AOA Bullying

More K=pop sad news. Recently, two of the artists I listened to (and even saw in concert) committed suicide. The first was Sulli from f(x) followed by Hara from KARA. I think Sulli was depressed from the pressure of being an idol. She started in f(x) while she was very young. For Hara, I think it was abuse from her boyfriend, who was recently sentenced to only 1 year in prison for a whole bunch of crimes.


Sulli


Hara

Now the focus is on Mina from AOA (Ace of Angels). I followed them since their debut since they had a live band subgroup. Mina was my favorite since she was the bass player and us bass players have to stick together. They've had a lot of hits but in 2016, the lead singer ChoA left the group citing mental health issues. then in 2019, Mina left the group as well to focus on acting. However, recently she posted a bunch of text about how she was bullied by the group's leader, Jimin, for over 10 years. She even included a photo of scars on her wrist from suicide cutting attempts. It's really sad. Even though I like the music and the spectacle of K-Pop, the business practices are disgusting. From slave contracts to working their artists non-stop, K-Pop agencies don't have a good reputation.


AOA - Mina is third from the left

All the text is in Korean but here are translations from several Reddit posts:

In an Instagram post, former AOA member Kwon Mina reveals she left the group because she was bullied for ten years and considered committing suicide

Kwon Mina apologizes for worrying fans + reveals that all AOA members visited her house and Jimin gave her an apology

It was hard reading her posts since I can imagine her committing suicide. I'm glad all the members went to visit her, even Jimin, though Jimin's apologies don't seem sincere. Hopefully Mina can get some counseling help so she can be in a better place mentally.


AOA Black (band) - Front row is Mina, ChoA, and Jimin

Sulli, RIP

News from Korea that Sulli, an ex-member of K-pop girl group f(x), committed suicide.

https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20191014008500315

I followed Sulli on Instagram for awhile, before I unfollowed a bunch of people. It does appear that social media abuse played a large part in her suicide; she received a lot of criticism for not behaving like a regular "idol" star. The lack of attention on mental health and super toxic online community in Korea contributes to having one of the highest rates of suicide in a developed country. Sad.

I hope she finally found peace.

Feeling Special

[MV] Feeling Special - TWICE

New song from TWICE. In about a week, it has 68M views on YouTube. For most K-pop songs, I don't even bother finding English translation for lyrics since most are inane anyway. For Feeling Special however, I heard it was somewhat relevant to what's happening to TWICE. Girl groups, for some reason, gets a lot of hate, probably from insecure Korean girls but whatever. Anyway, Mina (one of the Japanese members) has been out due to anxiety and they weren't sure if she was going to participate in this song. Here are the lyrics for her part:

자꾸 숨고만 싶어서
마주 하기가 싫어서
모든 게 의미를 잃은 듯이
내가 의미를 잃은 듯이
가만히 주저앉아 있을 때

I just wanted to hide
Didn't wanna face the world
As if everything has lost meaning
As if I have lost meaning
I just sat there still

If you read it with what is happening to her in mind, it's kinda sad. I can't read any Korean yet I know the idols in girl groups are under a ton of stress. I understand liking some groups and not others, but there is never any justification for hate messages against certain groups.

Zimzalabim

[MV] Zimzalabim - Red Velvet

I guess the genre for Red Velvet is not having one. Unlike some K-pop groups whose songs all sound similar (Lovelyz, GFriends, TWICE), RV songs are all over the map. This one is weird. I'm not really into the song but like the bass during the Zimzalabim sections.

(Ha, until I wrote this post, I thought the song name was Zimbalazim.)

EXID Performance Compilation

OK, one more. MBC put together performance compilations for several K-pop groups. Here is the one for EXID since their debut to about a month ago (before "I Love You"). Thie video is a 80 minutes long, all in glorious 1080p. I downloaded it and the file was 2.4GB.



Originally EXID had six members but split into two groups after their first release. Solji and Hyelin later joined Hani, LE, and Jeonghwa to form the five member today; the other three girls added one and formed BESTie. I think they disbanded last year? The video also contain special stages and performances on King of Masked Singer. They only showed Solji, Hani, and Hyelin but all five have performed on the show which is pretty crazy for a K-pop girl group since usually not all members are good singers and you have to sing live on KOMS.

내 남자친구에게 (To My Boyfriend)

Ha, I just "found" this performance. I didn't know they did this special stage. The song is 내 남자친구에게 or To My Boyfriend by Fin.K.L from 1998. Along with S.E.S, Fin.K.L was probably one of the most famous girl groups in K-pop, ever.

