Just accept the real truth YOU are old now and don’t enjoy the music the target audience of kpop is aimed at aka teenagers/young adults and people who enjoy POPULAR music.
It’s every song. And all of them being explicitly inspired by western music
It’s every song. And all of them being explicitly inspired by western music
Ah okay.
If I were to steel man the position, which is different from my own, I would say that even if it was always predominantly influenced by western music, what's popular in western music has changed from 1992 to 2025, so "it was always influenced by X" doesn't actually address the underlying criticism, which is that it's influenced on bad western music these days and sounds bad because of that.
4 songs all from the same company that was unusual at the time for relying so heavily on western demos.
But sure, Mr. Chu sounds just like something that would have been released in America or Europe.
Are you (and whoever made that dumb tiktok) seriously using songs that used the same sample than other western songs to make this point? Don't you realize how dumb it is seriously?
I'm not one of those who say I don't enjoy Kpop anymore, I do, but it's impossible to ignore the huge difference there's between the 2nd and 5th gen, and it's reasonable some people prefer one over the other.
People who say this are thinking about songs like “Ring Ding Dong” and “Mr. Simple” by Super Junior or “Gee” by SNSD. There’s some Western influence there, but there’s no way a mainstream Western pop artist would be doing music like that at the time.
Nowadays many of the most popular K-pop songs are created from demos written for Western artists. Interchangeable with what you’d hear on Western radio, just with Korean lyrics.
There’s still a ton of modern K-pop songs more reminiscent of what these people are talking about. They just aren’t title tracks or popular hits.
But overall, there’s always been a ton of Western influence in K-pop. That’s what made K-pop stand out in Korea in the first place. Literally since the genre’s conception. See: “I Know” - Seotaji and Boys
No one kind deny it's much closer to main stream wester pop today compared to 12-15 years ago. It's not only the music it's also about the concepts. Take songs like T-ara "Bunny Style" or "Bo peep bo peep", both the type of songs and the feels are far from main stream Western Pop at the time. But sure, it's a bit hard to compare because girl groups don't really exist in the western music anymore.
Kpop was always heavily Western inspired with a few jpop exceptions. Most SM titles were bought off Western artists with the lyrics being reworked into Korean. YG needs no words. Same with JYP. At best, kpop was a few years behind and stuck with certain sounds longer than they should have while leaning into different aesthetics.
The real problem is western pop is terrible now and kpop is tracking it at a similar terrible pace.
Display MorePeople who say this are thinking about songs like “Ring Ding Dong” and “Mr. Simple” by Super Junior or “Gee” by SNSD. There’s some Western influence there, but there’s no way a mainstream Western pop artist would be doing music like that at the time.
Nowadays many of the most popular K-pop songs are created from demos written for Western artists. Interchangeable with what you’d hear on Western radio, just with Korean lyrics.
There’s still a ton of modern K-pop songs more reminiscent of what these people are talking about. They just aren’t title tracks or popular hits.
But overall, there’s always been a ton of Western influence in K-pop. That’s what made K-pop stand out in Korea in the first place. Literally since the genre’s conception. See: “I Know” - Seotaji and Boys
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I don’t really agree with that. What you’re referring to here is only bizarre lyrics and maybe campy styling.
Even in the songs you mentioned, they were very much musically in line with western 00’s music.
Kpop was always heavily Western inspired with a few jpop exceptions. Most SM titles were bought off Western artists with the lyrics being reworked into Korean. YG needs no words. Same with JYP. At best, kpop was a few years behind and stuck with certain sounds longer than they should have while leaning into different aesthetics.
The real problem is western pop is terrible now and kpop is tracking it at a similar terrible pace.
It’s terrible because you’re old and that’s ok 👀 We just became our old aunties who hated new music and we should embrace that.
Most SM titles were bought off Western artists with the lyrics being reworked into Korean.
finally someone said it
thats why i dont understand when people always saying that SM is the only one sticking to their kpop roots when not just SM but almost every single kpop company was inspired by either j-pop or western music.
