Music / Idols

Counterpoint: YG, Why So Weak with Se7en?

Written by Amy On February 7, 2012

Se7en came back this week with the littlest of fanfare with his second mini-album, which coincides with his first Japanese single of 2012. A couple of days ago, my colleague Jessie reviewed the mini-album favorably, but I have to say that I found the mini-album forgettable, and mediocre at best. It actually irritates me how mediocre this mini-album is, because it’s clear that YG Entertainment spends a considerable amount of their resources on Big Bang and 2NE1, but what of their once face-of-the-label-solo-star-who-rivaled-Rain-who-was-good-enough-for-an-American-crossover-attempt? YG, why so weaksauce with Se7en?

I want to preface by saying that I don’t think that any of the songs on this mini are bad. There are plenty of mainstream artists in K-pop who release a lot of full-of-nothing tracks, disregarding actual music for image, choreography, and concept. I don’t think that’s the case here with Se7en, but this album is so much of an easy listening experience that I almost fell asleep during said experience. “내가 노래를 못해도,” the hype collaboration with JYP, just kind of plods along until it’s over, and for the love of god, this is supposed to be the title track, with a shiny music video and everything…!

Unfortunately I think the two most interesting songs off the mini are “SOMEBODY ELSE” and “ANGEL,” which while pleasant to listen to, sound like part 1 and part 2 of the same song. And even more unfortunate is the fact that the mini peaked at those two songs: the rest of the tracks are as forgettable and tonally bland as “내가 노래를 못해도.”

I can’t remember the last time YG Entertainment put out such an uninteresting piece of work. Whether you love ‘em or hate ‘em, find them stale or refreshing, fierce or fun, YG knows how to put out music that gets people talking. This is where I have a gripe with YG Entertainment: it’s obvious that over the years, YG has spent less and less money and effort on Se7en. Yes, you can argue that companies by default spend less effort on acts that have faded in popularity over the years, or spend less money on acts that will bring in less return, but I think the drastic difference in quality of music between YG’s main acts and Se7en is saddening.

It’s obvious that Taeyang is slowly working out to be the next Se7en in YG, and where all of YG’s efforts are concentrated in terms of pumping out the next pop soloist (as opposed to Psy and Tablo, who are sort of the helter-skelter, slightly more artiste types of the company). It’s also obvious that Taeyang may be getting better music overall because he carries popularity as a member of Big Bang and thus is likely to turn all his music into cha-ching.

But consider Se7en’s Korean comeback in 2010, a comeback that one can’t help but compare with BoA‘s: comebacks from solo artists who debuted in a decade earlier, who also promoted in the States around the same time a few years prior. Both were now coming back after considerable absence from the Korean market. I loved “Better Together,” but there’s no denying that this song is not the most impressive or splishy-splashy a three-year absent artist should come back with. “Digital Bounce” had a lot of pizzazz, but it’s hard not to notice the fact that TOP‘s rap and swag is what gives the song its pop and attitude. So you have a comeback that’s too safe and uncomplicated, and then an intro that’s dominated by a featuring artist.

While you wouldn’t call “Hurricane Venus” a huge runaway hit, it definitely made a mark bigger than “Better Together” and it definitely felt like SM put more effort into making sure that K-pop knew that a veteran was coming back.

YG, on the other hand, gave Se7en a mini-album, one song of which is an intro, and two songs of which were originally meant for his American album…that never got made. That’s just sad times, people, sad times.

It’s probably a fact that Se7en’s fanbase has lessened over the years due to activities outside of Se7en, but it just doesn’t feel like Se7en’s skills as are performer are equally matched with the quality of the work that he gets. And that’s a shame because Se7en is a great performer and those qualities he has as a performer are sorely underused. He’s got a great, mellow voice that I feel is universally palatable. He’s not a vocal powerhouse, which is just fine by me, because I feel that people conflate being a good singer with being a vocal powerhouse in K-pop, which just isn’t true. This also means that he’s capable of taking on a large variety of styles: this could’ve just as easily been a Se7en song as a Taeyang one.

On top of that, Se7en’s such a fluid dancer. There are dancers who are good, but look like they have to exert so much energy into their dancing to get it to look right. And then there’s Se7en, who moves like he’s got dance radiating from his body.

It’s sad when you’re performing one of your solo career’s biggest hits on one of the most important stages of the year and two of your hubaes basically hijack your song from you. This is how it should be done, like a pro, six years after first promoting it.

So…can we go back to giving Se7en good music again? I’m not asking for fancy props and outrageous clothing. Just give Se7en some better songs, YG.

TAGS: Se7en, YG Entertainment

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_6NR4CWLS6RLSC6PCXOWJ2HQLJA PasserBy
I thought his songs in Digital Bounce Album were great. I’m still jamming to them. The recently released mini album is a bit disappointing. Unlike the author, I think the most interesting song there is “WHEN I CAN’T SING”, mainly because it showcases SE7EN’s vocals.
I don’t really know how international fans gauge KPop star popularity these days. I asked my Korean friend to explain how it works for them. Believe it or not, there are many K-artists who are extremely popular without all the fanciness that we see in music programs, or the music vids, or teasers in YT…. And SE7eN apparently, has join those ranks perse. He’s doing great with his mini, both in the charts and with the masses, even without, or lack thereof, spectacular promotion of a veteran K-IDOL…. And yes, that’s also a keyword right there, veteran.

