Thursday, December 13, 2012

U-Kiss & Infinite

It's already been more than three months since I wrote my first review on Psy. Unexpectedly, time has really flown by since then. During all this time, I never got to review a mainstream K-Pop artist, despite my initial goals for starting this blog. And when you say mainstream K-Pop, you can't leave out boy bands. So for what will probably be my final post for this blog, I will do a dual review on two of my most favorite boy bands, U-Kiss and Infinite.

U-Kiss
Label: NH Media
Debut: August 28, 2008
Singles: "Am I That Easy," "0330," "Neverland"

Dongho, Kevin, AJ, Soohyun, Hoon, Eli, Kiseop (l-r)
I first got to know about U-Kiss in Asian Media Club. It seems like that's where most of my K-Pop revelations have come from. Julia showed this music video, of their song, "0330," and almost immediately, I was hooked. At first, it was just because of their music (I know, surprising, right?), but as I gradually got to know them, I eventually fell in love with them. One of the best things about the K-Pop industry is that it lets you get to know your favorite bands and artists, through "variety shows," or essentially talk shows or "a-day-in-the-life" shows that document their lives. Although some variety shows are similar to American reality shows, and therefore what they show sometimes seems kind of fake, a lot of them do a good job of portraying the real lives of K-Pop artists (or that's what I like to think). The thing that got me to fall in love with U-Kiss is that they seemed a lot more open and honest than most K-Pop boy bands. Usually, most K-Pop groups just say the obvious thing, where they only answer the questions that they're directly asked. However, U-Kiss has a knack of sometimes saying the  wrong things and being a little too truthful. For example, in one of their interviews, they were sneakily asked if they watched porn, and they confidently answered yes, they do watch porn, sometimes. Most boy bands would act all shy and innocent, and cleverly divert the question. I think that U-Kiss is one of those exceptions for K-Pop boy bands, who try to show their real personalities instead of just promoting their flawless looks and talent. Although a lot of boy bands try to do this these days, U-Kiss was the first boy band that I could really relate to, or at least feel like I could relate to, and therefore will always have a special place in my heart.


Infinite
Label: Woolim Entertainment
Debut: June 9, 2010
Singles: "Be Mine," "Paradise," "The Chaser"

Dongwoo, Woohyun, Sunggyu, L, Hoya, Sungjong, Sungyeol (l-r)
I just found about Infinite this summer, on the first day of August to be exact. This time, I actively searched for them, because of all the hype surrounding them at the time, and because I was just bored. Infinite is one of the most popular boy bands these days; they're essentially called the trend in the K-Pop industry. They're rising in the K-Pop scene day by day, despite the fact that they only have two years of experience behind them. Their huge following is only increasing in Korea. However, what really got me to like this band is their similarities with U-Kiss. On the surface, Infinite and U-Kiss don't look at all alike, but I got the similar feeling from Infinite as I did with U-Kiss. After all the watching, observing, poring over their performances, interviews, and shows, I really felt like Infinite were just seven ordinary guys pursuing their dreams in the music world, who happen to be really attractive and talented at the same time. They have that boy-next-door appeal, but on stage, they are the idols, the K-Pop stars that they're known to be. In a way, they're kind of the younger version of U-Kiss, in my mind. Perhaps even more talented, and lucky, in terms of their success in the K-Pop industry.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Big Baby Driver

This week, I review a fairly unknown artist in the Korean music industry, from a completely unknown genre of Korean music. Generally, I would put her into the indie category, since she is part of that group of artists who do non-mainstream music. However, as you will see later in this post, her music is very different from most indie artists who do mainly rock and pop music. Her music is not like any I've ever heard before. I hereby introduce you to Big Baby Driver.


Big Baby Driver is a 30-something woman who was part of a small band called Atombook. After sticking with them for a few years, she decided to go solo, where she performed under various stage names, such as "Dog Drover" and "Ruby Dog." Finally, she adopted the name Big Baby Driver, and officially started her career as a singer. Other than that, I don't know anything else about her, like her real name, or any of the music she released in the past.

