Ayumi Hamasaki Sekai - View Single Post - Yahoo! News asks: Is there too much Korean entertainment in Japan?
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Old 11th August 2011, 08:41 AM
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blackmage blackmage is offline
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Join Date: May 2004
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I don't mind at all that Korean bands or singers migrate to Japan to further their careers. To me there is no problem with KPOP in Japan. I think its a natural progression for them since Japan is the second largest musical industry behind the U.S. Why not and their popularity as more bands continue to follow in the footsteps of BoA and DBSK show that it is welcomed with open arms for the most part. AND if not necessarily welcome with open arms it is pretty much accepted despite the poll given from YAHOO news. (Do we even know the demographics of poll takers??? For all we know it could be older generations, etc etc. That needs to be put into consideration.) I think if you don't live in Korea or Japan, you don't really have a right to complain (for those that are) that there is too much KPOP in JPOP or that its annoying. If you don't like it, don't listen to it. Yeah? I wonder, if KPOP or JPOP stars started migrating to Europe or America for and English career, would you think its annoying or too much when a Japanese wave or 'hallyu wave' one right after the other furthers outward with English versions and English careers?

I can understand that they (KPOP artists) will debut with Japanese versions of their hit songs, okay fine. It seems really trendy now with KPOP groups deciding to debut in Japan... its really rare though not unheard of to debut in China too lets not forget. Its not new, but it really has come on strong the last year or two. However I would like that once they debut with one or a couple of their original-hits-turned-Japanese-singles that they really do their best to have their own separate entity or identity as a group in Japan from Korea. Basically meaning, all new material. Not that the artists don't do that, but I would like to see more of it. Releasing Japanese versions of their hit songs once in a while to me is not a big deal. (Sometimes like in DBSK's case; back in the day I enjoyed some of their Japanese versions better than the original Korean ones.) To see them immerse themselves into the Japanese sound would be nice because we all know JPOP has its own formulas and sounds no matter how much western influence there is, etc. Its definitely not the same as KPOP.

Because of that, since KPOP is so different, fresh I think that is why it is really big and a lot of Korean groups are able to make the jump into the market there because my guess is that Japanese do want some variation or something fresh sounding. (Though honestly I don't think its just Japanese wanting variation or something different or fresh. The hallyu wave has hit everywhere in different degrees) With JPOP, to me and maybe others who have been listening to Japanese music for years, these last few or more years has really hit a decline. The quality is no longer there; not what it used to be. Sure I still follow my favorite singers but I rarely check out emerging artists or other bands I'm unfamiliar with because the music is so generic or it isn't ear catching to me to want to invest time to listen to their work. Of course it won't always be this way. It is an opportunity to bring JPOP back to its top quality and sound with all these KPOP artists crossing over right? If the industry wants to see it in a good light, they can use it as inspiration or motivation.. to rise back. You can agree or disagree with me that's fine.

As far as the making money comments. So what? Have you ever thought that maybe these bands, the people in them really love what they do and want to perform more and if crossing over to Japan allows them to sing and dance more; maybe that is what they want as people too? We all know that making the rounds in Korea with promotions for albums/mini albums/singles are SHORT time limited. Promotions don't last as long as Japan or even America. Right? It feels like there is a build up til a release, promotion starts and just as it started a few weeks later, they end promotions till they comeback at a later time with completely new material. I don't really feel they get to savor as artists into their releases as other countries do since promotions are short and fast. No matter how often bands make their comeback, its always pushing for the next release, you know what I mean? So Sure the money aspect will always be there, those advancements and opportunities. If you were in their shoes you wouldn't say no either! Lets be real about that. So don't hate. Everyone wants to make money no matter what your goals in life are and how they vary.
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