Haruki Murakami, Kafka On The Shore.

Redemption - [DAY_966] The End of Evangelion.

This is gonna sound so fake, so for the past few days I had tyla water in my head for his like album concept.

possible spoiler alert ig idk

So like I think it's not made yet they must be creating the concept and finishing the details rn, cause otherwise they wouldn't be doing all this obvious stuff. So since we still got time left here's some themes I want to be in the album

Siren vibes, but they can also add in beach vibes as well like tropical

there can be a reverse little mermaid story for the shortfilm

orr more aqua marine upbeat vibes

or like a fusion and make it sci fi

Honestly idk I have a bunch of theories cause it can also be more like beyonce's photoshoot

I just think they should go more indie and artsy and leave out the huge dance numbers that don't fit

What if the album cover is like 2005 blue crush vibes

I think the mv can be filmed more scenic

I have this huge marine spirit theory I made but it's like..eh nobody even knows what that is. Apparently people think it's all based off of some freaking manga. When that's total b.s mermaid legends exist globally I highly doubt over a literal decade of water symbology since his DEBUT, is based off a manga, please. Specifically in africa, I would like to just post all my theories but I don't really want to. But I would love to tie in the south american catholic symbolism in rover, cause there's so much, and it honestly goes perfectly with this beach theme, but I really don't have anything to prove so.

There is also pirates of the caribbean influence in peaches and years ago he said that was his favorite movie and they had mermaids in one film.

At the same times there's also a lot of atlantis references in peaches so I'm curious if it will be a red herring or it will actually tie into the mythos. Because in rover and mhmm he was in a dry desert but there were hints of him being locked in some type of water tank? in mhmm. But that could be a reference to them using him as a power source because water is a conductor. Idc what the internet says oceanic water has lots of salt and can respond to electricity. Also lightning in the sky is possible due to clouds. It's science somewhere in there, the ions and water and air creates energy.

Again it's still dealing with the four elements and creation energy so they are almost treating him like the creator deities in ancient egypt.

Though I am interested in how they are going to pull off the siren theme because mermen aren't usually seen in the media.

Although he's had the symbolism for years.

But I would love to at least get a legit analysis out before the album. I was supposed to do one years ago but it's like idk how people would react to it.

his teasers were more or less based off the four elements well five including the ether and /or electricity.

But water and sea life was the most prominent symbol for him and it's seen in almost every project that he has

in reality he's mostly portraying a creation god which is why he's in so many teasers and the others are usually in the teasers with him. His time stopping powers begin from debut also.

So it's clear he's a primordial diety not a simple one. Which is why in rover he kept switching identities because they recreate themselves over and over again.

Honestly I think their was so much attention on him having so many teasers no one actually considered that there was an actual purpose behind them or the exo mythos. Due to the fact that a majority of the concepts became intertwined with so many pop cultural moments at the time. Particularly when they began reenacting twilight and it was seen as cringe, I think the mythos became a running gag rather than something people actually paid attention to. Also there's so many cross references with other pop cultural works in kji's albums and things they were trying to recreate it got all muddled up so now people don't tie things together.

Like after peaches era they took a break and let him perform and tour. They still were continuing the mythos. There was tons of little easter eggs. I don't think I was psychic when I kept predicting what his next album was going to be it's just common sense. They always made sure his projects lined up with one another. They just also cover it up with so much drama and mess most people forget about it cause it "doesn't matter" the gossip matters even though it disappears after like few months.

Andante 2017 he had a love interest named Bom

Bom in Korean means spring

He volunteers at a hospice and frequently gets involved in their lives. He becomes emotionally attached to them and fixes varies issues for other people. In the show he acts like a guardian angel of sorts.

In the end of the show Bom "dies" of a brain disease but he still imagines her as being there.

2017

Kokobop

In the music video he has a tattoo of an angel on his neck

 January 13, 2018 

He was in a drama called spring has come

The female main character was called Naoko which in japanese means

In the show Naoko was innocent and easily tricked by Jiwon and was deceived by his charming and innocent appearance, frequently helping him out and loaning him money in hopes of him creating a life with her. She did all of it in hopes that he would marry her, but emotionally he was traumatized by his mother trying to murder him.

The show is a metaphor for death and birth shown by the visualizations of marriage and intimacy. Spring representing rebirth and creation.

Jiwon acted as the director of the family and was able to "fix them" and make them perfect just like he does his subject in the first episode.

Due to his interference the family goes from disgruntled to happy. Although his motives remain unknown.

April 2, 2018

he played an angel in miracle that we met that accidentally takes the wrong life and must try to fix the situation. It's a mix of guardian angel/ greek gods messing with the affairs of humans. He tries to reunite the original husband and wife but can't. Throughout the show he tries to make it up to her and they develop and emotional bond.

It reminds me of the concept of the film the preacher's wife where dudly is supposed to be helping the married couple but ends up falling for the wife himself. To be fair he only began getting entangled with the wife after the husband abandoned her but still

I do find it interesting that most gifs are of him and the female character that he dances with at the end of the show, but that "female character" is actually his male shapeshifting boss Mao and there was no romance there. I believe they are actually spiritual brothers.

The only "romance" or emotional subplot he had on the show is with the wife character

But I think cause of the age gap it went over people's head, even though his character is most likely older than her but whatever.

I think people don't understand subtlety in romance drama's like he picked out her clothes it's kinda obvious.

This angel who doesn't follow instructions character also coincidentally would align with his rover symbolism where he "played" a fallen angel.

It's especially interesting because Mao was known as the one with 10,000 faces or identities

the writing on the portal is also not korean, I couldn't find out exactly but it looks thai or arabic or based off that type of script? Enochian? Idk

It's almost like they like maybe pushed to get him roles that tied into the exo mythos. They apparently have a binder all the way from the 80s or 90s from lsm.

In the show the kids who encountered Ato and saw his powers in person join a forum called miracle that we met, which is where the title of the show comes from. The forum is a place where people trade stories about seeing supernatural beings like angels and aliens.

