Yellow Fever/Yellow Immunity

[greywing]

You probably don't know who Yani Tseng is. But that's ok, because I don't even remember why I know who Yani Tseng is. She does, however, have a few things in common with SNSD: she's an '89er who's claimed a heaping chunk of #1s and just happens to be Asian. She's also the non-face face of the LGPA . . . at least in America

Comments

[spunspider]

hey, you forgot Maggie Q!

i think the way western international fans view kpop stars is surely dependent on the way they appear in korea vs the way they appear in america. i feel like when they're in america, the thing is that they're visibly trying, and the average american wouldn't give much of a shit, and the average kpop fan wouldn't have given much of a shit if they'd first spotted them on some american chat show. to try an analogy, it's sortof like if you're watching a tv show that gives a vibe of paper-thin worldbuilding vs watching a tv show that gives a strong enough vibe of a solid, three-dimensional round globe. it feels flat and forced and like it wouldn't hold up to much. i think retaining that too cool for this shit vibe is so important to that, because of course image is everything and they don't have anything like variety to do that in america. even if they're in america, the ultimate kpop hook is personalities, it's what the stars themselves have been bred for, and yet they're left struggling to speak properly, and

[greywing]

Maggie who? Maybe Margaret Cho. XD

it feels flat and forced and like it wouldn't hold up to much. i think retaining that too cool for this shit vibe is so important to that,

Too cool for what shit and does SNSD really do this even in Korea? That is to say, there is something also carefully built on artifice about them even in their Korean appearances. I remember when I read that Taeyeon had professed she didn't want to go solo and my eyebrows went up like "ORLY?" And certainly it's very hard to come out right off the bat and be "too cool for this shit" because they obviously weren't when they debuted, which is kind of what debuting in Japan was like and what it would be like in America, i.e. hitting a reset button.

ultimate kpop hook is personalities, it's what the stars themselves have been bred for, and yet they're left struggling to speak properly, and the majority of them are barely speaking at all.This made me pause and go, "Is it?" In the idol world, perhaps, but it's also true that while I do not "religiously" follow other

[spunspider]

eiiiiiiiiii. am i not getting internet snarks here or do we really not know maggie q

[greywing]

Oh. Maggie Q is the other (other) Nikita. I'm sorry, I grew up on Peta Wilson's hot accent and longcat form in black suits taking names and smoldering angstily after Michael and there was little more sexier than that to me. Mmmmmmmmmmm.

Hrm. So it's about being badass and cooler than American media/pop culture icons that will make the American market take notice? Huh. I wonder if that's possible for Asians in media to do that.

That's a good question about fandom and what it would look like if there was only music. But there's plenty of banddom fandoms so there's definitely a form and a culture for it. Ultimately, though, I think it has to be the music that sticks with you. I had a powerful craving for Dave Matthews Band last night because I'd talked about their music with someone recently and the songs were so good in my ears again.

What don't you like about the WG strategy? I'm not up on what strategies they've employed and so would like a crash course.

[whatonemore]

In other words, Li Bing Bing is in the Resident Evil 5 - Retribution trailers.

[greywing]

Who? Though that reminds me I forgot Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi. XD

[whatonemore]

She also did Snow Flower and Secret fan with Jun Ji Hyun, so I suppose she's been trying to break into the market a little. :3

[iacus]

So she's playing a Japanese in the trailer?

Oh man, she was the lead in Seventeen Years. That movie was a real tearjerker.

[iacus]

Are you going to write an essay about epistemic closure and conservatism in pop culture?

Am I?

[greywing]

Yes, you are. Right now.

[just_keep_on]

No time for ranty response but I wanted to say that there are Asians in SYTYCD and my next thought was SEND HYO THERE 'cause it'd be cool and she'd rock.

*stuffs face with cookies and runs to get back adjusted*

[greywing]

There were also Asians in ABDC. But how do you expand something like dancers and dance crews--which, by the way, are typically backgrounded to the actual big name performers themselves and the whole point of those two shows were to bring them to the foreground as recognizable faces on their own merits--to something like pop star status? How do you make a Britney Spears, Pussycat Dolls, Destiny's Child, Backstreet Boys, N Sync, etc. out of an Asian act?

Somehow back adjustment and lots of sugar don't exactly sound like they go together. XD

[just_keep_on]

That just makes me wonder, as I believe you mentioned in your OP, what are the differences between a "native" artist promoting in Korea and a "native" artist promoting in America? Rephrase: What are the differences in promotion tactics between the two countries? *Are* there any differences? The problem is that we don't have any experience (at least, if people do, they aren't sharing *looks to lurkers*) in Korea and experiencing things like radio play and all that. I do remember, when I went to Japan for a Spring Break trip with my sister, we heard Hikki's "Beautiful World" freaking *everywhere* we went - but it's possible it was to promote the NGE series more than the song

[greywing]

But my question also wonders if one can discount a subtle (or unsubtle) racism also standing in the way of particularly Asian stars breaking into the market. Far East Movement's first big song featured the lead singer of the Cataracs (and she was the best part of that song vocally). Certainly part of the way to the top is to tag along the coattails of a bigger name--which was the route with Min being Lil' Jon's protege--but I'm not sure the Cataracs really was a mainstream name. What I'm pointing to is this Caucasian presence in this Asian-produced song

[just_keep_on]

I really wish there was some Business/Marketing/Economics person in the house who could give us some thoughts on their promotion practices and all that jazz. :/