Ok, first of all, my original reason for starting this blog, to translate articles and improve my Chinese, has really not panned out the way I thought it would. I find myself translating less, and putting more of my own commentary on articles. But if you haven’t noticed I focus a lot on entertainment trends that are happening in Chinese-speaking regions. Because especially mainland China, is very immature in terms of entertainment and it’s exciting to see how it’s changing as the middle class grows. Like I said in my “What is the point of Cfensi” page, economic boom happened there later and only now are we feeling the maturation of that industry. I also predicted there would be boybands and other frivolities and whatnot in 2020. Well, that particular trend has started a bit early…
That pic is of new Chinese boyband Top Combine which is set to debut this month with an EP.
One thing that I always loved about the Chinese music scene was that no matter how you looked, as long as you were talented, you could become not only famous, but achieve the highest level of fame and sell the most records. For example, Liu Huan, who sang at the opening ceremony, is one of the most highly respected artists in China, is not only ugly but also overweight. Jay Chou, Tank, JJ Lin, and Anson Hu, each from a different Chinese-speaking region, are not the best lookers, but have become some of the most famous artist in China because they are fantastic songwriters, and most of them have wonderful voices as well (I’ll let you guess which one doesn’t).
But lately, there seems to be not just a trend, but a wave of boybands showing up on the Chinese entertainment scene. While F4 was popular, they didn’t spawn anything like this. They were just there, alone in their group popularity. People felt they were an isolated phenomenon, famous because of Meteor Garden, but not really because they were a boyband. But I think it was when kpop boybands were sent out across Asia, and people in Taiwan thought, hey, that seems like easy way to make money…and in came Fahrenheit, brilliantly packaged and sucessful. Then Lollipop (and their spin off groups, which I don’t quite get so I’m not going to touch on).
Mainland China, of all wonders then came out with its own groups. Top Combine debuted about a week ago, consisting of four Chinese members, and one Korean. Their company (EEmedia) seems to be dead set on making a success out of them, from the looks of how much they trained and the way their new MV looks. And if they do become successful they may give other companies ideas to start boybands, the same way in Korea SM led to other companies following in their footsteps. There is already another boyband waiting to debut in China, Seventeen, although to be honest, I don’t think they’ll do that great. Promotion is everything with boybands. HIT-5 has debuted with a well-produced MV and is getting a lot of attention and becoming quite successful as well.
Taiwan’s boybands
Fahrenheit
Lollipop
China’s new boybands
Seventeen
Since I think most people have heard Fahrenheit and Lollipop’s songs I’ll let you listen to the others and judge for yourself if they deserve to be here. Top Combine has several people from Kuai Le Hao Nan Er, so they should be good singers by default actually.
Top Combine’s first single: Arrival Read more about Top Combine
Seventeen’s first song, Cheng Quan Ai
So do I really think a growing trend of boybands is really necessary? No. But considering that a lot of other music trends in China, such as rock and rap and hip-hop are growing at the same time, I don’t really think boybands will hurt the music industry, or make it become less varied. And I think that China really craves and needs idols because I don’t see how she can survive in Asia, where boybands seem almost like a necessity. I just hope that people like Anson Hu or JJ Lin will always be at the top.
Edit: One more Chinese boyband! Hit-5!
Read More About Hit-5
HIT-5
Edit 2: Another Chinese boyband…A-ONE.
A-One
Edit 3: This has gotten officially too ridiculous.
Read More About Feng Yun Bang (Wind and Cloud)
Oh and as requested by idarklight…the first young idol group in China, BoBo, though they’re not really a boyband, and they got put together not to take advantage of the boyband market, but because they were BFFs. Together they are the most popular group in China right now according to Baidu statistics. Read more about BoBo here.
BoBo
Tags: A-One, Bang Bang Tang, BOBO, Fahrenheit, Hit-5, Lollipop, Seventeen, Top Combine, 三门汀
October 17, 2008 at 11:38 pm
i think that new boyband top combine.. is too much like kpop groups like dbsk & suju… im a big fan of huangyida, khalil fong, jay chou, & tank though
not exactly best faces but talent is def. there.
October 22, 2008 at 12:14 am
this is what i have been waiting for. chinese “hiphop/pop”. many of mainlands music come from taiwan. even though i am half taiwanese/and shangdong/shanghaier, i want to see china become one of the leading pop countries. with china’s unprecedented bustling economy, and moderness, china def. deserve some nice music from the center of china(mainland). even though im a guy, im a huge fan of boybands like this, b/c i breakdance… and im tired of korea’s dominance in pop music. stupid koreans… *jk*
October 23, 2008 at 4:33 pm
china needs to get rid of piracy. well, perhaps not wipe-out, but at least control it. right now, it’s pathetically out of control. no music industry can survive in that kind of environment.
