Music / Idols
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Counterpoint: The DJ is Patient

21
Written by On January 18, 2012

Alright, I’m going to just come out of the gate and admit it: I have a Wonder Girls bias. I’m not a full-blown “Wonderful”  but I have a soft spot for the girls that really grew upon  their comeback last year. So I tend be more relenting on issues about them that may bother others, like Sohee’s voice, their retro sound, personalities, etc. However, I will say that I agree with a lot of the points Ree brought up in her article; they are all very valid.

But, where we differ is the amount of concern I have in how this will affect the Wonder Girls in the long run. It’s as if people are expecting a less-than-desirable outcome from the get-go, a  bunch of Chicken Littles looking up into the sky, waiting for the inevitable disaster to come. Also, being that this is for their much-anticipated American debut everyone’s critic meter is set to high.

Yes, the girls released an English song on iTunes and have trailers airing for the movie, but they haven’t properly driven their stake into America yet. I have confidence that someone as savvy as JYP knows that when the girls are officially ready to promote, it will be full throttle. Not a second-tier song that is being used primarily to promote a TV movie on a cable network.

At the very least, I’m going to be positive and assume that when the time officially comes, JYP Entertainment will spare no expense in introducing the girls to the U.S. audience properly — American MTV, Jay Leno, Jimmy Fallon, Glee, an official national  promotional single – you get the picture.

I agree with Ree, that if this was the sum of what I was expecting, I would be worried. But logic should tell JYP, Wonder Girls and everyone that has worked hard on their debut that relying on a TV movie on a channel that isn’t even in my cable package is not going to cut it. If that is truly their sentiment after about three years in America, I would suggest a career change for everyone involved.

That said, there can be important things learned from the video, or at least cautionary anecdotes to be gleaned from this:

  1. Don’t rely on Sohee for solos – ‘Be My Baby’ proved that in the right song, Sohee’s voice can be an asset, and  ‘Wonder World’ generally did a good job of utilizing it to the fullest. However, I would hesitate to give her too many verses of an English song, at least until she improves. In ‘The DJ is Mine’ Sohee’s voice is auto-tuned to hell and back, and in addition to her weak vocals, her pronunciation can be a bit off, making her difficult to understand. These things can improve, of course, but  should be kept in mind, especially when dealing with American competition (School Gyrls).
  2.  I’m not too worried from the music side of things. OSTs for teen movies on any network tend to lack a great deal of substance. I don’t think the song is that bad, but it is certainly not a leading single for a new artist. Yes, it’s the Wonder Girls’ song, but in this case, I think promoting the movie is a bigger priority here.
  3. More Yoobin! The dubstep is the best part of the song, and of course it gets used for the rap sequence, which in my book automatically makes it the best part of the song. Again, it may be bias talking, but Yoobin always delivers, and she generally has impressive rapping skills. When the Wonder Girls were testing the waters with ‘Nobody’ in the U.S., every televised performance I witnessed had the audience finally wake up for Yoobin’s part of the song. Opinions on pop music in the West are iffy, but rap music does not have nearly the same stigma attached.  It’s a good opportunity for the audience gain familiarity with a foreign act.

Perhaps I’m too positive, maybe I should take off the rose-colored glasses, etc., but I am always willing to wait and examine the full scope of something before I make a verdict or declaration of success or failure on anything. I thought it was absurd when the Wonder Girls first came to the U.S. and people were already labeling them “failures.” It was clear to me at least that they were testing out the market and making networking opportunities for themselves  for a good chunk of their time here.

Of course, the time for “testing the waters” is over and that is why people are nervous and doubtful.  However, change never happens if you predict doom and gloom from the beginning. So I think fans should just enjoy the song and video for what it is – promotional Teen Nick fluff — and be willing to reserve judgement until the so-called big guns are brought out.

 

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  • Anonymous

    i don’t know why all Korean artist wish to debut in us.
    i know id dream for anyone being in global market and the biggest one
    but i had opinion some time and i am not going to change it
    there are lot more country in world that you can promote in there and fix yourself as international singer.

    for example when i see sm concert in France and recent jyj in south america
    i become certain that my thought was correct.

    we must admit that a lot of Korean singer have not singing talent maybe 1 or 2 in each group
    and they don’t have special feature for example they are baby face and have short height
    i have not bad meaning i am only want say maybe they don’t have some kind of feature but they have some other that make them particular genre in music and make them big.
    they act as group(unlike other part of world that prefer solo artist)
    when they sing you love their song also for short time it make you happy or sad
    and give you good felling
    and i must admit they are very creative and good dancer

    so with this i want say maybe their music can come to other part of world better
    for example the Spanish area
    always their song has harmony and happy felling it make you fell like you wana dance
    same feature in some Korean group
    i think roly-poly of t-ara or Chocolat  or sistar is good example
    for igoo group like a-pink they can go to south-east Asia or some group with strong features like sistar-wonder girl(for their kind of body)
    2ne1 can become popular in England-Sweden or in Germany thier style is popular in those country and i think among the girl group they has more lucky to become successful in us
    miss a
    start good work
    they promote in china
    but i think they are good dancer with s exy concept
    so they can be good in France-Australia-china
    for t-ara
    if they only has one particular concept i guess better but for cry cry i am think Spanish-language country-Italy-and south east Asia
    but for roly-poly
    i say
    south east Asia -Spanish-language countries-