Kimchi
is this true? maybe se7en is still relevent/popular in korea more than we know.

maldita
Well, he’s Se7en. Came out in the era of the solo artists along with BoA, Rain, and Hyori. Korea won’t be forgetting him anytime soon. He’s already made his own mark on the scene, and he still has his loyal fans. Sure, he’s lost a lot of fans from his absence in the Korea, but that doesn’t mean he can’t appeal to casual fans who just like song per song from whoever artists.
Besides, there quite a few bigtime acts who are super popular abroad as opposed to how they are in Korea. Super Junior is the best example of that.

Lo
Agree.. We cant judge his popularity, and I mean by the way YG and se7en promote this album its clear that they are not aiming him to be the King of kpop idols or anything. he already had his peak, and for me this album; especially the title track, shows how much he’s matured and kind of summed his journey as an artist. The guy is almost 30 and he’s settled, he has a steady relationship, owns 10 or more chicken restaurants and he seemed happy. I am sure being an idol with miliions of crazy fangirls oppa-ing him is not his intention right now.

http://twitter.com/Laava90 Lava
lol I LOVE how you threw in “owns 10 or more chicken restaurants” he sounds like such a settled down old man like that hehe

cutiepie88
Yes thank for saying that because I used to think like that. If I didn’t see/ hear anything oh maybe they are not as popular or getting the same treatment & that’s not necessarily true. Just because we (international fans) don’t see all the glitz & glam doesn’t = end of career. Yes he may not be as popular as before but he still have fans so I really don’t think the public will forget about him.
Regarding his album I like it a little bit more than Digital Bounce. But if your blaming the quality of this album on YG then shouldn’t you blame Se7en too? cause I am sure that he definitely had a hand in this album. But anyway I felt like this album was so him and to me I think he grew up a bit w/his experiences & trying to go to America (admitting that he didn’t do well in America which takes huge balls to say something like that) so to me he looks comfortable & I am really glad to see him perform again :-D

Kally
Well about se7en not getting the best material, I forgot where I read this, but in a very recent interview he was asked about how was it like to work with both YG and JYP, and he himself said that JYP is the kind of guy who suggest everything, while YG is the type of person who watches him in the back and let him do everything that he wants. So, based on his interview, it implied that this album is about him& his decision. What I see in YG is that all the artists have freedom to choose their own material, so maybe you could also blame se7en if you think this isnt his best work? No?
Anonymous
finally!!! I thought I was the only one who felt this way. So true. Compared to his old works, Se7en’s current ones are not impressive. It is good and easy to listen to, but can he do better? OF COURSE!! Se7en was the person who got me into YG music and then I discovered Bigbang after that. Se7en is a really good performer. Crazy, Passion, Lalala, I know are so good. But his recent work disappoints me. I used to replay Se7en’s songs all the time but now I can only listen to it once because I’m already bored. I want the old Se7en back :( YG’s lack of attention for artists other than BB and 2NE1 is probably the only thing that I dislike about them
Ggoma
Because he’s not in a boy band and he’s not 16.
http://twitter.com/Sihaya99 Sihaya99
As much as I agree that YG sucks at advertising several artist at once and mostly focus on the money maker (BB and 2NE1) I wouldn’t call Se7en’s mini-album mediocre.
The fact that YG did not put the spotlight on him does not take away the quality of the album.
This mini-album might not be his best but it has a depth that the others don’t have.
http://www.twitter.com/hipployta Hipployta
Hmm…Se7en still topped the korean charts and US iTunes R&B charts with this approach. Also YG lets the artist choose their music and path so…these are songs Se7en wanted.
Munkie
I actually prefered his digital bounce stuff and haven’t made up my mind whether to purchase this new album or not. The only tracks I really liked were somebody else and that person. The title track, while pretty, was rather dull for me. And the rest was so so. But then again, I feel like he actually likes what he’s putting out. Maybe the messages of the music resonates with where he is right now. I just hope he gets to put out something that I’ll actually love before he heads off to the military.
http://twitter.com/xsnmae tin gotera
I’m liking Se7en’s new album more than the Digital Bounce. I dunno, it reminds of the Se7en that I liked years ago. :D
http://www.facebook.com/people/Mizzhellno-Momo/100002397484981 Mizzhellno Momo
i don’t care YG mistreat him or what as long he produce something whether it’s mini,full album or only single..i just love seeing se7en on stage because there’s something about him that make the performance interesting..feeling mayb?

http://twitter.com/Laava90 Lava
Yeah but because he’s so good, he kind of deserves for YG to create a hype over his comeback, YG would never ever let bigbang or 2ne1 make a comeback with so little hype but as far as I could see there was hardly any build up to se7ens comeback apart from se7ens own tweets. yg is playing favorites, he should give more attention to his origional artists.

