When it comes to innovations in music, K-pop is one genre that does it best. The Internet was sent into a frenzy recently when popular idol group INFINITE released an alternate version of their latest music video for “Bad.” Just what made this particular video so groundbreaking was its use of 360 degree virtual reality […]
https://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/[email protected]7681024Shelley Foohttps://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/KULTSCENE-LOGO-2018-TRANSPARENT-RED.pngShelley Foo2015-08-01 10:31:472015-08-01 19:47:33The Future of Virtual Reality in K-Pop
July was an extremely busy time for K-pop. Most of the biggest names came back in some form, creating a strong battle for song of the summer. Naturally, they overshadowed a whole bunch of smaller groups who were debuting or still trying to build a fanbase. Some of the more well known rookies like GFriend […]
https://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/maxresdefault.jpg7201280Joe Palmerhttps://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/KULTSCENE-LOGO-2018-TRANSPARENT-RED.pngJoe Palmer2015-07-31 09:14:232015-07-31 12:19:48Best Rookie Girl Groups of July
When it comes to innovations in music, K-pop is one genre that does it best. The Internet was sent into a frenzy recently when popular idol group INFINITE released an alternate version of their latest music video for “Bad.” Just what made this particular video so groundbreaking was its use of 360 degree virtual reality […]
https://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/[email protected]7681024Shelley Foohttps://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/KULTSCENE-LOGO-2018-TRANSPARENT-RED.pngShelley Foo2015-08-01 10:31:472015-08-01 19:47:33The Future of Virtual Reality in K-Pop
July was an extremely busy time for K-pop. Most of the biggest names came back in some form, creating a strong battle for song of the summer. Naturally, they overshadowed a whole bunch of smaller groups who were debuting or still trying to build a fanbase. Some of the more well known rookies like GFriend […]
https://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/maxresdefault.jpg7201280Joe Palmerhttps://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/KULTSCENE-LOGO-2018-TRANSPARENT-RED.pngJoe Palmer2015-07-31 09:14:232015-07-31 12:19:48Best Rookie Girl Groups of July
When it comes to innovations in music, K-pop is one genre that does it best.
The Internet was sent into a frenzy recently when popular idol group INFINITE released an alternate version of their latest music video for “Bad.” Just what made this particular video so groundbreaking was its use of 360 degree virtual reality (VR) technology, and while it may not have been the first ever to try its hand at the cutting edge technology, it was definitely the first of its kind within the mainstream K-pop sphere. With this new version, viewers are put in control with the ability to manipulate the different camera angles in order to simulate the experience of being on set. Indeed, the music video is only one (great) step closer towards fan-idol interactions, and at the end of the day gimmicks like these are what sells.
K-pop powerhouses such as SM Entertainment know this all too well, leading them to capitalize on their consumers’ desires to become closer to the faces and personalities behind the music. Without having to force their top acts into display cases where fans can ogle at them all day (because c’mon, that’ll just be inhumane and borderline slavery, which is definitely not what SM is about), the company gave us the next best thing – their digital counterparts.
In what was probably SM’s attempt at gathering their bearings after a messy 2014, the agency launched SMTOWN@coexartium earlier this year. Simply put, the five-story complex, located in Samseong-dong, Seoul, is every SM stan’s (fan) dream come true. Not only can visitors lounge at the K-pop themed café or browse through official merchandise, the site also features a virtual studio where guests can experience stardom first-hand with their favorite SM artists, or at least their artificial doppelgangers. What’s more is that there is the hologram theatre where visitors can watch holographic concerts from big-names like EXO or Girls’ Generation, or enjoy the world’s first holographic musical “School Oz,” starring some of SM’s most capable vocalists.With technology like that of require travel expenses. “Why pay to travel all the way to Korea for housed lograms whecould be seeing the real deal?” one may argue. Although not exactly perfect, there is still no d holograms and 360 VR music videos are harbingers for what is to come in the future…
…Which got me thinking, what exactly is about to come? What’s next? At a time when the Hallyu wave – the phenomenon that describes the transnational flow of Korean culture – is crashing hardest on international fans, it would definitely be lucrative for entertainment companies to invest in technology that will rectify the physical barriers separating fans from their idols. A large part of the current music business is the concerts which draw crowds from around the world en masse, so looking into how they can join an experience good, such as that of a concert, with the realism that entails virtual reality could potentially be the answer to this. And as if the entertainment moguls do not have enough money going into their pockets already, it could even serve as a completely new revenue stream. If you have not figured it out by now, I am referring to the up-and-coming virtual reality concerts.
