Can the WonderGirls impact the US?

[-ochre.livejournal.com]

There hasn’t been a strong presence of Asians or Asian-Americans in the music of the United States. Several artists like BoA and Utada have carved very small niches for their fans online. One of the latest groups to attempt breaking into the US market is Korea’s Wonder Girls. Managed by JYP Entertainment, The Wonder Girls have become minor internet sensations with their music videos for “Tell Me” and “Nobody.” One could find thousands of vocal covers, dance-covers, homemade English versions, and music video parodies of many of the Wonder Girls’ discography.

The Wonder Girls have even made concert tours in the United States under JYP Entertainment hitting New York City and Los Angeles. The girls have spent the last few months training in English as well as reproducing their music from Korean. Soon they will be releasing their hits “Nobody” and “Tell Me” into the English market. Can the girls hit the Billboard charts with steam or will they be like Utada and bubble in the upper 100s of the Top 100? Here are a few advantages the Wonder Girls have over Boa and Utada.



They have a tour lined up – The Wonder Girls have announced that they will serve as the opening act to the Jonas Brothers. Some fans are a little confused about the idea (read: they are not fans of the Jonas Brothers), but when one realizes that all the girls are younger than 25 it makes some sense. With the Jonas Brothers being huge in the teen sector, the Wonder Girls can capture a huge market.

They have very catchy music – I don’t speak Korean and I love their music. Why? Because it has this universal pop sound. I don’t need to know what they are saying because it’s fun to listen to. For all I know they could be talking about feminine hygiene and I would still love their music. The real question is if their songs will lose something in translation.

They have aggressive management – I truly think that Park Jin Young, founder of JYP Entertainment, knows what he is doing. He’s striking while the iron is hot getting the girls to learn not only English, but Japanese, and Chinese as well.

Fashion Sense – I’m often jealous of petite Asian women because they often can wear a combination of different clothes and mysteriously pull it off. The girls have a very colorful fashion sense and all of them could be trend setters. The “Nobody” video is a take on the film Dreamgirls but they often perform the song in different outfits. If one looks online they have different costumes spreading out the gamut of 60s fashion when they perform “Nobody” in different venues. Their fashion will not stagnate at 50s/60s girl group clothes, but rather be influenced by both European and Asian fashion trends.

They are young – There is the slight chance that the girls will fail in the US, but they still have time to attempt another hit. They have the youth and stamina to tour their songs. They know the usefulness of websites like Facebook and MySpace. They all have Twitter accounts. The girls can make a grassroots push using the internet fan base to gain fame.

As an Asian-American, I hope that the Wonder Girls succeed. Young Asians don’t have many Asian role models, and very few (a few American Idol contestants) are singers.


Source: blogcritics

Agree, disagree? Other reasons?

Comments

[hoyah.livejournal.com]

i think they've actually got a good chance, myself, especially if jyp keeps promoting them. also, if they're touring with jonas bros, they're aiming for a younger audience. and i think they've got the image to suit that audience. if they aimed for something broader or an older audience, they might be met with a lot of criticism, but younger fans are into whatever's catchy and cool. and wg are that. xD

[ever-wonders.livejournal.com]

this one..
huwahua.. agree 100%

[girlknees.livejournal.com]

okay, this is really silly but, can people please please please decide if it's "wondergirls" or "wonder girls"? >

[bwukbwukbwuk.livejournal.com]

Imo, they aren't really minor (well maybe in comparison to us internet sensations they are), but people all around are breaking out into 'nobody'.

I think they'll succeed, JYP knows what he's doing. :/

[alex-haruko.livejournal.com]

well, he certainly didn't know what he was doing with Bi, but I think opening for JB is a good decision

[tankmachine.livejournal.com]

i think they can actually

[bunglur.livejournal.com]

min had an abortion so jyp got rid of her but idk what he is doing w/g soul..

or j lim even

[bulgocrazyi.livejournal.com]

Honestly I think the American Music Industry got over the whole boyband/girlband thing. I think they will succeed to a certain point but not get super far.

[tankmachine.livejournal.com]

there are still some who are doing well (Jonas Bros, PCD, etc) but generally, it has

[majimak-bb.livejournal.com]

i think they'll do well. my bb sister is a jo bro fan and she's starting to like wg [and sj and 2pm and... etc]. although it may be a bit bold of me to say that she's a good representative sample for the rest of america lol

[d-magix.livejournal.com]

This is great. I bet wondergirls will make it big! Tbh, even with the poppy music and style, their awesomeness just fits in right in the music industry.

GJGJ Girls! I hope you all have a wonderful debut in America!

[thenylonkid.livejournal.com]

I ALWAYS forget BoA is only 22. I'm so sorry BoA!!

[sincronia.livejournal.com]

I'm confident that they will succeed. Shortly after my friends and my performance of the Nobody song at our school, we got several people hooked onto these girls, who claimed that the song was stuck in their head for days. Their girlgroup image is fresh, new, and well, cute, compared to say, the Pussycat Dolls. We'll see what happens. I wish them the best of luck in their endeavors.

[kawaiisis86.livejournal.com]

i agree about the fresh new look. I think people are getting tired of the PCD slut act now. At least girls of all ages and races can have a nice image to look up to with catchy sweet songs. I think we need that right now.

[tinyknots.livejournal.com]

I think they will get a lot of antis simply because they're with the Jonas Brothers.

