CherriiPOP Music show 27/8/10 playlist

We had an awesome show this week! Hope you guys enjoyed all the tracks we played. Here is the playlist!

Brave brothers (feat. Jo Kwon) – I want to cry
Taeyang – I’ll be there
Jerry Yan –
Coco Lee – East West
Rain – Only you
Neyo and Utada – Do you
AKB48 – Heavy rotation (Current No. 1 song in Japan)
Utada Hikaru – Apple and Cinnamon
Big Bang – Beautiful Hangover
Nishino Kana - If

Project Lotus Update – More Celebrity Judges are named

Exciting news! Members of the Spice Girls are signed on to judge and mentor the contestants on Project Lotus (names haven’t been disclosed yet, I would love Posh to do it). Hong Kong Superstar Karen Mok was also named as a judge along with former GRAMMY Foundation Chair Steve Schnur.

As mentioned in my previous entries, Project Lotus will be made in to a TV reality show that is slated to be broadcasted early next year. It won’t be anything like ‘Idol’, ‘X Factor’ because the public doesn’t get to vote for their favourite. The show will be purely based on the journey to find the superstar girl band. The judges will have complete control of selecting the girls that make up the band. It will be interesting to see if the public agrees with their decision once the members of the band has been unveiled.

The TV show plan to celebrate the good side of the girls characters only. It sounds like they want everyone to get along like a happy family, as seen in Masterchef. The majority of reality TV shows want drama and cattiness for entertainment value, like Top Model, Big Brother. So it’ll be interesting to see if Project Lotus will make good TV viewing.

The girls will be from five different countries so there will be cultural differences and possibly language barriers if their English isn’t strong. The girls would be in a competitive environment and I expect friction might occur. Creative director-producer Eliot Kennedy expects the girls to bond closely with each other and form a strong team network in this journey.

The five finalists from Korea have been selected! The lucky girls have not been unveiled to the public yet.

A total of 16 songs have already been composed by the talented songwriters that include Gary Barlow. Popular music in the five countries are uniquely different, would they try to blend it all in or give the girls a poppy sound like Spice girls, R’n’B sound like Pussycat Dolls. The question is how will Project Lotus make a musical impact to the world?

Odd things I saw…. Fuel Pumps, Korea

When I was in Korea, I was walking around in the morning and walked pass the Petrol Station. In Australia, all the pumps are lined up on the ground. In Korea, it’s not like that at all. The fuel pumps are actually dangling down from the ceiling. The ground below is actually empty space. It’s not self service in Korea either, there are attendants that fill up the car for you. You don’t have to get out of your car at all. To get the pump from the ceiling, the attendant has to pull on a lever. I think it’s a pretty cool idea to have pumps in the ceiling because you know you will get all the petrol out of the pump. When I fill up, I know some fuel is left behind in the tangled pump line, but you can’t do anything about it. Also, pumps in the ceiling saves space.

Miss Universe 2010

The biggest beauty pageant in the whole universe, galaxy was broadcasted on the 24th of August in the Party Capital of USA, Las Vegas. Beauties from 83 nations participated in this years Miss Universe competition.

I love watching Miss Universe, its part of my staple TV viewing for the year alongside the Oscars, Emmys, Logies. The glamour, the national costume contest, question time its all just so entertaining to watch.

Asia was well represented this year with China, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia and India taking part this year. Interestingly Vietnam withdrew from competition. Philippines did incredibly well this year making it to top 5. She had a lot of support from the audience, every time she was on stage her cheer squad cheered so loud for her. None of the other girls got quite the same reception.

Australia’s Jesinta Campbell, a fresh faced 19 year old Brisbane girl did Australia very proud with her 2nd runner up and Miss Congeniality win. Her National costume was a bit odd, she wore high heeled ugg boots… enough said lol, but she is proud of her costume and I think that is awesome.