October 24, 2008 at 12:01 am
i hate boybands.. yes, they’re packaged nicely but they don’t have REAL talents.. and once boybands rule your country, the music industry will fall. don’t let that happen. ’cause you only have to look at kpop to know how they suck, quality wise.. they’re all about money making.. and creating a trend for the young generations that music is all about dancing lipsynching boybands with poor fashion sense and gay-ish dance movements is to the detriment of the whole country’s music industry. i hope that the REAL singers of China will step up to the challenge. You need to support them much more today than ever before.
November 1, 2008 at 3:56 pm
[...] so I though I should point this out as a quick-mini-update, in lieu of an actual update. Another Chinese boyband in addition to the rest of the ones popping out. Will the madness ever [...]
November 1, 2008 at 8:49 pm
These r all da boyband tat I LUV n da new ones…..now I LUV!!!they have real good songs…..LUV IT!!!……but kant really find them ani where…..but in crunchyroll….I think?.. But I kan find fahreheit n lollipop….but still kool…..
November 7, 2008 at 1:11 am
wow.. out of all three new Chinese boybands, Seventeen seems to sound the best vocally. The song was pretty good.. didn’t sound too bubblegum pop. though they might not deliver as much in the looks/packaging dept unlike the other two groups. Their voices sound pretty good.
November 29, 2008 at 3:38 am
Anon 1:
Unlike the US entertainment (and for some reason, parts of Japan and Korea), which is trying to beat the system, China is working the system to its advantage. They gave up piracy control a long time ago. China’s own version of Youtube (which receives more traffic per day than Youtube)’s front page is full of copyrighted stuff…
but how do they make money?
Musicians make money by gaining hard-core fans who are willing to pay for their CD’s and who will buy tickets to their concerts. To them, pirated music is a free way of advertising instead of a money loser.
Many dramas find their own exclusive online streamer to get money.
Others use in drama product placements.
cfensi: Where’s BOBO? also…do you remember that one Korean-Chinese boyband called Arirang? Whatever happened to them?
November 29, 2008 at 4:24 am
im just wondering. seventeen (三门汀) seems like such a good band, however, they dont seem as popular as the other 2 bands, (hit-5, TC). is it because they just arnt getting promoted enough? or did they just not debut yet. hopefully, they havnt debuted yet. in that case, i hope they do debut next year since this year… hit-5 TC etc.
November 29, 2008 at 5:22 am
@anon1
If piracy were stopped in China, China would be the biggest and most powerful market in the world. So even though there’s still piracy, China’s still a pretty decent-sized market, bigger than HK, Taiwan, and Korea looking at album sales and box office. Can’t really touch Japan just yet.
@idarklight
BoBo is too good for this list. JK, but not really. BoBo became BoBo out of pure friendship, and not because of some horrible company’s desire to form a group so they could make money, even though they are under a company making money. But their origins were pure and not really a part of this trend, so I didn’t add them. I can add them if you want…
And haven’t really got a clue who Airang is, and don’t really care since they don’t factor into China’s entertainment landscape.
@anon above me
Seventeen seems to have been screwed pretty badly in the promotions department. Theyr’e appeared quite a bit in charity activites but not on tv variety shows etc. Probably their companies fault. I don’t know if you could say they debuted, but their single was on sale so I guess they have.
November 29, 2008 at 5:07 pm
I dont think those boyband who debut in China will become huge in China….I m not try to offend anyone….this just my opinion.
The Kpop scene that dominated by group is happening because there are many factors. Those boyband not just give training for many years but also mind training. Their boss or manager are the one who manipulated them. Their are told to do that or this…..another word….brain wash. And their spirit is very important. Korean have this thing…..I don’t know how to explain ….they kind of don’t want to lost to other and work hard till the end together.
Besides that, the Korea variety shows (X-man, Love Letter, We Got Married), in Korea give them a chance to show off. Dancing, acting, singing or playing instrument skill could attract attention. Back then, when a singer in Hong Kong know how to play a piano is not a big thing but when a idol in Korea play piano is called TALENT.
Furthermore, the high speed internet in Korea. This is the main factor where the Hallyu coming. The fans can upload with high speed internet the drama, show, picture,news ,information and schedule of the boyband in the web ( the streaming site like Youtube also contribute a lot in this, coz many oversea fans know them thru it). This helps the grow of oversea fans. They keep entertaining by those thing and feel near with the boyband.
Korea is well known for the enthusiasm or fanaticism of the fans. This help the idol boost their popularity thru many ways. Those information help the oversea fans become more and more understand the idol-make-personality. Some of the fans like boy love. They will write those fanfiction about them. They also will do some project…like Birthday of each member, anniversary or just a album day.
I write this based on my experience…..I have been a fans of TVXQ for 3 years. I think their very talented or well-mannered in front of the TV. I don’t know this real thing or not….but i kind of under their spell after I heard their song in Youtube for the first time. I m not 100% sure that those boyband won’t be popular but I just think China market is not ready for the boyband scene.
I kind of write why I jump into Kpop fandom…..hope you don’t mind…
I m also a Chinese but not from China…..
