K-pop activism must go further than fancams

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This year is quickly teaching everyone that K-pop fans never miss a single beat. Not when promoting their favorite artists, or even when involving themselves in racial and political movements. Their weapon of choice is none other than the fancam: the 2020 stan’s most powerful — and potentially problematic — online tool for building K-pop’s visibility in a media landscape that often racializes and erases it. 

American media has a long history of denying K-pop—and people of Asian diasporas more broadly — their place in U.S. pop culture. Articles about K-pop from the early 2010s, like John Seabrook’s “Factory Girls,” demonstrated that American media acknowledged K-pop’s existence, but diminished it as a fad of Korean absurdity instead of a legitimate musical production (only a handful of writers and outlets, including Billboard and the now-defunct MTV Iggy, gave K-pop any serious attention). It was only when BTS’ albums began topping the Billboard 200 regularly that American entertainment publications, who knew differences in the facial structures of the Kardashian sisters down to DNA, suddenly scrambled to become relevant to the growing Stateside K-pop fanbase, even mixing up K-pop idols with Instagram models in the process. 

Fancams, or short clips of K-pop idols performing their songs, have appeared all over the internet in recent months, from the replies on Trump tweets to those on entertainment news publications; South Korean media conglomerates regularly release fancams now in recognition of the trend’s impact. They serve as a further embodiment of K-pop’s increasing relevance to western pop culture. To some, however, K-pop stans’ trolling is ruining the internet as we know it. The relentless posting of fancams has earned considerable backlash in the form of online rant videos entitled “F*CK K-POP STANS” and the viral #fancamsareoverparty hashtag, alongside similar tags and statements that trend every few weeks. The sudden ubiquity of fancams has even been covered and analyzed by multiple outlets, including Mashable, members of the Cardiff University community, and Distractify.

At its core, K-pop fancam spam is a political practice, a deliberate repurposing of traditional methods of spamming and trolling for the sake of questioning the boundaries of politics and racialization. By posting under Trump rants and Fox News articles, as well as Ariana Grande tweets and Pop Crave reports, K-pop fandoms mounted the argument that their favorite artists deserve visibility in pop culture. And if EW or ClevverNews won’t post enough about it, then stans will. In this way, posting a fancam is a subversive callout of the racialized marginalization of Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and Thai artists in American and western media, even if fans themselves often engage in the practice only for promotional — and not overtly political — purposes. With the fancam, ARMYs, Orbits, BLINKs, and other K-pop fans assert that the cultural products of Asian artists cannot be reduced to a fad or moment. They instead create a constant virality that, for the American onlooker, is becoming harder and harder to ignore.

In recent weeks, we’ve seen the fan communities that post these clips mobilize and weaponize fancams for a related but different political purpose—the obstruction of anti-Black racism and policing. When Dallas police asked citizens to upload videos and images of protestors to their iWatch Dallas app, K-pop fans deliberately flooded the app with K-pop fancams, forcing the app to go down temporarily. K-pop fans similarly flooded the #CalminKirkland hashtag, which was used by the Kirkland Police Department to identify people involved in “rioting or looting,” with fancams of artists like BTS and ITZY. Most notably, K-pop fans and TikTok users banded together to sell out tickets to Trump’s 2020 campaign rally in Tulsa, only to leave those seats embarrassingly empty. Commentary in the MIT Technology Review as well as a tweet from Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have now acknowledged the political power of “K-pop allies.”

Also on KultScene: The erasure of Black K-pop fans in the wake of BLM & activism

But the fancam may not be the perfect weapon of choice in the fight for racial equity, as there are critical flaws in this narrative of justice-seeking and AfroAsian solidarity among members of the K-pop fan community. While fancam spam might have been a form of subversive justice for underrated K-pop artists, it does not resolve anti-Blackness within K-pop audiovisual cultures and fan circles, let alone anti-Blackness in America and around the world.

Black fans on Twitter and in a number of publications and forums have commented on anti-Blackness in K-pop fan communities. K-pop groups have also carried out anti-Black racist behavior, from Blackface and singing the n-word, to rampant cultural appropriation of hairstyles and dress. Fans and commentators regularly point out that much of K-pop’s musical roots can be found in past and present Black American cultural productions. The global emergence of K-pop has made clear that, while there is justice attained in achieving greater visibility for Korean and other Asian artists, anti-Blackness might actually be amplified by K-pop fandoms in some ways, in spite of the recent rally around the Black Lives Matter movement among its global fan communities. 

Overwhelming hashtags like #WhiteLivesMatter with fancams has been recognized and praised in some media circles, but the practice has actually been criticized by Black K-pop fans and followers. KultScene’s very own Nnehkai Agbor comments that while “co-option has been a beneficial tool for fans to gain control of or change narratives… fans who hijacked the tag did not consider the ramifications of trending the name of a dangerous group” whose name and goals are rooted in hate and anti-Blackness. Kpopcast co-host Stephanie Parker also found the practice of hijacking racist hashtags a disturbing and anti-Black rather than anti-racist. “Did you ask a single Black person if this was a good idea? No, I can answer that for you… no,” she said on an episode of the podcast titled “Listen to Black K-pop fans.” Clearly, what may feel like online activism and anti-racist collective action to non-Black K-pop fans might actually be nothing more than using moments of racial tension to promote your faves at the expense of Black fans and Black people. 

A recent Reuters article brought these tensions to a front with the headline “Global K-pop fans emerge as a political force, but some in South Korea worry.” The article cites wariness from South Korean fans of popular K-pop groups, who are worried “that their favourite artists will be pulled into foreign partisan fights.” While the voices of South Korean fans should definitely be centered in narratives about K-pop and the Hallyu wave, we also need to question whether the fight against anti-Blackness is “foreign” to K-pop artists. Despite the fact that many K-pop stars come from South Korea (and often Japan, China, and Thailand among other countries as well), we must remember that K-pop artists often perform musical styles and genres that were first pioneered by Black Americans navigating the repercussions and realities of centuries of subjugation and oppression. Some K-pop stars like GOT7’s Mark Tuan and ITZY’s Lia have lived in the U.S. and Canada, respectively, which demonstrates that K-pop artists and K-pop music, at some level, may not be so “foreign” after all.

This is not to say that K-pop has no Korean roots — that would be an absurd and ignorant claim. Songs like “I Love You” by 2NE1 pull influence from trot, a genre of popular Korean music that was popular in the 1960s and ‘70s, and has connections to Korea’s own history with Japanese imperialism and colonialism. K-pop stars also regularly advertise Korean culture — products, food, tourism, sites, and history — in music videos, vlogs, and dramas. But to act as if many K-pop artists are simply unrelated to or “foreign” to the fight for Black liberation is equally ignorant of the genre’s musical roots. This is why a $1 million donation to Black Lives Matter from BTS — a group whose music largely draws from and is inspired by Black productions of hip-hop and rap — is not only a reflection of BTS’ choice to engage in American movements, but also a demonstration of the considerable stakes that K-pop and its fans have in justice for Black people and communities in the U.S. and around the world. 

Also on KultScene: WHY K-POP IDOLS SHOULD SUPPORT & ENGAGE WITH BLACK LIVES MATTER

These complicated racial realities and tensions inherent in K-pop’s global emergence beg the question to fellow fans: Why are you posting fancams right now? 

The mobilizing capacity of global K-pop fans has the political power to center more narratives than just those of our favorite idols. Wouldn’t it be better to trend hashtags about Oluwatoyin Salau, a young Black woman and activist who was sexually assaulted and murdered in the midst of fighting for Black lives and Black trans lives? Shouldn’t K-pop stans be using our collective power to center thinkers like Angela Davis and Ruth Wilson Gilmore, who have imagined a world without police and prisons for decades and continue to inspire activism and organizing around the issues of police and prison abolition? 