Guest
sorry, what? where is this idea that only se7en was promoting his album on his twitter coming from? have you not looked at yg-life? or seen jyp’s teasers? or know the korean articles that preceeded the comeback? or the fan events that also preceeded the comeback? or the bus ads? if you didn’t see any of this, it may be because you’re not in korea and don’t have access to this news.
se7en is not an idol anymore and he will not be promoted idol-style. it has nothing to do with bigbang or 2ne1.

http://twitter.com/Laava90 Lava
Yeah I kinda took back my comment in my head after I posted it but then I had no idea how to remove it lol

Shauilee
Not hating on se7en but I don’t like it when
artists make “mini albums”. For me it’s like “Ok, we have to make money now, we
make 3 songs then make acoustic versions of those 3 songs then add a
photobook” then BAM!!! instant Mini Album Limited Edition. Why do they do
this???

http://twitter.com/Sihaya99 Sihaya99
Usually it’s not the artist choice but the compagny’s.
Sometimes because they don’t have enought songs for a full. Sometimes because they have too many songs and want to realease a full and a mini. To make money as you said, to tease the audience. There’s lot of reason.
Regarding Se7en, his “frist” comeback was japanese, and the japanese market being what it is towards korean singer, producing more songs it not necessarily a good thing. Moreover Se7en was “quiet” for quite sometimes, a mini is way to assert whether or not he still has an audience without it being to expensive.
That’s just my opinion though.

http://twitter.com/lily_of_west CLover/Infiknight
i actually think this is an album that says a lot about se7en himself….he’s grown up…he’s matured and so has his music…he came to that point in his career where he wants to express exactly how he feels..and i for one think this album did it…it’s an amazing album the songs are so deep and they hit close to home in se7en’s case…every single song i listened i was just like “oh man this is se7en” i felt him in every song…being in yg he has complete freedom so this album turned out exactly how se7en wanted it…he already cemented his name in kpop history he doesn’t need to make songs for fan and to attract fans anymore…yg has complete artistic freedom over his work and if he felt that yg doesn’t treat him equally he wouldn’t have stayed there for over a decade…you might not like it but i, as an fan of smooth ballads love it….it fits him perfectly…
http://profile.yahoo.com/WWZG7BQSH2OQPQMJXMBYTQRPQU Ghdksd
It is amazing how once again how out-of-the-Korean-mainstream that the writers (and therefore Seoulbeats itself) are. They write articles without any supporting information because they have no idea of how music is ‘charted’ in Korea so they use their BIASED opinions in place of the actual FACTS and the readers who read this ‘shoddy’ writing are just as uninformed.
It would be similar to me writing an article attacking Adele meanwhile she is #1 on Billboard Album Charts.
WHY DONT YOU TAKE THE TIME TO LEARN THE KOREAN MUSIC CHARTS?Here are the FACTS : Since the mini-album release, Se7en has been in #1 or #2 on Instiz and Top 3 in Melon for the week. His album sales on Hanteo are weak but that is to be expected since his fanbase has fallen dramatically.I will have to wait until GAON releases their weekly numbers but so far all signs points to the Korean music public loving Se7en’s new (mini) album and lead single. It will be interesting to see how he does in the 2nd week, 3rd week, etcAbout the comparison to BoA, a fairer comparison would be to Rain. While Rain has had more international success/recognition (in terms of movies and not in music), it is Se7en who has more success musically in Korean while Rain has flopped in all his recent attempts. In addition, the reason why this album is lowkey with less budget (about the only thing factually this writer got), is he is going to the army soon for 2 years. Why would YG invest in a product with no future return on the investment?FYI : His Japanese album “Somebody Else” sold under 10k in his 1st week in Japan (Oricon Charts). This is no surprise, since outside of BIGBANG, all YG artists are flops in Japan (and BIGBANG doesnt do that great either).*** Here is a article idea for you, why dont you write an article about why 2NE1 postposted their new Japanese single/album to March 28th which the same day as BIGBANG’s album comes out in Japan. Why? So 2NE1 (with their dismal sales in Japan) can piggyback off BIGBANG’s popularity. ***

http://evacuatewithstyle.org/blog Amy
Oh my god, you troll Se7en articles too??????

scarletdevil
nowhere is safe
VeryCuticle
omg guuuuuuuuuuuurl i was thinking the same thing i thought i clicked the wrong article!!!! lol
Anonymous
HIDE YOUR KIDS, HIDE YOUR WIFE, YOUR HUSBANDS TOO CAUSE HE BE TROLLING EVERYONE UP IN HERE.

http://twitter.com/lily_of_west CLover/Infiknight
*** Here is a article idea for you (or the other BIASED writers here on
SB), why dont you write an article about why 2NE1 postposted their new
Japanese single/album to March 28th which the same day as BIGBANG’s
album comes out in Japan.
Why did they do that? So 2NE1 (with their dismal sales in Japan) can piggyback off BIGBANG’s popularity. ***
where is the logic here…first big bang isn’t doing that great in japan…so how can they piggyback off of big bang…and plus wouldn’t that be worse for 2ne1 itself since their sales are very low in japan compared to other groups…if big bang has more popularity than them and bigger sales that means they have a bigger fandom in japan so big bang’s fandom in jap will concentrate on big bang not 2ne1 coz not all vips are blackjacks…more would flock to buy big bang’s album and not 2ne1′s…i don’t think it’s a good move by yg and avex to do that but hey….i’m sure they know why they’re doing it..but for 2ne1 it’s not a good idea…however we’ll see

http://www.facebook.com/people/Mizzhellno-Momo/100002397484981 Mizzhellno Momo
WTF!! it’s not 2ne1 decision,it’s YG decision..and if u want to comment,please talk something relevant..
this article is about SE7EN!!for god sake..ARE YOU BLIND!!
Anon
yg and avex said blackjacks and vips in japan overlap

