MUSIC vs KPOP

artcile by : yuiko_rj96

They say music is a universal language. Maybe it’s true. Maybe it isn’t. This issue makes a really big deal out of me, personally, since I am an avid fan of this inevitable creation.

Let’s put this clearly, here in the Philippines, we give interest in a lot of products from foreign countries and one of that, basically is music. Although we have a lot of wonderful and talented musicians here in the archipelago, we just can’t ignore the fact that we were and still are being colonized by the western world. We enjoy English songs from RnB to Hip Hop to hard-core party music. These are nothing more but alien products. And these westernized music, may I remind you, is not from us.

So if we tackle and listen to these English songs which is obviously not from our culture, why exempt Korean music?

And the motive reveals itself, finally. Yes. This article, would end up apparently, in the discussion of what’s in KPOP that makes it any different from other types of music.

Why do some people hate KPOP to the core? Basically because KPOP is an example of a new language to most of us. A lot of people say that listeners shouldn’t be heeding to KPOP since they wouldn’t understand any of the lyrics.

Come on guys, the World Wide Web doesn’t exist for nothing. Fans would just die to look up in the net just to know the meanings of their favorite KPOP songs.

Why would others pull up all-nighters just to listen and watch videos online? Because they don’t care. Like what every K-popper believes, KPOP is still music, and they still love music. It’s still has the same aspect of what you could call a very addicting song and it still have those synthro and electro-pop beats of any western music; heck, sometimes even better.

I’m not writing this because I don’t love my country’s music style – I love OPM I tell you, Jose Mari Chan’s music is amazing and so is Apo Hiking Society’s – it’s just that, everyone has the right to choose what they’d want to listen and what to follow.

Why listen to KPOP when you have OPM? I don’t really know about this question but all I could say is that this is just stupid. It’s a frustrating understatement. Clearly pinoy fans are still born in the Philippines, so of course they’d get to know Filipino artists and songs. Why wouldn’t they? KPOP hasn’t completely entered the Philippine Territory until the early 2000. And I don’t think that is the most appropriate question. I think it is better to ask it this way; why like KPOP more than OPM?

Why? The question cannot only be answered by fans but also the Filipino artists themselves. Yeng Constantino – one of the Philippines’ most groundbreaking music artists – even stated in an interview that it is not the fans’ fault for liking Korean Music over our own, it’s just that fans find KPOP more interesting than ours now. Like I said earlier, we all have the rights to choose what to follow. Sadly, a lot of youngster nowadays would choose KPOP.

Maybe the new generation wants to hear something new? Maybe. Pinoy acts like the streetboys and the hunks were one of the sought-after groups here in the Philippines before – which were really effective – and KPOP, for me, has the same concept as those Pinoy legends but only with a more complex beat and choreography to match. The point is, maybe OPM is just starting to get old and Pinoy artists could maybe try to bring something new on their sleeves. People are growing obviously tired of hearing ballads and bands every time artists come up on stage. 

Perhaps OPM is trying to bring up something new. This statement can be justified by the debuts of new pop groups in the Philippines. These so-called pop groups may have enough fan bases to help them through the market but in a general view of the public, I’d say it’s still not enough. Many say that these groups are just photocopies of the rising KPOP acts. Which can be true, depending on their motives for making such groups.

Conclusions are: There will always be Filipinos who will like KPOP over OPM and vice versa. There will still be people who will hate KPOP because of their shallow reasons of not understanding its lyrics. Everyone still has the rightful decision to cope up with whatever they want. And music is still music to which KPOP still belongs.

So please, just don’t stop us from listening to what we prefer. Thank you.