One of the kids in the show theorized that Ato was just a model that nasa had created--- some type of a.r model characters to roam around the earth and mess with people. Which is really interesting cause at the time nobody really knew about that. This came out after the space force began to publicize more information about their projects.

NASA Science

Spacecraft AR - NASA Science

Spacecraft AR is an augmented reality (AR) application that lets you learn about and interact with a variety of spacecraft that explore our

But this show was in 2018...interesting.

Even more interesting is that Kai had an Augmented reality type concert film.

Like they're getting a little too sloppy. So I'm pretty sure I can figure out the theme or at least I can try.

end of pt 1

Exo Kai: Due West

heavily opinionated semi long post

Inspired by a genius post I saw on twt iykyk, I didn't wanna bother them they seemed stressed.

topic: Is Kai promoting in English and doing Western promotion activities pandering for Western validation?

(because he clearly never pandered to anyone before ever in the history of ever...it never happened... seriously. I don't believe he knows what pandering is actually.)

Simple Fact: TECHNICALLY..yes

Question: Is that a bad thing?

Opinion: It depends

Clarification : By western do you mean American? And by pandering do you actually mean worshipping Eurocentricity and it's machine of capitalism? That is a slippery topic, technically most kpop idols, such as Kai, are already modeling for European brands and not Asian or African etc. Plus they have fans constantly brag about said sponsorships that they do. Plus South Koreans and far east asians are top consumers of european luxury brands

so anti colonialism is an odd arguement to stand behind with a kpop pfp but okay.

Opinion: Look, If you have a precise plan and goal for promoting in America, creating a better bond with foreign audiences, expressing creativity, working with more diverse creatives, and touring in multiple different states and/or countries, solidify the artist's place in the realm of popular music while having a more freeing time doing it... I don't get the problem with an artist like Kai promoting in America. It cannot intensify the issue of Kpop artists seeming like they are pandering to the euro-colonial powers, because it's already looking pretty bad tbh.

The real issue: Freedom. The reality is when someone dynamic, attractive, and full of life has freedom, obviously they are going to meet new people, make friends, and develop in personality. The real issue is whether fans who have had an artist as a cute little toy for years.

Are they ready to find out what his real personality is when he is given freedom. The reality is that despite dating clauses not technically existing after a few years post-debut, people do not actually expect them to talk about crushes, who they find attractive, or publicly state their attraction towards someone. Personally, I believe what K-pop fans expect, which is virtual silence except when being cute, charming, funny, or flirtatious and/or childlike asexual behavior, except if it is for audience consumption, this teeters on a slave owner mindset and is very gross. A person who calls themself a K-pop idol cannot publicly date like a regular artist.

I mean, they can, but not in a traditional way. Kai and Krystal technically dated for 2 years, and they couldn't mention one another's name publicly during that entire time.

They didn't even go near one another in public after it was revealed not even at smtown's. But at least people had a magazine shoot as proof they even knew one another.

Jennie and Kai weren't event at the same event since the dating scandal happened years ago, not an award show, or any other public event. If anything a dating scandal just means the person will enter a crackdown and be forced to be more present with fans to make up for what they lost.

It is extremely normalized in Korean culture that males and females try not to even make eye contact lest it be thought of that they did something.

For this reason it's incredibly easy for fans to say it is nonexistent. This is a pretty good summary of what happened.

The accepted narrative anyway. Sadly to combat the 'negative press' of dating publicly, fans go harder on the shipping, the overs#xualization, and the unfunny jokes to move the conversation away from their dating news. Taking the fandom further and further away from reality.

Yet, at the same time since people don't see 99 percent of the artist they obsess over's life and the entire 1 percent is scripted, they don't know how these people truly act or behave, or really anything about them. So to overcompensate other parts of their personality and minor things are overblown and hyperfocused on. Praise and worship take the place of actual critical thought.

Regardless of the opinion of whether it matters to every individual supporter or not, it still had actual effects on his career. To this day his support is stronger overseas. I believe this is in conjunction to the 2 dating scandals and his appearance. Which is a whole nother thing, but with this in mind a western audience, especially one that is less likely to bash for a simple dating scandal would be a smart choice.

To the people who have a don't ask don't tell policy when it comes to artists, but just don't want the artists to date publicly to protect them, what do they know, do they even look into the analysis how when properly leveraged a relationship could be good for business and not bad. I hesitate to believe fans whenever they say they don't care if their fave dates or not anyway. Like of course you don't care, because they will continue to play their role of a perfect idol content with fanservice.

I would say it's fine, but it really isn't, even in japan idol culture there is room for growth and evolution inside the mold. They gradually moved their idol culture over to the acting scene so now the youth are somewhat used to seeing public figures dating openly, it may be a surprise but I wouldn't classify it as a scandal.

Personally, I believe if they can push kpop idols towards acting and movies, then similar to japan it wouldn't become this crazy thing and artists can be young and married without it being a frenzy.

(p.s weloveyoukento) It's not exactly perfect but it is changing for the better.

In japan the mold is forever being molded and shifted to where it needs to be, whereas in kpop it seems to be stuck in stasis with the conveyer belt model continuing.

With the art clearly showing what fans deny, that each idol group is contained and perfected to the fans whims and desires.

Understandably people want privacy in relationships, but the privacy is mostly due to their careers being built on the whims of the fans.

To be fair all boy bands historically have done this. Whether that means wearing outfits that only teen girls like, or dancing uniformly to upbeat tunes for hours on end. It isn't just kpop that stretched people to the limit and covered up their originality.

Regardless of the location, race, or culture/ethnicity of said boy band this was all true, but in Kpop there is a specific desire to control the entire person as a product and as a human and this is something the fans are willing to ignore to recieve whatever fanservice they want.

Nobody cares who their local restaraunt owner or store employee dates, because they don't go to the store for them they go for the product, BUT in K-pop the artists are the product, the emotional relationship with fans is apart of the deal. Therefore they feel almost a sense of surrealness when thinking about them in a public relationship. Personally, I believe even western people struggle with having an odd fascination with who a person does or does not date, but again this is because people craft an image that makes it unbelivable if they go against it.