The national costume contest is a highlight of the show for me. I love seeing the outrageously, bright, feathery over the top costumes the contestants wear. Paris wore the Eiffel Tower on her head. Maybe Australia should have worn the Opera House on her head? I thought China’s costume was very simple this year, not really a standout. The costumes are quite theatrical and huge! It must need its own suitcase when packing.

In the evening wear category, most girls chose soft pastel colours. Mexico wore a show stopping cherry red dress. She really stood out in that category and the dress had so much movement when she walked, it really flattered her body. She won the contest! Congrats to Miss Mexico!

Project Lotus Update – Yoo Do Hyun named as the celebrity judge

On the 25th August, Rocker Yoo Do Hyun of YB was named as the celebrity judge in Project Lotus, the search for Asia’s Spice Girls.

In a press conference, Yoo Do Hyun explained why he decided to get involved with Project Lotus.
“I was often asked why it was me that decided to participate in this project. And I answered that I did not want to make a girl group that only the West likes, but a girl group that was very distinct and varied in terms of their music style. I’m not too familiar in the girl group area, but I do know that I want to give my varied music tastes.”

“I’m not sure if I could add such diverse musical style, but I believe this is a good opportunity and decided to participate. I think that this girl group will be different from many of the currently existing girl and boy groups. It seems like there will be serious and deep music composition work involved. In addition to feeling honored, I am also enjoying my participation in this project.”
Yoo do Hyun and other judges will travel around Asia to select the 20 finalists that will undergo gruelling training and elimination process. Girls will be eliminated each week until five are left standing. The lucky five will then fly to England to record their debut album which will be released next year, straight after the reality series have finished airing.

Everything has been mapped out for Project Lotus, the search is on for the five faces of the group. Good luck to all the girls at the auditions.

Japan Toilets get even more brilliant! They can now do routine health checks.

To sum it up, Japanese toilets are freaking awesome! With delightful functions such as seat warmer, posterior shower jets, hot air bottom dryers, perfume bursts, to music… it sure makes the ordinary toilet look incredibly dull and mediocre.

It seems the inventors have thought of everything already for the ultimate toilet… but wait! A new and improved toilet model has just been released with more amazing functions. You can now get instantaneous health checks every time you go to the toilet. The new ‘intelligent’ model was designed with Japan’s ageing population in mind. These new toilets offer urine analysis, blood pressure and body temperature readings. It also can weigh the person with an inbuilt floor scale.

The chairman of Toto said he got the idea when he was at hospital and saw people waiting for health checks. He thought it would be better for them if they could do the tests at home. These toilets will also encourage people to be more health conscious.

All the health data collected by the toilet is displayed on a wall mounted computer screen and automatically sent to your personal computer. People can conveniently email the results to their doctor.

These toilets are quite pricey retailing from 350,000 to 500,000 yen (which equates to 4,100 to 5,850 US dollars).

CherriiPOP show 20/8/10 playlist

Thanks for listening to CherriiPOP this week!!!! Here is the playlist

SMAP - This is Love
Utada Hikaru - Keep Tryin
Rain - Slowly
Cecillia Cheung - The Stars Speak My Wishes 星語心愿
Son Dambi - Cry eye
Koda Kumi - Lollipop
Clazziquai - Come to me
2pm - I hate you
One meter - Jerry Yan
Fly to the sky - I want
Jang Nara - 나도 여자랍니다

Odd things I saw…. Tokyo Tower Mascot, Japan

This is where I will tell stories and post photos of odd things I saw on holiday or in my day to day life. Tokyo tower is a popular tourist destination in Tokyo. I was lucky enough to go there this year. It was constructed between 1057-58, it costed 2.8million yen ($8.4million) to build. It's design was inspired by the Eiffel Tower, but they made it smaller and red. It is quite striking in the city because of its red color and it lights up charmingly at night time. The view up there is amazing, getting a bird's eye view of Tokyo.