Non
”Here is a article idea for you (or the other BIASED writers here on SB),
why dont you write an article about why 2NE1 postposted their new
Japanese single/album to March 28th which the same day as BIGBANG’s
album comes out in Japan.”
Because like ygex (or whatever there called) said vips and blackjacks in japan overlap

Anonymous
But we’re NOT!

La
Youre japanese? Its a weird move frm ygex, i honestly have no clue what they are doing. But i hope its the best for both BB and 2ne1. :)

Anonymous
Uhh… the writer never said that no one liked his songs… She just feels that he could’ve gotten better music. Is it so hard for you to grasp the fact that not everyone has the same music tastes as Korea? Pull out all those numbers, whatever. But if I don’t like the song, then I don’t like the song, I could care less how much Korea likes it.
OT: I actually like his title song and it’s one of my favourite releases this year so far.

Ann
i prefer digital bounce to this mini but musical taste is subjective and as long as se7en likes what he’s putting out and all signs point to the fact that he does (and did with digital bounce), then i can’t find fault with yg. especially, since it’s the same yg producers who’re working on se7en, bigbang and 2ne1 albums.
the fact of the matter is that this mini is way more successful than digital bounce was and that was promoted with enormous fanfare. the only song that did well off that one was digital bounce and that probably had something to do with top’s featuring.
this album is doing much, much better and many old-school se7en fans clearly prefer this sound. it’s also a clever piece of cross-marketing since jyp is a well-known producer who also happens to be producing and starring in a drama atm. you can say that se7en deserves a song like “i need a girl”, but maybe se7en doesn’t want to sing something like that (though i might find it a less annoying song if he did) and it’s not like that song was a smash hit anyway. yg is not positioning taeyang as the next se7en because taeyang clearly does not have the kind of selling power that se7en did in his heyday. taeyang is the least successful bb soloist in terms of sales because the genre he works in is not one that is popular in korea and none of the critical praise he gets changes that. one of the only reasons he sells more than 1 cd is because he’s “taeyang from bb” and the most important part of that phrase is “from bb”.
re: hype. se7en is not an idol anymore. he’s also someone who’s lost the bulk of his fanbase, largely because of his relationship with park han byul. a relationship yg supported and hid to protect se7en until se7en decided he wanted to admit it. se7en cannot be promoted like bb and 2ne1 because they are catering to different markets and demographics. there’s no point in comparing se7en to boa because boa also happens to be a sm shareholder. rain and se7en can also not be compared because rain has an active acting career, which helps his fanbase. hyori would also be a moot comparison because of her cf star status. se7en is more like k.will or wheesung or brian joo rn, though he’s from one of the big 3 companies. or even miryo.
and imo yg did everything he could with digital bounce. se7en went on varieties, he was in the main cast of a new variety but that show wasn’t very successful and was quickly cancelled. he did 2 full rounds of promotions on music shows for a flop album, he did fan events and other perfs, he even did overseas promos/perfs in hong kong, singapore, malayasia and beijing after he finished promoting in korea (4 cities bigbang had never done any perfs or promos in btw until after se7en went there and bb only did perfs in kl and singapore). as for his hoobaes hijacking his perf, se7en was lucky to even perform at that gayo and the reason he only got a spot was probably because gd&top were promoting and he could perform digital bounce with top. taeyang, who had more successful solo promos compared to se7en, did not perform at the year-end gayos. btw, hijacking se7en’s passion is yg family tradition. jinusean used to do it at se7en concerts/showcases/perfs and the rap that gd&top did is what jinusean used to do. and se7en’s activites are also limited by the fact that he’s a successful entrepreneur. he’s at one of his restaurants pretty much every day as is his partner, yg choreographer lee jae wook, and they’re opening restarurants faster that you can say “chicken”. inspite of that, se7en’s is doing the regular music show promos, was on fellow yg fam member yoo in na’s radio show yesterday, did one fan-event and is scheduled to do more, will be on the cover of ”dazed&confused” etc. i.e. doing as much promo as he can. he’s also still promoting in japan and is going back and forth.
plus, we only see/know about 50% of the promos artists do in korea. especially if the artist does not have an international fansite or subbing team and even then, news of all the promos don’t make it to international fans. and slightly ot, but se7en has done more promos in japan these past few months than bb has ever done and has actually released original music unlike 2ne1.
i’m sorry this is so long but it’s something that really annoys me. most yg stans parrot this “yg does not promote his solo artists” like it’s been hammered into their skulls other commenters pick it up and run with it. but how many of them know gummy has gone on tour every year for the last 3 years and the tour is and has been one of the most successful tours in korea? that psy did 2 concerts and a gueriila concert this year in addition to doing whatever else psy feels like doing? that yg set up an exhibition for tablo’s album because he did not want to go on varieties. that gummy is on “i am a singer”? that yg is the only company where the “yg family” brand has been used to get cfs for all yg artists? the entire company promotes nikon and cjes and i’m pretty sure se7en and gummy would not be in cfs otherwise. that yg just re-opened se7en’s fanclub and there’s no fees to join and international fans can join as well? regardless of what stans say, the proof is in the pudding and yg’s pudding for se7en is pretty much as good as it gets for a solo artist who’s been promoting for 10 years.

