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SB Chat Box #14: K-pop Star and vocalists today

19
Written by On January 26, 2012

Quite a few people on the team have been marathoning K-pop Star, so Patricia and I started our discussion this week with SBS’ latest singing competition show, before branching out to a discussion on some of the strongest vocalists currently active on the scene right now.

  • SBS’ K-pop Star (0:30)

  • BoA as a singer and her place in today’s market; the kinds of desirable voices in K-pop today (10:24)

  • Do you need to be Asian to be a K-idol? (17:50)

  • Vocalists, vocalists, vocalists: Jonghyun vs. Onew, K.R.Y., Junsu, Luna, T-ara, Yeeun and Sunye (24:44)

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Download the podcast here.

High fives all around to chunface for getting all the songs in the previous podcast — leave your guesses for this week’s in the comments below!

If there’s anything you want us to chat about next time, or if you have any questions you want to ask, feel free to let us know.

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  • Arbitrary_greay


    Do you need to be Asian to be a K-idol?

    Blues, jazz, rap, and even R&B were intimately tied to black history and culture. In the process of them becoming universal genres of music, at first early white adopters emulated and were compared to the original ethnicity to which the genres “belonged.” But as they were more and more accepted by mainstream culture, it was the genre itself that changed. 

  • http://twitter.com/#!/perfumeah perfumeah

    Vocalists, my favorite topic! :D This will be a treat to listen to tomorrow on long bus rides.

  • Anon

    Patricia’s voice is really, really, hot. I can only image what she’d sound like singing. 

    • http://www.callmepatricia.com Patricia

      Oh, don’t flatter me so ;)

  • Anonymous

    “Should K-pop stars only be asian?” I say if they can speak korean and if they are talented then who cares. 

    With the vocals I really agree that Junsu can find a way to make most songs work.

  • chunface

    On the question whether you have to be Asian to be a K-Idol, partly yes. Mainly because KPop’s main market is Asia. Because I think it’ll make you more relatable to your target market because you share something with them, and that’s being Asian. But that’s not saying that people from other continents cannot be K-Idols. They can too, of course, but the result on whether they’ll make it big in the idol scene may not be as good as when you’re Asian. 

    Although I must say, that having a non-Asian idol in a group is actually appealing and interesting. Especially if that non-Asian idol knows how to speak in English, that alone could already make a buzz among the fans and netizens. Now in the business point of view, having a non-Asian idol, say like French, is good especially if the agency wants to penetrate the French market. Same as to what I said earlier, it makes you more relatable to your target market.

    But really, for me, Asian or not, it isn’t a problem. What’s important is you can sing, dance, perform, and hopefully give the fans good music.

    Songs:
    T-ara lovey doveyBOA- My electronic pianoClazziquai- romeo and julietRyeowook – Insomnia
    TVXQ – Rumor

  • hmmmmm

    I really think that aesthetically having someone of non Korean descent would look really awkward especially if they rest of the members are. It would also be hard to get used to Asian and especially Korean culture. Its very hierarchical. Even Korean Americans have a hard time getting used to it, let alone a random non asian american or european. Asian people do get offended by certain things that most westerners don’t really realize.Even the non korean asian in K-pop have the white skin, V-shape, big eyes criteria.

    I love Wookies voice, but I do agree that it doesn’t really fit ballad or pop as much. his voice does really fall under the Mika and maybe Freddie Mercury area. That pretty much means you make music for yourself to fit your voice. Its definately harder to work with. Jonghyun’s voice would be better in a rock group. It seems like he’d fit in that area extremely well. Its so sad that no one really knows what to do with F(x), love them, but as a group it doesn’t mesh as well as the other groups especially for an SM group. You can tell from the other groups that they are really close, but you really don’t get that from F(x). They don’t even seem as close to their labelmates except maybe Amber (she’s sort of chill with everyone). They’re pretty.

  • chelle

    “Tara has good singers there’s soyeon, hyomin, eunjung….and…” what about the other 4?

    I actually like Jonghyun’s voice because I have a penchant for that husky sound. I do think he over sings sometimes which isn’t good for his vocals.

