By Abigail Vidals
“Did you see my bag? Did you see my bag? It’s hella trophies and it’s hella thick. What you think ‘bout that? What you think ‘bout that? I bet it got my haters hella sick.”- lyrics from a song called Mic Drop, made famous by BTS, a world famous K-pop group.
If you didn’t know about K-pop (Korean pop), you will now thanks to Hallyu (the Korean wave), which is the spread of South Korean culture worldwide. It includes K-pop, K-dramas (Korean TV dramas), and of course, Korean cuisine.
Being a Kpopper myself, I was excited to see one of my favorite Korean bands, BTS, making a huge wave in America. I personally fell in love with their music through their albums, “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever” and “Skool Luv Affair”.
What caught my attention was their melodic mix of rhythmic rapping and sweet, soft vocals. It was definitely different from any kind of music I have heard before.
Their first major appearance in the U.S. was at The Billboard Music Awards show, where they won the Top Social Artist award. They appeared on the AMA’s, American Music Awards, show and performed one of their latest songs, DNA.
They’ve also made several appearances on popular TV shows like Ellen, Jimmy Kimmel, and the Late Late Show with James Corden.
Though BTS is one of many K-pop bands, I feel they’ve become a huge hit globally by taking a slightly different approach.
BTS has proven to be socially conscious, allowing listeners to enjoy the rhythm of their music while still being able to relate to the lyrics. Their music has covered important topics like mental illness, gender politics, to name a couple.
“Saying that it’s my fault, you’re joking, right? Saying that it’s fair. Oh are you crazy. Saying that this is justice, you must be kiddin’ me” lyrics from their song called “Silver Spoon/Baepsae”. It talks about a generational gap with regard to job opportunities and money. It talks about the kind of expectations the young adults of today are faced with.
They are able to promote important issues like these, while tying them into the hypnotizing element of K-pop.
One thing is for certain: There is just something about K-pop that pulls you in. Whether it be the the range of vocals, the huge amount of members, their perfectly in-ßsync choreography or the amazing visuals of their music videos. You just can’t escape the catchiness of it all.
So, if you’re ever curious, hop onto your Spotify account look up k-pop and you’ll find endless songs to choose from. Take a chance and listen to something new. Music is universal, so why not switch up your playlist?
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