As BLINKs, ONCEs, ARMYs, Orbits, and fans of other K-pop acts, we have stakes in movements for Black liberation, too. We also know how to challenge online boundaries and find new avenues of representation and visibility through tweeting, spamming, and simply existing where we sometimes feel we aren’t supposed to. Let’s use this ground-shaking energy for efforts that go beyond symbols and tags—instead, let’s emphasize trending donation links, petitions, and Black-led protests and organizations that center Black people, their experiences, and their voices. Or else, we risk drowning out other voices in favor of our own, which seems a lot like what we were fighting against in the first place. 

Want to support Black people and Black-led movements for justice? Donate to the TGI Justice Project, sign this petition demanding justice for Toyin Salau, and follow/donate to the African American Policy Forum (donation link here).

KultScene is a writer-driven website dedicated to creating a platform where diverse voices’ takes on K-pop can be heard. If you like this post and would like to see more by helping support KultScene’s writers fund, please email us for more details.

The erasure of Black K-pop fans in the wake of BLM & activism

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kpop blm black lives matter Black fans erasure

The past few weeks have seen an increased interest in K-pop and the politics that surround it as U.S. fans implemented tactics used to promote their favorite acts to fight police brutality and racism. The emergence of K-pop fans as “unlikely allies” and “unsung heroes” for the Black Lives Matter movement received praise from celebrities, politicians, and the media for their allyship and activism. Their notoriety on social media was reimagined as they became viewed as vigilantes fighting the good fight. That notion was furthered when fans and TikTokers used their savviness to sabotage a Trump rally in Tulsa, OK, by reserving seats and not attending the event. 

The mainstream coverage surrounding K-pop’s political activism centered around stereotypes and one-dimensional takes on the identity of K-pop’s fandoms. The surprise activism of assumed young, white women became the story but ignored the activism history of K-pop fans and the diversity of fans. While media outlets began to explore K-pop’s fandom in-depth, the erasure of Black fans from most conversations was a deafening reminder of history repeating itself. Black people – especially Black women – are left out of conversations that impact them. In fandom, the erasure of Black voices results from anti-Blackness and co-option. 

Black fans served as the backbone of K-pop fans joining the Black Lives Matter movement.  They rallied together laying the groundwork to bring attention to the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and police brutality within their fandoms and the K-pop industry. They used #BlackLivesMatter hashtags within their fandom spaces and tagged their favorite acts. 

Initially, their efforts were met with pushback aimed to keep K-pop and politics separate from each other. 

Also on KultScene: WHY K-POP IDOLS SHOULD SUPPORT & ENGAGE WITH BLACK LIVES MATTER

Throughout K-pop’s legacy, it has not been able to remain completely apolitical. Artists have shown support for comfort women and been caught in the crossfires of foreign politics in Asia. When the #MeToo movement reached South Korean, girl group Girls’ Generation’s debut track “Into A New World” became a protest anthem for women fighting against sexual harassment and abuse. The attempts to not pressure K-pop idols into speaking about police brutality is a by-product of the anti-Blackness within the diverse communities that make up the fandom.

Anti-Blackness perpetuates a single-story about Black people and culture derived from European colonization and globalization. These stereotypes are passed within non-Black communities and find placement within K-pop fandom. While some non-Black fans may find themselves accepting of Black fans, the hostility that manifests suggests otherwise. The policing of hashtags that focus on representing Black fans and gaslighting conversations that address their mistreatment are examples of anti-Blackness at work. The most visible way anti-Blackness rears its head among K-pop fans is during conversations about appropriation. 

Within K-pop’s fandom, the appropriation of Black culture and hip-hop is a constant conversation among its Black fans but often overlooked by their counterparts. They excuse appropriation as ignorance while dismissing or talking over the voices of their Black peers. For non-Black fans, the need to preserve the integrity of a K-pop idol often overshadows the need to provide Black fans the space to educate on why cultural appropriation is harmful. K-pop’s incorporation of hip-hop made the latter palatable for consumers who wanted to enjoy hip-hop without having to address its politics and legacies. 

However, the politics of hip-hop is fighting for human rights for Black people. Some K-pop acts have taken initiative in acknowledging the impact of Black culture and music on the industry. Some donated to organizations supporting Black Lives Matter, while others advocated by posting petitions and sharing the stories of Floyd and Taylor.  Rapper CL of former girl group 2NE1 and R&B singer Crush took to their Instagrams to show solidarity and share how Black culture influences the K-pop industry and their careers.   

As seen with the hijacking of #whitelivesmatter, co-option has been a beneficial tool for fans to gain control of or change narratives. While they were able to drown out racist rhetoric and troll the hashtags enough to trend within Twitter’s K-pop category, the intent of showing solidarity with BLM became distorted. 

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White Lives Matter originated in the wake of Ferguson Protests as a means to preserve whiteness, according to The New York Times. Evolved from a meme, the hate group has become a fixture in opposing Black Lives Matter. Fans who hijacked the tag did not consider the ramifications of trending the name of a dangerous group. The ignorance in their actions furthered Black fans being second to fandom clout, as performing good deeds outweighed addressing microaggressions in and out of fandom and sharing resources to support their peers. 

The Black experience is constantly having to choose an additional title –– doctor, lawyer, teacher, etc.–– to prove you are more than what society equates your Blackness to. One can be Black, but to truly survive in this world there must be an additional value. This idea translates into fandom spaces with the underlying expectation of Black fans setting aside their Blackness for the greater good of fandom. 

Despite the negative aspects of stan culture, fans who experienced racism within BTS fandom created #BlackARMYsequality and #BlackARMYsMatter to call out racism within the fandom in 2018, according to Teen Vogue. Elismarie Ortiz started the #BlackArmyBeauty project to recognize and celebrate the beauty of Black fans within the fandom after seeing her peers getting harassed, as reported by Buzzfeed. From there, fans created #Blackout days for within their respective fandoms in which fans post selfies alongside the members of their favorite groups. #BlackoutBTS and the hashtags that accompany it display how fans could mobilize to bring awareness to anything. Black fans also fellowshipped with each through cookout and block party hashtags and #blackstantakeover to show community within their fandoms. Much like #Blackout days, fans shared selfies of themselves alongside members of their favorite groups. It may seem frivolous to some, but its ability to uplift and reestablish confidence within K-pop’s Black community is a reminder that Black people deserve to enjoy entertainment as much as their peers.

Sharing experiences and providing each other space to discuss fandom experience brought to light how K-pop is covered in western media. Presenting K-pop’s fandom as monolithic discounts its diversity. The push for wider representation when it comes to reflecting the demographics within K-pop’s many fandoms challenges media outlets to abandon their biases when reporting on K-pop and its fandom. The movers and shakers of modern political movements are left out of narratives until outlets are called out. That should not be the case. Media and fandoms have to actively work to include the Black voices they leave out, starting with listening.

Share your thoughts in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.

KultScene is a writer-driven website dedicated to creating a platform where diverse voices’ takes on K-pop can be heard. If you like this post and would like to see more by helping support KultScene’s writers fund, please email us for more details.

Why K-pop idols should support & engage with Black Lives Matter

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Photos of protesters at Black Lives Matters protest in Seoul, South Korea. They hold signs bearing "Koreans for Black Lives Matter," "We Against Racism" and "We are the voice to those no longer here" in English.
Courtesy of Raphael Rashid

By Danielle Young

On Jun. 6, 2020, the story broke that BTS, the world renown K-pop sensation, had donated $1 million to the Black Lives Matter movement. The response from this news was positive, well-received, and celebrated widely throughout Black Twitter and fans of the group, myself included. There was a massive movement within the Black BTS fan community for BTS to be involved, to use their substantial platform to uplift Black voices as they had with other issues. 

Their Love Myself campaign with UNICEF was a digestible and, generally, non-controversial stance to take — no one could argue against stopping violence against children and teens. But in a world saturated with white supremacy and anti-blackness, stating that Black Lives Matter is controversial and argued against. 

