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