Ann
oh and also ot, se7en and yg probably made more money off digital bounce than any other flop kpop album in years given that drips is being used for lexus commercials worldwide.

Op
Oh my gosh i love your post @ann. Sometimes It pisses me off when fans blame YG for everything where I am pretty sure the artist them selves also have a huge part in the decison.

http://evacuatewithstyle.org/blog Amy
Thanks for the great response.
I honestly really disagree with the opinion that YG did “everything they could” with Se7en for “Digital Bounce.” That’s giving YG way too much credit. Yeah, Se7en went on variety shows and he promoted the songs and he got to perform on Gayos and what have you, but it’s way too one sided to ignore that Se7en got a MINI album for a comeback after a 3-4 year absence. Not only that, he got a mini album filled with leftover songs from an excruciatingly big mess of an American debut.
Something I didn’t touch upon in detail in the post is Se7en’s debut in the US but since I brought it up in my response, I’ll pick it apart here: his US debut is also where YG failed him. Se7en has a lot of things going on for him and yeah he may not be as big as Rain and he would’ve needed to work harder in the US to “make it” but I think he’s one of the few artists that could’ve done well in the US….had YG given more of a shit.
YG just failed on all fronts with Se7en in the US, and it’s a huge bone I can pick with them because they obviously didn’t market Se7en very well and at the end of the day, it also looks like they didn’t try very hard with him either. “Girls”?? Are you freaking kidding me? There may be a lot of blame on Red Queen Media’s part too, but at the end of the day, it’s YG that’s gonna look out most for Se7en’s interests and point blank: what the hell happened with that debut?
And I’m not arguing that YG doesn’t care about its artists that are not Big Bang or 2NE1. I just happen to think that there’s a huge disparity in how they treat all their artists…and then Se7en. I didn’t want to bring them into the argument to complicate things, but I think Psy and Gummy get much better music than Se7en.
I’m also not arguing that YG’s producers who produce for BB/2NE1 also produce for Teddy, but it’s also obvious that they produce better music for other acts than they do for Se7en. I’m aware that Se7en is no longer an idol and shouldn’t be getting the Se7en equivalent of “I Am the Best” or something ridiculous like that — there are plenty of songs that BB and 2NE1 and Taeyang and Tablo put out that deviate from the idol sound, yet Se7en doesn’t really get any of that. On the whole, I would say present-day Se7en gets the weakest material out of all the active artists in YG, which is a shame.

