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CL’s ‘Doctor Pepper’ Song Review

May 25, 2015/in Entertainment, MUSIC /by Joe Palmer

Playlist Sunday: Boy Groups Covering Girl Groups

May 24, 2015/in Fans, Playlist Sunday /by KultScene

Fan service has to be the greatest invention in K-pop. For some reason, fans go especially crazy with the type of fan service where male idols act cute or dress up and dance to girl group songs. We can’t really explain the psychology behind it and won’t try to. Instead, we’re just going to list […]

CL’s ‘Doctor Pepper’ Song Review

May 25, 2015/in Entertainment, MUSIC /by Joe Palmer

Playlist Sunday: Boy Groups Covering Girl Groups

May 24, 2015/in Fans, Playlist Sunday /by KultScene

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CL’s ‘Doctor Pepper’ Song Review

May 25, 2015/in Entertainment, MUSIC /by Joe Palmer

The time is finally here for K-pop’s greatest hope in the West to begin her attack. As K-pop fans, we have seen many before her attempt and fail to break the musical holy land, America. BoA, Se7en, Wonder Girls did not have what it takes. They, however, did not have the backing that 2NE1’s leader CL has at her disposal. Her overall style since her debut has generally taken a greater influence from the West, anyway. She seems to believe in and love her music which, whether true or not, is more common to a Western pop artist. Her performance style is more about putting on a good show than delivering crisp choreography. Moreover, she always has the famous friends like Jeremy Scott, Diplo, and M.I.A. Collaborations with them could raise her profile in the future.

It comes as no surprise that Doctor Pepper is a sleazy hip-hop track so relevant to the US musical environment right now. Does this live up to the hype of K-pop fans though? And is it going to push her career in the US?

Song

Given that hearing Major Lazer on mainstream radio stations is very common these days, Doctor Pepper is the ideal jumping off point for CL. It’s a heavily synthesized piece of hip-hop that we have come to expect from everything Diplo works on. Musically, it doesn’t deviate from its stabbing electro riff for the most part. The clip clopping drum beat behind it keeps things interesting though. It’s a far cry from what most K-pop listeners will be used to. Yet, like Diplo said, K-pop is broad enough to be able to accept and promote just about anything, even super weird Atlanta hip-hop.

This is really a showcase of the rapping talent featured with CL taking centre stage. It is here where the song really delivers. The repeating hook which CL lays at the beginning is a lot of fun. At first listen, it comes across as pretty cheesy, but there’s a wry cleverness to the lyrics that I like. It’s not a silly little rhyme about a soft drink, but an introduction of the baddest female.She’s letting the US public know how cool she is. Ice cool, if you needed help getting that.

Also on KultScene: Artist Spotlight: Giriboy

Her rap that follows is similarly simple in its lyric. It contains, however, some slight similarities to CL’s K-pop roots. The vocal inflections and auto-tune recall for a small moment more popular elements. Not to say this is exclusive to K-pop though, most rappers do switch from rapping to singing within one verse a lot. Here though, it seems much more natural due to CL’s incredible vocal range. It appeals to CL’s die hard fans and the party loving Western fans she wants. It’s a pretty good verse to officially open up herself to the public. But in order to leave room for supporting acts, it’s her only verse though.

Those supporters are RiFF RAFF and OG Maco. Raff delivers a typically wacky and fun time while Maco has the Atlanta style flow that perfectly suits this music without overshadowing anyone else.

The Future

The success or failure of Doctor Pepper will have a big impact on CL’s future American career. How the public reacts to it will probably affect what kind of music she continues with, i.e. sticking with Diplo’s signature sounds or going in a more popular root. The success of Nicki Minaj and Diplo’s own work on the charts with Major Lazer show that the style should not be a problem though.

What will probably be the biggest issue is race, unfortunately. The public’s reaction to an Asian pop star getting involved in rap, especially Atlanta style since it’s so local, could be contentious, to say the least. Even though it’s very much in the popular realm now, rap fans have a strong loyalty to their music and artists, not unlike fans of K-pop. The roots of rap are also found in oppression and suffering, whereas CL is a well-travelled superstar who has seemingly never suffered a day in her life.

