K-pop and Asian America
2012-01-28 10:52 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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omonatheydidIn many ways, the Hallyu phenomenon in America is deeply rooted in financial and economic matters. While the Hallyu effect throughout Asia has come to hold both economic and social implications, the spread of Korean culture in America is not magnanimous enough to affect American social values. Currently, K-pop’s biggest strides into the American market are largely focused on economics and business: the Wonder Girls are collabing with Nick Cannon, one of the biggest names in tween entertainment, and SNSD was signed onto Interscope Records, one of America’s largest music labels. Of course, many acknowledge that the idea of having Asian entertainers in an entertainment market saturated with non-Asians is interesting, at best. But largely speaking, it’s far from being a principal concern.
However, one cannot deny that there’s something quite staggering about the idea of Asian entertainers taking such a brazen approach to the American entertainment market. For years, Asian-American entertainers have struggled to break into an entertainment scene that has proven itself to be prejudiced towards racial minorities, particularly Asians. Currently, many Asian-American entertainers have taken to social media platforms such as Youtube to show off their craft. But despite the flood of Asian-American “celebs” on Youtube, racial imbalance and prejudice in American entertainment still make themselves known.
These prejudices are all the more highlighted when looking at America’s current pop music scene. And yes, while Far East Movement made a huge splash on the American pop scene with “Like A G6” last year, not a lot of strides towards Asian-American acceptance in the music industry have been made since then. While many Americans now admit (some begrudgingly) that Asians can rap, what about the Asians who can sing and dance and work a stage just as well as Beyonce or Lady Gaga? For many Americans, the idea of an Asian Beyonce is nearly unthinkable. Despite the progress made by Asian-Americans who have found success in the entertainment industry, the American perception of Asians on the pop scene is still very skewed, and by relation, the negative stereotypes of Asians within American society continue to persist.
K-pop is an unlikely solution to this problem, and one that would be almost inconceivable several years ago. But as the musical aesthetic of K-pop begins to resemble American pop more and more, the idea of K-pop being “American-pop-with-Korean-lyrics” is becoming a less bizarre idea. Granted, there’s a visual component about K-pop that is unique to itself, and it’s obvious American pop has long graduated from the boyband trend to which K-pop seems to still be so attached. But apart from structural and promotional differences, the gap in musical aesthetics between American pop and Korean pop is shrinking. The only notable difference? Korean pop is performed by a cast of all-Asian faces.
For many Asian-American pop star hopefuls, debuting as a K-pop singer might mean more than having the chance to stand on a stage in front of thousands of adoring fans. In a sense, K-pop has become one of the few opportunities for Asian-Americans to have a fair shot at achieving stardom. The presence of “global auditions” in America and Canada have helped to bring the dream one step closer for many Asian-Americans. And while many non-Asian fans bemoan the so-called “prejudice” of having a preference for Asian-American auditionees, one must consider that, for many Asian-Americans, the Western entertainment world has become prejudicially off-limits, and that these global auditions may be their sole path to stardom.
In light of SNSD’s upcoming appearance on The David Letterman Show and Live with Kelly, it’s interesting to note that Korean-American members Jessica and Tiffany are finally making their mainstream American “debut,” albeit in a remarkably roundabout manner. What is even more interesting is the fact that Tiffany was initially discovered when she auditioned for Kollaboration back in 2004. Kollaboration is an annual talent show that is held in several cities throughout America, and serves to showcase Asian-American talent in light of the lack of an Asian presence in the American entertainment scene. In many ways, Kollaboration is a political statement, and the fact that Tiffany was discovered via Kollaboration and is now making an American debut through K-pop is very interesting. On more than one occasion, Tiffany has said that her ultimate dream is to return to America and sing on an American stage. At the surface, SNSD’s American debut seems to bring Tiffany a big step closer to that dream. But now that Tiffany’s achieved K-pop stardom, does that actually block off any real opportunity for her to become an American star as well?
While the musical aesthetics of K-pop and American pop are similar, the two nonetheless exist as separate entities. This particularly pertains to America, home to a culture that has somehow grown to ostracize and reject anything deemed as “foreign.” It’s an unlikely response, considering America’s reputation as being the world’s “melting pot,” but just take a look at the infamous “Kids React to K-pop” video and you’ve got a pretty good explanation. It seems to me that many Americans instinctually regard Asian pop acts as a cheap “knock-off” of a non-Asian, popular American pop act. How many times has 2NE1 been regarded as the Asian Lady Gaga? Taeyang as the Asian Chris Brown? SHINee as a troupe of Asian Justin Biebers? Why must Asian pop artists almost always be contextualized by a non-Asian look-a-like, and why are they almost always seen as being somewhat inferior to the so-called “original”? There is a good reason why K-pop won’t make it in America, and it lies in the fact that the American view of anything “foreign” is still one laced with negativity and judgment.
