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