Sexual objectification of female idols is a well-known problem that currently exists in K-pop culture. It is a phenomenon that is evidently shown in almost all female idol’s music videos. From the enticing choreography and the provocative wardrobe all the way to the director’s choice of the camera angles (Lin and Rudolf 2017: 28), female … Continue reading “Insane”
Perhaps ninety-nine percent of the K-pop songs we hear today (as opposed to popular Korean music of the early 21st century), there is some amount of English mixed into the Korean lyrics. Korea attempts to transform mainstream music from a form of authentic Korean culture to a hybridization of East meets West. The recent change … Continue reading Ailee as an Example of Attempting to Hybridize K-Pop
In Eun-Young Jung’s article, “K-pop idols, social media, and the remaking of the Korean Wave”, he accredits the extensive social media for allowing Hallyu K-pop culture to be popular worldwide (Jung 2015: 83). As mentioned in the article, in the past the spread of K-pop and Hallyu was very limited to neighboring Asian countries, and … Continue reading Social media as a critical tool in shaping an idol’s popularity
Music videos in K-pop often engage audiences through story telling, visual stimulation and identifiability. Holt suggests in recent years music has transitioned from an aural form of communication to an audiovisual convergence (2015, 50) as a result of the increase of an online presence in mainstream media. Now, the video is just as important as … Continue reading “Heaven”
Since the late 2000s, the boom of the K-pop music industry has significantly aided in Korea’s economic growth (Lin and Rudolf 2017: 27). With such a heavy influence in the music industry, the world turns its eyes onto K-pop music and celebrities as inspiration for their own dreams and aspirations. Unfortunately, many of K-pop’s contents, … Continue reading “Mind Your Own Business”
Television singing competitions have become widespread following the success of American Idol and have created a new path for becoming a professional musician (Cho et al 2018: 3). This paper will discuss how a key factor of Ailee’s success resulted from her participation in singing competitions. In competitions, aspiring musicians show off their potential talents … Continue reading Ailee’s Career Through Television Singing Competitions
In 2013, Ailee released the song “U&I” as part of her new album “A’s Doll House”, and the music video has close to 10 million views on YouTube. The powerful vocals, stunning visuals and American-style theme are all examples of cultural hybridization to appeal to foreign audiences. As Ono and Kwon (2013, 206) stated, this … Continue reading “U&I”
K-Pop idols are often seen as the perfect role models to the public. The fans’ demand for perfection is often followed by negative backlash when there is a transgression that conflicts with their expectations of the artist (Shin 2015, 135). Ailee’s photo scandal in 2013 is an example of this statement by Shin. A scandal … Continue reading Ailee and Spectatorship
Popular culture has greatly influenced how we perceive the regions of South Korea (hereafter Korea) and East Asia; one way is through the dissemination and consumption of popular cultural products. However, because popular culture is vast and constantly changing due to social and cultural influences, I argue that we should use more reliable factors to … Continue reading Popular Culture and Region-Making
In Korean popular music (K-pop), where female idols are often objectified and expected to fit into the ideal, feminine image, Ailee’s “Singing Got Better” music video (MV) can be seen as a cathartic eulogy reflecting on overcoming a gender-imbalanced relationship. In particular, the MV and the lyrics allude to elements of female objectification and sexism, … Continue reading “Singing Got Better”
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