Oops!
Wednesday, September 19, 2012 @ 10:04 PM | 0 Comments

My oh my, I'm pretty sure you all would've read about Seungri's recent 'scandals'. It's no big deal to me honestly but in the Korean industry though......big nono. Even though dating news are accepted with better...reactions nowadays, the mention of sex is still not really okay. 

http://www.allkpop.com/2012/09/big-bangs-seungri-caught-up-in-sex-scandal-rumors-after-release-of-pictures-by-japanese-tabloid-friday

http://www.allkpop.com/2012/09/big-bangs-seungri-caught-with-modelactress-anna-kubo-by-paparazzi-in-hong-kong

The news of him getting caught 'hanging out' in Hong Kong with Japanese model Anna Kubo was so meh. I mean, SO many celebs get caught around others being 'friendly' all the time. Plus, they were in Hong Kong. There is NO WAY that would escape the eyes of the Hong Kong paparazzi (I swear they patrol the streets of Hong Kong better than the police. If you follow Hong Kong celebrity gossips too, you will get what I mean.)! The fans (from what I could read) were more 'okay' with this one too though there were still some 'OMG GET OFF MY OPPA' and 'Ew she looks like a slut.' 

His previous 'sex scandal' though...was more hot and spicy! I actually won't be surprised by it (if it was true) because I always saw him as the more 'playful' member of Big Bang. But reading those comments...omg can I just slap some senses into those fan girls' head?!

"Oh it's just photoshop, Seungri is never like this."
"Nah Seungri will treat his ladies right."
"This is too safe. Topless pictures can come from anywhere, like a window view or something."
"The guy just looks like him."
"The person who took the photo could've just drugged him and took a photo." <-- Omg seriously?!

Summary of those comments above: MY OPPA IS THE MOST PERFECT GUY ON EARTH. HE WILL NEVER DO THIS AND WILL DIE A VIRGIN!

Er ring ring hello? Do you know him personally? How would you know how he acts? Not saying that it really is Seungri (I don't know, could be fake, could be real too. Have no comment on the reliability of this.) but how are you so sure that it isn't him?

One comment though "How is having sex a scandal?"
THIS! This is the thing I don't get. To be frank, everyone has sex. Just cause they don't announce it to the world doesn't mean they don't. Times like these when pictures get leaked out, it's just someone who had sex and was a little unfortunate that it was exposed to the public. They are not doing anything wrong so I won't even be calling this a scandal. Unless though you count "not cleaning up" and "not kissing during sex" something wrong then....have it your way.

Side note, I LOL-ed at YG's statement. "It's not a scandal." One line. This is what I love about YG. They don't really give two shit about what people think. Hell they didn't even mention a word about his 'sex scandal' business!

Lesson celebrities have hopefully learnt:
- Be nice if you want to have one night stands
- Don't go to Hong Kong


-Rachee

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Comebacks
Wednesday, September 12, 2012 @ 10:07 PM | 0 Comments

Wow wow weee. We will be expecting a huge wave of comebacks before the end of this year from the SM and YG!

G-Dragon in 3 days with his mini album and TVXQ coming back later this month, the rest of September will be a battle between the boys while us fan girls celebrate!

October will be the months for the girls with 2NE1 and Girls' Generation planning on coming back.

After the big guys, it's rookies' time! Exo will be coming back with a full length album this time (GIVE ME MY LADY ALREADY! I'VE BEEN YEARNING FOR IT SINCE THAT TEASER!) and YG will be releasing Kpop Star SuPearls and a new girl group who are apparently "YG's Girls Generation"!

Side note, Glen Check will also be releasing their new EP under the title "Cliché" at the end of this month! TOO MUCH TO HANDLE AHHHHHHHH!



-Rachee 

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Serious Talk: The Big 3 (continuation)
Monday, July 23, 2012 @ 12:08 AM | 0 Comments

Just read Nazlin's post below about the Big 3. I too read this article today and I fully agree with what they said.

They were totally right about how SM has this "system", where they create groups based on the same "criteria" just because they worked previously. Like for example, Super Junior. When Sorry, Sorry came out, it was so successful (I won't need to state how successful exactly because I am pretty sure all of you know how big it was eg. every time Kpop was mentioned you would hear Sorry, sorry) that SM used that reason to produce 2 consecutive title songs in the same style as Sorry, Sorry. But was it successful? No, cause people got bored of it. Or maybe Girls' Generation even. Super Junior was a success, create a girl version of it. I'm not saying that they are TOTALLY similar. There are of course differences in some music styles or images but the concept is the same: A group of good looking people who hare talented.

Another thing mentioned was the amount of investment and effort they put into debuting a new group. I'm pretty sure you guys know how much hype was created for EXO's debut. 24 teasers and all that, definitely got people excited. I know cause I was so so excited for this group. I wasn't disappointed with their debut, not at all. But they reminded me of Super Junior and maybe that was why they didn't stand out to some people. But look at B.A.P. They debuted a few months before EXO but they were making it to the top 20s and top 10 even in music shows like Music Bank, Inkigayo etc. EXO peaked at around 20 something in Music Bank on the first week before falling all the way to 40 something and eventually didn't even make it to the top 50. It's sad to see this happen because they are not bad, heck they are so talented! But it was just that they didn't stand out as much as certain rookie groups did in terms concept and uniqueness.

