We all know that Girls’ Generation is a lovable group of girls who happen to sing and dance. The reasons we all became fans of them are numerous, ranging from their catchy songs, to their beautiful looks, to their dorky personalities. It’s obvious why we are addicted to them. However, it’s not as clear to people who typically do not enjoy pop music, much less Korean pop music produced by a girl group.
I was recently talking to a couple of my friends, and I mentioned to them that I was a writer for Soshified. One friend, a Caucasian male my age whom I have known since primary school, replied, “Dude, a girl group? You know you’re a guy, right?” The other friend, an Asian female whom I went to college with, said, “I have lost all respect for you.” (I did not expect her to have any respect for me anyway, so that was not a particularly huge blow, but that’s beside the point.) Why does it matter that these two people don’t understand how someone like me can like Girls’ Generation? Because that’s the mindset of many music followers in the West, especially here in the United States.
Now Girls’ Generation could be just fine in their own little sphere where they are currently, dominating South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and other Asian countries. If they decide to stick with Asia and not ever venture out from there, that’s fine by me. They’ve already been more successful in three years than I have been in my whole life so far. But if Girls’ Generation really wants to conquer the worldwide music scene, they must gain a foothold in the United States first.
Why does America matter though? It is because the United States is home to the biggest entertainment industry and the biggest music industry in the world. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, the United States routinely sells the most total units of music each year (singles, albums, DVDs, video tapes), which of course leads to the most spent on music sales each year. The United States is also home to three of the big four major corporate labels in recorded music: Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group, which are responsible for almost 60% of total unit sales worldwide, and the fourth company, EMI Group, is based in the United Kingdom, and takes up 15% of world music market sales shares.
Thus, if Girls’ Generation wants to be considered a worldwide phenomenon, it needs to make sure that it makes inroads into the United States. They have started with their appearances in SMTown and Korea Music Festival, their deal with Interscope Records, and their recent release of “The Boys” this past week. But how does Girls’ Generation grab more slices of the pie? Obviously, the girls have to cater to Western tastes in music and connect to their potential fans. The very first thing they need to do is to learn how to speak English and learn how to speak it fluently. It’s already hard enough for a native English speaker to make it in the music industry in the United States, much less a non-English speaker. You cannot promote your songs in a country if you cannot speak its dominant language, and obviously promotions are key to publicity and sales. The girls must sing their songs in English too. This should not be too big of a problem though, since the girls have historically done well with English covers. It would be best if their pieces were original rather than recreations like most of their Japanese songs as well, because lyrics in another language may not fit the original music, which would alienate both new and old fans alike.
This is especially important because the girls need English to connect with their potential fans in the Western world, where many people can understand English. Many Westerners, and people in the United States especially, have a tendency to only focus on what is familiar to them. They are content with what they know and finding concepts from other countries intriguing at best, and perhaps so weird that they do not care to look into or understand these new ideas. To be able to lessen this gap and make these potential fans feel comfortable, learning fluent English is all the more imperative for the girls.
Once the girls have learned how to speak English fluently, they must settle on an image. While America is known for having many highly sexualized starlets, the girls do not have to follow this case. Ashley Tisdale, Hilary Duff, Amanda Bynes, and many others have found success without selling their bodies. However, the cutesy image that Girls’ Generation has been known for will not work here. Their “Tell Me Your Wish” and “Run Devil Run” themes are a good starting point: cool, sleek, and sexy, without overdoing the sex. Their dances cannot be cutesy and wishy-washy either. They need to have bigger and more powerful moves to be able to make an impression.
Okay, so the girls have the language and the image down. Now what? They need to saturate the market with their product without overplayed. This is a very fine line we are drawing here, as it is very easy to step over this boundary. Whatever agency representing the girls will need to put time, money, and effort into making the girls known. This means booking appearances on national television shows, sending copies of their songs to relevant radio stations, putting out advertisements, and selling CDs everywhere music is sold. The girls cannot stay in their Korean or Asian comfort zone. They need to show that they can be relevant in people’s lives in America and around the world.