[xcherryblossomx.livejournal.com]

but so is jordin sparks and demi so IDK

[bgurl1210.livejournal.com]

As much as I like the wonder girls I think they should bring their butts back to Korea. The US music industry is a hard place to make it big. You can have all the connections that JYP has and still bomb. I think they should focus on Asia first and then move on up to the US. I'll support them in anyway I can but they will have to stay in the US for 1 to 2 years to really make it.

[thenylonkid.livejournal.com]

Yes, they have all those things but, they need to speak English fluently. Sorry to say.

But I wish them success!

[stopthedisco.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I have a feeling that people are gonna make fun of their accents and just ignore them based on that. :/

[jia-zhang.livejournal.com]

I don't really think they'll succeed, even with the massive press thanks to the Jonas Brothers *gag*. Mostly because 1) North America is still very "into itself", and while it's "cool" to be Asian these days, NA, especially the States, are still very prone to promoting homegrown talents, and 2) WG are not natural born English speakers, and you can tell, and it's awkward. I'd rather not understand a thing and hear them speak Korean than hear them speak half-broken English.

Though, who knows...if they've got an alliance with Evil Disney (the SM of NA now >_>;), they may just have a fighting chance.

[paperlet.livejournal.com]

I think they can succeed as long as they make them look different from each other (wearing identical outfits won't help) and if they up the sexy even more. Even if it's selling out, I don't think Americans like the cutesy image that much. But Wonder Girls is already sexy, so they just have to up it even more.

[aurait.livejournal.com]

I'm kind of unclear on what the measure of success is supposed to be. I think they have a fair shot at creating a couple of novelty hits and JYP does seem to have a pretty good grasp of social media and that should help them significantly. But I think a lot of what they have going for them is kitsch novelty, and that whatever success they achieve will be relatively brief.

[mardigrasmaven.livejournal.com]

They have very catchy music – I don’t speak Korean and I love their music. Why? Because it has this universal pop sound. I don’t need to know what they are saying because it’s fun to listen to. For all I know they could be talking about feminine hygiene and I would still love their music. The real question is if their songs will lose something in translation.

Fashion Sense – I’m often jealous of petite Asian women because they often can wear a combination of different clothes and mysteriously pull it off. The girls have a very colorful fashion sense and all of them could be trend setters. The “Nobody” video is a take on the film Dreamgirls but they often perform the song in different outfits. If one looks online they have different costumes spreading out the gamut of 60s fashion when they perform “Nobody” in different venues. Their fashion will not stagnate at 50s/60s girl group clothes, but rather be influenced by both European and Asian fashion trends.

These are the two main factors that can help them in the US. I agree with ALL the points, but in the American market today, catchy and trendy are where you need to be in order to have that "IT" factor that can take you somewhere.

I hope they succeed as well, it will be a big step for Asians/Asian Americans. It's their turn to take a bigger chunk of the spotlight.

[kayleen-san.livejournal.com]

I am afraid (but hope I am wrong) that they won't make it too far because they're a band. The only girl group I can think that is popular right now is Pussycat Dolls, and really, it's just Nicole singing with a bunch of girls dancing behind her. Girl bands tend to have a harder time making it into the market then male groups.

[unreal.livejournal.com]

Fashion Sense
You don't need it. Paris Hilton is famous too while 99% of the time she looks like thrash.

but when one realizes that all the girls are younger than 25 it makes some sense
younger then 25? they mean younger then 16. all those Jonas fans are teen girls.

Their English needs to get way better. And touring with the Jonas Brothers won't mean you famous instantly.

I still don't believe they will get famous ever in the U.S. Americans like their own artists. And a couple of UK artists.

[turdferguson.livejournal.com]

You just never know. The stars and the planets might be all aligned and they might succeed. Plus I think the US needs moar cute than sexy right now. This country is oversaturated with sexy that there's barely any innocence anymore. But at the same time I think that WG needs that sexy image to succeed. But hey at least it's not a korean boy band. Boy bands are definitely out. Like if there was a new boy band out there I will not even bat an eye.

And PCD is still a girl band despite the fact there's one lead singer and the rest are backup. It's just that the conventions and dynamic here are different. But I went to the Britney/PCD show in San Jose and if I didnt know any better I would've thought those other girls were just backup dancers. Hm. Shows how much of a leader Nicole is compared to ones in Korea

[tyreling.livejournal.com]

About the last comment... does that explain why PCD is having conflicts amongst each other? Because there's more Nicole than all the rest of PCD combined.

[tyreling.livejournal.com]

... I'm hesitant to place all my expectations on WG's US debut even if I do look forward to their remake of "Nobody".

[fraash.livejournal.com]

I WANT to say Im confident that they'll be successful, but I think that it wont do too well. |:
but I do wish them the best of luck .________.

[rawrcookie.livejournal.com]

They have very catchy music – I don’t speak Korean and I love their music. Why? Because it has this universal pop sound.

I think it depends on the individual's music preference, not because it's 'universal'. I don't know what they're saying either, but I still don't like their music. Sure, it's not horrible, but it's just not my thing.

[imhitomi.livejournal.com]

I'm beginning to think they could woop BoA at this taking on America trend even though I've been a BoA fan for years.
The fact that there is more than one girl in Wonder Girls gives them a huge advantage already. If you didn't like BoA, well she lost your support. You can dislike several of the Wonder Girls, but if just one captures your attention enough, they've got you.

I'm not a Jonas Bros fan at all but that's a pretty bright idea.

But if they dont know English well enough, they're screwed. Simple as that.

[shanny-w.livejournal.com]

Miley Cyrus and Jonas Bro's are with Disney and they make the company hundreds of millions of dollars. WG probably have a better chance tapping into the younger crowd.