Whether it's a fake relationship or a real one, the point is that with either you would expect something like a conversation or a small mention during an interview, but typically Kpop stars are not allowed to do such a thing, ever. That is just how it is in K-pop. Whether the fans are native Korean or foreigner fans, much of the same behavior is expected. No one can say they have seen an artist's real personality. It isn't possible. Nearly everything is scripted.

In some cases, like Taemin's, they didn't even know their actual personalities.

They can go out and do things for fun, but it is expected that whatever they do not be noticeable to fans. Everything is expected to be hidden or undercover to be respectful of the fans. Because the artists are firstly marketed as boyfriends and girlfriends for the fans. Regardless of how it is spun, this is the marketing promotion; otherwise, suggestive music videos wouldn't really be necessary, nor would high-five events of ...fansigns.

I don't want to act like K-pop invented this.

It did not

or pretend that it is even the most extreme version of marketing love to strangers out of an exotic curiosity;

because it isn't. This has been happening for ages, but I will say that kpop has this unique hold where evolution doesn't exist. Since the 1990s I think kpop has gone backwards, before it was normal for idols girlfriends to leave the performance venues with them.

Now if a girlfriend posts something on her social that even implies they are together it is cause for fans to burn merch and say rude and innapropriate things online out of vendicated anger.

Even having a boyfriend or close male friend can invoke the ire of fans who have crafted an idol's desires to their imaginations, even if they themselves have no interest in them.

So if they do something unexpected like date a man, even though they "hate men" people have full blown meltdowns and delete their accounts out of embarrassment.

I've seen it happen to so many people. They refuse to accept a possibility and when it happens they loose it.

I know that people have sensitivities about Kpop people becoming more free, and honestly I think it's for the best. I do not think people want the ownership that fans feel to grow even more. They need more open and honest interviews, less objectfication and more laying out the facts instead of fans being so bored they hyperfixate on fake gossip to the point of it being more real than reality.

But no seriously all jokes aside, please somebody explain to Kai what pandering to an audience means. Doing things specifically to appeal to others whims and desires that you as a grown adult person probably don't want to do, but you must because of dinero, guap or cash money. Cause clearly he is just a giant stuffed animal and he has no ideal how it works, how anything at all works actually, he just dresses like this on stage because..I mean like what else would he wear, duh! How could he be expected to pander to the euro-colonial-objectifying axis of evil...

He's like..never even done that before....

I saw this coming ten billion miles away without glasses on

people always act like analytical people be doing to much...when the reality is this world is not peaches and cream. When money is involved people get evil. I said something fishy was going on first sm trying to sell to the highest bidder before the new years even roll in. They barely promoted any of their artists latest projects, no decent interviews nothing, they are mainly focused on touring nct, pushing this huge exo comeback that they clearly didn’t even think about cause if they were smart they would have done it last year not in the middle of the year when two members could have been called to the military at any time. This company weird and I hope all the papa lee clowns understand these kpop companies/ent companies/companies period don’t care about nobody a whole baby products company was selling stuff they knew had asbestos in it to new parents for decades.

 S.m ent in paticular has always given me slimy gross creepy vibes simply because of how they treated certain people, no way you could treat people like garbage ignore mental health, physical health and allow kids to sign their lives away knowing you not even going to recommend them to a doctor after you’re threw with them that’s evil. It’s sad fans only see it when it’s right in front of their eyes or their idols themselves are explaining openly that they fell victim to a company’s evil. It’s not just the company it’s the fans as well they have made a bad situation even worse with their dehumanizing kpop idols treating them like parasocial barbie dolls, this ain’t life sized

but it’s slowly becoming that I swear if yall could by a synthetic robot clone of these idols for the right price yall probably would.

Like something should ping when it’s socially acceptable for someone to have to apologize for having a baby and a wife. I’m sorry I don’t even have time to go into it but the yaoi boyband fanservice industry

(SMAP 1980s actual babies when they came up in the industry)

 pioneered by creepozoid 9000 Johnny Kitagawa

Should have never prospered the way it did. For some reason Japan kind of kept it going but there was a gradual cultural acceptance of hey maybe if these boys who never got to have a childhood want to one day get married and have a family or a lover..who cares(for the most part they aren’t perfect but they are wayyy better than they used to be).  The idea is basically “As long as they keep performing and giving the fans what they love we will accept it”

Because I think in kpop the first thing you see is this the ready to be consumed and sexualized by the public product

For many groups despite childhood photos and a few pictures showing that these idols that to the young fans at the time are soo mature...actually aren’t.

 Even early 20s 19/18 although legal in most places is scary young to be accessible to the public as a hot or sexy idol. I’ll never forget that interview where kai and baekyun were like legal but still very young and an interviewer asked them if they watched p*rn they were shocked but played along. Now and days when kids first get off of disney people usually take it easy on them and ask light questions the fact that it was considered socially acceptable for the public to have access to such private and personal information of two young men by a grown ass adult can only be understood that they weren’t just young guys they were idols, it was just the begining of what would eventually become necessary. They may not have been forced to talk about personal details but they would later be expected to be sex objects.

Of course grown artists can be mature and make mature content but I think the problem comes in with the fact that the members, although fans knew them as trainee’s, they knew them and their idol persona’s as trainee’s. Very few fans probably saw them as what they were just young kids, well trained young kids but at the end of the day even in my early 20s, kids fresh out of highschool to me may as well be middle schoolers but they were seen as more than that. Immediately every member of exo became free fandom real estate. Millions of tweets, fanfics, tumblr post, youtube reactions etc they had no control over.

I’m not blaming the fans many were super young themselves probably younger than the members in the group I’m just saying when you look back this situation was not a good one. They never had a chance.

I think not being able to date openly, or have kids or express themselves like normal people their age definitely took a toll. The company is at fault but the fans are basically their captors, the company is selling but the fans are buying. They had to be the perfect products.

Honestly the ideal of a boyband is really a boybrand. 

The goal for any dude in a boyband is to get out of it...obviously.

 But in kpop it’s like the fans never ever want that to happen(unless they have a dating scandal) even if they weren’t being treated right// in reality they want to go home to their families//which is normal. People act like the fact that idols are so busy they barely see their families is no big deal//its a very big deal. They are missing out on milestones, birthdays, family reunions, they loose family members. Like that’s crazy that doesn’t really register to fans. 

