Sunday, July 14, 2013

Ailee & why singing is not really important in pop music

It is generally heard -and written- in Kpop communities on the importance of talent, which is not a bad thing in itself, but the notion of what "talent" stands for tends to be narrowed down to two categories: either singing or dancing. While the first one is noticed by most human beings, the second one is often neglected to a "main dancer" label.




The problem with this conception of talent is that we are talking about a industry that revolves around entertaining and producing profit; so it's accepted -or it should be- that the "chosen ones" won't be the most talented but the ones who succeed at this two tasks.
In some cases both talent and this ability converge (BoA, BEG); in others, it doesn't (Hyori).



 There's also After School , whose attempts on bringing something different (pole dancing, tap dancing,etc.) won't stop people from writing "only Raina can sing tsk this sluts tsk tsk"  on every single post about them. On the other end of the spectrum lies Lee Hi, who possesses outstanding vocals and the charms of a boiled potato.

My apologies to all the boiled potatoes out there
So, has Ailee catched my eye? Has her singing turned me into a fan or at least a follower of her activities? Honestly, no. There's nothing i can take away from her MVs and peformances other than the fact that her company is really playing the "Korean Beyonce" card.
Maybe with time and the right management she will be able to fulfill the expectations people automatically set for her because, you know, if you can sing you are already good, right? (No).

33 comments:

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    1. I thought you were gone 5ever, when was the last time you wrote something Budy??

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    2. I know TnT I'll keep it up i promise xD

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  2. "Maybe with time and the right management she will fullfill the expectation...."
    Honesty I don't think her management picks her songs but i'm not 100% sure. I think for Ailee to fulfill other people's high expectation she needs to develop her own style because her management isn't doing anything wrong. They promote when she has a comeback, get jobs when she doesn't have a comeback and that is what they're are suppose to do.

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  3. My personally most important talent: pussy.

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    1. Oh and I hate fan chants. I wish those people'd all die.

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    2. fan chants work for things like Crayon Pop because it's catchy, and a reactive audience adds to the experience. but it's completely out of place for that Rose song.

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    3. I didn't know they had a fanbase that large. And to think that they were forced to work the streets a year ago because they couldn't get on music shows. Slaying <3

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    4. I for some reason like male fan chants, the girls can shut up.

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    5. I'm with No on this one. Fan chants are right up there with flash mobs, snap-back hats, and big government.

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  4. "On the other end of the spectrum lies Lee Hi, who possesses outstanding vocals and the charms of a boiled potato."

    When YG styles her right, she looks drop dead gorgeous too. And while Rose sounds like it would be a great fit for her seeing as to how her default facial expression seems to be disinterest, it didn't work well. At all. They ought to play up the cute card since 90% of her fanbase think she is the cutest thing to walk the earth (a sentiment I have to agree with after see It's Over).

    *ahem* I don't think Ailee is escaping these Beyonce expressions anytime soon, and I'm honestly not bothered by them. As long as she realizes that she is the imitator and not the imitated, I'm all good. U&I is a decent song (I'm still reeling from the fact that Shinsadong Tiger produced it). I like brassy songs with lots of attitude (see Secret's Poison and TaeTiSeo's Oh My God), and I'm enjoying the mini album a lot more than I did Invitation. Kind of want her to promote Scandal, just because JeA co-wrote it :3

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    1. I think YG is going TOP with Hi and are making her look as good as possible to cover up her blank expression
      My problem with Ailee musically is that she adds ad libs EVERYWHERE

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    2. Makes sense... Although, some of the getups they used for her Rose performances makes me wanna say otherwise XD

      And I have no issues with ad-libs when they're kept in check. I suppose I'm used to them since the big three singers of this generation (eBey, Chrstina A, and Mariah Carey) were played constantly in my house growing up. Hard to hate it, since I'm so used to it XD

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  5. this kind of links in with the other post about confirmation bias. what people *want* to like in an artist and what they actually gravitate towards are different things. you could say "i'm a fan of SNSD because Taeyeon is a great singer", but that 'because' is most likely wrong; there's a certain something about SNSD that attracted them to you, and Taeyeon's vocal abilities is an excuse you can roll out to try and make sense of it.

    lee hi and Ailee are without doubt very talented, but... something. wish i was a bit more eloquent and could explain what it is that fails to grab my attention. I remember seeing Ailee cover Halo and feeling something, but nothing since has caught my attention, especially this release. boisterous singing and trumpets, that's all I remember, nothing compelling me to listen again.

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  6. I still have no idea why Ailee's song needed a 3rd chorus. It was totally superfluous, the song could've been 30 seconds shorter without it. Just go bridge to outro and end the song. Sounds a lot trimmer without it imo. IDK why, that just really bugged me.

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  7. I don't understand why the hell they call her the Korean Beyonce after singing Halo when Beyonce is more than just a song. She's a full on entertainer while Ailee is nowhere near that.

    I didn't like Ailee's comeback U&I because right when it immediately started it reminded me of Christina Aguilera's Ain't No Other Man that starts with that same kind of ad-lib. Then I was like 'fine, whatever', but when I finished the MV it just felt like a crappy cheap copy off something that would come out of the awesomeness that is Back to Basics.

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    1. Probably cuz she is one of the best singers out there in Kpop, I mean most kpop idols can't even freaking sing. Also the tendency of kpop fangirls to exaggerate over the simplest matter (see T-ara's), what do you expect? They are probably the same people that says Bom can sing and CL can rap.

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    2. she can hit higher notes than most people that's not really the same thing as being able to sing

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    1. hyoyeon has a nice voice? she sounds like a cat being beaten most of the time when she raps soooo

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    2. Like I said, to each their own. Although I will admit the only time she sounded nice was during I Am. Every other time sounded like shit. And unfortunately, I have heard rappers a lot worse than Hyoyeon :(

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    3. tbh i don't think i would dislike hyoyeon's rapping so much if her fucking fans didn't shove her down everyone's throats so much. (agree about the worse rappers thing though oh my god)
      OMG HOYGODDESS SHE IS THE GREATEST DANCER EVARR<3333 and bringing up how "beautiful" she is in totally unrelated conversations.

      she's probably my favourite snsd member on variety though

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  10. In all honesty though, U&! >>>>>> all other shit comebacks such as MichiGO, Gentleman, Coffee Shop ect. I actually think that this is a really great song, regardless of the faft that it looks like a Beyonce imitation.

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  11. She's not even close to beyonce, Hyorin is the K Beyonce, she's way better than Ailee but she doesn't want to go solo

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  12. I am honestly offended that IU hasn't been mentioned once in this entire thread.

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    1. she's irrelevant now that she lost her virginity to eunhyuk

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    2. You still like her? Devoted aint you

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  13. Song isnt bad but Ailee was much tanner then this, she looks like a damn ghost. Tanned Ailee >>>>>>>>> Casper

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  14. i hate lee hi! i saw one of her mvs once, thinking that shit was good, but.............

    what the hell i saw!!!!!!!!!! she doesn't has facial expression...i think all the botox and plastic surgery has let her like that...i...mean...she....doesn't.....even....winks....nor smiles .... weird!!!

    anyway ailee has a very good voice,and...she can wink (at least)

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