    In all honesty I think all of DBSK are a bit nasally but Xiah is a little different because of his raspy voice. You guys made a great point in his versatility, he can sing ballads or dance like crazy which is a great asset to have.

    I do think Yoobin can sing BUT she’s advertised as a hot sexy rapper that she stayed stagnant singing wise and I think tainted love was just really bad that people will always label her as bad singer.
    Sune Ye and Ye Eun have voices that are so different from what you hear in kpop that it’s a treat to hear.

  • http://twitter.com/polinchka polinchka

    It always amazes me how I can pinpoint a DBSK song as soon as it pops up.

    On to your chatbox. We all know that Korea is racist but I wouldn’t say it is in the same connotation as it is in America. The country is really NOT exposed to other cultures…at all. Seeing a foreigner is not common. So, yes, the are racist, but not because they are truly racist? I don’t know if that makes sense. Also, target markets are very important and at the same time, as long as members can actually speak the language, I don’t see the need to have someone actually come from the country of interest. Also, what exactly do people mean when they say kpop anymore? Honestly, seeing a French person in a group…can it be really called kpop? Sure, the person sings in Korean but it feels kind of awkward to me to have that sort of thing. Sure, I’d love to see a white person, or a black person, or anyone not Asian in a group. Then I look at the multi-cultural groups that get SLAMMED by netizens and honestly, I don’t want that to happen to others. I don’t know if the kpop audience inside Korea is ready for the inclusion of other countries. Even the Chinese members in SM get shafted and forgotten for a majority of the time.

    As for vocalists. I like both Jonghyun and Onew. Without Jonghyun and his high notes, I don’t feel SHINee would be the group that it is. As for Onew, he’s just such a sweety…and his voice is wonderful to listen to. K.R.Y. is difficult for me. I love Kyuhyun and Yesung’s voice but I admit, they are not the strongest live. Ryuwook…I can’t listen to at all. His voice gets on my nerves EVERY time I listen to it. I feel bad about it but if I could fast forward his parts, I probably would.  I will admit that he can and does sing well…it’s his voice I have a problem with. Junsu is my favorite for the reasons you said. No, he can’t hit all the notes. His voice is awkward sometimes. However, he has stage presense and vocal expression that no one else has, for me. He puts every ounce of his being into each and every performance. I believe it when people praise him in his musicals. It may sound awkward but did any of you listen to the original Phantom in Phantom of the Opera? That man’s voice made me cringe every time. Junsu is a wonderful singer. I know people bash him on not having technique but as you said, it’s not necessarily his fault and he is a steady singer. Yes, he’s made mistakes but for the most part, he sings his lines, sings them with feeling, and sings them extremely well. <3<3<3 As for the girls. I don't actually bother to distinguish the girls who actually sing in girls groups except  in SNSD. That's only because of their comeback and everyone's ranting. As it is, I am on the fence about T-ara. After listening to Eunjung sing live with Suzi and seeing her FAIL to do it…yeah, I lost some respect for her. It was a difficult song, yes. Otherwise, I really like F(x), Wonder Girls, SNSD, and Brown Eyed Girls, and of course Davichi. I am always fond of lead vocalists, especially when they can sing.

    Thank you for this chat.

    • http://www.twitter.com/hipployta Hipployta

      I guess I’ve heard Eunjung sing live so many other places that I don’t remember that one…Dream High concert right? Yeah…I didn’t watch DH but I tuned in for parts on YT LOL

  • http://colourmesplendid.wordpress.com Ree

    Interesting. I think the opposite about Junsu actually. I LOVE his voice, especially when he’s struggling to reach those high notes, but I think compared to Jaejoong it isn’t very versatile. I mean, I think he can do so much simply because of how much technique he has, but his voice itself doesn’t lend itself to too many styles. Whereas Jaejoong, though I don’t love his voice, seems to be able to sing whatever he wants and make it sound so natural to him. Junsu can sing whatever he wants to, but I get a different kind of vibe from him, it’s like I know he isn’t natural to that kind of genre. It’s just a feeling I get, purely subjective, but yeah. 

