Music Monday #2

Welcome to the second installment of Music Monday.  This time I thought that seen as though this is a blog about living in Korea I would show you just a taste of K-Pop.  If you don't know what K-pop is - well then what rock have you been hiding under :)

K-pop is apparently taking over the world, well especially if you talk to a Korean person,  it is in fact the most popular music in Asia at the moment and most of the K-pop groups have large followings in Japan for example.  The are also trying to move into the American market and some groups have released songs in English just for this.  Girls Generation arguably the most famous girl group recently made an appearance on 'The Late Show with David Letterman'.

It's pretty much just what it says - Korean Popular music.  However its a bit different than pop in the west, first off - well it's pretty much a religion over here, the majority of your average everyday Korean is going to love K-pop.  Secondly they do not do things half-arsed - its bigger, flashier and more put together than what you are used to. Third they like groups better than solo acts, also the bigger the group the better (I guess they figure if it is big you will be able to relate to at least one member) and finally these groups are made by big companies - they recruit the talent, put them in groups, train them for years and finally release them to the world as a brand new act, they work very hard and don't get much time off.

Also as a side note - my personal opinion - some of the boys in the boy groups are almost indistinguishable from the girls.  Often you see a picture of one of the 'famous stars' promoting a beauty product and not knowing who they are you have to ask yourself - hmmm is that a girl or a boy (case and point in this video today - guy with the long hair could totally pass for a girl especially with the makeup).

This video is a new one from what I would say is the most popular K-pop band (you may disagree).  They are called Big Bang and have been around for a while now.  This is one of the popular new singles of their new album.  Lots of my students at school are all quoting it and making references to it.  I did not know it was what they were quoting until I saw the video a couple of weeks ago after making a music lesson for one of my classes.  Anyway here it is and I think its a great one to show just what K-pop is all about.

Big Bang - Fantastic Baby