seoulbeats » Featured

SB Chat Box #23: Magical Junsu, idol “artists”

Amy — Fri, 25 May 2012 00:14:43 +0000

Didja miss us? Seoulbeats Chatbox is back for another session with Patricia and myself, where we talk about Junsu’s Tarantellegra (and repeatedly fail at pronouncing it) and whether or not true “artistry” lies in being able to make your own music.

(...)
Read the rest of SB Chat Box #23: Magical Junsu, idol “artists” (73 words)

The Newest Cog in the K-pop Machine: Sub-units

Michelle — Tue, 22 May 2012 12:10:03 +0000

K-pop seems to be on a never-ending mission to out-do itself, and for good reason. There is a constant need to set oneself apart from the rest of the crowd, be it a company on that mission or one group. K-pop has gone through the motions over the years, evolving at rapid speed in order to keep itself fresh and exciting. Still, there are limits to the most outlandish outfits and the most suggestive dance moves. It was only a matter of time that something new would emerge and grow, spreading its vines into the nooks and crannies of the fandom.(...)
Read the rest of The Newest Cog in the K-pop Machine: Sub-units (762 words)

© Michelle for seoulbeats, 2012. | Permalink | 42 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cube Entertainment, SM Entertainment, sub units

The Sunday Social: 5/20

Amy — Sun, 20 May 2012 15:48:59 +0000

Happy Sunday! Hope everyone’s having a good day with good weather.

Lots of things happening for Seoulbeats on this Sunday. We’ll be updating live from Jay Park’s concert in New York City and we’ll also be covering SM Town Live from California!

Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook as we’ll be live tweeting the Jay concert starting at 7pm EST, and then continuing coverage for SM Town at 10pm EST.

Who else is going to be at the concerts? Let us know!

Roundtable: Love Intrigue

Patricia — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:30:20 +0000

Welcome to another edition of Seoulbeats Roundtable!

Judging by the success of shows such as We Got Married, Music and Lyrics and the old classic Love Letter, K-pop consumers simply can’t get enough of love intrigue in the K-entertainment sphere. The hypocrisy of the situation is that while many fans that seem to support the couples on these shows, they also turn around to throw hissy fits when their beloved idols are caught having relationships in real life. Why do you think this is? And just for kicks, which set of K-entertainers would you most like to see paired together for these shows?

Johnelle: We Got Married is what got me into K-pop, so this love intrigue — I know it well. I believe the reason that most fans, after the initial shock and butthurt, are okay with their idols being in these ‘virtual’ relationships is because deep down the fans know that they aren’t real. It’s kind of like watching your faves in a rom-com K-drama. Why it also works is because we all have a little voyeur in us and are interested in how our favorite idols would interact in their real life relationships. If they’re successful in their portrayal of their virtual relationship, fans begin to love the couples together and they start building ‘happily ever afters’ for them in their virtual dating world, “JoongBo Fighting!” and all that. And although recently some real life idol couples have survived having their relationships ‘outed,’ it’s probably true that if other idols’ dating was revealed the shit would hit the fan.

(...)
Read the rest of Roundtable: Love Intrigue (2,037 words)

The Sunday Social: 5/13

Amy — Sun, 13 May 2012 13:45:43 +0000

Happy Mother’s Day! Go celebrate your mommies so that you can more appreciate the fact that you’re alive to enjoy this world and…K-pop of course. And where would your K-pop world be without all the moms who birthed the Heechuls, TOPs, Jaejoongs, Hyoris, Jessicas and CLs?

Anyway, to get things started:(...)
Read the rest of The Sunday Social: 5/13 (53 words)

Roundtable: Magic Numbers

Patricia — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:00:59 +0000

Welcome to this week’s Roundtable!

In the mosaic world of K-pop, groups are constantly changing in order to adapt to the ever-shifting musical and social landscape. Some groups in K-pop seem to be ever accumulating or losing members; others stick to a specific formula and number, even to the point of replacing a member as soon as another one drops out.

Do you think that there’s a magic number in K-pop? How many members do you think make up an ideal group?

Fannie: Personally, I feel that the perfect number for an idol group is five. It’s few enough that each member gets a fair portion of the spotlight, and yet just enough to keep things interesting. A lot of the appeal of an idol group is the personalities and watching how the group members interact with one another, but too many of them and it becomes a sea of faces to all but the most dedicated of fans.

Overall, I like the feel of odd-numbered groups better while performing on stage, as it allows for an balanced formation even as each member cycles in and out of the spotlight at the center of the stage.

(...)
Read the rest of Roundtable: Magic Numbers (1,372 words)

Winners of our Album Giveaway!

Amy — Wed, 09 May 2012 03:59:56 +0000

Thanks for all the entries, guys! The response was overwhelming and we’re happy to see everyone’s just as excited about these great releases as we are. Below are the winners of each of the six albums:

CN Blue’s “Ear Fun”: Akilah aka KiKi

SNSD TTS’ “Twinkle”: Gem P.（＾Ｏ＾☆♪

Exo-M’s “MAMA”: Alicia

(...)
Read the rest of Winners of our Album Giveaway! (78 words)

The Sunday Social: 5/6

Amy — Sun, 06 May 2012 16:10:02 +0000

Another month is upon us and so is another Sunday. Happy May / day after Cinco de Mayo! What’s everyone been up to?

A couple of things:

Don’t forget to enter our Spring Album Giveaway, featuring the likes of Exo, BAP, SNSD, CN Blue, and more. Participation ends at 11:59 pm EST tonight, so don’t miss out!
Who’s gotten a chance to watch The Avengers?
4Minute‘s Jiyoon is so goshdarn beautiful, so it kills me — KILLS ME — to see how she’s styled for their “Volume Up” promotions.
Anyone have any TV recommendations? Not limited to K-dramas, of course.

Roundtable: Going International

Patricia — Sat, 05 May 2012 23:18:44 +0000

Welcome to this week’s Roundtable!

K-pop is becoming more and more of a global brand as each day passes. Idol groups these days are traveling longer distances and with more frequency to perform in different countries around the world. Quite a few groups have begun to release albums into the music markets of Japan, China, and the US; a couple have also collaborated with international artists in hopes of gaining greater exposure on the world stage.

The question that we ask our writers this week is:

What are some international collaborations that you would love to see happen in the future?(...)
Read the rest of Roundtable: Going International (1,747 words)

Seoulbeats Spring Album Giveaway!

Amy — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 22:00:49 +0000

So we hear you guys like K-pop…

After a somewhat dead first few months with relatively little releases, we thought we’d celebrate a month of impressive releases by giving away some albums the Seoulbeats team is currently really enjoying.

Available for this giveaway are:

(...)
Read the rest of Seoulbeats Spring Album Giveaway! (97 words)

© Amy for seoulbeats, 2012. | Permalink | 218 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

seoulbeats » Featured

SB Chat Box #23: Magical Junsu, idol “artists”

The Newest Cog in the K-pop Machine: Sub-units

The Sunday Social: 5/20

Related Posts

Roundtable: Love Intrigue

The Sunday Social: 5/13

Roundtable: Magic Numbers

Winners of our Album Giveaway!

The Sunday Social: 5/6

Related Posts

Roundtable: Going International

Seoulbeats Spring Album Giveaway!