English is not my first language and my grammar kinda bad.
November 29, 2008 at 5:12 pm
I’m sorry, but you really need to check out some of my other posts on these Chinese boybands before saying they won’t be popular, because I think they are already are after only a month after debuting.
And China has variety shows, and China has a way bigger and more established internet community than South Korea.
People really don’t understand China very well or know much about China, do they?
November 29, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Yes, I don’t think a lot of people know much about the happenings in China. I only know so much myself, but in regards to the post by A Chinese fans! and I see this elsewhere also, there are inevitably going to people who doubt the rise of Chinese boybands and I think that is largely due to their bias for other boybands in established markets.
However, at the end of the day, I think most Chinese people rather idolize Chinese boybands rather than Korean or Japanese boybands, no? It’s only logical due to the common language, etc. and we already see the Chinese boybands gaining recognition. China has only just started boybands, some will fail, some will succeed, and adjustments will be made along the way for more successful boybands.
November 29, 2008 at 6:35 pm
I agree very much that people in China would prefer Chinese boybands over Korean ones, because if you look at the popularity of the Chinese boybands, they are already gaining on the Korean ones very fast, after only a few appearances. And that is the primary reason why I’m still kind of glad they are here. How can China’s music industry thrive if Korea keeps dumping their stuff in China, and Chinese youth keep buying Korean stuff? China does not have any quotas on this sort of thing, like Korea does, so the only way is for China to have her own boybands and compete.
I think…China has finally reached the stage where companies are willing to market based on charisma, looks, dancing…you know, other stuff besides music. I expect these boybands to be more famous as time goes on, and in a couple of years, I think people will understand China better. Nobody knew what went on in Korea before their Hallyu thing, and it’ll be the same for China.
November 29, 2008 at 8:11 pm
what agonizes me is that people can support a group where some of the members can’t even speak/understand the language. (referring to SJ-M) here.
im not really a Super Junior fan, just like a select few members. how is it okay for China to embrace SJ-M when some of them don’t even speak the language, as mentioned before, they have been developing in the Chinese market for the past year, and i haven’t really watched any of their SJ-M activities lately, but can the non Chinese members understand a bit of Chinese?
wwhat im really trying to say is that, please support your own country’s blood first. China should uphold higher standards – this is why its so easy for other foreign countries to bank in on China’s market. TVXQ is so popular in China, yet they barely even promoted here.
agree with cfensi totally – “How can China’s music industry thrive if Korea keeps dumping their stuff in China, and Chinese youth keep buying Korean stuff? ”
though i think the boy bands are still lacking a bit, but its a good start.
it was quite bothersome to see practically all the H.I.T-5 members list TVXQ or a Korean artist as their favorite artist etc.
November 29, 2008 at 8:28 pm
Well, to be fair, Han Geng is much popular than the other nonChinese SJM members. Also, China doesn’t really restrict foreigners like Korea does…there’s none of that protectionist mentality, which is obvious.
They’ll allow basically anyone, Taiwan, Koreans, Japanese be in their tv series, or try to start a career in China.
I wish they would restrict somewhat…because there are hundreds of graduates from China’s drama universities that need jobs, otherwise they’ll just fall into the unemployed pile, which is very bad for China.
But I think these boybands are really quickly getting popularity so I wouldn’t worry too much about it.
November 30, 2008 at 2:36 am
A chinese fans!:
I think with Top Combine and especially HIT-5, the training/brain-washing is already being done in mainland…
but completely agree on the entertainment part. Hunan tv, though, is still an entertainment powerhouse. If you get on good terms with hunan, you’ll be fine. It’s one of the reasons why SJM is so popular in mainland. But outside of Hunan, the other shows generally suck.
I actually like the non-restriction thing. Currently, the foreigners are bringing more competition as well as new ideas. Again, like the catfish in Prince of Tennis.
November 30, 2008 at 4:06 am
Maybe no restriction is okay for music, but I don’t think it’s doing any good for Chinese television. I hate seeing the same old actors over and over again like Kangta or Jang Nara who can’t even speak Chinese that well. I mean, what about Nathan Lee? I love the guy but there are people who went through four rigorous years of drama university and still haven’t gotten as good of roles.
November 30, 2008 at 8:46 am
It’s sad when you think about how all the second-rate Korean people go over to mainland and get first-rate roles. And I hate how they advertise it as a Korea-China collaboration when it’s obviously all Chinese made with a crappy Korean actor.
Jang Na Ra, I understand, because she’s like the definition of natural cuteness. Everyone else, I’m not so fond of.
But I think it has something to do with the general mentality that every entertainment-related Taiwanese/Korean/Japanese thing is automatically better, when it’s not. But it’s not just mainland. If you look at the overall picture. People will watch the crappiest tw/k/j drama and not the best mainland drama…people will go and listen to Fahrenheit sing out of tone for a year over listening to Jane Zhang sing perfectly for three minutes.
