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Today’s song is “At First” by DoubleJC. Double JC is a brand-new K-pop group that in the brainchild of none other than Jackie Chan. They had their debut just ten days ago. Not much is known about the group yet, but their first single hit #1 on China’s QIY K-pop charts. They are similar to the previously featured EXO, since they are trying to tap into both the South Korean and Chinese market.
The song is about a guy who has recently lost someone because they changed, and is hurting in the aftermath. Agony is a natural stage when mending a broken heart, and the song gives consolation to those in a similar predicament, telling them that “everyone goes through this at first.”
We all know those painful times, but what’s important is that we stay strong through it all. Have a great week, and good luck!
Today’s song is “Melted” by Akdong Musician (AKMU). This beautiful track was released on the talented duo’s 2014 debut album PLAY. The members, Lee Chanhyuk (이찬혁) and Lee Suhyun (이수현) are brother and sister. You may know them as winners of K-POP Star 2. They were subsequently signed to YG Entertainment, which manages numerous popular artists (Winner, Epik High, 2NE1).
Although this song and music video are almost one year old, I felt the track would be fitting, now that spring is coming, thawing our hard hearts and bitter feelings. (You can watch them perform it live here.) AKMU’s musical style is very sincere and earnest, and PLAY has a great balance of fun, fast-paced songs and slower, relaxing ones. The siblings are young, talented and very different from most pop artists. They genuinely love composing and writing songs for their fans.
If you like their songs, I would suggest listening to more of their music on Spotify. Be sure to check out the music videos for “200%” and “Give Love,” two other standout tracks as well! In these, their personality really shines through.
I hope you’re feeling more enthusiastic about this week than I am. But I’m excited right now because I can introduce something that’s different for once. Behold, the gorgeous MV for Shinhwa’s song, “This Love” (!!!)
Shinhwa is the oldest active K-pop idol group, with 11 studio albums. They made their debut in 1998; the 6 members have been together for 15 years. Though not the most popular group, their fanbase is considerable, wide-ranging and include many celebrities who grew up listening to their music. Shinhwa, which in Korean is “myth” or “legend,” has thus become an icon of K-pop culture in their own right.
Being such a long running group, their style has changed over the years, and “This Love” is the top track from their album The Classic, which was just released in May of this year. The artistic direction of the music video is just so gorgeous and impeccable that even if you dislike the song, you won’t be able to stop watching.
Today’s song is 《杀死那个石家庄人》 by 万能青年旅店 Omnipotent Youth Society (the title has no English translation.) The context of the song may not be familiar to someone who has not had exposure to Chinese culture; however, the lyrics are easy to understand.
Omnipotent Youth Society is a popular and innovative rock group that like to incorporate different instruments into their songs. Their use of trumpets and other woodwind instruments (in addition to strings) remind of Neutral Milk Hotel, in a way.
This is their most popular and raw track off of their 2010 debut release. The lyrics are enigmatic and symbolic, which is not unusual for the band. Their own fans have a hard time agreeing among themselves the meaning of the songs, and to this day, they are considered beautiful but puzzling, completely open to interpretation.
I have wanted to introduce this band for a long time, so I hope you enjoy this! Listening to them helped me reconsider the Chinese rock scene as a whole. I highly recommend listening to more of their music.
Happy Monday. Let’s try to stay positive on this bone-chilling day!
The song we are featuring today is by an new Taiwanese post-rock band, 2HRs. They are considered very underground right now. Based on what they have put out so far, I’m really excited to see what they are capable of.
This song is their major breakout track, an unassuming song called “Youth Dream” 《少年夢》, from their debut album Quasar 《類星體》. As 2HRs is still emerging as a band, fans can really engage with the members, as well as glean sources of inspiration for the band. Some post-rock bands choose to focus on an apocalyptic theme, whereas 2HRs, composed of young Taiwanese males, has latched loosely onto a theme of space phenomena and exploration, even space civilization.
However, this song is as grounded as it gets - rooted, as the lead singer explains in Mandarin, in his own experiences growing up and pursuing music. There is something that will resonate for all of us in these lyrics.
I hope you enjoy the feel of this sincere and relatable song, and explore the other audio tracks from Quasar, which are much more ambitious (You can listen to it on Spotify!).
Happy Monday! This post is coming to you a little late today…
Today I want to feature Younha (윤하), an artist I’ve been a fan of for over 7 years. It all started in middle school when my friends and I would blast “Houki Boshi” and sing at the top of our lungs. I still know all the lyrics to this day. Younha is an South Korean artist but first achieved success in Japan. She taught herself Japanese at a very young age, and has played the piano since age 5. She is known to release two versions of a song, one Korean and one Japanese. What is really incredible is that she used to be an artist with a much lower profile and a more Japanese look and style, but has since transformed into a Korean pop superstar, with many collaborations with other artists (Epik High, Wheesung).
The song I’m featuring today is “It’s Okay,” or <괜찮다>, a track from her fourth Korean studio album Supersonic. In the vocals, you can hear her amazing range and stunning vocal clarity. She can adopt a more fast-paced rock style with ease, as she showed in “Houki Boshi,” but a simple yet resonant song like this is where her talent truly shines.
Have a great week, and I hope you check out her other music too!
