2NE1 - Best New Artist in the World (MTV)

Forgive me the poor screenshot the program I use didn't care for the live stream.

2NE1, a popular, female Korean-Pop group, just finished their first concert in New York City and received their crowns for Best New Artist from MTV.  It was my first time watching 2NE1 perform.  I was familiar with some of their singles due to K-Pop Music Mondays by Eat Your Kimchi.  (I'm going to skip over all my comments on the entire show because they had a number of other artists perform that were nominated.  Well, except with how much I adore Yuna as a person and I would totally go out with her.  Sorry, I have a thing for Muslim women.)  

My favorite, who is the best dancer of the group,
 Minzy.

Their performance was short and only consisted of singles.  They had some short interview and Q+A sections.  For big fans of 2NE1 I bet they were disappointed because the show seemed to focus more on introducing a ton of new artists, not on the winning group.  I thought their performances were solid and well organized.  I'm surprised they didn't go completely live with the vocals considering American's hypersensitivity to anything lip-synced.  My reaction to 2NE1 was what I expected for the most part.  I came into this knowing that they weren't going to be my favorite thing.  However, what I didn't expect coming in was how I would react to the members.  Overall, I liked them.  CL gave good answers during the talk-portion.  Minzy tried to show off some cool moves.  Their outfits were lively and funky as usual.  Dara was wearing her hair in that ridiculous style.  (I don't care if you are Korean, during the clips where you were running around the town you looked so much better.)  

I never knew that Bom had gotten plastic surgery before
watching this.

The one thing that I couldn't stop obsessing over was Bom.  Oh how plastic does she look.  (Sorry killa, I know you hate when people mention that.)  Here is a fact of life:  East Asian noses look weird on Caucasian faces, and vice versa.  You reminded me of Michael Jackson, which isn't a good thing!  

TANGENT WARNING: My parents listened to the Beatles, my Dad would use MC Hammer to help me fall asleep, and I listened to Shaggy, Britney Spears, Aaron Carter, and boy bands.  My exposure to Michael Jackson was the pedo trials and after ALL OF THE PLASTIC SURGERY.  Let's say I didn't have the best opinion of the guy.  I didn't start listening to his music until after he died and all of the tributes ensued.     

Anyway, I couldn't stop focusing on her.  This was combined with her uber-short dress which would show her butt or crotch if she opened her legs a bit, bent over, or if the camera was a lower angle (which it was).  Not to mention I did not understand her facial expression during Lonely.  It might of been due to too much plastic surgery so her face couldn't move?  [I do not know how much work she has gotten done, but I checked with my 2NE1 friend and she confirmed that she did get stuff done.]  I am aware that it isn't uncommon for Koreans to get work done.  However, considering their edgy image and presenting themselves as a different kind of K-Pop girl group I did not think they would find it necessary.  It just makes me doubt them from being different from the mainstream, manufactured groups.  

There is a reason 2NE1 was nominated over all the other Korean acts, and we all know there is a boat-load of 'em.  They would be easily marketable in the United States.  Europe is a different matter, they are far more accepting of East Asian acts.  They are original and have perfect timing, plus they can speak English.  The United States may be opening up to Asian artists.  Far East Movement had a huge hit, and Jin Akanishi's first single is doing well on the charts.  However, that doesn't mean it will last or reach the same level as their Korean success.  BoA and Utada had mild results.  Far East Movement has had only one number-one hit, and another in the top ten.  Their other singles have not done nearly as well.  

Image is important in America.  Acts like Lady GaGa and Ke$ha would not be where they are without it.  2NE1 has the image.  But will the fact that Asians do not have a hold of major portion of the US entertainment industry prevent them.  (What causes that I am not sure.)  If I could see a Japanese group make it it would be Perfume.  They have a stylistic appeal.  The problem is that they have no interest in leaving the Japanese market.  Japan has the second largest music industry in the world.  Why lose their pretty much guaranteed continued success in Japan for an uphill battle?  Perfume does not have that ambition.  The other problem is that they don't tend to sing live, which is extremely important in the States.  So, yep.