November 30, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Well, sorry Cfensi I really not read all the post of your when I write that.
Also the post that i posted before is actually more to hallyu than boyband trend ….I m just realized it.
(((And China has variety shows,))))
I know China also have variety show… a lot though since it has many television cable. But the main point is a chance for the artists to show off their talent. When I say talent, I m not saying those real talent! Some talent can fake off~~~eg.–> practice to play piano for a song
Whether the talent is awesome or not…the main thing to attract ppl reaction is the MC and how the PD of the show to present the performances to the audience~~~I mean how he cut or add some effect
You know when you watch a comedy show then the “hahaha” sound coming off—this is because some ppl don’t realize how good or bad it was……most of the ppl just listen what the MC said… (i mean a famous MC)
Sometimes when I was watching Korea variety show, the artist is not really talented but after the effect and the MC compliment then thing become good—-ugly also call beauty!
This is human instinct to follow ~~~eg.-when 1 person tell that sun is smaller than earth, you wont believe but after 100 ppl tell you will be.
This actually what was happening in Korea.
I m not saying all the K-artists are bad ….only some of them.
((((China has a way bigger and more established internet community than South Korea. )))
I m agree to this, China has the most user of internet in the world BUT what I have write is high speed internet for the whole country of Korea.
—–the world’s highest broadband internet access per capital and is the most wired country in the world.—–
———South Korea is the only country with nationwide DMB coverage for Digital TV on mobile devices such as cell phones.————
This actually what I mean. The South Korean government has pushed very hard for eGovernment initiatives to provide most government services online. But at the same time it helps the grow of Hallyu.
Nowadays, the K-government also suffer for the after effect.
—>those citizen criticized the artist through internet until their commit suicide.
Also, even TVXQ barely promoted in China but their very popular because the FANS promote them. I think having a fanclub for a artist is very important since fanclubs—>CASSIOPEIA, ELF, VIP are really try hard to promote their idol.
((((I think most Chinese people rather idolize Chinese boybands rather than Korean or Japanese boybands, no? It’s only logical due to the common language))
This thing is very hard to say….you know why?
This is because hardcore fans will translate the video, lyric, or anything related to their idol in their own language. Although it still has different but…..hardcore fans wont mind.
I have ask myself when I was listening some music that I even wont understand
answer—> When I listen to song that I understand, I barely pay attention to the lyric. Some of you wont admit but this is reality. The melody is the first thing that catch your ear. The lyric is important to express the feeling but the melody factor is strong enough to cover it…i think.
A test to prove that!~~~~Do you have heard the song Rainbow from Jay Chou? What is the song meaning (theme)?
The C-government actually has restricted to the import thing (entertainment sector) from Korea. I dont think most fans will buy their idol album…most of them illegal download. But the protectionist mentality
of youth in China still shallow compare to Japan who got anti-Hallyu thing.
I write a lot….some of them may not be truth, I just write based on my experience and little knowledge. I m just epress my opinion here. You can ignore or delete my post…it is ok. >_<
CFENSI
I like how you would think to protect China and their future In entertainment sector.
I m not 100% korea hardcore….I still got my own mind.
Some of you wont understand what I write coz my english is very poor.
I m not 100% understand China…but I tried to keep in touch by reading newspaper daily.
This my explanation and opinion for that…….
I m quite annoying right?? Write so much……
But I only wanna to clear thing up!
Pls dont misunderstand me!
Thank you.
November 30, 2008 at 9:44 pm
A chinese fans!:
No offense, but I think you speak from someone who hasn’t done much research.
The variety shows you’re talking about is rare in China. But please don’t say there aren’t any. Kuai Le Da Ben Ying is as good, if not better, than any variety show in Korea at promoting artists. Of course, outside of Hunan, other shows suck, but there are a few decent ones.
As for language. Of course fans will translate, but how else do you attribute SJ’s Han Geng taking up half of SJ’s fan population in China?
btw. almost all Chinese artists have fanclubs, some very powerful, much more powerful than cassies or Elfs in China. See Baidu Tieba.
A major problem I see is that unlike Koreans, Chinese people seems less incline to sub their artists’ videos in English…Koreans are very good at this…even better than Japan.
December 1, 2008 at 12:11 am
@idarklight
Well, Nathan Lee is pretty much cuteness too…and both of them seem to actually like China for China, rather than just as a market to make money. I guess I don’t mind so much if that is the case.
@A chinese fans!
I like to see any opinions really. I basically agree with pretty much what idarklight said though. There’s a few points where I also don’t know why you think what you think, such as the anti-Hallyu sentiment in Japan. They’ve let so many Koreans go there to sell their albums and CDs, that I find it almost astonishing.
Thanks for dropping by!
December 2, 2008 at 3:40 am
Oh and don’t forget GoGoClub兄弟联 but I think they have already disappeared now lol.
One of their mvs:
http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=s903MC3ODoo
December 2, 2008 at 4:16 am
I didn’t really consider Go Go Club part of the trend, kind of like F4 didn’t really help boybands in China/Taiwan either.
