Welcome to WWLT, or What We’re Listening To, which features mini music analyses that provide context and introduce readers to K-pop music that may be new-to-them. This issue features analyses of tracks by VIBE, Monsta X, Ailee, SHINee, XG, and TWICE by members of HWAITING!, KPK’s K-pop music research accelerator. VIBE, “Hope 소망”, Afterglow (2002) N Lina An VIBE is…
Tag: shinee
Live…for One Night Only: The Synergy Between K-pop Pop Groups and Bands
Because writing about popular music seems to thrive on making distinctions between artists, genres and generations, it may be difficult to see the synergy between pop group and bands in K-pop. When we look at K-pop as an umbrella, it makes sense that pop groups, the “idol” groups that sing and dance while also undertaking…
Let KPK Introduce You To…The Use of (Gospel) Choirs
Kaetrena Davis Kendrick, M.S.L.S. University of South Carolina Lancaster The use or application of the (gospel) choir aestethic or sound is a staple in popular Western music, and the artists who have used the imagery or sound go from rock and pop to rap. In an essay discussing how the African-American creative and cultural tradition…
Let KPK Introduce You To… Rob Base and Vanity 6 (A Mash-Up)
Kaetrena Davis Kendrick, M.S.L.S. University of South Carolina Lancaster A recent Rolling Stone article discusses the major thread of American R&B in Kpop music. A producer notes the attraction towards the genre, sharing, “Korean pop music likes differentiation and changes,..the average American song is four melodies, maybe five. The average K-pop song is eight to 10….
This Week in K-pop: TVXQ in Japan, New Releases, Choreo Versions (6/10 – 6/15)
Finding The Most Important K-pop Stuff So You Don’t Have To News The Return of the Kings TVXQ broke attendance records by attracting one million to their “Begin Again” Tour in Japan that began in November 2017. This also sets a new record for most concertgoers in a single tour for a foreign artist in…
Into the New World: Research Suggests Multi-Fandom the Norm for Veteran K-pop Fans
While it may seem that the current norm in K-pop is single-fandom (the tendency to support just one artist), data suggests that older K-pop fans started and continue to be multi-fandom. This may be another way the overall K-pop fandom has shifted in the past few years. With the rise of K-pop groups, their individual…
On The Passing of Jonghyun
Like many K-pop fans, the members of KPK: Kpop Kollective are extremely heavy at heart about the passing of Jonghyun. Both Kaetrena and I are Shawols, and just saw the group in Dallas. We know that for many, SHINee was the group that introduced them to K-pop, and Jonghyun was not only an integral part…
REVISED Last Fans Standing: Veteran Fans of K-pop
Crystal S. Anderson, PhD Associate Professor of English, Longwood University One of the things that happens when conducting qualitative surveys is that they can raise more questions than they answer. This is what happened with the preliminary data from Last Fans Standing: Longtime and Adult Fans of Korean Popular Music (K-pop). Response rates were unusually low,…
It’s a K-pop Thing(Link)….
Kaetrena Davis Kendrick, M.S.L.S. University of South Carolina Lancaster You’ve finally convinced a friend/co-worker/parent/spouse/transit-seat partner/random stranger that your favorite group is worth taking a closer look at, and *gasp* they’ve asked a K-pop Fan Gateway Question (while feigning nonchalance): “which one is [member]”? As a K-pop fan, you already know this game: such a question is…
Fan Commentary: Nostalgia and Fly to the Sky
Crystal S. Anderson, PhD Associate Professor of English, Longwood University As their 2014 comeback shows, Fly to the Sky (FTTS) remains a potent force in K-pop, even after a five-year hiatus. However, even before the rumors of a comeback, the group was ever-present in the minds of fans, who recalled Fly to the Sky’s emotional…
KPK: Kpop Kollective 