2PM’s MV for ‘A.D.T.O.Y’ is out!
After releasing Comeback When You Hear This Song MV for its new album GROWN, 2PM released the second MV for its second title track, Ha.Ni.Bun (A.D.T.O.Y) or All Day I Think of You on May 11 through JYP Entertainment‘s official YouTube channel.
In the video, the six grown up men appear in a monochrome video. They show off how well they treat their women like real men. Not only showing their sexiness, the members of 2PM also show their dancing skills on chairs, leaving Hottest in excitement.
Watch the MV below:
Sources: (News & Video) - jypentertainment | YouTube; Photo – starin.edaily
2PM reveals video trailer for ‘Grown’
Fresh from releasing their tracklist for their upcoming 3rd album Grown, 2PM dropped yet another teaser for their fans. On JYP Entertainment’s official Youtube channel, a video trailer for their impending album was released.
The trailer has a monochrome color palette, and shows the members carrying out various daily routines, such as exercising or fixing on a light-bulb. The sensual teaser was lauded by many, as not only did it have shots of several members shirtless, it highlighted their manliness and maturity as well. Hawk-eyed fans also noted that the cat featured at the end of the video belonged to member Chansung.
To get a slice of the hotness and to gauge what you can expect from 2PM’s comeback, check out the trailer below!
Source: (Picture, News, Video)- JYP Entertainment Youtube
JYJ, Super Junior, 2PM and more win on ‘2013 YinYueTai V Chart Awards’
JYJ, Super Junior, 2PM, 4Minute, EXO-M and B.A.P fans, we have good news for you – your favorite idols won on the recently concluded 2013 YinYueTai V Chart Awards!
The award show was held in China on April 13th, and the mentioned artists took home numerous awards. Check out the list of winners and awards below:
- JYJ’s Junsu - Best Korean Male Singer
- 4Minute’s HyunA - Best Korean Female Singer
- 2PM’s Wooyoung - Best Korean New Artist (Solo)
- B.A.P - Best Korean New Artist (Group)
- EXO-M - Best New Mainland Artist (Group) and Most Popular Mainland Artist
- Hangeng – Best MV
- Super Junior - Best Korean Group and Most Popular Korean Artist
The given awards were based on viewers’ participation on Yinyuetai’s official website for the past year – such as the number of views, comments and likes on videos – and internet voting. Although some of the artists could not attend the ceremony due to conflicts in schedules, the six members of B.A.P were present to claim their award and perform for the fans in China for the first time. Check out their performance below:
Congratulations to the groups for winning! Check out the full list of winners here.
Sources: Yinyuetai V Chart and exochocolate Photos: Yinyuetai Video: PshhBabex
Kpop Statistics Germany reveals ranking polls result
Recently, a statistical organization about Kpop in Germany, K-Pop Statistics Germany, has created a poll in seven different categories: top 25 boy groups, top 25 girl groups, top 10 male singers, top 10 female singers, top 10 hip hop artists, top 10 indie artists, and top 10 Kpop entertainments.
About 2,065 Kpop fans from Germany participated in the polls, with 96,1% correspondents are female and 42,35% of the age range from 15 until 17. Most of the correspondents have started to listen Kpop since 2008-2011.
The result has been announced continuously from April 1 until April 5.
The first place of top 25 boy group category goes to Big Bang with a total 38.12% votes, followed by B.A.P. on the second place with 31.45% votes and Super Junior on the third with 30.99%.
For the next category, 2NE1 ranked first for top 25 girl groups category with 54.83% votes followed by Girls’ Generation with 47.73% and SISTAR with 28.35%.
Big Bang’s G-Dragon secured the first spot for the top 10 male singer category. K.Will became the second with 14.20% and JYJ’s Kim Jaejoong seized the third spot with 13.08%
The best female singer goes to Ailee with a total 41.51%, beating BoA and Hyuna on the top 10 female singers category.
Epik High saved their first spot for the best 10 hip hop artist category. The trio won against Jay Park who ranked second and G-Dragon who ranked third.
Nell won against Busker Busker and 10cm for the top 10 indie artists category with a total 40% votes.
The last category is top 10 Kpop entertainments and the first place goes to YG Entertainment with 68.68% votes. S.M. Entertainment ranked second while Cube Entertainment ranked third.
Congratulations to all the winners who made the lists!
source: K-Pop Statistics Germany | FB (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
Could Mainstream Media in the West Harm K-Pop?
K-Pop has become a global phenomenon thanks to the Internet and websites like YouTube, so do K-Pop artists really even need to use mainstream media to promote their songs in the West, and if so, could this tactic harm them in the long run?
Simply put, no. K-Pop doesn’t need to use mainstream media like television appearances to further push themselves into the Western market, because the majority of their fan base is already on the Iinternet, and it’s the Internet and digital distribution that will push them directly into consumers’ pockets in the West. The biggest downside of mainstream media is the price these artists might have to pay to garner a spot on television.
