Aww, man, this is hitting me hard.

RIP Aretha.

BTS' Love Yourself: Answer is out!

Here's the new video IDOL.

I loooooove it. Favorite title track since Spring Day.

I am also still in shock that they've got a version with a Nicki Minaj feature. Nicki is kind of a hot mess right now, but the feature is good.

(I am going to New York for the stadium show in October! I am also still in shock about that.)

Weird questio, but are their hair artists magic? Their hair is so processed, and yet it looks beautiful and soft and fluffy! They had to have had the color completely stripped to get these colors, and yet it looks so healthy!

Also, this is fun, and thank you flea for introducing me-- also amusing to see Rayne reccing it, becuase I remember the days on livejournal knowing that anything that you recommended would be something I loved.

Yes, K-pop hair artists have some kind of magic. I have seen mention of Argan oil.

There's a guy that does reaction videos to k-pop songs. He's Korean-American, with - from what I can gather - a background in video production, so I find he often has something interesting to say. This is his reaction to IDOL: [link] (He manages a distinctly more insightful read than mine, which was "This reminds me of the video for MGMT's Time To Pretend".)

Billytea you might also enjoy this explanation, by a Korean fluent in English. [link]

That was interesting! After watching that I feel like the video's relation to the song is a touch nuanced. The song is basically about being unapologetic for being global sensations; but the vid is awash with references to Korea. I think there's a point where it seems like they (or their agency) are trying to reassure local critics that their success hasn't made them forget their roots - which is directly counter to the song's message.

Not that that's the only way to view it. You can also read it as them seeing an opportunity to share Korean imagery with the wider world, and that would feel valid too. But I was struck by just how absolutely saturated this vid turns out to be, and from what I gather, that's a sharp point of difference from previous vids.

It also gets me wondering, which acts in Korea attract derision for being "idols" as opposed to "artists"? With respect to BTS, they're pretty huge right now, but I'd be a little surprised if they were having trouble getting recognition for their talent. (Side note: a few weeks ago I was driving my brother home and playing some K-pop, including BTS' The Truth Untold. He noted the rather minimalist arrangement of that song, and that this approach only works if the performers have the talent to carry it on their own merits.)

Oh, two other thoughts:

1. The first verse has bonus wordplay!

2. The reviewer left out my favourite scene from the vid, where they're performing with gigantic images of themselves looming over them. Rather creepy.

My sense is that almost all groups considered idol groups are not considered artists in Korea. BTS is beginning to be an exception, but their exceptionalism in Korea is, in my opinion, directly linked to their wild success and recognition overseas. (Many people love a winner, and Korea perhaps more than some cultures loves things that make Korea look good on a world stage.)

But other well-known and successful idol groups are not considered artists. Not Exo. Not Twice. Not Super Junior. BigBang a little bit - they are certainly popular with the public at large, but are they artists? Only maybe. The Korean Music Awards are the best summary of what music critics in Korea think is good (equivalent to the US Grammys) and there's not a lot of idol music on there. (See [link] )