Music for a Gathering of Friends - "K-Pop"

Although it has been around for decades, the music to which I've been enjoying of late is K-Pop. These last few months I have found delight and even joy in listening to music being produced in South Korea by some wonderfully talented young people. This music genre is known as K-Pop. I believe it's something of an intercultural product as it seems to cross american popular and rhythm & blues music with South Korean language. Much of it is extremely entertaining. It may be that the artists to whom I am listening are limited to the likes of Zion T., EXO and a wee bit of Loco and, of course, the ubiquitous BTS. If I'm anyone's army, I'm with Zion T. as this young man's work is pretty powerful - from the lyrics that tell the stories, to the inspirations behind the stories, to the visual storytelling that happens in the videos.

I have to say its a combination of the high quality production (as far as I can tell) of the songs all with the fun or lovely music and clever lyrics. In trying to describe the experience to a friend, I explained it this way -

One must approach KPop in the same way one approaches opera (or ballet):

1. Listen to the music first. If one likes melody and the vibe of the song. Learn more about it.

2. Pursue lyrics written in English (think libretto). I've been able to use video captions or websites dedicated to translating lyrics. Is there interesting storytelling? Is there troublesome language/profanity?

3. Enjoy the piece and share it with the same way you might share other songs in other languages.

Try this one: "The Song" by Zion T.

You might like this one: "It's Been a While" by Loco (Feat. Zion T.)

Here's another fun one featuring a soloist from "Red Velvet: "Hello Tutorial" Zion.T and Seulgi

I draw your attention to this genre of music as a effort to encourage music appreciation even where language may be a slight obstacle to full enjoyment. While Kpop may not be your cup of tea, I encourage you to explore the the arts beyond the usual suspects.

BONUS: "No Make-Up" by Zion T.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Leverette

#kpop #ZionT #Intercultural #music