Here is the special stage with Seolhyun (AOA), Tzuyu (TWICE), and Hani (EXID):



This is one of the original performances by Fin.K.L 20 years ago:



I think Lee Hyori is the 3rd girl to sing in the old video.

Here is another special by the same three girls in the first video, singing some Wonder Girls songs:



BTW, Tzuyu (first girl to sing in the last video) is not Korean. She is actually from Taiwan.

알러뷰 (I LOVE YOU) - EXID

New single from EXID with all 5 members after two long years...



[MV] 알러뷰 (I LOVE YOU) - EXID

Solji was out for almost two years with hyperthyroidism. She ended up having surgery done to fix the problem and came back to win 5x as King of Masked Singer (post below). EXID's single releases have been pretty good but their B-sides are better IMHO.

고백 - King of Masked Singer Episode 174

고백 - Solji from EXID
King of Masked Singer Episode 174

This was the final song for Solji on her comeback on King of Masked Singer after taking 2 years off to recover from hyperthyroidism. I've liked EXID since their debut in 2012 with six members (including members of BESTie). Solji was initially their vocal trainer but after the group split, she was added to EXID along with Hyelin. I'll link to the rest of her KOMS performances in another post.

Banana Allergy Monkey (?)

[MV] Banana Allergy Monkey - OH MY GIRL BANHANA

New song from a Oh My Girl subgroup. I haven't listened to the song or watch the entire MV yet. I posted this because in the first scene of the MV, she is typing on a Commodore PET computer. I used one of these in high school and haven't seen one in 30+ years. Also, they don't have color displays. I believe they had 40 character x 24 line green CRTs.

EXID Asis Tour - Seoul

EXID's management company (Banana Culture) put up the entire 1:40 concert on YouTube. They've been around for 5+ years but really became popular in the past 2 years. They've release many singles but I think their non-title songs are better. The group leader, Solji, has been out for over a year now due to hyperthyroidism. I believe she just had an operation to reduce the swelling in her eyes so hope she gets better.

There's a surprise at ~1:23 mark.

Only One - Solji & Hani (EXID)

[MV] Only One - Solji and Hani (EXID)

(Music video is missing some of the song)

I miss you so much, my love
So I called out your name like crazy
But there is no answer

Whenever I miss you, I follow your footsteps
Walking by myself
I wonder what you’re doing right now, do you even think of me?
I feel like I’ve lost everything, my love

You made me live
I’m so thankful that I got to know you
The only thing I can do
Is to reminisce you in the fading photo

i feel you are the only one for me
i feel you are the only one for me
You’re not by my side right now
But I still remain in that time
i feel you are the only one for me
You won’t be able to hear this
But I’m calling out to you alone in this place
you are my only one

I keep remembering
The words you said to me
(All of the feelings)
Forgetting them is harder than dying

You made me smile
I’m so thankful that I fell in love with you
The only thing I can do
Is to reminisce you in the past memories

i feel you are the only one for me
i feel you are the only one for me
You’re not by my side right now
But I still remain in that time
i feel you are the only one for me
You won’t be able to hear this
But I’m calling out to you alone in this place
you are my only one

I still long for you every day
No matter how much I call out to you, I can’t see you
The places we went to together
Now I remain alone in those times

i feel you are the only one for me
i feel you are the only one for me
You’re not by my side right now
But I still remain in that time
i feel you are the only one for me
You won’t be able to hear this
But I’m calling out to you alone in this place
you are my only one

I miss you so much, my love
So I called out your name like crazy
But there is no answer

From: Lyricsbuzz.com

Fresh Adventure

New favorite song for now. Song was released summer of last year. The tall pretty girl is Solbin and she's been on a few variety shows lately.


Fresh Adventure - LABOUM

I Can See Your Voice

ICSYV is a Korean TV show where a celebrity guest (usually singer/group) guesses whether contestants are skilled singers or tone-deaf. Round 1 is looking at visuals only; round 2 is lip-syncing; round 3 varies but currently other celebrity panelists are assigned to one of the remaining contestants and advocates for them during Q&A time. If a tone-deaf person manages to survive to the end, they win ~$5000; if it's a skilled singer, then they get to sing a duet with the guest artist. It's funnier than it sounds.