Of course, none of this means anything if the girls cannot produce decent music. If the girls kept their current musical style and merely transitioned into singing in English, the most success they can hope for is being a flash in the pan like other previously hot vocal groups, including Backstreet Boys, ‘N Sync, Spice Girls, and Pussycat Dolls. They all have achieved millions in record sales, but they only stayed on top of the music scene for a few years at the most. Who are the best selling artists in history, you ask? The Beatles. Elvis. Michael Jackson. ABBA. Madonna. All of these people were pop artists, so pop can sell. But they also produced material that was complex yet enjoyable, and listeners could connect with the music and lyrics without feeling bored. The girls need to step it up a notch and show that their incredible talents in singing and dancing, especially through songs that can appeal to both the more sophisticated palate and the young, fun-loving preference.
Maybe just as important as the music they produce is the people the girls are. While this is one of the two most important elements in succeeding in the West, this point may be the easiest for the girls to achieve. You and I already know that the girls are real people. They do not act like spoiled stars that unfortunately populate the entertainment industry. They are all down –to-earth, caring, dorky, funny, smart, genuine young ladies. They do need to speak English more, again so that their American fans can connect with them. But it would be incredibly refreshing for young stars who are not known for controversies or negative stereotypes to be part of the scene. No sex tapes or DUIs or drug busts are necessary. They don’t just need publicity. They need to be liked as well, right? That can be easily arranged.
Now the aforementioned points are fairly common-sensical and only form the big picture. Many more details are necessary for the girls to be able to succeed in the West, such as hiring the right people to work with: choreographers, producers, writers, composers, agents, publicists, and so on. They need to commit a lot of time here in the United States; they cannot constantly jet back and forth like they do between South Korea and Japan. They may need to start small to prove their worth before moving up to the big stage and playing arenas and stadiums. And above all, they cannot give up just because success doesn’t come to them quickly. Nevertheless, they need to hit all the categories in the big picture to succeed, no matter how many good people they hire and how much time they spend in the country. They have a good start with their first English song of “The Boys” and their first worldwide album release. They do have a strong and smart company backing them up, they have us current SONEs, and they have each other, which form a great base to begin with. Sooner or later, by following this outline, I would not be surprised to see the girls dominate the entire world. And maybe I can finally regain my deserved respect.
Disclaimer: Views expressed are solely those of the author and are not representative of the Soshified community as a whole.
Sources: chart.apis.google.com, girlsgeneration-theboys.blogspot.com, HDKpopMusicVideo@youtube.com
Written by: residentbenchwarmer@soshified.com
Contributors: letaengbutt@soshified.com, SeraphKY@soshified.com
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Didn’t really like this article bc it sounded like the writer is only interested in his group becoming the biggest thing in the world.
SNSD is doing fine :
1. Worldwide phenomenon? Look at the map you posted!
2. 9 million hits in a few days.
3. Without speaking a lot of English, they have become one of the most popular pop groups in the world, period. They have gotten this far BECAUSE they are a little different. They don’t need to conform completely to the market; “The Boys” is a decent adaptation. “Step their game up?” They’re already world class! People like them because of their differences and then find that they are great people. As long as they are true to themselves, or maybe even if they aren’t, their fans will continue to support them.
4. Audience will only continue to grow and the girls are set for life. Noone stays on top forever(not even MJ, Madonna, Elvis), but their audiences never stop growing.
5. SMTown NY is going to raise awareness of Kpop and SNSD in a very big way, to both people in the US and everywhere else. ie, Everywhere they go, there are going to be people screaming.
My bad.
Oh, c’mon, not everything that good in quality have to be popular worldwide. Many famous worldwide artist (many came from u.s.) are become well known thanks to their label, is just about big spend during promotion, but their quality: suckkkk!! How do you expect everything that you love have to be famous, they could lose their sense in force of being famous. And what’s with America? do you expect them to have a life like Britney Spears? or Lady Gaga? like married for a days only? America’s celebrity lifestyle doesn’t fit for Asian people, if The Girls start to act like Britney, or making a porn picture like Katy Perry, surely I will leave their fanclub for life. Hate that kind of people said themselves as celebrity.