Ann
thanks for responding :)
basically, i was giving yg credit
for se7en’s promotions, which is what yg stans often say he doesn’t do for
his solo artists. and yg pretty much always releases minis regardless of the
artist. ever since he redefined the mini and bigbang sold minis like hotcakes,
yg has become mini central. gummy’s comeback after 2 years was a mini, 2ne1
debuted with a mini, bigbang released a mini for their comeback last year
(with 2 remakes), seungri’s and taeyang’s first albums were minis, tablo’s
full album was broken up into 2 parts. you can count the number of studio
albums yg has released since 2007 on your fingers and i don’t even think
you’d need both your hands.
personally, i don’t get the big
deal about releasing a mini or a full album. if they charge you the full
album’s price for a mini, then that i can understand. frankly, most kpop
albums are 5-6 original songs plus 3-5 remixes/instrumentals/whatevers, so
the actual amount of original material is the same most of the time.
essentially, se7en’s digital bounce with 7 new songs was a full album. and
idk if all those songs were leftovers from his american debut. choi pil kang
worked on 3 of the 7 songs and he joined yg in 2010. teddy worked on 3 others
and i don’t know if all of them or any of them were meant for se7en’s
american album. walt anderson shows up very rarely on yg songs. he did
bigbang’s remember with teddy in 2008. and ham seung cheon and kang uk jin
are also new yg producers and the first song they did for yg was bigbang’s
somebody to luv in 2010. i seriously doubt that the entire album was leftover
material. it was most definitely a different sound for se7en but one he said
he wanted to try. and that’s where i disagree with you mostly.
musical preference or what one
thinks is quality music is very subjective. personally, i think 2ne1′s music
has really dipped in quality and the album they released just after se7en’s
db mini was the worst yg release that year. lots of people, included many sb
writers, did not like bigbang’s last mini. so, whether se7en is getting
weaker material is very debatable. se7en is one of the few yg artists who
does not write and produce all of his own stuff. gummy, taeyang and 2ne1 are
the other three. it’s pointless to compare psy, tablo, bigbang, gd&top,
gd and seungri’s work to those 3 because they all have writing, composing and
producing credits and they are the ones who finally decide the style and tone
of their albums. and of those 3, gummy is targetting a completely different
audience and has a very specific style. in fact, she rarely works with yg
producers because they’re not exactly famous for their ballads, other than
r&b stuff. taeyang’s solar was weaker than hot imo, and 2ne1, well, lets
just say i think they’re stuck in a rut. and none of this takes into account se7en’s own taste. he does have some control over what he’s releasing and it seems like he really likes the music he has released since 2010.
i agree completely that yg failed
with se7en’s us debut on all fronts. they made the completely wrong choices
and signed with the wrong agency and most importantly, just let it go on for
way too long. yes, they had no control over the material that leaked or the
time the american producers were taking with creating the music but 90% of
the time it seemed like yg had no clue what they were doing. but it was their
first time and i guess they learnt their lessons the hard way. and yg in 2007
was not the yg of today. he didn’t have the kind of money or resources that
he has now neither was kpop as popular worldwide as it is now. boa’s debut
went nowhere. neither did utada hikaru’s, who probably had the best chance of
all the asian artists. but the fact that he chose to re-sign with yg in 2011 after his crap us debut also says something about his relationship with the company and yg himself.
and botching up promos is not
restricted to se7en. yg made a complete and utter mess of bigbang’s japanese
debut, the lead-up to taeyang’s solar was the most frustrating 12 months ever
and there are plenty of people who would argue that yg’s methods of promoting
2ne1 in korea do them a disservice.
se7en has also had some really shit luck. whenever
yg has tried to promote him the way other artists are promoted, it has always
backfired. send him to america like boa? we all know how that went. get him a
lead in a high-profile drama like rain? drama tanked and se7en was a crappy
actor. try an electro-pop sound like 2ne1? nobody bought the album. get him
on the main cast of a variety like daesung? programme gets cancelled in 3
months. take a risk and confirm rumors he’s dating? lose 100,000 fans
overnight. the man just can’t win sometimes.
what i would like to see se7en try is a musical. he’s one of the best kpop live performers currently and with the right musical, he might regain some of his popularity and go to the army on a high note.

Ann
i apologise for the awful formatting and the length of this response. i don’t know how the post ended up looking like that.

westwitch
hmm.. There’re too many wrong informations about Taeyang.. I just wanna correct them.
Is Taeyang the least successful bb soloist in terms of sales??? No, in terms of sales, Taeyang’s the 2nd successful bb soloist in terms of sales, his solo albums’re sold more than Top’s and Seungri’s solo albums. And even though Taeyang is not a popular member in BB fandom, he has tons of his own solo fans. Most of his fans’re not from VIPs. And Taeyang doesn’t mind about the sales or popularity. He just does what he wants as an artist and he’s highly praised by experts for his musicality. He’s the olny male solo idol who won the korea music awards 3 times, that is the most authoritative award in korea by the representative music critics of korea. Even GD and Seven praised Taeyang saying “Taeyang is the best male solo artist in korea” Taeyang and Seven’re always good bros.. and they respect each other. They’re different but I love both of them… Taeyang is the big supporter of Seven, so does Taeyang’s fans. I hope U not to feel bad because of Taeyang.

Ann
top’s album is the gd&top album and that sold way more than taeyang’s hot and solar albums combined. top technically does not have a solo album but ”turn it up” made the year-end digital charts without promotions. seungri sold about 50,000 copies of his mini and solar also sold about 50,000 copies (not including the international or deluxe edition because seungri’s didn’t have either). but given that solar was a full album and minis generally sell about half as many copies as a full album, this one belongs to seungri. seungri also had a very successful digital hit with strong baby, while taeyang’s digital singles have been popular but not smash hits. daesung does not have a solo album nor has he done solo promotions for his digital singles, so he’s not included in this.
i’m really not going to address the rest of your post because i was not comparing anyone or giving my personal opinion on taeyang but talking in terms of pure sales numbers for bb soloists. solar’s sales were very respectable and actually made taeyang the top-selling soloist in 2010 but it doesn’t compare to gd’s solo or gd&top’s sales. and i said that taeyang’s bb connection is what contributes to his sales because of the name recognition and fanbase support he gets as a bb member. his fees to appear on music shows are in the highest bracket because he is a bigbang member. most solo artists, even ones who sell a decent amount of albums, get paid half of what he does. regardless of his non-vip fans, it’s his bb connection that gave him the kind of debut he had and gives him the freedom to make the kind of music he does.

westwitch
GD is the golden goose in korea, Top didn’t release his solo albums yet. So you can’t say Top sold more than Taeyang even though GD&TOP album was sold way more. I heard Taeyang’s HOT sold over 70,000 copies totally. And Taeyang’s solar has 3 versions (Solar + Solar special + Solar international), solar and solar special(30,000 copies sold) has the same songs and solar international is just the rehash of HOT and SOLAR+2songs.
Taeyang is the least popular member inside the BB fandom because other individual fans’re jealous of Taeyang because he’s the only member highly praised by tons of experts and very popular overseas unlike in korea. I’ve seen many times lots of individual vips bash and attack Taeyang to degrade him for jealousy. He’s the least supported member in that fandom, they usually do not support Taeyang’s solo works. They just want him as a member of BB to support others.
And Taeyang gained his fame internationally with his solo song “wedding dress”, not with Bigbang works. When Taeyang ranked #1 on itunes overseas, international Taeyang supporters even didn’t know of Bigbang. Most of Taeyang stans came to know “Bigbang” because of Taeyang.

