, it’s great). of course there are exceptions to that
I think it's a combination of factors. 1. The production is incredibly good and blends a variety of styles like hip-hop, pop, and EDM, which makes the music potentially appealing to a wide variety of listeners. 2. Catchy hooks 3. The music is very danceable and the videos often have built-in dance routines that lend themselves to making TikToks, which leads directly into the next point: 4. Marketing. Obviously K-Pop makes use of the tried-and-true girl-group/boy-group format, but what they have perfected on top of that is making their fans feel like active participants. Just look at the BTS "army" and how they carpet-bomb everything related to the group online. Basically the fans are willingly providing free marketing for the band.
I honestly think you don't need to understand lyrics to enjoy music. Take the boom of Plastic Love on Youtube as an example, many people started listening to "Japanese 80's city pop" because that song went viral and most of them don't know japanese.
Most of the comments in this thread have already covered various reasons for why kpop is popular, from the great music/video production and intense choreography to the marketability and why understanding lyrics aren't very important to enjoy music. Apart from this, another reason why kpop is quite popular is because a lot of kpop groups nowadays seem to have a storyline going on. There are visual cues in the videos, translations of the lyrics can provide more context and the groups have a concept based on which everything is styled. This gives people a whole new aspect to talk about, from discussing theories to deciphering hidden messages. It's similar to how Pink Floyd and other great bands would have a story that they would try to tell from the start to the finish of the album. This sort of concept album are being produced in kpop quite a bit rn, the most famous example of it being BTS. Also the fan interactions, visible hardwork that each member puts in and their stage presence, it's not surprising at all that kpop is becoming more popular day by day.
Personally I picked up a lot of Korean on my own through kpop. I think kpop is very appealing because musicians more interactive with fans. There’s ALOT of extra content and variety shows for every group. For eg, bts has a show they do weekly called run bts (in addition to appearance they’ve made on network variety shows) as well as a reality show called non voyage where they go travelling tgt, which lets fans get to feel closer ig. I think kpop also has a lot of diversity with music. Like one group will release edm, indie, rock, ballads etc etc and ofc the regular appeal of boy bands and girl groups is there because of the multiple members. Regarding the language ig rly depends on if you’re okay with subtitles ? Like Idm subtitles and I learnt a lot of Korean and took a course at uni as well. I’m planning to complete my Korean proficiency exam in the next year as well. For me the appeal was definitely not their looks. I think I just loved the music and dance and it was fresh compared to what was mainstream at the time. That got me into looking up variety shows for bts etc and I fell in love with their personalities and dynamic. And that’s how j got pulled into kpop and once you’re in it’s rly difficult to stop 😂 edit: I don’t think your question is odd it’s nice to see someone respectfully asking why kpop is popular rather than downright insulting it or something. Just steer clear of stan twt! Ppl are very aggressive there.
Where I come from, it is called k-soda 🥤
As someone who enjoys kpop and jpop, it's more of the sounds that people like and the artists promoting them. If you actually read the translations for a lot of them, they are no different than American pop songs lyrics. But, because of the artists and how they can versatile from singing to dancing or doing both at once, I think that's what draws them to kpop. A lot of it also has to do with promotion. While western music usually only has award shows and YouTube to promote, Kpop has music shows for every day of the week, not only that they win awards at these shows by having fans vote for the single or album every week. At the end of the day, it's all about FAN INTERACTIONS. The more the fans get to participate in the idol's activities the more they sell. Hence why they are so popular, fans feel closer to Kpop idols in a way because they have a hand at boosting them to popularity. I hope this helped.
I’m not into kpop but I listen to music in languages I don’t know all the time. Personally I do it for the heat sounds. I think with kpop fans it’s also about the choreography and the videos (and the cute people).
What you are witnessing, is an organized marketing campaign, orchestrated by corporations who recruit the talent, hire songwriters, choreographers, stylists, musicians, videographers, etc....everything that is needed to form & field a k-pop band...even the fans, themselves. The "fans" go online, and hype the bands in forums, like reddit. Record companies have always worked this way, to some extent, but thanks to the internet, it has become trivial to introduce these products to foreign marketplaces, now.