I agree with the author on a lot of the points, but the one about changing the music style to fit American tastes is I think maybe a little extreme. If the girls change their music style to be more to “American” tastes, then what makes them different from any other American pop group? We’ve seen multiple times already that sex scandals, DUIs, and general jackassness are not barriers to entry into the American music scene. The girls couldn’t expect to carry sales based on their personalities alone, as sorry as that might sound. There’s no right or wrong way to do entertainment, that’s why it’s so hard, but I would think the best thing for them is to do exactly what they’re doing right now: experiment. We all know they can perform a variety of music styles, and not just flavors of pop. They experimented with a new sound for The Boys, and it seems they did so to some pretty good acclaim.
As an entry or test song, I think The Boys has excellent potential. The English version is pretty meaningless, but if it does well, the people who listen to it will be enticed to look up our girls and find out what other music they’ve done. Once they prepare to do another English song or maybe a full English album, they’ll be able to experiment more with putting a meaning and story into the English songs. Might even be a good idea to have a couple of songs that only use two or three of the girls instead of all nine on a prospective album, just to quell possible criticism of their singing abilities.
As for promotions, I think SM needs to go a specific route to make sure the girls can show off their charms. Interviews to promote the album would be great, but not in a sterile, business-like environment. For an example, watch any Craig Ferguson interview. Those are informative, yes, but they’re also, more often than not, just plain funny, and we’ve seen multiple times that the girls’ personalities shine when they’re just allowed to screw around a little bit and be themselves.
The other part of SM’s route is similar to what they’ve done in Korea: get them on popular television. Not as permanent stars immediately, that would be fairly ridiculous considering in the States right now the girls possibly carry less name recognition than Summer Glau. Start off just putting them out there as guest stars. Like, put Seohyun on Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader. Have Tiffany or Jessica appear on an episode of House or CSI or something like that.
There is one thing, though, that SM needs to avoid. The head of JYP talked about this in regards to Wonder Girls’ US debut. SM needs to promote Girls’ Generation as they’re predominant style, pop. Not K-pop, and especially not “world music,” where too many native Asian artists seem to be relegated (this is where I found BoA’s US album and Yuki Kajiura’s Fiction album, the former all in English and the latter almost all in English; even in Seoul did I find something like this, with the “pop” section of a music store hosting all American artists, and Korean artists reserved for “K-pop”, including BoA’s Japanese single Bump Bump!).
I don’t have much to say but this was a very interesting read as I have no knowledge of what mainstream music is like in the US. FYI I do live in the US but I only listen to punk/ska which is underground. My point though is I hope the girls can make it here in the US and maybe we can have some decent mainstream music other than lady gaga and etc.
Ok here’s my two cents, honestly I believe the two big things that need to happen to help the girls become well known in the USA are.
One, radio play, with so many artists out there, the way I discover someone new is by hearing their song on the radio, and then remembering the name of the person/group and then look up more about them online.
Two, I hate to say it, but if celebrities in the US start to take notice, then they will help get the word out. Case in point, with 2NE1, not that they aren’t already amazingly talented in their own right, but having the support of Perez Hilton who gets like a million views on his blog everyday, and will.i.am from the black eyed peas who is a well known producer, and Jeremy Scott a designer in the fashion industry. I mean with just those three people alone 2NE1 has become well known in the American Internet community(reaching people other than K-pop fans), and both the Music and Fashion industries.
I think it is a little unfair of us fans to think that the girls would shot to the number one spot on the US charts with just their first single, I believe someone has already commented that it took Lady Gaga releasing a few albums before she became big.
So let’s all just keep supporting them in what ever direction the girls end up going in.