Now the odd thing I saw at Tokyo Tower was the Mascot called Noppon, they are two identical brothers. However, one wears blue overalls and the other red overalls. To describe the oddness of them, they have long pink heads that look like crayons... In the gift shop little kids are buying these Tokyo Tower plushies and hugging them. I took a photo with one and you guys should check it out to see what I am talking about (LOL). I think they are suppose to be the Tokyo Tower? I have absolutely no idea really. If you know what they are suppose to be, let me know.

Australia Iron chefs have been found

Last week I told you guys that they were making Iron Chef Australia! Well, yesterday they announced who the Iron Chefs are. They are (drumroll please) Guy Grossi, Neil Perry and Guillaume Brahimi. I think they will each specialise in a cuisine, like french, italian. I don't think any of them specialise in Japanese or Chinese so will the third cuisine be Australian? Will they be wearing bright colorful silk chef clothing? I'm anxious to find out who the host is, I hope he is comedic and flamboyant like the Japanese Host! It adds more entertainment. Iron Chef Australia will air on Channel 7 but it hasn't been announced when. Keep an eye out for it.

Project Lotus Update – Call backs for next live audition held August 24

Project Lotus Update: The search for Asia's answer to the Spice Girls have heaten up! Just a reminder, Project Lotus is a reality TV show in search of 5 talented girls across Asia to form a girl band that will be launched world wide. To audition girls can either submit an online video or attend a live audition at various venues in different countries. Huge news came out this week! All the girls that progressed to the next stage of auditions were contacted with the good news! Last week I mentioned that I got the impression that it would be advantageous for girls to also attend the live audition and not just submit a video audition only. From Project Lotus's facebook page, and reading the wall posts it appears that none of the girls who only submitted a video audition made it to the next stage.

Just to remind you guys, I did audition for Project Lotus. I submitted a video only, I didn't attend the live auditions. Well, the results... not good news guys, I guess my Quest to be part of a Girl Band has been shattered. I got no call-back. I know, I think they overlooked some awesome talent (LOL). Have you watched my auditon video? I sing Justin Bieber (LOL). The second round auditions are held next week on August 24, all the girls that made it through will be performing on stage in front of a panel of celebrity judges. I'm curious to find out who the judges are! Good luck to all the girls next week! I will keep you updated on Project Lotus.

Son Dambi – The Female version of RAIN

A few years ago I took Hip Hop classes at Monash University. I absolutely loved in and during that time I had a quest to be the female version of Rain. In dance classes you dance in front of a mirror so you can see your form and... I saw how tragic I was LOL! When I do the moves it doesn't look quite cool or right really. I still tried to work on my hip hop attitude and dance moves. The thing is, someone has beaten me to the title of female Rain and that is Son Dambi! She made her debut 3 years ago when she was 24. During her rigorous training years she studied hip hop under famous choreographers in the US. She loved dancing so much she paid 6K each month for her dancing lessons in the US, whilst over there she fell in love with the intense dance style Krumping. It is evident that Son Dambi is an awesome dancer. Not only did she receive the best dance training she also has the talent and natural ability. She can pick up dance moves and routines very quickly.

I really love her style of music which is hip hop, dance, electro. On Youtube there are videos of her teaching dance routines to her songs, I've posted 'Cry eye' on our youtube Page. I've been trying to learn the dance steps and it's quite hard. She makes it look so effortless and stylish. I am determined to master the dance steps and If i get good enough i will record it and post up my progress on facebook.

Utada Hikaru taking a break in the Music biz

Utada Hikaru has announced on her website that she will be taking a break from the entertainment business at the end of the year.

Listen to the podcast:
JPOP Princess Utada Hikaru announces break from music 2010 by CherriiPOP

She explained her decision on her website, stating:

"There are some parts inside me that have stopped growing since I began my artist-centered life at age 15, I'm thinking of focusing on 'human activities' by putting my 'flashy' artist activities on hold for a while. I don't know if it will take two years or five years".