At the end of the day fans are like the actual bosses of celebs everybody is fake nice to their boss. That’s why it’s so important to above all care about the art first, like the persona and respect the person underneath or else you will get your feelings hurt. It’s a sticky situation, yes they want their job but they also want..more than privacy..it’s not just about oh yes I’m a good fan I respect their privacy. Who wants to hide a relationship or their child or their spouse for goodness sakes it’s sick. It’s reminding me of the capital..seriously all kpop fans should watch the hunger games catching fire. The tributes constantly performing for the crowd the audience who want to see them with specific people

cheering for the secret lovers not understanding they were in reality fighting for their lives. Sadly trauma bonding made some of them actually seek companionship with one another cause what other choice do they have/ but they literally had to fake a relationship or have pretend none at all if they were heavily desired. Cause the viewers want specific tributes to be together even though literally they were all suffering despite looking amazing.

 Seriously it’s so similar to ent industry stuff going on all over the world it’s crazy.

I just feel like people only get woken up out of the illusion that any of this glitter is in fact not gold when its their group that is having issues. 

The Exo critique/ comparison continues more of a kpop/ western cultural overview though

for educational purposes only of course. So many links. I never did this if it doesn't work I'll just do something else..

I believe a lot of my issues with exo and struggling to appreciate their discography like I do other groups I listened to was the lack of personal touch as I once said. I don't believe I'm being negative or whatever but at this point you literally can't even give your opinion without being called weird Korean slang terms by ironically non korean people..who don't usually speak korean..super weird. I just am tired of it. I feel like there's worse things in the world than someone giving their honest opinion but understandable some people feel extremely attached to bands and shows. Which I kind of get somewhat. But like I always do I will try to give as much detail as possible it's my thing on here. Weird opinions central. None of my friends ever//ever ever really wanted to discuss kpop on a deeper level. I was going mad not being able to express myself to anyone cause nobody knows it that deeply. That sucks so for a lot of people it's a stress reliver and it's aesthetic. I completely understand. But to me there's a million people that give kpop praise, or even rude unhinged hate. I'm not that type of person. I try and be as honest as possible and then sometimes I make a funny. This is more for people who like history than people who like kpop. But some people who like kpop like history, theories and deep diving. So I just tag relevant things and if you don't like reading that much..you..don't have to..which is kinda obvious. Also if opinions not harming anyone makes you mad, that's fine, but just don't..freak out. Or do. Idk, it's a free world, but the main reason I talk so much is because I care. I want to live in a world where everyone can express themselves respectfully and intently. That will only happen if we start speaking on things nobody wants to speak on. I try and only talk about confirmed stuff that's free real estate on the internet. So it's not a just trust me bro situation. This is stuff anybody can dig into and if it's my opinion I will make that clear.

If I never branched out and read/watched random documentaries etc I wouldn't know any of this stuff either. Many people spend most of their time scrolling may as well teach something while I'm on here.

WARNING I TALK A LOT..so you already know before I keep going

To me I like to stretch back to this infamous quote because it ties in with what I was talking about with the motown inspirations and such

A Motown alum with many

Grammy's and a history with Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson to me was Lee Soo man's main inspirations for what he wants his S.m artists to be. The entire kpop industry is built off of that model. In the U.S the inspiration is great but I believe in Korea it's what the foundation is built off of almost entirely.

The want to create someone beyond a human being, with a devout fanbase and global success. The indie music industry is barely thought of or given much attention, the rap industry takes a backseat and the idol culture reins supreme.

But why?

I believe many misunderstand that although Micheal Jackson is the name used he himself is used as a stand in for the African American race.

The true inspiration is African American culture itself, the jazz, the rhythm and blues, the hip hop, popping and locking, B-boying. But nobody wants to say all that, it isn't Michael Jackson but he is a representative of the African American population so of course they use his name, because that's what everybody says.

Lsm's first artist was in fact a hip hop star, the large majority of 90s idols were reflections of artists like boys II men, who is a big blueprint for the white American boy band and later the K-pop boy band

They were clearly and unapologetically black people. The market allowed for glitz and glam and also for performers who were toned down.

With K-pop the market is extremely geared towards the Michael Jackson type of performance extremely theatrical and to this day that's where most of the focus is the performance and not really the vocals.

Lsm's first artist had a different experience than other k-pop idols later would. In the begining things were a bit more loose, still heavily western inspired but relaxed

To understand the way kpop is now you have to understand it's roots, not the superficial this song sounds like these other song, NO, the actual roots of how this industry even exists.

I could go into what was going on in America at the time while all this was happening but I might do a whole seperate thing on that. The asian american experience during the 80s and 90s had more to do with assimilating into white culture, while trying to distance itself from black culture almost entirely.

Meanwhile in Korea, things where changing in the opposite direction.

Now, stick with me, taking all of this into account looking at Exo's trainee process which for some members was right when the hip hop industry was at it's height/also the white boy singing black music craze was also very popular. From a business standpoint of course they want to promote a group that's hip hop inspired. After the incident with Hyun-jin it's clear they may have wanted to distance themself from the urban scene and cater to different audiences.

When Exo debuted they did have that style people were used to from edm, hard base, edm, electronic, not necessarily urban by any means. But they would have a turn in genre for their first full album which featured their first hip hop single Growl.

I consider it old school hip hop, but this is what Rolling Stone said about it

the original sounds like something that could easily be a Corbin Bleu song or something or a very young Chris Brown. This would be one of S.m's first real step back into the urban market with Exo, but it wouldn't be the last

They went full urban with Call Me Baby

and remade this demo to a more tame tune. I believe this is the first but not last sample of a black girlgroup they would use. This song has a sort of sample/reference with the 'say my name' which I believe is still dantaethekid's vocals. This using of the demo's singers vocals and remixing it was used one other time. But it's a blend. If you aren't aware of blending vocals, it's a smooth trick to use the original artist vocals and the new artists vocals to get something that sound like normal to the listener, but when you hear the singer sing it acapella something is missing.