Lol, we’re just lucky they didn’t kill it I guess. But I liked them.
December 2, 2008 at 5:57 am
Oh lol.
I liked them too
I wonder what happened to them now…?
December 2, 2008 at 6:25 am
They’re still doing stuff, Prince of Tennis, going on shows together, acting…it’s just they weren’t very successful as a boyband together. Probably because they were almost all nearing thirty. I really liked the chemistry they had together though. They balanced each other very nicely. Their chemistry almost surpasses BoBo’s.
December 2, 2008 at 7:12 am
Oh well~
I’ll just keep listening to their album then
December 27, 2008 at 7:44 am
ive become a fan of many of these groups but i cant find ANY hq video sources where I can see their performances and videos in detail. anyone know of any places that has high quality videos? places where i can download chinese variety shows, etc etc…. im usually good at finding stuff like this because i can find so many chinese sources uploading korean hq videos but not themselves, its kind of weird.
December 27, 2008 at 8:34 am
http://bt.ydy.com/ is pretty good for variety shows…
If you want HQ Top Combine videos, go on their official site, http://zhishanglihe.cn/
January 7, 2009 at 8:54 pm
I’m not a fan of boybands at all, but do you think these Chinese boybands have a chance to gain the same kind of following as their korean/jap counterparts?
I really hope so.. China has such a huge population, it shouldn’t be difficult to find talent. Soon they might come up with a boyband that can sing/dance/compose/act well.
That will make me a happy person
January 8, 2009 at 12:42 am
drunkenhammie: I agree. I don’t care for boybands in general, but give me a boyband that can actually dance and compose songs and I’ll like them. I mean, I like Nan Quan Mama, which is basically a band and a singing group combined but without the singing group look. I’d like something like that, but if they are even more talented, I’ll like them even more. I don’t want them to act, though dancing would be good. I just want a musically talented boyband.
January 8, 2009 at 4:24 am
Nan Quan Mama isn’t really a boyband, though. They’re more like a real band. Aren’t they self-formed?
The problem is, most people in boybands really aren’t too talented…and the main problem with boybands is that they appeal to fangirls. And as a boyband, they’re more or less packaged. No offense, but look at HIT-5. They have just as many admirers (though not hardcore fans) as Top Combine, despite not really coming out with anything super awesome simply because they look hotter.
January 8, 2009 at 2:14 pm
idarklight: No, Jay Chou formed Nan Quan Mama and named them. I think it’s kind of obvious that he is their mentor, since he brings them with him on tours, has sung with them for “小时候” and some of the songs on his own albums, included most of the members in “Secret,” and even tried to get them under JVR this year. Yuhao was one of Jay’s classmates when they were both majoring in piano, and Gary Yang was one of the guys who helped Jay out behind the scenes. (Gary Yang isn’t a real member anymore, but he and G-Power both help the group out by writing songs and they were members when Jay first formed the group.) Jay isn’t really a talent-hunter so much as a celeb using his fame to help some friends form a band/singing group.
As far as being a band goes, NQMM isn’t the same as Mayday, sodagreen, Fusion, etc. Of course, they can’t be a boyband, either, since Lara is a girl, and they don’t have the whole boyband look, but they are still more of a singing group than other bands, which kind of puts them in the gray area between the two.
I guess I don’t really want a good boyband, then, so much as a band that’s also a singing group. A boyband that sings well wouldn’t be a bad thing, either, as long as they don’t do so many cover songs and have someone good composing songs for them. I mean, when I heard F4 singing a Spanish song I liked, that was kind of weird, and I don’t want any more covers of Elvis songs sung by boybands.
January 9, 2009 at 9:39 pm
cfensi and others:
I agree with your comments! I think chinese fans should wake up and stop idolizing foreign stuffs blindly. If Korean and Japan are perceived as COOL, you got to be kidding me. I don’t understand the Chinese who idolize Korean beauty when you actually see that 99% of their actors/actreesses/singers have done plastic surgery(nose jobs, eyes, cheeks implants). I saw the video clip of Butterfly and 1 of the girl has this major plastic surgery done..and I’m saddened by this development among chinese youth..please STOP IT NOW!
And the manga like fake eyes..come on! accept who you are instead of going through surgery for a FAKE look. I like Gao Yu eyes from Hit 5 and he really has that beautiful long east asian eyes and he doesn”t do need a plastic surgery done.
It’s pathetic to hear that Chinese want to look Korean since I think the mainland chinese faces are more ‘fengshui friendly’ IMO….smaller faces and less flat/higher cheekbones compared to Koreans.
Grow some balls China..oops..CONFIDENCE I mean! I’ve seen many cute chinese girls and boys on the streets in China not just their celebs..just a bit more styling fashion wise and better hair cut..chinese boys need major works with their hair cut cause they make their cute faces look unatractive and chinese girls needs to stop their heavy perms and cheap dyes that make their hair looks severely damaged (I work in fashion, so I notice these things).