SONE from Georgia!!!!! I’m curious to know how many fans are in the US already, and from what State. Me and my group of friends are in love with SNSD! We were so excited to learn that they were doing an English song, but even if they hadn’t we still would have loved them. I’ve never spoke Korean in my life, and I find myself learning these songs by heart, and even trying to figure out what they mean. I’m so excited for the future of our girls! <3
a lot of the people are saying that snsd should introduce their unique music into the states first.
but i’m from the states, and i’m telling you all, that unique doesn’t pull anything.
sure, it might rouse some interest at first, but it quickly dies down.
this was a great work, and totally right. if snsd wants to be known, they must first make their name.
what they do is to get into the market first, getting their name known and being liked, and THEN they can start on promoting their own music, no?
contrary to most people’s beliefs, change doesn’t start small.
you need a big name to sway people, and snsd doesn’t have that in the u.s. yet.
I totally agree. The biggest person over here right now is obviously Lady Gaga. If you don’t like her, you’ve heard of her. And she started out small, right? With her first song “Just Dance” compared to her recent CD “Born This Way”, they are drastically different. I think with the girls starting out small, and just releasing “The Boys” they could do really good.
I think some of these comments are kind of misunderstanding the article. You all -do- realize that the image they have as idols doesn’t exactly represent their own selves. So changing their image for an American audience isn’t exactly changing themselves. It’s just that – their image. The one they have now with “The Boys”, which isn’t all that bad to be honest, is definitely a good start.
But I do have to agree that this isn’t even a real endeavor into the American music market. Not like BoA anyway. I see it just as SME -testing the waters- like they did when BoA when she released “Eat You Up” in 2008 as a single. She would later on release an album too but that’s because she had expressed interest in entering the US market for a long time, she never did it out of the blue, and her fans knew that. Everyone knew that.
If GG was in the same situation, they would have expressed interest in tackling the US market already. But they haven’t. This is just a way for their music to be available to more people all over the world rather than just Asia.
That’s how I see it anyway, and nothing more. I don’t expect them to like seriously try and become famous here. There are so many reasons why. Because they’ve only just debuted in Japan last year, why would they immediately head to the toughest market in the world? Because they have not expressed interest in tackling the US market like BoA did. Because they’re obviously intent on focusing in Korea (Yuri and Tiffany as MCs on Music Core and Sunny and Hyoyeon on Invincible Youth Season 2)… I mean really, all this stuff… it’d be absurd to assume they have any intentions of doing full-on promotions here in America.
i agree 100% with your comment.
I say, this is a brilliantly written article that covers almost all of the aspects that GG has to cover before or during entering the US market. Very astute observation by the writer that is also aligned to my thoughts that I couldn’t put to words. Reading this was actually very amusing. All the praise to this particular SONE.. good work.
i guess i was hoping that being a sone would create a world where i didn’t have to deal with this, but it appears, unfortunately, that i was wrong. this bickering back and forth amongst those who came to be fans of girls’ generation really makes me sad. i will admit, i have even been on the offensive recently, and that was a poor lack of judgement on my part. inciting anger never solves anything. i will not do that again. i was just so shocked, i lost my cool for a second. what attracted me to girls’ generation in the first place was a group of sweet, humble, genuine girls that loved each other and their fans. what attracted me even more was this body of people that loved these girls and each other with all their hearts. i was so proud we were recognized as a good group of people supporting this sweet group of modest, dorky girls. with all the bad and hateful things that are constantly flying around us in our everyday lives, we had these girls, this fanbase to turn to and help us forget about all the bad things that were happening to us and those around us. this was my sanctuary. these girls, and all sones, meant the world to me. but what’s happening now? this uglyness which has penetrated so much of our lives has now leaked into our girls’ generation and it makes me so sad. if you claim to be a sone, then you should love the girls no matter what. i love snsd the people far more than i love snsd the musicians. and this is saying a lot since i love their music. if they try new music, i don’t care if its the banjo and spoons, i will still support them because i know they are genuinely nice, honest people just trying to do their best at whatever they feel compelled to do and i admire that very much. i treasure it. and i loved you all for supporting these girls, these symbols of sincerity in an unsincere world, no matter what. but it seems that has started to change, and i don’t want that. please unify again, come together as one sone, as a symbol of strength for the girls, as they have been for us for so many years. and, hopefully, again we can create this wonderful girls’ generation bubble where we can all come and feel happy when we are sad. i love all you guys. let’s make this better again.
