What do you do when you take one of my favorite songs of the year and translate it to the Japanese market? YOU HAVE TO MAKE IT FUCKING SHIT TO SUIT JAPAN.
The first problem I have with this version is the Japanese language. The original Korean version had some lines sung at a fast pace, and when you translate that into an extremely similar language with vocabulary words almost twice as long, hearing those rapid-fire lines in Japanese makes it sound like shit. It's not just this song in particular, it is every single Korean-to-Japanese song that has this problem, and songs with faster-sung lines such as AOA's Miniskirt exacerbates the problems.
I find the Japanese language to be a terrible match with genres such as pop and hiphop, though it is possible for Japanese in pop songs to sound good. For that to be the case, you have to start from the ground up and compose original Japanese songs. Being lazy and using a Korean track won't do. However, the problem with going with original Japanese songs is that 99% of Japanese pop composers suck gigantic dick. To make matters worse, J-pop has been using the same style of instrumentals for over 20 years now. Shit is stale as fuck.
On the MV side, the girls look hot (<3 Mina), but seeing as this is a Japanese MV, I'm surprised the girls were this provocative. Although Japan is the weird-porn capital of the world, the MVs are usually so disgustingly cute that even an Orange Caramel fan would throw up watching a Japanese idol MV. Therefore, I'm assuming that this was filmed in Korea because I don't see overly cute things in the MV nor any tentacle monsters defiling the members.
I would be more interested in seeing the band version of AOA working in Japan, as rock is a genre that Japan can actually do well (except for garbage bands like ONE OK ROCK). I would hate to see AOA abandon their Korean image just to suit the shitty-as-fuck toddler concepts that wotas in Japan love to fap to.
But in the end, I'm just disappointed that AOA debuted in Japan. Aside from SNSD and After School, every Korean girl group has shitty original Japanese songs. It's just the law of the land.
Why was this necessary? Haven't FNC already established F.T. Island in Japan? (I'm assuming they're popular over their because that's where they've spent the majority of their career. The would've disbanded by now if Korea was their biggest market being they've been going on since 2007 and they're STILL flops) I guess FNC just doesn't want to put all of its eggs in one basket. Anyway, as bad as this is, I'm betting it will be nothing compared to Apink's debut in October. Prepare your anuses for the biggest cutsey, vomit inducing bullshit ever created.
ReplyDeleteThirst demand I assume. But yeah A Pink will themselves comfortably in Japan.
DeleteGod that was painful. On the plus side, kudos to AOA for this major comeback. They were falling into obscurity until FNC dug them up, ignored that awkward Oppa-look-I-can-hold-a-guitar band and released this song. If you asked me a year ago while I was still listening to Moya if they would debut in Japan, I would have told you no way in hell. Long live Seolhyun
ReplyDelete"except for garbage bands like ONE OK ROCK"
ReplyDeletesay what you want, but they are really amazing live :3 ...90% of "mainstream" and v-kei bands sucks
*coughcough Sakanaction https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWcdyTljEaQ
DeleteBest Sakanaction song (and ingenious video, if you know Japanese):
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS6wzjpCvec
I had heard about Sakanaction, but was only recommended some of their bad songs. I really like the song you posted, No.
DeleteI only know their self-titled album. Of which I especially like Yoru no odoriko, Music, M, Boku to hana, Nantettatte haru, and mellow.
DeleteThey mostly make some soft electro-rock.
OOR is good and Sakanaction is superior and Aruku Around is better than anything coming out of korea back then and now and the repeated tripe kpop groups come out with died in 2011 and their are better rappers than m-flo and jurban is where it is at
Deletethey're quite good, but too i wouldn't call them rock band :3 for me lacco tower are good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qll6BbpH2PI
Deleteand also ircle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTpR7SKqGVI
@Unknown; ...and now in English, please.
DeleteTo turn something as good as Miniskirt into this is quite an achievement.
ReplyDelete(This is not a compliment but this is me trying to comfort myself for what they've done to one of my most favorite K-POP song. Screw you FNC).
Yeah - the AOA band concept might actually work in Japan.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, it seems that both AOA and A-Pink have predominantly female fans in Japan (based on the airport fan screams).
I think all K-pop groups in Japan mainly have female fans. The 40-year-old wotas are busy jacking it to AKB48's toddler concepts.
DeleteYou are not alone in that sentiment, most of the kpop girl group fans have a lot of female fans because they want someone acting like real women for once. Not a bunch of 20 year olds acting like they are still in high school. As someone on the Onehallyu thread lamenting the disbanding of idol groups who didn't catered to Wotas said
Delete"Ugh. I feel you. When it comes to pop girl groups J-Pop has got nothing on K-Pop. I used to fantasize about Japan debuting a group like BEG, After School or Sistar but the idea of women being sexy and empowering seems scary and foreign to Japanese labels and if a group does the sexy concept you'll end up seeing girls who look 12 wearing bikinis with ribbons because of course that's the only way a woman can be sexy."
Although to your discredit, what you are asking for is a very dangerous line. Are you saying even the 13 year old girls should wear dark leather dresses and lingeries outta victoria's secret and do body rolls and butt dances along with Kojiharu? Because there are minors in the group and that is somewhat creepy I have to admit about it.
Not as Creepy as the 40 year old Wotas though.
Koda kumi and not everything has to come in a boy /girl group form because their is only so much you can do with a group but fans are a bit different compared to other music markets
DeleteAlso toss in Maki Goto, so we should wait until Kojiharu graduates and becomes a full out jpop broad.
DeleteStill my statement stands, I know we all hate the jidol groups but would you really want to see a 13 year old dance like Beyonce with her older peers since the idol groups do have actual members who isn't legal?
The worst thing about the japanese version is how they butcher the "HEY, HEY, HEY" at the beginning, seriously, listen to the original, it's so much better.
ReplyDeleteBUT WHAT ABOUT THAT SHINEE TEASER THO
ReplyDeleteAlso for te record. You should check out the jurban stuff if you find the jidol stuff making you puke mv wise.
ReplyDeleteJ-Urban (for the most part) is almost as bad as J-pop. I only like a few groups and solo rappers/composers.
Deletewait, you're praising snsd? when was the last time you did that?
ReplyDeletethe red dresses are actually the most unflattering thing ive ever seen them in. i was expecting this MV to be amazing, usually Korean to Japanese songs have better MVs (2 great examples : Gee and Oh! by SNSD), but this was a terrible explosion of red and white, and not much else.
ReplyDelete