She has been touring in the US for the last couple of years trying to crack the US market, like so many successful Asian popstars. She has performed on Ryan Seacrest's radio show. I'm sure her fans will be sad to hear this news and hope that she will return to the music industry in the near future. It was because of Utada's music that I became such a huge fans of her and became exposed to JPOP. She released her debut album 'First Love' at the young age of 15. The title song from that album 'First Love' is the first jpop song I heard and I can sing the song off by heart, even though I don't know Japanese. It's also one of my favourite karaoke songs. Before she takes a break from the industry, her compilation album 'Utada Hikaru Singles Collection Vol 2' will be released. I wish her all the best and I hope she will be back with more awesome music soon.

SMAP!!!! The ultimate Boy Band

SMAP is THE ultimate Jpop boy band; they have been around nearly 2 decades. They made their debut in 1991 and since then have released over 40 singles and 20 albums. What incredible achievements! For staying together for a long time and producing hit after hit. For those of you who don't know, SMAP stands for Sports Music Assemble People. I'm not quite sure why Sport is in there, it is a bit odd.

My fave member is Takuya Kimura, I became a huge fan of his after watching him in romantic drama 'Beautiful Life'. It's a moving love story between a young man and a woman in a wheelchair. Check out Beautiful Life! They started out with 6 members, but now they have 5. They are huge in Japan! Each member have branched outside the music industry and gone in to acting. They have faced tough times in their career with decline in popularity and sales. Their agent decided that they should host a variety show so the fans can get to know the members better and build a stronger bond with them. This worked and their popularity was back on track. They've survived scandals. When Takuya got married in 2001, rumours of the group splitting up was swirling around.

In July this year, SMAP toured nationally and next month, September they will do their first overseas concert in China. I was surprised to hear that this was their first overseas concert, considering they have been together for 19 years. I am certain that the Shanghai concerts will be a HUGE hit! It's awesome to see that they are still going strong and still topping the charts! Their latest album 'We are SMAP' was released this year, Check it out and be SMAPified!!!!

CherriiPOP Playlist - 13/8/10

Thanks for listening to CherriiPOP this week! I hope you guys enjoyed the show. Here is the playlist. Remember to send in your song requests, dedications and shoutouts.

Se7en - Better Together
Cyndi Wang - Shining
Taeyang - Just a feeling
Sammi Cheng - I want to fly, I want to cry
Vanness Wu - Stuck on You
BOA- Hurricane Venus
MAsaharu Fukuyama - Niji
Chae Yeon - Look Look Look
Miss A - Bad Girl, Good Girl
Ayumi Hamasaki - Blossom
Jun Matsumoto - La Familia
Lee Seung Gi - Losing My Mind

ODD THINGS I SAW: Umbrella Lockers in Japan

This is a new segment for the show where I post up photos of ‘Odd Things I Saw’ on holiday or in my everyday life.

I was in Japan this year for the exquisite cherry blossom season, in April/May. The weather was quite cool about 20 degrees Celsius. On several days I was there, it drizzled a bit. When I went to restaurants or hotels I saw umbrella lockers outside near the door for people to yup! Lock up there umbrella like they would for their bicycle or car… I thought that was strange, why do you need to lock up your umbrella? And out of all the places in Japan – the most honest nation in the world! I was talking to my friend and we came up with a few conclusions.

Japan is such a hygienic and considerate place that people don’t bring wet umbrellas in buildings so they don’t get the floor wet and make it slippery.

Japanese people use expensive umbrellas like Burberry so they would want to lock it up so no one accidentally takes it. No one would steal an umbrella in Japan.

It’s currently winter in Melbourne and everyday it’s pouring down rain with strong winds. I use a $6 dollar umbrella and I hardly think it’s worth locking up. However I do think it’s a good idea to leave wet umbrellas outside and not get floors slippery and wet inside.