The US is a very tough market for new artists, especially foreign artists. I would like the girls to make an American debut, but after monitoring The Boys MV on Youtube for the past few days, I fear that they will suffer too much discrimination.
I also believe that changing their style of music to suit the taste of a broader crowd may in turn lose some determined and committed fans in the process. It was not only once that I came across a SONE expressing their discontent with the new song: The Boys. I didn’t like it that much either when I first heard it, but because of my undying love for the girls, I grew to love the song and the concept.
Rather than trying to assimilate into the American music industry, I believe the girls should instead introduce their own unique music. It will be much more meaningful and leave a larger footprint if the girl managed to change the music industry of America. Even if they aren’t able to sweep America off its feet, they may be able to make a ripple in the pond, and a ripple may just be enough to create a wave and opportunities for future Korean artists.
Ally is a global shi dae now…and their name hhas really been making waves all over….so proud to be a sone…reminds me of how I gt caught on the hallyu wave-been so awesome…but they have it all, they work so hard, have so many diff charms and cool and cute personalities, (so multi talented!) I’m sure they’ll succeed and keep growing…its been a real joy to watch them grow and develop these two yrss as a sone…hoping for many many more together! Whatever happens, ill b behind u girls! Stay well and keep strong, SNSD fighting!
honestly, im a bit disappointed with this article.
no offence, but the writer mention too much his beliefs. and seems like he try to gain his lost respect (he denied though).
as far as i know SME is planning to make south korea to be one of the center of music pop with its uniqueness, beside US. it’s not a wise decision if SME change the girls’s concept with what US market wants, because it will erase the uniqueness itself.
in my opinion, if the girls ‘throw out’ their concept, from ‘what fans loved now’ to be what US market want, it’s like they ‘throw out’ whoever that loved they now to gain something they’re still not comfortable.
*sorry bad grammar, not fluent*
I’m sorry residentbenchwarmer but to me this whole article sounds like something from a bad dream. A very long and ugly, detailed bad dream.
You talk all the time about if SNSD wants this or that, like it’s their choice. Like this:
“But if Girls’ Generation really wants to conquer the worldwide music scene(…)”
You realize this should rather be: if SM Entertainment really wants to conquer the worldwide music scene?
And who knows what the girls really want. I don’t claim to know and you certainly shouldn’t either. But even if it really was their dream, to conquer the world, yeah I guess then I’d maybe cheer them on. Cheer and be sad at the same time because as history, literature, even today’s washed out movie industry have shown forever: yeah it’s good to have dreams but once you start chasing you better watch your step. Because the road to world domination always has the same two characteristics. One, it just looks so promising at first, leading up there like that, you can’t even see all the way up there to where it’s leading, and it’s shiny-glittery and you just can’t not take it.
Two, midway through it ends and it’s a long way down. No survivors.
And one last hint: the way to gain respect is to earn it the hard way, not try to ride in the slipstream if you know what I mean.
this article does appear negative but as someone who lives in the U.S., I know exactly what he is talking about. The ways of the East and West are extremely different so doing what they do now will not help them succeed in the U.S. However, it is true, maybe the girls don’t even want to come here but if they do, they need to follow those guidelines
I can so relate myself to the second paragraph :) But I do get by and friends would be accepting sooner or later, whether they like it or not. The girls have already said that they are not planning to promote or do anything overseas yet, and truth to be told, I’m actually very glad to hear that
Thing is, I feel that all this about US debut and going into the American music market is just all too fast and sudden. The girls would seriously need a lot of preparation to succeed in the American music scene, and it will take a long time. It might be true that the girls will gain more fans if they can try to change and blend themselves in with the American pop music scene, but I would prefer if the girls would continue with the music they have now instead
US can wait, I mean really, nowadays I don’t see much of Pop music in US, instead I’m seeing more R&B, Rock and even clubbing genre sort of music out there. And even if there is, they would be more of an eclectic of Pop with another genre. Why not wait until Pop gets a firm grip of the American music scene, then only bring the girls to the US?
