The New Kpop Boy Groups of 2014
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Of course, the year is not over yet, but certainly there has been an introduction to many new groups and many new songs, by both male and female Kpop groups. Some of the new upcoming groups that have formed that are boy groups are Legend, K-Much, GOT7, JJCC, and LU:KUS.
Legend (전설) is a five man group that is under JK Space's management. They debuted their first album, The Legend on July 8, 2014, with the song "Left Out". Their group is made up of Listen (리슨), who is their main vocalist, Roi (로이) from China, Ryu Jae Hyuk (유제혁), Lito (리토), the rapper, and Lee Changsun (이창선). These five, in their song "Left Out", have a wonderful dance that I think is very snazzy, much like the dance for "Lucifer" by SHINee. I probably make those ties due to the fact that both have tutting in them. The music as well reminds me very much of the typical boy band sound, and a sound reminiscent to Big Bang. I would certainly say this is a group to watch out for good music in the future if it can give off the image of famous Kpop groups already with a newly formed group.
Legend (전설) is a five man group that is under JK Space's management. They debuted their first album, The Legend on July 8, 2014, with the song "Left Out". Their group is made up of Listen (리슨), who is their main vocalist, Roi (로이) from China, Ryu Jae Hyuk (유제혁), Lito (리토), the rapper, and Lee Changsun (이창선). These five, in their song "Left Out", have a wonderful dance that I think is very snazzy, much like the dance for "Lucifer" by SHINee. I probably make those ties due to the fact that both have tutting in them. The music as well reminds me very much of the typical boy band sound, and a sound reminiscent to Big Bang. I would certainly say this is a group to watch out for good music in the future if it can give off the image of famous Kpop groups already with a newly formed group.
전설 Legend - 미.남. (미련이 남아서) Left Out
Snakehead (가물치), known better as K-Much internationally, is another new group run by Chrome Entertainment. They debuted their album Beyond the Ocean on January 7, 2014, with the songs "What Should I do", "I'm Sorry", and a single "Good to Go". Their group is made up of Kiu (큐) their main vocalist, BornUs (보너스), Loki (로키), G.LOW (지로우) their rapper, and and Ato (아토). Their song "Good to Go" is super funny in my opinion, as they're dressed up in swat gear, and dancing around all synchronized, trying to act cool. The best part of the video, however, is the beginning of the video, where the group is walking home from school and stop to dance with golden helmets in a field. They are then attacked by a sea monster (the digital editing is so-so, making the video even more funny) and are lightning zapped to some building where they are lightning zapped again by a woman who seems to be the queen of the land, pulling them up off the ground. Overall the video is rather funny, and the music is incredibly catchy; once again making it a band to remain interested in.
K-Much (가물치) - Good To Go (뭣 모르고)
GOT7 (갓세븐) is...well exactly what is sounds like—it has seven members in their group. They are currently managed by JYP Entertainment, and debuted their album Got It? on January 15, 2014 with their song, "Girls Girls Girls". Led by leader JB (제이비), there is also Mark (마크) who is Chinese but from Los Angeles, California, Jackson (잭슨) from Hong Kong, Jr. (주니어), Youngjae (영재), BamBam (뱀뱀) from Thailand, and Yugyeom (유겸). Their video "Girls Girls Girls" definitely gives off that vibe of a group of bad boys, especially considering they're hanging out in an underground club in some random shop that some poor girl trying to do the right thing stumbles into. However the actual tune of the song is superb in also providing that vibe, and their acrobatic tricks are wonderful in adding to the bad boy image. Certainly keep your eyes out for more by this group!
GOT7- Girls Girls Girls
JJCC (더블제이씨 and pronounced as Double-JC) is definitely interesting, if partly because of their managing group. Managed by Jackie Chan Group Korea, this is the only group out their under the wing of Jackie Chan, a long time fan of Kpop, where the official name of the group comes from; Jackie Chan's Joint Culture. They debuted their first song March 24, 2014 with the album At First with the song "At First". Made up of the members SimBa (심바), E.Co (
이코/ formerly Hajun), Eddy (에디) from Los Angeles, California, San Cheong (산청), and Prince Mak (프린스 맥) from Sydney, Australia, and is Chinese-Australian. They were taught to be fluent in English, Korean, and Chinese. Being a group trained by such a famous person certainly has its perks; they had instant publicity as soon as they churned out their first song, which is certainly a song that seems to pull at the heart strings. The tune sounds like one that is serenading you and trying to win you back into their lives as if you've left. I feel that this group has a definite chance at becoming a powerhouse of Kpop.
JJCC (더블제이씨) - At First (첨엔 다 그래)
LU:KUS (루커스) is one cool group managed by Box Media. Although originally four of the members were part of another band run by another company, they left said group and joined with the fifth member for for LU:KUS, which is short for "Look at Us". Debuting So Into U on July 4, 2014 with "So Into U", the band members offered a super catchy song to listen to. Leader J.One (제이원), Donghyun (동현), Kyungjin (경진), Choi (석훈), and Jinwan (진완) offer a song that is upbeat and one that will definitely get you dancing along. Not only is the scenery interesting and the costumes rather an interesting mix of fashion meets matrix style, the music and lyrics flow to become a catchy tune that will keep you interested. Definitely a band I look forward to listening to in the future.
Overall, with what I have seen so far come out in the ways of new bands formed in the Kpop genre, I certainly hold onto hope that it will become even better than it already is. These bands; Legend, K-Much, GOT7, JJCC and LU:KUS, all have unique sounds and interesting enough back stories in their songs to keep anyone entertained for days. Let us hope that they continue to produce more music!
LU:KUS(루커스) - So Into U(기가막혀)
Overall, with what I have seen so far come out in the ways of new bands formed in the Kpop genre, I certainly hold onto hope that it will become even better than it already is. These bands; Legend, K-Much, GOT7, JJCC and LU:KUS, all have unique sounds and interesting enough back stories in their songs to keep anyone entertained for days. Let us hope that they continue to produce more music!
