Falling in love with the Wonder Girls. Over and over again!
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Yeah another blog entry about the Wonder Girls. I promise I'll give it a rest. Eventually. For now just read this if you don't know much about the fabulous Wonder Girls. You might find my story about falling in love with them dragging you into Korean music as well!
I’ve never been that interested in Korean music. I consider myself first and foremost a Japanese music fan. Despite the fact that I would tell this to all my friends I still had people who would try and convince me to give Korean music a chance. Sure I would listen to Lee Hyori or KARA occasionally, but nothing really caught my attention. And then one day my friend sent me a link to a Korean music video called ‘Irony.’ I usually brushed off her suggestions like all her other Korean fads, but she eventually talked me into watching it by telling me about the rapper of the group, Hyun A. If ever I had a weakness it is Asian rapper girls. ‘Irony’ intrigued me more than any other Korean music had in a very long time. It was the perfect balance of peppy pop, dance/electronica, and urban-rap feel.
I ended up buying the Wonder Years album as soon as it came out. It was always in my computer, being played on constant repeat. Every song on it seemed a treasure, a new bit of Hyun A to keep me engrossed. After a few days of listening to the Wonder Years I talked to my friend who originally sent me the ‘Irony’ link again.
Me: I’ve been listening to the Wonder Years non-stop since I bought it. It’s one of the best albums I’ve heard in years. Hyun A is so talented.
Friend: Um… You know that Hyun A left the group like a month ago right? They have a new rapper named Yubin now.
Me: Seriously!? Why did they get rid of Hyun A!? She was the reason I loved the Wonder Girls to begin with!
For a bit it seemed like I would just stop listening to the Wonder Girls all together. Hyun A was what interested me in the group originally and with her gone I felt it just wouldn’t be the same.
After a few weeks of me pouting over Hyun A’s replacement I received another message from my friend containing a link to the Tell Me music video; the first video without Hyun A. I decided I would give it a chance since I did like the song originally from the album (although not as much as the more urban sounding songs). I could see this new rapper Yubin for myself and make a call. And I was forever grateful to my friend once again for dragging me towards the Wonder Girls. My interest in Yubin wasn’t as great as my initial interest in Hyun A, but she was much better than I thought she would be. I knew that I would be watching the Wonder Girls once again.
I went on Youtube and spent some time looking up videos of the new group dynamic and found that I was growing more and more in love with the Wonder Girls. They had the perfect collection of personalities: the peppy leader Sun Ye, the sweetheart power voice of Ye Eun, the adorably apathetic So Hee, the pretty Sun Mi, and of course, the aloof and sexy Yubin. As much as I didn’t want it to happen I was approving more and more of Hyun A’s replacement by Yubin. And then one day I found the video and made me fall in love with Yubin’s voice.
There was no voice in all of Korea quite like Yubin’s. It was husky, deep, and all sorts of perfect for the raps that JYP was laying out for her. It was the final piece of the puzzle that made the Wonder Girls one of my favorite musical groups ever, not just out of Korea.
The Wonder Girls have evolved so much since they first started out with ‘Irony’ two years ago. They have changed into this perfect blend of pop and urban flavor that can appeal to just about any music listener. Their smooth transitions between different genres between the tracks on their albums, and even within single songs, is fantastic and only serves to highlight their unique musical tone all the more. Beyond their music they had the sorts of personalities that drew in their audience and made you want to pay even more attention to them. Overall they presented a winning formula that I knew would take Korea, and the world, by storm.
So two years after discovering the Wonder Girls I find that everything is a little bit different. Some of the differences are small; I listen to a lot of Korean music now (and not just the Girls) and a Korean music playlist seems to have appeared on my ipod. Some differences are big things; now the Wonder Girls are touring the world, headlining their own concerts, and debuting in different countries. I’m so proud of what they have managed to accomplish in a mere two years. Despite the fact that they have risen to superstar status so quickly they still manage to care about their fans (read my previous post on meeting the Girls in NYC for that perspective) and have started promotional sites and blogs in English that they actually check and update themselves. If you want more of a look into the Wonder Girls definitely check out their blog on ningin at http://wondergirls.ningin.com/ and their myspace at http://www.myspace.com/wondergirlsusa for more information plus links to their youtube channels and twitters.
Now if you’ll excuse me I have some Wonder Girls’ music videos to watch.