Aside from the very unusual and quirky name, Big Baby Driver's music itself is very unique. If I had to describe it, I would say it is an incomprehensible mix of Korean rock and country music. The country part of it is inevitably shown in the song "Everyday Blues," from Big Baby Driver's eponymous first album, where the guitar sounds give off a country vibe. One of my favorite songs from this album is "Your Sun Is Stupid."

"Everyday Blues"


"Your Sun Is Stupid"


While I was pretty satisfied with the refreshing sound of the songs on her first album, my favorite song of Big Baby Driver would be "Spring I Love You Best" from the original soundtrack of the Korean drama, "A Gentleman's Dignity." I love the instrumentals in this song, as well as the lyrics. It makes me wish spring was here already... Many of Big Baby Driver's songs are completely in English, and this one did a pretty good job of using it. The grammar isn't exactly perfect, but it's good, considering how the Korean music industry is known for using pretty bad English. Here are the lyrics:
I wish I had someone who suddenly arrived
And showed me how the flowers grow and come out in winter field
I wish I had someone new tender to my heart
Someone who'll share me precious time 
Someday you'll find me in the hands of the wind
Somehow you'll lead me to the warmer nights
Someday you'll find me in the hands of the wind
Somehow you'll lead me to the warmer nights 
If I had pretty spring at the corner of my heart
I say goodbye to winter land, you so cruel the winter wind
Check the weather through the phone the number is 131
Don't you know the truth is in fine weather 
(Love you best)
(Love you best) 
Someday you'll (love you best) find me in the hands of the wind
Somehow you'll (love you best) lead me to the warmer nights
Someday you'll (love you best) find me in the hands of the wind
Somehow you'll (love you best) lead me to the warmer nights
"Spring I Love You Best"


The tracklist of "Big Baby Driver":
  1. You Gonna Quit Me Blues
  2. Big Baby Over 38,000 km Away
  3. Your Sun Is Stupid
  4. I'm Leaving Here Now
  5. I Am A River Dolphin
  6. Constantly Vanishing Me
  7. Everyday Blues
  8. Marca's Wedding
  9. You're A Jumping Zebra
  10. Let's Breaking Down
  11. Tomorrow
  12. Singing For The One Less Lonely Mind

Nell

I've been kind of obsessed with Korean indie artist Nell lately. Although I'm not going to review them, since I already did an indie band (Busker Busker), I'll just show you their music video for one of my favorite songs of theirs. It's called "The Day Before," check it out!

Sunday, December 2, 2012

K.Will

I just recently came upon this, and I just couldn't help not show it on this blog. It's a music video for the song, "Please Don't," by Korean ballad singer K.Will. Although he's not as famous as some K-Pop artists, he's become very popular in Korea. I really like the song, but the music video itself is particularly interesting. The story is very unusual, compared to how most music videos seem to go in the Korean music industry. All I can say is, there's a big twist in the ending, and I thought that the music video did a really good job of hiding the key point of the story until the end. Just check it out, and you'll see!

Thursday, November 29, 2012

C-Clown

On the Friday before Thanksgiving Break, Sherry played a certain music video in Asian Media Club. It was called "Far Away" by a rookie boy band called C-Clown. They debuted earlier this year in July. Along with being a kind of strange music video, the song has been stuck in my head ever since. It's about a guy longing for his best female friend who he's had a crush on for a long time, who's also dating a douchebag. Same cliche story, but still catchy song. Therefore, I present to you the music video, along with the song, which is very addicting, for some reason:



"Far Away"

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Loveholics & Davichi

This week, I have two artists that I'd like to introduce, because I really couldn't choose between Loveholics and Davichi. Both artists' music make me feel nostalgic, and matches perfectly with the cold and bittersweet weather we seem to be having these days. While Loveholics is of a more modern rock genre, Davichi's is a combination of R&B and ballad.

Loveholics (top) and Davichi (bottom).
Loveholics is a modern rock group that now consists of members Kang Hyun Min and Lee Jae Hak. The group was founded in 2002, under the name Loveholic, where they still had Ji Sun, a former member and the band's lead singer. She left the group in 2007, and in 2009, the duo came back with a new album, as Loveholics. Since both of the members are instrumentalists, the group now uses the help of guest artists for the vocals in their songs.

