Musings of a Saturated Kpop Fan
A whole new world opened up for me when I discovered Kpop at the age of 16. There were so many groups and so many solo artists to choose from! I found myself enthralled by just a few and have stuck with them and my selection of their songs ever since. And that’s kind of the problem. I’ve stuck with those groups and have almost never ventured out of my comfort zone. The latest additions to my list of favorites (Block B, B.A.P. and SPICA) didn’t even capture my attention the first time I came into contact with them. I’m completely saturated. And no, I’m not talking about saturated fats.
I have discovered that I have to force myself to try out new and different groups. I’m not an omni fan, I admit that. I stick to what I know. And even with my existing favorites, I still only listen to a selection of their songs. I will venture to listen to their comeback songs when they come out, but in general I listen to the songs I already know.
For instance, I stumbled upon DBSK when they were in their Mirotic phase and till this day I still only have a handful of their Koreans songs from before that time. Because I never had the urge to search for other songs I might enjoy; I was already quite content with the the songs from the Mirotic album. (I do have a lot of their earlier and more recent Japanese songs, but that’s because I prefer Tohoshinki’s musical style.)
My cousin – whom I introduced to Kpop a year or so ago – showed me Madonna by SECRET one afternoon. I admitted it was catchy and the girls didn’t feel like the typical kind of girl group members; they didn’t have any of that cuteness I usually abhor. So I decided to give it another listen and ended up liking it so much I now have it on my favorites list on my iPod. But I have not tried to search for any others songs by SECRET.
I still listen to all the songs by Se7en and Rain I found when I was still 16. I keep my Kpop collection on rotation on my iPod, only adding new songs if my favored artists comes back. If I even happen to like the songs they put out.
I’m completely saturated. Is it a problem? It might be. Some of my Kpop-loving friends tell me I’m confining myself. That I’m keeping myself from sampling the different flavors of Kpop (and Jpop for that matter). That I’m missing out on a lot of good music.
Perhaps that’s true. But if it doesn’t really bother me, is it really a problem? Sure, I come upon great music very late – sometimes even years later – but that’s just how I go about listening to music. I have next to no interest in debuts and rookie groups. If the promoted song of a comeback doesn’t hold my attention, I won’t bother trying any of the other songs. That’s my ritual, my ‘style’ of sampling music. Is it really that bad that I’m so saturated, like so many people say?
Are you a saturated Kpop fan? And how do manage your musical tastes and preferences?
Photos: healthyfellow.com, myokelyrics.blogspot.com, allkpop
Lycaenion
My name is MaliVai Tjong Ayong and I’m a senior writer and an editor for hellokpop, where I’ve been working since December 2010 under the pen name Lycaenion. I'm an aspiring Fantasy author and a quirky, laid back, random and sarcastic person. I've finished my Editing and Media production studies at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam with a Bachelor degree and am now studying Japanese at university level. I’ve decided to be my own hero and work hard to become a person I could look up to. I’ll try my best to accomplish my hopes and dreams, so when I’m old and gray, I won’t look back at a life full of things I should have done. So love me, hate me…I don’t really care that much. Just embrace the randomness that is me. My personal blog: http://lonewolfwhistlinginthedark.wordpress.com
Agreed. If the promoted song for an album isn’t that great i wont taken any interest in the rest of the songs. If the MVs aren’t that great then same thing. ^^
I can see what you mean, I’m exactly in the same situation with dbsk XD Idk, but the newer groups’ music are a bit too ‘hip’ for me lol I prefer to listen back to kpop in the 07-09 era with the occasional new kpop.
Lolz, Im actually the opposite of this. I like finding new groups that are good. I have almost 1000 songs in my library, but only bc I cant live without music. Everyone is different, in the end just listen to what makes u happy.
I think I’m sort of like this too … I hardly know any of the rookie groups from 2011-2012. I got into kpop around the end of 2009 and have mainly taken an interest in a few groups/artists, mainly DB5K
I try to take an interest in the newer groups (such as Nu’est, Block B, B.A.P etc), but after listening to their songs once or twice, I just end up going back to the ‘older’ artists hahaha~ it just feels like there are too many groups debuting these days and I can’t keep up with it. Also, I think the style of music is different now? The songs these days aren’t quite as ‘catchy’ and I don’t know, it just feels like the new songs are missing something? Emotions maybe? It’s hard to explain hahaha XD
So yeah, I guess I’m on of the ‘saturated kpop fans’
I don’t think it’s such a bad thing, though I’m not sure ‘saturated’ is the right word. But you like what you like. I used to be the opposite, listen to a song for just a few months before taking it off my playlist and replace it with a new one. Now I’m going back through my entire collection since 2001, putting songs I enjoy into a playlist. I won’t be hearing the same songs so often.