Project Lotus Update

Project Lotus Update: A quick recap on what project Lotus is, it's the search for Asia's answer to the Spice Girls! Auditions are being held in Asia to find five talented singers to form a new girl band that will be launched worldwide. I decided to start my quest to be a popstar so I sent in my video audition on their facebook. I've been checking their facebook for updates and there has been a lot of confusion about how the auditioning process worked. People thought that they can submit a video audition, but turns out that it would be advantageous to attend a live audition in the 5 countries. The five selected countries are China, Japan, Korea, Philipines and India. I only auditioned online so I hope that is enough for them to see my music talents

I got some information about the Korean live auditions. 25 year old Lim Miru from Australia flew the distance to Korea to audition live. Amazingly, she had only found out about the live auditions 3 days earlier, after stumbling upon it on youtube. That is perseverance. A total of 85 girls attended the live auditions in Korea, singing popular songs by Beyonce, Whitney Houstan, Christina Aguilera. They are still shortlisting the applicants and successful girls will proceed to the second live auditions held on Aug 24. Five finalists from each country will go to Hong Kong for an intense training and auditioning process like Masterchef and Idol. Eliminations will occur every week until five girls are left standing. All the drama will be broadcast on TV early next year in a reality tv show. It is an intense process for the girls but it is a lifetime opportunity because they get to work with grammy award winning producers, songwriters – The ultimate dream team.

Back to my audition, I haven't heard back from Project Lotus… hmmm… Just a reminder I sang Justin Bieber's no. 1 song Baby mashed up with ‘Saddest song’ by Cherry and ‘Someday soon’ by Natalie Bassingthwaighte. I still have my fingers crossed! I check my video on facebook and it has 5 likes so that’s cool =D Good luck to all the girls that auditioned!

BoA’s 10th anniversary in the Music Biz

Kpop veteran BoA is making her long awaited comeback after a five year absence from the Asian music scene. During her absence, she was working hard trying to break it in to the US music market. It's incredibly hard to break into the US market, we've watched Robbie Williams, Delta Goodrem try and they haven't succeeded yet, the same goes for BoA and Se7en. I think if they keep going for it they will succeed because they are incredibly talented.

BoA has been around for a long time, and did you realise that it has been ten years since her debut? She is a true veteran in the industry and she's only 23 years old. She released her debut album at the tender age of 13. She's got an amazing career and a lot of new artists could only hope to stick around for that long too. Just a few weeks ago, to celebrate her 10th anniversary in the industry she released her 6th Korean Album titled "Hurricane Venus". She has a new blonde look, i've posted up photos of her on facebook. She also has a new sound r'n'b, blended with electro dance music. Welcome back BoA. Let us know if you like her new sound and look.

Vanness Wu in the social media scene

Vanness is very active on the social media scene. His does the trifactor: twitter, facebook and blog. I was reading his bio on his facebook page and before he became a singer/actor he was a telemarketer in the US. He hated it and he thought there was more to life and he went to Taiwan to pursue his dreams. Now his a successful singer/songwriter/director/actor. I think it's inspirational that he dared to dream and he went for it. I became a bigger fan of his after the drama ‘Autumn Concerto’. It’s a great romantic drama filled with joy and sadness. It also stars Ady An and I highly recommend it. Check out his blog

http://alivenotdead.com/vannesswu
http://hypebeast.com/blog/vanness/
http://vanness.tv
http://twitter.com/vannessvanwu

Aussie Iron Chef is coming!

Iron chef, the phenomenal Japanese cooking show where two famous chefs battle it out in kitchen stadium to win the title of Iron Chef, is getting an Australian make-over. Casting has begun for Aussie version of Iron chef. The team behind Iron Chef Australia 'Shine' also produced the ratings winner Masterchef. Shine are also hoping for a runaway hit with Aussie Iron Chef. They have a very tight time frame to find their iron chefs because filming of the series is scheduled to begin next month in Melbourne. The format will be loyal to the original where two chefs battle it out in kitchen stadium, making dishes based on the unveiled ingredient. Their dishes are then judged by a panel of three celebrities.