I would rather see the girl use their current music and venture into the European music scene instead. The girls have been gaining a lot of attention in European countries compared to the US right? So why not use this opportunity to go into the European market instead. Correct me if I’m wrong, but quite a number of K-Pop songs are actually originated from European countries right? So, this means the Europeans would be able to relate more to the girls’ music right?
Have you guys noticed that The Boys Eng Version lyrics is a bit cocky and meaningless? Unlike all their other Korean songs which is full of meaning and feelings? I’ve even read a fans’ comment that the English lyrics is a bit dangerous because it might attract attention to more haters. Although the Korean version (The Boys) has more meaning to it and even words of encouragements to the listeners, which is kind of their usual music… and this is also the reason why I love their music. So I’m afraid of how much their music will transform into meaningless random lyrics if this continuous… Although Ill still continue to support them!! :) I Just think that its a dangerous road to be in the american market full of mercy less critics, judging eyes and perverted fans.. SNSD!! Tred Carefully please HWAITING!!!
i’m afraid that if they venture into the US market they’ll have to change their image too much. it seems like sex is the main selling point in the US market and i don’t want the girls to be doing that. i fear comments like ‘i’d hit that’ on youtube videos featuring the girls.
Well I think that is necessary a country to experiment with girls generation in the west, for example Chile, Peru or Mexico… all the american continent has the same tastes… all the countries follow US.
when Girls generation knows what work and what isnt works, should enter to US market
Perhaps what the writer wrote is relevant if the girls and SME intends to launch a US debut. You know, fly there, stay there, same thing as WG. BUT SME does not seem to have this intent.
What SME wants is to perhaps increase the girls’ music influential spheres without the need to change them as per the writer suggests. SME’s strategy is to work with composers from different countries and create music that not only Koreans and most Asia enjoys but appeal in a worldwide manner.
Also, the girls do not need to change themselves to suit the American market as what the writer is suggesting. Why should they? There is half the world that enjoys the music and the charisma they present. If the rest of America is not interested, I think they will still do fine.
The wonderful thing about the girls, they grow and watching them grow is enjoyable to myself as a fan. I do not wish them to change what they do not wish to change, themselves… I would never wish them to change just to suit a country’s market … and of course, to regain respect from two friends.
Respect what you love and be patient to others’ misconceptions.
Oh yes, is there a reason why this is flagged News?
It is a personal opinion article more than News of the girls. Just like to bring it up…
yup they’re quite alright with what they’re doing right now, suiting themselves to the American market only makes their Korean-ness disappear from them
Their goal is to show Korea to the world, why should they follow the Western style?
Just my opinion no offense :)
PeacE
Girls’ Generation’s sexiness is way healthier than western singers,of course lets hope this wont change~^^
But the fact that western only focus on what they are familiar with,this shocks me.
Music is international,even me an Asian listen to every genre of songs (just that kpop caught me the most XD)
SM.Ent is a great company,lets hope our girls make their success throughout the whole world soon!
Nice article ^^
haha… your i know what you’re feeling when some friends told you “Dude, a girl group? You know you’re a guy, right?”
that was my mindset before i found Girls Generation… i mean, nothing’s wrong with girl group, it just that most people think that girl groups only sellin their faces n bodies.. they don’t know anything about music… they can’t sing… etc… and i guess that’s kinda make me biased too..
i’m a girl, and i used to listen some american rock bands, rnb singers, n a little bit of jpop (only YUI n Do As Infinity.. didn’t bother with other singers n j-bands).. so when my friends found out that i listen to Girls Generation, they were like “you listen to this? o.0”, “you’ve changed”, “are u sure u’re straight?”
but i keep replaying Girls Genesration’s song, and it didn’t take a long time to make them fall in love with GG’s songs.. they even sing along everytime GG’s songs played
now the problem for most kpop lover who ‘surprised’ by the boys… they listen too much kpop song (or simply only listen to kpop), they think that ‘the boys’ is too americanized… they didn’t even realize that all kpop songs are actually pop song in general.. but the culture makes it look different.. like words, style, dance, etc
fans come and go, but SONE always support SNSD
Girls Generation FTW!!