S.m paid for all of this, so it's not stolen. That's not what this is about, it's more of a artistic overview and a behind of what went into creating Exo's themes, concepts and what made their music 'special'.

I had no idea Marz was the person who leaked a lot of the original versions, I knew about the older ones but hearing the demo's and now knowing a bit about the music industry...like hearing the original versions help so so much. Good on him.

I honestly thought black people were capping when they talked about what was going on in Kpop. Because, isn't black culture just uesd by everybody? Like they listen to music and their brain makes something similar. That's what I thought was happening...only partially. There is a whole world of information I didn't know about and I thought I knew a lot.

Now that the basis is out of the way, back to the creative process. I believe an integral part of music lasting has to be the emotional connection one has with the music. If an artist's music catalogue was taken away could they start over, if they didn't have songs made for them could they craft their own, or at least try? In a group that's easier, because members can rely on each other.

Using modern western examples, Justin Bieber certainly started out like many artists, he was handed exactly what he was going to sing. He had very little if any connection to his music at all.

Scooter Braun a former party organizer and the opposite of Lee soo man had connections that helped his young client get started in the music industry

unlike in Korea where many groups may never collab with another artist in their entire career. The west survives off of collabs and hit singles. It's a different system. Justin was helped by a Ludacris feature that gave his sound some validity. It helped him not seem like just a nerdy little kid singing about love.

He did not start off with hip hop and it took years before he developed into a sound he and his voice was comfortable with

But wait..there's another part we're missing. Justin wasn't a songwriter but he was a musician. Let me explain

He was not a composer yet, but he wasn't dead weight, he could play any instrument in a band and sing acapella at random. He even did so in one of his first youtube video's.

there's a lot and you can only put so many links on here but this is one of his busking performances

A common misconception when lumping all artists togther is saying they are all untalented or the label helped them sound like this or that. Anyone can get singing lessons, but if this kind of talent could just be put into anybody to sing like this acapella every parent in hollywood would be doing it. Every performer, disney kid would sound exactly like this. Justin was helped by the fact that he didn't need tremendous work on his voice. Only to maintain when he began touring and learning proper technique.

Sm vocal trainer Yoo Young Jin's first album Blues In Rhythm Single 1. and the demo's he does for sm clearly show his singing inspiration comes from Slow Jamz from the 1990. He helped out on Tell me what is love where D.O mimics his style. It becomes like a pattern when you see where they are pulling inspiration from. In terms of american style singing he is thought to have the best voice for rnb. That may not be his preferred style but with the vocal coach they gave him that's clearly what they wanted from him.

I never knew there was another person on this track and back in 2014 I didn't know about their individual vocal coaches and just assumed they were all trained equally. But it seems they gave vocalist specific teachers to improve their craft, screw the others I guess

Hearing it in 2024 it's clear the soul and feeling that existed in the 90s in Korea is..like it just doesn't exist anymore. Yoo youngjin is honestly amazing and I am wondering why he isn't like on Rain's level. Like, he's one of the best clearly. He recently left s.m I believe but he should make a fortune as a vocal coach wherever he goes though.

Good training is definitely important, but as a wise woman once said

Honestly there's nothing to explain it there are just some people that are like angels, there voices are out of this world. Yet, sometimes it's not that complex some people just have a knack for music, they create their own special sound and emotion it's incredibly personal they put their soul into what they do.

How s.m teaches...I really think it's similar to what this woman did. Like first time watching it but it's pretty obvious.

I'm not the most articulate person when it comes to singing, but it feels like they try to purposely use this style to create a flavor that may natural come when other artists are singing, but they do it purposely. Everyone in the company is kind of the same, the stop start, belting, quick talk. It leaves a sense of..how am I even sure what happened, no less what the quality of the vocals are. I like to listen to them cover songs in english because I'm able to tell what their natural rhythm is and not 'sm's rhythm for them' this is important because I like to know that outside of their job an artists likes music and sings music. Korean songs are find but I can tell they depend on vocal tricks they learn to get around actually having to master their voice completely like Yoo youngjin did. That takes mastery. Knowing every limit of your voice.

Not every singer can do this but most successful ones definitely can. Even talking should sound like singing. In general sm and extension Exo sing restrained and restricted even when belting so they hardly ever encounter those surprising vocal tone moments when an artist riffs freely.

I try to be fair yet also I want to use a small pool of artists, Exo is male musicians but I'm not talking in terms of vocal range but technique which anyone can learn.

In this one take Haley showcases a bit of her preferred vocal technique. She's able to belt, keep good breath control, project, and keep a consistent yet give emotion and go all the way with her lines without getting outside her vocal range. It takes self knowledge completely.

She actually has a wide range but rarely hits the notes Exo is known for hitting. It's her stability and projection and belting that stands out.

Also a lot of people say kpop is performance is choreography, which is true, but Rockers are known for running around jumping up and down during concerts, similar energy is being exerted. Not exact but very similar.

Early in Justin's career he was going through puberty. A very straining time for a singer because the voice gets deeper and you loose your original tone and possibly range. Many singers work very hard to maintain their voice if you ruin your voice that could be it for life.

In his early 20s honestly he still had a great voice but he also kind of treated his body poorly, more recently he's been trying to improve his health and get used to his older male range. His sound is different but the technique he learned still holds him. The biggest thing I want to show is the importance of being comfortable in your own range it's less about the falsetto's and belting and more a person mastering their own sound and voice.

That's what matters.

I personally in my opinion don't think s.m cares about this and only wants people to adhere to their vocal standard, this is bad for their overall health and will only lead to strained and bruised vocals. Impressing people is not worth declined quality in your natural singing voice.