Ann
Top wrote or composed most the songs on the gd&top album and he’s as much a part of it as gd is and also has an enormous fanbase to support him. Hot did not sell 70,000 copies. It sold 30,000 copies in the first month which is when the bulk of the albums are sold. I did not count the deluxe and international editions of solar because seungri’s album did not have either. I disagree with your jealousy theory. The other fanbases have no reason to be jealous because the other members also have had critical appreciation for their solo efforts, even their non-musical ones. And the other members are also popular internationally. Top’s solo and the gd&top album also topped various iTunes charts and gd&top’s album was among yesasia’s top 10 albums sold in 2011. Taeyang’s music does not sell as well because rnb as a genre is not very popular in Korea. Taeyang’s international fans may not know or care about bigbang but there are enough ivips who do given that bigbang’s mini has done better on iTunes than taeyang’s work, so I don’t see what your point is.
westwitch
Taeyang’s HOT album sold gradually more and more, it didn’t evoke a sensation first but it’s sold more and more through word-of-mouth far after the first month.
No matter you believe it or not, Taeyang is the only member highly praised by experts in those days, even Bigbang couldn’t be nominated on the korea music award. Vips made a strong protest and asked why Taeyang, why not Bigbang? to the judges.. and they answered Taeyang is more valuable than Bigbang in musicality. At that time, vips tried to degrade and bash Taeyang openly.
And when Taeyang ranked at #1 on itunes overseas, kpop was not popular worldwide in those days. Taeyang is the first korean who ranked at #1 overseas. GD&TOP released their album when the kpop is booming but still was not better ranked than Taeyang’s. Now Bigbang got more famous worldwide and got better result on itunes overseas. Bigbang became more famous internationally because of Taeyang… and now all the members’re popular internationally riding the crest of kpop boom.
Guest
honestly, you seen like an obsessed taeyang fan who’s only interested in bashing vips.
Bouncy111
Nope!!! It’s not Taeyang’s fans who bashed vips. Some of evil kvips(supporing other members individually) bashed Taeyang for a long time with stupid reasons.
Dorothy33
Taeyang released his HOT album May 22, 2008 and and 31,285 copies’re sold for 9 days and it was the best seller of the month(May) and it’s sold steadily more for a long time!
Anonymous
You can’t really compare TOP to Taeyang right now (album sales wise) because the GD&TOP album had mainly GD and TOP fans propelling it rather than Taeyang who mainly had his own set of fans supporting it. Until TOP releases a solo album I wouldn’t compare the two.
If you are talking pure sales numbers then Taeyang > Seungri. VVIP sold 41,302 while Solar sold 53,789. Mini albums do sell less than full albums, but one can argue that POP albums outsell R&B albums all the time in Korea.
Taeyang does about the same digitally, if not better, than Seungri, Daesung and TOP.
The only persons from Bigbang to have been praised by critics for their music is Taeyang and GD. The other 3 make good music but have yet to get the same response from critics as TY and GD.
Anonymous
You can’t really compare TOP to Taeyang right now (album sales wise) because the GD&TOP album had mainly GD and TOP fans propelling it rather than Taeyang who mainly had his own set of fans supporting it. Until TOP releases a solo album I wouldn’t compare the two.
If you are talking pure sales numbers then Taeyang > Seungri. VVIP sold 41,302 while Solar sold 53,789. Mini albums do sell less than full albums, but one can argue that POP albums outsell R&B albums all the time in Korea.
Taeyang does about the same digitally, if not better, than Seungri, Daesung and TOP.
The only persons from Bigbang to have been praised by critics for their music is Taeyang and GD. The other 3 make good music but have yet to get the same response from critics as TY and GD.
Dorothy33
You did not count the deluxe and international editions of solar because seungri’s album did not have either but actually Seungri’s solo album had 5 versions, so did GD&TOP’s! Taeyang’s Solar itself beated Seungri’s 5 versions even without counting the solar Deluxe and Solar International.

