K-Pop wishlist for 2012
Korean Pop Music (K-Pop) albums have consistently topped sales charts across record bars in the Philippines for the past two years. K-Pop artists like Super Junior, Girls' Generation, 2NE1, Big Bang, Wonder Girls, SHINee, 2PM, B2ST, CNBLUE and many others have become familiar names among music fanatics whether K-Pop fans or not. Local distributors like Universal Records, PolyEast Records, and Warner Music have invested in K-Pop and sales figures attest they are not regretting it.
Still, there are K-Pop artists who are very successful in their own right but are yet to be distributed in the country. It seems that some of the top K-Pop artists are yet to be noticed by local distributors. Here's my little K-Pop artist wishlist for 2012. What a treat it will be to see these artists' albums on local record bar shelves.
JYJ
JYJ is composed of Korean superstars Jaejoong, Yoochun, and Junsu. The trio, considered as Hallyu stars, were former members of one of the biggest K-Pop idol groups ever--TVXQ. The sheer power of the JYJ fandom is enough to ensure high sales figures for any local release of a JYJ album. The group's most recent album "In Heaven" reported sales figures of 350,000 copies as of October 2011, just a few weeks of its release date. What is more impressive is that JYJ achieved this sales performance without active promotions. Imagine how much more sales can be generated if the members actually promoted their album?! "In Heaven" has already been released in several versions including a special edition CD+DVD. JYJ has also released other studio albums including their English album "The Beginning" and two mini albums entitled "The..." (Japanese) and "Their Rooms: Our Story" (Korean).
Boyfriend
In the recently concluded 3rd Philippine K-Pop Convention, idol group Boyfriend won the "Rookie of the Year" award. Boyfriend is composed of Youngmin, Kwangmin, Minwoo, Donghyun, Hyunseong, and Jeongmin and is one of the most successful debuts of 2011. Boyfriend debuted in May 26, 2011 with a song produced by Brave Brothers. Who can resist the boyish charms of these boys along with the unique selling proposition of having gorgeous twins as members! The year 2012 has indeed been good for Boyfriend. The group has won several rookie awards including the Newcomer Award at the Seoul Music Awards and became YouTube celebrities with the impressive hits of their music videos "Boyfriend", "Don't Touch My Girl", and "I'll Be There". I hope the boys release their full-length album soon and here's hoping a Philippine distributor will pick it up!
Shinhwa
Seasoned K-Pop fans know Shinhwa and if you don't know them yet, you better catch up as the longest running K-Pop idol group is set to make a comeback this March. Shinhwa is composed of six members including Eric Mun (leader and rapper), Shin Hye Sung (lead vocal), Lee Min Woo (dancer, vocal), Kim Dong Wan (sub-vocal), Jun Jin (rapper and dancer), and Andy Lee (rapper). Considered the "idol of idols", Shinhwa is well respected by K-Pop stars such as Super Junior, Big Bang, B2ST, SHINee, among others. Their story of survival in the challenging K-Pop industry inspires fans everywhere. The name Shinhwa was even mentioned by ZE:A during their exclusive interview with Yahoo! Philippines OMG! earlier this month. The comeback album of Shinhwa is their newest one in almost 4 years. With more than 50 million records sold worldwide, Shinhwa is indeed one K-Pop act who cannot be overlooked.
miss A
miss A is a girl group that offers a unique blend of Korean and Chinese talents. The group, under the tutelage of the legendary JYP or Park Jin Young, is composed of two Korean and two Chinese artists namely Fei, Jia, Min and Suzy. miss A debuted in 2010 and quickly became the girl group to beat. With chart topping hits under their belt, miss A conquered the K-Pop world through their unforgettable single "Good Girl, Bad Girl" which won countless awards for "Song of the Year". They released their first full-length album in 2011 entitled "A Class" which contained the infectious track "Goodbye Baby". During the later part of 2011, the girls of miss A were busy with their Chinese debut. The smoking talents and sexy image of miss A can surely heat up any stage and record bar shelves for that matter.
Brown Eyed Girls
Want a doze of sexy K-Pop dance music? Look no further as the Brown Eyed Girls or B.E.G. can deliver and surpass expectations. The Brown Eyed Girls composed of Jea, Miryo, Gain, and Narsha is one of the most respected K-Pop girl groups. Known for their perfectionist attitude, the Brown Eyed Girls have released well crafted dance/electronica albums including Sound G (2009) and Sixth Sense (2011). The Brown Eyed Girls were responsible for crossover K-Pop hits such as "Abracadabra", "Sign," and "Sixth Sense". Watch their music videos and you'll see why the Brown Eyed Girls are not just another K-Pop girl group.
Secret
Secret is the principal girl group of TS Entertainment. Composed of four members namely Hyosung, Zinger, Jieun and Sunhwa, Secret is a versatile girl group able to perform strong dance heavy tracks as well as soft "cute" numbers. Secret initially debuted as a dance group with the single "I Want You Back" but really got noticed after the release of their smashing dance tracks "Magic" and "Madonna". In 2011, the girls surprisingly changed their concept to the "cute girl next door" look along with their singles "Shy Boy" and "Starlight Moonlight". This concept gamble worked wonders as "Shy Boy" became the girls' first number 1 and was nominated for "Song of the Year" during the MAMA awards. Secret's first full-length album "Moving in Secret" was released in Korea last October. Aside from this, the girls have also released mini albums including "Secret Time" and "Madonna".
Are there any K-Pop artists you love whose albums are not available in the local record bar? Tell us about them through our comment box!
Catherine Deen blogs for Yahoo! Philippines OMG! She lives, eats and breathes Korean music, cuisine, telenovelas, and pop culture. Follow her on Twitter @cathsdeen.
