kpop_rubba ([info]kpop_rubba) wrote,
@ 2009-03-03 15:10:00
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Current music:se7en - Girls

Se7en "Girls" MV teaser

FINALLY!!! Jeez I have been waiting forever for this friggin thing! It actually looks legit except for... Who's video is it anyway? You could have told me it was Lil' Kim's and I may have believed you! And why does he wear sunglasses so much? hmmmm Sunglasses or not, DAMN HE LOOKS FINE!
haha If 106 & park can play something as lame as Timberflake they can show se7en a lil love! I really hope they do!

and Promo vid:

I love his English! Its actually sexy
xXx oOo
×Jackie×


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[info]cosmic_violet
2009-03-05 01:18 am UTC (link)
I still marvel at how muuuuuuuch better Se7en sounds speaking English than Bi does XD. Sure Se7en has an accent and it's obvious he occasionally pauses to think of words, but he still sounds way more natural than Bi ever does. Bi always sounds kind of...asthmatic when he speaks English XD. Oh, not to mention incoherent haha.

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[info]kpop_rubba
2009-03-05 01:45 am UTC (link)
As much as I love Bi I've never thought he was the brightest bulb. I really don't think he practices like he needs to because he's so self conscious ... He probably keeps himself in a Korean bubble as well, and none of these things are working in his favor. At the very least Bi's English is highly entertaining (and cringe worthy).
I'd say BoA's English is about on par with se7en's

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[info]cosmic_violet
2009-03-05 05:38 am UTC (link)
Whenever I see a video of Bi speaking English, probably 8 out of 10 times I feel so embarrassed for him that I can't even find it entertaining. It's just painful to watch.

Hmm, yeah, from what I've heard of BoA's recent English, she sounds pretty even with Se7en, but then, she's been recording English versions of her songs for a long time...and that's not quite the same as studying English, but it gets you exposed to pronouncing the words and general sounds of the language.

I hope that if Se7en's song does get noticed that people don't rag on him too much for having an accent. Whenever someone talks about a singer from Asia not being able to make it in the US market unless their English is ~*~perfect~*~ I get a bit annoyed because, while I can see their point, I always just remember Shakira, whose English wasn't that great when she decided to release an English album and she had at least 3 hit songs from her first English album. Granted though, there was probably already a fairly established market for her in the US with the Hispanic/Spanish-speaking population who already knew about her, and the Hispanic population in the US is much greater than the Asian/Korean population in the US, and probably greater still than the amount of people in the US who already know/like Se7en because of his Kpop career...So...what was my point in this? XD. Oh yeah, Shakira's English wasn't ~*~perfect~*~ when she debuted in the English-language market, but she was a hit. And people almost never seem to complain much about people who speak European languages having an accent when they sing, but god forbid an Asian has even a TINY accent and people break out their "ching chong" jokes ~_____~

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[info]kpop_rubba
2009-03-05 01:30 pm UTC (link)
I am talking about se7en's and BoA's spoken English. BoA's song pronunciation still kinda sucks (imo) Thank goodness for T-payne(or whatever his name is) because since he made those stupid vocal effects popular they can do a decent job of covering an accent. But when she's having (or attempting to have) a conversation she actually sounds a lot like se7en to me.

...That's exactly the reasons people say Asians must speak exceptionally perfect English to make it. No Asian has made it in the US even WITH perfect English let alone without. In the US there is such a double standard for Asian accents vs. Latin/European accents. Gosh even my own family makes the dumb jokes when listening to my Korean music and no offense to Chinese or any other tonal Asian language but Korean is not that -ching chongy- in comparison to some other languages.

I remember vividly when Shakira had her English debut (omg i was waiting for that thing for what seemed YEARS) She did indeed have a huge fan base beforehand and she did do that hip shaking thing that all the anglos seemed to love and she is an exceptional song writer so I think she had many things working in her favor. People could overlook her crappy ass English... (yeah it was really bad but people just seemed to gravitate to her in spite of that). And before Shakira there were already Latin stars that had a good grasp on English making hit music like Ricky Martin, Enrique, Marc Anthony, Gloria Estefan etc... So it wasn't like a huge unknown of ... "OMG CAN A LATIN SINGER MAKE IT????" But with Asian singers it's still " OMG CAN AN ASIAN SINGER MAKE IT???"
But I am really hoping people can overlook his accent and see it as endearing and cute. I know I do >_<;; but of course that's just me.