Kpop right now is bigger than it ever was in 2nd gen tho so this comment doesn’t make much sense 👀
K-pop was always westernized, the thing is that 00s and early 10s music trends where much more enjoyable. This is so true that NewJeans became popular bringing back 00s nostalgia
But also who remember when in 2009-2011 the whole K-pop (and western artists) were imitating Lady Gaga and BEP with loud and fun EDM
THAT was life 
Kpop right now is bigger than it ever was in 2nd gen tho so this comment doesn’t make much sense 👀
Yet it is still declining. There are no break out groups in kpop anymore. This year we don’t even have a break out kpop group song this year.
Many kpop groups’ tours aren’t selling out including the big company groups from Hybe, Sm and others.
And decline of music quality is a big reason for all of that.
The only song that I listen to that has A5 is probably Golden. If I only cared about high notes, I would stream Dimash day and night.
Majority of popular western artists are also disappointing this year for some reason.
But at least Raye saved us with her release.
Stream the actual Song of the year.
Yet it is still declining. There are no break out groups in kpop anymore. This year we don’t even have a break out kpop group song this year.
Many kpop groups’ tours aren’t selling out including the big company groups from Hybe, Sm and others.
And decline of music quality is a big reason for all of that.
Not really. Selling out a tour or not doesn’t say anything. Groups are touring bigger now that they ever were in the history of kpop. Beofre they never even toured. Now they can even if it’s half full.
There is no metric in which kpop isn’t bigger than it ever was. No doubt about it.
Without new jeans indeed kpop took a slight blow I won’t disagree. The current groups are just not as iconic as them. But this is not to say newer groups would never come again just like new jeans did.
Without new jeans indeed kpop took a slight blow I won’t disagree. The current groups are just not as iconic as them. But this is not to say newer groups would never come again just like new jeans did.
You see even if I don’t like NewJeans music, I won’t be calling it terrible. Their songs have really good production and hooks. It’s just not my cup of tea.
Kiss of life had my faith in 5th gen since they make amazing music, but sadly that scandal happened.
I can probably like 1-2 songs from new groups, but prior to this year I would like much more songs from kpop industry including nugu group songs.
You see even if I don’t like NewJeans music, I won’t be calling it terrible. Their songs have really good production and hooks. It’s just not my cup of tea.
Kiss of life had my faith in 5th gen since they make amazing music, but sadly that scandal happened.
I can probably like 1-2 songs from new groups, but prior to this year I would like much more songs from kpop industry including nugu group songs.
If you singularly want to say 2025 is a bad year for kpop that’s your choice. But this thread is more around people claiming 2nd gen wasn’t a blatant rip off of western pop while 3rd/4th gen are and some how that’s a bad thing lol
K-pop has always used westernised sounds sure, but certain groups and certain songs sound more westernised than others, and I think it’s valid for people to pine for groups/songs on the other end of the spectrum.
Personally, I think the music now is better than ever. 2025 has been one of my favourite years for kmusic since I started listening, but I see where people are coming from when they say a certain sound has been lost.
K-pop has always used westernised sounds sure, but certain groups and certain songs sound more westernised than others, and I think it’s valid for people to pine for groups/songs on the other end of the spectrum.
Personally, I think the music now is better than ever. 2025 has been one of my favourite years for kmusic since I started listening, but I see where people are coming from when they say a certain sound has been lost.
Certain sound being lost is not the same thing as not being westernized. Only that the trends including in the west have changed.
I think Western influences have always been a part of kpop, and I don’t mean that in a reductive way. after all, kpop isn’t fully Western, but part of what makes it kpop comes from the spirit of Western music. You could think of it on a spectrum, and there are definitely kpop songs that feel less "Western" too.
Certain sound being lost is not the same thing as not being westernized. Only that the trends including in the west have changed.
If you’re saying that all sounds that were once part of kpop and are now not are older westernised sounds that have died out because western trends have moved on, I disagree.
There are groups and songs that take on inspiration from jpop, trot and older Korean popular music, and those sounds seem less prevalent than they once were.