BTS not only stated that Black Lives Matter, but they also backed it with monetary support. They should not be alone in this, but all of K-pop should be mobilizing to support the Black Lives Matter movement, especially the larger companies like YG and JYP Entertainment. However, this should happen not out of obligation — like many large companies in the west have been doing solely performatively to save face and money — but because the backbone of K-pop is Black culture. 

On Jun. 18, SM made a statement about Black Lives Matter — a rare  time they’ve taken a political stance as a company. Most people would argue that this was a good thing, and it is because it now puts them in a place where they can be held accountable. But we are at the point in this movement where statements are not enough. SM has had a long history of appropriating Black culture and ignoring criticisms by continuing to be repeat offenders, and was recently called out by a Black songwriter who alleged the company hadn’t paid her appropriately for her work, though another songwriter later alleged that from his perspective SM paid “well.” Hopefully SM realizes that Black Lives Matter is more than just police brutality in this single moment and reflects their commitment to this issue in the future.  

Also on KultScene: TWICE’S ‘MORE & MORE’ ALBUM REVIEW

The magic behind so many of K-pop fan favorites songs are Black people. K-pop exists only because of Black people, and we are owed that much from an industry that continues to appropriate Black culture and ignore the very people who demand that the culture be respected. To say that Black Lives Matter and make donations to the movement is truly the very least that the K-pop industry can do.

So many people’s interest in South Korea and the culture is because of K-pop, and Korean entertainment in general. Fans want to learn Korean, and some may even have a romanticized vision of the country and its people. For Black people and biracial Black people in South Korea, the country is not the land of K-pop and K-dramas. They experience prejudice and distcrimination solely because they are Black. Anti-Blackness thrives in South Korea just as it does in the U.S. and other places in the world. And while it is unfortunate that we rely so heavily on celebrity culture to influence what we believe in, the impact of K-pop idols supporting the Black Lives Matter Movement can have a massive impact, giving those who have already been doing work in South Korea the platform to have their voices amplified. With BTS donating $1 million, it directly caused a spontaneous project for the entire fanbase to mobilize and match the donation under the hashtag #MatchAMillion. 

People in South Korea joined in on the global marches for equality for Black lives on Jun. 6 in Seoul. The protests serve as a starting point for South Korea to reexamine the societal issues that are ignored and then left to fester and be normalised. There were about 100 people at the protests and those who had some things to say shed light on the issues in Korean society towards Black people. A Black teacher even had the chance to voice their experience stating, “Racism here is when I find a seat in the subway and people avoid sitting next to me, or when my friends and I are turned away from clubs for no reason, or when jobs only want to hire white candidates.” 

This experience mirrors what Sam Okyere, a Ghanian TV personality, said in a viral interview, where he was on a subway and a Korean woman asked, “What a Black bastard like [him] [was] doing in Korea,” telling him to go back to his country. Shim Jihoon, a 34-year-old social worker who organized the Black lives march said that, “People have asked why I organised such a protest in our country, but I know that there are migrant workers, multicultural families, and international students who face discrimination even here at home.“[If attitudes don’t change] what happened to George Floyd might happen here too.” 

South Korean activists are hoping that the younger generation will take on the torch that the previous one fumbled. As a Black fan of BTS and a general enjoyer of the K-pop genre, I’m not sure what the future of the movement will look like in South Korea, or really in the world for that matter. It was surreal to see the fans of BTS raise an additional $1 million to match BTS’s for Black Lives Matter. The praise for the feat was bountiful, but I saw what happened before there was a decision to match the donation: fans who were posting on Weverse about Black Lives Matter, a platform where artists and fans can talk directly, were blocked from trending. Of course, there were supporters, but the sheer amount of dissenters was deeply discouraging and hurtful. 

This is unsurprising and not unique to fans of BTS. Across K-pop, idols have done things like blackface, appropriated Black hairstyles, or have used racial slurs or imagery deeply rooted in racism. When Black fans of these groups voice their opinions on why this is harmful and not okay, they are met with the same pushback and excuses out the wazoo. More often than not, racism against Black people is viewed as an American problem and not something that can permeate through the lives of those who are not white and in America. It is everyone’s responsibility to dismantle the anti-Blackness within their society because anti-Blackness is global. With the latest mobilization of activism, it is important that South Korea and the K-pop industry really take a look at how they view Blackness and Black people, not only within the U.S., but also within their own country. 

The intersection between K-pop and Black Twitter could be part of this turning point. Fans of K-pop have a lot of influence, and the relationship between fans and artists can be one that is symbiotic. Information on how to mobilize and educate people on racism, white supremacy, and non-Black people of color’s responsibility in dismantling anti-Blackness can be disseminated, just like projects to match BTS for their $1 million donation. Like everything in this moment for the movement, it is about what we do after the dust has settled and the hard work begins.

What are your thoughts on K-pop companies and stars’ place in speaking out against Anti-Blackness? Let us know in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.

KultScene is a writer-driven website dedicated to creating a platform where diverse voices’ takes on K-pop can be heard. If you like this post and would like to see more by helping support KultScene’s writers fund, please email us for more details.

TWICE’s ‘More & More’ album review

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TWICE posing with finger hearts on the forest set for the music video of "More & More."

By Chermel Porter

TWICE is back with your soundtrack for the summer. The release of their latest mini album More & More  on Jun. 1 was highly anticipated due to the long gap between its drop and their previous release Feel Special, which came out in Sep. of last year. More & More, and the lead single by the same name, continues to show an upgraded image of TWICE, with them leaving behind the bubblegum style of their early days but still staying true to their recognizable upbeat sound, making it the group’s most well-rounded album to date. 

Earlier this year, TWICE’s label JYP Entertainment announced a partnership with the popular American record label Republic Records for TWICE, and More & More is their first piece of work since then. This album has already given us the fruits of the deal, with a handful of popular Western producers and songwriters such as Julia Michaels, Zara Larsson, MNEK, Justin Tranter, and Gabe Lopez featured on the tracklist. 

With More & More being the group’s first Western-aimed album, TWICE did not shy away from diversifying the vibe of their music throughout each song, dabbling in things like tropical pop and new jack swing, the latter of which we had yet to see from TWICE but was a highly welcome sound, and further evidence of their transition into more mature musical styles

As expected, the album kicks off with the title track “More & More.” The JYP-penned single is a tropical-dance infused song with an addictive build up to the chorus. The repetitive pre-chorus “more, more, more and more” will get stuck in your head for sure. Overall, the song expresses the desire for “More & More” of the feelings one has when a relationship reaches its peak of excitement and sweetness. 

The music video for “More & More” can be linked to the biblical story of Adam and Eve. In the beginning of the video, the group is shown in a pure state but are later tempted to eat the forbidden fruit. Once they do, we are taken on a journey into a trippy paradise where they express the image of a free aura. The freeness expressed in the music video connects back to the lyrics with the relationship reaching its height, one can feel like they have nothing to hold back. 

Also on KultScene: NCT 127’S GROWTH FROM ‘THE 1ST MINI ALBUM’ THROUGH ‘NEO ZONE’

More & More’s second track “Oxygen” is a nice transition from the energy that the previous song gives off. This tune compares the person that you want to be in a relationship with to oxygen. Rather than needing air, the members express a need to be with this person because they are the one who keeps them breathing. The verses and pre-choruses follow a standard pop style, but the chorus infuses elements of EDM and dance. This ups their musical style whereas usually most of the choruses in their songs tend to be heavily lyric filled, so this is refreshing. 

Next up is “Firework,” a track that captivates you with its Spanish-style guitar intro. The song is essentially about the intense excitement that fills one up to the degree that they feel like they will explode like a firework. A notable highlight of this song is Jihyo’s high note during the bridge, with the vocalist showing off her impressive tone as the song builds in momentum. 

