8 Korean Entertainers and Musicians that Should Collaborate
Korean entertainment is known for two things, downright crazy (sometimes in a great way) movies and TV shows and the notoriously commercial Kpop idols. Kpop is known to be a manufacturing plant where machines are set up to mass produce products, marketed as artists, for general consumption. You can't blame the critics. It really is an industry filled celebrities whose real talents are limited to pretending to know how to sing and moving their hips to suggest sexual acts while wearing costumes close to that of a stripper.
However, there are also real gems. There are idols out there who have real love for music and real talents just waiting to be tapped.
It is about time for these idols to come together and collaborate to use their talents and create beautiful music that will not only prove their worth as artists but also raise the bar of music in Korea.
#1 Classic-Contemporary Band
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#1 Classic-Contemporary Band
There are so many idols that play different instruments and it is about time to put together a band that will play a modern version of classic pieces or create a classic sounding contemporary music.
- BTS' V on saxophone
- Super Junior's Leeteuk on drums
- Exo's Chanyeol on violin
- Super Junior's Henry Lau on violin
- Shinee's Jonghyun on Bass
- DBSK's Changmin on guitar
- Mblaq's Seungho on piano
- Eric Nam on Cello
See their videos below.
The result should be a fusion of classic sound with modern feel. It may be hard to imagine but here is a video of the band Apocalyptica, a four-piece band playing string instruments covering rock songs like those of Metallica.
Here are the Idols Playing their instruments
#2 Angst, Romance - Lyrics That Cut Deep
Way before Mad Clown went mainstream, he was already a respected rapper/musician in the underground music scene. He was, in fact, often dubbed as the Eminem of Korea because of his unparalleled mashing up of poetry in lyrics and music in all his songs.
Listen to one of his best singles, Loneliness at the Palm of My Hand, below.
DBSK... 1N2D Season 1 Cast... Yoogeun and Shinee... who should have a reunion?
I write, and write, and write, and write
Until dawn starts painting the sky dark blue
I could feel what's in my chest slowly chipping away
The pencil on my left hand,
This is loneliness, in the palm of that hand
— Mad Clown (Loneliness in the Palm of my Hand)On the other hand, DBSK's U-Know Yunho, is an established idol but an underrated musician. He first established himself as a good looking performer with such a strong stage presence but he has not been given the amount of opportunities to write his own music as he should.
In the few songs he penned, his poetic prowess is apparent and that includes his ability to match the emotion of the lyrics with the music. November with Love, one of the songs he wrote, composed and produced, is a heartbreaking ode to love lost.
Listen to it below.
I erase you then draw you again
Then I let you go... let you go to the wind
Where the wind blows, wherever that is, I will still have you
— U-Know YunhoA collaboration between the two would entail the two of them sitting down and actually creating their own music. It should produce a song with faster or heavy sound and then they should come out with a rearrangement for a more acoustic feel to highlight their voices and the lyrics.
Yunho's voice is a baritone and it has a very "strong and domineering" tone. On the other hand, Mad Clown sounds very laid back and angsty. Having the two in one track would create a beautiful contrasting sound that would delivery what may be the most powerful rap song in the history of Korea.
It's hard to imagine but you can listen to the mashup below.
#3 LeeSsang & CNBlue - Extraordinary Lives of Ordinary People
CNBlue writes almost all the songs they release. They are few of the many KPop bands who are courageous enough to use their own material, for better or worse. They are far from being the best but they certainly have the potential to create an epic song that don't just touch on heartbreaks and women but about sentiments of young people transitioning to adulthood or adults transitioning to old age.
On the other hand, LeeSsang is known for penning what seems to be a common thought but once you dig deeper, you will see a meanings behind the words that are so sharp, it can kill you even when you dodge it.
A mashup of LeeSsang and CNBlue would sound like Aerosmith and Eminem. Watch below.
#4 Taemin & Jungkook - Acoustic Modern Classic
Two of the most talented maknaes in the Kpop and it's time for their talents to come together.
Both rap, both dance and both should try their hand in writing their own songs.
It is a waste to do a mash up without having the two bust up some legendary dance steps and oh, man will it just look and sound great.
The thoughtfulness of their voices should be allowed to move with their bodies and what better way to do that than with a song that follows the tradition of Michael Jackson-like song. The template will be something like Man in the Mirror but it has to highlight their voices more. This should be similar to what these two dudes in the video below. However, it has to mixed with a hiphop number similar to what the legendary Jabbawockeez did in week 1 of America's Best Dance Crew (watch video below).
#5 Guckkasten and Lee Joon
Everyone knows Lee Joon, former member of Mblaq, but now everyone knows that Guckkasten is one of the most respected rock bands in Korea. Their live performances ooze wild sincerity and they have the ability to perform with such freedom without giving a feeling of detachment or arrogance.
A collaboration with Lee Joon should feature a sound emanates a feeling of a bunch of guys jamming on a cozy afternoon in a wide open space.
Paul Weller worked with Paul McCartney and Noel Gallagher to cover The Beatle's Come Together and the result is legendary. Lee Joon and Guckkasten will undoubtedly come up with something similar.
Watch the video below.
#6 - Strings and Voice - Sungha Jung, Teen Top's Niel, Shinee's Onew
Niel and Onew have unique voices. They are two of the most recognizable voices around. They also will create a great contrast as Niel can reach those high notes while Onew has a really relaxing low voice.
Sungha Jung, on the other hand, is a self-made guitarist who started uploading a video of himself playing the guitar at such an early age. By the time he reached adolescence, he has practically traveled the world, doing nothing but play the guitar.
These three should come together and create a beautiful collection of acoustic covers. It should sound like the ones below.
#7 Tiger JK, 2PM's Taecyeon, BTS' Rap Mon
Although no one really needs an explanation when Tiger JK's name is mentioned in a collaboration, it would still be nice to have some justification on why it is a good idea for Tiger JK to come togeher with Taecyeon and Rap Monster. Here are some:
- they all write their own raps
- each come from different generations and represent the sentiments well
- they have different backgrounds
- they all speak good english
The three of them coming together will probably the closest to a Western hiphop track Korea will ever get to.
#8 Beatbox Crew - U-Kiss’ Kiseop, Big Bang's TOP, Shinee's Onew
These three can pull off some of the best beatboxing tricks in the Korea. They also have good voices and, most of all, all of them are known for being smart.
It would be nice for the three to come together and come up with several songs that's highly cerebral using nothing but their voices as music bed.
Watch their beatboxing skills below.
The result should be something like what Dub FX does, looping with rapping and effects. Watch him below.