    for boy group
    ss501 or ft-island or suju

    suju

    in France

    ss501
    i don’t know maybe England-and south america

    ft-island

    Italy-Greece-south east Asia

    for snsd

    France and japan-Taiwan(because they are popular in there)-maybe spania

    for wonder girl i prefer

    south east Asia-England
    and of corse England

    and for other option i suggest
    south america and Germany

    • Lilkiki3413

      What you said here makes it seems that Kpop can never make it in the US market. It almost feels like your saying that they should never try. I think they should try and take on the challenge. It just all depends on the marketing strategies the companies use to promote there groups. That’s why I think some groups struggled to make it.

    • Andi

      The reason K-Pop acts want to be successful in the US is simple, it has the world’s largest music industry. If a Korean artists were to become successful in the US, it would not only mean substantial monetary gains for their company, but also for themselves. It’s all about the money and exposure.

  • MqN

    I don’t understand why most people are upset with foreign artists trying to crack the US charts. As artists and musicians, especially in the pop genre, they want to be at the top and that usually translates to ruling the US charts. I see it as 5 young adults chasing after the dream of becoming the best at what they do. 
    It’s the equivalent of a journalist winning a Pulitzer. I see a lot of determination and as the saying goes: no pain no gain.

    • Anonymous

      I think it has something to do with knowing how difficult it is to crack the US market and the big possibility of failure.

      Many people are probably still disappointed that the Wonder Girls left Korea at a time when they were the top girl group, only to go to the US as nobodies without much certainty that they will succeed. Many people would see that as a poor decision. 

      I mean, why would you leave when you’re already at the top, right? Why would you give up that “comfort” of being famous and loved in your own country and exchange it for a venture abroad that you don’t even know would succeed and you’d have to start from the bottom all over again?

      Many people are usually scared of the unknown. Most of us like to stay in our comfort zones instead of embracing challenges. We always have a lot of “What ifs” when faced with something new: a new school, a new job, a new house, etc. 

      But many of us also love to be proven right with the “I told you so” attitude complete with smugness.

      I don’t know which sentiment people have when they say the Wonder Girls will fail: do they worry for the girls and think they should have just stayed home? Or do they want to see them fail so they can pat themselves on the back for correctly predicting someone’s failure, someone not achieving their goals and dreams?

      But as you said, no pain, no gain. Nobody got to the top without a good dose of luck. But the bigger chunk of success is due to hard work, taking risks, and actually trying to succeed. Even the spoiled rich kids must learn how to be business-savvy and smart with their money if they want to maintain their family’s wealth. They just don’t sit around and do nothing.

      The Wonder Girls themselves have always sounded like they knew what it meant to leave Korea and go to the US. They always give classy, mature, well thought-out responses in interviews about their US venture. These girls know they won’t succeed overnight. These girls know that they’re nobodies in America and they know that there’s a very big chance they will fail. And they accept that. 

      They are hardworking girls, and they are determined to achieve their dreams. I see nothing wrong with that, and I cheer on anyone who actually has the guts to dream big and work for it.

      If this works out for them, amazing! If it doesn’t, then better luck next time. But IMO the key here is that they’re trying. You’ll never know what can happen if you don’t go out and try to achieve your dream.   

      • Anonymous

         You can argue the same thing for why Kpop tries to integrate itself in Japan, where they’re virtually unknown there too. It all comes down to the following:

        The world is global and more interconnected now than it’s ever been in centuries, but the general public isn’t. Not everyone is actively looking beyond their home country’s turf for new music that will most likely be in another language and style and that means that a lot of great music gets shafted. Is that fair to the artist? They were born in the wrong place at the wrong time/era and they aren’t the right skin color so they get ignored for not being American? No. It’s not fair to the artist and it’s not entirely an excuse these days with the internet and the rest of the world’s willingness to learn English as a second language. If the world doesn’t come to you, you go to it. Why sit back and wait for it when you have the chance to take it by it’s metaphoric horns?

        Second: You can’t have growth without setbacks. Staying in Korea would do the Wonder Girls a world of good: if they stick around long enough, they could regain their crown as Korea’s It girl group since SNSD has been losing their steam. They can take their style and have an easier time molding it to fit into the Japanese market and the language wouldn’t be such a large leap to make since English has a completely different sound and follows completely different rules. However, they might not have been as determined to step their game up and work harder with what they got (let’s face it, some things about the human voice can be changed and improved such as pitch, emotion, stamina, tone, but you can’t change everything) if they simply jumped back and forth between Asian markets. I won’t say Asia has lower standards, but they’re much more forgiving if an artist is weak in the singing-dancing department as long as they have a pretty face and a listenable song (and to be honest, as much as America tries to sell itself as the mecca of all things music, they’ve let “singers” like Ke$ha, Miley, Britney, Rebecca Black, Justin Beiber, T-Pain, Jason Derulo, 3OH!3, Katy Perry, etc. have careers, so what does it say about our tastes?). Staying in Asia and gaining Pan Asian success has the possibility of improving just enough in another country so that you get on the charts, and in a few weeks, letting those improvements go to waste and down the tubes when they go back on Music Core, Inkigayo, or MuBank where they can let the backtrack do the work. They won’t have that opportunity to slide back to bad habits in America because they’ll have to prove themselves more which will mean more live vocals and less gimmick. In America, we have no Big 3. Virgin, Interscope, Sony, etc. are all big companies but no one cares about the label itself. Debuting under a big label doesn’t guarantee success or quality music so they’ll have to learn that they can only rely on the company to sell the CDs and make the MVs but the Wonder Girls themselves will be the deciding factor to whatever success they get. Even if they don’t succeed, they can say they tried harder than any other Asian or Korean act that came here and just expected to rise to the top based on past glory that will be irrelevant to American audiences.