“Make Me Go,” which was co-written by Nayeon, is a bass-led track that shows off the mature side of the group. With two other tracks, “24/7” from Twicetagram and “Rainbow” from Feel Special under her belt, Nayeon’s lyrical style has taken a refined approach this time, opting for a seductive route. The chorus is self-explanatory with, “Love me, love me now/ love me, love me good/ don’t need nobody else when it feels this good (make me go),” followed by the suggestive “ooh ooh.” In comparison, “24/7” and “Rainbow” are very much motivational, you-can-do-it themed songs following hyper-pop production styles, whereas on “Make Me Go” we get a glimpse inside the mind of darker, adult love and desires. The members themselves have stated that this track was originally supposed to be on the Feel Special album but it did not make the cut. Fittingly, this song feels like the older sibling of “Love Foolish” from the previous album.

The following track is “Shadow,” and right away this song feels familiar. It’s almost like you just can’t put your finger on it but it’s immediately accessible, making it an easy listen for even the most casual TWICE or K-pop fan as it will make you want to get up and dance with its pop-EDM instrumentation. This song tells the story of hiding your real self during the day, but at night you dance alone with the side of yourself that has been hidden from everyone else. Throughout “Shadow,” the group tends to switch out of the K-pop standard vocal delivery which is usually marked by a high pitch range, opting to sing this track across a lower range, which comes across as more mature and suitable for an American audience. 

Next up is “Don’t Call Me Again,” the ultimate post-breakup anthem. This track puts an ex-lover to shame, reminding them not to call again because their heart has gone cold for them. The marching band style of the song emphasizes the lyrical intent, as well as feeling like a grownup version of earlier songs “WooHoo” and “Touchdown.” However, we can see a clear example of growth, with both of these songs expressing feelings of teenage love and naivety of that era, whereas “Don’t Call Me Again” is very fully fledged lyrical-wise, expressing the more mature idea of having a cold heart after a relationship has gone wrong. 

Also on KultScene: THOUGHTS ON BEING INFINITELY INSPIRIT, IN HONOR OF INFINITE’S 10TH ANNIVERSARY

Last but not least, album closer “Sweet Summer Day” was written by Jeongyeon, with raps written by Chaeyoung, and this new-jack swing style song will take you back to the ‘90s. Filled with 808 drums and a synth bass, this groovy song feels like a true sweet summer day made musical. It’s apparent through the track that Jeongyeon’s lyrical composition has grown from some of her previous releases. This is her fourth credited song, following the likes of “Love Line” from Twicetagram and “Lalala” from Yes or Yes. Each of those tunes tended to focus heavily on teen love delivered in a bubblegum pop style, whereas on “Sweet Summer Day” you can see her composition skills grow with the lyrics this time focusing on self improvement of letting your worries be burned away by the summer heat into the night. A highlight of this track is Nayeon’s rap, due to the ongoing inside joke of the fandom referring to her as MC Rail (rap alias). 


Overall Thoughts  

More & More is a very cohesive album. Comparing this mini to previous TWICE releases, you would find it hard to believe that it was made by the same group. TWICE concluded their cute era with Yes or Yes and began to transition out of it with a new image that is more age appropriate to the members, that has helped broaden its appeal to audiences, and More & More is the latest offering to explore this shift.

As discussed, this change was very apparent not just in their concepts, but with the production and lyrical content as well. With this release, TWICE was able to completely transition into this so-called mature image without it coming off too strong. “Fancy” and “Feel Special” kind of prepared us last year for this new upgraded image, leaving behind their “school-girl” image that they had been running with throughout a majority of their career. 

As the group expressed in their Seize The Light YouTube docu-series, their TWICELIGHTS tour from last year was meant to express a new image and the versatility in styles that they can pull off. More & More is a continuation of that intent, and hopefully we will continue to see more & more of this new direction from them!

TWICE's 'More & More'
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What are your thoughts on TWICE’s More & More album? Let us know in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.

KultScene is a writer-driven website dedicated to creating a platform where diverse voices’ takes on K-pop can be heard. If you like this post and would like to see more by helping support KultScene’s writers fund, please email us for more details.

NCT 127’s growth from ‘The 1st Mini Album’ through ‘Neo Zone’

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By Chyenne Tatum

With NCT 127’s latest release that’s captivating the hearts of NCTzens, the knockout “Kick It” and “Punch” duo has proven to be yet more noise pop gone right, after deviating from the style for a bit with songs like last year’s “Highway to Heaven” and “Superhuman.” At first, K-pop fans clowned 127 for using such unusual sound elements in their title tracks, but it actually ended up becoming one of their most beloved assets. Since their 2016 debut, the now-nine member group has already uncovered so many different layers of who they are as artists and performers, and it all started with the seven track self-titled EP, NCT #127 – The 1st Mini Album. 

When it first came out, the more I listened to that in the early days of NCT 127, the more anxious I became to find out how the group would progress in their future comebacks and, more importantly, how they would win over the general public. Now in 2020, NCT 127 are still full of sweet noise pop surprises, which they’ve continued with their latest release, NCT #127 Neo Zone – The 2nd Album. This piece serves as an analysis of 127’s first and most recent album, using both releases as a lens of how they’ve set themselves apart in the K-pop industry.

nct127 nct 127 red carpet kcon new york 2017 17 ny kcon17ny kcon2017ny
by Katherine Villalon

According to AllMusic, noise pop is “the combination of conventional pop songwriting with experimental sounds of white noise, distorted guitars, and drones.” Yes, K-pop is known for its extreme genre-bending with sounds you wouldn’t otherwise hear in any other market, but noise pop was simply unheard of in the scene until 2016. In a sense, “Fire Truck” was almost ahead of its time with its blaringly loud sirens, heavy trap beat, and an addictive EDM base. Reading through the comments and tweets during that time, you either loved it or couldn’t stand it – straddling the fence was not an option. Ironically, this becomes the standard for most NCT 127 title tracks moving forward, which keeps the fans (and potential fans) on their toes.

Hip-hop is first and foremost the base of 127’s sound, which was established in their first EP coupled with variations of EDM, Moombahton, and tropical house. “Wake Up,” the third track, is very reminiscent of EXO’s “Lightsaber,” but consists of a little more breathing room in between the energetic synths, making it seem more dreamlike. And although the fourth track, “Another World,” is similar, it doesn’t get nearly as much love as “Wake Up.”  Jaehyun’s rap-like intro, the chanting in the pre-chorus build up, and, finally, the way the bass thickens in the chorus are all major selling points of this song, and it’s astounding how little appreciation it gets compared to some of the others on the album. Meanwhile, the hip-hop-heavy track “Mad City” shows off Mark and Taeyong’s rap abilities as they successfully tackled their respective verses and shut down any doubters who thought SM Entertainment didn’t have much to offer in the hip-hop department. The two main rappers continue to tear down those SM idol rapper stereotypes and prove that they’ve earned their spots as their flows grow stronger with each comeback. 

Also on KultScene: BLACKPINK’S WESTERN-STYLE COMEBACK APPROACH JUST MIGHT BE A GENIUS MOVE

Let’s fast forward to the present day with the group’s latest venture, Neo Zone, and its repackaged counterpart Neo Zone: The Final Round because there is a lot to unpack here. The two main title tracks, “Kick It” and “Punch,” are very much on the same wavelength as “Fire Truck,” if not more abrasive and in-your-face. You have the shouting, the sudden whispers, and an unorthodox song structure that throws everyone for a loop and disrupts the flow of how songs are usually written. But, it’s the R&B transitions that set these two apart, a genre that 127 has become quite comfortable with recently and dominates every chance they get on newer releases. 

Calling back to hip-hop, funk, and R&B from the late ‘80s and early ’90s, the general theme of Neo Zone heavily incorporates these styles and can be found in nearly every track. I couldn’t shake the feeling that “Love Song” reminded me so much of Bruno Mars’ “That’s What I Like,” only to find out that producers The Stereotypes and Deez – who are known for their work with Bruno himself – had an unused track with a similar vibe open and available for the group. Between the vocal line’s outstanding harmonies and Johnny’s groovy rap as some of the highlights, the guys nailed it in true Mars-esque fashion.

