If you’re at all familiar with K-Pop, you are probably aware that it takes many influences from the Western entertainment world. While this has been the case for a while now, Western trends in Asian entertainment have become more and more prominent over the past few years. Because of this Westernization and thus homogenization of the industry, it leads us to ask the question, has K-Pop lost its unique sound and style? And if so, what does that mean for the future of K-Pop?

Lets start by looking at some popular K-Pop music videos:

The first is by popular boy band, BTS, titled “I NEED U”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMdTd9e-LEI

You’ll notice that the song opens with a soft R&B sound, which then builds into an emotional rap from Jimin, layered with a heavy EDM procession. One thing that many K-Pop fans have noticed over the past few years is that EDM is becoming more and more popular, no matter what the artist’s original style was. Nowadays, K-Pop is no longer a pure “pop” sound, but it also incorporates house/electronic music, rap, and R&B. Another thing I noticed about K-Pop music videos recently is that they are beginning to stray away from the quintessential box-style dance MV and instead creating videos with a storyline.

You can see that very clearly here, in BAP’s One Shot music video:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bap+one+shot

This is not to say that K-Pop is straying away from choreography, because I don’t think that will ever happen, but it seems that in many cases they leave the dancing for live performances. American music videos rarely incorporate dancing, instead choosing to focus on the message/storyline, and some of the more recent K-Pop MVs have been geared towards and marketed towards the West.

You’ve probably also noticed that K-Pop collaborations with Western producers and singers are becoming more frequent. For example, CL and G-Dragon collaborated with Skrillex in late 2014 with the song “Dirty Vibe.” Not only is this song a collaboration with a popular American house music producer, it is also an example of how electronic music is becoming more prevalent and integrated into mainstream Korean pop-culture.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq-aVCUs2Q0

Some other popular K-Pop collaborations are Wonder Girls ft. Will. I. Am, Tablo ft. Joey Badass, G-Dragon ft. Missy Elliot, and Dean ft. Eric Bellinger.

You’ve probably also noticed that more and more caucasian actors and models are playing love interests in music videos. You can see this clearly in Taeyang and GD’s huge hit “Good Boy,” as well as Super Junior’s “Devil,” Gary’s “Shower Later,” and many other hit songs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZRb1we80kM

It is also interesting to analyze beauty standards in the Korean entertainment industry and how those standards are becoming more aligned with the west. As you probably know plastic surgery has not only become normalized but actually expected from celebs in Korea. They change their “undesirable” monolids to double eyelids, and they add more prominent nose bridges for a more Western look.

Furthermore, if we take a look at the definition of success throughout Asia we can see that the East is going through a time of immense Westernization. Fame and success are defined by how popular you are in America, not just by how popular you are in your home country. The stars that have really “made it” are the ones who are playing shows in America, filming American movies, or collaborating with American musicians. I could go on and on about the Westernization of the East, but I guess my question has always been, what makes the West the most desirable market and why are we constantly trying to emulate them? Has the richness of Korean culture in the entertainment industry been diminished and is global media becoming homogenized as a result? I guess only time will be able to tell. 

Over Winter Break while I was in Taiwan (~January 15th), the politically charged incident of Tzu-Yu Chou occupied the headlines for weeks.

Tzu-Yu Chou, a 16 year old, Taiwanese-born, K-Pop star stirred controversy in mainland China after a photo of her holding a Korean flag and a Taiwanese flag on a South Korean television show was publicized.

Infuriated Chinese nationalists urged for Tzu-Yu’s K-Pop group, Twice, a group of nine 16-year-old girls, and her to be banned from performing in China for expressing pro-Taiwanese Independence sentiments with her flag waving. Shortly after, Tzu-Yu’s South Korean management company, JYP Entertainment, issued a video of her glumly reading an apology off a piece of paper, 

“Hello everyone, there’s something I want to tell you all… There is only one China, The two sides of the strait are one, and I have always felt proud to be Chinese, I feel extremely apologetic to my company and to Internet friends on both sides of the strait for the hurt that I have caused, and I also feel very guilty. I have decided that I will halt all of my current activities in China, and will go through some serious reflection. Again, I apologize to everyone. Sorry.”

Her apology caused an uproar in Taiwan that was even greater than the initial furor communicated by the mainland Chinese Nationalists. Taiwanese news & media corporations interviewed many Taiwanese teenagers on what they felt about this whole ordeal. Many of the teenagers said things such as:

1. “I feel so bad for Tzu-Yu. She is only 16, yet she is in the midst of all this political commotion.”
2. “She must have been forced to read word-for-word off that piece of paper. No Taiwanese person could willingly or comfortably read that out loud.”
3. “Tzu-Yu, stay strong! We are with you!”

Tzu-Yu’s flag waving incident attracted so much attention that CNN, BBC, New York Times, and many other American media companies reported on it as well. 

It must be true when they say that, with fame comes great responsibility!

With Taiwan’s Pro-Independence Party having just won the presidential elections in a landslide victory and Taiwan’s nation status still widely disputed in regards to mainland China’s (People’s Republic of China) One China Policy  – Tzu-Yu Chou’s flag waving was but one of the many incidents causing cross strait tensions between Taiwan (Republic of China) and Mainland China (The People’s Republic of China).

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. 

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