Wednesday 30 June 2010

Orange Caramel - sickly or sweet? 어떡해

Yes i'm going to talk about a girlgroup, that isn't 2NE1, but stay with me here:

After School Brief history: 8 member girl group who debuted at the very start of 2009 with a Pussycat Girls type concept and then added a member (Uee, better known as that meddling bitch Yoo He Yi in the undisputed greatest K-drama ever "You're Beautiful"), then lost a member, then added 2 more, released a few singles, guested on MBLAQ's Idole Army - She's Coming and more recently had a hit with marching band drumline party tune BANG! complete with micro mini military uniforms and majorette hats.

After School have recently debuted their first ever "sub group" Orange Caramel, consisting of the 3 newest and youngest members Nana, Lizzie and Raina, showing a never seen before "cute and lovely" side of them:

It's cute, its lovely, it's probably so cute and lovely that I'm sure a lot of you are throwing up a little bit in your mouths already, but no not me, I love me some cute and lovely, and look matching miniature doll versions of themselves! and how about some BOWS and CUPCAKES and PASTEL COLOURS and BALLOONS and lovely smiling eyed cutie CN Blue drummer MINHYUK (he does nothing for me but for the sake of trying to convince you watch this MV i'm going to make like he's a total dreamboat, and sure a bow tie and a bicycle is making him a lot easier on the eye, I just replace his face with Ki Kwang...)...


Well that was something right?! He liked her so much he gave her a bunch of balloons that lifted her up and away just to get the hell away from her, bit of a plot flaw in the romance stakes. You might say being lifted away by balloons is a plot flaw but i'm guessing Nana weighs little more than a small bag of sugar so i'd say its feasible. At this point some of you probably have a few questions like, maybe, "what the hell was that?" you see that's not the usual k-pop sound, its not ballad, its not sexy girl group, but its not bubble gum pop girlgroup either, it was even cuter, even sweeter , it was apparently a new genre of k-pop "candy music" or as I like to call it... J-POP. Yes, Japanese manufactured girlgroup pop (which ranges from tambourine banging terror tunes like this one to guilty pleasure catchy sweetness like this), Hello Project staples like Morning Musume, Berryz and C-ute. In fact their was even a plagerism accusation based on similarities between Orange Caramel's "Magic Girl" and C-ute's "Hare no Platinum Doori" but *yawn* whatever, plagerism in k-pop doesn't seem like news to me, k-pop emulating an entire genre of j-pop and people pretending like its this new thing is more my point. I'm not either for or against this, i'm just surprised some k-poppers went this route. J-pop idols are a huge industry and male fans and otakus are willing to shell out some major funds to snap up everything their favourite girl's do, but k-pop already had Girls Generation with a huge male fanbase, that whole dancing for our creepy uncle's vibe and the trading cards to boot, I don't see why they needed this too? Obviously somebody wanted to go all the way, the Japanese way and use the tried and tested formula that dressing like 12 year olds going to a birthday party in 1987 + cutesy CKYOOOT voices + irresistible/annoying dance beats/music that sounds like its a cheap keyboard demo song + accompanying arm motion dance moves = a big hit with middle aged men. Witness the Hello Project Summer Tour 2009 in action and listen to those thousands of chanting MALE fans (there's like a minute long into where it sounds like it's going to kick into the Big Breakfast theme song, but don't skip it or you ruin the anticipation and miss some chanting..):


The formula seems to be working with Orange Caramel, just take a listen to the manly fanchants on their live stage, Ajushi power!!

Despite the fact that this is all pretty ridiculous, the fact that Nana is slowly morphing into some kind of fake ScandinavianXAsian hybrid android and there is some pretty terrible singing going on (like that high note thats in the song about 5 times, yet none of them can ever hit it), I kind of like it, but really this should come as no surprise, as I am Bunny, my motto is "too much is never enough", my love of cute and bows knows know limit, my tolerance for sickly pop is built up on a lifelong obsession with novelty music and a more recent unhealthy Johnny's Jimushu habit, I have already made an outfit that is eerily perfect for my debut as the 4th member of Orange Caramel and I have even already made a minature doll version of myself. I didn't stand a chance, don't look at me like that...

"힐끔힐끔 날 보는 너 눈이 닳아 버리겠어 어떡해 어떡해
(Your eyes that keep glancing at me will be worn out, What do I do, what do I do?)
부끄부끄 부끄럽게 뚫어져라 쳐다보면 어떡해 어떡해
(If you keep staring at me embarrassingly What do I do, what do I do?)"

- BUNNY 

7 comments:

Jessica Jane said...

"The three young idols were recently spotted making their orders in a fast food restaurant. One lucky netizen who took the pictures described his encounter:
“I couldn’t take my eyes off them when they entered the shop. They were as cute as little children when they line up to make their orders. I wanted to ask for autographs but I didn’t have the courage.”"

As cute as little children? Recently I have been reading way too much about peadophilia in S.Korea, and now they are bringing in a castration law? Yikes indeed.

Sorry, but I just don't think I can go there, to Orange Caramel fandom, right now. Admittedly I do love the bows, and you know I have a soft spot for Minhyuk (very clever!), but I HATE those mini-hat things, and really, the song is way way to JPOP for the likes of me. Maybe next time...

The post though! yes. I always thought this sounded JPOP through and through, and to hear it from you I know that I am right. So satisfying to read about.

Bunny said...

LOL, those crazy witness reports, and YIKES i've also been reading those reports.

In the words of the U-Kiss terror trio desperately pleading their platonic friendship, "please don't misunderstand" I wouldn't call myself a fan, I just like it a little bit, and god damn I HATE THOSE TINY HATS TOO! I can't tell you how many dodgey market sellers and over eager shop assistants have tried to sell me that crap over the years (they see me coming by a mile and think I must be into large hair accessories so they think i'm a sure bet, HELL NO). also dresses and wellingtons, in fact dresses and almost everykind of boot, especially cowboy boots, also no.

But glad I could confirm your j-pop intuition. please though, you'll have to have some flexibility in about 5 weeks time, you may be forced to listen to Arashi against your will. Just a warning.

Jessica Jane said...

I'm so happy to hear that you hate the hats too. I knew you would! Honestly, they are vile! Poor you having market sellers chase after your custom based on their barely founded opinions. I hope you give them what for.

Dresses and boots. Well, you said it.

I promise to be accomodating come August. By that time i'll already feel a sad nostalgia for leaving Japan, and will probably sigh *懐かしい* (i.e. natsukashi - nostalgic) as so many people seem to do here about everything on a daily basis. There's hope (as I'm sure you see it) for me yet.

Kayleigh said...

If candy tasted this shit, I wouldn't have translucent teeth!

Kayleigh said...

I'm sorry for my rather flippant comment.
But there is something PROFOUNDLY wrong with this.
I'm talking about their behaviour. It is NOT normal. It is so far from normal it's way past ABNORMAL.
And i've seen worse. There is one Girl's Generation video, and I swear each girl winks about 10 times in the space of 4 minutes.
GET IT AWAY FROM ME!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bunny said...

No need to apologise my dear, it is pretty far past the normal or abnormal even but then this is k-pop, I understand where you're coming from but I try and imagine if the shoe was on the other food, if Taemin winked at me 10 times in the space of 4 minutes I'd think it was my lucky day...

Jessica Jane said...

So rational Bunny. I'll try to remember this in future.