SPICA, SPICA, they blowin’ up my speakers!

Okay, this is seriously catchy and they sound fantastic.

This one is a little less structured and is more of my opinion on kpop moving into the western market.

The MV…is a bit low budget compared to what I think we are used to in Kpop but personally I think it works for the song. Anyways, big budget MVs are not common in English pop music (there are exceptions, yes but it seem like there is a lot less focus on the MVs.). I like it, though. They really focused on how the girls look rather than the background, they definitely planned this to make the group look appealing to the masses.

I like the black and white in terms of going for a more generally appealing aesthetic over the usual bright colors and strange imagery of kpop. Particularly for an English Debut. The fashion choices had just the right amount of quirk while still avoiding being overly costume like some MVs. They look very Spica but at the same time they look like a group that you might see on US music tv. If you took away the fact that they are a Korean they fit in with a lot of other artists out there in the western market. Maybe that is what it will take to get a kpop group into the western market.

 I have been seeing a lot of comments about how the MV and song might not be unique enough to make it in the US but I have an issue with that. People are comparing the amount of money spent on a video like this and what went into other kpop groups that have attempted to move into the US market. I have been seeing a lot of “If this group couldn’t do it with this really unique and interesting video how can someone make it with something that sounds like English pop.” I have to say, has no one thought of the possible issue being how KPOP, unique and colorful and interesting, previous attempts at breaking into the Western market have been?

Yes, the only Korean music that has ever taken off in the west was Psy in all his weirdness but lets be honest with ourselves, no one liked Gangnam Style because it was good music. It took off because it was a weird thing that S. Korea had done. Did people go out and buy Psy’s music to see what else he had? When gentleman came out the ‘fanbase’ wasn’t there because it wasn’t the same kind of funny as Gangnam Style. Most Kpop groups are not the right type of quirky to ride that kind of fame. I think Spica went a good route by sticking with a style they are used (and good at) to and a more toned down look and a more mass appeal.  Maybe it will work, maybe it won’t but in all honesty I feel like this has a better chance of actually making it than any other attempt to make it.

The song is fun and appealing, and aside from one minor word in the rap everything was in perfectly fluent and natural sounding English, an accomplishment in of itself. This is exactly the kind of music I am used to hearing while girls are hanging out or getting ready to go out. The song that you hear a bunch of girls singing along to, half drunk, on a girls night. This song fits into English mainstream music much better than any other English debut song I have heard. The only one I could compare this with is The DJ is Mine from The Wonder Girls which holds considerably more appeal to my non-kpop friends than something like Nobody or Like Money. It is Mainstream pop music. Spica seems to be looking for a spot in western music culture as a western group not just as a Kpop group. The idea is to be recognized as good not as kpop. Mass Appeal. Pop culture. I feel like it is unlikely that a kpop group is going to make it as a kpop group in western markets, a pop group, sure, but people look for different things in western markets than kpop fans do.

Regardless, I like the song and the video and I wish them the best. Spica is seriously talented and I hope that people start to recognize that more.