K-Pop Group BIG BANG Will Dominate World Music

This next blog is dedicated to BIG BANG. The other Asian male group putting all Asian males on the map. The rising popularity of BIG BANG is unprecedented. They just made a massive jump on the Billboard Social 50 charts moving up from 36 to 12 in one week. Amazing. Check out one of my favorite videos they released not too long ago called Bad Boy.

Every one of you should check out BIG BANG. This K-Pop group consists of five raw, unadulterated talented artists. Seriously. I'm not just saying this, because I'm biased.  I'm saying this because these guys have more style and flavor than many of the artists here in the states *ahem*...Bieber. You know the streets are talkin' when even Swizz Beats talks about wanting to work with the group.

You can argue with me all you want how K-Pop sounds manufactured, well guess what? What about all the crap that's been coming out on the radio for the past decade? Bitches, hoes, clubbing, cars, money. Yes. Great. What else? I'm not saying all radio music is bad, nor am I saying even that kind of music is bad, but let's not pretend like America is Oh-So-Original when it clearly isn't.

What I like about BIG BANG is that they serve as a good role model for Asian-American males. "But they're not even American", you say. It doesn't matter. They bring a fresh, new Asian male image to the forefront of people's minds which is what I'm trying to get at. In addition, they're very hard-working, masculine, stylish, creative, pump out great music and rock it with uncontested swagger. Most importantly, they capture the hearts of the ladies, and who wouldn't want to emulate any of those characteristics? I saw an ad online for their new Monster video on YouTube and stumbled across all these "Reaction Videos". I had no idea they had such a far-reaching fan-base non-Asian fanbase. It's pretty freakin' nuts. Who would've thought that a boy band from Asia would make girls worldwide squeal like this?

Swizz Beatz to Bring K-Pop to America?

Word has it that Swizz Beatz is trying to bring K-Pop over to the states. I think he's trying to be Teddy Riley and Will.I.Am to the punch. He might be a little late but K-Pop songs still aren't in rotation on American radio stations or clubs. Once that happens, open up the flood gates!

“Bridging the gaps with collaborations can be the start of a global phenomenon. We’ve got this group called Big Bang, they dropped a song called 'Blue,' and I’m like, everybody should know about that,” he continued. “So how do you keep communication going? When you’re a big artist in the states, they roll out the red carpets for you, and I don’t feel that love for artists from other countries when they come here. I’m like, wait a minute, that’s not fair. Why can’t they get some respect?"

The thing I like about Sweezy is that he makes some monster club tracks and has an appreciation for the K-Pop scene as an artist. He also probably feels that American artists are always on a high horse of getting treated like kings and queens on the red carpet but when an artist from Asia comes over to the states, they're not reciprocated with the same treatment.

It's not surprising however. America has the largest market outside of Japan when it comes to music. However, as Sweezy commented that doesn't mean we shouldn't know about groups like Big Bang droppin' Blue when they're such a global phenomenon. Heck, they even beat out Brittany Spears for best world artist at the MTV music awards~!!

On To Something Positive: K-Pop Hitting USA

Out of all of the periodicals out there, I think Time magazine has always been a little more international and cutting edge when it comes to politics and pop culture. This week the magazine boasts an article about Korean Pop music going global with the help of the internet.

Taeyang's Solar album debut hits No. 2 on iTunes R&B charts

It amazes me how times have changed since I was a teenager listening groups like Seotaiji and Deux. After entering high school and college subsequently thereafter, I took a break from listening to K-Pop altogether since there were new artists coming out every week. Keeping up with the trends was just too much for me. The only viable medium to stay in tune with the latest and greatest K-Pop heads was to ask family relatives in Korea, friends who were avid K-Pop listeners or KBS broadcasting on Channel 18. Still too much work.

I should also mention this was a point in my life where I disassociated myself from many things Asian, more specifically Korean: Korean Pride (KP), Korean music, Korean girls, etc. Yes, I'll admit that I wanted to be more "American", which in my mind meant abandoning a lot of my contemporary Korean pop culture interests. In fact, I was so far removed from Korean pop culture that when I got to college my Chinese roommates were the ones asking me about Korean music! Huh?? Who's H-O-T? FinkL? Boa? Sorry, I don't know any of them.

Then something changed about four years into my career. I took a trip back to my parent's motherland and fell in love with my roots once again, and K-Pop came along with it. Only this time, with the help of the internet, there were many people around the world who were following K-Pop artists as well. I first noticed this on YouTube watching K-Pop music videos and seeing comments from users who are from all over the world. Now that I'm back in the states, I still keep up with the K-Pop scene. If you haven't listen to a K-Pop song in your entire life you should give it a shot. The songs are catchy, dance-able and just plain fun. Here is an example:

All of these artists are extremely hard working and talented. Renown American producers are even taking notice of the talent pool and marketability of these idol groups. For instance, Will.I.Am. from the Black Eyed Peas saw one of 2NE1's music videos and immediately wanted to work with them. Back in April of this year, New Jack Swing founder and R&B powerhouse producer Teddy Riley began collaborating with Jay Park (Jaebeom) on an album. Now whether or not it actually gets released is a different story, but the act of Jay working with a musical genius such as Riley himself sends a powerful statement to the music industry - Asians have talent also, not just in math and science. And if that isn't enough to convince you of K-Pop's growing popularity and influence worldwide, then consider Taeyang's Solar album which hit No. 2 on iTunes R&B sales charts in the U.S. and No. 1 in Canada which is a first but hopefully not the only for an Asian artist!