Two of the most ambitious stars riding the so-called “Korean Wave” are Rain (Jung Ji Hoon) and Se7en (Choi Dong Wook). Both plan to release English-language albums in the US this year.
“I’m so fond of R&B and hip-hop,” said Se7en, who was recently in New York. “The US is the land of R&B and hip-hop. I want to start a career here, make a new beginning.”
Se7en went to Washington D.C. to record his single, which is scheduled to come out in the US this spring.
At the same time, Rain is also preparing for his first US album. He has a head start2, with a successful concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden in last February.
“Rain is the face of pop globalism3,” Time magazine said, and called him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Before he visited the US, Rain already had a fan base. “Pop culture no longer moves simply in one direction, from the West to the rest of the world. Instead, it’s a global circle, not limited by borders. Rain, after all, falls on everyone,” said Time.
But, K-pop4’s success is not necessarily guaranteed5. Although Asians account for6 4.4 percent of the US population (at 13.1 million), Korean stars need to appeal to7 other Americans as well to be truly successful.
Early signs indicate this may take some time. A New York Times review of Rain’s Madison Square Garden performances called it “nostalgic8”—meaning the music seemed a bit behind the times.
“The difficulty for Rain’s US career is that, by the time [Rain’s songwriter and producer] Jin-Yong Park has figured out how to imitate the latest famous English-speaking song, American pop will have jumped ahead of him,” wrote a New York Times reporter.
Some fans say K-pop artists need to come out with hip, high-quality music, as well as speak good English, to get accepted by the American market.
Rain
Name: Jung Ji-hoon
Date of birth: 6/25/1982
Height: 184 cm
Education: Post Modern Music Department, Kyung Hee University（庆熙大学后现代音乐系）
Hobby: Movies, music, collecting shoes and clothes
Future Goal: Be the top star in the world
The Korean pop star, loved in Asia for both his R&B music and TV roles, lost his mother to diabetes13 six years ago. The huge grief kept him away from drink, night life and girls. He focused on performing, as his mother sacrificed her medical care so he could train professionally. “I’m like the average 25-year-old boy who wants to hang out with friends, have a girlfriend,” Rain told the New York Daily News, “But when my mother passed away, I made up my mind that I would be the top star in the world to honor her. I have no regret for this lifestyle.”