I’ve been to Korea and the girls are better looking (with heavy make up) than the guys..if you can find 1 good looking guy in Seoul on the street…consider yourself lucky, cause I found none when I was there. How could you idolize a country that pride itself as a center of plastic surgery in Asia and over 60% of its youth population has undergone plastic surgery..geez what happen to natural beauty? sorry this post is more about beauty than music…but I support more chinese to listen to their own music, especially after I heard how local chinese indie bands that I found interesting still struggle in their homeland cause chinese fans prefer anything foreign even if they are not that good.
I agree with one of the comments above about how english translation is needed in chinese shows, MV, movies etc. Hope this point is heard.
January 9, 2009 at 11:01 pm
nias: I agree about the plastic surgery. It’s too much! I mean, why should people look up to people who don’t even respect the way they look themselves? I don’t understand the eyelid surgery thing, but then again, I’m looking from the other side of the fence, since I’m white. I was born with double eyelids. I don’t think they look better in any way, and I think single eyelids actually look better. With double eyelids, your eyes look more sunken in, not as nice and youthful, and you’d think people would realize that. Some stars get surgery and come out looking really creepy.
I like it better when celebs don’t get surgery. I’m glad Jay Chou hasn’t messed with his eyelids, since I actually like the way he looks naturally. I doubt he’d have surgery, except when he got his teeth fixed, since he doesn’t have that gap anymore, but he seems like he’s proud of his heritage. I don’t think all celebs are like that, though. They try to look more American, stick English words into their songs, or even come out with English albums. Coming from an American, it’s not cool! No one from America is impressed by sad imitations of our culture! I’m sure it’s the same way when artists try to act like Koreans or the Japanese.
January 10, 2009 at 12:04 am
People with talents just get better looking naturally…like there’s an air about them.
When I first look at people like Jay Chou, JJ Lin or Anson Hu, they look ugly to me…but the more I listen to their music, the better they look.
English in songs is okay when it’s natural…but most of the time, it’s terribly pronounced and doesn’t even make sense.
btw. Hobielover, I thought it was impossible for non-Asians to have real double eyelids? Most whites I know have the crevice in the top, where as the Asian type of double eyelids are at the bottom of the eyelid.
January 10, 2009 at 12:28 am
nias: which girl from butterfly got plastic surgery? send me the link to the video… just as long as its not wei wei lol, love her
anyway i dont think its fair to say that all korean celebrities got plastic surgery, they do have their natural beauties (go ara, song hye gyo, kim tae hee, jun ji hyun, ha ga in, han hyo joo, kim hee sun, lee yeon hee, etc etc) who are actually the most popular/beautiful ones to begin with anyway. i did notice that korea only has one standard of beauty and everyone is trying to fit that one standard, this is the ideal http://images.gfxartist.com/images/ArtworkItem/full/108712.jpg / (or go to the ulzzang thread on soompi)
unfortunately, a lot of koreans fail to fit that standard hence the double eye lid and vline jaw surgeries
i do agree, i see far more beautiful chinese girls and hot chinese guys where i live (nyc) then koreans and im not being biased at all. chinese girls naturally have bigger eyes, double eye lids and v lines.
anyway chinese are growing up with barely any idols. if you want the small percentage of chinese people who are looking up to korean and japanese idols to stop, china needs to fill the void, that doesnt mean that the whole market needs to dominated by boybands and pretty faces but there needs to be a balance.
January 10, 2009 at 4:43 am
sorry about the grammatical errors in my posts.
hobielover: thanks for supporting my arguments, higher nose and double eyelids don’t make a person looks prettier, because it’s all about facial balance, but the most important thing is from the inside, personality and talent with a little help in styling (fashion&beauty). We just need to know our strong point and show it off and hide the imperfection, that’s it. But I know that a lot of east asians believe in facial reading to read one’s destiny and they try to change bad destiny prediction through surgery, including palm line (palm reading), again, apparently this is very popular procedure in Korea
VIX: please check 0:24 sec http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=z_qVlo4r4Kc, I don’t know her name, but see her unnatural eyelids and high nose bridge, she looks pretty though.
I heard Rain didn’t go under the knife, but Song Hye GYo (natural beauty already) did a nose bridge procedure-minor one. Surgery procedure could be facial and thigh fat removal as well, which are common over there..so not only facial procedure. The scarry thing is that korean pl.surgeons try to capture bigger market, which is China! I wish I could write in chinese and give out my opinion about this, cause if you can’t respect your natural beauty, you will loose face by promoting a fake one. One of the reason I’m interested in mainland entertainers, is because they are still natural looking (lot’s of beauties and hotties). some imperfections don’t bother me at all but watching an MV or dramas where I can spot the plastic parts dissapoint me.