JYP.....he produces all the songs. Which means a group will always have the SAME style all the time. Would anyone disagree with me if I said all of 2PM's title songs are nearly the same?

YG, they seldom appear on other broadcasting stations other than SBS. Which is true because how often have you seen any YG artists perform on Music Bank or appear on vareity shows on other stations? This is quite dissapointing because if some other fans around the world (like me) could only tune to a broadcasting station which is not SBS, they would not be able to see Big Bang or 2NE1 a lot because they just don't appear on them. How are you going to keep your fanbase yo?

I'm not saying that these companies aren't great and I'm sure that was not what Star Today was saying either but these are some of the weaknesses or mistakes should I say, that these 3 companies are making which would jeopardize their idol groups' popularity in the long run.



-Rachee

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Serious talk: The Big 3
Sunday, July 22, 2012 @ 6:03 PM | 0 Comments


Written by Korean media outlet, Star Today, pointing out the weaknesses of the “Big 3″ South Korean entertainment agencies.
"SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, and YG Entertainment are the so-called “Big 3” entertainment agencies of South Korea. With extensive planning, funding and tactical marketing, they possess a significant portion of equity in the music industry. However, even they have inevitable weaknesses.
To start out, SM’s weakness lies in its extremely rigid system. After its release of male idol group, H.O.T., SM has focused on “blockbuster” idols that can be well showcased. Although systematically built on the ideal idol image, overseas music trends, chic styling, and massive amounts of publicity, the SM system is still vulnerable to that ‘1% of unpredictability’. The reason being that in the case of popular music, just ‘having the secret potion and knowing the magic spell’, does not necessarily produce a hit song.

An example of this case would be newly debuted boy group, EXO. Displaying good looks, outstanding talent, endless publicity starting 100 days before their big debut, lyrics appealing to teens, and large scale music, the group possessed the formula for success, yet was unable to see results up to par with expectations.

Surprisingly enough, it was because they possessed all of the ideal elements which resulted in evaluations stating that the group does not stand out among the plethora of idol groups. Being so “typical” can display the group as lacking their own unique color. This is where SM’s “bold investments” can hinder the success of its’ artists, because the greater the investment, the greater the pressure is to bring in revenue. If going by the statement, ‘It is not the strong that survive, but rather the ones that survive are strong’, then with exception to BoA, there are no “strong” artists.

On the other hand, JYP’s biggest weakness lies in the head of the agency himself, Park Jin Young. His signature ‘simple yet catchy’ songs are the reasons why the Wonder Girls, 2PM, Miss A, and others are considered representatives of K-Pop; however all of the title songs have been his creations. Although it is said that Park Jin Young’s songs are picked even against the collection of songs the A&R team has compiled, they cannot deny the fact the at least three of the agency’s artists have yet to promote a title song produced by anyone other than Park Jin Young.

The biggest problem musically would be that because the songs are produced by one individual, all of the songs can generally sound similar. Even in the case of 2PM’s Wooyoung, whose individuality should shine through his debut as a solo artist, one cannot help but notice the stylistic similarity of his recently revealed title song to the songs of 2PM.

Although it could be seen as a “direction of enterprise”, it can unintentionally be crippling for idol groups who are always searching for new images that appeal to audiences. In reality, six year veteran idol group Wonder Girls have yet to break out of the retro concept they created early on with songs, “Tell Me”, “So Hot”, and “Nobody”.

Last but not least, YG’s biggest weakness can be noted in their very closed system of communication. This can be seen in their relationships with broadcasting companies. YG entertainment has a particularly strong relationship with SBS compared to its relationships with KBS and MBC. Debut stages and appearances on SBS’s ‘Inkigayo’ are always a priority for groups such as Big Bang and 2NE1. As a result, KBS and MBC can seem somewhat neglected in comparison.

When this problem turns from a simple music program problem, to the discrimination of all variety and entertainment programs, it makes it even more difficult for all other broadcasters other than SBS. SBS in reality, exclusively enjoys appearances by YG artists. During the time of Big Bang’s comeback, the broadcast station arranged an hour long special program for the group, who also appeared on many of its major variety programs, such as ‘Healing Camp’, ‘Running Man’, and ‘You & I’.

This is the case not just with television, but also with newspapers, magazines, and other media. It may not be a big problem for artists that have reached a certain level of success; however that is not the case for new artists. The smallest negative matters brought up by sides that are not “alliances”, can cause a fatal blow on up and coming artists.
Another significant setback is that the agency is highly dependent on one artist, Big Bang. In the year 2010, Big Bang was responsible for a whopping 70.1% of YG entertainment’s total sales. This could mean that YG is more focused on Big Bang than any of its other artists, but it can also mean that if a problem were to occur with the group, the whole company could be at stake."

 After reading this article, it made me realise that it is pretty true. I don't know much about YG Entertainment, but for both JYP and SME, I seem to agree to. There is a whole lot of other things I'd like to point out as well, like how most SME songs are actual crap, but the fact that they're performed by artists which are relatively good, or should I say well loved, they don't seem too bad. Mind you, I say most songs, not all because there are some pretty damn good ones that they've produced as well.

I think at the end of the day, it really doesn't matter which entertainment company you debut under, because as long as you yourself is good, you won't need masses and masses of advertisement, or that "brand" name that you've debuted under to help you get far. Brilliant examples would be IU, Ailee and Infinite.

What do you guys think?

-Naz

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