This music is influenced by many different music styles such as rap, electronic dance, rock, experimental reggae, and many others. However, this mass phenomenon is increasing its popularity due to the amazing performances they give in their would tours, selling experiences instead of just music.
Here are five k-pop bands you won’t be able to live without from now on.
BTS
BTS (Bangtan Boys) is probably the most famous k-pop group at the moment. The band is the first Korean act to top the Billboard 200 with their studio album Love Yourself: Tear (2018) and have since hit the top of the U.S. chart making BTS the fastest group since the Beatles to earn four number one albums in less than two years.
It is a seven-member boy band -whose names are Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and JungKook- and formed in Seoul in 2010 whose music has evolved to include a wide range of music genres. Most of their lyrics focus on personal and social matters such as mental health, youth and loss amongst others.
Their performances are another great cause of their popularity. First of all, their styling is major -as well as the vast majority of k-pop groups- because they complement each other’s outfits. They don’t wear the same clothes but they do wear the same color range, making them a unity. Besides that, their music videos aesthetic is very polished and clean, from the light and colors to the scenarios and movements of the camera, as well as the choreography.
Their latest music video is Agust D ‘대취타’ which music video is mesmerizing. The coloring on the images suits perfectly with the scenarios of the video and every gesture and turn are perfectly captured by the cameras. The clothing is also a very bold aspect of the video you should take a look at.
It is impossible for us to tell you which video you shouldn’t miss. For that reason we recommend you take a look at as many of their music videos as possible. It won’t disappoint you at all! Choosing by aesthetic we’d choose the following video.
Black Pink
This girl k-pop group formed by four girls –Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa– that debuted in 2016 with their album Square One reaching the number-one hit on the Billboard World Digital Songs chart with their song “Boombayah”. They are also the highest-charting female K-pop group. They are also the first female K-pop group to have four number-one singles on Billboard‘s World Digital Song Sales chart, amongst other important achievements.
BTS did reach the US market first by collaborating with Steve Aoki and so are doing Black Pink now. They are collaborating with non-other than Lady Gaga in her new album yet to be released Chromatica. There is no doubt this launch will be a boost for Black Pink’s career in many ways.
One common feature all these k-pop bands have is the styling and Black Pink is not the exception. Korean style is probably the most avant-garde in the worldwide fashion industry. In particular, what most stands out from this band is the scenarios they use for their music videos. They mostly have pink elements all around and sometimes blue ones, creating a very characteristic environment.
Black Pink has some hot music such as Boombayah, Playing with fire, DDU-DU DDU-DU or Whistle but we recommend you to listen to their last song Kill this love.
EXO
EXO is a nine-member k-pop band –Xiumin, Suho, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai and Sehun– debuting for the first time in 2012, being named “the biggest boy band in the world” by media. Their first album XOXO released in 2013 was a total success, making Exo the best-selling Korean artist in twelve years. They have won many awards but their sixth album Don’t Mess Up My Tempo is their highest-charting album on the US Billboard 200 and also their best selling album.
It must be said that this band might be the one who goes harder on their music videos. They use a wide range of artistic elements, as it can bee seen in their video ‘Obsession‘ which contains great lighting, stunning looks and outfits, and many other elements. It can be said that this group is the one who uses more strong and powerful music and so it mirrors their music videos and style.
This strength can be seen in the video mentioned called “Obsession” that you should definitely not miss, but once again, we recommend you to watch as many of their music videos as possible because they are masterpieces.
Got7
The band is composed of seven members: JB, Mark, Jackson, Jinyoung, Youngjae, BamBam, and Yugyeom. They debuted in 2014, reaching a number two on the Gaon Album Chart and number one on Billboard’s World Albums Chart.
As well as the other bands, every k-pop band tends to translate their songs into Japanese and sometimes Chinese to also reach those markets. That way they get more popularity amongst Asian countries.
Got7 may be considered a softer version of EXO. From their featured music videos on YouTube, their aesthetic is similar to EXO’s but with a more subtle touch. They also use a wide range of artistic elements, making shapes with their bodies and amazing compositions, taking care of the color palette used and video editing.
Their most visually pleasing video is “Not by the moon” in which they use very monochromatic and royal elements, creating a performance where Got7 and their dancers create amazing shapes and movements. Besides that, visual effects are another common factor all k-pop bands have, adding weird elements to enhance their videos to a cinematographic level.
Twice
Twice is a girl k-pop band composed of nine members: Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu. This group was formed in the 2015 reality program called Sixteen, whose aim was to select the members of this band. The song “Cheer Up” charted at number 1 on the Gaon Digital Chart and became the best-performing single of the year and became the highest-selling k-pop girl group with their album “Twicecoaster: Lane 1”
As it happens with girl k-pop bands, their music videos tend to be focused on a more “feminine” approach by using lighter colors, mostly pink and blue. However, they also use some bold scenarios with lots of colors and elements around them. Of course, the choreography is sublime, with clean moves and interacting with every group member, creating a great sensation of dynamism.
The video that best shows what we have mentioned is “Feel special” in which you can really see the wealth of their skills.
There is no doubt why k-pop is so successful today. Their performances are sublime and all their choreographies are really clean and dynamic and their styling is also a really important feature of these bands.
In conclusion, we all know Korean people really know how to choose their best artists and how to make them use every talent they have. They work very very hard. That is why Korean bands are so successful.