The most obvious differences between 2016 and now is, of course, WinWin’s departure from 127 to promote in the China-based team WayV instead. However, the additions of Doyoung, Johnny, and Jungwoo over the years have brought a new, exciting dynamic to the NCT unit and an opportunity for them to promote more frequently. During their time together, each member continues to hone his craft and try new things, whether it be in singing, producing, or collaborating with other artists outside of 127. Haechan’s vocal abilities in particular have improved exponentially since his debut, although he’s always had a pleasing, light tone to it. His runs and riffs in slower B-sides like “Not Alone” have become effortless, almost second nature, along with his captivating stage presence – certainly a force to be reckoned with as the youngest member. It’s also refreshing to hear more of Johnny’s unique vocal color shine through in tracks like “Punch,” R&B ballad “White Night,” and knowing that he’s able to lyrically contribute on “Pandora’s Box” with Mark and Taeyong – who’ve had ample songwriting credits since the first album. 

Seeing how well the members play off each other, both in their music and their friendships is vividly reflected throughout Neo Zone and part of what makes them shine. Jungwoo’s confidence and bubbling personality has flourished since his introduction into 127, and it’s been a beautiful experience seeing him learn and grow from the rest of his members, becoming the star performer I think he already knew he could be.

NCT 127 at KCON 2018 NY
By Jean Libert

While other boy groups have similar themes of deep house EDM drops or minimal, toned down choruses, NCT 127 tends to either do the opposite, or find ways to mold and bend these genres into something new and unexpected. For example, 2017’s “Cherry Bomb” fuses hip-hop with electrifying synths and future bass – a song that Mark thinks is one-of-a-kind. While touring the States last year, he said, “Cherry Bomb is the kind of song that people can really know that NCT 127 is in the building.” That statement still holds true for “Kick It” and “Punch”, both of which have contributed to officially making them a “million-seller” group.

Looking back, it seems as though they’ve never had an interest in following the trends, which subsequently has turned them into trendsetters without even really trying. We can see that other groups and artists are starting to incorporate their own noise pop sound — the very thing that some people thought would hold NCT back in finding success and popularity in the market. Four years later and there’s probably more K-pop groups performing “Kick It” than NCT themselves — a true testament that everyone’s got their eyes on them and it’s not just NCTzens.

It wasn’t too long ago that the group was called “SM’s first failure” by the K-pop community, considering they released multiple albums and hadn’t had their “breakout song” in Korea, like most of their established seniors (EXO’s “Growl,” TVXQ’s “Mirotic,” SHINee’s “Ring Ding Dong,” etc.). Instead, NCT 127 opted to take their own path and approach the Korean market differently, mostly due to their unique concept: starting from Seoul and spreading K-pop to the world. From overseas promotions, interviews, and tours in the past three years, NCT 127 was already on the road to international fame and now that success is finally translating locally to the Korean charts and social networks, proving that they’re anything but your traditional idol group. 

It’s clear that NCT 127 have developed their own skill sets over time and continue to mature, but comparing their first release to their most recent is actually very jarring when you realize that we’re just starting to scratch beneath the surface of what they can do and how it’s affecting the industry as a whole. It’s not a race to the top, but a test of how to maintain longevity and leave a mark for generations to come. In the context of one of their best hip-hop tracks, “Sit Down,” NCT 127 is no longer living in the shadows of the world’s expectations of who or what they should be.

What are your thoughts on NCT 127’s sonic progression? Let us know in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.

KultScene is a writer-driven website dedicated to creating a platform where diverse voices’ takes on K-pop can be heard. If you like this post and would like to see more by helping support KultScene’s writers fund, please email us for more details.

BLACKPINK’s western-style comeback approach just might be a genius move

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BLACKPINK at Good Morning America. Lisa, Jennie, Rosé, and Jisoo

BLACKPINK are gearing up for their first comeback in over a year. Finally, Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa are coming back in our area, but this time, their comeback is like no other they’ve tried before. 

Rather than going the typical K-pop route, BLACKPINK is trying out a strategy used more commonly by western acts. Imagine a new BLACKPINK song every month until the release of their first full album. That’s right, their first full album is coming four years after their debut in 2016. The thirst of BLINKS will finally be quenched this year with more than a four song album. While a variety of songs coming out it will not only please fans, for BLACKPINK’s agency, it’s also a smart business plan.  

Following the success of their EP Kill This Love, fans of the act, known as BLINK, are ready for another era. In early May, YG Entertainment informed the media that BLACKPINK would have a June comeback. At the time, no date was given. But two weeks after that announcement, YG Entertainment further explained their lengthy plans for the popular girl group: rather than dropping an EP (mini album) or LP (full-length album) in June, the label decided to drop a pre-release single ahead of the album, which they later announced would arrive on June 26. After the first song this month, the second pre-release single will follow in July or August as a special format release, followed by the full album in September. 

The statement from the agency also claimed that this format would allow BLACKPINK to give the fans more stages and content. Universal Music Group (UMG), BLACKPINK’s American label will also be helping with promotions. 

The move is interesting for a variety of reasons, and makes a lot of sense. BLACKPINK is not shy of success on a global scale and releasing the single before the album, which is common in western music industries, can be beneficial if done accurately. Western artists typically release one to three singles before their albums come out in order to generate hype for the album and make easy money with pre-release merchandising efforts. If this strategy is instituted for BLACKPINK there is speculation that each single will be released on a physical CD. A physical CD along with digital sales that will be included in merchandise sales of things such as T-shirts, hats, and signed posters will allow the agencies to make a profit consistently even before the September album release. Still, even with physical copies of the singles out, fans are likely to remain inclined to buy the full LP at a later date. 

The use of merchandise to boost sales is very common and, if used by BLACKPINK’s labels, it can help them secure higher spots on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Recently, BLACKPINK beat their own record on that very chart with “Sour Candy” with Lady Gaga. Prior to that collaboration, BLACKPINK’s highest entry on the chart was at no. 41 with “Kill This Love” in 2019. “Sour Candy,” meanwhile, debuted at no. 33 this week, thus breaking the group’s own record as the highest-charting song on the Billboard singles chart for a Korean female group. With this upcoming series of releases and the release plan they’re taking, they may be able to go even higher.

Also on KultScene: FAST TAKE: (G)I-DLE’S ‘OH MY GOD’ SONG REVIEW

The strategy of releasing singles back-to-back will also benefit BLACKPINK’s relevancy. Following their record-breaking 2019, the world has been waiting eagerly for new music from BLACKPINK. “Sour Candy” with Lady Gaga came out at the end of May and brought some new BLACKPINK fans with it, following over a year of a dearth of new music from the act. For current fans, it is a catchy song that showcased the group’s vocal talent and gave them a little content before the single in June. With a back-to-back release schedule planned, BLACKPINK’s names will stay in the media for months. There won’t be one drop and then months of hiatus before new music, as they witnessed this year. This is also a sure-fire way for casual listeners and recent fans to maintain interest with new music coming out each month. Additionally, if BLACKPINK is promoted domestically through variety shows and internationally through interviews and YouTube content during this time frame, there will be countless ways to learn about the group. 

This new album will also feature both domestic and international producers. Two big western producers hinted at their work with the quartet. Ryan Tedder of One Republic and Tommy Brown, who is signed with UMG, both spoke of their work on the album via Instagram. The connection and promos from these producers could make way for new BLACKPINK listeners, the kind who would not normally check out a K-pop group. 

Another plus to this strategy is the fact that currently, many countries are still dealing with COVID-19 repercussions. Releasing the singles during the summer months to keep fans wanting more from the September album is smart. This is especially due to the fact that a portion of BLACKPINK’s audience is from the younger generation who are often freer during the summer months. By September, fans will be so interested in seeing the final product and, hopefully, more able to visit stores to purchase the album as cases of COVID-19 decline. This way, BLACKPINK will likely be able to promote the full album in the States as well as in Korea. 