    f(x) is a tragedy, for a SM five-piece band, I feel like they’re very sub-par. Luna is pretty much the only thing that stands out in that band (vocally), Amber could but she’s been side-lined so much I’m beginning to lose hope. Krystal is a good singer, but I don’t think she’s adept at being a ‘lead vocalist’, at least not one that can help carry a band. It’d be like SNSD without Taeyeon, yeah you still have good singers left, but a bunch of their credibility is gone. As for Sulli and Victoria, I really don’t think Sulli is as bad as everybody makes her out to be, at least not now she isn’t. She isn’t a great singer by any means, but she has a pretty decent voice, doesn’t weigh them down during lives, and she’s passable/capable, and definitely a better singer than Victoria is. (Then again, it’s hard to judge given f(x)’s discography). 

  • Cobsjo

    On a family outing episode Kim Jong Kook and Lee Hyori were forced to sing together. While Hyori might not be the best singer watching them try to sing together was educational. JK has a very high voice, while Hyori’s is very low. At first the music key was too low and JK had trouble trying to sing, also he sounded kind of bad. Eventually they had to change the key to a higher note. Forcing hyori’s voice to go higher sounded really weird and awkward. Moral of the story forcing your voice to do something it can’t can make any decent singer sound worse.
    SNSD is totally guilty of singing in a higher vocal range then they are capable. I find they tend to match the music notes to suite Jessica and Taeyeon but the rest of the group have a much lower vocal range but are forced to sing higher then they can, which is why many people think the rest of the members of SNSD can’t sing. Take Sooyoung for example at the SNSD concert she sang Sway well a bit awkward you can tell she is in her vocal range and sounded good. But just needs more training in her correct range.
    This is why when people always tell me a certain idol can’t sing i hesitate because often enough they are singing in the wrong key.
    Even Kpop Star which has people with soulful voices like Park Ji Min who covered Adele. When i heard her i thought she needed to runaway from the show because i didn’t want SM, JYP or YG to get there hooks in her and change her voice to become a high pitched pop voice.

  • http://www.twitter.com/hipployta Hipployta

    I skipped around the show so I missed some but Lovey Dovey T-ara and Insomnia Craig David cover by Ryewook

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ORSXPERTNAEPCKZBGEZMP7A3NU Bianca

    You saying that BOA has a better understanding of the idol process is kinda weird considering that YG and JYP should have a better grasp of the current musical landscape considering they basically run the whole KPOP business.

    • Anonymous

      I totally agree. They said that JYP and YG didn’t go through the idol process themselves, but that’s because they essentially “design” the idol process nowadays.

  • Anonymous

    Dear SB,

    Can you guys do something about the volume level of the podcast?  It seems Patricia is about 3x louder than Amy, and music breaks another 3x louder than Patricia.

    BTW, I enjoy the podcasts very much.  As someone new to K-Pop I find it very insightful and informative.  Keep up the good work and Thank you!

  • djl

    You guys should do a chat box on “All Arounder Idol”!!! Dance n Sing!

  • GracefulCassieShapley

    Krystal is not a bad singer…technique wise, but one thing with her voice is that its very shrill when she tries to reach high notes. She can’t do vocal gymnastics, nor does her voice have any….conviction. Her voice is bland. Bland, bland, bland. I feel like there is no distinction to her voice besides its nasally, thinness. HOWEVER, she does pull off her stuff live, and she consistent. 

    Amber, she is underrated. She is quite good and Luna has the potential to amazing (the girl is already great!) But they’re both trapped with what F(x) does. 

    Although, I disagree with Sulli. I think she is pretty decent, its just that she has a lower range and the songs that F(x) does forces her to sing higher which does no justice to her voice. I’m not saying she is amazing or anything, but she is decent enough. 

    Victoria….yeah, she is vocal dead-weight. 

  • felicia elasih

    I think that maybe one reason why they do global auditions is to see whether or not they have a market in that country. To see how many people might be interested in Kpop and whether or not it is enough for the artist to go there and do a successful showcase, etc. 

    The whole Jonghyun being assigned to screaming all the time is the same as how they always make Changmin scream in pretty much every single one of DBSK’s title songs and repackages.