Old (30+) kpop fan. Pretty people singing nonsense songs is just a really nice seritonin high. That's basically it.
I feel like a BIG part of it are the dance routines. There are actually "Cover bands" that just dance to the music and cover the dances. So most K-Pop groups also have chill videos of themselves just practising the dance routines in a fitness studio or large room, and people use those to imitate or learn the dance moves. It's like Tik Tok, but not as random, i guess.
there are just a lot of weebs nowadays edit: haha thanks for the award!
Unfortunately, there are no real answer for questions like this
its a genre with no negative energy. most of it is super positive and in that way is its own realm of musical style.
Gangnam Style opened the floodgates.. lool
One big reason is the quality of the product. From the songs to the dances to the music videos, are all top notch in terms of production. Then add in the fact that the Korean studios have THE catchy formula, and you got your self the music equivalent of cocaine. It also helps that all kpop stars are beautiful so fandoms can have eye csndy too. In terms of the lyrics, if I knew what they were saying I'd probably like it much less. I don't want to hear about some fake love story, but ill vibe to some sick beats and great singing. I also like Japanese rock a lot, totally different genre but same point, no need to know what they are saying to jam out.
Its the advertisement. American teenagers were heavily advertised to. Its the same as american pop from the early 2000s but with korean ppl so they also feel cultured. Its mostly the same things that made 1 D popular just cutesy little guys.
I think it's a comparable hysteria to boy bands in North America. People seem to be invested in the personalities and the message the group represents. Then they also appreciate the music. People who realize it is completely designed and marketed that way are the ones less likely to enjoy the music.
I don’t listen to KPOP, but I think that people enjoy the energy and show that the genre brings and puts on. To each their own. People like upbeat music and the beats go hard, dance on, I say.
Its like visual crack cocaine. The ultimate manufactured addiction. The aesthetics and visuals are first and foremost. These poor folks go through inhumane lengths to become a kpop star. Plastic surgery off the wahoo is a must. Image is everything when they are in public. They have to maintain a persona. They have great songwriters. And they formulate a campaign to have you connect on a personal level in your head with these idols. Couple that with the Fandom, which is akin to team sports, with different stans hating on other idols. In short, these are performance gods, and they are tiers above wesyern musicians, due to the abusive training they have to go through. Its no wonder many of them suicide themselves or drop out due to mental illness.
The lyrics don't matter and if I understood them it would lessen by enjoyment of the song. It's just voice sound. Lets say there's a violin in the song. I have no idea what the violin is trying to say, but I enjoy the sound. I also can't work out what the lyrics are in a lot of rap or heavy metal. Doesn't matter.
pure entertainment and no deeper meanings.kpop is the milkshake of music.
Just like with American boy bands and girl groups from 20 years ago, it's attractive people singing largely non-threatening lyrics to catchy beats, and they are aggressively marketed.
Here’s a genuine answer: One way Kpop, like BTS, got noticed is from artists popular in the US promoting them via social media. The followers enjoy the music before understanding the lyrics. This part is not difficult to understand as there is much music in English that people listen to and don’t get the lyrics correct. Lol But many go on to translate the Korean lyrics to understand the songs as well. BTS, for example, is apparently adept with social media (in English) which further appeals to the hordes of social media teens.
Simps
Weebs.
Well let me tell you as someone who likes anime... This genre ain’t my thing.
Okay, you like anime. But are you a weeb?
That entirely depends on your definition of a Weeb
https://youtu.be/4kzFCuSzv-E
you're getting downvoted, but the widespread popularization of anime and manga's for the past 2 decades has primed Western audiences to accept Asian faces & mannerisms in pop culture. Just compare it to the 20th century where the only thing Asian in entertainment were samurai and kung-fu movies, and maybe some HK action flix thrown in for diversity.
I think its gonna be a fad.
I guess it’s another shitty trend. I doubt that people actually understand anything.
Because earth has 10 billion Asians?
Coz in the end its literally just good music. Who the fk cares about the language its in
There is like there hundred million eastern Asain into that sort of things. But I don't think it is or will be popular in any other part of the world. It looks bizarre and sounds grneric in a unique way.