A crash course in Korean Pop.

Here's a snapshot of what you can expect from the rest of the current special so it's best you get familiar with these names while I haven't bombarded you with reviews! hahah. These are the acts that have left an impression on me - whether good or bad(mostly good but you get what I mean..) and are moderately to extremely famous to legendary in Korea.

The Gauge:

(my assessment based on some research, YT-hopping and reading some k pop blogs.. from highest to lowest)

LEGENDARY

EXTREMELY famous

REALLY famous

MODERATELY famous

This was what I was talking about when I said that if you take a song from the Wonder Girls and put English lyrics in, it would fit perfectly. I don't like Korean pop that way, it kind of defeats the purpose - I'd rather listen to the real thing..

That guy singing at the start is the 'legendary' JYP. He discovered Rain and turned him into Rain(redundant? hahah.) I acknowledge his greatness a bit for making Rain into a superstar but never when it comes to the Wonder Girls.(EXTREMELY famous)

Speaking of Rain...

Probably the most hardworking and brilliant Korean pop stars around. This guy owns his own talent company, has a clothing line and does all kinds of movies and TV shows on the side - how can you not think he's hardworking at the very least! hahah. The guy can sing and dance at the same time live(that has been proven on many occasions, mind you.) so what else do you need in a Korean pop star?(LEGENDARY)

Next.

So Lee Hyori is known as the Korean equivalent of Britney Spears(only Lee Hyori's a lot older than Britney, I think she's 30..). When I heard that I was put off a bit but when I heard that she was being linked to Rain for quite some time, I got a little curious. The song is OK but this is one of her older videos - I did quite enjoy her latest album(I wrote about one of the songs in a new music post a few weeks ago..). hmm.(Not so sure, but she may be somewhere between EXTREMELY famous and LEGENDARY)

Jewelry is a girl group about one generation older than the Brown Eyed Girls, Girls' Generation, Wonder Girls and everyone else in that circle. I think they split up a few years ago but then had a reunion last year(was it last year? not sure.)

When I first heard this song I wasn't so convinced and I'm still not that into the song but something makes me want to listen to it. I don't know what the crap it is but it's certainly leaving a good impression on me as time passes. They also hold the record for second-longest run of a single at number one on one of the music shows and were beaten by Girls' Generation's Gee.(REALLY famous)

How many times have I stressed the fact that Girls' Generation is probably the fun-est and cutest thing since anything?

See what I mean? They're adorable, they've got the most brilliantly fun pop songs and they can actually sing in tune - those are really hard to find in a girl group and yet they're so important. Oh, and the middle 8 of this song in particular is fantastic. Kudos to the girls and to SM entertainment - these girls always find new ways to amaze me.(EXTREMELY FAMOUS)

A lot of people will know BoA as one of the few Koreans who've released an English album and have had more than moderate success in Japan but we forget that there was a time when she was just like all the other Kpop stars.

To be honest with you, Atlantis Princess(the album where this song came from) was probably my first shot at Korean pop(I think it was in sixth grade, my best friend was a huge fan back then..) - I adored it, still do.(LEGENDARY)

There are also quite a few active and veteran boybands running around Korea, thank God. They even have the biggest boyband in the world(I'm not kidding) - Super Junior(13 members. Enough said.)

That was Big Bang, one of the many boybands floating around. What I don't understand though is why they're all so serious. I know a few girl groups are really, really fun and all but does that mean the guys have to beat people up or have this really serious music video? I not kidding, even the SS501 videos are serious! hahah. This song has something appealing about it, that's for sure.(REALLY famous)

This girl doesn't sound like this anymore but I thought I'd put her in anyway.

Son Dambi was dubbed as a female version of Rain and judging by the video I see where they were coming from but I don't know what happened to her after she took a year off and came back with this strange music video and an even stranger song - not my cup of tea. This video was pretty good and she can definitely dance if you were to ask me although she sounds a bit like Lee Hyori at certain points of the song.(MODERATELY FAMOUS)

Another girl group. See what I mean when I said there were tons of them?

Uh, the main reason why I put 2NE1 here is because one of the girls actually tried to make it big here(she joined a 'start search'-type contest and came in second then they paired her up with the guy who won and they were everywhere for a few months) but then at the height of her popularity she went back to Korea. Hmph. Well now she's in the female version of Big Bang(was it Big Bang? I think I got my research right.) and they're poised to be huge. Good for her. The band is a little more serious than the others(even Wonder Girls..) and the song isn't my cup of tea but something attracts me to them. Will wait for more material. Oh, and this video has two versions - the other version is here.(MODERATELY FAMOUS, gaining momentum)

I can't help myself - I have to put this in.

It can get hilarious at points, especially when you find out that the guy's name is Wheesung but if you listen to it without any outside factors it's a pretty good try at a pretty good Craig David song. I'd love to say that it's a complete sanitation of a perfectly good Craig David song and yes, a lot of a groove that the original one had is gone but it's not THAT bad. Believe me, we've all heard worse - namely the Eoghan Quigg album and I honestly think this is a lot better than that. He tried, let's give that much credit to the guy.(MODERATELY FAMOUS)

Phew. Well that was about three hours' worth of YT-hopping and sifting out all the stuff I liked and didn't. More detailed reviews and stuff in the coming days! yay.