Remember BoA and her entry into American Pop Music? While she may not have been the crossover K-Pop Superstar that SM Entertainment had hoped for – unless you count a couple of boys dancing at gay bars, the Korean music company is banking on nine-member group Girls’ Generation to be the first Asian group to truly break the American pop music scene with its newest single, The Boys. Yes, this is the same girl group also known as SNSD and spawned a parody video of old men in halter tops dancing. But what are the chances of the song being a hit in America? My thoughts, after the jump.
The song itself is as catchy as a good pop song should be, and for good reason: the song was co-written by Teddy Riley, member of early 90s New Jack Swing group Guy and produced albums for Michael Jackson’s Dangerous and Blackstreet. That explains the eerie similarities to Rob Base & Ez-Rock’s “It Takes Two” during the rap breakdown. As for the video, the choreography is decidedly very un-KPop, with nods to — dare I say it? — vogueing with a shade of step dancing thrown in. There aren’t any forming little hearts with your hands here. While I don’t really understand why Jessica (one of two American girls in the group) wears a tiara while releasing a dove in a shower of rose petals, I’m just going to write that off as something that kids these days do.
Needless to say, the Korean version of the single is a runaway smash, but whether this song gets serious American radio play remains to be seen, even if it does have the blessing of Ryan Seacrest’s people. What do you think, 8Asians readers?
