BEST INTERNATIONAL KPOP COLLABORATIONS!

The K-pop that emerged in the 90's and gained popularity in 2000, is not the same as we live today, this genre is one of the most changing, always innovating, a sample of this is the growing interest in international collaborations.

The numbers are not deceiving. According to the data collected by Statista, 38.9% of those surveyed think that K-Pop is a "very popular" phenomenon, with 27% corresponding to "popular", 23.4% to "popular only for some people", and 10.7% to "not popular".

A style that has penetrated the music markets of previously unreachable territories. This is the case in the United States, whose charts are awash with their voices.

In recent years this has become a constant, and great songs have been created, with artists that you did not imagine would be perfect with a Korean singer, they have gone viral, they have gotten into your mind and I assure you, you have not been able to get the rhythm out of your head.

Be sure to check out some of these must-see and eye-catching collaborations!

Red Velvet ft. Diplo & Ellie Goulding - Close to me

Monsta X ft. Steve Aoki - Play it Cool

G- Dragon ft. Missy Elliot - Niliria

Psy ft. Snoop Dog - Hangover

Super Junior ft. Reik - One More Time

Blackpink ft. Selena Gomez - Ice Cream

Wendy (red velvet) ft. Ricky Martin - Vente Pa ’Aca

BTS ft. The Chainsmokers - Best Of Me

Black Pink ft. Lady Gaga - Sour Candy

Key (SHINee) ft. Years & Years - If You’re Over Me

BTS ft. Nicki Minaj - Idol

Monsta X ft. Sebastian Yatra - Magnetic

J-Hope (BTS) ft Becky G - Chicken Noodle Soup

Which of these collaborations did you like the most? which one surprised you?

Let me know on the comments.

XOXO Li.

MOST FAMOUS DANCE VIDEOS!

Hello beautiful people, let's talk about music, today I bring you the top 10 songs that were not only important for the lyrics but even more important for their choreography.

Although they do not usually occur on many occasions, a well-worked choreography can become the perfect ally to push a song to the top of the lists and revolutionize the clubs. There are them of all times, styles and nationalities but what they do have in common is their impact on popular culture in recent decades.

1. Village People - YMCA

When this group released a song that alluded directly to the Young Christians Association, the controversy became a perfect hook for the masses. To this we add one of the most famous choreographies in history, which emulated the movements of cheerleaders, which has not gone out of style.

2. Las Ketchup - Aserejé

Its freshness at that time, its hook to dance in beach bars throughout Spain and the indecipherable lyrics that some religious sectors came to describe as satanic message make the only success of these three Cordoba sisters in another clear example of contagious choreography.

5. PSY - Gangnam Style

The South Korean song from PSY, Gangnam Style revolutionized all discos, all artists worldwide wanted to dance it and YouTube named it as the most viewed video in history. Memorable.

6. OK Go - Here It Goes Again

OK Go knows that one of the keys to getting more followers and views, is in not being ashamed to create a different choreography, although their genre does not go hand in hand with dancing together, The are not forgetting resources like using impossible machines, subjective shots, home experiments and a lot of fun things.

7. LMFAO - Sexy And I Know It

As fast as they managed to reach the tops of popularity, it is now a fixed track in graduations and even in soccer stadiums. The LMFAO duo made up of Redfoo and Skyblu, surprised the market with Sexy And I Know It, a quite provocative choreography.

8. Los Del Rio - La Macarena

They were inspired by a trip they made to Venezuela in which they met a beautiful flamenco dancer named Diana Patricia. When the song became a hit, it became known as "Macarena". This was their first and only success.

9. BTS - ON Kinetic Manifesto Film: Come Prima

ON is a mix of hip-hop and electronic pop that in terms of energy level is typical of the band. In the chorus, catchy and frantic, BTS constantly repeats to us "bring the pain" or "let the pain come." It is a way of stating that BTS faces whatever it takes, because only with adversity are they able to fly off.

10. Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal

Smooth Criminal is part of the Bad album that was released in 1987 written by Michael Jackson and John Barnes, the song is a piece from the Jackson movie Moonwalker. The lyrics of this song is about a woman named Annie who has been attacked in her apartment by an assailant, but who is she?

Which one did you like the most?

XOXO Li.

SPRING DAY!