I think many fans of singers are afraid of them showing their true voice, cracks and bruises and all. Personally for me it's the mark of a weathered person who's lived life. It's genuine, it leaves an impact on people.

apparently this was at drake's hockey party? I don't know a Canada thing, and he performed a private event, there were no official camera's so the person took the audio that was clear from some and tried their best to cut up and splice it like a seamless video. This is the song most people know him for, it's a completely different arrangement and a natural progression. His voice is rough, smooth, his belting is usually projecting a lot. That's the one thing even back in the day nobody could explain his chest voice, it's evident acapella and with the mic. He does lip sync at times but for the most part whenever he sings acapella it sounds the same or better because he has a crisp to his voice that gives it a unique 'texture'. It's like his voice is the instrument. The projection is crazy though particularly when he's outside. I don't want to put a lot of video's but I wish his talent would be studied more than the gossip. He's a very hurt person, but his talent is a wonder. It's unfair people are only appreciated after they are gone. His relationships, gossip and drama many times over shadow his God given abilities.

There's so many good vocal moments..but I have other stuff to talk about, he's just an example here.

I mainly mentioned him because he trained under the same people Exo's songs come from, but he was trained similar to how the oldies where trained..not in a gospel choir like Elvis but very very close

Justin sang worship songs on the street and mimicked mainly that sound as a child and other black artists, he copied them pretty much all day and night. Once you get into it...like it's a rabbit whole you won't believe. I'm just trying to fit a little bit of this circus into an article. Elvis basically was heavily inspired by the black Pentecostal church and in his movie in idk 2022 with Austin Butler you can see just how much black culture had an effect on him. Like people even me didn't understand. He allegedly really had a spiritual experience

there and it changed basically everything about him. Many didn't really like his style and they thought he was too much, too raunchy or whatever. So it took awhile for people to accept what he was doing.

There's a pattern hear somewhere, but it's a lot.

I'm mixing the history with the vocal analysis because it really does overlap, okay back to the black singers from back in the day. So as I was saying, black culture was having a renaissance away from the stereotypical stand up and snap boy groups of the past. Something new was burgeoning, the soulful sensual group that actually danced and walked around. There were so many black boy groups. This could have twelve parts if I go into every way the black entertainment industry has it's grasp on other music industries. And this is just the music, not even talking about the clothes, the hair, the slang, the walk the talk. It's not even making me upset anymore like this is anthropology at this point. So really we should be glad because I've yet to see so much absorption of black culture. Like it was under lockdown and was considered evil and dark for a long time but now it's like people can't get enough. It's honestly interesting.

So one group I always knew about but never went into was Hi-five who have this hit called the kissing game. A super schoolyard song that is like a black community staple. I never thought I'd analyze it or take a deeper look at it because I've been listening to it since childhood.

But looking back at this live performance that they looked like they just walked on stage and are just doing their thing. They seem so casual and calm like singing like that is just normal and anybody could do it. Two members passed away(rest in peace) it's just insane thinking about it. The black community doesn't even think twice about this kind of stuff it's like pretty much everybody has a cousin or two that sings just like this, or an aunt, uncle. It's like nothing. But in other races we praise something we wouldn't praise in our own race cause we'd expect better. Just something to think about.

Like lord, this precious talented child. Like it's funny cause he don't even take it serious and he's playing around. It's nothing to him, the notes he's hitting so many people have to try so hard. The deep bass to the belting, it's like I always wondered why black people belted like they did, I'm not even sure and I haven't found an answer as of yet.

I purposely chose him singing post puberty because him singing at like 11 literally isn't fair he literally sounds like an angel. From what I understand black boys have a long ribcage and large lung capacity, idk there's theories about it.

Also the audience is important ;a lot of acts mainly K-pop will never play anywhere they don't already have fans, the fans are already there. They will even fill the audiences with fans specifically for each filming session for a broadcast, so they can get the chants and avoid a dead crowd.

They were playing at the Apollo, which is a very tough crowd they boo a lot of people. Like black audiences can be notoriously rude so it's always a hit or miss even if people like you. Like idk if anybody ever got jumped but I wouldn't be surprised.

A big part of sm is their extensive trainee process which is supposed to produce global talent. I still wonder what actually is going on, like there are many cases where the people aren't ready or struggle dang near there whole careers to hold a not and dance properly. I really don't understand it. There is also varying things, on one hand some people train for a short time and debut young, so they aren't ready to sing properly and have to learn but then some train for too long of a time and it's treated like that hurt their talent instead of helped it. So there's hardly ever a person that debut's ready to sing, dance and perform with complete comfortability.

Even by the time they have a solo, their is usually little improvement and it may of been better if they debuted as a soloist and been allowed to grow if being in a group would inhibit their growth so much. Yet at the same time their soloist sometimes struggle as well to make a mark and go global.

The main goal of sm is to focus on fandom and pleasing the fans no matter what so they won't have to truly compete on a global level and will be able to fall back on fans support. Which leads to less cultural impact overall. An artist should be apart of everyday life, there music should be known and listened to passingly not because it's all there is. Variety is key, rock, hip hop, rap, pop being staples in American culture gives soul music credence cause people had choices. When the main acceptable thing is one genre and everyone feels inclined to like it to support the culture it leads to less good music. Variety means competition.

also I believe me using the younger but post pubescent versions of these boy groups are fair because I'm trying to get around Exo's vocal range.

It's not a young Justin completely and not an older Justin so I just used two different video's comparing growth.

I used Haley to cover the belting to compare the technique. I struggle putting into words completely so to give a basis I'm using musicians I actually listen to, in order to give a fair explanation on why I feel like for the kings of K pop operating on a global performance level they don't really hit for me. But not just that, also I just like talking about their impact and what made them a group, both good and bad. I really don't like stan culture, like I really don't. I feel like it took defending celebs way too far. I can't even find an honest review anymore. It's turned fans into babies who can't even articulate what they mean anymore. The brains are beyond fried and it's by choice. Simply to fit in and impress the next person.

I always question if I'm on the right path so I listened to Exo in the studio..I-- it's like average modern korean vocals.

Vocal teachers in Korea that actually want the kids to have vocal chords left after 35

Because forcing people to sing out of their range when you can instead let them mature, and marinate is so dumb. All to impress people and to keep up with 15 year old idols it's not smart.

A good example of proper technique is Bang Yedam, his parents are godtier stage parents, with their kid every step of the way. YG didn't make him, he can write good decent music on his own, he knows his worth. He was taught I'm supposing in a similar manner to the western artists. Very smart. He never went out of his range for a group and now he still has his voice and will continue to if he cares for it.