Agree with Taemin-Identity and ISaidISaid
Kpop has always been abt stealing American nachos. Literally the first Kpop act (Seo Taiji) was nothing but a mishmash of 80s/90s boyband and hiphop fused with Korean lyrics. Every Kpop trend from Teddy's hip hop caricature to SM's more R&B sounds to JYP's electropop has roots in American pop music, which itself is based on styles created by mostly black communities in the US in the 20th century.
When the US went away a bit from the R&B hip hop that defined the 90s and 00's and indulged in some EDM techno beats in the early 2010's, Kpop went right along with that.
When the US started going full throttle into trap, Kpop went right along with that.
When the Dua Lipa and Weeknd retro swept American music for a year or two, we saw 80s and disco beats make a short lived return in Kpop.
When we reached the absolute abyss, the lowest nadir of American music with the repetitive simplistic lo-fi sounds of PinkPantheress, Ariana's Thank U Next album, etc, Kpop fell right into lock step with New Jeans and their brand of lo-fi hell and the literally dozens of copycat groups that followed afterwards.
Kpop right now is bigger than it ever was in 2nd gen tho so this comment doesn’t make much sense 👀
2nd gen is the lowest kpop ever have so it doesn't mean much.
If you’re saying that all sounds that were once part of kpop and are now not are older westernised sounds that have died out because western trends have moved on, I disagree.
There are groups and songs that take on inspiration from jpop, trot and older Korean popular music, and those sounds seem less prevalent than they once were.
The J-pop erasure among some K-pop fans needs to be studied. People act as if South Korea were located in the middle of America, as if musical influences from Japan and other nearby areas didn't exist in the 90s and 00s. Numerous first gen Korean artists were suspected of just stealing meldoies from J-pop songs, but the west's influence on K-pop is exactly the same in 2025 as it was in 1995, and it has never increased or decreased according to some people.
The J-pop erasure among some K-pop fans needs to be studied. People act as if South Korea were located in the middle of America, as if musical influences from Japan and other nearby areas didn't exist in the 90s and 00s. Numerous first gen Korean artists were suspected of just stealing meldoies from J-pop songs, but the west's influence on K-pop is exactly the same in 2025 as it was in 1995, and it has never increased or decreased according to some people.
Japanese pop music much like Korean pop music scene is inspired by the western sound. No one is confused by anything. And they were both inspired by the boy group and girl group sounds that existed in American and western music scene from the past decades.
Talking like as if jpop is some Japanese folk music 😭
Display MoreAgree with Taemin-Identity and ISaidISaid
Kpop has always been abt stealing American nachos. Literally the first Kpop act (Seo Taiji) was nothing but a mishmash of 80s/90s boyband and hiphop fused with Korean lyrics. Every Kpop trend from Teddy's hip hop caricature to SM's more R&B sounds to JYP's electropop has roots in American pop music, which itself is based on styles created by mostly black communities in the US in the 20th century.
When the US went away a bit from the R&B hip hop that defined the 90s and 00's and indulged in some EDM techno beats in the early 2010's, Kpop went right along with that.
When the US started going full throttle into trap, Kpop went right along with that.
When the Dua Lipa and Weeknd retro swept American music for a year or two, we saw 80s and disco beats make a short lived return in Kpop.
When we reached the absolute abyss, the lowest nadir of American music with the repetitive simplistic lo-fi sounds of PinkPantheress, Ariana's Thank U Next album, etc, Kpop fell right into lock step with New Jeans and their brand of lo-fi hell and the literally dozens of copycat groups that followed afterwards.
Honestly I don’t really even care if people like newer music or not. But it irks me when people lie and say kpop is more western now and that’s why they don’t like it 😭
Another thing about older gen music is that we didn’t have tiktok and social media where trendy music is so easy to find so it probably felt like to those people that their kpop music was oh so special and unique instead of completely being based on western songs like they definitely were. Because that’s their niche and easy access to all pop music wasn’t nearly as possible.
Your experience with music has changed not the kpop’s obsession with the western sound that’s for sure.
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