I can’t agree more with YuriFan21. Although this is just an article in the form of a nature of your opinion, I largely disagree with the suggestions and I really felt that I needed to air this opposing view. While we do hope (in our wildest dreams that soshi can be truly, internationally recognised on the scale of artistes such as backstreetboys etc) we must bear in mind their roots, that is they are Asians, Koreans producing K-pop to be exact. And it is only realistic to note that something like K-pop, probably like J-pop will only appeal more to exclusive groups of people, firstly, for language reasons and secondly, their style. To suggest that they conform to more ‘American’ style would mean having to tweak the girls a whole lot more and this radical change will definitely not be welcomed by Korean or even many of their present fans. I really hope that this is the furthest step they will take for I’m sure all of us love them just the way they are very much regardless or not they gain more international fans. Because I’m assuming that the hidden assumption in the article is such that they are not successful enough, or they should garner more international fans to be loved even more.
And to add on, it seems like the writer’s suggestion or plan of outline is a means of regaining his lost respect
agree with you and yurifan21 totally. if anything real success is to make ppl accept what you’re doing and not conform to a certain standard. the girls should try do what their doing right now, try things they would like to do. forcely them to conform to an ‘american’ style is just throwing away their identity.
I think this is an amazing article and it really highlights a lot of the things that I have been thinking. I’d like to think that Girls Generation can break into the US market without having to change too much so I agree that concepts like RDR, Bad Girl and The Boys are good songs and concepts. The beat is strong, the moves are strong, sleek and sexy and the vocals are well utilized.
I’m glad though – that the girls have no plans of debuting in America right now. While it may weaken their presence here a bit, it may be better for them to wait, solidify a strong Korean comeback, solidify the sound they have moved towards, and see how the US market and consumers handle them. Right now, Interscope has nothing to do but promote and sell one song. If they can’t do that well then that is a sign that maybe the US market (or at least that label) is not the right one. They need to be with a label that will vigorously promote them, requesting them on radios, on shows, and getting the MV on television. Interscope does have the power – the question is, will they use it?
Also – will American SONEs and interested American consumers buy the maxi single in November and the single right now? Will they spend the money to support the girls? I know personally, I don’t have an iTunes account and with my general stance against apple, I do not plan to get one, but I do plan to be one of the first to own the maxi single…i may even buy a few copies (something i never do).
These are questions that SM needs to have answered before they risk one of their biggest names. (No offense to anyone but as far as I can tell SuJu, SNSD and (with a strong Korean comeback after painful bombing in the US) BoA are the leaders of SM and while SHINee and f(x) and TVXQ and others are hot, I don’t know if they could keep SM at the power they are at now.)
Whilst I would agree with most of what you’re saying, it must be pointed out that it appears as if SM is only dipping their foot in the US market at the moment and it does not necessarily mean they want to promote actively considering their stronghold will always be Asia. The Backstreet Boys (Seohyun loves them still lol) example shouldn’t have been used considering they are still the best selling boy band of all time with over 125 million albums sold and with the Millenium album as one of the best selling albums of all time (best selling ‘Pop’ album of all time). Whilst their 1997-2000 dominance was never to be seen again, their 2005 return with Never Gone (3rd on Billboard), Unbreakable in 2007 (7th on Billboard) and This Is Us (9th on Billboard) were by no means flops considering how much music has changed since their peak era. Personally I think if anything, our girls should learn from them to cement themselves in history as the greatest girl group of all time by continuing to do what they love to do or would like to try rather then conforming or adapting to purely what would be popular in the US or is already the current trend of the US.
good points…
we all don’t want them to end up in an instant popularity, the one that would fade away instantly as well…
but it looks like SM doesn’t want them to focus on the US, they won’t be doing it like the WG…
i don’t know, i have trust in SME and will just wait for things to happen, we just have to support them all the way! :D
btw, i was shocked when i saw that Youtube map all green!
GLOBAL Generation DAEBAK!