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nerdaboutkpop · 4 years

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K-pop in 2019: BTS, Blackpink break new ground, but deaths and scandal tarnish image of Korean music industry

BTS topped the charts across the world, Blackpink broke records on YouTube and Twice made history on their groundbreaking tour of Japan

The ‘Burning Sun’ sex abuse and corruption scandal, the deaths of singers Sulli, Goo Hara, and Cha In-ha, and vote rigging, cast a shadow over bands’ successes

K-pop was in a strange place at the end of the previous decade. Its biggest artists, such as Rain, BoA and Wonder Girls showed potential to take the sound global, but there was a disconnect between the excitement for the music in Asia and the rest of the world.

Fast forward to 2019 and the K-pop scene is at an all-time high in terms of commercial success and global interest, with this past year being perhaps the industry’s biggest to date.

From the boundaries pushed internationally to the darkness that seeped into the pop-culture consciousness, 2019 was a significant year for K-pop as it moved forward with a new-found rush of interest while reckoning with a series of tragedies and scandals.

These were some of the biggest developments in K-pop during 2019.

Superstars shine brighter

BTS’ roll-call of achievements grew in 2019 as the boy band broke new ground for South Korean artists. Early in the year, they took part in the world’s most prestigious music awards ceremony as presenters at the 61st Grammy Awards, a moment of critical visibility for South Korean artists.

Two months later, BTS would release their new EP Map of the Soul: Persona, ahead of a well-received performance on Saturday Night Live (the American TV show has the ability to boost or ruin careers).

They broke records on YouTube with the video to the single Boy With Luv (scoring 78 million views in its first 24 hours of release – that is close to 1,000 views per second), and reached No 1 on the charts in countries such as South Korea, the US (where it tied a Billboard-chart record previously set by The Beatles), the UK, Australia, and Argentina.

BTS reinforced their global dominance by winning two awards at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards and undertaking a stadium world tour; their “Love Yourself: Speak Yourself” concerts sold out venues such as London’s Wembley Stadium and Seoul’s Olympic Stadium. They ended the year on a high note, winning eight awards at the Mnet Asian Music Awards ceremony in Nagoya, Japan, on December 4.

Girl band Blackpink made waves in 2019 with a welcome debut at the Coachella music festival in the US on the same weekend that BTS played Saturday Night Live, giving K-pop its most high-profile week in America to date.

Blackpink also undertook a major world tour and broke records on YouTube with their Kill This Love music video. Fellow girl group Twice made history as the first K-pop girl group to undertake a Japanese dome tour.

A new generation prepares to rise

A new crop of promising superstars made their debuts in 2019.

Daniel Kang – a stand-out member of the sensational-but-temporary boy band Wanna One – became CEO of his Konnect Entertainment label; his debut album Color on Me broke records for solo artists in South Korea.

The post-Wanna One excitement continued with exciting new boy bands such as AB6IX (one of the top-selling rookie acts in K-pop this year, featuring former Wanna One members Lee Dae-hwi and Park Woo-jin) and CIX (a message-driven quintet featuring Bae Jin-young), and new solo stars.

Big Hit Entertainment, the promoters behind BTS, diversified its roster with the launch of boy band Tomorrow X Together, who showcased a more tender image. The group had a hit debut album and generated interest across the world.

Itzy was the stand-out new female act this year, and continue JYP Entertainment’s strong history of girl groups, following acts such as Wonder Girls, Miss A and Twice. The quintet became an overnight sensation with empowering singles such as Dalla Dalla and Icy, and toured Asia and America.

Groups such as Ityzy, Blackpink, G)I-dle and Everglow show the promise of powerful K-pop girl groups.

The darkness comes to light

The K-pop world was rocked by a the multifaceted “Burning Sun” scandal, named after a Seoul nightclub co-owned by Seungri, a former member of the boy band BigBang. The club was at the epicentre of one of the biggest scandals to hit not just K-pop but South Korean society.

Involving sexual assault, prostitution, hidden-camera footage, drug use, police corruption and tax evasion, it captivated and baffled a world that seemed unable to reconcile K-pop’s squeaky-clean image with this raft of crimes.

The fallout from the scandal has been major, and there is more to come. Seungri retired from BigBang after being charged in connection with prostitution. Singer Jung Joon-young was sentenced to six years in prison after admitting to filming women in sexual and compromising acts without their permission, and sharing the footage in chat rooms. Choi Jong-hoon, former guitarist and keyboardist in K-pop rock band FT Island, was sentenced to five years in jail for sharing illegal photos, illegally filming and sharing pornographic videos, and bribing police offers to cover up gang rape and drink-driving incidents.

The scandal also led to the exit of YG Entertainment CEO Yang Hyun-suk. The 49-year-old stepped down after allegations of drug use, providing prostitution services, tax evasion and having corrupt relationships with police.

The music industry faced embarrassment after the revelation that it had rigged results of TV singing competitions Produce 48 and Produce X 101. South Korean authorities found that the winners had been chosen from the start, despite viewers paying to vote for their favourites.

