How are you all finding KPOP at the moment?

My faves had a good year musically, so I am satisfied

Though honestly, looking at all the disbandments and members leaving and other scandals (loona + chu, nmixx Jinni, Oneus Ravn, etc etc). That kind of saddens me... i mean ig that might be par for the course in entertainment, but I hope things get better for the groups and fans affected... As an outsider, it feels like something keeps happening and you can't really relax.

I'm not feeling it.

It was always the case that there was a lot of really bad music you had to dig through to find the gems, but at least those gems were idiosyncratic, you wouldn't be able to find a song like Sherlock outside of kpop.

Now that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. Like, I really loved J-Hope's album this year, but that's probably BECAUSE it didn't sound like "k-pop".

The stereotypical k-pop tropes of the moment are more annoying than they ever have been ("antitititi"). And even when they're dropped, it feels like you're getting something dredged from the back of a western songwriter's fridge and warmed up a lukewarm temp. It's leftovers.

There are exceptions obviously, but looking at my favourite music this year, kpop barely makes a dent.

Mid

To be honest boring. BTS are on hiatus while they're in the Army so there'll be nothing for them and Aespa's music has been blah for me lately. Twice are the only girl group that's really putting out decent music in my opinion. Also, in my opinion, K pop has changed since second gen and the music nowadays is bland and repetitive. My 2o year old daughter who was the one who got me into K pop in the first place has a few K pop songs on her playlist from the second gen era and I miss all those iconic songs. She thinks I should ditch it altogether and focus on 70's and 80's which is some of the best music ever made and I would know as I grew up in that era.

i've enjoyed some of it! but i think a lot of it has been pretty lukewarm. i feel like kpop is losing its identity as it strays farther and farther towards a western sound.

For Me I'm satisfied with Twice content and music this year. I can't wait for next year to see their activities and such. I have been playing talk that talk on repeat, I can't never get tired of it. It will always be that song when you first listen to it, also celebrate and pop have been great too. Also Alice dance on is my favorite song from them, I hope they can gain popularity next year and also ILY:1 too.

Loving it, Kpop has been peaking since 2020, a glorious three year peak.

HOWEVER, i felt a chill crawling up my spine while watching the videos from the KBS Gayo yesterday. An uneasy feeling, a whisper of something terrible barreling towards us, threatening to destroy all of Kpop as we know it.

new players, new sounds and a wider range of influences, a real feeling of generational shift, the sense that no concept is unviable, and that no group is immune to failure and no success is impossible

been a great harvest this year

I think Kpop is in a really healthy state rn. Kpop has always a bit of a casserole of a genre: a sprinkle of this and a dash of that and a pinch of whatever. It has always been heavily influenced by Western trends and music, from hiring architects of the western New Jack Style to pairing with American rappers to looking West, East, south, north and all points to add to its mixture of influences.

I appreciate that Kpop has spread globally to be able to sustain multiple groups in different styles - now more than ever there is no defining characteristic to Kpop. It can be sweet-tart like Ive, bold and stylish like BP, tough and fearless like GIDLE or playful and cute like StayC. It can be swagger like NCT 127, cute like Astro or anthemic like BTS. The fact that there is a larger market with easier access means that groups aren’t dependent solely on one or two markets to survive and thrive.

We also have the ability to span mutiple generations with different concerns and styles as musicians age, which has been really interesting to watch, as well as watching third Gen groups really be mature and experienced while fourth Gen groups start to hone their style.

It’s a great time for Kpop IMO (we just need an EXO cb!)

I’ve discovered so much new music this year, either from new groups, older groups and artists that piqued my interest and deep bsides recommended to me by others.

The diversity of types of music allowed me personally to spread out. I don’t like the cutesy gg music or the high-pitched tone they sing in, so a greater variety of styles in gg really had me digging into lots of gg music this year. Being open to asking other fans questions or at least checking something new out helped me find stuff I liked from bg to gg. And so did getting outside my comfort zone and exploring nugu groups and smaller labels.

I’m good with the musical direction (sometimes a tendency for over processing but that’s always been there..remember that robotic trend in 2nd Gen?) because if you don’t like one trend, I guarantee there’s another group out there not doing it (maybe you just don’t know about them).

I think the biggest challenge for Kpop is finding the balance between Korea and the rest of the world. If you’re not spending enough time or creating enough in language content for the international audiences, will they continue to support you?

Older Kpop fans understand that’s kind of what comes with the territory: Korea will always be more important than international, which can leave intl fans often less important, but I wonder if these groups that have specifically targeted internationally first will be allowed that some sort of plan. I also wonder the impact of success stans - there’s an expectation that’s been created that big Kpop cbs will chart high in the US. What happens when they don’t? Do those fans that entered into Kpop with that expectation fall off?

Quote from BlackpinkHouse

HOWEVER, i felt a chill crawling up my spine while watching the videos from the KBS Gayo yesterday. An uneasy feeling, a whisper of something terrible barreling towards us, threatening to destroy all of Kpop as we know it.

IU's releasing another album?

I'm liking 4th gen in general