On top of their group work, at the end of May, YG Entertainment clarified another concern fans have been wondering about. Following the full album in September, the world will see the release of Rosé, Lisa, and Jisoo’s long-awaited solos. Fans have been waiting for solo music from the other members of BLACKPINK following the success of Jennie’s “Solo” in 2018. If YG delivers, Rosé’s solo will be released as a mini-album, followed by Lisa’s solo single, and then Jisoo’s. Again, if this is pulled-off correctly, it could benefit both the group and individual members. After the release of the album that is destined for greatness, Rosé would have the opportunity to promote on her own. She will be able to draw in fans who recently checked out BLACKPINK’s album while also gaining fans as an individual with solo appearances on music and variety shows. The same can be said for the solos of Lisa and Jisoo. 

BLACKPINK is already the most popular female K-pop group in the world, but with such a smart strategy, they can further cement their legacy. So I hope you’re thirsty BLINKS! Because this comeback could be their biggest feat yet. Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé and Lisa are coming in your area for the long-haul so you don’t want to miss them! 

What are your thoughts on BLACKPINK’s upcoming promotions? Let us know in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.

KultScene is a writer-driven website dedicated to creating a platform for diverse voices on K-pop heard. If you like this post and would like to help support KultScene’s writers fund, please email us for more details.

Thoughts on Being Infinitely Inspirit, in Honor of INFINITE’s 10th Anniversary

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K-pop boy band INFINITE promotional image

When it comes to K-pop, I have a lot of love for fandom names and have self-identified by many over the years, but when it comes down to it I don’t think I’ve ever felt more of a connection than the one I have with INFINITE’s fandom, Inspirit. On the 10th anniversary of their debut on June 9, 2010 with “Come Back Again,” I couldn’t resist the urge of writing something about how this fandom name, this verb, has come to mean something truly special to me. 

According to Merriam-Webster, the word “inspirit” simply means “to fill with spirit.” Synonyms include words like “encourage,” “hearten,” and “embolden.” These are all feelings that my love of INFINITE has encompassed over the years, even though that flame of love that once burned so passionately now sits nestled in my heart like an ember steadily, only flaring occasionally in moments of intense emotion. 

What is it about INFINITE that I find, personally, so uplifting? It’s hard to put into words, but I wanted to try, so if you’re interested, please bear with me. If not, please go watch “The Chaser” music video, it will probably be enough of an explanation. 

If you’ve ever gotten yourself into a mess of your own making, you know that there’s no more of a disheartening feeling than recognizing you have to just deal with It. It is one of the hardest experiences in the human lifespan, I believe, when you have to take ownership of something you’ve done that has changed your life forever and impacted it in a negative way that cannot be undone. Unlike many bad situations, you can’t point to others when the impact of the decision hits, it is all on you and your poor judgement. Obviously there are outside factors, but in that moment, it is absolutely devastating. 

At the very tail-end of an experience like this, which I will not get into because honestly I don’t want to spend time thinking about that situation any more than I already did back then, I “met” INFINITE in 2010. Their First Invasion is such an innately bright and warm album, and it captured my attention. I didn’t necessarily go full-blown Inspirit until 2011, after INFINITE’s discography (“BTD!” “Can U Smile!” “Nothing’s Over!” Be Mine!” Paradise!” Shot!, the most underrated INFINITE song in my honest opinion) absolutely dominated my listening and their variety show Sesame Player landed the members, and their ragtag escape routes as they ran screaming in a game of tag of sorts with their managers, into my heart. 

Over the years, my relationship with INFINITE has grown and changed. I’m around the same age as the members, and a lot of my life’s milestones have happened alongside theirs as I progressed in both my academic and professional careers, always with their music guiding things in the background. 

Whether it was their bright summer concert videos or their poignant ballads or their oh-so-impactful choreography, I inevitably felt all the feels when watching them perform, and then turned to their variety shows where they inevitably did something really, really, really dumb and it was a mess that had at least one member shouting at the others about how ridiculous they were being. 

And, of course, the love of my life, “The Chaser” dropped in 2012. I remember exactly where I was in college, and in which seat I sat in and on which old oak table I banged my head on, when I watched its music video for the first time and knew I’d probably never find another song I liked more. Still haven’t, but who knows? Maybe someday! (Sorry, “Last Romeo,” you’re a close runner up though.) 

The next year, I studied abroad in Seoul as part of my degree and saw INFINITE several times, and witnessed in-person at One Great Step the members’ teary reaction to bombshell news that SM Entertainment was acquiring INFINITE’s company Woollim. It was emotional, and being in my early 20’s it became a moment I ended up thinking back to a lot when career paths diverged. Fittingly, when I started my first job I used an INFINITE lanyard, the one from the third gen fanclub membership kit, the only membership kit I’ve ever invested in from a K-pop group, and even when I was going to a newsroom at 2am it made me happy to think about the songs I love, and the warm-feelings the men behind them have given me, and it made me smile. 

I really wanted to write something more in-depth about my love of all that INFINITE stands for to me, but the words aren’t coming, as the capacity to turn those feelings to the prose I feel is appropriate has failed me. But I hope whoever is reading this still enjoys as I ruminate on how I’ve been happy with their songs, sad with their songs, and their music has more or less been what I turn to, even now ten years later, when I want to just put on music and enjoy in the background. It has more or less become the soundtrack of my twenties, and there’s something I find truly inspiriting about that. 

It wasn’t until the last month or so when I really actively thought about how INFINITE is so important to me. It’s one of the only fandoms I’ve ever been part of that none of my close friends enjoys as intensely as me, so it’s always kind of been this little K-pop room that I can sit in on my own when I need a break from everything. 

The importance of my bond with INFINITE, more as an idea than as a band, hit a few weeks ago. I saw a comment on social media by someone who I consider a friend and who considers themselves a K-pop connoisseur, saying that they feel rising acts, including INFINITE, are really gaining in popularity among international K-pop fans lately. I had to physically restrain myself from commenting, because I couldn’t really come up with a way to reflect how comically tragic that was, and my little freak out over it kind of honed in to me how my life has become better because INFINITE exists, which is honestly so cheesy I’m kind of laughing as I write that line but that’s the beauty of how we as humans interact with art, no? 

Also on KultScene: FTHOUGHTS ON IU & SUGA’S ‘EIGHT’

I went through a variety of thoughts as I read the post. Were they really talking about INFINITE? The INFINITE who had raised the bar for synchronization in K-pop. The INFINITE that had brought forth their own distinct synth-pop, baroque-esque style of boy band songs that are best when played with a full orchestra. The INFINITE that has such good album introductions they may as well release them on their own album. The INFINITE that not only released multiple concert albums to show off both their expressive vocals and acknowledge the fan experience with Inspirit’s supportive fanchants honestly dominating some tracks, but also released instrumental versions of their discography onto an album because why the hell not when the music is so good? The INFINITE I always returned to when I needed to be uplifted? 

It wasn’t that this friend saw international K-pop fans discovering INFINITE,I realized. Rather, their perception came from how, I think, Inspirit have kind of been hopping back to life on social media now that Sungkyu’s back from the military (and throwing staff’s phones) and Woollim was pushing some content ahead of the tenth anniversary. But it hit home to me that INFINITE has, in a way, become removed from the consciousness of many K-pop fans currently in English-speaking spaces. Their music and their career is recognized, but the impact that INFINITE had in the moments that they were at their peak has kind of gone by the wayside, some of the moments that I almost can feel physically when I think back to that time of my life. Obviously this is to be expected that an older group feels some loss in popularity; change is fast in the world of K-pop. But the experience reminded me that even though INFINITE as I once remember it may be gone, the memories and the feelings aren’t. So maybe I’m not always talking about INFINITE, but the impact my moments with INFINITE have had on me is always there.

More recently, a few days ago, I was listening to “Still I Miss You” from the One Great Step Returns concert album, and it struck me how the song could apply to my relationship with INFINITE. As I was sitting there, singing along to the fanchant of the members’ names and the members’ voices, I thought “Ah, I guess I will always miss INFINITE as it once was” but then it hit me. Just because INFINITE isn’t always there anymore, just because INFINITE has changed and grown up a bit, the feeling of exhilaration their music, their career, made me feel throughout the past decade will likely never leave me. It’s not that I’m missing INFINITE, it’s that I’m still feeling their impact on me and my life even now. 