News of the rigged vote, and the backlash which followed, put at risk the careers of popular girl group IZ*One and boy band X1, which are made up of contestants on the two shows.

The were changes to the line-ups of many bands this year. Super Junior announced long-time member Kangin would leave the group following years of controversy over assaults and drink-driving; B.I departed boy band iKon after allegations he had attempted to purchase banned drugs marijuana and LSD; Hwall left The Boyz over long-term health issues, Woojin departed Stray Kids for reasons unknown, and Wonho left the internationally known group Monsta X following a series of accusations about his past, including that he was in debt.

Tragedies, but hope for the future

The saddest K-pop stories concerned the deaths of singers Sulli, 25, Goo Hara, 28, and Cha In-ha, 27. Former girl group members Sulli and Goo were suspected to have taken their own lives after years of dealing with online cyberbullying and malicious comments from South Korea’s hypercritical fans. Cha In-ha, a budding actor, had not faced public criticism and the circumstances of his death on December 3 are still not known.

Their deaths highlight the need for the industry to recognise the extreme stress its stars deal with and to provide resources to head off the risk of more deaths.

Slowly but surely, change has been coming to the industry. Groups such as BTS, Twice, Stray Kids and Ateez have tried to tackle the stigma in South Korea about discussing mental health by speaking about the issue in interviews and through their lyrics.

Earlier this year Twice revealed that band member Mina was suffering from anxiety and stage insecurity, and would be sitting out the group’s tour. More recently, former Wonder Girls member HyunA shared on social media how she has been dealing with depression, panic disorders, and a fainting condition.

While K-pop is dealing with growing pains – and there are probably more to come – perhaps in 2020 fans will be celebrating the global accomplishments of its superstars rather than mourning its victims and reeling at its scandals.

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nerdaboutkpop · 4 years

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BTS Sweeps All 4 Daesangs At Melon Music Awards 2019, Total Of 8 Awards

It was a record-setting night for BTS at the Melon Music Awards 2019!

The Melon Music Awards 2019 were held on November 30 at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea. In addition to presenting awards to some of the brightest stars in Korean music over the past year, stars also appeared on the red carpet and an amazing lineup gave brilliant performances.

BTS had previously been announced by Melon to be one of their Top 10 Artists that year. In addition to this award, the group soon picked up trophies for Best Dance (Male), Kakao Hot Star Award, and the Netizen’s Popularity Award.

BTS also swept all four Daesangs (grand prizes) by the end of the night: Best Record of the Year, Best Album of the Year with “Map of the Soul: Persona,” Best Song of the Year with “Boy With Luv,” and Best Artist of the Year. This is the first time that a single K-pop group has swept all of the Daesangs at a year-end awards show.

In a speech for Artist of the Year, V said, “The child who ate candy as an elementary school student is now standing here today. I personally don’t think that I’m that special a person, so every time our music is recognized like this and people tell us that they felt healed or happy because of us, I choke up. I really don’t think I can give up. We will continue to grow and repay ARMY with good music next year and the years after that.”

J-Hope continued, “This year we have also received this great award. It is a great honor and I think that it’s a way of thanking all of you. There were so many things to feel honored and grateful about this year. If you asked me to pick the most memorable, it would be impossible. I don’t want to miss a single moment, because it’s all so precious to me, and I want to express that, but I’m also afraid of missing the moment. I want to thank everyone as loud as I can for giving us so many honors and awards. I will remember this moment.”

RM added, “When we finish an event like this, we go home and feel a sense of weakness. We work hard in the studio to make music, practice hard in the practice room, and sing on this black stage. There are times when we wonder whether we are really doing something. But just as you all have been the lamps for us in our night, we will be the lamps for you in the ways we know how. I love you, ARMY.”

In a speech for Song of the Year, RM said, “When we were deciding the title for ‘Boy With Luv’ [Korean title: “A Poem for Small Things”], I remember Jimin being concerned that it sounded like we were saying your love is something small to us. But things that are small are not necessarily bad. We will continue to run, sing, and dance until the small things are no longer small.”

In a speech for Album of the Year, Suga said, “Album of the Year is a really big award, and it’s an honor to receive it. I’d like to thank the members who worked on it, PD Bang Shi Hyuk, the composers/producers, and the staff members. It was fun working on ‘Persona.’ It was busy, but fun. No matter how I think about it, I am happiest while making music and touring. 2019 was a very happy year for us. Thank you to ARMY all around the world for showing love to this album.”

Jimin continued, “I said that I wanted to repay you last year with this award, and I’m happy that we could do it this year. We said that we would just work hard on this album without thinking about results or numerical values, but I think that I personally am very influenced by those things. The reason is because I don’t know when we’ll be able to repay the enormous amount of support and love that we have received from everyone. That’s why I want to continue singing and dancing with the members and spending time with everyone. We will work hard to win another Daesang next year. Thank you very much.”

Congratulations to BTS!

#bts #mma2019 #melonawards2019 #army #bangtanboys

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