Kpop Artist of the Week: Big Bang

If Korean pop music were a meal, Big Bang would be the rice. You can't have a complete understanding of Kpop without them. Big Bang resembles a typical United States boy band: there are 5 members, they sing and dance, they are wildly popular with teenage girls, and the selection of members was documented on a TV show. Unlike the boy bands of the US, however, most of the members of Big Bang had careers in the music industry before combining into one group. This boy band also aims to maintain more of a hip-hop image than a pop one. Furthermore, the group endorses Hite, a Korean beer. Not very wholesome if you ask me.



Big Bang is probably the first Kpop group a foreigner will become familiar with. And the foreigner audience is exactly who they are aiming to attract. Most of their songs contain a combination of English and Korean lyrics. The group is currently trying to break into the Japanese market, recording songs in the Japanese language. This move does not go over well with their Korean fan base, because as my students say about Japanese pop, "You can't understand what they're saying."

Check out Big Bang's breakout single, "Lies."