Korean Wave - K-Pop

Oh hello. I have been neglecting my blog for nearly 2 years. Or has it touched the 2 years mark already?
Well, whatever it is, I am back! And hoping to stay consistent with posting on here.

Topic of today is the Korean Wave - K-Pop. Yeah, you got me right. I am one of those many crazies who made this wave a wave. I loooooove Korean dramas especially. But, we'll save it for another time because today we will focus on K-Pop. No, I am not going to dissect K-Pop. I like listening to K-Pop, but I am not a fan.

So, a few days back a friend of mine posted on Facebook in regards to K-Pop. I was so annoyed about his post that I decided to blog on this topic. According to this friend of mine, all K-Pop groups were fakes with no originality whatsoever like Super Junior, SNSD, etc EXCEPT Wonder Girls. WHOAAAAA...wait a minute there! Hold yer' horses. I will again reiterate that I am not a fan of K-Pop per se, I just like listening to them.

Now, that statement was not made by him originally. It was brought up by a radio listener on this popular local radio station. And my friend totally agreed with that baseless statement. I, on the other hand, have a few points to make or ask or state.

Firstly, have you non-Koreans ever had the chance to watch ALL K-Pop acts to label all of them fakes? 2NE1 looks original to me for the most part.
Secondly, just because Wonder Girls managed to make it to the top of the American Billboard 100, it does not automatically make them an original act.
Thirdly, Wonder Girls can be also classified in all those fake K-Pop acts you labelled like Super Junior and SNSD - just watch their videos and listen to their songs. They are NOT all original. In fact, they like copying as well without a sense of originality but don't make me say it out loud what they are.

And, how in the world can one compare K-Pop to English music billboard charts? It is like saying the English songs that did not make it to MNET's list are un-original. You get my gist? These billboard charts are not a measuring standard for songs internationally. The fact is that they are a popularity chart. Songs will gain popularity according to exposure to the targeted listeners.

America's Top Billboard 100? You guessed it right, they are songs that are popular with the American public. But then again, how many of them actually listens to the songs listed on the list? If one is to make a comparison between how good an apple tastes', one does not take other fruits like oranges, pears or grapes to compare because the objective is to test the taste of the apples.

K-Pop-ing out,
MaeQ