I remember watching this years ago, and I still to this day can't put into words everything I have stated Exo I suppose wasn't taught to do..but that's wrong. What I believe is similar to dance there's a breaking in process. You cannot just wake up one day and sing like Aretha Franklin or Mariah Carrey you must start from childhood and train your vocal chords. Also I'm assuming..it is something people may be born with. Training is apart of it but some have trained for close to almost 20 years and like I'm not finding what I find in the other artists even children/men/women from the Philippines can sing a Beyonce song randomly like I've studied a lot. It may be something unseen. Like who's gonna study this. Nobody really cares.

Anyway concerning Bang Yedam he hasn't sung many western songs post puberty but this cover of thinking bout you where he's barely raising his voice yet implements bass. He switches into chest voice effortlessly. Many mistake head voice for chest, if the neck veins are popping for someone slightly lowering there voice that's head voice. Chest kind of flows out. That's where the belting and heavy flow out of projection comes from. He has definitely at a very young age solidified his own voice

Like if you don't think this is impressive...lord it's like ..this is a talented child for real. Texture is so hard to come by, like he has real texture, he's aware of almost every facet and can bring out emotion like man there's some talented kids in this world. Like, studying the science of it makes it truly more enjoyable for me. The more Iearn it truly helps me understand more about God and how he works, like everybody is truly different and the best part is when a person does what they specifically are made to do. Forcing someone to become someone else, I hate that. Nobody should try to be anyone else but they encourage these kids to do it instead of figuring themselves out

These companies did not make their trainee's. The credit they are given is honestly blasphemous, it irks me. They helped them get famous but I blame any parent who didn't have their child taught outside these companies. They loose confidence, will struggle to become artists and will loose themselves in this industry.

No everyone isn't the same level of talent. With a lot of these people it's not their teaching, it's their knack for it plus genetics and anatomy. This is clear now, because if everyone were capable of singing just like this is kpop they would. His training helped but people have to stop taking away the self appreciation these people have. They are who they are because they were born with a specific set of skills.

I honestly don't think of western artists much when others berate the talent of others and lift some up. I always think about the precious children left behind because their looks aren't as up to par with the beauty standards, or their fanservice isn't as good.

It's sick to be honest. I understand people can like whatever they like but the lies are getting under my skin, false narratives. Certain talent suppressed. Over obsessed fans laughing at those who are actually more talented than their preferred person but they don't have clout or a huge fanbase so what do it matter. Meanwhile the company isn't even concerned with making good music. They just buy whatever sounds decent hire western producers to do most of the work the throw their staff on it to even it out so they seem self sufficient.

I actually feel better doing all this research cause I always go to the ends of the earth to figure out the truth. I wanted to do other things but this was on my heart for awhile.

I have more specific opinions on Exo but.. I don't know if people are ready for that, it's not rude at all but it's..I'm very blunt and do a lot of research so it's so true to me it would be nothing to say but a pain to explain. I will one day but I mainly just wanted to put non exo musicians here because sometimes you need a fresh perspective. Personally I can't imagine listening to kpop as much as most people do, I bet my perception would be messed up as well. I barely knew s.m had a sound or what techniques s.m used and how once you notice it you can hear the shortcomings of all of their singers, how badly they are straining themselves and how unhealthy it is.

I guess that will be another day when I feel like it. I barely do theories anymore like I used to because reality is way stranger than a theory. But this is just something I do for fun so it depends idk I kinda wanna look at some movies or comic books. It depends whatever is least stressful.

End of pt 2.

I'm patiently waiting for the day sean lew does his big one and finally choreographs for sm and saves the company from mediocrity cause southern hip hop does not go like how they've been doing it or teaching it.

Back in the day they used to have a good medium of american choreographers to assist the trainee's and idols and clean up their faults now it's like they don't' have that and it's soo evident.

I don't care the minute they got rid of that bald british or american dude they companies dancing went down hill. It became a weird oligarchy. Like I noticed kai's main teacher started recommending people he trained and they eventually ended up replacing most of the western choreographers. They brought in bailey sok

for peaches, the asian american southern swag hip hop extraordinaire that she is and it was way better than Mmmh.

It actually had so many different elements in it, but most don't really focus on the dancing. But for rover they settled on bada lee

who is mainly a krump battle dancer, it lacked authenticity. Not to get all so you think you can dance, but Jongin cannot do that and at sm they make no effort to really teach everyone learns on their own and they aren't really pushed to be at a certain standard.

Kasper and all those other choreographers and that studio they get most of the dancers from have a very specific skill sets.

They've been with sm for quite some time and I get that, loyalty but like the art world don't work like that they're gonna get left behind.

they got clout about 2013 from america's best dance crew made it to the quarter finals cool. We back to Korea with prestige

Did the olympics alongside exo.

I get sm always wants people with lots of prestige and clout but they tend to keep the same people for so long the creative image of sm gets stifled and left behind, now sm is desperately trying all the trends and fads to get their artists relevant to the youth again. Like it's a little late they should have been letting young creative directors in.

I don't care I'm always gonna advocate for new and upcoming artist with lots of passion. They make the world turn, they start the trends, they bring the most energy with their ideas.

Ignoring the performative style an artist specializes in and getting choreographers that make lite hood tik tok mashup dances is ruining the game. But if one must do it I think letting the western choreographers they bring in for ideas have some real creative freedom. It typically never fails I feel like they bring in these choreographers for a blueprint then let a korean choreographer twist it up a little bit so they never have to really give somebody credit. They never say western names hardly if ever only thank you team who contributed to the success but the korean choreographers get to show their face, do interviews, and idols basically have them as a part of the crew.

Like they are NOT slick. At all. I know the western choreographers get inspo from southern hip hop but at least they are transparent. They'll say this is inspired by this dance, two step, crank that, etc but it never is even a topic of discussion. Only full credit going to the k choreographers and yeah yeah some other people helped...like people forget why exo's choreo was so on point when they started

I really don't wanna make it seem like it's just black creators they try to shelve and ignore it's basically anyone non korean.

