A lot of blogs out there seem to be following K-pop jailbait: the Wonder Girls and Big Bang Seungri’s abs have been written about by Perez Hilton, and SNSD — also known as Girls’ Generation — has been covered by Marc Ecko’s Complex Blog as well as FourFour. I’d like to scoop everyone and introduce the latest addition of the decidedly non-jailbait variety to the K-pop scene: After School.
Why hello there, sexy dance move at the 37 second mark.
Modeled after the Pussycat Dolls, After School brings a breath of fresh air to the K-pop scene currently saturated with gag-inducing cutesy sugar rot. As a fan of K-pop, it’s really irksome not to see adult women having adult-like fun, so it was really interesting to watch artists known for being sexy like Jewelry and Son Dambi perform after the 10pm watershed time during the year-end awards. Likewise, it was also interesting to see the other cutesy girl groups try “sexy” in comparison – and seeing how they have no idea how to pull it off properly.
After School’s members are under Pledis Entertainment, the same company as Son Dambi. Judging by all their performers, I would imagine they have a height requirement of at least 167cm. (You must be THIS tall to audition.) Their image, while sexy, is directly geared towards women – making men even more hot for them. People were initially skeptical when rumours swirled about Son Dambi joining the group, abandoning her solo success late last year. All of that was put to rest when the group debuted last week (January 17, 2009) with a jaw dropping performance.
I have NEVER seen a debut group take such command of the stage followed by sexually charged fan-girling on a forum. It’s GIRL POWER on a whole other level and something the Korean viewing audience seems to crave. They haven’t even been around for two weeks and already the dance craze is beginning. My office for the last week has been a repeat of Son Dambi’s ‘Bad Boy‘ feat. After School’s Park GaHee and After School’s Play Girlz and AH (see above).
I showed their debut performance to a male co-worker who immediately asked, “Are they all legal?” followed by “Pass the tissue box.”
(Hat tip: 8A’s Jun, who’s a closet K-pop fan, sent me the link from Complex perhaps in hopes that I would talk about Girls Generation (SNSD), so he wouldn’t have to … sorry bud – not a fan.)