BTS "Spring Day" and the Sewol-Ho tragedy, A pure magical coincidence?

Hello beautiful people, Im back fully recovered and with a lot of content for you, today I bring you a theory of a song by one of the most recognized Korean boy band in the musical world.

As is well known, BTS has songs with heartfelt lyrics, with different meanings and interpretations, and for a long time the Fanbase of this group has had theories regarding the songs and their MVs.

Today in particular I am going to tell you about Spring Day, a song that belongs to the album "You Never Walk Alone" and was released on February 12, 2017. The first thing we notice in this song is the feeling of longing for someone, it may be a friend they had lost, and the despair and desolation of losing someone.

In the MV you can see the members in different stages, together and separately, overcoming or processing something, and you can see that all the time it is winter, with the imminent cold but also the internal pain that we feel when we do not move on or when we are mourning.

Two important references can be seen in the "Spring Day" video, the first is from the novel "The One Who Walk Away from Omelas", and the second is from the movie "Snowpiercer". 

Many theories were formed regarding this song as it is believed to commemorate the tragedy that took place on April 16, 2014, where the Sewol-Ho ferry sank down. 

It had 476 passengers on board, of which 330 were students with their teachers, in the tragedy only 174 passengers managed to get to safety, while after many searches the death toll reached 183, after an investigation it was found that the ferry it had been illegally modified to increase its carrying capacity, and carried twice the tons allowed.

For this reason, when making a very abrupt turn, it overturned and collapsed, its captain along with two other officers, abandoned the ship without safeguarding its passengers, for which they were prosecuted and sentenced and their conduct was classified as a "kind of act of murder"

In my opinion, not only the MV, even the lyrics itself suggests that part of the song is related to the tragedy. In the second part of RM's rap, he says "Here it is only winter", while in literature winter symbolizes death, old age, pain, loneliness and despair. The phrase "Even in August, it's winter here" could carry the meaning that their loneliness and despair continue despite the season in which they live at the moment.

And the fact that the South Korean government finally lifted Sewol-Ho out of the ocean in March 2017, a month after the launch of Spring Day, was an unexpected event. It seems that the words in the letter became a reality. That the verse "I'll go find you" happened magically.

BTS did not confirm that "Spring Day" was about the Sewol-Ho tragedy, as they wanted to leave the meaning of the songs and MVs to viewers, as they mentioned during their Wings Tour at the Seoul press conference. 

But knowing the fact that BTS and the company made a large donation to the families of the victims shows their awareness of this tragedy and the sense of responsibility as citizens of the country.

There are two YouTube videos where they explain the meaning of "Spring Day" and are the most assertives. I will leave you both explanations as well as the lyrics of the song and the video for you to enjoy.

Lyric video

Official Mv

XOXO Li.

BTS!

Hello beautiful people, today I bring you one of the best bands in the K-pop world.

BTS (방탄 소년단; Bangtan Sonyeondan) is a South Korean boy band formed in Seoul in 2010. It is made up of seven members: Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook. They debuted on June 13, 2013, under the company Big Hit Entertainment, with the song "No More Dream", included in their first single 2 Cool 4 Skool. they are characterized by creating conceptual albums with influences on literary and psychological works.

How was BTS born?

It all started with songwriter Bang Si-hyuk, founder of Big Hit Entertainment studio and author of hits like "One Candle" by g.o.d. and "Like the First Time" by T-ara.

Bang, in his own words, was a very insecure man about his work despite his talent, and for this he admired artists who could express their personality through music. Along those lines, he made the effort to combine both ideas, honest musical expression and creative anxiety, to prepare for the birth of BTS.

This was how BTS was formed with seven members, who trained in all artistic aspects and contributed their best qualities to have an excellent group. Little by little they achieved success, appearing as a small group in the shadow of large producers with more budget, battling their way to the top and being sincere in their songs, which usually spoke of social problems that its members identified in themselves.

This combination of sincerity with music, the ambivalence of the rap genre combined with the current popular trend and a total openness with their fans on social networks, made the members of the group into real idols, and since they reached stardom, their followers believe blindly in them and give them their full support through voting, nominations, buying tickets and making them global trend.

Their fanbase is called A.R.M.Y, which is an acronym for "Adorable Representative MC for Youth", their anniversary date is July 9th and they are a loyal army of fans who always accompany them worldwide.