At first, I considered checking out some of their older albums, because they still had a singer back then, therefore their songs were probably better. However, I was surprised when I listened to their latest album, "In The Air" by accident, and found out that it was actually really addicting. This is the first album that Loveholics released since Ji Sun left, and they haven't released anything else yet.

I was completely amazed by this album. The first track, "Raining" had me immediately hooked, and I thought that the whole album flowed very well together. "The Wind Is Very Cold" and "Words You Shouldn't Know" were my favorites, while I loved the instrumental sounds of "Raining" and "Miracle Blue." It's perfect music for rainy days and when you're feeling down, even if for no reason.

"Raining"


In The Air (2009)
  1. Raining (ft. Christina)
  2. The Wind Is Very Cold (ft. Whale)
  3. Pain (ft. Jang Eun Ah)
  4. Pause, Secret, Comfort (ft. Woo Mi Jin)
  5. Beautiful (ft. Park Hye Kyung, Park Ki Young)
  6. Miracle Blue (ft. Shin Min Ah)
  7. Message From Tokyo (ft. Miki)
  8. Words You Shouldn't Know (ft. Arim)
  9. To Me, You Are (ft. Kang Hyun Min)
  10. Butterfly
Davichi is a ballad duo that consists of members Lee Hae Ri and Kang Min Kyung. In Korean, "Davichi" essentially means "light that shines everywhere." The group was created in 2008, debuting with their first album, "Amaranth." They immediately took the spotlight, winning "Rookie of the Month" at the Cyworld Digital Music Awards, and managing to get first place on a popular music show. After more than four years since their debut, Davichi has made their name as one of the most talented ballad singers in the industry, despite essentially being a K-Pop act.

Since I was somewhat aware of Davichi before, I decided to check out some of their older albums. When I first checked out "Amaranth," it was amazing. The songs range from catchy pop to very powerful R&B-like ballads. I especially liked the guitar sounds, and what is that, an accordion playing in the beginning of "Put On My Thick Lipstick." "Sad Promise" had a really catchy chorus - "I don't wanna do it, don't wanna do it" was stuck in my head for a few days. Overall, I thought all of the songs were pretty good, and refreshing to listen after listening to plain old K-Pop all the time.

Here's "Sad Promise," along with the music video:

"Sad Promise"



Amaranth (2008)
  1. I Love You, I Hate You
  2. Put On My Thick Lipstick
  3. The Bad And Hurt Me
  4. Sad Promise
  5. Old Love
  6. Sad Love Song
  7. Starry Night
  8. Is That How It Is
  9. Barely Barely
  10. The Opposite Of Breakup

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Leessang

This week, we go from indie to a more hip-hop genre of K-Pop, with duo Leessang. I almost did them for my first review, but changed my mind after listening to Psy's most recent album. Although I'm not very familiar with the hip-hop and rap genre, I will try to review them the best I can.

Leessang is a duo made up of members Gil and Gary. Simple, right? When the two left Honey Family, a well-known hip-hop group at the time, they decided to form a group together. In 2002, they officially debuted under the name Leessang, with the release of their first album, "Leessang of Honey Family."

Gil and Gary (left to right, front).
Because Leessang is a group with such a long history, I won't be able write about them as a whole. This will be their tenth year anniversary since their official debut, and since this is my first time getting to know them, I think I won't be able to review them as well as the other artists, most of whom I'd listened to before. Therefore, this post will be more like an album review than a general artist review. One of Leessang's most recent albums, titled "AsuRa BalBalTa," was released in August of last year. It is probably the duo's most successful album to date, becoming the most popular album of 2011, and all thirteen of its songs topping Billboard's "K-Pop Hot 100" chart. In case any of you were wondering, "AsuRa BalBalTa" is a sort of chant that means "Everything Comes True."

