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The Colors Of K-Pop: Red

November 20, 2014/in MUSIC /by Tamar Herman

K-Pop is a musical genre that is as colorful as music can be. There are a lot of bright colors in music videos, K-Pop acts with color in their name, etc. Here are some of the most popular songs in Korea that have the color red in their name. HyunA Red You may know this […]

YG Entertainment Wants You to Know It’s Different

November 18, 2014/in Features /by Tamar Herman

SM Entertainment is polished. JYP Entertainment is relaxed. YG Entertainment is different. Or, at least, that’s what several songs from YG have been telling fans of the Korean entertainment agency. WINNER’s Different and Hi Suhyun’s I’m Different were both released in 2014, when the Korean entertainment industry has been reeling from multiple scandals relating to […]

The Colors Of K-Pop: Red

November 20, 2014/in MUSIC /by Tamar Herman

YG Entertainment Wants You to Know It’s Different

November 18, 2014/in Features /by Tamar Herman

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The Colors Of K-Pop: Red

November 20, 2014/in MUSIC /by Tamar Herman

HyunA Red

You may know this song. It has over 16 million views on YouTube, and Hyuna’s Red made a lot of headlines for its sex-filled concept. Red reached number one on several music charts, and the music video stayed atop of China’s Yin Yue Tai V-Chart for four days. The rapid-fire rap, HyunA’s twerking, and electronic-EDM-hip-hop elements seems like a mess at first, but Red is an enthralling song, filled with red-related passion.

SMTOWN Red Sun

One of SMTOWN’s from 2006, multiple SM Entertainment artists including TVXQ, BoA, Kangta, The TRAX, Super Junior etc. lent their voices to the song. Some of the artists are no longer active or have since left the company (the three members of JYJ, ex-Super Junior members, The TRAX, Black Beat, CSJH The Grace,) but the song is still an upbeat summer song that will make you want to head to the beach and enjoy the sun. Fun fact: Pre-Girls’ Generation SM Entertainment had only less than ten active female singers.

Shinhwa Red Carpet

Shinhwa may be one of the longest running groups in K-Pop, which made its comeback in 2012 after a four year break. On that comeback album, The Return, Red Carpet stood out as a strong dance track. The song was written by member Minwoo (known as M,) and is a synth-dance mix up that emphasizes Shinhwa’s vocal line.

f(x) Red Light

One of the most experimental songs out of SM Entertainment in years is f(x)’s hit song Red Light. The song is an electronic house song with a rhythmic beat that is addictive. Red Light‘s promotional period was cut short due to member Sulli going on hiatus, but it still did well on multiple music charts, including reaching the top 5 on the Billboard K-Pop Hot 100 chart.

IU Red Shoes

A song meant to show the transition of IU from Korea’s little sister to a more mature singer, Red Shoes describes a woman trying to find her way. Red Shoes uses a big band sound, evoking swing and jazz music. It, and other songs from IU’s Modern Times album, won multiple awards and gained much acclaim in South Korea.

Heyne Red Lie

Not to be confused with Hyuna, Hyene is an up-and-coming solo singer. Her cute voice may be typecast to sickeningly sweet love songs, but Red Lie is anything but, with lyrics like “love please go away.” The song and cinematography of Red Lie are really unique and definitely worth listening to. Fun fact: There’s very little red in the video. Perhaps a shout out to red being the color of lies, as the title suggests.

Son Dambi Red Candle

Composed by SHINee’s Jonghyun, Son Dambi’s Red Candle is a sophisticated track that depicts celebrity life. The gentle intro into the song seduces the listener to the gentle Latin-fusion style that’s different than Son Dambi’s typical dance song. Dance is prevalent and the music video is absolutely beautiful with a black-and-white film noir feel to it.

Did we list all your favorite “red” songs? Look forward to the rest of this ROGYBIV series in coming weeks. 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.

YG Entertainment Wants You to Know It’s Different

November 18, 2014/in Features /by Tamar Herman

SM Entertainment is polished. JYP Entertainment is relaxed. YG Entertainment is different. Or, at least, that’s what several songs from YG have been telling fans of the Korean entertainment agency.

WINNER’s Different and Hi Suhyun’s I’m Different were both released in 2014, when the Korean entertainment industry has been reeling from multiple scandals relating to YG and SM (JYP has been relatively untouched in 2014). The songs, or at least their titles, appear to be an anthem for YG.