So is K-pop a good thing for Asian-America? Not really — K-pop has the potential to unintentionally create new stereotypes about Asians, while doing nothing to create greater dimensionality and exposure for the Asian-American music community. But for Asian-Americans whose only aspirations are manifested in the dream of holding a mic and standing on a stage and have nothing to do with the goal of giving Asian-Americans a louder voice in the American pop scene, K-pop holds a world of opportunity. It’s somewhat sad that the only way in which Asian-Americans can have a fair shot at being a pop artist is available only outside of America. As an Asian-American myself with an invested interest in both domestic and international pop music scenes, I feel somewhat conflicted about the relationship between Asian-America and K-pop. While I wish that the flashyness and shine of K-pop would help to break negative stereotypes about Asian-Americans, the chances of this actually happening (or rather, not backfiring) are nonetheless slim.
Source: seoulbeats
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Date: 2012-01-28 01:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-28 01:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-28 03:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-28 03:36 pm (UTC)And this was an interesting read, one of the better opinion articles ever posted here.
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Date: 2012-01-28 04:35 pm (UTC)I agree about what the author said about them being compared to another artist. And of course anything foreign won't be accepted into America because number one, you have to know how to speak English. Anything non-English do you think they are going to take the time to listen? And if K-Pop makes it into America, it won't be Korean Pop Music. It will be just Pop music. That's just the way it is.
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Date: 2012-01-28 05:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-28 05:32 pm (UTC)And if K-Pop makes it into America, it won't be Korean Pop Music. It will be just Pop music. That's just the way it is.
Do you mean the sound of the music would change?
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Date: 2012-01-29 02:24 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2012-01-28 05:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-28 09:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-29 03:11 am (UTC)I know there are already plenty of pockets in the U.S. where there are a lot of Asian-Americans and for the non-Asians, being surrounded by that culture leads to an embrace of not just food and people and language, but popular culture as well. Hell, they played K-pop in the halls at my high school sometimes and no one thought it was weird. I'm nervous for the inevitable backlash from some groups but I think a multicultural attitude will prevail.
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Date: 2012-01-29 03:48 am (UTC)Yeah, backlash will be impossible to avoid, but I look forward to pointing out to people saying "BUT THEY ARE ASIAN AND DIFFERENT FROM ME!!!" how stupid and racist they are.
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Date: 2012-01-28 05:27 pm (UTC)Stole the words from me. lol
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Date: 2012-01-28 06:04 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2012-01-28 07:28 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2012-01-28 09:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-29 06:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-29 09:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-28 06:27 pm (UTC)Look, I'm Asian-American too. While I'm realistic about Kpop's prospects in the US (that is, will be an uphill battle), I firmly believe that planning, marketing and execution far outweigh the seemingly necessary pessism that the writer associates with being "different". If you're going to look at everything hoping to victimize yourself, you're gonna get nowhere. People want to compare you to a very famous, established artist? Ok, let them. They'll keep paying attention to you and eventually see you have your own unique musical stylings. The idea of an Asian Beyonce is inconceivable? Prove them wrong.
It's this kind of riffraff that holds artists back more than anything. I'm sure those serious about their craft are well aware of the challenges they'll have to face. Rather than just disparage an industry and offer no solution, we need to stress tenacity and--yes, optimism. Take everything in stride, plan carefully, start small. Asians jn American pop? I don't see why not.
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Date: 2012-01-28 06:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-28 06:40 pm (UTC)I just feel like I've read too many of these articles. Why is no one writing one on the progress that HAS happened and then examined the reasons for it? Or be more forward-looking and explore the potential between Kpop and tween markets? That kind of thing.
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Date: 2012-01-28 06:58 pm (UTC)I think if Tiffany had debuted in America, she wouldn't have made it. She would just have been lost in the sea of other American artists. She's my bias but she doesn't have what it takes to be a star by herself. Girls' Generation was the right step for her cuz I mean, look at where they are right now.
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Date: 2012-01-28 07:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-29 03:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-28 08:29 pm (UTC)I welcome all asian culture...in Asia.
But, in USA....I can't stand fobby...like it's..ahhh...like the weird cute-sy crap...and girl group...peace signs(!!!!)....STAY AWAY.
I don't think America is interested in having an Asian star anyway...especially with those fobby engrish accents -_-
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Date: 2012-01-29 03:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-29 03:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-29 10:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-29 06:02 am (UTC)YUL KWON MOTHERFUCKERS
INTELLIGENT, SEXSHII, MUSCULAR AND NON-STEREOTYPICAL ASIAN. made the list for sexiest man thingymajig
so all im tryna say is the view of asians need to be brought back to reality and not stereotyped
Keni styles T_T Britian-born Thai pornstar OMFG THAT ACCENT AND THAT COCK UNFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
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Date: 2012-01-29 10:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 02:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-29 11:32 am (UTC)i just don't understand why they aren't pursuing groups that actually have potential here. SNSD will always be infinitely more popular in places like japan or china that appreciate cutesy music.
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Date: 2012-01-29 11:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-29 06:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-29 01:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-29 01:37 pm (UTC)In the end of the day we're all human being, we all bleed, we all share emotions.
This color thing is so bullshit.