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Korean pop music wave starts lapping on Europe's shores

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Gee, I wonder what John Lennon and Elvis would say? This is clearly not about music. But hey... if the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC did it...I guess so can they... problem is they are Asian girls lip syncing bubble gum music. If I could go back in time and blast K-pop and J-pop at the drive thru hamburger joint in the 50s me wonders what they would think. Word of advice for the K/J-pop idols.... save your money.

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I wish the girls in particular every success,they work hard and sing catchy little tunes with fun, quirky dance movements.You go girls !!!

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I'm in love with the young lady in the lower left. Mamma Mia !

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When are they going to have a KARA vs AKB48 battle?

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problem is they are Asian girls lip syncing bubble gum music

Girls Generation is clearly not a group of lip synchers. They were recently on Japanese TV performing acoustically. Like their music or not, they are talented!

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they can DANCE!!!! their singing - eh

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will fuji tv or similar be paying for pretend fans to wait for them?

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Smorkian; How do youy define talent, as someone who can hold a note, or someone who creates and through tehir ability inspires. factory produced trash maybe ok for those iwth no interest in music but see it as entertainment, like watching tv or playing video games.

The sad thing about this is they are targeting the level by image alone and amny talented people are ignored as they do not fit the packaged formula. Never has pop music been so shallow, and that includes the rest of the world.

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Girls Generation is clearly not a group of lip synchers. They were recently on Japanese TV performing acoustically. Like their music or not, they are talented!

Smorkian - hot girls with legs up to their neck is called "sexy", not "talented". Due to my GF, I had the misfortune of watching one of their performances just last nite and can assure you, like everyone else on Japanese TV, they were lip-synching. Then again, if pre-teen idon-factory pop is your thing, have at it. But for your sake I hope you are under the age of 16..

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idol-factory

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well they will fail miserably

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Then again, if pre-teen idon-factory pop is your thing, have at it. But for your sake I hope you are under the age of 16..

Pre-teen? These girls are in their 20s.

hot girls with legs up to their neck is called "sexy", not "talented"

Possible to be both, you know!

I had the misfortune of watching one of their performances just last nite and can assure you, like everyone else on Japanese TV, they were lip-synching

Well I saw them on another program on Music Japan in June and they were most definitely not lip synching.

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Steve@CFPC

How do youy define talent, as someone who can hold a note, or someone who creates and through tehir ability inspires

Both. I don't say the person who can sing but not write or produce their own music isn't talented anymore than I would say the songwriter who can't sing or the producer who can't write lyrics is untalented.

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steve: "The sad thing about this is they are targeting the level by image alone and amny talented people are ignored as they do not fit the packaged formula."

You need to lighten up, bud. These women can actually sing, unlike many 'Jonny's' groups in Japan. Have you ever heard SMAP live? They are so completely untalented it hurts. I have friends who have worked with them live when SMAP sang my friend's songs and they were embarrassed at how bad it was.

I agree that a lot of the 'talent' these days is shallow and vapid, but simply claiming all Korean bands are lip-synching is stupid; they are not. And fact of the matter is, they are usually excellent dancers as well as being able to sing, unlike, say, the 100 or plus members of AK100048 or whatever they're called.

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Smorkian- they may be in their 20's, but their target audience is Japanese youths 12-to 18ish. Unless you find yourself in that demographic, may god have mercy on your soul.

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@hoserfella

they may be in their 20's, but their target audience is Japanese youths 12-to 18ish. Unless you find yourself in that demographic, may god have mercy on your soul.

Which completely explains why all my middle aged Japanese female acquaintances love them. A girl I work with (in her 40s) has a Girls Generation calendar over her desk. Go to Okubo and look at all the women buying K-Pop goods (Kara and Girls Generation the most popular girls groups) - their average age is in the mid 30s, at least...

