Ahead of their debut performance in India, members of Korean pop band BESTie tell Christy Varghese that the genre of K-pop music is gaining popularity because of good content teamed with interesting visuals
A couple of weeks back the term K-pop came to the fore, as the Billboards Fan Army Face-Off competition turned ugly where the fans of popular contemporary boy band, One Direction (1D) took to the internet to exchange blows with the followers of a prominent K-pop band, T-ara. 1D was kicked out of the major popularity competition when T-ara proceeded into the finals amidst allegations that its fans had cheated.
To those who are not familiar with it, K-pop is a musical genre which originated in South Korea. It is characterised by a wide variety of audiovisual elements including fast paced synchronised choreography. Although it comprises all genres of popular music within South Korea, the term is more often used in a narrower sense to describe a modern form of South Korean pop music covering mostly dance-pop, pop ballad, electronic, rock, hip-hop, R&B, et al. First gaining popularity in East Asia in the late 1990s, let’s be honest, until PSY came along, K-pop was still a super niche market that seemed light years away from being compared to comparatively more popular bands like 1D. In the late 2000s, it grew from a musical genre into a subculture among teenagers and young adults of East and South-East Asia. Currently, the spread of K-pop to other regions of the world, via the Korean wave can be easily seen, in India courtesy the efforts of Korean Culture Centre (KCC). The KCC had organised a K-pop competition in India to tap into the Indian K-pop lovers in Bangalore, Chennai Mumbai, Kolkata, Mizoram, Nepal and New Delhi. The best participants have been shortlisted to perform in the finale at the ‘2015 Feel Korea with K-POP Contest India’ from August 28-30 2015 at Siri fort Auditorium in New Delhi.
BESTie’s first mini album Hot Baby was released on July 28. Three days later, the official music video was released. On August 29, the group released a digital repackaged mini album with a new track I Need You produced by Duble Sidekick and HomeBoy. Thanking fans for the success of Hot Baby, Bestie performed I Need You on M! Countdown a day before the song's digital release.
Here’s an excerpt from BESTie’s interview:
Haeryung also pursues a career in acting. How is she balancing the twoIJ
Haeryung: After joining BESTie, I started to pursue acting in the Korean Drama in the SBS Channel. Without the band I wouldn’t have the opportunity to act in these dramas. For me, the band is always a priority for me. So whether I sing or act, I try my best to promote BESTie. Hence, balancing is not a problem.
What has helped you stay together as a band since 2013IJ
We guess we have stuck together because of the love of our fans who we call ‘Bestiny’. Their love and support for our music keeps us going and keeps us together. They gives us immense energy and strength to move on.
Besides your visit to India, what else do you have in store for your listenersIJ
It is the first time that we will travel to India. We just hope we can live up to the expectations of our Indian fans.
Do you think that the people’s interest in Korean pop is on the riseIJ
K-pop music is very easy to follow and tune in to. It’s very colorful and interesting, too. Because of this, K-pop is definitely on the rise. We think many people are interested in the the genre because it has very good music contents combined with good music and interesting visuals.
Is there any particular reason why you decided to call yourself BESTieIJ
BESTie is short for best friend. We want to be a reliable group like close friends to our fans. Plus, the music is very comfortable and friendly and joyous.
In the future we would like to compose music which is very friendly and easy for all to understand. We’ll do our best to develop the band.