Asian artists CAN make it in the U.S., they just gotta go about it better
*This is in no way meant to be an attack towards CCM, T-ARA N4 or any other parties involved. This is something that I want to be taken as constructive criticism. I sincerely care about Asian music and want to see it represented positively at all times*
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T-ARA N4?s recent American performance has inspired me to open up a new segement on FarEastVibes called Industry Tips. Within this series I?m going to give my opinions on what I feel can be/needs to be done in order to allow domestic Asian artists to have a successful career in the States. This time around we?re going to talk about the poor decision this whole T-ARA N4 in America thing was.
Firstly, no Chris Brown. All fans have been saying this and I totally agree. For me Chris Brown?s history isn?t what makes this such a bad pairing, he?s just simply not the right fit for someone of T-ARA N4?s type. Instead of trying to find an artist that would fit with their current sound and concept CCM completely redid their image to try and force their way into the Hip Hop/R&B, ?urban? demographic and it?s not working.
You know what might have worked? Pairing T-ARA N4 with someone like Skrillex, or other popular EDM artists like Steve Aoki. Skrillex is a heavyweight in EDM music, and with T-ARA and Steve Aoki both being Asian and doing dance music- that collaboration could have really worked. It would have been the perfect combination of East meets West while promoting the Asian music movement. Jeon Won Diary (Countryside Life) is originally a fun, upbeat track. If CCM wouldn?t have been blinded by Chris Brown?s name and instead paired T-ARA N4 with someone of the same genre it would have been a much better result. EDM fans would have had an amazing time listening to Jeon Won Diary as the opening show to their favorite artist’s concert, watching their exciting choreography with bright stage outfits. It could have been a great success and T-ARA N4 would have gained a strong EDM fan base here in the States. Most Kpop is heavily Dance influenced so their success could have exposed the Western world to all things Kpop, but on a serious note, because let?s face it, most Americans look at PSY as a joke and not a serious Korean artist. The Jeon Won Diary remix that played during T-ARA N4’s American performance was boring and the girls didn?t even have decent choreography to go with it. They performed with no energy and looked extremely disorganized.
Moving on to the styling, they fell flat. I understand Korea is very conservative when it comes to showing skin, but if you?re trying to promote in America with artists like Chris Brown and Wiz Khalifa you?re going to have to do something sexy. At the very least wear something funky like 2NE1. Look at CL?s THE BADDEST FEMALE for instance. She looks sexy and trendy in all of her oufits without showing too much. T-ARA N4 DO have stylists, and they could have done a much better job. What works in Korea may not work in America, naturally. You have to adapt to different cultures as you enter them. T-ARA N4 looked like four nobodies walking the streets of Nevada who somehow got the opportunity to hop on stage and pretend to be singers. But we all know that’s not the case, T-ARA N4 are actual CELEBRITIES, and CCM needed to ensure the audience knew that.
These outfits would have been perfect!
To sum everything up CCM messed these girls up when they tried to force an American (Hip Hop at that) image on them. All they really had to do was take Jeon Won Diary and T-ARA N4 as they were and pair them with artists that would have complimented their kind of image. If they did this American venture w9ould have been a very positive experience.?I?m going to agree with everyone else when they say T-ARA N4 needs to take a break. CCM should focus on their other artists and let N4 just chill out for a bit. Let Knetizens TRY to get over their past controversies instead of fueling them with more. ?I mean let?s face it, T-ARA N4 and Kpop idols in general are MUCH better than this. We know the intensity and complexity of their industry. This doesn?t even come close to showing what Kpop is ?truly capable of.
http://youtu.be/8thbrlU2kkw