A Kpop wind is blowing in the Japanese music scene. Since the debut of Girl’s Generation in Japan, Korean boy groups have been debuting successively in Japan during the end of last year and the beginning of this year. With their good looks, vocal ability and dancing skills, male idol groups are capturing the hearts of the Japanese female population.
Last year in December, 2PM the idol group with an average height of 180 cm held their first showcase in the Ryogoku Kokugikan Sumo Arena. When they appeared, the crowd immediately went crazy. The 6 members who are aged between 20 and 23 years old are already top stars in Japan. Because of their masculine image, they are known as beastly idols.
Heartbeat is an immensely popular song in Korea. The very fit members also danced a very unique dance for the song. The song’s lyrics describe the pain and helplessness felt by a man after a breakup.
On the day that 2PM debuted in Japan, their showcase was attended by 25,000 people. They showed off fresh charisma and a perfect dance made possible by lots of practice .
Beast will officially debut in Japan on the 23rd of March. The six member group who debuted in Korea in 2009 have explosive dance moves. Intense rhythms are a special feature of their songs. Although they are only youngsters of 19 to 21 years old, they have successfully released many songs and dances. After only debuting in Korea for half a year, their song Shock shot to first place on the charts.
Each of the six members have their own specialty, but their premise is built by all the members’ ability to dance. Their popularity has been enhanced due to the earlier debut of 3 members.
Last year in November, Beast held their first solo showcase in Tokyo’s Big Site. On that day, fans arranged themselves at the entrance of the venue to form the word BEAST to welcome the members. This spring, Beast will start official activities in Japan.
On the other hand, there is Shinee. Shinee who debuted in Korea in 2008 are gaining explosive popularity. They are well known for their outstanding vocals and self-choreographed dances.
Be it fast-paced dance songs or beautiful ballads, they are always excellent performers. Their image is also easily accepted by Japanese people. Most Korean boy groups consist of pretty boys who are good at singing and dancing, Japanese fans love this kind of image.
Shinee also held their first solo showcase with grandeur in Japan during the end of last year, with an audience consisting of mostly female fans in their teens and twenties. They are said to officially debut in Japan this spring.
The Hallyu wave in Japan was started by TVXQ. They broke the barriers between Jpop and Kpop, making more people gain an interest towards Korean music. In addition, with girl groups coming into fashion in Japan, a whole new level of fans have been formed.
With this momentum, let us welcome the peak of idol boy groups. As to how this phenomena will affect Japan’s music scene, we can only wait and see.
SOURCE: YAHOO JAPAN, BEASTCHINA
TRANS: yangting1302@mybeastyboys
