- Think K-pop boy bands have always looked and sounded the same? Not so
- We take you on a tour of the genre over three decades, from Seo Taiji and Boys’ first hip hop steps to BTS’ social-consciousness themes
Think K-pop has always been about dewy boy bands and syrupy lyrics? You might be surprised to learn that the sound had a very different face back in the 1990s.
The genre has evolved so much and in so many ways over the years that it's impossible to lump all K-pop boy bands together in the same category.
We go back through the years to look at the evolution of one of the world's most popular genres to see what each generation's biggest boy bands looked and sounded like.
1990-1995: Hip-hop? No, K-ballads
Picture this: it's 1990 and sonorous Korean ballads and trot songs dominate the airwaves. Bringing in a new genre like rap, something so foreign, so Western, would seem like heresy. But that's just what music group Seo Taiji and Boys did.
The trio made their debut on a TV talent show in 1992 with their song Nan Arayo. It was part syrupy love song and part swingbeat anthem with punchy rap verses " and was universally panned. Not that it would've bothered the group: their hybrid sound, bold look and hip-hop moves struck a chord with the public.
Seo Taiji and Boys would go on to sell more than 1.5 million copies of their debut album in the first month of its release, giving birth to a new genre in South Korea.
1996-2000: How boy bands are made
While Seo Taiji's name might have made the headlines, his bandmates didn't do too shabbily themselves: in 1996, member Yang Hyun-suk founded YG Entertainment " one of the titans of South Korea's music industry " and became its CEO.
Groups such as Jinusean, a duo that made their debut in 1997, really ran with the hip-hop motif: think Death Row Records, but in Korean.
Their video for Gasoline features the duo living in a slummy part of town, getting arrested by the cops and rapping against a backdrop of African-American kids with guns.
There are also classic lines such as: "Lock up, chains and all, sayin' inside: 'How did I end up in this G?" Yes, the '90s were truly a wilder time.
2001-2005: Soft, innocent and ready to be your boyfriend
The turn of the century marked a change in course for K-pop. Being a K-pop star became serious business and potential stars were trained and drilled accordingly.
Hug, the breakout song of TVXQ (also known as DBSK and Tohoshinki), was a cotton-candy-soft pop number in which the quintet sing their hearts out about how badly they want to hold a lover in their arms and how nobody can stop them from professing their love " a softer look that was fairly typical of the time.
The music video was similarly saccharine. Clad in white outfits, the boys write love letters, pluck at a cello and flash gleaming, guileless smiles at the camera.
A baby kitten even makes an appearance. Why? Because it's soft and cute, like these five boys are supposed to be. Yes, we get it, they're perfect boyfriend material.
2006-2010: K-pop can be edgy, too
Here comes the boy-band boom. In such a crowded space, being able to stand out from the crowd became vital. But they all had one thing in common: they proved that K-pop was more than sugary love songs and ballads.
BigBang's first single and breakout hit, Lies, would prove to be the building block of their future successes: take a synthy, EDM-inspired beat, lay some heavy lyrics on it and mix in rapid-fire rap with melodic singing.
If you're not convinced that K-pop is now heading down a markedly darker and more mature path, go watch the music video: G-Dragon's love interest literally kills someone by bashing him over the head repeatedly with a flowerpot, and the singer arrives just in time to take the fall for her by smearing himself in the murdered man's blood. K-pop: raising romantic standards since the aughts.
2011-2015: Being #woke before it became cool
Would it surprise you if we told you that BTS " the record-shattering, Army-commanding, zeitgeist-inducing septet " debuted all the way back in 2013? They've been in the spotlight for so long it's incredible they have maintained their popularity, especially in a market that's as saturated and fickle as K-pop.
Social consciousness was, in fact, a big theme for boy bands during this time. BTS' 2015 track Dope delivered some heavy lyrics that railed against the cultural norm of placing massive pressure and expectations on children to do well academically. But it's not all about pandering to the younger crowd.
On Spine Breaker, they even call out hype culture " more specifically, teenagers that twist their parents' arms to buy designer goods so they can keep up with appearances. Looks like BTS were putting archaic societal norms and inequalities on blast before Oscar-winning film Parasite made it cool.
2016-today: Making down-to-earth sexy again
Showy moves and over-the-top songs about partying and bacchanalia? So 2015. The latest breed of boy band looks and feels like they could be your next-door neighbours. Not to say they aren't talented; just that their lyrical material and look has less to do with nebulous lovers and anti-establishment views.
One such band is Tomorrow X Together, or TXT, whose pared-back sound reflects more modern, down-to-earth concerns for the current generation. Run Away is a tale of a misunderstood teen who wants a reprieve from the real world; given that TXT are often billed as the "little brothers" of BTS (both hail from agency Big Hit Entertainment), it's not too much of a stretch to assume their songs come from personal experience.
It's not all doom and gloom, though. The rest of their album is largely a fizzy, lighthearted offering of life as a teen.
As for what we might see in the next decade? It's anyone's guess " and given how fluid musical and sartorial styles can be, we might even see a resurgence of some old-school K-pop … and maybe the odd kitten or two in a music video.
Copyright (c) 2020. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