When I first listened through the whole album, I was really impressed. Being as foreign and new to the general hip-hop and rap genre as most of you are to K-Pop, I instantly fell in love with the music. While almost all of the songs were pretty catchy and fun to listen to, I realized that there was more emphasis on the lyrics and meaning of the songs. Unlike most K-Pop songs, Leessang's songs seem to have something honest and real to say, and I really like that about them. For example, in the song "Reminiscence," the main rapper, Gary talks about his past, from how he grew up and came to find his dreams in music at the late age of 26, to his successes with Leessang and disappointments in love. Like most rap songs, it has a very catchy chorus (featuring famous Korean singer Baek Ji Young), which is basically a chant that says, "up and down, sadness and happiness repeat, love and breakups repeat, my life goes round and round." Check it out:

"Reminiscence"


I really like all of the songs, so it's really hard to pick my favorite. However, I think "The Bird That Has To Fly Before Dying" (wow, that's long) stuck with me the most. At first, I liked their title song "Turned Off The TV," because of its very catchy chorus. I actually had "because I love you so much, I turned off the TV" stuck in my head for a while. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, go check it out (probably with English subtitles, though)! As I got used to Leessang's more hip-hop sound, I preferred the songs where Gary rapped more often and there were less chorus lines. I especially liked how all of the songs flowed together in the order they were in the album. So, if you'd like to listen to some of their songs, I'd really recommend listening to the whole album, if you have the time. There's even a playlist on YouTube for that. Tempted?

"The Bird That Has To Fly Before Dying"


Here's the music video of "Turned Off The TV," if you dare to watch it:

Overall, I thought that "AsuRa BalBalTa" was a very good listen, despite having no expectations, or previous experience with hip-hop/rap whatsoever. I can now understand why this album was so popular in Korea, again, despite not being your usual K-Pop. It seems like more non-K-Pop artists are becoming successful nowadays, which is so refreshing. Leessang has been doing their thing since 2002, and don't seem to plan on stopping anytime soon. Like in all of my reviews, I really recommend checking their album out, just try putting those 3 minutes of music through your ears, whenever you feel bored or just want something new to listen, say, while doing homework. Even though you don't understand what they're saying, you might still like the music, enough so that you'd look up the meaning of the lyrics, and eventually gain an interest so great that you end up learning a whole new language. Just saying, it could happen...


The full tracklist to "AsuRa BalBalTa":
  1. You're The Answer To a Guy Like Me (Prologue)
  2. You're The Answer To a Guy Like Me
  3. Turned Off The TV...
  4. Serenade
  5. Reminiscence
  6. I'll Give Everything To You
  7. The Bird That Has To Fly Before Dying
  8. AsuRa BalBalTa
  9. Wild Goose Chase
  10. Gangnam Riche
  11. Am I?
  12. Hope
  13. Grand Final (Planet Shiver Mix)

Thursday, November 1, 2012

DBSK

DBSK (also known as TVXQ) is one of the most popular and well-known K-Pop boy bands in the world. Originally a 5-member group, they are now active as a duo, and have managed to take over the music scene several times during the past few years. Although they are not the music gods they once were, the group is still very talented and have had some of the coolest concepts I've ever seen in K-Pop.

"Keep Your Head Down" (2011)
This was their first single after three of the members left and they came back as a duo. While I didn't completely love the song, I thought the music video was really cool, with all the fire effects and the powerful dance break in the beginning.



"Catch Me" (2012)
This is their most recent single, released in September. This time, I really liked both the song and the music video, but what really wowed me was the choreography. Whoever came up with this is pretty amazing. Much props to the backup dancers, as well as both the members, for being able to pull off such difficult choreography. Check it out for yourself, especially 3:30. You'll know what I mean.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Block B

Another update on what's currently hot in K-Pop. Block B has come back with "Nillili Mambo." Check it out!

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Ulala Session

In the previous post, I briefly mentioned Ulala Session, the group that won Superstar K3. I'm also obsessed with them, and one of their songs, "Beautiful Night" is really addicting. The music video itself is one awesome masterpiece. Check it out!

Busker Busker

It's been such a long time... Sorry about the delay, to those of you who might've been waiting for a new review. Sometimes, life just happens...

