INTERVIEW Why TWICE doomed, BTS to prosper further
K-pop girl band TWICE rose to stardom thanks to hit tracks including “Cheer Up” and “TT.” Courtesy of JYP Entertainment
By Dong Sun-hwa
The pan-Asian K-pop girl band TWICE has been making great strides on the music scene, releasing several hit songs and winning dozens of awards since its debut in 2015.
But the future of the nine-piece team will not be dazzling if it fails to come up with more durable musical content, according to critic Jung Min-jae, who writes for online music magazine “IZM.”
Music critic Jung Min-jae has some strong views on K-pop's future.
“I am quite skeptical about the future of TWICE ― the band makes its comeback three to four times a year with cookie-cutter songs and concepts,” Jung said in a recent interview with The Korea Times. “This is 'consumptive' for the artists and wearisome for the listeners.”
TWICE is not the only group at risk. In fact, most K-pop teams are in jeopardy. They have fallen prey to extreme commercialism promoted by agencies that mostly pursue short-term benefits, Jung said.
“The music market has been vitalized in an abnormal way, with the agencies making several different versions of an album, holding fan singing events and encouraging duplicate purchases among fans,” he said. “Most of them seem to prioritize profits over music content.”
When a team's heyday ends, the agency introduces another band comprised of younger and talented trainees to repeat this “malicious cycle” that leaves music behind, Jung said. This is the same for almost all agencies in Korea, regardless of their size and reputation.
“Then, how many K-pop tracks would people remember after 10 years?” he said. “If the K-pop industry does not make breakthroughs, the listeners will continue to grow tiresome of trite songs and the K-pop boom might fade into history in the long run after losing its historical significance.”
So how can the music be durable and sustainable?
K-pop boy group BTS has attempted to let people know about the pleasure of listening to its music. Courtesy of Big Hit Entertainment
Jung cited K-pop titan BTS, the seven-member boy group that conquered Billboard charts in 2018, as an example. The members are known to have taken active roles in making their own inventive music since their debut in 2013.
“BTS has attempted to let people know about the pleasure of listening to their music by inserting compelling stories into their songs and producing albums that are connected to each other in a series,” Jung said. “The team also preserves their music content by displaying their gigs in the form of films and YouTube documentaries.”
He said the team could establish a precedent that suggests ways to enhance the power and influence of music in the K-pop industry.
Jung also predicted that 2019 will be game-changing for K-pop, with a flood of rookie bands tuning up to make a debut.
“TXT (Big Hit Entertainment), ITZY (JYP Entertainment) and TREASURE (YG Entertainment) are among the teams gearing up for their debut,” he said. “They have already grabbed the attention of followers around the world and it would be interesting to see who will survive and make a big splash.”