Season 4 Episode 8
Most recent subtitled episode


EXID and their final choice (Season 4 Episode 9)

New Songs from K-pop Girl Groups

Lots of new songs or "comebacks" from more popular girl groups recently:


[MV] Wow! - Lovelyz


[MV] FINGERTIP - GFRIEND


[MV] KNOCK KNOCK - TWICE


[MV] A Girl Like Me - Gugudan


[MV] Fine - Taeyeon (SNSD)

I also "discovered" a duo called Bolbbangol4 from watching Weekly Idol. The main vocalist has a unique voice.


[MV] Galaxy - Bolbbalgan4


[Perf] Galaxy - Bolbbalgan4 [Weekly Idol]

Produce 101

I'm about a year late but I binge watched all 11 episodes of Produce 101. It is a reality survival show where they take 101 female trainees at various management agencies and pick 11 to debut as a girl group for one year. I think they said about 50 agencies sent trainees/contestants but noticeably missing were SM and YG, and JYPE only sent one girl.

Anyway, I already knew about the group and actually bought a signed CD of their last official mini-album before they disbanded. I haven't watched the actual TV show so I didn't know any of the backstories. It was more interesting than I thought. I think only snippets are available on YouTube. To watch the entire thing with English subtitles, go here.


[MV] Very Very Very - I.O.I

This is their last promoted single. My favorite out of the 11 that made it in the end is probably Kim Chungha, mainly because she lived in Texas and speaks English. Jeon Somi also speaks English and is half-Canadian but she's a bit young/immature/hyper. There are several Chinese girls on the show as well; the one from China made it to the final 11 while a girl from Hong Kong was cut in the 3rd round. The group of 11 (I.O.I) was here in LA last year at KCON. I probably should have gone since they have now disbanded and are no more.


[Perf] Intro + Dream Girls - I.O.I (KCON LA 2016)

Bing Bing - AOA

[MV] Bing Bing - AOA

L.I.E

L.I.E - EXID

따끔

Sad song :(


따끔 (Sting) - MAMAMOO

English lyric I found online:

With only you missing from my life,
I thought I would be just fine
Similar to the feeling of losing a ring that I wore daily
But in the midst of meeting someone new,
Strangely I called for you
I really thought I erased all memories of you

You woo woo woo
What are you, that still,
I am full of thoughts about you

Once in a while when my eyes sting,
I know it’s just the wind blowing
But it feels like you are calling me and I cry
And when my heart stings like this,
By then I realize it is you who I still love

Woo~ I guess I got used to your warm hand
And how you stood to my left
While matching your pace to mine
Occasionally when I’m walking alone
The emptiness in place of your shadow alongside mine feels strange

You woo woo woo
You probably moved on and have forgotten all about me
But I can’t do the same, that is not easy for me

Once in a while when my eyes sting,
I know it’s just the wind blowing
But it feels like you are calling me and I cry
And when my heart stings like this,
By then I realize all of me still loves you

I’ve been doing great up until now, I have endured well
That’s what I’ve told myself

But when it gets too painful to tolerate,
what should I do then?
Thoughts about you may make me sting, but from now on
I will try my best to stay strong, all because it is you

ELSA

Eunji, Luna, Solar, Ailee

I don't think it's an "official" name for the subgroup but they should sing together more often. At least Solar got equal time for this song; the first time they sang together Solar didn't get any solo parts.



I've seen two out of the four in concert. Ailee was at a local Indian casino recently but I didn't get a chance to see her.

K-Hip-Hop

One of our analysts at work is a closet hip-hop rapper. It was on his resume when he applied and of course, we make him bust a rhyme during the interview, He hears me talk about going to K-pop concerts so he was curious. Instead of Girls' Generation or Apink, I showed him these two videos:


Sse SSe SSe - Yezi (feat. Gilme, KITTIB, and Ahn Soo-min)

They are some of the contestants on Unpretty Rapstar 2 on Mnet. I didn't watch much of it but heard is was rigged since some of the contestants already signed album deals with Mnet before the show, and of course they won... though the audience consensus was that the winner wasn't the best rapper. The show also starred Hyolin from SISTAR and Yubin from Wonder Girls. I'm beginning to like Yezi, and Soo-min is cute in the video.


Stand Up - Basick (feat. MAMAMOO)

I show him this mainly because of MAMAMOO. Anyway, I think the overall impression was favorable. He liked Basick but mentioned that it sounded a lot like Macklemore.