Virtual reality concerts are an immersive concert experience that aim to stream and bring the feelings and sensations of live music into the comforts of your room. Stay at home concert attendees would only have to strap on any one of the virtual reality headsets that are in development, while the fancy 360-degree audio and video rigs located at various points throughout the venue take care of the technical aspects. Thanks to the spherical video and spherical binaural audio of the advanced technology, developers and creative directors are able to finally recreate a convincing 3D soundscape. It sounds ludicrous to think that this will work, but ask Western artists like Coldplay or David Bowie who have successfully experimented with VR concerts and skeptics might think otherwise. K-pop groups and artists could certainly learn a thing or two from these rock legends.
While VR headsets are not available on the market yet, users can watch 360 VR videos and enjoy their favorite immersive experiences on their smartphones with affordable cardboard viewers in the meantime. This one is the ICT Spark from MOOOVR.
Regardless of how much of a game-changer virtual reality concerts could be though, some people are still going to refuse to buy into it, and honestly I used to fall into this camp. Again, it’s the whole notion of “why waste money on something you know is not there when you could be spending it on the real deal” taking into effect. Especially since virtual reality would give fans the power to relive the concert to their heart’s content, it defeats the purpose of a concert being a once in a lifetime experience. But sometimes, spending your savings on the real deal is not an option. More than convenience, virtual reality concerts are able to break spatial and bodily constraints, and this is where VR can find its place within the (Korean) entertainment business.
Take, for example, what happened with ticket sales for EXO’s first solo concert tour, EXO “From. EXOPLANET #1 – The Lost Planet.” There is no doubt that EXO is an influential group, and that was only proven when the boys broke the world record for the fastest sold out concert, with 42,000 tickets in a fleeting 1.42 seconds. As a result, the ticketing site crashed and still many others were unsuccessful at nabbing a spot at the highly anticipated concert.
That is where virtual reality concerts come in. Where accommodating the sea of concert-goers is an issue, VR can revise that by providing unlimited (and eco-friendly!) virtual tickets and seats. Want VIP seating? No problem. Or how about standing on stage alongside your oppas (older males) and unnies (older females)? VR concerts can make that happen, too. So long as it is within the six degrees of freedom of the special virtual reality display, anything is possible. Also, how about getting the new setlists of the concert in advance? THis way, viewers at home can also guarantee that idols will try to score some brownie points with the fans by showing some serious up close and personal fan service, all from a safe distance. Trendy groups with crazy passionate fans like EXO are sure to appreciate this, especially the last part about the “safe.”
If tickets for virtual reality concerts are reasonably priced – as in cheaper than that for in-person – then I see no problem with virtual reality finding a market within the K-pop concert business. No longer do international fans have to cross mountains and seas to reach their favorite groups. With VR, fans can even access the exclusive behind-the-scenes that they could not visit before. It’s not about taking fans to the best seats in the house, but taking them to places that were previously barred from the public. And if that is not enough incentive to switch over to VR, then I do not know what is. Arguably, virtual reality may even be better than, well, reality itself as the ability to watch the same concert from different vantage points (recall that the rigs are distributed throughout the venue) on the fly transforms an impossible human task into a possible one.
Of course, the potential debut of virtual reality concerts doesn’t mean that they will replace the traditional live concert business altogether. Because what else can make hearts thud as hard as the bass lines do? What else can unite complete strangers at a mosh pit? Mechanical music sales may go down, piracy may remain rampant, but concerts as we know it will never die.
How do you feel about virtual reality K-pop concerts? Is it feasible? 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.
https://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/[email protected]7681024Shelley Foohttps://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/KULTSCENE-LOGO-2018-TRANSPARENT-RED.pngShelley Foo2015-08-01 10:31:472015-08-01 19:47:33The Future of Virtual Reality in K-Pop
July was an extremely busy time for K-pop. Most of the biggest names came back in some form, creating a strong battle for song of the summer. Naturally, they overshadowed a whole bunch of smaller groups who were debuting or still trying to build a fanbase. Some of the more well known rookies like GFriend and Sonamoo made their first comebacks, managing to build on their past successes. I want to look at some of the other even smaller girl groups that released songs this month beneath the avalanche of their seniors’ material.