MEMBERS:

• RM (Kim Nam-joon born on September 12, 1994). He is a rapper and was the first member of BTS. Before that was known as a young rapper within the underground scene with his friend Zico, who would later lead the K-Pop band "Block B".
  
  He has been part of different collaborations with artists such as Warren G, Wale and Fall Out Boy. Thanks to his knowledge of English, he is the group's translator when they are abroad and was the one who put together the speech that was presented at the United Nations General Assembly on September 24, 2018.
  
• J-Hope (Jung Ho-seok born on February 18, 1994) Rapper and Dancer, is described by fans as a "ray of sunshine", due to his tender and charismatic personality. He has become one of BTS's top songwriters, frequent choreographer, lead dancer, and one of the top three rappers.
  
  In March of 2018, he released his first and long-awaited mixtape "Hope World", of seven songs and was positioned in the Top 40 of the Billboard 200. 
  
• Jimin (Park Ji-min born on October 13, 1995) He is one of the group's vocalists. In addition, he is one of the top three dancers, he studied at the contemporary dance school and has expressed messages with his body along with the lyrics of his songs.
  
  He is considered a very sentimental and perfectionist person, always working on himself to push himself beyond his career. Being one of the youngest of BTS, he has a great attachment to social networks, being the main member who publishes on the official networks of the band.
  
• Jin (Kim Seok-jin born on December 4, 1992) He is the oldest member of the group, and is frequently the one who deals with having a mentoring role within the group, along with numerous jokes as "father" of the bandmates. He is one of the main vocalists and usually tends to go viral for being considered the most "gallant" of the group, earning himself the nickname "Worldwide Handsome", which he gladly carries.
  
• Jungkook (Jeon Jung-kook born on September 1, 1997) He is the "baby" of the group, growing in with BTS's success in front of all his A.R.M.Y. He has a great talent in dance as well as singing, being part of the vocal line. Also called "Golden Maknae" since, despite being the youngest of the group, he can dance, sing and rap, as well as draw, edit videos, take photos among other talents.
  
• Suga (Min Yoon-gi born on March 9, 1993) He is one of the top three rappers in the group. His nickname comes from his favorite position in basketball as an escort, but some comment that it was actually Bang who chose that nickname for him because of his personality: sweet and generous.
  
  As well as the other two rappers in the group, Suga also stands out as a music producer. Within his studio "Genius Lab", a large number of songs by the group are worked on, as well as his solo facet, called "Agust D"
  
• V (Kim Tae-hyung born on December 30, 1995) V for victory that was the reason why the young man chose the letter as a nickname, it is also understood for its versatility in the arts, he is one of the vocalists and dancer. He has a "unique" personality, playing a lot with his members and stealing more than once the main light of the presentations. His charm has made him one of the group's most popular members. 
  

DISCOGRAPHY:

South Korea:

Studio albums

    Dark & Wild (2014)
    Wings (2016)
    Love Yourself: Tear (2018)
    Map of the Soul: 7 (2020)

 Reissues
    Wings: You Never Walk Alone (2017)
EPs
    O! RUL8,2? (2013)
    Skool Luv Affair (2014)
    The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1 (2015)
    The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2 (2015)
    Love Yourself: Her (2017)
    Map of the Soul: Persona (2019)

Compilation albums

    The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever (2016)
    The Best of BTS: Korea Edition (2017)
    Love Yourself: Answer (2018)

Japan:

Studio albums

    Wake Up (2014)
    Youth (2016)
    Face Yourself (2018)

Compilation albums

    2 Cool 4 Skool / O! RUL8.2? (2014)
    The Best of BTS: Japan Edition (2017)

SOCIAL IMPACT:

In 2018 the group was named by Forbes magazine as Korea's most influential and powerful celebrity on their Korea Power Celebrity list. In October 2019, BTS members became the youngest recipients of the "Order of Cultural Merit" by the South Korean government, in addition to being named "Leaders of the New Generation" by Time magazine.

On the other hand, in December 2018 in a study by the Hyundai Research Institute was revealed that BTS contributes approximately $3.63 trillion USD to the South Korean economy each year, in addition to being the reason why one of each 13 foreign tourists visited the country in that year.

