120502 Girls’ Generation Featured in LA Times Article ‘K-Pop Enters American Pop Consciousness’
Girls’ Generation, alongside several other K-pop artists, were recently mentioned in an LA Times article covering the expansion and growth of the K-pop scene in the United States.
The article began by covering Girls’ Generation’s performance of the “The Boys” on “Late Show with David Letterman”. The author commented that the group pulled off a look that wouldn’t be out of place at a “goth cocktail party”, but praised the performance and song as something “new yet uncannily familiar on the American pop scene”. Tiffany’s reaction upon learning they’d be performing on the show was also humorously recounted.
The writer went on to note that Girls’ Generation is “arguably the biggest name in…Korean pop music culture”, and that the group and K-Pop as a whole have won over fans of various nationalities with ” techno, hip-hop, R&B and top-40 [sounds]” and “singles [that] are often focused vehicles for elaborate music videos and rarely less than bonkers good fun.”
Further, he noted that “Gee” essentially “transformed the country’s role in the Asian pop landscape”, and elaborated on its success with the MV’s 70 million hits on YouTube and how Girls’ Generation became “the first non-Japanese Asian girl group to top Japan’s singles charts.”
Regarding their American expansion, the author noted the gradual increase of performances in the US, including last year’s SMTOWN Live in New York, as an indication of how far the genre has come since the days when it was only accessible by social media networks. Being able to connect with their fanbase abroad is especially important for idols born in the US like Tiffany, who said, “There were so many more opportunities in K-Pop for a young Asian-American singer. It took some adjusting to move there [Korea] in my teen years. But fans respected that this group wasn’t put together overnight, it took a lot of practice to learn our different values and strengths.”
Lastly, the difficulties regarding the lack of an American “hub” were noted, as the US lacks a music show line-up like those present in Korea, and how artists like 2NE1, the Wonder Girls, and Girls’ Generation themselves are finding ways around this. The Madison Square Garden concert was again highlighted as a big step forward, and the piece concluded with a hopeful reflection from Tiffany: “Coming back to America to pursue music is a dream. Not just because it’s America, but because this is just the beginning.”
Source: LA Times
Written by: SNSDave@soshified
Edited by: MoonSoshi9@soshified, michaelroni@soshified
