I love the Japanese releases of K-pop artists. Maybe it was because I was a J-Pop fan way before K-pop entered my radar, but I like the differences in style that the J-Pop albums bring out. U-Kiss, Girls' Generation, 2PM, SHINee... some of their Japanese albums get played just as often as their Korean counterparts on my Ipod. Some artists, including MYNAME and The Boss, sound so great in Japanese that their J-pop comebacks sometimes mean more to me than their Korean ones do.
Also, I very much appreciate how much the Asian music industry has done to open countries like Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, etc to each other. Perhaps the fact that they share musical influences is small in the face of politics, but it's still a step in the right direction that Korean groups can debut in Japan and Japanese, Korean, and Chinese bands include members of varying Asian descent.
That being said, there's always been something that has annoyed me a bit about the Japanese Hallyu wave, and that's how soon we've forgotten the sacrifices of the artists that paved the way for this movement. Most groups, male groups especially, enter the K-Pop industry with the expectation that they'll make a Japanese debut eventually. Japan even approaches certain groups and requests that they release material for Japanese fans; some groups have even been asked to debut in Japan before releasing anything in Korea.
Flashback several years ago to when TVXQ made their Japanese debut. SM Entertainment didn't want them to be Hallyu idols; they wanted the group to be J-pop idols, with a completely different sound from their TVXQ releases. And so Tohoshinki was born. The five members were thrust from the height of their Korean career into Japan to start at the bottom. They couldn't speak the language yet, and since they couldn't be true J-pop stars if they appeared with translators, they simply had to forgo reality shows until they could speak with fluidity. Without those promotions, it was difficult to face-off properly against Japanese powerhouses in the male idol industry like SMAP, Arashi, and EXILE.
Of course, we all know Tohoshinki picked up Japanese, and went on to become the first non-Japanese artist in 24 years to hit number one on the Oricon charts multiple times. Their popularity overseas remains to this date, and much of their promoting takes place in Japan rather than Korea. And when it comes to how Tohoshinki is viewed, they did dodge becoming Hallyu stars-- they are very much Japanese idols when promoting as Tohoshinki.
The new Hallyu stars certainly can't be blamed for SM Entertainment's way of positioning Tohoshinki, but I think there's a reason why it hasn't really been repeated again and most idols like U-KISS and FT Island have been allowed to pick up Japanese at their own pace. Though THSK is the exact kind of J-pop star the label wanted, they had to go through some awful experiences emotionally to make that dream happen. Whenever the members talk about their early experience in Japan, it's clear to see they were depressed at the time and on the verge of giving up on themselves after being forced to navigate an industry and country they were entirely unfamiliar with without much in the way of help. When Jaejoong, Yoochun, and Junsu brought their lawsuit against SM, it was also clear to see that they felt the company had overstepped the line in their treatment of the group during their Japanese debut.
These days, groups can have a relatively successful career in Japan knowing only conversational Japanese and taking on the Hallyu style rather than shifting most of the way into J-Pop style. I enjoy the Hallyu wave and all it has to offer, but sometimes I'm filled with sadness that Tohoshinki had to suffer so much in paving the road for the others. I hope when the other Korean idols begin their Japanese careers they remember the challenges of those who came before them!
No comments:
Post a Comment