The company has not made headlines for the normal abuses of the Korean entertainment industry. While SM has struggled with contract disputes, YG artists have not sued the company. Instead, they’ve been involved in drug scandals. Drugs are taboo in South Korea, but rather than completely destroying the company’s image (Korean netizens do heavily criticize for this,) it instead sets YG apart from other Korean entertainment agencies.

I’m different
I’m special
Don’t compare me

— Hi Suhyun’s ‘I’m Different’

It makes YG seem a bit more dangerous, a bit more foreign, a bit more different. Everything that it does as of late, is different. It has become a trendsetter that has surpassed SM Entertainment, the longtime leader of the industry, in many ways.

If SM is the old, stalwart company of the Korean entertainment industry–with idol groups that were sure to do well, actors that were very clean cut, singers who were talented but not exactly unique as they promoted dance songs and ballads, all who are in fashion but perhaps not the people who are pushing fashion to its limit– YG Entertainment is the new company that’s different in all of those regards; the antithesis of the old, typical K-Pop model.

YG Entertainment from the start was different– hip-hop reigned ever since the company’s first acts. Jinusean and 1TYM, were hip-hop acts with R&B influences. BIGBANG and 2NE1, the company’s next popular acts, took this hip-hop style and applied it to a more typical, idol model- dance songs, ballads, but infused with hip-hop. As both groups became more and more popular, their styles have become very distinct in an industry where it is hard to stand out. Epik High and Psy, two imports to YG from other companies, also brought the type of music that is atypical in K-Pop.

Also on KultScene: Did SM Entertainment Treat Kris & EXO-M Unfairly?

With the newest crop of YG Entertainment artists (AKMU, WINNER, iKON, Lee Hi) YG Entertainment diversified, going into new types of music that are popular in Korea, but not typical idol music. AKMU’s folksy, WINNER is artistic, iKON is supposed to be hip-hop (so YG’s origins), and Lee Hi sings jazz-influenced songs.

Add to that that YG Entertainment produces most of its music in house and you have a very different, unique entertainment agency in Korea, where most company’s outsource.

But it’s not their music alone that has led YG Entertainment’s artists to stand out– it’s their fashion, their attitudes, their personalities. At a certain point, an attitude of being better, being different, a sort of swag even, became the very thing that made YG known as YG Family. The company is freer with its artists, allowing them more chances to be artistically involved in what music they produce and how they live their lives.

Different is good, and YG’s done a great job promoting its artists as something different from the norm in K-Pop. But it’s also dangerous– Park Bom of 2NE1 was involved in a drug smuggling scandal because medicine she was prescribed in the United States is illegal in Korea; G-Dragon of BIGBANG has been involved in several minor drug rumors; iKON came off too strongly at a BIGBANG concert in Japan even though YG Entertainment’s confidence is usually a key selling point of its new groups.

I’m just different
I’m just different
Don’t expect kindness
I’m Angel and Demon
Misunderstanding can be harmful

— Winner’s ‘Different’

Many Korean entertainers come under fire during different points of the career, sometimes for big things and sometimes for silly little things. YG Entertainment’s artists have faced all sort of problems, but they also, as of late, have gained a reputation as troublemakers.

The term iljin, or “bully” has been connected to several of YG Entertainment’s younger artists; whether the new crew actually bullied people in high school or not, the phrase has been tossed around enough that it’s stuck, likely because of the company’s hip-hop background. Netizens in Korea freely discuss the iljin trainees that YG Entertainment will promote in upcoming years. That, along with the “druggie” label that Park Bom and G-Dragon have gained from their scandals, has seriously hurt the company’s image.

Also on KultScene: Let’s Discuss: YG’s Luck With Damage Control

But despite the image issue, YG Entertainment’s never done better. The company has continuously produced hit after hit. Even the differences that are seen as being negative (i.e., such dramatic, illicit scandals), aren’t able to counteract the fact that the music from YG Entertainment is great.

Both WINNER and Hi Suhyun sing about being different in a relationship. Even though the lyrics don’t apply full heartedly to the brand, YG Entertainment has proved in 2014 that it’s different and those differences are what will get the company ahead of the game.

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Do you think YG Entertainment is different? Would you like to see profiles like this about other Korean entertainment companies? 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.