I’ve been away from substack for a few months so am reading up on the articles I’ve missed. Interesting discussion here. I feel like despite the huge surge in K-pop’s popularity over the past decade, there is still a stigma—for the lack of a better word—associated with the genre in the more Western parts of the world. The genre is inherently eclectic, which could put off some self-proclaimed musical purists. Or the resistance could stem from K-pop’s fixation with delivering a highly controlled performance that may seem “artificial” to Western fans more accustomed to less choreo-intensive stages. Whatever the reason, K-pop still registers as an Other to some music listeners.
On a completely different note, I am so jealous that you got to see NewJeans perform in the states. I’ve seen clips of it online and it looks epic.
This reminds me of one of the bigger (if not the most... upmarket) music festival here in the Philippines.
Wanderland's established itself as a home for cool indie kids and their parents who loved Death Cab for Cutie (they did headline one year) but after the pandemic has shown some diversity in their line-up. Sure, it aligns with the cool-ification of Asian pop, but they've had some indie Korean acts in recent years... and last year, they almost had iKON's Bobby (meaning he was announced but had to cancel on the day itself, so probably travel issues?). This year—last month!—they had Hwasa on.
And I saw some complaints from the festival's (devoted?) audience about how Wanderland is not a K-pop festival and probably shouldn't have it in the first place. Sure, the line-up this year was a bit of a dud, but the inclusion of Asian pop acts probably was the last straw for some, who ended up selling their tickets at a loss.
A friend of mine suggested the organizers should just do a separate K-pop music festival rather than besmirch the indie cred of Wanderland, never mind (again) that "cool kids" also listen to these acts nowadays.
So, a lot about perception—and not wanting to be associated with an uncool product. At least here in the Philippines, in my somewhat more cynical read of things. I remember when I first wrote about K-pop on my old music blog, and getting raised eyebrows from friends... and now they're the bigger fans.
That's really interesting and I can see how people would feel that way. But it also feels weird for people to be such purists over what festivals should look like! I've actually seen so many stories of badly planned and organized Kpop festivals that I am personally more likely to check out a mainstream festival with a few Asian acts knowing that I will get my money's worth (if I am going to have to travel to anyways...)
I’ve been away from substack for a few months so am reading up on the articles I’ve missed. Interesting discussion here. I feel like despite the huge surge in K-pop’s popularity over the past decade, there is still a stigma—for the lack of a better word—associated with the genre in the more Western parts of the world. The genre is inherently eclectic, which could put off some self-proclaimed musical purists. Or the resistance could stem from K-pop’s fixation with delivering a highly controlled performance that may seem “artificial” to Western fans more accustomed to less choreo-intensive stages. Whatever the reason, K-pop still registers as an Other to some music listeners.
On a completely different note, I am so jealous that you got to see NewJeans perform in the states. I’ve seen clips of it online and it looks epic.
This reminds me of one of the bigger (if not the most... upmarket) music festival here in the Philippines.
Wanderland's established itself as a home for cool indie kids and their parents who loved Death Cab for Cutie (they did headline one year) but after the pandemic has shown some diversity in their line-up. Sure, it aligns with the cool-ification of Asian pop, but they've had some indie Korean acts in recent years... and last year, they almost had iKON's Bobby (meaning he was announced but had to cancel on the day itself, so probably travel issues?). This year—last month!—they had Hwasa on.
And I saw some complaints from the festival's (devoted?) audience about how Wanderland is not a K-pop festival and probably shouldn't have it in the first place. Sure, the line-up this year was a bit of a dud, but the inclusion of Asian pop acts probably was the last straw for some, who ended up selling their tickets at a loss.
A friend of mine suggested the organizers should just do a separate K-pop music festival rather than besmirch the indie cred of Wanderland, never mind (again) that "cool kids" also listen to these acts nowadays.
So, a lot about perception—and not wanting to be associated with an uncool product. At least here in the Philippines, in my somewhat more cynical read of things. I remember when I first wrote about K-pop on my old music blog, and getting raised eyebrows from friends... and now they're the bigger fans.
That's really interesting and I can see how people would feel that way. But it also feels weird for people to be such purists over what festivals should look like! I've actually seen so many stories of badly planned and organized Kpop festivals that I am personally more likely to check out a mainstream festival with a few Asian acts knowing that I will get my money's worth (if I am going to have to travel to anyways...)