Anyway, I'm excited to introduce you to an artist that is completely new to me. This will be my first time reviewing a real indie rock band. Although I've always had a particular liking to indie rock, I've never really embraced it as a whole genre, especially not tin the K-Pop/Korean music world. I thereby introduce you to Busker Busker, currently one of the most popular indie bands in Korea.

Busker Busker is a 3-member band that consists of vocalist/guitarist Jang Bum Joon, bassist Kim Hyung Tae, and drummer Brad Moore. The band was founded by Jang Bum Joon, who was a college student at Sang Myung University. He sought to create a "busking" performance group of all art mediums that would bring a cultural and artistic presence to the streets of Korea. At first, the band was just a vast group of college students pursuing their individual interests in music and art. Jang Bum Joon was a part of a subset band called "Pinky Pinky." When the band's drummer had to quit, he met Kim Hyung Tae, a fellow college student, and Brad Moore, an English teacher at the university. They formed a band together, renaming it "Busker Busker." For a while, the band was still a loose formation, where the members rotated in and out of performances. In 2011, they participated in the auditions for Superstar K3, the Korean equivalent of American Idol, where the trio finally became a real band.

(left to right) Moore, Kim, and Jang.
On Superstar K3, Busker Busker was eliminated after having made it to the Top 48. However, the band was given another chance when one of the Top 10 contestants dropped out, leaving a spot open for them on the show. Busker Busker went on to do fairly well on Superstar K3, where they were able to make it to the final round, against rival group Ulala Session. Despite not winning the show, the band was able to gain a great amount of popularity. After a short hiatus, Busker Busker released their first album in March of 2012, simply titled "Busker Busker 1st Album." The album quickly became a national hit, selling over 50,000 copies during its first three weeks. All of its songs topped the music charts, all written by leader Jang Bum Joon.  They later released a final part of the album, which was cut out because it didn't fit with the overall theme of spring. All five songs, again written by Jang, were able to chart within the top five on various online music charts.

First of all, wow. Such an impressive resume for an indie band, especially in Korea, where the K-Pop industry rules all. It goes to show that the audience in Korea is changing, at least in their taste in music, where small and lesser-known bands like Busker Busker can be really successful in the music industry. It seems like there's a "Busker Busker" wave going on in Korea, at least when I was there this summer, where so many of the commercials were using their music, and I was like "who is this?" Now, I know. And I'm glad that I got to know about such a great band. As you've seen, I'm slowly getting exposed to a broader range of music in the Korean industry, and with that has come Busker Busker.

To be honest, I didn't fall in love with their songs right away, as I am still getting used to the indie rock sound.  But as I got to listening to them nonstop, I got used to the sound, and was able to appreciate the instrumental sounds. Not only was I recognizing the actual lyrics of the songs, but I could feel the guitar strumming into my ears, the drums and bass in the background. A lot of K-Pop songs, I realize, are really catchy and while you get into the sound of the song, you ignore what they're saying and the instruments that are playing (at least that's what I usually do). With Busker Busker's music, they're not as catchy, and as you try to get used to it, you get to appreciate the most important aspects: the lyrics and instruments making the music. I've been introduced to a whole new way of listening to music, all thanks to Busker Busker!

Out of all of their songs, "Yeosu Night Sea" is the song that stayed with me most. It was probably the second most popular song of Busker Busker, behind "Cherry Blossom Ending." For some reason I can't explain, the melody is really addicting. Here, check it out:

"Yeosu Night Sea"


Here's the full tracklist of Busker Busker's first album:
  1. Spring Breeze
  2. First Love
  3. Yeosu Night Sea
  4. Cherry Blossom Ending
  5. Ideal Type
  6. Loneliness Amplifier
  7. Alley
  8. At The Entrance of The Alley
  9. Calling You
  10. The Flowers
  11. Perfume

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Update

Hey guys, for those of you who've been following this blog regularly, thanks so much. I really appreciate it. I just wanted to let you know, I've been so busy lately, I didn't get to listen to any new artists, therefore I haven't been able to write a review. I promise that I will get on that sometime this weekend. Expect a review on Monday night, at the latest!