       

AKB48 and Plastic Surgery + Other Topics

This subject, specially in the case of Tomomi Itano, came up quite a while back, but I didn't post anything on the matter.  I thought the post on Tokyohive settled the matter, but I became frustrated recently when seeing videos suggesting she did as well as comments.  This is nothing unusual.  Pretty much any asian celebrities' name can be typed into google and it will suggest to add plastic surgery.  I know that I can't help what other people of the internet say, but I wish they would at least try to have some integrity when they accuse someone of getting work done (at least seeing better evidence than a picture from before and after puberty).  It probably just ignorance because if you were familiar enough with AKB48 you would know that cosmetic surgery would be impossible to pull off without being noticed.  But, even more so after the director of the beauty clinic "Takasu Clinic", Takasu Mikiya argued the unlikeliness of the rumors:

“The members of AKB are currently at the peak of their popularity and they wouldn’t have the spare time for such a procedure. In Tomochin’s case, the down time would take up to three to six months. People like them rather use eye tape and eye pieces to freely change the appearance of their eyes to a certain degree, e.g. double eyelids. Many people always think of plastic surgery first when seeing double eyelids, but that is a common mistake.”

Further, he stated, “It’s not just Tomochin. On the Internet there are a lot of rumors involving members of AKB48 and plastic surgery, especially Maeda Atsuko, Shinoda Mariko, Kojima Haruna, Minegishi Minami, and Watanabe Mayu. I don’t think any of those girls have gone under the knife. Most of them debuted in their early teens and it’s natural for them that certain features, such as their eyes and nose, change over time. Moreover, their faces become a lot thinner over the years, and they started to use more make-up than before. There is no need to say that they also started to use things such as eye tape."

I am a huge fan of Japanese dramas. さいきん、「大切なことはすべて君がおしえてくれた」に興味が有ります。However, when it comes to the also popular Korean dramas. . . fan. . . not so much.  I've mostly come to enjoy Korean films, like Thirst.  But in terms of mainstream films that have a closer resemblance to dramas, I've only found one that I enjoyed: 100 Pounds of Beauty.  When I attempted to make a switch to Korean dramas, because there are so many popular ones available that I've never seen, I started with Boys Before Flowers (because I enjoyed the Japanese version).  While the cast is good-looking (plastic surgery jk! / Korean guys can be a bit too pretty for me), I found the acting intolerable.  I'm not one to get boggled down with the technique of acting, as long as I find it enjoyable I don't mind, but for Korean dramas, acting is what kills it.  (Wow, I feel like I put a lot of commas in sentences.)  Japanese dramas, mostly (romantic) comedies, can be overacted and I find that is resembles anime.  It is charming, funny, and sometimes so outlandish that it is cracky.  In contrast, Korean dramas take it to a point so far that I find it difficult to sit through more than ten minutes.  Mainstream, Korean dramas may just not be my cup of tea.  If you have any recommendations I would appreciate it.

As most of you know by now, Team B's Manami Oku will be graduating sometime this spring (around April).  There have been a handful of trainees who have been promoted, but have yet to be placed in a team.  I believe that, since an actual spot opened up, that Akimoto will replace Oku with one.  My pick is Shiori Nakamata (18) who often performs with Team B and has been accepted into economics department of Waseda University.  She recently appeared in an episode of AKBingo!.  I know, I am bypassing my new trainee favorite: Miorin.  She isn't a full-fledged member yet anyway, and has become a regular on AKBingo! and a favorite of her senpai (specifically the Team A font-girls).  Shiori isn't the only AKB48 member attending a university at the moment, which makes me proud.  Who do you think will get the spot, or who do you desire to be added to Team B?

C-ute has openly talked about their new sexier image.  I am happy to see the changes.  At the moment I am tempted to talk about how much Hello Project is sucking at promoting their groups, but I'll stop myself.
C-ute is in a really good place in terms of members, so I hope they can push it.  Other young idol units like Momoiro Clover and SKE48 are experiencing ever increasing sales and popularity; Momoclo is appearing on Shabekuri 007.  There has been a recent boom in interest in idols in Japan, so it is an ideal time to implement a surge.

When is Acchan just going to go solo already?  I've mentioned my new interest in Seiko Matsuda, who Acchan reminds me of. Although, I think Acchan would prefer to focus on acting versus a solo artist career and Akimoto probably wouldn't want to let her go.

It also seems that AKB48 graduate, Oshima Mai, is experiencing problems at Avex.  After releasing two singles she has seemingly disappeared.  Considering the interest in AKB48, I would think that Avex would at least to try to promote her more.  Since they don't seem to care about pushing her, Mai Mai should appeal to Akimoto to let her join SDN48.  She was quite popular in AKB48 and she is talented.