        • MqN

          It’s not fair to the artist and it’s not entirely an excuse these days with the internet and the rest of the world’s willingness to learn English as a second language. If the world doesn’t come to you, you go to it. Why sit back and wait for it when you have the chance to take it by it’s metaphoric horns?
          +1. 

  • chelle

    For all the talent that America has there are also talents who cannot sing a dime and still sell millions of albums (I am not putting huge emphasis on Sohee’s vocals as long as the songs are good and they can sing live). Once you make it America you gain exposure throughout the world. You become a brand name and will have legions of fans. The hard part about making in the American Music Market is that there is no formula. It is all about that one moment/song that could catapult your name into stardom. For example….I strongly believe that if Kanye didn’t act stupid in the VMA’s Taylor Swift would not be as popular as she is today. Katy Perry did not hit big until California Girls. Being successful depends on a huge amount on timing, luck, and exposure.
    I love Wonder Girls I do, I want them to achieve because out of all the korean artists going to America they seem full on in their efforts. They really do remind me of the little train that could and that is why me expectations are low because I do not want to see that train crash and burn. Realistically, I just do not see them or any other group reaching stardom in America. I try to look at the silver lining and wish they receive mild success a la Big Time Rush. However, America’s infatuation with groups died when JT went solo.

    • http://twitter.com/Laava90 Lava

      “For example….I strongly believe that if Kanye didn’t act stupid in the VMA’s Taylor Swift would not be as popular as she is today.” Taylor Swift was already crazy popular when that happened, she may not be the most amazing singer out there but her songs have such a huge appeal to so many girls because they’re so relatable, that’s the reason she’s so popular, not because of the kanye thing.

      • chelle

        I am not denying she was popular before the incident (Love Story and You Belong With Me were on my replay list during that year0 but after the incident she was everywhere she became America’s sweetheart over night. Everyone was talking about her, sympathizing with her, etc. Even though the the kanye stunt was unintentional Taylor Swift gained a lot of media coverage over it.

        • http://twitter.com/Laava90 Lava

          I see your point actually, I actually didnt even like her music as much after You Belong With Me, I didn’t feel like she topped that.

  • Anonymous

    I’m relatively new to the Kpop world (1 year and going strong)…so I’m confused when people say Sohee’s voice has improved. THAT’s an improved voice?? 

    • Sali

      You should listen to YoonA, Hara, Sooyoung and Hyoyeon.

      • Anonymous

        giirrrl….i sure have lol

      • http://twitter.com/SoNyeoZaKey wildFancy

        Hara’s especially~ huu =.=’

  • Limao Luo

    Since when has JYP actually done a good job of promoting anybody besides 2PM? Also, how is Yoobin an example of good rapping? The entire rap was just….bleh

  • Yuchen1290

    I really hope the wonder girls do find a decent amount of success in america. I like them as people because they dont go on a lot of variety shows and act a certain way because its the way the public wants them to. They interact with their fans using sms and i think there biggest advantage is that they are very personable and americans really appreciate that. Taylor Swift cant carry a note if her life depended on it but she is very personable and her music sales like hot cakes. They need to rethink how they divide up the verses more because sohee just cant deliver live. However i do think she tries her hardest. They also need to let yubin sing more because she has a really sexy and sultry voice that we dont get to here that often because kpop likes the cute chipmunk  voices. They need to let yenny and sunye handle the heavy vocal stuff because they can bring down the house. On a kind of unrelated note i’m intrigued by the idea that sunmi may return to the wonder girls one day. I like the idea of a 6 member wonder girls and i think they would be really powerfull as a group if sunmi came back. Wishful thinking i know but with reports that she is still a trainee at JYPE maybe it’s a possibility. I feel like the production for DJ is really strong but it falls flat during the verses and the minute sohee stops singing the energy picks way up. Maybe they need to give her a five hour energy shot because she doesnt put any energy or emotion into her voice which i think would make her sound 10 times better.

  • smurf

    This group is ok, not a group i take seriously. 

  • park

    so… they barely promote in korea… and go right back to the states. kinda disappointing.

    • http://twitter.com/SoNyeoZaKey wildFancy

      they BARELY? lols. do you even know what did they promote and what did they fo during korean promotions? huu =,=’

  • Aya

    I just dont like the MV. Enough said.