Music knows no language. You don't have to understand it to feel the exact emotion it's trying to relay. Music, indeed, is a universal language. K-pop or Korean Pop is a perfect example of that. It has been a worldwide phenomenon for years already. It has reached not even Asia but also America, Europe and Australia.
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Of course, Philippines is not an exception. Filipino fans are known for being one of the most active and supportive K-pop fans in the world. We have a lot of K-pop fandoms here in our country and annual K-pop conventions are held nationally. Our country is also often visited by K-pop groups for their world tours and fan meetings. Most Pinoy fans are teenagers who gets giddy over good-looking and drool-worthy "idols" with oozing sex appeal, undeniable charisma and unparalled talent. But the fans are not only limited to teenagers. Even young professionals and young-at-hearts can't keep but "fangirl" or "fanboy" over these irresistable K-pop groups.
While we try to support OPM as much as we can, we also find it hard to neglect and fight the force of K-pop songs that keeps on trying to pull us. A lot of OPM supporters would often criticize us, K-pop fans, for listening to songs we don't even understand instead of patronizing our locally-made songs. It has been an issue for quite some time now. It's an interesting topic of discussion that keeps on heating up as time goes by.
Why K-pop popularity has grown so much in the Philippines?
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K-pop fandom has grown so much in our country since then. A lot may ask: what's in it that it draws a lot of attention and love from people? To be honest, we have a lot of better artists here in our country. We have extremely gifted singers who can slay power ballads, do vocal acrobatics with ease and can shift from one difficult genre to another MORE difficult genre. Filipino singers can make you feel all the right kinds of emotion. OPM songs are made of powerful and compelling lyrics all thanks to our talented composers. So, why K-pop?
hey don't just produce singers. They create total performers! And by performers, I mean artists who can sing and dance at the same time. While some relies on lipsync, there are a lot of them who can really pull difficult and upbeat songs while singing live. It's something that's not achieved overnight. K-pop artists were trained by their respective agencies for years. Yes, years! Some of them were trainees for five years before they were officially launched as an "idol."
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Another reason is the quality of their songs and music videos. Everything's well-prepared up to the tiniest detail before they release a song or an album. K-pop songs and music videos has done a very surprising evolution throughout the years which makes me so proud. You can even compare them to American music videos now (some are even better, I swear!) and they are all visually pleasing. One of the reasons why they can easily get hundreds of millions of views on Youtube. Some music videos even gained ten million views in a span 24 hours.
Furthermore, K-pop artists really take their music seriously. They're very passionate about it and you can really see their love for it through their songs. It has become a bit Westernized these days but the unique element of K-pop never left their music. They don't just get inspiration or immitate American music. They try to leave their own mark by using their style.
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Lastly, they know how to properly and effectively market their artists and songs. They have specific shows for K-pop idols which includes debut and comeback stages. K-pop groups are also ranked based on the digital and physical sales of their albums. So, the tight competition on their industry pushes them to always do better and think out of the box.
At the end of the day, it's just a matter of individual preference. You cannot force other people to listen to K-pop if it's really not their thing. But, as a Pinoy K-pop fan, I am so happy to say that this fandom has grown so much here in our country. It has build strong friendships despite the constant online banters and "fanwars" caused by opposing points of view (which is really inevitable).
K-pop has helped me get through difficult times. It keeps me motivated. It makes me look forward for beautiful things. Why? Please go back to the first paragraph.
So, if you're a non-kpop fan and you're reading this, I strongly suggest you to try listening to at least one K-pop song. Or if you're in the mood, try to explore it. Jump from one group to another.