I guess, at the end of this ramble of my thoughts, all I really want to say is this: Happy anniversary, INFINITE, and happy anniversary to anyone else out there who has become infinitely inspirited by your bond as a fan with them and their music. I’m signing off to go watch the newly-released Begin Again fanmeet video!

What are your thoughts on INFINITE? Let us know in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.

Thoughts on IU & Suga’s ‘eight’

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Animated image of IU looking out a plane window in the music video of "eight" by IU and BTS's Suga.

I don’t really know what “eight” is about, but while listening to it there was a lot flying through my head. IU and Suga have both been longtime loves of mine, people whose music I often turn to when I’m sad and need to find kinship in the music of those who have put their feelings and thoughts on adulthood and life into the world. Many artists do it, and, of course, I listen to many others, but this pair are two I especially turn to time and time again when I get introspective. So when they announced their collaboration, I knew immediately that it would be devastating and something I seek solace in. Once I read that the song by the soloist and the BTS rapper-songwriter is about their feelings of being 28 (as per Korean age reckoning) and the latest in IU’s series of age-based reflective singles, I knew I was going to be spending a lot of time thinking about it once I heard it.

Waking up this morning to a text from a friend about whether I had heard the song yet, I sat there staring at my phone. I couldn’t. I knew I needed to shower and have coffee before I was remotely in the mental space where I could absorb it; I have been having a lot of sleep problems lately, and I knew that I wasn’t in a state of receptiveness for something I was sure was going to make a sizable impact on me. That was a bit of a mistake on my part, though, because as I was checking my email and Twitter while making coffee I inevitably saw other responses to the song, and went into it and its music video with some preconceived notions, the most notable one being, based on a series of connections audiences had made, that the song is about Sulli and Jonghyun, two stars IU was close to before their untimely passings, both of whom have relations with the number “eight”: Jonghyun’s birthday was April 8, 1990, and Sulli and IU were friends in the public eye for eight years.

Watching the music video, I feel inclined to believe that there is the potential of that interpretation being intentional, considering that IU’s “Love Poem” similarly felt reflective and, more importantly, the animation adds to this theory: the cartoon IU exists in reality, on a plane crying, while watching the fantastical view of another woman flying around on the back of a dragon after the futuristic, real-life IU tears up when the woman jumps onto the dragon’s back. The woman she’s looking upon is clearly not IU herself; she doesn’t have the singer’s iconic beauty mark. Is she Sulli? I don’t know; she too had a beauty mark and the animated woman does not. But it feels like that’s who she is an allusion of, similarly to how the dragon is a near-reference to Jonghyun’s well-known dinosaur-like features. Does this mean the song is about the pair, and that’s who the woman and the dragon are representing? I don’t really know; I may be looking too deep into it and they’re mere representations of childhood whimsy that’s been left behind. We won’t really know unless someone who worked on the song and/or music video lets us know that, but I’d like to think that they’re homages to the pair, with the song’s lyrics expressing how beautiful goodbyes take place in memories.

The girl and the dragon in IU and Suga's "eight"
The girl and the dragon in IU and Suga’s “eight”

Also on KultScene: FAST TAKE: (G)I-DLE’S ‘OH MY GOD’ SONG REVIEW

While I wouldn’t put it beyond the pair to dedicate the song to the duo of beloved individuals, and I’ve thought much of the same about other recent songs from IU, I’ve spent a lot of the morning (it’s around 2PM as I’m writing, but I woke up at 10:30am so… don’t judge) thinking about how the song may not, or not only, be about lost loved ones but also lost selves, with “eight” serving as a reflection of an apparent conversation between the self of the present and the self of the past, an individual who travels between memories. In fact, even though I already had the idea that people were interpreting “eight” to be a memorial song, this was what took up the forefront of my mind as I was watching the music video for the first time; I could see the connections to the lost pair, but I was drawn more to the allusions I saw towards the past of IU herself.

Not only are the lyrics reflective, poignant in the way they look back on the past, but the music video jumped out at me with what I thought might be intentional references to past IU music videos, such as with the white dress she wears not only reflecting the color of mourning in Korean culture but also the dress she wore in “Mia (Lost Child)” while the maroon shirt with a peter pan collar immediately recalled what she wore in “You&I,” which fit in the trend of IU self-referencing past releases in her work. While watching again, I also saw glimpses that reminded me of “Palette” and “Twenty-Three,” but I couldn’t decide if I was looking too hard for a pattern.

  • IU in “Eight”
  • IU in “eight”
  • IU in the “Mia (Lost Child)” music video
  • IU in “You&I” music video

In “eight,” IU is singing about being “forever young” and happiness, and the music video begins with her actively choosing to save her memories; it’s unclear based on the futuristic setting whether she’s offloading her memories to a storage system entirely, or merely saving them beyond her own mind because they’re something of value that she wants to make a backup of. Either way, the interpretation can align with the emotions expressed in the song, about how memories are beautiful things that remain “forever young,” the way they were, as memories crumble into the sands of time, with only the “sandcastle” of memory, as Suga adds, impermanent and impossible to recreate in the exact same way, with the exact same specifics, ever again, both wonderful and poignant.

To be honest, I haven’t watched the music video for “eight” enough times, and I haven’t listened enough times yet. In part because there’s no such thing as “enough,” and in part because I constantly reassess art as I interact with it in different moods, and that’s the most wonderful thing about art, in my opinion: it changes and shifts as we as humans do. I’ll probably watch a few dozen more times before the end of this week, as I try to get lost in the artistry rather than in my own thoughts. “eight,” like so many IU and Suga songs, make me think about how we, as humans, interact with our thoughts and memories, how those memories shape how we interact with the world, and how everyone’s interpretation of memories and the past is different, so I wanted to turn some thoughts into words before I lost this stream of consciousness as I found comfort, and contemplation, in “eight.”

What are your thoughts on “eight?” Let us know in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.

Fast take: (G)I-DLE’s ‘Oh My God’ song review

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g idle oh my god review song omg

Now almost two years into their blazing careers, the six women of (G)I-DLE have learned to express and perform with the style and individuality of K-pop greats. On their newest song “Oh My God,” however, they demonstrate a knack for genre-bending with innovative—and haunting—prowess. 

The track’s intro rings through the air with the chilling aura of a horror movie soundtrack. “Beneath the dazzling sky covering my eyes / I run into your arms / I was drawn into the music and fell right into it,” Minnie sings, her voice echoing as if preaching to a church full of corpses sitting in the pews. A beat comes in, and the members play off of one another in a sonic dance of death, accelerating the tempo until a climactic drop in the chorus.

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“Oh my god / she pulled me to the sky,” Soyeon’s vowels linger in the air, carrying both dread and desire over eerie, low-tempo dubstep. In (G)I-DLE fashion, the track quickly reverts back to electro-pop in the verse, and even dips into a rap break just before the second pre-chorus. As new EP I Trust’s chief lyricist, Soyeon clarified in an MTV interview that, like much of the song’s enigma, the use of feminine pronoun “she” is purposefully left open to interpretation. 

On “Oh My God,” (G)I-DLE sacrifices tempo for emotion, delivering their deepest, darkest convictions on a track that still fundamentally maintains the structure of K-pop sound. While the song carries a bit of familiarity with previous single “LION” and critically underuses members—most tragically, main vocal Miyeon—it makes clear that (G)I-DLE has a mission to weave art and pain into the fabric of pop music. As you listen to the outro, let yourself feel the pain in Minnie’s voice. She convinces you that, perhaps, love and pain aren’t so different after all.

