Korean Job Discussion Forums

[edwardcatflap]

It's interesting as lots of people on here have claimed there's no current market for boy bands in the US and that's why K Pop could never be successful there. But if a UK boy band can sell nearly a million albums there, what's to stop Big Bang, for example, doing the same?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18734499

[fosterman]

well first.

they are white and are native English speakers

they are young so they market to the justin beiber generation.

remember Justin is not American. he is Canadian. white and a native speaker.

British boy bands have been coming to america since the british invasion
with the beatles

so for the past 50 years England have exported boy bands there.
they sing in their native tongue and don't look foreign.

Big bang would be the first ethnic non caucasian non english speaking boy band to do it. I am not saying they can't. but to really appeal to the American white kid, not the korean american. would take something very special.
first thing would be to sing in English.

Boa tried that, Rain tried, Seven Tried .
they all failed.
so big bang can try it..
at the end of the day it's all a game.

it's about projection, perception, it's about advertising, it's about making yourselves seem more famous and bigger than you actually are.
if Big bang can get on the award shows and perform, if they can get on the talk shows, on the radio, get air time on MTV USA, get on the cover of rolling stone magazine, get a few million fans in the USA, then yes, maybe than can become mainstream stars.
it's all about marketing.

I am just curious if 14 year old white girls are into Asian guys?
are 14 year old white girls into Black guys?
are 14 year old black girls into Asian guys?

etc etc etc.... you get my drift?

It's Jr high after all.

remember Usher, jodici, bellbidevo, bobby brown, well were white girls a huge fan base for them?
maybe.. so if the blacks could rise up and take the mainstream why not asians, I mean black music has always had an underground follow with white people. but it wasn't until the 70's when motown really took their music to white American, and White American girls put posters up of black heartthrobs.
but Black music was unique, it was different,
Asian pop music is just Western pop music. it's not special.





anyway.. wondergirls tried it, don't think the boys went for them.
and I don't think the girls could relate to them. JYP thinks he has the pulse of American culture. but it just proves he really doesn't with the failure of Rain and now the Wonder girls.

[edwardcatflap]

You make some good points. I was just saying that a lot of people have specifically cited the lack of popularity of the boy band genre in the US as being a factor for K Pop's failure. They have backed this up by pointing out the lack of success in the US of bands like Take That, which has been the most successful boy band in the UK in the last 2 decades. Maybe what you said about looks is the real reason as we have seen K pop bands use European writers and sing in English to no avail.

[soomin]

I think it also has to do with accessibility. With Justin Beiber and Katy Perry and everyone, they all have easily accessible backstories, people who went to school with them, and are easy to track down because they have homes in the States. People can relate to that and see some scandals or cute stories about the stars and feel like they're the same.

But with the whole "Asian sensation" movement, these singers are brought over like some kind of demigods/goddesses and treated like "They were so amazing that they had to come to America and show you their amazingness! LOVE THEM!" That's not how they're treated here... I remember when SNSD first came out, they had a bunch of TV shows about "days in the life" where they would show them being dragged out of bed early in the morning, repeating the same dance steps over and over and over, traveling to make appearances even when they were sick, showing off their audition tapes from five years ago, chowing down on snacks whenever they saw a snack cart roll their way, etc etc. This made them relatable and helped people connect, learn their names, and find out more about them, because they were normal people, "just like us."

I think that's why they have such a hard time clicking with Western audiences, especially when their ethnicity is ramped up further by trying to make it the focus of their appeal. I wish them all the best, but it's a long row to hoe, especially with the current mindset of the producers (like JYP).

[edwardcatflap]

[12ax7]

"Big bang would be the first ethnic non caucasian non english speaking boy band to do it."

Forgot about the Jackson 5 and Menudo?

[edwardcatflap]

The Jackson 5 spoke English didn't they?

[12ax7]

[fosterman]

[fosterman]

[sml7285]

[Dave Chance]

British and Canadian performers are often linked to the states through shared corporate interests, i.e. EMI and Capitol records.

Those corporate interests are the the dudes who call the shots.

They have the power to make a Justin Bieber into a household name or make sure K-pop never gets a firm foothold in the market.

[yodanole]

N'Sync and the Backstreet Boys were both formed in Orlando, Florida.

So far, Menudo it is.

[fosterman]

[leilam12]

My nieces are black and they love K-pop. And this proud aunty herself loves kdramas korean entertainment rocks

Honestly tho, i dont think k-pop stars can make it in the Western markets unless they fluent english speakers and maybe work with popular producers here. Girl bands have been makig better progress here.

K-pop artists should keep trying, i think they are wonderfully talented and entertaining.