[Trans] Why WG's 'Why So Lonely' is precious

JYPE was focused on two promotions during the month of July. One was WG's 'Why So Lonely'. The other was Miss A member Fei's 'Fantasy'. Compared to 'Why So Lonely', 'Change' was not successful, to put it mildly.



'Change' was a good song, but was unfortunately overrun with nasty comments at Melon. Many factors contribute to the popularity of idol music. Besides the music, there is also the MV, concept, marketing, fandom size & so on. It's complicated to explain why 'Fantasy' wasn't as successful as 'Why So Lonely'. For now, let's put aside the other factors, & focus on the message of the songs.



Let's begin with Fei's 'Fantasy'. It's a track written by Park Jin-Young, & an exemplar of the uniquely generic female dance solo music that he produces. In Park Jin-Young's songs, women are conscious of men's desires & behave accordingly.



Look at the lyrics he wrote for Park Ji-Yoon's 2000 hit 'Rite of Passage' (성인식): "Come here sweetie / I'm no longer the girl you used to know / I'm a woman now / Thank you for waiting / I've become the woman you kiss." (그대여 이리 와요. 나도 언제까지 그대가 생각하는 소녀가 아니에요. 이제 나 여자로 태어났죠. 기다려준 그대가 고마울 뿐이죠. 나 이제 그대 입맞춤에 여자가 돼요.)



Fei's 'Fantasy', released in 2016, is not much different: "Whatever you want, whatever it is / I want to hear it tonight / Open up your heart / Open up & everything shall be viable." (원하는 건 뭐든지 말해 어떤 거든지. 오늘 밤은 다 들어주고 싶어. 맘이 열리기까지는 힘든데 맘이 열리고 나면 뭐든 다돼.)



To complement Park Jin-Young's songs, the female solo singers are provided with sexy outfits, nubile dances & seductive eyes. As the title indicated, it is to arouse male 'fantasy'. Up to now, Park Jin-Young's female dance solos have never failed.



WG's 'Why So Lonely' is a song by members Hyelim, Sunmi, Yoobin plus Hong Ji-sang. It was their first self-penned title song since they debuted 10 years ago.



Their previous release 'I Feel You', a song written by Park Jin-Young, had lyrics such as: "My hands & feet are tingling / Getting hot & breathless / I can't stand it anymore / Now baby, please be mine / I feel you / Even when I'm alone, I can feel your touch / Caressing me all day." (손발 끝 간질거려와. 달아오르는 체온 숨 가빠와. 더 이상은 참을 수가 없어 나. 이제 Please Baby Be Mine. I Feel You. 혼자 있어도 너의 손길이 느껴져. 하루 종일 나를 만져.)



In their own song, they sang gently to a reggae rhythm: "I thought your kiss would make a difference, but nothing has changed / You haven't changed / I thought our weekend night would be sweet, but nothing has changed / You haven't changed." (너와 입술이 닿을 때부터 모든 게 달라질 줄 알았는데 별거 없어. 넌 다른 게 없어. 너와 보내는 주말 밤이 아주 달콤할 거라 믿었는데 별거 없어. 넌 다를 게 없어.)



In Fei's 'Fantasy', women are conscious of men's desires & behave accordingly. In 'Why So Lonely', women are openly frank in expressing their feelings.



It's not as if female subjectivity hasn't existed before in idol lyrics. Take a look at 2NE1's 'I Don't Care', which has an outspoken girl-power theme: "I don't care, let's end it here / Whatever you're doing doesn't matter to me, get lost / I won't be wailing & clinging anymore." (I Don't Care 그만할래. 니가 어디에서 뭘 하던 이제 정말 상관 안 할게 비켜줄래. 이제와 울고불고 매달리지 마.) The song was written by 2NE1's producer Teddy.



On 2NE1 TV, Teddy said: "Either way, women shouldn't fret about what men do at the nightclubs. That's how women makes men cling to them." This song is fairly equivalent to the macho message Teddy previously wrote in Taeyang's "Look Just At Me".



Yet in 'Come Back Home', another Teddy-penned song, 2NE1 sang: "I'm trapped in time without you / I can't see ahead, it's scary." (너 없는 시간 속에 갇혀버린 난. 앞을 볼 수가 없어 너무 두려워.)



There are also songs in which the lyrics contradict each other. In Brave Girls' 'High Heels', which was written by Brave Brothers, the lyrics purportedly sang about confident women: "A girl who does & say whatever she wants / I'm gonna live like that / Won't be self-conscious / Gonna be candid, yeah" (하고 싶은 것 하고 싶은 말 하고 싶을 때 다 하는 여자. 난 그렇게 살 거야. 그 누구 눈치도 보지 않고 당당하게 Yeah.) Yet listeners who heard this & the song chorus "Look at me / I'm wearing what you said you like / Sexy high heels / Pick one / For you tonight" (“날 좀 봐요. 그대가 좋아한다 해서 신었잖아요. 섹시한 하이힐. 아무거나 골라봐. 널 위한 오늘 밤”) are going to be perplexed.



The world is irrational & full of contradictions. So is the pop-music industry. Needless to say, the idol industry resides at the top of the Kpop industry. The voice of women clamoring for change in an irrational & contradictory world is growing. The feminist movement grew out of the hidden opposition towards women. The world is changing. If so, the Kpop industry should change accordingly. In the West, the likes of Blood Orange & Beyonce sang about feminism, & Snoopy Dogg regretted his misogynistic lyrics. In the high-rolling Hollywood industry, movies brandishing women's lib like 'Mad Max Fury Road' & 'Ghostbusters' were being made.



WG's Yeeun had said in a recent interview: "People tend to compare me to a flower for being a girlgroup member. But I'm not a flower. Rather, I'm more like a bird. But people still want me to be a flower." Her awareness stemmed from being part of a girlgroup, but any women who are asked to fill a 'role' in society can sympathize with the subject. As a result, we are treated to new poignant songs that we don't get from traditional female idol groups. That's why 'Why So Lonely' is precious.



Not long ago, BTS's fans campaigned about the group's misogynistic lyrics & tweets. BTS's agency Big Hit issued an official apology, & pledged not to use such lyrics in the future. In the Kpop industry, misogyny & feminism are no longer remote occurrences. The failure of 'Fantasy' & the success of 'Why So Lonely' may be the result of these trends. But who knows. The consumption of female idol music remains very strong, & its industry system still bustling. In that sense, the misogyny won't be far away.



After reaching such a verdict, what kind of music will we consume going forward?



K-source: F.OUND magazine #74, October 2016 issue

Translator: qoxie

Link: http://foundmag.co.kr/1158456

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