I have a friend who works in cosmetic industry and she could spot right away if someone has a procedure done or just make up coverage. So I value her opinion because she knows the industry in the US and elsewhere. Plastic surgery is like a drug, you can’t stop from doing it and you need to have repeat procedure few years later to keep your new face.
Yeah I agree about the chinese in NYC, and the same as mainland people, just a bit stronger fashion style to show their personality/style and keep things simple, light make up or no make up at all..then they’re good to go. From my observation, some Koreans and Japaneses have stronger fashion styles than the chinese, they know that LESS IS MORE, but it doesn’t mean that the chinese can’t learn and create their own style, just don’t overdress and overaccessorize ( cause tacky is what you get instead of being fashionable).
Again, agree with you about the home grown boybands or girlbands In China would be better for them, especially China is so diverse, with different types of ethnicities , I hope they don’t fall into the one standard beauty that exist in Korea, but parents need to help their kids to have some confidences especially among teens instead of critizing them.
Although I’m more of an indie type, if boy/girl bands help the chinese youth to realize their assets the way I do, than it’s fine I guess
January 10, 2009 at 6:39 am
oh, thats wen wen, heres her kid picture that she posted at her blog http://static12.photo.sina.com.cn/bmiddle/5982aea506f60142168ab
im gonna give her the benefit of the doubt but i think the other 2 girls look prettier than her lol i was never into her sorta of look, she kind of reminds me of fan bing bing lol
i agree that its the overall face, not just one individual feature that makes a person pretty. i think asians go way overboard, like they actively LOOK for high nose bridges, double eyelids, vlines etc etc instead of judging the overall face… asians are harsh critics of their own race in general though T_T
yea, from what ive seen, a lot of chinese people dont really know how to dress or they dont want to try lol
January 10, 2009 at 7:55 am
VIX:
her picture is photoshop-ed, this girl has a nose job and possible eyelid surgery..I bet my cosmeto expert friend will confirm my view.
When I visited in China, I watched a 1 episode of chinese drama where an older actress had a major surgery that made her face looked very caucasian..OMG she scared the hell out of me, she really looked like an alien.
lol, that’s why I posted several long comments on this subject cause I hope by posting here, there will be more discussions in chinese blogspheres before it’s too late and chinese youth both regular folks and celebs (or celebs in the making) will stop this nonsense and try a more SUSTAINABLE BEAUTY (your natural look) and self acceptance, I mean, you can’t have 1.3 billion people fitting into 1 type of beauty criteria. And believe me, you got a lot of natural beauties there.
If you don’t have a good personality,talents and great attitude, even a couture Dior dress won’t make you any prettier and I doubt plastic surgery will do any help either.
hobielover & idarklight: agree with the english phrases showing here and there in the japanese korean and chinese songs. it is not COOL! as you said it….why would you want to reproduce what others have done? because you look cool when you copy?
ORIGINALITY IS COOL ! I repeat this over and over before I start working everyday.
January 10, 2009 at 2:05 pm
idarklight: Of course the natural English is OK, but when Jolin Tsai releases an English album, Fahrenheit raps about Mickey Mouse, and some mainland cover singers sing a horrible English version of “Wen Bie,” it drives me nuts! At least Khalil’s English is natural, but he’s from Hawaii, so it should be natural for him, as with LeeHom, but sometimes they stretch it a little bit. I thought the Cascades reference in one of LeeHom’s songs was nice, but then again, he’s from New York. I don’t mind Qingfeng singing bad English just because sodagreen’s music is so good, but when some singers do it and their songs weren’t that good in the first place, I like it even less.
Yes, I have the crevices, but I don’t think everyone does. My eyelids just go so far back into my face, but at least it’s natural. They still fold twice, too, but just go deeper. Anyways, I saw one guy’s before and after pictures, and he looked kind of cute before surgery, but after, he looked scary and like a gangster. I can’t remember who it was, though.
January 28, 2009 at 2:36 pm
what is the official website of top combine?
January 28, 2009 at 6:33 pm
http://www.top-combine.com/
January 30, 2009 at 3:19 am
[...] Lollipop after finishing Brown Sugar Micchiato in two days and procrastinating on homework.. and look what I stumbled upon! Personally, I extremely agree with how it’s ridiculous how many boy [...]
January 30, 2009 at 6:10 am
I think Mainland China really needs to catch up with Taiwan, Korea and Japan in terms of boybands and the big young people’s entertainment scene. I think its great how new bands like Top Combine are debuting [is that even a word? haha] because China being the most populous country will get some credibility in the music scene like its neighbouring countries.
February 5, 2009 at 4:35 am
So… has there been any new updates on these boybands? Haven’t heard much of what HiT-5, Top Combine, etc. have been doing these days in terms of promotion.
February 5, 2009 at 5:07 am
Top Combine has been in a lot of variety shows and such:
Go on: http://seraphimlove.wordpress.com/
or http://youtube.com/user/topcombine
or http://s13.zetaboards.com/topcombineparadise/index/
A-One is recording their new album. BOBO’s preparing for their concert on Valentine’s Day. HIT-5 haven’t done much.
