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The K-Pop Renaissance

A decade ago, the U.S. experienced a dance pop renaissance.  The Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, *NSYNC and Christina Aguilera broke big and sold records on a scale today's teen idols can only dream of.  They had good looks, MTV-ready personalities, and flashy, choreography-heavy music videos, but, above all, they had great tunes.  Take Britney Spears.  Each of her first two albums had three classic pop songs.  Her first had ...Baby One More Time, Crazy, and Sometimes, and her second had Oops!...I Did It Again, Lucky, and Stronger.  You might still be embarrassed that you know these songs, but you have to admit they are all very good at what they were meant to do.

Today's teen pop stars have no such luck.  They're lucky to get even one good song.  Justin Bieber has Baby and Miley Cyrus has Party in the U.S.A.  Luckily, the Koreans have been working hard over the past couple years to plug the gap.  If the U.S.'s teen pop explosion is Michael Jackson's Thriller, then the current wave of K-pop is Jackson's Bad.  It's not quite as good, but it's flashier, it's more stylistically diverse, and it's great moments are truly stunning.  Just like the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, *NSYNC, and Christina Aguilera were clearly at the top of the heap a decade ago in the U.S., there are three groups that are clearly at the top of the heap right now in Korea:
  1. Girls' Generation: Any list of notable K-pop artists has to start with this track, the one that started it all.  Their first hit, Gee, is still the biggest K-pop hit and Girls' Generation is easily the most famous K-pop groups largely because of that track track. Though they never again matched the pop perfection of Gee, they have two other stellar pop songs in Oh! and Run Devil Run.
  2. Big Bang: Big Bang is the premier K-pop boy band.  They're also unique in that they have some level of creative control and that they have two rappers that are actually halfway decent.  They really hit their stride last year with Tonight and Love Song.  About a month ago, when they release their new EP, they occupied 4 of the top 5 spots on the Korean singles charts.  That's Beatles level domination right there. That EP had a number of decent songs, but Bad Boy is head and shoulders above the rest.  It's an absolutely perfect throwback to 90's R&B.
  3. Super Junior: They're the other major boy band in Korea.  Their fame is largely based on the stellar track Mr. Simple.  It's You isn't bad either.  Also, with 12 members, the size of their group must set some sort of record.
tl;dr: Just listen to Bad Boy.  It's the best pop song to come out in years, seriously.

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