*Martina steps into a bar* Hello, I would like the most rainbowlicious cocktail you have, shaken twice, over the rocks, sprinkled with pink sugar, and served in a hollowed out Korean cell phone with tiny paper cut out figures of CN Blue wrapped around a straw. MMMM. That’s the best way to describe this week’s K-Crunch Cocktail. One of the things extremely original to Korea (and maybe other places but not Canada) is the use of Kpop singers to advertise a variety of things. From beer, to cell phones, to ramen, to chicken delivery, to clothing, to just about everything. It feels like it’s a big deal when a pop star advertises something unrelated to music in North America. I still remember the big deal of Britney Spears dancing in an epic Pepsi commercial, but you certainly wouldn’t see her advertising 4 different things at once. In Korea, no problem. Which leads us to our first cell phone related song, 2PM’s “My Color”.
1) 2PM – My Color
It’s another…JAY WHY PEE!!! This 2PM song might be one of my all time favourite kpop songs EVARRRR!!!! I was so surprised that my students (I was teaching when it came out) were so unimpressed by this song and video, but I think it came out during the whole Jay Bum member toss out scandal, so they were not digging 2PM. Interesting right? My students sided with Jay Bum and started to dislike 2PM. Anyhoo, this video was really quirky with the creepy clown like laughing ringmaster pulling 2PM’s strings like a puppet master, but the boys have never looked so so great in my opinion. Also, it was the first time I ever had a jaw drop moment for the members of 2PM. Maybe it was the masks and my deep childhood love for Tuxedo Mask is being placed onto this 2PM video, but there is just something about this video. I’ve been a fan of Taecyeon ever since we met 2PM (the video for that meeting ended up not being made due to the power of MIDDLE MANAGEMENT) and he was the nicest guy to both us, and to the fans screaming from the sidelines. When I saw him in this video I was so shocked because he was all sassy and confident, staring down the camera with hip hop swag oozing out of his pores. And OMG the dance. Poor Taecyeon is being left out of the ringmaster’s circle because he knows the power of persuasion Taecyeon will have with his awesome-quick-jump-dance-hand-down-the-face-ab-move, which might I add, I try to imitate all the time and it’s really really hard. Now yes, I know his cornrows look a little odd at first, but he really manages to pull it off with his eyebrow flexing. OH MY GAWD I JUST FIGURED IT OUT!!! HE REMINDS ME OF TOP IN THIS VIDEO!!! Young eyebrow flexing TOP but with an incredible body. Wow. Anyways, besides their looks, the song is SO DAMN CATCHY! You’ll be listening to this song on repeat. Yup. Now go! Watch and be amazed at Taecyeon and also guy who is dressed all in back and I don’t know his name.
2) 2NE1 ft Big Bang – Lollipop
Lolllllii lollliii ohhhhh lollliiipop. What an awesome song for a much cooler phone then the My Color phone. I wanted a stupid Lollipop phone SO BADLY not because of 2NE1 because at the time they were nobodies, but because it was so cute! I didn’t get one *sob* and now I’m stuck with this crappy slide phone that’s like a million years old but still ahead of the North American phones. Hahahahaaaaaaa but seriously. This song is SOOOOO GREAT. I originally had watched it for the Big Bang guest appearance (and I LOVED TOP’s style in this video…and now that I think about it, I think Simon has those glasses) but quickly thought that 2NE1 was so totally original in the world of female kpop groups. YG wasn’t afraid to present 2NE1 as a quirky fun group over being a pretty cutey girl group. The dance was really easy and catchy as well and the colours in the video are just so bright and vivid. I’m pretty sure it could be used to babysit children with it’s fun tune and ridiculous costumes. Once again, how awesome of a way to advertise your phone, right? People played this song blasting from every cell phone store, restaurant, and clothing shop and it was always in your head. Wait, was I brainwashed into wanting that lollipop phone? *deadpan stare* I still want it.
3) CNBlue “Love Girl”
Last up is CNBLUE [FIRST STEP + 1 THANK YOU] Title [LOVE GIRL] M/V Full ver. Aka Love Girl. What’s up with the confusing title’s kpop bands? Or should I just blame the YouTube uploaders in charge of your channel. Anyways, this song is very cute and peppy and it reminds me of a young Beatles song with it’s innocent “all my looovee” and it’s “L-O-BWEE-E GIRL”. It’s really very lovely. The video though, makes me laugh because there is something creepy about my poster secretly watching me in my room and jumping out and playing with my clothing and jumping on my bed with their shoes on—oh wait, she naps with her shoes on in bed, so I guess that’s the norm in this house. It’s also normal to have no instincts of survival because this girl is the most oblivious human I have ever witnessed in a music video. “OH, IS EVERYTHING OKAY IN HERE!!??*stares at room and boy wearing nightshade as lamp* YUP! IT SEEMS FINE” but then, big surprise ending, it turns out she was just dreaming! Yup! But she’s still wearing her shoes in bed. No recovery there. Thanks to our requester who is from Norway (I think) and NOT ENGLAND as Simon seems to think, but thanks to Simon for telling me that and making me look like a jackass on YouTube. Guess who’s getting bum smacks tonight!
For the original post on K Crunch Cocktail: Lollipop Color Love, or for our kpop and Korean Food videos, check out our Korea blog!
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