Also to be honest, I’m only looking at the girls because I took no notice of any rookie boys this month if there even were any. It’s a bias but I can’t help it, sorry boys.
WANNA.B “Attention”
WANNA.B are a group that only came to my attention recently. On further investigation, I learnt that they debuted in late 2014 with the underwhelming “My Type.” I gleaned little else from searching them online, but all you need to know is that their recent comeback song “Attention” is great.
Like a lot of rookie songs, “Attention” has a not-so-distant retro cheap feel to it that treads a thin line between endearing and excruciating. It works for WANNA.B, mostly because it fills a significantly large After School-sized gap in the current K-pop world. “Attention” offers an assured mix of After School-like sounds from their early career given a hip-hop revamp. The drum lines feel at times militaristic thanks to the “Bang” influenced chants and at other time more cheerleader like coming from the vocal influences of other After School songs like “Ah” and “Diva.” This all comes together really well with the drums leading the song just like fellow rookies’ Oh My Girl’s incredible “Cupid.”
The clear highlight is the joyous chorus. The sparse verse and pre-chorus, which feature only the pounding drums and the odd wobbly synth build to it well, allowing a surprise kick when the group vocals come in. It’s this group vocal which makes it so great. It’s a rare example of not favouring one voice as dominant over the group for a chorus and it works to great effect.
Some of you may know POTEN by their previous moniker 4ten. They were plastic and fantastic. For July, they decided to change things up though by dropping two members and recruiting three new ones with the new name. Luckily for us, this also corresponded with a big jump in quality.
The first thing that I noticed about “Go Easy” was just how slick it sounds. It sounds like a lot more money was pumped into this comeback. It also doesn’t tread on familiar rookie EDM or dance pop ground, going for a more funky production while still being danceable in a club setting. Guitars twang and strings flow over a simple structure. This gives time to the great new vocals on show for POTEN. This came at a price of having lesser rappers than previously, but it works for this song at least.
Also one of the new members is a Son Dambi look alike, which is always a good thing.
D.Holic “Chewy”
Whenever there’s a breakout success of any kind we can expect copycats of that success to pop up very soon after. This time it’s EXID who have provided the blueprint to D.Holic (I would have loved to been at the meeting where they decided that name) for their first comeback single “Chewy.” That’s them in the iconic photo at the top of this article.
Both the video and song come across as the cheaper versions of EXID’s “Up and Down.” That’s definitely not a bad thing though, as that song was one of the most interesting productions of 2014. Here it’s looser and more volatile. The synths bounce and wiggle, ready to explode at anytime. They even go at laser speeds in the second part of the verse. It lends to an unhinged feeling where “Up and Down” was more assured. Like WANNA.B though, the chorus comes as a surprise and goes in a lighter direction than expected. It’s what saves the song from going off the rails and becoming nothing more than a clone.
Crayon Pop’s little sisters Bob Girls were half resurrected in the recent debutants LoveUs. Their debut “Tickle” is a surprisingly good and sexy slice R’n’B. It’s synth lead, yet doesn’t sound too cheap and flourishes thanks to the good vocals off all the members. That’s what having only four members can get you.
Awesome Baby ‘‘Why Should I?’’
Now we come to that time of the rookie talk where we meet the group with the gimmick. This time it’s Awesome Baby who debuted with a ‘beatpella’ concept which, of course, is a mix of beat boxing and a capella. It’s immediately interesting since it’s a musical gimmick and not just a visual or conceptual one like we are used to. They do not stray too far from the trends, though, as they used this gimmick with a thoroughly 90s sounding track. The 90s are all the rage lately, if you hadn’t noticed.
Vocally, it’s impressive. Each member adds their own distinct reason to be there and harmonically this works so well. The song itself though is derivative. It offers nothing that hasn’t been done by TLC et al before. Not even rapping can distinguish K-pop there.
What’s your favourite of these songs? Is there anything even better we missed out on? 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.
https://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/maxresdefault.jpg7201280Joe Palmerhttps://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/KULTSCENE-LOGO-2018-TRANSPARENT-RED.pngJoe Palmer2015-07-31 09:14:232015-07-31 12:19:48Best Rookie Girl Groups of July