However, I was able to write a post, a more detailed explanation of K-Pop, on the "Into to K-Pop" page. It expands on the Intro Post that I wrote before, but still leaves out some more specific aspects of K-Pop. If any of you have any questions about K-Pop, feel free to leave a comment on the page. Thanks!

Monday, September 17, 2012

F.T. Island

For the past few days, I've been thinking about which artist to review this week. I've been trying to find a new artist that I really like, but haven't found any that has come to my liking. So, in light of their recent comeback, I decided to do a review on F.T. Island. The thing is, I've known about F.T. Island for a pretty long time, but I never got to really know them as a band. They released some songs that I really liked, but that was all. Therefore, I will do my best to introduce you guys to F.T. Island, while familiarizing myself with them as well.


Unlike most K-Pop groups of their time, F.T. Island is essentially a rock band, complete with a drummer, bassist, two guitarists, and main vocalist. The name stands for "Five Treasure Island," referring to the five members, each of whom is a "treasure." Despite the fact that they're not your usual K-Pop boy band with catchy songs and dances, they're very popular in Korea, and even considered mainstream K-Pop by most fans. As a band, they're more similar to their K-Pop counterparts in terms of management and structure, but when you look at their music, F.T. Island's sound is very similar to that of a pop rock band.

F.T. Island made their debut in the summer of 2007 with the release of their first album, "Cheerful Sensibility." They soon rose to fame with their title song "Lovesick," which topped the charts for eight consecutive weeks. The album became the sixth best-selling album of 2007, and since then, the band has released a total of 7 full albums and 6 mini albums. F.T. Island is now a name-brand artist in the K-Pop industry.

A week ago, F.T. Island made their most recent comeback with their album, "Five Treasure Box." With all the hype surrounding the comeback, I couldn't not check it out. I was able to listen to the whole album during these past few days, and I have to say, I was thoroughly pleased. Although the songs didn't come to me right away, I fell in love with the refreshing sound of pop rock. I love their title song "I Wish," which has been stuck in my head for the past two days. I especially like how there's a sort of latin feel to it, and the saxophone in the background. It's really worth checking out:

"I Wish"


This led me to check out the rest of F.T. Island's albums, and I instantly fell in love with their music. I'm still in the middle of listening to some of their older albums, but so far, I'm totally impressed. This was what I needed. Although I love some of them, every other K-Pop song out there is always the same. F.T. Island's music is a refresher and eye-opener to another genre of K-Pop. I feel like my heart has been given a whole new breath of life; it's that refreshing. So far, my most favorite F.T. Island album (probably bound to change) is the one they released before "Five Treasure Box," called "Grown Up." It has only five songs, but every one of them has sealed themselves into my heart. So, all music lovers, you should really check out F.T. Island. They're a (somewhat) real rock band that plays real pop rock music. What better thing could you expect from K-Pop?

Here's the full tracklist of "Grown Up":

1. Severely
2. I Even Lost A Friend
3. I'm A Stupid Person
4. A Grown Up Man...
5. Please Be My Girlfriend

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Intro Post!

It's kind of late, but for those of you who are new to this blog, let me give you a proper introduction. So, as you may have noticed, this is an entire blog dedicated to K-Pop, aka Korean pop music. Most of you have probably heard something about it, either because of our utterly famous Asian Media Club here at Uni, or maybe on the Internet. For those of you who haven't, well, I will do all my best to introduce you to one of my favorite genres of music.

As an expert (if I do say so myself) on K-Pop and a long-time fan of Korean music, I decided to create this blog as a way to explore the various depths of the vast and growing world of K-Pop. I've always been exposed to only mainstream K-Pop, and never got the chance to check out those less well-known artists of K-Pop. Therefore, my main goal for this blog is to cover a wide range of Korean artists, and make them more well-known in the general Korean music scene.

I will try to post every other week, with a new artist and review of their music. Since many of you are unfamiliar with K-Pop, I will try to be more specific and maybe, just maybe, I will have time to create a page introducing you guys to K-Pop. To those of you who've never listened to K-Pop a day in your life, do try it! Click on one of the audio clips shared by me in my posts, and actually try listening to some of the songs. It really doesn't matter if you end up hating it or loving it. The main purpose of this blog is to introduce more people to a whole different genre of music, so I hope you guys find it interesting!