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[info]cosmic_violet
2009-03-05 10:40 pm UTC (link)
I am talking about se7en's and BoA's spoken English.
So was I. I just meant that, since BoA's done several English versions of her songs in the past, singing in English could be a tool for practicing English pronunciation. At the very least it should get you more accustomed to how English should sound, even if you aren't good yourself at pronouncing it.

no offense to Chinese or any other tonal Asian language but Korean is not that -ching chongy- in comparison to some other languages.
You and I know that, Asian people know that, people who are interested in Asian culture know that, the average American on the street does not. Most people in the US probably couldn't tell the difference between Chinese/Japanese/Korean/Vietnamese/etc whether spoken or written. They might be able to tell if something written "looks Chinese" but that's only because of all the shirts and tattoos and crap we have that use Chinese characters to seem cool, but the average American mostly clueless about the differences.

*sigh* It's strange to think that back in the 1960s a Japanese-language song was able to make it to the top of the charts in the US ("Ue o muite aruko", aka "Sukiyaki"), but today the chances of something like that happening with any foreign-language song seems impossible unless it's just for the kitschy novelty factor—especially when half the time a foreign (or "foreign looking") artist has trouble making it even performing in English. Yet, aren't we supposed to be more progressive now? *sigh*

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[info]kpop_rubba
2009-03-06 03:26 am UTC (link)
but se7en has done some English songs before too... or at least 1. But BoA has claimed to be practicing English since she was a teen.

Actually in the 90s some Japanese acts were fairly popular in the US. I remember my local rock station playing THE HECK outta Pizzacato Five and MTV playing Cibo Matto in decent rotation. I even remember seeing them perform on popular late night shows... But back in the 90s alternative music ruled and people were into things that didn't necessarily follow a precise pop formula like what seems to rule today. Actually I think the mainstream has not made any progress in that area. Our popular culture tastes have regressed to utter blandness over the past 10 years -- *sigh* All I can hope for is that people demand better and more diverse music cuz I am so bored.

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[info]cosmic_violet
2009-03-06 03:52 am UTC (link)
Yeah, BoA's done at least 5 or more English songs, while as far as I know Se7en's done maybe 2 at the most.

Ah, yes. The 90s. *nostalgic sigh* ...But even then, did those groups' songs reach #1 on the Billboard charts?? And what language were the songs in? The "Sukiyaki" song was entirely in Japanese and was at #1 for 3 weeks (doesn't seem like that long, but for a foreign-language song I think that's quite a feat!).

Our popular culture tastes have regressed to utter blandness over the past 10 years
Agreed. Actually, it's kind of funny...To bring the conversation back to Asian artists breaking in the US: it seems like whenever people discuss how an Asian artist can become big in the US, regardless of how good/bad their English is, people always say that their music needs to be something new and unique, but America has obviously proved that they don't want new and unique, no matter how much they might say that they do. New and unique doesn't get radio play, it might get some notice from critics, but the general public doesn't usually take well to something that's too different from what they are used to hearing. More often than not, when people say they want something "new" they mean that they want the same stuff they've already heard a hundred times over, but attached to a new (pretty) face.

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[info]kpop_rubba
2009-03-06 04:54 am UTC (link)
Well of course they didn't make top 10. I wouldn't say any of them "made it" in the US or even kept a long term fan base. They were mostly alternative radio hits or bands with cult followings that crept into mainstream consciousness. Cibo Matto's songs were in terrible Engrish and Pizzicato sang in Japanese. But the only point I am trying to make is that it wasn't so so so long ago that the mere idea of an Asian act played on MTV or regularly requested on mainstream radio wasn't completely out of the question yet it seems so strange today.

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