- (Kenneth sings along)
- Oh, iKON.
- Is that a cropped leather jacket?
♪ (punk rock intro) ♪
- Today, we have brought
everyone together
for this special round table episode
to discuss K-pop.
- Woo!
- (gasps)
- Ooh.
Finally!
- That was a mixed reaction.
- I'm so excited that I actually
get to react to K-pop for once.
- I'm actually not a K-pop fan.
I'm not a K-fan pop hater,
and I'm Korean.
My mom's full South Korean,
and she speaks Korean.
But since I'm only half
and my dad doesn't speak Korean,
I never learned it.
- Hey, don't worry.
I'm full Korean,
and I don't even understand
some of it.
- ♪ They all want,
they all want what we got ♪
- This came out
like two days ago, Super M.
- ♪ We going straight to the top ♪
♪ We go 100 ♪
- The EDM.
- ♪ We go 100 ♪
- I feel like EDM has started
influencing a lot
of different types of music.
Is he wearing a Target symbol?
- Yeah, but I don't think
it's actually affiliated.
- I mean, we're commenting
on that it's Target,
so the ad is working.
- ♪ Boom, boom, boom, boom, da-dum ♪
- The hair, the half red,
half white, that's...
the anime character.
- I just like their style.
- ♪ Let's give them
something they be talkin' about ♪
♪ I said ♪
- See, the visuals are impeccable.
If there's one thing
that SM never slips on,
it's the visuals.
- And vocals.
- ♪ The only way is up ♪
- ♪ Only way is up ♪
- ♪ They all want,
they all want what we got ♪
- I'm trying to figure out
what the song's about,
and I have no idea. (chuckles)
- ♪ Never fall, never quit,
never stop ♪
- The rain don't stop.
- ♪ Boom, boom, da-dum ♪
♪ Walk in like own it ♪
- So pretty!
- ♪ Ahhh ♪
- ♪ We goin' straight to the top ♪
- ♪ We go 100 ♪
- ♪ Hey! ♪
- ♪ We goin' all out ♪
♪ We go, we go, we go,
we go 100 ♪
- Okay.
- Wow.
- The whole English thing
is because Super M was targeted
for the American audience.
They took multiple boys
from either their solo work
with SM Entertainment,
which is their company,
or different other groups,
and they're kind of just
like the combination.
- I don't really know the standard
of K-pop, so I was pretty entertained.
- It's definitely, like,
the SM standard is just trapping
a lot of attractive Korean guys
in a light, blinking, flashing room
with dance moves. (laughs)
- Period.
- That's not a bad strategy.
Oh, I like that.
- My friends are obsessed
with NCT. (laughs)
- I love the visuals
for this music video.
At first I didn't like it,
but this song has grown on me.
- A lot going on.
- Yeah, my friends
played this all the time,
so through my friends, I've heard it.
(laughs)
- Why is the hair so '90s, though?
(chuckles)
- Honestly, I'm living for it.
- Yeah, that's what
I was thinking too,
like the blond streaks.
- Maybe it's 'cause
they're doing Bruce Lee.
No, but that's way before I think.
- Yeah.
- I-- yeah, NCT dancing--
- This one's more hip-hop-y. Yeah.
- Yeah. Mark is from Super M,
the guy who's rapping right now,
and so is Taeyong
right behind him with the beanie.
Okay, harmony!
- Whip. (laughs)
- There was a period of time,
where SM had their artists
outside of rooms,
but I can see they've gone back now.
Now it's back to the status quo.
- As a dancer, I love watching K-pop,
because their formations
are so mind-blowing.
- It's like a performance.
It's not just a music video,
you know what I mean?
When I first heard this song,
I was like-- I didn't get it at all.
But the more you hear it,
the more you like it,
so now I'm vibing with it.
- Yeah, that's exactly
what it was for me.
I did not like it
the first two times
I listened to it,
but it was so popular
that I heard it everywhere,
so I was like, okay,
this is good.
- So, what you're saying
is if I heard it two more times,
I'd like it. (laughs)
- K-pop, it's like one
of the things they strive on
is that it's entertaining
to watch in some shape or form,
whether it's weird
or interesting.
- Right.
It's like a tiny movie.
- (distorted) ♪ I want you, want you ♪
♪ I want you ♪
♪ I want you, want you ♪
♪ I want you ♪
- (voice-over) Incoming!