In February 2019 the IFPI revealed that BTS was the second best-selling artist worldwide in terms of physical, digital, and streaming platforms, being surpassed only by rapper Drake.

The following month the same organization announced that the albums Love Yourself: Answer and Love Yourself: Tear ranked second and third respectively on the list of best-selling albums worldwide in 2018, while in April 2019 Spotify announced that BTS was the first Asian artist to exceed 5 billion streams on the platform. The group was also named one of the most influential people of 2019 on the Time 100 list.

Undoubtedly BTS is one of the most influential boy bands in the world, they are unique, fun, they produce most of their songs, they have a very special relationship with their fanbase, they don't let a day go by without contributing content to their social networks, they are charismatic.

They transmit messages of improvement, they are not afraid to talk about depression, loneliness or political issues. Its lyrics refer to social issues, empowerment, mental health, the emotion of love and the understanding of the human being. BTS have a campaign called Love Myself in association with UNICEF, to raise awareness about child abuse.

Since its debut, BTS has focused on the young generation being reflected in their music by telling their own stories and experiences. Thus, in a letter addressed to the group, the President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in, recognized the sincerity and inclusion of diversity as the keys to their success, writing that "each of the seven members sings in a different way. who stays true to himself and the life he wants to live. Their melodies and lyrics transcend regional boundaries, languages, cultures and institutions".

Most viewed videos on youtube:

This band has it all, if you listen to their songs I assure you that you don't want to stop.

XOXO LI.

THE K-POP WORLD!

 

Hello beautiful people! today I'm going to tell you about the K-pop world.

The Asian continent has been considered for many years as a mystery to all those who inhabit this side of the world; their mysticism, their ways of thinking, their food, customs and, of course, the way they physically look, have been the focus of attention for people who inhabit the so-called western world.

Since the 1990s, and even earlier, the oriental cultural movement began to permeate the rest of the world in a much more evident way. Although only until 2012 with the ‘Gangnam Style’ have we been fully aware of the Asian cultural presence on this side of the world, before that ‘Dragon Ball’, ‘Sailor Moon’ and even ‘Mario Bros’ had invaded our lives.

What did happen with Psy's 'Gangnam Style', was that the musical current of a region of the world that for many seemed unknown, began to become more visible, putting in the universal panorama what today is known as the K-Pop.

K-pop is a musical genre that includes various styles such as electronic dance music, hip hop, rap, rock, or R&B, and which specifically refers to South Korean popular music because North Korea does not have a Western-influenced popular music industry.

ENTERPRISES OF THE SHOW

In the world of K-pop, groups go through an intense process of preparation and rehearsal to make them perfect when presented to the public. The most important companies in the Korean pop industry are like record labels, they are S. M. Entertainment, Starship Entertainment, Big Hit Entertainment, and YG Entertainment.

PREPARATION OF THE SINGERS

Young people who dream of becoming “idols” of Korean pop go after the record labels and go through various auditions. If they are selected, they rehearse for months, even years, before starting to act, they are called "Trainees", they must prepare physically, mentally, choreographies, vocal training and sometimes even cosmetic surgeries.

K-POP GROUPS

Groups are the most fascinating part of the K-pop world. In recent years, more than 240 groups have debuted, there are male and female groups, and they tend to be large compared to western music groups; some of them have had up to 40 members, such as the NCT group. Some companies create large groups, such as EXO, so that one half can perform in South Korea while the other half perform in China.

Although K-pop was originally a South Korean phenomenon, the genre is now so popular worldwide that there are more and more foreign members in K-pop groups; such as young people from China, Japan, and Australia.

Outside its Korean national borders, this musical genre has managed to position itself due to the curiosity that the oriental has generated in the west, but above all due to the simplicity of its consumption, despite cultural barriers. For example, by using English sporadically in their lyrics, boys and girls bands have achieved unprecedented international recognition concerning other oriental musical products, to the point that it has become a fundamental export item for South Korea.

BTS, Monsta X, Twice, 2NE1, and B1A4 are some of those musical groups that are part of the most popular worldwide. They are groups that have a very large fanbase, have excellent interaction on social networks, have amazing and striking visual concepts, and create daily content for their fans.

Listen to them and get to know them and tell us what you think of this musical movement that has already become a worldwide wave.

XOXO Li.