Lovezain11
I don’t think YG is being weak with Se7en. He is just promoting him differently since he is not an idol. I don’t think it’s fair to compare his promotions to big bangs or 2ne1 since they are so different. Like many people said the song choices are Se7ens and not YGs. He helped with this album and was involved through it all. He is also not being tested unfairly because if he was he would probably say something. He seems happy with his life and career. His comeback was mainly as a gift to his loyal Lucky 7′s because he preparing on leaving for the army probably so he could finally settle down and get married with his long time girlfriend. I also love his song in this mini and it seems to be doing well in Korea.
Mika~
I do feel rather sorry for Se7en, because you have to admit, his career as a kpop soloist has declined. I mean, Se7en’s a respected sunbae singer, but I don’t think he really has that legendary sunbae status of Rain or BoA, and it’s kind of sad, because he definitely used to be on their level (think back to that competition for MSG with Rain).
Announcing his long, romantic relationship with Park Hanbyul definitely hurt his career. Like it or not, that’s the way kpop fangirlism works… (But as for me, I thought it was incredibly sweet that they announced it during their seventh year of dating.) A lot of international fans were surprised that Rain turned down Meghan Fox, but can you imagine what would’ve happened with the Clouds if Rain didn’t?
Going to America was a poor choice. He didn’t really make it anywhere in America, and I don’t feel like his musical style was improved by his America-venture either. Maybe he was trying to go for an American feel when he came back to Korea with “Digital Bounce”, but the thing is, the musical style that he had before he left was already, in my opinion, the best style for him, so when he came back with this song that sounded nothing like his ballads or R&B songs, regaining the popularity he used to have became all but impossible.
Like the author, I feel that it’s a pity that Se7en’s career is no longer as illustrious as it used to be, but I actually think this album is chock full of lovely songs that are reminiscent of his earlier style, so for me, this is a step in the right direction.

Guest
Nothing can beat “Passion”. Se7en’s best song by far.

http://twitter.com/PhanTheHotness Jenny
i agree
PSY and Tablo are different because i think they actually write and produce their own music. they have the freedom and the artiste.
se7en, though, depends on YG produced songs. and he gets the short end of it.
it’s painfully obvious
but i think more efforts go into 2ne1 and not big bang. 2ne1 still relies on yg to produce while i think big bang have more freedom music wise
http://twitter.com/TheTofuMonster The Tofu Monster
Though ultimately music is preferential, I have to disagree with you on how weak his album is. This album is one of the more cleaner (not regarding profanity, vulgarity, etc…..-_-) albums released from YG lately. I find most of 2NE1′s or BB’s recent stuff and including Se7en’s Digital Bounce (wtf….) overproduced, unedited, and messy. Though the new mini album is not the most compelling piece of work out there, it’s very likable, quite catchy, and really exemplifies Se7en’s lovely voice. I like every single track on the album albeit only having 6. Having followed him for so long, I found a much more mature Se7en in this album though he did not feel strange to me. I personally base an album/song’s ultimate value on it’s longevity and I know it’s one that I will return in about a year or two without thinking that it’s out of date or boring.
That’s the only thing I’m gonna disagree with you on….otherwise, agreed.
And to set some things straight, Taeyang does write his own music and taking part in production more often now. Matter of fact, Taeyang co-composed “Somebody Else” with Teddy. Most of his works have appeared on his recent solo album.
happyslip
It’s hard to say with Se7en because he’s not in the same level as BB and most especially 2NE1 anymore. To me, it’s more like he’s been there, done that kind of thing so I wasn’t really expecting the same “aggressive” or “ambitious” promotional tactics for him like what YGE was doing for his current idol groups. Secondly, I’d like to think that he has had a lot of say in this. Thirdly, YGE tried to make Se7en “current” via Digital Bounce almost two years ago and to me, it made Se7en feel like he’s lost — unsure of what to do after staying in the US for quite some time.
I enjoyed Digital Bounce and I was pretty glad that he at least tried doing that kind of music, but his latest mini was closer to his…um, roots. To me his latest stuff isn’t recycled — it’s familiar, and I’m saying this in a good kind of way because I think it reminds people of who he is; he was never really promoted as your loud, in your face kind of music group like BB and 2NE1 anyway. One that made me appreciate this record so much is the message he was sending through the song “When I Can’t Sing”. Some people might feel like he’s using drama to sell, but damn, I appreciate that he acknowledged some of the things that he’s been through before. I didn’t find that kind of thing in Digital Bounce (not that it needs to but still).
Guest 007
Maybe Se7en’s busy looking after the new trainees and helping out with the two new groups that are supposed to debut this year.
e__________e

Anon
he probably is, i know gummy is helping with the new trainees

http://twitter.com/TheBlockB TheBlockB
Boy is this article interesting. Last mini album Se7en had I remarked with similar comments but lots of fans chewed me out of it. I never wanted to see Se7en going out with an electro sound. And Somebody else basically he sounds like Taeyang in that song. I miss the old Se7en.
Anonymous
i soo disagree the album is really good what is lacking everything else the styling to promotional work is really badly done. just look at when tayeang made a comeback they took it to a whole another level
and i am afraid to say this but the public display of his relationship is also another factor. she was pretty much in everything he did.
Mgflutie87
G-Dragon and Dara (aka the plagues of YG Family) probably gave him over the top blow jobs because they know Se7en’s one of the most talented YG Family artists and they both can’t let him have his deserved limelight cause they know they’ll lose their fans to Se7en

http://twitter.com/Sihaya99 Sihaya99
Your nonsense is just plain ridiculous.

Tannya Aditya
se7en used to shine so great :(
Kumiko
Se7en was the first kpop singer i ever listened back in 2006. He is still amazing to me i could care less what anyone thinks. I think yg was a lot cooler back then before big bang and 2ne1 no offense. se7en is the most talented in yg..