I originally wanted to share this in the discussion thread, but there's too much to simply articulate for light reading. I just hope this post isn't too brainy or rambling for this sub.
For context, here's a YouTube playlist of everything that is referenced in this post, as well as a Spotify playlist.
I had a really enlightening conversation about K-Pop with a long-time mutual yesterday, and I figured I'd share some very important points relating to TWICE's impact and the sheer genius of their development. We also raved about their J-Line, and why it is the most untouchable in all of K-Pop.
So here's what I took away from it, edited for clarity:
1. TWICE has to be one of the greatest geopolitical achievements in pop music.
The fact that they may reach Super Junior levels of longevity gives me lots of hope for future girl groups. And I personally dislike Suju, but TWICE heading in that direction is incredible. They'll be the only girl group alongside Brown Eyed Girls to achieve that.
To find acceptance, success and longevity in SK and Japan is a feat that so few acts have achieved. The fact that TWICE has managed to continually blaze the same trail as BoA is a testament to her legacy too, because hardly any groups effortlessly traverse the spheres of K-Pop and J-Pop on a grand scale. KARA and SNSD were able to in terms of image and sound, but unfortunate circumstances caused them to miss the boat on longevity.
With the obvious reality of xenophobia in Japan, TWICE are such a revelation, especially because xenophobia will always have pertinence in Japan, and yet their presence affirms and counters all notions of that.
To be honest, I don't really see TWICE as a nation's girl group anymore, but even that's incredibly special. With the heights they've reached, they’re the universe’s K-Pop group. It feels maybe a little weird to say, but they’re really the chosen idols in that sense.
2. When it comes to a group as important as TWICE, context has to be everything, although their story and significance is still continuously evolving in every aspect of what K-Pop is.
There was only really one group that was going to fully carry SNSD's torch. I'm glad it's TWICE, especially because their legacy addresses the more complex issues with Asian society that SNSD’s fame and eventual legacy built the foundation for.
3. TWICE's identity is so clearly influenced and informed by multiple things.
These include:
- The musical styles and concepts often associated with 2nd gen groups that debuted in the thick of or late into 2nd Gen, and mostly those not in the big 3 (ie: 4Minute, Apink, After School)
- The multinational lineup and global aims of their company's predecessors (2PM and Wonder Girls)
- Retaining JYP's signature retro sound and consistently incorporating it into their discography, which further solidifies them as one of the classic JYP acts alongside god, Wonder Girls, 2PM, and Miss A (or even a synthesis of the classic JYP groups before them)
But with the immensely complicated geopolitics of modern East Asia mixed in, and the incorporation of Japanese youth culture that fully embraced 2nd Gen K-Pop (the J-Line), especially because they're the first girl group of their kind to experience the same level of success as SNSD.
4. The amount of maturity in TWICE’s formation and development was spellbinding.
There was a full understanding of the history and the context of which they were created in. They knew what they were doing, and the fact that both Japan and Korea’s audiences were so receptive on a scale that might remain forever untouched.
That being said,
5. There's so much genius behind the synthesis of Japanese and Korean idol music in the J-Line alone.
People who often criticize the J-Line in bad faith haven't listened to enough J-Pop to understand the cultural context of why they were chosen, and how their voices are used. Above all things, the J-Line was created to familiarize Japanese audiences, but what's more fascinating is how each member of the J-Line carries something – vocally, personality-wise, and visually – representative of a certain period of Japanese pop and idol music.
Sana: She has that Avex tone down to a T – which unfortunately leads to many non-Japanese listeners pigeonholing all Japanese vocalists as nasal. It makes her voice even more unique in K-Pop, because it sounds like throwing hitomi (Hitomi Furuya) and Kaori Mochida (Every Little Thing) into a blender. It's a vocal tone that is characteristically and musically Japanese, and it's incredible that such a voice can effortlessly win over Korean audiences the way that it did. No wonder it did.
Not to mention that she could easily fit into Morning Musume too. But I digress.
Momo: She is such a clear cut example of EXILE's influence spreading into their girl groups, as well as the general aura of someone who was evidently raised on naughties Amuro Namie, all while having a similar vocal tone to 2000s Gwen Stefani. She's also someone who's DEFINITELY educated herself on Koda Kumi.
Mina: The most classic example of the Japanese idol in a Korean girl group. JYPE clearly picked someone whose vocal tone is so clearly reminiscent of how late 80s soloists like Seiko Matsuda bled into actor-singers like Takako Matsu. Visually, they were clearly looking for someone whose appearances and demeanor evoked the earnesty, homeliness, and familiarity of Hikaru Utada, Ryoko Hirosue, and Akina Nakamori.
So much about MISAMO's experiences point to them being one of the many Japanese youths enamored by the second wave of Hallyu – and yet in every sense of it, Mina still retains the classic image of a Japanese idol, both as a Japanese idol in a South Korean girl group, and as an individual who grew up in a Japanese society whose entertainment industry was – and still is – primarily fronted by post-Bubble (Lost Generation) survivors.
All things considered, the extent of TWICE’s impact might be untouchable, and it remains unique because many girl groups after them have been replicated to some extent in their image while considering the same history and context that TWICE were created in. The influx of Japanese, Taiwanese, and Chinese idols wouldn't have happened otherwise.
Even when consuming East Asian pop culture as a whole, there’s also been a sort of unspoken agreement that regardless of geopolitics, eventually all of East Asian culture will bleed into each other. We're seeing this with how current Japanese idol groups (PSYCHIC FEVER) are starting to frequently incorporate the styles and sounds of their contemporaries from across the pond.
Given the resilience of TWICE, sometimes I’m forced to wonder how we’re anywhere near the place we are in Japan and Korea’s cultural mixing. Idols may let us dream of it, but even when TWICE's impact is as undeniable as it is, it's still a really long way to go.
by booboosnack
1 Comment
Let me add Twice has shown a girl group ( has strong GP support, has weak fandom support) can be like a boy group ( has weak GP support, has strong fandom support). While Twice doesn’t chart well, it has a strong album and concert ticket sales. They can sell out arenas and stadiums around the world.