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smithinjapan; What i am trying to say is different than you seem ti imagine. I said earlier they can hold a not and possibly be great dancers after hours of practise. The fact is these people are not serious artistes at all. They do not live and breath music and what it means. for them swhat they do is money and and fame. They could be acting, singing,presenting tv.They may be able to do all with some competence but they master none.

AKB48 trillion, these and many hundreds all around the world are bringing culture down to a terrible level. Music used to have a great meaning especially for the young with music that meant something often with a message that was anti establishment that people could identify with and was often thoyght provoking god forbid.

The point is that this is meaningless entertainment which is factory produced for kids that for some reason some adults also like. This band compared to a band like the Stones or PIL is like comparing Dickens to a comic for five year olds.

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This band compared to a band like the Stones or PIL

PIL? Johnny Rotten's PIL? He's among the least talented popular musicians in history.

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Which completely explains why all my middle aged Japanese female acquaintances love them. A girl I work with (in her 40s) has a Girls Generation calendar over her desk. Go to Okubo and look at all the women buying K-Pop goods (Kara and Girls Generation the most popular girls groups) - their average age is in the mid 30s, at least...

well, Smorkian! I guess if a middle-aged Japanese OL approves of them, they must be gold! Move over, Bob Dylan! Smorkian, let me guess. You enjoy the stylings of Justin Bieber and Jonas Brothers as well, eh? Ouch...

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This isn't going to work. There will be a niche group of Asia-Pop-Philes who get into this, but the rest of the west will correctly see it for what it is, and not even bother.

I am assuming none of you people have been to a nightclub in the UK for a while...

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timeiclic; well according to many on this site europe including Britain is amssively into Not only K and J Pop but kawaii culture, manga etc. Of course teh fans in the UK are probably in the hundreds at a maximum and the music is never played at any UK club.

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For those of you like Smorkian who enjoy high end K Pop, here are some similar bands of the same genre that you may well enjoy; Nitzer Ebb, Throbbing Gristle, Specimen, UK Subs and Front 242. Very similar in style. muiscal approach and looks.

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Girl's generation or SNSD as they're known in Taiwan was caught lipsyncing on their 2nd Taiwan concert last year.

They may have dominated Korea and rocked Japan with their recent debut, but some fans in Taiwan were not too impressed with Girls Generation's latest appearance there.

According to a Taiwanese entertainment news channel, the popular girl group was speculated to have lip-sung during their second live concert in Taiwan on the 17-18th. The Taiwan Taipei Arena was jam-packed with 24,000 fans, demonstrating yet again how popular the nine-membered group is overseas.

The entertainment media source reported that although the music and members' voices continued to stream out of the speakers, when the cameras zoomed in on each of their faces, you could see that some of the girls weren't even bothering to lift up and sing into their mics.

http://asianfanatics.net/forum/topic/734483-girls-generation-accused-of-lip-singing-in-taiwan/

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Pop music is essentially an American invention, but meant for the entire world. There will be permutations and even some improvements on what we started. It's good to see Korea, which was basically Japan under martial law when I first came to Asia, reach a state of development where it can export its pop culture. This is the free market at its best.

Vaclav Havel spoke of how there was a link between the Velvet Underground and the Velvet Revolution.

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steve@CPFC So true. You forgot Bomb The Bass...

@BreitbartVictorious Agreed.

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some kpop idols are really talented. they can sing, dance, act, MC, etc.

I love when SNSD and SJ sang Live on "Music Travel Lalala" their voices are so good.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGwVAbGFlZQ&feature=related

bte @ genjuro ROFL they like Shinee, B2st, SJ, WG, etc.. lipsync just 3 or 4 songs because the dancing are really hard.. snsd concert had like more than 40 songs.. 3 hours of concert.

you can clearly see lots of fancams when they are singing LIVE XD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsofhXnJ_-Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6Xon6BGnHc

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Can't tell one K-pop girl from other. BUT, I love watching them perform. They are so damn hot in their tight outfit. ;)

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