Tony Testa I remember him from back in the day but when I wanted to search him up to my surprise nobody really talked about him and the only choreographer people talk about training Kai is mainly Mihawk and Kasper...which is somewhat true.

Cause they're choreo is...like it's okay.. but Kai himself went into how Mihawk trained Exo and it was basically sm style, yelling, you're terrible, quit now, emotional abuse... wow you're famous I love you let's take pictures.. I don't care they gaslight them kids idc idc idc. Now that's trauma bonding.

But then there's the actual full truth that they and many other sm performers who have been praised for their dances around that time, were in fact trained by a real deal professional at one point, one of their staple choreographers was Tony Testa and he choreographed for Britney Spears(circus) and Michael Jackson(Testa was hired by director Kenny Ortega as an associate choreographer for Michael Jackson's final tour This Is It which obviously never got to happen but still)

This was dance on sunset? I think?

and suddenly the quality makes all the sense in the world

But again try and find it without knowing about it before hand you'd be like yeah no they never really had any western choreographers. There's no history books in Kpop if you were there you remember but if you weren't woops doesn't exist.

except it does.

Anyway too many people have this weird odd narrative Mihawk did it all and thank God for him like....how? He's just one of the only one's still there. Everybody else left cause Korea is trash to artists and creatives.

Like Kai cannot do that hood stuff, he wasn't trained for that at all. Now if sm invested more in there artists fine blame him but everybody knows these kids would dance in that basement for hours by themselves cause be honest they probably paid the teachers for a certain amount of time and then it's all on the kids. They absorb as much as they can but then it's up to them. He couldn't just learn such an advanced style like krumping from watching, you either grow up in the culture or you learn from someone who grew up in the culture. This is why you can't expect these Korean teachers to teach krumping. They know it but only cause they most likely learned from someone close to the source, it's not just something that can spread so easily.

sm has always like historically done this like it's just something they do they will never stop taking these itsy bitsy pieces of black culture and recycling it they can't help it. They've worked with tons of black artist to make the actual music and tend to get some western or black influenced people to try and create some type of instant quick success. But it's so subtle one could say it's not related at all.

I would say its a coincidence but knowing who trained shotaro like uhm no it's not,

Tiktok

he is a professional dancer and he dances!! #nct #shotaro #nctzen #czennie #dance #nctu #foryou #fypシ #fyp #foryoupage #viral #xyzbca

Sm knows exactly what company trained Shotaro and they are known to specialize in krumping and hip hop. The little time he spent at sm most likely taught him barely anything he was already trained when they got him. They fib so much and never let their artists go into detail. He trained for years with a company that trains people in the top boy groups in japan.

EXPG is a studio connected with the iconic Japanese boy group exile tribe where most of their members train.

I just get tired of people saying 'studio from japan or studio in america' like if it was Korean people would give the entire name...like what's wrong with giving people credit who deserve it.

They typically sometimes get sent to new york for 2 years I think? But that was in the old days it may be different now. This is because the japanese always understood if you want your artist to do black music they should not just sing black music but be under the cultural american influence in some sort of way.

I don't know what they aren't getting, Kai isn't perfect at every style. They just don't plan on ever investing any more money into him or really any of their artists.

He was more in his comfort zone at the beginning of exo with a heavy emphasis on jazz and contemporary style dance.

If there isn't jazz or contemporary at least in the basis of the dance that's where Kai starts to falter. Broadway theater style is what he's most comfortable in. But because of appearance they push urban dance on him.

They didn't even try with bomba

Rover was a soul crushing mix between crank that soulja boi and the macarena.

I was watching the video like nooo that's every viral black/ethnic dance in one and I already knew that tagged choreographer was korean. I wanna analyze rover later but I might get upset it's pretty like a big major 106 in park style mv/music video and dance but like that fact just got

Everything he specializes in sm is like nah they also make anyone with sm have this weird loyalty to where the artist never get to express and cultivate themselves as a human. They are stuck in some sort of child/star hybrid.

I don't know why in the world they didn't send exo or at least super m to millenium they literally rented out the studio where so many talented dancers choreograph and just flew out they korean choreographer so ignorant. They were so stubborn with that group.

I feel like if they were trained by young vibrant artist close to their age they could of gotten so much inspiration. Freedom is really a virus and why would a kpop company want them to have freedom

Like hire the boy he just traveling around asia in his spare time making some of the best choreography of his career and they're like lalalala let's hire other people he's worked and trained with but not him. If anyone could actually help fill in the gaps with some of sm's main dancers I think he could.

Anyway I just feel definitely by 2025 either super m is gonna be somewhat active or sm will be out of business but I still think sean and kai should at least meet up once at a dance conference they become friends and post jazzy contemporary dances online with the occasional obligatory bff's cooking in the kitchen youtube channel, like so many of the peebles do now and days. They both do the same artsy triple threat yet auditioning to be a stay at home husband type of thing, cooking, yoga, self care. Like it can be good for the brand I swear. I just have a thing for artsy people with the same vibes clicking up. It's not so far fetched cause he already worked with Jackson. I just want the two balls of sunshine to meet

blue spirulina kombucha

is he racist? No not in the traditional sense but he has had an idealized fetish for black aesthetic culture since a young age. But other peoples perception of what he does should not concern you. If people from black society interpret what he did as racist that is their right. Its a complex topic to be handled with care not a sassy response of oh sm made him do it. I will not just accept that foolish behavior. Let his behavior be interpreted by whoever is interpreting it. The tacky lawyer defense just makes black people feel more offended and angry. I just wish everyone would allow people to have their own opinion about art without getting over emotional. Especially if no one is being direspectful. Everyone has the right to their own opinion. Telling others to just leave and shut up is not a mature response.

Kpop is like an enigma the further you peel the creative layers back everything is black..then there's the colorism, featurism nd cultural hoodwinking

I dont wanna make a super drawn out post about the cultural cou d'état going on in kpop but like who else is gonna do it

i think I figured it out

Allison was an illusion the whole time. She was just a metaphor for the selfish girl within all of us. They were all Allison.