But let’s take a look at the pros and cons for a moment.
The internet, with its Wild West mentality of anything goes, has proven to be a boon for the infectious K-Pop jingles that are pouring out of South Korea. As fast as SM and JYP upload one of their artists’ new songs to YouTube, it spreads like wild fire through the many fan sites, entertainment news and online forums that have sprung up that are specifically geared for the genre and individual artists.
Type in ‘Big Bang fan sites‘ in any search engine and you get a choice of over 36 million results. Yes, you read that number right; 36,000,000. Of course, that’s globally, but even if you search specifically for ‘Big Bang English Fan’ sites, the number still comes in at 946,000. Talk about a marketer’s dream world!
The problem with traditional mainstream media in the West, and more specifically here in The States, is that mainstream marketers have no idea how to package K-Pop artists and sell them to audiences. Couple that with the fact that these bands don’t look like what audiences usually see on mainstream media outlets, and these corporations really have no clue how to handle them properly. Which, let’s be completely honest here, is the goal of these large corporations who own mainstream media networks like NBC or CBS. What’s really in it for them, unless these bands can become a product that is easily recognizable and can be promoted effortlessly on their radio stations nationwide?
In a recent article in The New Yorker, an author remarked on SHINee becoming popular here, “…there is no way that a K-Pop boy band will make it here in the States. The degree of artistic styling is much more Lady Gaga than Justin Bieber. Perhaps there is an audience of ten-to-twelve year old girls who could relate to these guys, but there’s a yawning cultural divide between One Direction, say, and SHINee.”
The major problem with this mentality is that it completely overlooks the subculture that already permeates here. There are fans frothing at the mouth to promote their favorite artists, but mainstream media is slow to catch onto Internet trends. The biggest mistake that this reporter made was assuming that these artists would be catering to prepubescent girls. They seriously have no clue what type of fans these artists enjoy, and this is what I’m afraid will hurt K-Pop if they try to adjust themselves for mainstream media here in The States.
Not only do they risk hurting their already built fan base here, but they also risk altering the artists in a way that creates a hybrid that nobody really wants. Take for instance, Swizz Beatz who has openly talked about collaboration between YG’s Big Bang and Chris Brown, or even one between 2NE1 and Nicki Minaj. In a statement to magazine, The Fader, Swizz Beatz contends that, “[b]ridging the gaps with collaborations can be the start of a global phenomenon.”
Personally, I don’t buy it. I think this approach is dangerous to both artists, because there is a possibility to turn away fans of both sides who don’t want their favorite artist and/or genre mixing. I know I don’t want to see Nicki Minaj anywhere near my K-Pop.
Still, I think the biggest hurdle that K-Pop artists face in mainstream media, and the biggest reason I think they should tell mainstream media to kiss their sparklies, is that the reporters and interviewers, are already biased against them. Yes, I said it. The media, especially Western mainstream media, is biased.
The bias here, though, is that many Western mainstream reporters don’t think that K-Pop stands a chance. They don’t understand the music or the phenomenon, and therefore, they have no clue about the fans themselves, who are really the ones that are spreading K-Pop here. When The New Yorker reporter made the comment above about SHINee, he completely overlooked the adult women who enjoy the music and hip gyrations that come with this genre. His mistake was that he mistook K-Pop as a fad, which I hate to tell him, it is not.
I don’t believe that K-Pop stars need mainstream media for anything other than bragging rights. The fans are already here waiting on the Internet and the artists’ own entertainment companies could very well push the envelope with new online channels directed solely at the fan base here in the West. But if they are concerned about losing potential large scale exposure, then utilize more channels like MNet and devote more channels, both online and off, where content is sub-titled in English and other languages.
US rapper will.i.am with 2NE1 Photo: allkpop
The whole point of mainstream media is to enlarge the fan base, and I believe that there is enough of a momentum toward K-Pop now that mainstream media access isn’t as relevant as it would have been five years ago. There are plenty of online distribution access points, like YouTube and Twitter that have the same power and influence that old mainstream media use to have.
Fans are going to come to see their favorite artists, especially here in the West where it’s hard to get close to our idols, but if record labels and the mainstream media begin to force them to change or alter themselves in order to follow set program standards, then I’d rather see them online.
I don’t mind using social media to converse with them, or rather, get the feeling of conversing, and I firmly believe that social media and the Internet is where the future is for artists–especially international artists.
So K-Pop, embrace those alternative methods of media and please retain yourself and your music, because I really don’t want to wake up confused when I see Nicki Minaj skipping through a music video with Minzy. That would just make my heart bleed.
What are your thoughts? Does K-Pop need mainstream media?
Sources: The New Yorker, Financial Times, Beautiful Song Lyrics (photo), Santos Republic (photo), SHINee HQ (photo)
