It seems like just yesterday that Psy’s Gangnam Style was sweeping the whole globe up in a frenzy. While most people enjoying the Gangnam Style craze didn’t understand a word being said, they danced and tried to sing along nonetheless. What was it about Gangnam Style that captivated the world — the bright colors, the imagery, the sense of humor, or the unforgettable hook and choreography? All of the above? I decided to explore YouTube, and as it turns out, these are some pretty common elements across the board in Korean pop music and their videos. I know this article is supposed to list the “zaniest” k-pop videos, but truthfully, there are a lot of them. Here are my favorite selections — let’s take a look, shall we?
Orange Caramel – 까탈레나(Catallena)
Orange Caramel, a sub-group of girl group After School, is known for their cute over the top concepts often relating to food (hence the name?) and inspired by Japanese “kawaii culture.” Catallena, their most recent release, has an infectious disco beat, fun choreography, and overall it makes me want to dance and go eat sushi (maybe even at the same time). It’s kind of amazing. Check out the super funny music video for their 2012 single Lipstick below as well.
Orange Caramel – Lipstick
G-Dragon – Crayon
G-Dragon is the leader of boy group Big Bang and is known for his rap skills and his…out there fashion sense. This video/song displays both of those things. It’s utterly ridiculous. The production quality is amazing, the song is really catchy, and that one part at the end totally sounds like the warchant. Get your cray on, INDEED.
Big Bang – Fantastic Baby
Not straying far from G-Dragon, we move now to his group Big Bang. This music video shares similarities with his solo video, but now there’s an added four dudes wearing weird stuff and doing weird things for your eyes to dance across. I don’t really know what the message behind this song is but I also kind of want to blast it at the next party I go to. Wow. Fantastic baby.
2NE1 – I Am The Best (내가 제일 잘 나가)
I’m like 94% sure I want this song playing both as I walk down the aisle at my wedding and at my funeral. 2NE1 is a girl group from the same agency as Big Bang, which makes a lot of sense after you’ve watched their respective music videos. I don’t have anything else to say about this music video except that it made me feel empowered and I watched it twice in a row.
Girls’ Generation – I Got a Boy
Even before I delved into the world of Korean pop, I had already heard of Girls’ Generation through different internet avenues. First of all, there are a whopping nine members in this group. How can there even be enough singing parts for that many people? I have no idea, but I do know that there are like nine million things going on in this music video. The song also has a lot of switch-ups and melody changes that make it difficult to keep up with, but for some reason it seems to work. No wonder they’re “The Nation’s Girl Group.”
Block B (블락비) – Very Good
I just don’t know. Block B is a hip hop group apparently and this music video is like the opening scene of The Dark Knight meets that earlier Big Bang video meets this string of question marks: ??????? I have no idea what they’re “very, very good” at. Having their hair dyed inhuman colors? Break dance robbing banks? I’m pretty sure there’s a line from that one Lady Marmalade song in here before the chorus somewhere. There’s nothing not to like.
Having branched out from Gangnam Style, it’s clear to me now: k-pop music videos scare me in a good way and I think I’m in love? Step up your game, American pop music videos. End of story.