Rain had been rejected 18 times by artistic management companies for the reason “he was too tall and too ugly.” But now he performed in several Asian countries as well as the United States. Rain’s music and dancing talent have been compared to Usher and Justin Timberlake. In April 2006, Time magazine named him the second most influential entertainer. The future for Rain is incredibly14 bright.
ES FYI
R&B
American Rhythm and Blues (R&B) is a form of popular music and is actually based on other music like the blues or other black folk music. It’s like blues, but it’s more contemporary15. The Rhythm & Blues are also considered an urbanized form of popular music with strong, repetitious rhythms, but the melody is simple.
美国的节奏布鲁斯是一种流行音乐，它实际上是在蓝调或其他黑人民谣等音乐的基础上产生的。它与蓝调有相似之处，但更加现代。节奏布鲁斯也被认为是一种都市化的流行音乐形式，节奏强烈且多有重复，但旋律简单。
Rain（郑智薰）和Se7en（崔东旭）是引领所谓“韩流”的最具雄心明星中的两位。他们都计划今年在美国发行英语专辑。
“我非常喜爱R&B和嘻哈乐，”最近到过纽约的Se7en说，“美国是R&B和嘻哈乐的发源地。我想在这里闯出一番事业，开辟新的天地。”
Se7en到华盛顿去录制他的单曲唱片，预计今年春季发行。
与此同时，Rain也在为他的首张美国专辑做准备。他捷足先登，于去年2月在纽约麦迪逊广场花园举办了一次成功的演唱会。
“Rain是流行音乐全球化的标志性招牌，”《时代》周刊评论说，并称其为“全球最有影响力的100人”之一。
Rain在访美之前，已经拥有一批美国歌迷。“流行文化的传播已不再是一种单向运动，从西方传向世界的其他地方。现在，它是一种全球性的循环，不受国界的限制。雨（Rain）毕竟降落在每个人的头上，”《时代》周刊说。
但是，韩系流行音乐能否取得成功并无绝对保证。尽管亚裔占美国人口的4.4%（1310万），韩国明星还需要赢得其他美国人的青睐才算真正成功。
初步迹象显示这可能需要一段时日。《纽约时报》有评论称Rain在麦迪逊广场花园的表演为“怀旧式的”——意思是其音乐好像有点落后于时代。
“Rain开辟美国事业的难处在于，等到[Rain的歌曲作者和制作人] 朴振英琢磨出该如何模仿最新英语名曲的时候，美国流行音乐已经跳到他前面去了。”《纽约时报》记者写道。
一些歌迷认为，要得到美国市场的认可，韩系流行音乐艺人们需要以紧跟潮流和高质量的音乐闪亮登场，并且说一口漂亮的英语。
他们靠什么来风靡全球？
下面是韩系流行音乐为吸引全球观众而使用的一些秘密武器：
1. 天使般面孔，魔鬼般身材：“天使般的脸蛋、极具魅力的身材和贾斯汀·汀布莱克似的舞步”，这是《时代》周刊对Rain的描述。它同样也适用于Se7en。男女特征的混合是韩系流行乐重装出击的一部分。一些韩国流行男艺人甚至不允许交女朋友，为的是不失去邻家男孩的魅力。
评论：将来某一天他们会对Rain炫耀其强壮的胳膊和胸肌感到厌倦，还会不喜欢他的新发型。
2. 全明星制作阵容：为Rain的新专辑和美国—亚洲巡演担任舞蹈设计的是杰米·金，他曾为麦当娜、布兰妮和克里斯汀娜·阿奎莱娜工作过。Se7en在美国的单曲唱片将由里奇·哈里森制作，后者是格莱美奖获得者，负责制作过碧昂斯的热门单曲《为爱疯狂》。
评论：据传中国大陆明星也在聘请国际制作团队。但有些人认为他们是浪费钱财。
3. 西式风格：在音乐录像《我来了》当中，Rain身着黑色紧身衣和军裤，以性感十足的舞步登场，这使人联想到90年代的迈克尔·杰克逊。Se7en说他想让人们知道他不仅是一名韩国歌手，而且是一名R&B歌手。
评论：美国观众会对此类的怀旧风格感到好奇吗？似乎令人怀疑。
Se7en是韩国流行/R&B乐坛的领军人物，人气最旺的韩流主将之一。他15岁开始在艺人经纪机构YG Family旗下培训。经过4年的声乐及舞蹈强化训练，Se7en于2003年首次登台。圆润的嗓音、精彩的舞步和青春俊朗的容貌使他一举红遍亚洲。一口流利的日语让他也打入了日本音乐界。Se7en在全球马不停蹄地开演唱会，足迹遍及日本、泰国、中国以及美国。他一共发行了4张专辑和各类单曲，目标是成为举世闻名的艺术家。
这位韩国流行歌手，以其R&B音乐和电视剧角色红遍亚洲。六年前他的母亲被糖尿病夺去了生命。巨大的悲痛使他远离酒精、夜生活和女孩。他全心投入演艺事业，因为母亲为了让他能够得到专业训练而牺牲了自己的治疗费用。“我跟普通的25岁男孩一样，也想和朋友们聚会，交女朋友，”Rain对《纽约日报》说，“但是当我的母亲去世以后，我下决心要成为世界顶级巨星，以此来表达对她的敬意。我对这种生活方式毫不后悔。”
Rain曾因“太高太丑”的理由而被艺人经纪公司18次拒之门外。然而如今他已到数个亚洲国家和美国进行过演出。Rain的音乐和舞蹈才华已被拿来与亚瑟小子和贾斯汀·汀布莱克相比。2006年4月，《时代》周刊把他列为“第二最具影响力的艺人”。Rain的前程一片光明，不可估量。
1. doll n. 美女；美男子
2. head start n. 领先，抢先
3. globalism n. 全球主义，全球性政策
4. K-pop=Korean popular music
5. guarantee v. 保证，担保
6. account for （数量上）占…
7. appeal to 投合…的心意，引起…的兴趣
8. nostalgic adj. 怀旧的，乡愁的
9. killer adj. 非常有吸引力的
10. be fed up with 厌烦，受够了
11. choreographer n. 舞蹈设计者
12. smash hit 大获成功的戏剧、电影、音乐等
13. diabetes n. 糖尿病
14. incredible adj. 难以置信的
15. contemporary adj. 同时代的