K-pop comes from Korea-pop, and it is a popular genre of music that originated from South Korea. It popularised primarily since the 2000s, though its origin can be traced back to the 1940’s. In the year 1992, a group called Sea Taiji and Boys debuted and changed the Korean music industry. K-pop Artists primarily engage in electronic pop dance, and use instruments like electronic drums, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, percussion groove box, keyboard sampler sequencer, drum machine, etc., alone with vocals. K-pop is not just about the vocals, but also the enriching visual experience that it offers-where the artists dance and sing in perfect harmony, wearing beautiful and fashionable outfits and jewellery, along with other technological wonders that make their shows ever more amazing!
H.O.T
H.O.T is an acronym for Highfive of Teenagers which is a South Korean boy band that was created in the year 1996. They debuted under S.M Entertainment but disbanded in 2001, which was followed by a reunion in 2018. The band consists of 5 members, namely, Heejun, Woohyuk, Tony, Kangta, Jaewon. They received worldwide recognition for their music.
SHINEE
The members of this group are Onew, Jonghyun, Key, Minho and Taemin. This band was created in the year 2008 and exists even today. Their debut song was ‘Replay’, followed by ‘Juliette’ and ‘Lucifer’. They soon gained the title of managing to get in the top 3 for 3 continuous releases since debut. They are known for their highly synchronised and complex dance routines which brought them a number of awards.
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GOT7
This too, is a South Korean boy band, that was formed by JYP Entertainment. GOT is basically ‘GET’ in the past tense, and 7 is a representative of a lucky number in the West. Thus, GOT7 means ‘7 lucky people together forever’. The group comprises of 7 members, who are JB, Mark, Jackson, Jinyoung, Youngjae, BamBam and Yugyeom. They’ve been performing since the year 2014, and continue to do so even today. A few of their songs are ‘You calling my name’, ‘Hard Carry’, ‘Just Right’, etc. The speciality of this group lies in the fact that they incorporate martial arts tricks, and b-boying in their performances. They’re also often described or referred to, as a hip-hop group.
BTS
This band is one of the most popular K-pop bands in the Korean music industry, and has gained worldwide recognition and fandom through their plausible performances on stage and in their innovative music videos. It is the brainchild of the veteran writer and producer named Bang Shi Hyuk who formerly worked in JYP productions and soon went onto form Big Hit Entertainment and debuted BTS in the year 2013. People, especially children in today’s generation quite literally idolise the members of this band. BTS means ‘Bangtan Sonyeondan’ that literally translates to ‘Bulletproof Boy Scouts’. Its members are Jimin, J- Hope, Jungkok, V, Jin, Suga and RM. RM was the first one to be recruited for the band, for his impressionable rapping skills. They’re known for their amazing dance skills and soulful music. Their performances are a perfect combination of sick dance moves, groovy music, soulful vocals and out-of-the-world rapping skills. A few of their most popular songs are Fake love, Blood Sweat and Tears, Boy with Luv, etc.
BLACKPINK
The members of this band are Jason, Jennie, Rose and Lisa. They’re the first and the only k-pop all-girls group to enter a Top Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart. Though these days k-pop is primarily associated with BTS, one must also have an idea about the fact that there are several other bands under this genre of music, including girl-bands like the Blackpink.
Their song ‘Ddu-Du Ddu-Du’ is the most watched music video on Youtube amidst all other k-pop groups. Apart from this, their social media following is also breaking records. That seems like a neck-to-neck with BTS! The name of the group was formulated so, because of the general stereotype which is associated with femininity and the colour pink. They debuted under YG Entertainment label, and the members wanted to convey through the name of their group, that it entails more than just external beauty. They debuted in the year 2016, and as they were the first girl gang to be produced by YG Entertainment in the last 7 years, they caught a lot of attention. Soon after their music gained more popularity around the world, they began to bag awards.
K-pop is a misunderstood genre of music, and some people often associate it with one or two bands that they know of, but just like all other genres, k-pop comes with a large number of bands originating from South Korea, each of whom have their own unique sales in terms of performance and entertainment. K-pop is not just something that should be tagged as ‘for the kids’, it should be heard by people from all generations, and then they can decide if they liked it or not! I for one, can say that k-pop may not be my favourite kind of music, but its not too bad either. Everyone should at least hear one or two songs and it may or may not change their opinion of it. Nonetheless, its worth a try!