Also on KultScene: YG Entertainment and Authenticity in K-Pop

It might seem unfair to assume that people will think this but it’s happening right now to Iggy Azaela, so we know it can happen again. Iggy is constantly being accused of cultural appropriation and it seems to have started hurting her career. I hope the difference between Iggy and CL is that CL actually makes good music. A lot can be forgiven for music that really speaks to people.

While Doctor Pepper may not work as a complete song it does give out good vibes for the future. The style is at once popular and legitimate. The big name connections are there. CL herself is devoted to her music and wants to connect with new audiences. If this isn’t enough to push CL further than those who have tried to break America before, then I hope K-pop stops trying. No one else can do it.

CL 'Doctor Pepper'

3.5

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Playlist Sunday: Boy Groups Covering Girl Groups

May 24, 2015/in Fans, Playlist Sunday /by KultScene

Fan service has to be the greatest invention in K-pop. For some reason, fans go especially crazy with the type of fan service where male idols act cute or dress up and dance to girl group songs. We can’t really explain the psychology behind it and won’t try to. Instead, we’re just going to list our favorite instances of boy groups covering female groups for this week’s playlist.

Putting together the divas of multiple K-pop groups and having them perform the biggest hit of the day is brilliant. Having a group of male idols from different groups perform one of the biggest Korean hits ever is pre-genius. Way back in the day, members of 2PM, Super Junior, SHINee, and 2AM performed Girls’ Generation’s Gee and it was fabulous. 2AM’s Jo Kwon and SHINee’s Key shone in their spastic dancing, while all the other performers also joined in on the fun. This is also a little bit poignant, as took place before Jay Park’s departure of 2PM.

— Tamar

It came as no surprise when I saw GOT7 cover A Pink’s Mr. Chu, which was titled Ms. Chu for their stage at Music Bank’s end of the year show in 2014, I was ecstatic. GOT7 is naturally cute, so it was only right that they covered this bubbly song. Not only did they stick to the original concept by keeping the performance delightful and youthful, they also incorporated their own charm into it: Jackson’s little sexy wave, Mark flying midair flip, and BamBam’s reference to their Stop Stop It choreography. It’s a shame the guys didn’t perform this at their recent stops on their fan meeting tour in the USA. I’m sure all the iGOT7’s (fan club name), would’ve all fallen over due to their bewitching charisma!

–Tam

Jo Kwon’s second job is covering girl band songs, but that can’t be said for the rest of 2AM. When it comes to male groups covering the girl ones, you can’t expect them to take it completely seriously, especially when they do it for a variety show. That’s why their interpretation of miss A’s Bad Girl, Good Girl, but in this case Bad Boy, Good Boy, is awesome, because even if they wore similar outfits, sang, and did the choreography, they were acting a fool the whole way through. The cherry on top of the sundae? miss A was right there to watch them slay their song.

— Alexis

These two groups are popping out all throughout this playlist, but 2PM& 2AMare undeniably good at girl group covers. This parody/cover of Brown-Eyed Girls’ Abracadabra is hilarious, because the members of both groups really go all the way out in imitating BEG, be it in acting out the music video storyline or in the costumes that they don. They even went on to name themselves Dirty-Eyed Girls as a parody of BEG.

–Anna

When your favorite boy band covers your favorite girl band it could be the most hilarious thing ever. Thankfully when BIGBANG covered 2NE1’s I Love You for the YG Family concert, they gave us a very funny rendition of the song. From their sexy girl dance moves to T.O.P.’s screams, the boys were having the best time of their lives. Taeyang’s vocals were so on point that it made us even want a real studio version of this cover. Since BIGBANG and 2NE1 are label mates and friends they weren’t afraid to make fun of the song and have a lot of fun with it. This is one of my favorites covers of all time.

–Alejandro

Maybe I’m picking this cover because half of it is Girl’s Day performing Something as supremely as they usually do. Or maybe I’m picking Boy’s Day because it gives NU’EST’s Ren a chance to show off his true colours. I mean that boy is a beautiful woman, no doubt about it. The hair and makeup are flawless and the dress seems to fit his figure perfectly. Even his movements and expressions are quintessentially feminine. Ren completely outshines the rest of the boys which even includes VIXX’s Hongbin who is also known for looking pretty in drag. Unfortunately it is lip synched but at least it lets them concentrate on performing the dance.

–Joe