GI-DLE’s ‘Oh My God’
3.5

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DPR Live’s ‘Is Anybody Out There?’ album review

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DPR Live made his anticipated return with Is Anybody Out There? on Mar. 3. The album comes after Dream Perfect Regime’s collaboration with Adidas and the release of fellow collective member and in-house producer DPR Cream’s solo debut. Is Anybody Out There? is a cosmic journey of hypnotic adlibs, genre-bending melodies and robust trap beats. The album recalls Live’s comeback through galactic metaphors. The rapper released the first single off his album with a goosebump-inducing music video that sees Live preparing for an inevitable impact aboard a spaceship. The music video is filled with cinematic moments of terror and helplessness as viewers are entranced by the visuals and Live’s flawless rhymes.

DPR Live embarks on new territory in his return to music. Having solidified himself as a force in Korea’s growing rap scene, Live plays by his own rules. Is Anybody Out There? offers a grittier yet accessible version that was not previously seen. 

The Songs

The album begins with the gloomy “Here Goes Nothing.” The song builds with each verse signifying a person gathering the courage to take a leap of faith. The track chronicles Live’s plunge to pursue his happiness after reaching a dark moment in life. He expresses his hate for his victim mentality and how he’s a danger to himself. He ponders if someone will be there at the end to catch him. “Here Goes Nothing” shows Live at the edge of sanity and ready to jump. He is hoping someone will be there at the bottom to catch him. The song builds tension as he says “Geronimo” over heart-pounding drums and mellow backing vocals that crescendo into a repetition, leading into the next track with the same name.

“Geronimo!” is a nosedive into an abyss that signifies Live’s spiral with his mental health. The rapper loses his grip on reality as a result of painting variations of himself. There is a version of himself that others hold as the real him despite not knowing who he is. The only way to rid himself of the preconceived notions of himself is to jump. Live also battles with finding himself again. In taking his jump, he relieves himself of the pressures that plague him. “Geronimo!” samples and reworks aspects of “Martini Blue” for a subtle eeriness against its electronic beat before dropping into a mind-numbing electro-hop break. The intensity remains as the track sounds off with the rapper’s signature “Coming to you Live” a turbulent crash.

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The next track takes a step back from the previous chaos as it opens with soft calls for Live to wake up. Perhaps the rapper’s most intimate track to date, “To Whoever” highlights Live’s life from his childhood in Guam to his first world tour in 2017. The rapper opens up about racism, his move to Korea, and his dad’s cancer diagnosis. Live narrates over various interludes inspired by Australian rock and classical music. “To Whoever” is a reflection on the build-up to Live’s spiral. It’s a sudden influx of memories. The song also signifies his last message before he crashes.

“Out of Control” is Live’s fight to re-establish normalcy. Throughout the song, he is on a high as he raps about his sold-out “Coming To You Live Tour.” He is experiencing all great moments before he hits his ceiling. During his album listening session on Instagram live with Christian Yu, Live recalled battling depression while touring. On stage, he’s present and enjoying the moment. “Out of Control” boasts a refined, soft electro beat that contrasts the seriousness of Live’s lyrics. It’s also a testament to how losing control can be as subtle as it is chaotic.

“Disconnect” is a groovy electro track with an extraterrestrial infliction. The song is foreshadowed by “Out of Control”’s ending which Live declares being over the drama. He moves into a mindset as he tries to pull himself out of the funk he’s in. Live is ready to leave the chaos of earth behind. He’s reached his capacity when it comes to the hoopla surrounding him. It’s not a retreat, but a removal. Even though removing oneself from a situation that does not benefit one’s mental health is difficult, it is a necessity. 

“S.O.S” seems like it would be Live’s ultimate cry for help. However, he is okay with being lost as he faces his situation; he wants to go beyond where he is. Live seems to be on another planet that’s full of fun and stress-free. One of the more intriguing aspects of the song is the warped guitar sound that accompanies the uptempo, keeping the album’s otherworldly theme alive.  “S.O.S” uses Morse Code within its beat to signal Live’s distress. To play into the meaning of “S.O.S,” Live sings a soft “sailing over you” to end the song providing a seamless transition into the next three tracks.

“Oh Girl” takes the album in a new direction with its airy vocals and dreamy, electronic funk beat. Backed with uncanny synths, the track depicts Live in a state of excitement and curiosity over a girl who has his attention. She keeps him guessing just as much as the song has listeners anticipating its drops.

“Kiss Me” slows down the album with its whimsical lo-fi beat as Live puts bass in his voice for his most risqé lyrics yet. The rapper offers a sleek, stripped-down version of himself as his lyrics center around a lover in a universe that is just them. In what could be called a sex anthem, Live showcases a dominant side much different from the easy-going persona fans have seen until now. While a woman has every right to wear makeup as she sees fit, the rapper recognizes that sometimes it can feel like an obligation. Thus making it his mission to love every part of her. “Kiss Me” is the journey to love and the precursor to euphoria. 

Described as the title track, according to DPR Live and Christian Yu’s Instagram live, “Neon” is an explosive hip-hop track chronicling love’s bliss. Live delivers a familiar flow that is reminiscent of “Laputa.” The track is flirty and signals the upswing of Live’s state of mind when it comes to the album’s themes. Love is a powerful entity that transcends our imagination. Much like space, it is vast and boundless. “Neon” is a reminder that while Live is continuously evolving his flows and techniques, he can still go back to his origins.

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The lead single from the album is an atmospheric experience over trap beats and slick ad-libs. Its meaty bass and warped synths accompany Live’s sharp vernacular. “Legacy” is Live at his best as he flexes his success. He’s overcome his depression and has entered a new state of mind. He’s confident as he brags about his accomplishments, money, and women. Live indicates he’s on his spaceship, insinuating he is on a different level than his peers and haters —he’s not even in the same atmosphere as his haters. “Legacy” resurrects Live’s bravado that was key in earlier tracks like “Eung Freestyle,” “Til I Die” and “To Myself.” His legacy is the only thing he cares about as he takes pride in his craft. Live is untouchable.

“No Rescue Needed” rounds out the album with its hypnotizing grooves and synths and earworm “I don’t care how I got here.” The track is a feel-good conclusion to the turbulence of ‘Is Anyone Out There.’ Having crash-landed on another planet, Live does not need rescuing. He’s secure in his journey and the rollercoaster that came with it. Filled with adlibs and instrumentals, Live’s rapping takes a backseat in this closer. He’s said his piece.


Final Thoughts

From start to finish, Is Anybody Out There? is an album that takes a couple listens to understand. The many genres within the album can be overwhelming when it comes to finding solitude in sounds. Still,  Live puts his best foot forward displaying a part of himself fans have yet to see. He meshes his online messages into this album. The album is sonic cohesion that experiments with elements that usually would not fit together. It channels experimentalism that has been missing from hip-hop since the early 2000’s. 

Fans get a real look at who DPR Live is beyond his “forget the haters” attitude. It is a level of authenticity Korean rappers have yet to show as a collective. Live captures hip-hop’s roots in sharing his truth. There’s nothing wrong with a good hype track, but there seems to be a lack of awareness in Korea’s rap scene. Is Anybody Out There? imagines mental health as a journey through space. “Here Goes Nothing” and “Geronimo” represent being at the edge of a breakdown, wondering if anyone will be there to catch you while “To Whoever” and “Out of Control” showcase the triggers that lead to someone reaching their point of no return. “Disconnect” and “S.O.S” represent when a person removes themselves from others once they reach that point of no return and a call for help. It’s hitting rock bottom and pondering if anyone cares. The trio of “Oh Girl,” “Kiss Me,” and “Neon” are welcomed distractions from the struggle of coping with mental health. However, a distraction blossoms into something that reminds listeners even at their worst they are still capable of being loved and loving someone. Finally, “Legacy” and “No Rescue Needed” are the light at the end of the tunnel. They show there is beauty at the end of every journey. For Live, he found himself on an uninhabited planet full of possibilities. He gets to shape his future.

DPR Live’s ‘Is Anybody Out There?’
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What’s your favorite song on the album? Let us know your picks and thoughts in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.