- Oh, wow. His flow.
- I kind of like this.
- Oh yeah, this is Chanyeol.
I think this is "Obsession."
I might be wrong, though.
- It's also edgy boys.
- This is tight.
Yeah, this is EXO.
- This is EXO? Wow.
I have not seen an EXO vid
in a hot minute.
This is very... (laughs)
It's so funny.
- They have lost a lot of members.
- I don't like that echo
that sounds like a bug.
- I think EXO was
my first boy group period.
It's really amazing
how they've continued
to have such success.
- Yeah. Anna, what you said
about the audio
just grates on that guy's voice.
- The bug.
It sounds like a bug, yeah.
- Yeah, it sounds like a dang cicada.
- (laughs)
- "A vicious cycle of nightmares."
"The turned off exit light"?
- Chen can sing!
- Is that a cropped leather jacket?
- Also, crop tops on men?
(claps)
- I feel like K-pop fashion
has evolved a lot
since the days
of wearing a snapback
and an over large basketball jersey.
- For sure.
- I was into EXO when they debuted
for the first time.
Do you remember "What Is Love?"
This is a very different vibe.
- Really good visually.
Really liked the cinematography,
the costuming, all that.
- The crop tops.
- The boys.
- EXO was a really big introduction
to the western audience specifically
and just the new sound of K-pop.
- Oh, I heard of this one for sure!
This is still, like...
I know this one.
- Is this a single guy?
No, no, no. It's not.
I'm trying to figure out
if I like them speaking English.
- I like-- this kind of reminds me
of 2011 music, like, you know...
♪ Can't see me, can't see me ♪
I feel like he's gonna be like
♪ In da club, in da club ♪
(laughs)
- It reminds me of the visuals
on more of a K-drama,
'cause my mom watches those
all the time.
- I don't have a good ear for EDM,
so a lot of the songs
are sounding very similar to me.
- ♪ Bang, bang, bang ♪
- Oh, to be a Korean pretty boy
doing these arms.
- Is this The Boyz? SF9?
- That was a beautiful riff
at the end.
- SF9. There we go.
- Reminds me of older K-pop,
like from early 2000s
or late 2000s-ish,
that era.
- I used to watch K-dramas
with my mom,
and it reminded me of that.
Honestly, love it.
- (Kenneth sings along)
- Oh, iKON.
- I think I've heard this actually.
- It won Song of the Year.
- Isn't this popular?
They're all popular.
- This was so big.
- I really like this one.
- (Kenneth continues singing along)
This is the one song I know so well.
"Love Scenario." iKON, right?
- "Love Scenario."
- Yeah.
- Yeah?
- Oh, I like iKON.
- There are so many of them.
Oh my god. I like
their style so much.
- It's just a cool sound.
- Bobby.
- This song sounds so different
from the ones we've heard previously
on this episode.
- Yeah, this is the type
of music I like.
- I feel like this song
sounds refreshing.
And it's interesting,
'cause it's like I feel
like none of the other groups
are rap groups,
but iKON's a rap group,
and this isn't necessarily
a rap song.
They know to use rap tastefully.
- This is one song
that I don't need subtitles for.
(laughs)
- (chuckles)
- I've heard this so many times.
- The vocals are so pleasant,
the little high note he has
in the middle.
- Giving me real Zayn vibes,
this guy, his voice.
- Yeah, literally.
It sounded like him for a second.
- I think it's like--
I don't know.
It just is so refreshing.
- This is the type of K-pop
to show non-K-pop fans.
The dance music is good to watch
a music video, good to listen
if you're doing something fast,
but if you're really trying
to enjoy the music,
then things that are easier
to consume and hear
instead of loud
and bright everywhere...
- I am so mad right now
that my mom did not teach me Korean,
because a girl can sing and dance,
and I could just be like
boo, boo, boop, whatever.
- What can't K-pop do at this point?
They've broken so many records.
- Yeah.
- They have their own section
in the MTV Awards.
- Because they know
that they can't compare. (laughs)
- Thanks so much
for watching this episode.
- If you enjoyed this episode,
go ahead and drop us a like.
- Subscribe for all
of the best React content.
- (all) Bye!
- Hey, guys. It's Sierra,
producer here at FBE.
All of the groups that you saw
in today's episode were requested
by you guys down in the comments,
so who do you wanna see
on the next episode?
Let us know.
Bye, guys.