The original Japanese series aired between 1993-99. A staggering 300 cooking battles were filmed in kitchen stadium. America and Britain have also made their own versions of the show. The original Iron chef currently airs weekly on SBS Saturday nights at 8:30. I'm a huge fan of Iron chef because it's such great entertainment! It's incredible watching them come up with original dishes on the spot then race around the kitchen to finish their inventions in one hour. What I love about the Japanese show is the host's flamboyant fashion sense. He wears bedazzled matador jackets and funky coats. The other reason I love the show is the animated english dubbing. All the voice actors are so enthusiastic and entertaining, it's fabulous! It’s like they are dubbing a kung fu show or anime because it’s so lively and comical. I've watched the American Version of Iron Chef and I didn't enjoy it as much as the Original because it didn't have a fancy dressed host or funny english dubbing. I'm not sure how the Aussie version will be, will it be a ratings giant like masterchef? We'll have to wait and see.

Nine Muses make their stage debut and unleashed their debut MV 'No Playboy'

There was a lot of anticipation for new girl group 'Nine Muses' Stage debut! Last night they did their first stage performance on popular music show MNet Countdown, showing off their vocal and dance talents. Looks like they will make an impact in the music scene. A lot of comparisons are being made between them and SNSD. Fans say they are nothing a like. See for yourself!

Here is their stage debut clip.




Here is their new MV 'No Playboy'

Sneak Peak at Tomorrow's CherriiPOP Show

I'm so excited about tomorrow's show! We've got hot new tracks from BoA, Se7en, Chae Yeon and music from Vanness Wu, Sammi Cheng, Ayumi and so much more! Tune in 7pm tomorrow for our live streaming! Here is a sneak peak of tomorrow's show =)

Introducing 'Nine Muses' a 9 membered kpop girl group

The group's name 'Nine Muses' was inspired from ancient Greece. Amongst the God Zeus' daughters, nine of them were Muses in charge of art. What a great concept for the group's name.

For their debut concept photos, the girls pose like goddesses long flowy dresses. Their debut single 'No Playboy' will be unleashed on the 12 of August! They will also be making their stage debut on the same day. Keep an eye out for them.

KPOP bands are getting bigger by the minute. New boy band 'Double B 21' has 21 members!

If you thought 12 member Super Junior was BIG. That's nothing compared to the new kpop group about to launch. New boy band 'Double B 21' has yup 21 members! That's nearly a whole classroom! It would be painstaking to remember all their names. Following on my story about band members getting an average of 16secs to sing..., well i guess this group would have 8secs each to sing... hmm...

Here is their debut song MV on Youtube. It's called 'One', maybe they should call the song twenty-one LOLz. Tell us what you think of it!

CherriiPOP Playlist - 6/8/10

Hope you all enjoyed our first show for SEASON 2!!!

Here is the playlist

Son Dam Bi - Queen
Son Ho Young - Chib Apiya nawa
Tae yang - i need a girl
Coco Lee - Turn
Jacky Cheung and Anita Mui - Love is hard
Araguki Yui - Heavenly days
Miura Haruma - Konjoy Nashi
Arashi - To Be Free
FIR - Lydia

Remember to send in song requests to our Facebook or Twitter!

My quest to join the Girl Group and Be A POPstar! Yup, i auditioned for Project Lotus

Following on my previous story (Idol group members get an average of 16s of singing time in a pop song), so with my ability to sing in tune for longer than 16 seconds I began my quest to join a girl band. I decided to audition for Project Lotus because I meet most of the requirements. I’m Asian, but I’m Vietnamese born in Australia so I’m not from the five countries they listed. I don’t know why Vietnam wasn’t on the list or Taiwan, Thailand. I’m 25 so I just made it in the age group and I can speak English. I can dance a bit, I’ve taken hip hop classes but I’m still hopeless.