.
.
.
Yeah another blog entry about the Wonder Girls. I promise I'll give it a rest. Eventually. For now just read this if you don't know much about the fabulous Wonder Girls. You might find my story about falling in love with them dragging you into Korean music as well!
I’ve never been that interested in Korean music. I consider myself first and foremost a Japanese music fan. Despite the fact that I would tell this to all my friends I still had people who would try and convince me to give Korean music a chance. Sure I would listen to Lee Hyori or KARA occasionally, but nothing really caught my attention. And then one day my friend sent me a link to a Korean music video called ‘Irony.’ I usually brushed off her suggestions like all her other Korean fads, but she eventually talked me into watching it by telling me about the rapper of the group, Hyun A. If ever I had a weakness it is Asian rapper girls. ‘Irony’ intrigued me more than any other Korean music had in a very long time. It was the perfect balance of peppy pop, dance/electronica, and urban-rap feel.
I ended up buying the Wonder Years album as soon as it came out. It was always in my computer, being played on constant repeat. Every song on it seemed a treasure, a new bit of Hyun A to keep me engrossed. After a few days of listening to the Wonder Years I talked to my friend who originally sent me the ‘Irony’ link again.
Me: I’ve been listening to the Wonder Years non-stop since I bought it. It’s one of the best albums I’ve heard in years. Hyun A is so talented.
Friend: Um… You know that Hyun A left the group like a month ago right? They have a new rapper named Yubin now.
Me: Seriously!? Why did they get rid of Hyun A!? She was the reason I loved the Wonder Girls to begin with!
For a bit it seemed like I would just stop listening to the Wonder Girls all together. Hyun A was what interested me in the group originally and with her gone I felt it just wouldn’t be the same.
After a few weeks of me pouting over Hyun A’s replacement I received another message from my friend containing a link to the Tell Me music video; the first video without Hyun A. I decided I would give it a chance since I did like the song originally from the album (although not as much as the more urban sounding songs). I could see this new rapper Yubin for myself and make a call. And I was forever grateful to my friend once again for dragging me towards the Wonder Girls. My interest in Yubin wasn’t as great as my initial interest in Hyun A, but she was much better than I thought she would be. I knew that I would be watching the Wonder Girls once again.
I went on Youtube and spent some time looking up videos of the new group dynamic and found that I was growing more and more in love with the Wonder Girls. They had the perfect collection of personalities: the peppy leader Sun Ye, the sweetheart power voice of Ye Eun, the adorably apathetic So Hee, the pretty Sun Mi, and of course, the aloof and sexy Yubin. As much as I didn’t want it to happen I was approving more and more of Hyun A’s replacement by Yubin. And then one day I found the video and made me fall in love with Yubin’s voice.
Click to viewThere was no voice in all of Korea quite like Yubin’s. It was husky, deep, and all sorts of perfect for the raps that JYP was laying out for her. It was the final piece of the puzzle that made the Wonder Girls one of my favorite musical groups ever, not just out of Korea.
The Wonder Girls have evolved so much since they first started out with ‘Irony’ two years ago. They have changed into this perfect blend of pop and urban flavor that can appeal to just about any music listener. Their smooth transitions between different genres between the tracks on their albums, and even within single songs, is fantastic and only serves to highlight their unique musical tone all the more. Beyond their music they had the sorts of personalities that drew in their audience and made you want to pay even more attention to them. Overall they presented a winning formula that I knew would take Korea, and the world, by storm.
So two years after discovering the Wonder Girls I find that everything is a little bit different. Some of the differences are small; I listen to a lot of Korean music now (and not just the Girls) and a Korean music playlist seems to have appeared on my ipod. Some differences are big things; now the Wonder Girls are touring the world, headlining their own concerts, and debuting in different countries. I’m so proud of what they have managed to accomplish in a mere two years. Despite the fact that they have risen to superstar status so quickly they still manage to care about their fans (read my previous post on meeting the Girls in NYC for that perspective) and have started promotional sites and blogs in English that they actually check and update themselves. If you want more of a look into the Wonder Girls definitely check out their blog on ningin at http://wondergirls.ningin.com/ and their myspace at http://www.myspace.com/wondergirlsusa for more information plus links to their youtube channels and twitters.
Now if you’ll excuse me I have some Wonder Girls’ music videos to watch.
.
.