It took several years of trial and error, accumulative contributions from artists of different agencies, unexpceted collaborations, networking, and the gradual buildup of global fans to turn K-Pop from sub-culture to mainstream.Among all the K-Pop entertainment agencies that has existed, YG Entertainment has naturally been one that always had that specific color that can be defined as pop music sung in the Korean language. Having a genius Korean-American in-house producer, Teddy Park, starting out as an artist in YG obviously helped out immensely, and arguably played a pivotal role in shaping the agency’s production sounds and audition applicant selection as well. Perhaps it was due to the roots and origins of hip-hop that the founding members of the agency all had?In the early days, after the YG Family crew days where BIGBANG and 2NE1 reigned as the top K-Pop artists, phenomenal members such as CL and G-Dragon bridged the pop scene of both the US and Europe to K-Pop through various collaborative works of music and fashion.Diplo, Skrillex, Baauer, and etc. who are all world-class producers, were quick to catch on to the immense potential K-Pop could offer when it came to creating something both familiar yet new. Remember ‘Doctor Pepper’, ‘Temple’, and ‘Dirty Vibe’?In short, YG Entertainment already naturally had a great balance of Western style production and K-Pop, even before K-Pop became a widespread topic of a household conversation in the US and Europe.Which is why it’s not too surprising that the most popular K-Pop girl group of 2021, BLACKPINK, is what we end up with now. Could anyone ask for a more perfect global K-Pop girl group than the quartet? They are the only K-Pop girl group to have ever performed at Coachella and more importantly, their ever so well produced music perfectly demonstrates how K-Pop is not really even a separate genre, but just pop music sung in the Korean language. To begin with, the member selection, whether 100% intentional or somewhat coincidental, is simply mind-blowing. There’s enough of cultural diversity in the four of them, yet also enough original Korean-ness to visually emulate how their music sounds. Jennie and Rose who lived abroad, Lisa from Thailand, and JiSoo who plays the biggest role in representing the Korean vibes of the group. The multi-cultral chemistry that the four members display through their friendship and professionalism is not something that one can fully plan or re-create easily.So the girl group’s fandom BLINKs may have been left in frustration in the past of the girls not having a proper studio length album for quite some time, prior to the release of ‘THE ALBUM’. However, the agency’s strategy of having released just one hit single after another, actually makes them all the more unique. It’s a perfect example of and usage of supply and demand utilized to build bigger hype and anticipation. And they’re the only ones to have done it properly with success.And you have to admit, every single one of the group’s singles, are undeniable hits that show the finest qualities of music production. The sounds are trend-setting, the melody and lyrics are instantly recognizable to listeners, and the visual concepts from the attires, hairstyles, and to the choreography leaves even the peers and industry insiders in a state of awe and envy. Their music sounds quite familiar and similar to mainstream pop, yet is different enough and packed with K-Pop’s original flavor for listeners to be intrigued and entertained.But mainstream entertainment, especially these days, is not fully complete without fashion. Which is why Jennie, Rose, Lisa, and JiSoo are all the more special as they are highly influential fashion icons. By now, unless you’ve been living under a rock, no one needs to remind you that Jennie represents CHANEL, Rose for Yves Saint Laurent, Lisa for Celine, and JiSoo for Dior. We see it so often on the media, and sometimes might forget just how impressive and amazing this scenario really is. Even just a little over seven to eight years ago, could anyone imagine K-Pop idols representing global luxury designer brands that tended to overlook Asians?K-Pop, and South Korean society, mainly functions in not an individualistic way, but more so in a group-oriented way, which can really make it difficult for anyone to truly stand out in the long run. How could anyone do so in such an environment, when the majority of people tend to dress, talk, sing, behave, and think all the same? It also means that even as appreciators and consumers of K-Pop, one can’t help admit that there’s way too many players in the industry who do not have anything new to offer, most likely a by-product of a society where standing out too much causes raised brows. This is why BLACKPINK is not just by definition, a perfect and desirable girl group, but truly distinguished players in the industry.