I put a lot of planning in my song selection for my video audition. I decided on a mash up of songs. A happy poppy song, a slow ballad and to finish, an inspirational song. The songs: Justin Bieber – Baby, Cherry – Saddest Song, Natalie Bassingthwaighte – Someday Soon. Yes! I had to sing the Biebs! =P

I look pretty bad in the audition, I recorded it a long day after work. *LOL* It’s uploaded on the Project Lotus facebook fanpage, here is the link. Don’t laugh too much hehehehe! I got five ‘likes’ for my video (no they aren’t my friends) so that makes it even cooler.

Let me know what you think of my audition! Do you think I have what it takes? LOL! I’ll keep you posted with my audition!

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=452379921564&oid=335122935687

Search for the next Asian Girl Group Superstars!

The search is on to find 5 talented singers from all over Asia, to take the world’s music industry by storm! FarWest Entertainment, a production company helmd by former Walt Disney Company (Asia Pacific) president Jon Niermann, has teamed up with a group of Asian partners to find the next pop superstars in “Project Lotus”.

The concept of “Project Lotus” is to discover talents from Korea, Japan, China, India and Philippines, team them up with Grammy Award winning producers Eliot Kennedy and Brian Grant. Give them songs composed by prominent song writers that include Gary Barlow from Take That. It is guaranteed that they have a winning formula.

Auditions have been held over the past few months to scour new talent. To apply, you need to be an Asian woman aged between 18-25 and English speaking. In addition to being a great singer, if you are a great dancer too that would be a bonus and help with your audition. Auditions have closed now; the cut off date was August 2nd. People can attend auditions in their countries or upload their audition video on to Project Lotus’s website (www.projectlotus.tv), Facebook page or YouTube channel.

Successful candidates who get a call-back will attend a live audition in their capital city. A panel of celebrity judges will be critiquing all the performances. A group of 25 finalists (5 from each country) will proceed to the next stage of auditions and fly to Hong Kong to take part in an intense six-week training process. One girl from each country will be eliminated each week until the final five are left.

All the drama; triumph, tears and will be broadcast on TV in February and March next year. They plan to air the show in Australia as well, I would guess that Ch10 will pick it up. Ch10 likes shows like these. The group’s debut album will be released in April.

Idol group members get an average of 16s of singing time in a pop song

The korean music scene is moving at light years, with new boy bands and girl bands popping up each second. They come in every size, duos, 3-, 4-, 5-, 6-, 7-, 9 members like SNSD, and 13 like Super Junior. The duration of an average pop song is a 3 ½ minutes, so you can imagine in a big group like Super Junior everyone would have to fight over the mic to sing a solo. Even if everyone gets a turn to sing a solo, it wouldn't be for very long.

Some music shows analysed the amount of time each band member gets to sing. Interestingly, results show that each member gets an average of 16 seconds to sing in the average pop song. I can sing in tune for 16 seconds so should I join a girl group? Or start my own?

The song 'OH' by girl band SNSD was put under the microscope and they found that each member gets an average of 9.4 seconds to sing. The leader Taeyeon had the longest singing time of 22 seconds. Seohyun had the shortest time of 5 seconds, she sings the lines 'Hey oppa look at me, just take a look at me' and 'Oppa just listen to me'.

Music critics say it has become more common for band members to only sing a few short lines in a song because they are vocally weak. Even though they lack vocal talent they make up for it with their looks and media savviness.

Music critic, Im Jin Ho expressed, “If they each only have just a few seconds, they will definitely neglect their primary duty as a singer and skim on improving their vocals. Members who don’t sing a lot will also develop a feeling of being ostracized and this will affect the overall performance of the group, shortening the group’s lifespan.”

Another critic, Kim Jak Ga said, “Examples of idol groups not putting in effort with their vocals are increasing by the minute and there’s noticeably less breathing space for the ones who have real talent and vocals to survive now.”

Interesting thought isn't it? Do you think all members of big bands like SNSD, T-ara, Super Junior are all vocally talented individually? Let us know.