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Psy

Oppa, gangnam style! You guys probably know what I'm talking about. In a matter of a little more than a month, Psy's "Gangnam Style" music video has garnered more than 100 million views on YouTube. What's really amazing is that it has managed to reach Uni, where only a few enlightened fans of K-Pop reside. Although several K-Pop artists' music videos have managed to bring in millions of views, Psy's video is probably the only one that's gotten as popular with the international audience, particularly in the U.S. This, my friends, is the true power of the Internet.



Despite Psy's oh-so-popular video, what really got me to write this post is his most recent album, "Psy's Best Sixth." I have to admit, if it wasn't for his video, I wouldn't have gotten the motivation to actually download his album and listen to his songs. I try to be open to all kinds of music, but there's something about K-Pop that has you worshiping only one or two artists at a time, at all times. For those of you who aren't very familiar with K-Pop (Korean pop music, if you didn't already guess), Psy isn't your typical artist in the K-Pop world. Nowadays, you will see that most K-Pop artists are mainly groups formed of 5-7 members, that are more image-based (as in, pretty) than focused on their music. Of course, there are some K-Pop artists out there who don't fall into this category, and a very few who succeed in both looks and music, but that's the way it is mainly in the modern K-Pop world.

Psy, as you have seen in his music video, is a fairly chubby (some may say fat) Korean man in his mid-30s. He is not your average K-Pop artist, and therefore, he didn't catch my interest before. Psy (real name Park Jae Sang) was born in Korea, but received most of his post-secondary education in the U.S., attending Boston University and later, the Berklee College of Music. He officially debuted in 2001, with the release of his first album, "Psy...From the Psycho World." Known mainly as a rapper and hip-hop singer, most of his albums have been subject to criticism from the Korean public for its "inappropriate content." Many of his songs are about "scandalous" topics like sex and drinking, and therefore have been banned from selling to the younger audience, people under the age of 19.

Despite this, he is very well-known in the K-Pop industry, and has a huge following of fans in Korea. Unlike many K-Pop artists of his time, Psy composes almost all of his songs, some of which have become great hits. He's also known for his many collaborations with other famous Korean artists, such as Lee Jae Hoon and Brown Eyed Soul's Jung Yeop. 

Upon listening to his sixth album, I instantly fell in love with all of his songs. It's kind of weird, because I usually don't like this kind of music, but as soon as they came into my ears, they stuck, and buried themselves into my heart. That's how good his music is.

"Year of '77"


If I had to pick a favorite, I would say "Year of '77" stuck in my head the most. Psy was born on the very last day of 1977 (December 31st), and therefore the song is about back in the days, in the good old '70s and '80s. The song features singer Kim Jin Pyo and hip hop duo, Leessang, who were also born around the same time. It has a catchy chorus phrase, "do you remember," which basically states the nostalgic theme of the song. Along with a bittersweet melody, most of the song is rap, courtesy of Psy and Leessang members Gary and Gil. The lyrics really stuck to me - they basically tell of how it was back in the days, when they were only high schoolers, looking for love and still finding their place in the world. Of course, as a high schooler (and soon-to-be college student), I could just relate.

I'm still in the middle of exploring more of Psy's music, as this is the sixth album that he's released. As you probably noticed, I'm in love with his music. I'm so glad I tried a hand at a genre of K-Pop that I didn't know existed, or was so good. I really recommend trying out his music, even if you're not a fan of K-Pop. Who knows, you might be the one getting sucked into Gangnam Fever...

Here's the full tracklist for the album:


1. Blue Frog (ft. G-Dragon)
2. Passionate Goodbye (ft. Sung Si Kyung)
3. Gangnam Style
4. Year Of '77 (ft. Kim Jin Pyo, Leessang)
5. What Could Have Been (ft. Park Jung Hyun)
6. Never Say Goodbye (ft. Yoon Do Hyun)