Popularity draws attention but videos by Got7 and Seventeen over the last few days tangibly take the Korean boy band format to higher levels. If you've wondered why anybody cares about K-pop, feel this.
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"You Are" is the lead single on Got7's new EP 7 For 7. The band's label JYP Entertainment is run by J.Y. Park who posted on Instagram, "The scary thing about this team is that they're still growing like a rookie!"
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="7" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50.0% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BaDtUuPALLq/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">#갓세븐 #Got7 #7for7 #Youare 이 팀이 무서운 건 4년 째 계속 성장하고 있다는 것이다. 스스로 만든 타이틀곡 멋져!^^ The scary thing about this team is that they're still growing like a rookie! Congrats on the self-made first single~ :)</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by J.Y. Park (@asiansoul_jyp) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2017-10-10T06:46:16+00:00">Oct 9, 2017 at 11:46pm PDT</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>
Billboard observed that "You Are" blends the 7's softer side with soaring melodies. The naturalness of both the talent and the English-Korean blended lyrics, with English subtitles, evoke a flair that feels truly international. It's also a tradition that's been building for years, growing in popularity and attention because of it. And demonstrating why, the whole way.
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"13th Month's Dance (Lilili Yabbay)" allows Dino, Hoshi, Jun, and The8 to unleash some bada** street dancing in Brooklyn, N.Y. The white face make-up is theatrical and androgynous, but the physicality of the dance performance is a refined and fresh restatement that Korea feels the breaks and the beats and knows what to do about it.
We could talk about quantity of YouTube views but those numbers keep going up. What should go up with the bands is affectionate respect for the talent driving musical expressions like these farther into the mainstream than Korean pop has ever been.
