Welcome to this special Christmas Day edition of Roundtable. As K-pop fans, we’ve become so accustomed to getting spoiled with so many wonderful releases every year that it’s hard to decide what more we can ask for. Luckily, whether you’ve been naughty or nice, K-Santa delivers the goods year round. What’s on your wishlist for the upcoming year?
Pat: My Christmas wish is for Block B to reunite with the Match Up producers for a new variety show. That was a match made in K-pop heaven. On the note of variety shows, I also wish for Vixx to finally make an appearance on Weekly Idol and for Winner to probably make an appearance as well once they’ve debuted. Also, here’s to hoping G-Dragon‘s contract with Weekly Idol is held up and we get to see Big Bang on the show as well.
Music-wise, I wish someone at SM Entertainment would wake up and let f(x) promote properly next summer, this time without being in the shadow of Exo‘s grand return to dull their spotlight.
I’d also really love it if SM stopped insisting on pre-recorded lives so its artists can sing with live vocals that are undoubtedly live.
Mark: My first Christmas wish just got answered: the new 2NE1 album! Unless it’s another false promise that just gets delayed until they’ve released every song on the album as a single over a 10 year span. In which case, that would just be a very cruel joke.
Speaking of Vixx, the second item on my Christmas wishlist just got crossed off:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC4A4_g3N_E]I also wish for Wassup to stop making Christmas specials. That was 3 minutes I’m never getting back.
Leslie: I’m gonna go with Pat on this one. I’ve been dying for SM to properly promote f(x). I miss the days when they had better choreography and just more attention, period. And the thing is Pink Tape was actually a great album, but they were completely overshadowed by Exo. And it kills me that now SM’s got their whole SMTOWN Rookies thing going on. They really should focus on the lineup of artists they have now. That’s my wish.
Lindsay: I have to second Mark’s wish about Wassup. I wish I had never heard that song, and I really could have gone the rest of my life without seeing Santa twerk. Can I wish for some selective memory removal?
Aside from that, I wish for more U.S. tours by Korean musicians. I’d love to see Vixx, since I couldn’t this year. I’d love to see B.A.P again, Shinee is about due, and I wish for Exo to do their own tour instead of just KCON.
Speaking of KCON, I wish for them to learn from their mistakes and make an even better con for 2014 so I can write a glowing review about them.
Finally for my most selfish fangirl wish, I hope B.A.P and Vixx win lots of music show trophies.
Fannie: You know that pre-debut project group titled Five Girls that even had a documentary out (Diary of Five Girls) prior to disbanding? The group that was comprised of G.na, Yoobin, UEE, Hyosung, and Yang Ji-won? Now that all five members have achieved some degree of success in the public spotlight (with Ji-won lagging just a little bit behind) I would love to see a special collaboration stage with the five of them together again sometime.
My other Christmas wish is for MBC C-Radio to take off and be super successful and have lots of regular guests, because everything about that program just warms my heart.
Miyoko: My wishlist mostly involves getting my favorite girl groups back in the spotlight. I definitely third f(x) getting proper promotions, and how about an official fanclub name? Better late than never. Happy to hear that 2NE1 will be getting an album, so now I wish for YG to actually mean it and get it out in a timely fashion. And though I might be the only person to care about Exid, I still want them to come back.
As for other groups, I’m hoping for a full B1A4 album. Actually, scratch everything, I just want 2014 to be all about B1A4.
Ambika: On Miyoko’s note, I’d like YG to at least somewhat stick to their schedule. I was looking forward to that Big Bang single they said was coming before the end of the year, but it looks like that’s a bust.
Otherwise, I’d like to see more solid albums from a number of my favorite groups, especially B.A.P, who really needs to sit back and make a good full-length one, and B1A4. I’m especially excited about B1A4 because Sandeul has been doing just so well on Immortal Song 2.
Fourthing proper f(x) promotions.
And I’d like to tentatively say that I want a Super Junior comeback, mostly because I want to see if SM handles them the same as before or differently.
Laverne: My wishlist is very simple: Leo from Vixx. But in all seriousness, I would just love it if K-pop in general put out more quality releases. I think there was a rise in quality this year and I’d love for that to continue. I’d also like it if Running Man brought back the magic. The over-reliance on guests has made their episodes very hit-or-miss lately and I want the quality from the beginning to return.
Kelsey: I would love to get a strong album release from TVXQ. Sooner or later it’ll be military time for one or two of them, and I’ve found their last two Korean albums to be underwhelming as far as quality goes. If Changmin and Yunho could put out a cohesive album with a title song (and a dance hopefully choreographed by someone other than Tony Testa), I would be more than happy.
And speaking of dancing, I want to see Rino Nakasone work with SM artists on a more regular basis again! I love her choreography, and I miss seeing her work.
Erika: I would love for Wassup to disappear altogether and I firmly believe that if we convince ourselves it doesn’t exist, then it will cease to.
I’d also like to see Crayon Pop get a new schtick. There are so many interesting places you could go with a girl group that identifies as spunky, quirky, and kitch!
I’d like Vixx’s next concept to involve some sort of futuristic, post-apocalyptic dystopia. Let’s keep things dark, but still branch out.
And finally, I’d love to see more elaborate and athletic choreography for girl groups. These women have years of dance training. Put it to use! Don’t spend all of Tony Testa’s talents on Exo and Shinee. Let f(x) in on that action! I’m sure they could have done “Sherlock” or “Wolf” justice. I think everyone here sees f(x) as very talented, yet under-utilized.
Nicholas: My wish is for the K-pop community in general is to stop cutting off your own nose to spite your face. That includes criticizing acts that appear to steal off success from your bias, to stop arguing based on statistics, and to be passive-aggressive about f(x)’s lack of success.
I know the last point is controversial, but yes, success is relative. Compared to many other acts from smaller firms, they are not half bad where they are now. Sure they missed out on that great push, and there were so many things they could have done better, but at least now, all things considered, they have an okay career trajectory in a time where many girl groups sank without a trace. Besides, the fact that fans are grumbling mean that someone is noticing them.
And can someone give B.A.P a trophy for once, so they can maybe get a break?
(YouTube, Images via TS Entertainment, Ceci, Mafia Records, SM Entertainment, Chrome Entertainment)
