[WK1] K-/POP Highlights

Happy Friday everyone! In honor of this glorious last day of the work week, I will be releasing a weekly (-ish) highlight reel of the best/funniest k- or non-k-pop instances that I have discovered during the week. To clarify, these are moments that I discovered during the week, and not necessarily ones that occurred in that time frame. And just for fun, I will also try to include specific parts of songs that I think absolutely make or break the whole release. Ready? Here we go:

1. After untold amounts of time, TRAX was released from the dungeon and got a release on SM Station this week; but what made me literally LOL is that (OF ALL THINGS) I never knew TRAX stood for: “Typhoon Rose Attack on X-mas”
2. The tape on AOA’s shoes in ‘Excuse Me‘ live performances–All I can think about when watching is dancing in those heels…
3. Ken’s (of VIXX fame) touching rendition of Insooni’s “MOTHER”, with his biological mom at the 2016 KBS Song Festival; I might have teared up a little
4. Those synthesized riffs in Shinhwa’s newest MV “Touch“: *shivers*
5. T.O.P’s remarks to Seungri after winning No. 1 on Inkigayo (music show)
6. This has been a pretty big topic so I’ll include it here: Alex’s (The new “leader” hyped as this newest addition to the rebirth of the group Rania [the one in black here]) utterly bizarre treatment by her company

For some special mentions, because I probably won’t usually include variety/reality/drama shows, I feel I have to give a shout-out to SECHSKIES’ Appearance on Weekly Idol, as well as BIG BANG’s Radio Star episode. Massive Props to both groups for some huge laffs. Happy weekend to all!

 

[REVIEW] DAY6’s “I Wait (아 왜)”

Attention people, don’t sleep on DAY6! The boys are back with “I Wait”, an up-tempo rock number that shows that these boys definitely have a lot to offer the k-pop scene.

[REVIEW] NCT 127’s LIMITLESS

The new year has only just begun, but as always January is already well underway with the newest releases and teasers to jump start 2017. It’s only fitting that we kick things off with SM Entertainment’s catch-all “superstar rookie platform” group NCT (“Neo-Culture Technology” *TRADEMARK COPYRIGHT ETC ETC*) and their new release “LIMITLESS”.

 

K-Pop Predictions: 2017

There is no industry perhaps as volatile or competitive as k-pop, which makes every year (hell, every week) an exciting new world of opportunity, shifting popularity, and yes sadly, loss (aka disbandment) and heartbreak (aka that terrible new hairstyle on your Ultimate Bias). Just for fun, I have compiled my own list of k-pop predictions for what is to come in the year 2017.

*If more than 50% of these come true, I will buy myself an amaaazing prize.

Relatively Safe Predictions

• Rookie groups SEVENTEEN, Astro, Pledis Girlz (official name TBD) will break out from the pack and shine
• NCT will begin to dominate the boy group idol scene (heeeere’s Johnnnnny!)
  • *THESE ARE TALENTED BOYS
• A rise in solo debuts, especially from idols whose fellow group members are going into the army
  • *They’ve proven to be mildly successful in 2016, and I can only imagine becoming more so

Slightly Riskier Predictions

• Co-ed groups will become the new hot trend (PLEASE, IT’S ABOUT TIME)
• Gfriend, APink, and SISTAR will decline in popularity
  • *that girl group scene is way too crowded…
• Jackson from GOT7 will have a mental meltdown
• Disbandment of groups: 100% and CLC
• T-ARA will fully break out in the Chinese market, and completely abandon S. Korea
• Super Junior will have a relatively successful comeback this year
• Dean, MAMAMOO, and Day6 will grow in popularity
• CL will become a household name in the US

Completely-Pulled-Out-of-My-Ass Predictions

• Another idol couple will get engaged (see: Moon Hee Jun and Crayon Pop’s Soyul)
• H.O.T. will follow the trend of first-generation idol groups returning to the stage and make a comeback
• There will be a major scandal involving VIXX
• Park Bom (of 2NE1 fame)returns to the music scene as a solo artist under YG
• Disbandment of U-KISS and WINNER, the latter as a possible dissolution into one promoting group with iKON

Leave me a note if you agree/disagree with any of these predictions, and I guess we’ll see how I did in 362 days!

New Year, New Blog

WELCOME to the brand new SKIM-POP, a blog highlighting all of your favorite k-pop (and sometimes mainstream generic pop) moments with the perfect balance of sauciness and thoughtfulness. From MV reviews to commentary on current events, this blog should contain everything you need to stay up to date with the k-pop industry in easily digestible, bite-sized portions (because it is 2017, and that is how the new generation digests any kind of information!!)! As the Hallyu wave grows, one can only hope that this will be the year that k-pop is finally appreciated in the US for the global sensation that it is. Because I believe in (and am endlessly excited about) this inevitability, I want this blog to contribute to the k-pop narrative for the casual and curious experimenter, while still providing enough depth for the die-hard fanatics. Let it be an agency for my writing to grow from innocent, flowery gushing to BRILLIANT KERNELS OF WISDOM. If you think this could be an amusing source of entertainment for you, then please: explore, peruse, and let us delve deeply together into the rich and nuanced phenomenon that is….k-pop.

K-Pop Glossary of Terms

If you are getting confused by the large amount of jargon surrounding k-pop culture, I have compiled a list of useful k-pop terms in this beautiful glossary for your reference! This list will get continuously updated, so please don’t have a conniption if something is missing.

*Disclaimer: All definitions are grounded in my own understanding, as opposed to official definitions

• All-Kill: A song that achieves first place on all major South Korean music charts
• Bias: Your favorite member of an idol group
• Comeback: NOT a return from retirement, but simply another promotion cycle for a new release
• Fan Club: A usually-paid, membership-only support club for an idol group that can be officially or unofficially organized to buy merchandise, create fan chants, attend concerts, and vote for awards etc.
• Goodbye Stage: The last active promotion for a promotion cycle (i.e. until the next comeback)
• Magnae: The youngest member of a group (aka the butt of everyone’s harassment)
• Triple Crown: Can either refer to A) Winning #1 on a music show 3 weeks in a row or B) winning #1 on all three major music shows in the same week
• Ultimate Bias: Your absolute favorite idol everrr