bongcloudftw's K-pop Hot Takes

Hot Take One: The (D)evolution of K-pop

listen to this song for more immersion while reading :) if you know why I picked this piece, +1000 respect

I genuinely do believe that a lot of people would agree with me in saying that K-pop nowadays seems to be in a worse state than it was before. And I know, I know, generations are different, the game changes, and so on. But personally, I think the standards for what makes an idol "good" have become so lax in line with the explosion in popularity that K-pop has been experiencing. Don't get me wrong, I think that overall the talent pool has risen dramatically through the years. But the standards have gone way down the drain to the point that anyone who can move their limbs and use their vocal cords is the next "it boy/girl/person". (slight exaggeration, but you get it.)

How hardcore k-pop stans are able to devote themselves to idols who actually use pitch correction and post production as a crutch and possess the bare minimum required to be an idol is beyond me. How k-pop fans are able to call anyone who can speak fast an amazing rapper or anyone who can follow a beat an amazing dancer or anyone who can kind of squeak out a note an amazing vocalist is beyond me. How we can just sweep some things under the rug while blowing up other pointless things to oblivion is beyond me. Are there actually some things worthy of our criticism and praise? Of course. But more often than not it's dished out so much so as to lose all meaning.

I was watching Le Sserafim's Coachella performance, as I'm sure most of you did. While I did enjoy it, if I'm being completely honest, it was enjoyable because of the outright lack of vocal ability present through my screen and speakers. What made it enjoyable were the copious amounts of screaming and attempts at hyping up the crowd while the vocals did not show for them at all. What bothers me the most here is the fact that Le Sserafim are getting a push like they're the next LeBron James while actually possessing talent likening to Ben Simmons - a player who possesses natural talent but often falters in the moments it matters most. A player with minimal desire to improve and to actually commit himself to the game he plays. Those are the vibes I'm getting right now.

The fact that we somehow all expect idols to sound perfect while continually lowering the standards for permissible live vocals is perplexing. We've come to accept, nay - expect absolutely flawless performances from idols who, may I remind you, are human too. We've come to expect this artificial, tuned, compressed, and polished vocal performance style from everyone while accepting pitchy, wobbly, and weak live performances just to keep our sanity in check. No, it doesn't have to be like this. But the forces that be collided to produce this impossible yet double-sided standard. And this means an ever increasing amount of idols coming in to merely look good, or to promote products and stuff. And less idols to actually make the product they sell - music!

As a musician too, I'm not saying that pitch correction or whatnot is a problem - it's a great tool and I love the way people like T-Pain use it to create their signature sound. What is a problem is not just the overreliance but the ignorance around its use. Like bro, everything is edited nowadays. I cannot with these people saying "OMG THE VOCALS SLAY" or "WOW THEY ATE CDS" while being able to audibly HEAR the computer beeping and booping in the backgrounds. Like I'm sorry to disappoint you, but Babymonster stages are in fact, edited! NewJeans recording behinds, edited! Lee Mujin service, edited! And if you can't hear it I honestly don't know what your ears are doing. It bothers me more when something is presented as authentic while being anything but. (For the record, the channel it's live is also edited in post. Just sayin'.) I just think that if you're an idol who can't even sing, you have no business being in this business.

I kind of think about K-pop nowadays how I think about the evolution of sports. Post production, plastic surgery, and all of those things are basically like modern technology in Formula One or lax officiating in the NBA. You could argue that players like Luka Doncic are better than someone like Larry Bird, for example. But if Larry Bird played in the modern NBA with lax officiating, less defense, and an offensive system centered around the three-pointer, he would arguably be even better than he was. You could argue that Lewis Hamilton, with all his accolades, is a better driver than Ayrton Senna, for example. But if you consider the fact that Senna had to drive with 3 pedals, a manual transmission, no power steering, and cars that were about as cooperative as a raging bull, and you could argue that pound-for-pound, Senna was a better driver. As much as it is almost impossible making cross-era comparisons in any domain, I think the same applies to K-pop. Modern groups may be more known, more lauded, and making way more money than ever before. But when you consider all the assistance they receive on top of a lax fan attitude and you realize how great the OGs like PSY were making use with what they had. 

I guess could argue that by making the cars easier to drive allow the drivers to focus more on the race. You could argue that lax officiating makes the NBA more exciting. And likewise you could argue that K-pop is becoming more accessible and booming because of these compromises. Does it technically make today's drivers/players/idols worse? Sure. Does it make the racing/basketball any worse? Not really, if these things enhance the spectacle, right? And I guess the K-pop circus does look better when everyone is pretty. But the thing with K-pop is, they more often than not detract from the spectacle and only remind us of the glaring inadequacies that remain omnipresent in the 5th generation moving forward.

Personally I think that going into the future we'll be entering an era dominated by visual-centric idols or even pay idols. There are trainees now who are heirs to chaebols and other large corporations and even literal nobility. These idols get a fast-track because while they may not have talent to show for it, money talks. I do hope they prove me wrong. (F1 has had so many pay drivers I honestly could imagine this happening in K-pop.) I can honestly only hope that things go up for here. Or I guess I could just stan NMIXX. 

TL/DR: K-pop companies should just start influencer houses.

Hot take #1 out. Sorry it's not that long! Debate me in the comments and I'll answer :)