Today’s Music Monday is a little different from the norm hehe. Although we do have a column for Asian YouTubers (YouTuber Wednesdays), I wanted to give a separate recognition to David So and his incredible voice.
This past week all I have been listening to is David’s cover of Ariana Grande’s Honeymoon Avenue. Although Ariana’s version is really great, David is able to bring her song to life in a totally different way. He makes the pop song into something more emotional by bringing it back to the basics. I must confess, I like David So’s version much better ( Sorry Ariana :/ )
If you enjoy the song, talented David So is on YouTube as both DavidSoComedy and DavidSoMusic (I apologize for the repetitiveness). If you think he’s good at singing, you should know that he is just as funny.
I am very excited to say for today’s Music Monday we are featuring my personal favorite K-Pop group, EXO. Call me crazy, but these idols have done it again in winning my heart over. EXO released their second album “Exodus” on March 30th and within 48 hours sold over 440,000 copies, breaking records in album sales (again). Although some of EXO-L (EXO’s fan group) were frustrated with SM’s choice of releasing 20 different album versions, each featuring a different member, the overall response has been incredibly positive.
SM released a music video for EXO’s title song “Call Me Baby” on March 30th, the song featured today, and the video reached over 3 million views in 24 hours both on the Korean and Chinese version. I must admit, this has to be one of my new favorite EXO songs, the song is super upbeat and fun to “try” and dance along to. However, they paired their comeback stages with not only their title song but other songs from Exodus, such as “My Answer” and “Exodus”.
Although EXO had lost two members since their last comeback they still came back strong with Exodus and I am truly looking forward to what they have in store for this new album.
The song for this week is “Growl” by Exo. Exo is a Chinese-South Korean boy band with twelve members split into two groups, Exo-K and Exo-M, performing music in Korean and Mandarin, respectively. The band promotes music in both countries, and has three Chinese members. This is unique for K-pop boy bands, and Exo has enjoyed overwhelming success since their debut in April 2012.
“Growl” is another success story, their most popular single to date, peaking at second on the South Korean Gaon singles chart and third on the Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100 chart. Two music videos were released, one Korean and one Chinese. The Korean MV was shot in a one shot style, and is much more slick with its grey undertone. “Growl” is not a typical K-pop song. It has R&B and funk influences and a different sound altogether, with lyrics about a male, personified as a wolf, growling at another to back off before they fight. If you haven’t heard of Exo yet, this addicting song may make you a fan, or an EXOTIC, as they call themselves.
I hope the past week has prepared you for the last of this semester. Good luck!
Music Monday Time! I’m going to break with my pattern and keep it real short today.
Our song is Iindesuka by Radwimps, a Japanese rock band. The title roughly translates to “Is it weird?” and is a sweet, catchy slightly funk rock song about love. I’ll leave you to discover its amusing sponteneity as well as Yojiro Noda’s lightning-quick tongue. Listen to it once and you’ll probably catch yourself listening to it two… three.. four times even. It’s definitely one to keep around for those happy moments. Like, comment and enjoy! Wherever you are, have an amazing week : )
So, the 60th Annual Grammy Nominations were announced yesterday morning, and somehow it left me with more mixed emotions than I’ve felt in a long time. On the one hand, we have many reasons to celebrate this year–the 2018 list of nominees is the most diverse group in all of Grammy history, especially when it comes to Black and LGBTQIA inclusion. Jay-Z, Childish Gambino, Kendrick Lamar, and more were all (deservedly) nominated for record of the year. Kesha and Lady Gaga were both nominated for two Grammys each, and out songwriter Justin Tranter was nominated for his first award as well.
When it comes to inclusion in the entertainment industry, we’ve come a long way, and these nominees are just one example of that. Unfortunately, this progress has not been reflected within the Asian American community, as you can clearly see by the lack of Asian nominees for the 2018 Grammys. I can’t say I’m surprised, considering there aren’t really any huge Asian American names in the music industry. But it’s not because we’re not trying–it’s because those who run the system aren’t listening. This year I got the chance to discover Alice Gao, Niki Zefanya, Yaeji, and several other incredible Asian artists whose music deserves recognition–but none of them are getting the attention they deserve.
While Grammy nomination entries can by submitted by any artists/record companies with commercially released music, all submissions are reviewed by a group of over 350 experts in the fields of jazz, R&B, rock, classical, new age, and more. These experts within the Academy go through several rounds of screening, being advised to vote in up to 15 categories in their areas of expertise as well as the 4 general categories (Record of The Year, Album of the Year, Song of The Year, and Best New Artist). Unfortunately, if you are a lesser known artist in the US (aka most Asian American artists) signed to a label with more well known artists, your label will most likely submit their song/album to be considered for Grammy nomination over yours. At the end of the day, it’s pretty much a self fulfilling prophesy. Since Asian American artists are almost never well known enough to qualify for the final rounds of nomination, their work is not often submitted. As a result, Asian Americans are continuously left out of the mainstream. The whole thing is a cycle that seems to have no end.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe we should celebrate the victories we achieve, but I’m honestly so tired of writing and complaining about Asian American representation. You guys have heard it all before and I’m not here to preach the same message all over again, but my soul is tired y’all. While we should celebrate and cheer on our fellow POC, let’s remember that the entertainment industry is still far, far, from being the all inclusive community that we so desperately need.