February 5, 2009 at 10:18 pm
Thanks for the links.
Too bad HIT-5 hasn’t done as much.
February 6, 2009 at 9:00 pm
How about seventeen?
March 2, 2009 at 5:36 am
I am Chinese, but I’ve been in the US for 6 years. You have no idea how much I miss China! I totally agree with the STOP idolizing Foreign things. If they are ahead right now, just work hard to surpass them. My Dad is one of those who needs to wake up and realize that the US is in a depression right now. If it weren’t for his idiotic believes, I would not have to move to US and miss the life that I’ve wanted so much since little. Now all I can do is watch as much Chinese movies and MVs as I canto try and absorb some Chinese culture. I am totally hating the gangster, rap thing that’s going on here and how people look up to artists who have to go to drug rehabs every two months. (Don’t get me wrong, I love the friends I have here, I just really miss China.)
Sorry for getting distracted, but back to boybands. I LOVE boybands that have originality and charms. Top Combine’s just too much of a Kpop copy cat for me. I do love SJ-M though, not because they are foreign but because I’ve seen so many of their variety shows that they seem like real people to me rather than just artists. Plus, they rock at dancing. I am excited to see what their future will be like in China and hopefully I’ll be back in 3 years to see them in person. As for Fahrenheit and Lollipop, their songs feel really immature to me for some reason. Fahrenheit is a little bit better for all it’s members are cute, but Lollipop is just a bunch of teens with no talents or looks. BoBo on the other hand is really amazing. I have to admit though, I have never heard of them till I started reading this blog a few minutes ago. But you have to give me credit for doing homework, since I looked them up right afterwards. They are both cute and have a nice voice. Most importantly of all, they don’t look fake. =/ That’s all I have to say today. I hope I’ll continue to discover new Chinese artists and what’s really going on in China here. Later. (please excuse my spelling/grammar mistakes. I hate proofreading.)
March 2, 2009 at 1:56 pm
@Mallie I also hate the gangster thing, too. One of the reason I went into Asian entertainment was the cleaness of it.
And props on looking up BOBO. I feel like one of the reasons they haven’t gotten the love they deserve overseas is the lack of available information on them for non-Chinese people.
I think you have to take into consideration that Top Combine is part kpop. Its recording company is DoReMi, which is Korean. I have to admit (and cfensi can attest to this), I dismissed Top Combine as a kpop wannabe in the beginning, too. But because they are from EE Media and thus are often in shows with some of my favorite stars, I watched them; and like you did with SJM, I now see them as real people and really enjoy them. I think especially for Ma Xueyang and Zhang Yuan, becoming kpop-like was a means to pursue their musical dreams more than anything else. And yes, BOBO’s still my favorite. XD They’re simply too adorable. I’ve been really enjoying A-One, though.
March 3, 2009 at 3:11 am
why can’t I post?
March 3, 2009 at 3:15 am
NVM about before. I have not heard any of A-One’s songs, so I don’t really know what they are like. As for Top Combine, I totally didn’t know that they were Korean. But if that’s so, then why do alot of Chinese accept Top Combine into the Chinese boyband category, while rejecting SJM? There’s a forum that I came across yesterday that asked about the hottest Chinese boyband. Top Combine was mentioned a few times and no one said anything, but as soon as SJM was mentioned, a huge argument started about how they are not Chinese. Why do people accept Top Combine as Chinese and not SJM?
March 3, 2009 at 3:03 pm
Top Combine is both. They’re under the management EE Media, which is Chinese; and the recording company DoReMi, which is Korean. EE Media is in charge of their promotion, DoReMi just produces their album Memberwise, Top Combine is 4/5 Chinese whereas SJM is 3/7 Chinese. And if you look at activity-wise, Top Combine, being under EE Media, does everything with the rest of EE Media (which is under the same company as Hunan TV, which is why Top Combine’s on Hunan TV all the time). I consider TC itself Chinese because its members are mostly Chinese, it’s mostly under EE Media, they hang out with EE Media people that I love and they semi-debuted through the Super Boy route. But their music, minus self-compositions like Cotton Candy by Ma Xueyang, is still kpop.
A-One hasn’t released an album yet. They’ve been on a few variety shows, but mostly are working on their album release. They were adorable on Happy Camp, though.
March 5, 2009 at 6:48 am
I’m sorry, but the Top Combine picture with the water just looks like a horrible ripoff of DBSK’s Mirotic poster. As much as I understand the wish of Chinese people to have boybands to call their own, copying the Korean model (especially poorly) isn’t the way to go. It’s a matter of Chinese pride too, right? We don’t want to be idolizing Korean bands, but I’d rather do that than idolize “Chinese” bands who look like they’re 99% copying Korean bands in hairstyles, music video directors, song producers, even down to the promotional pictures.
To sum it up: It’s great that mainland China has boybands debuting. It’s not so great that the boybands that are debuting and that are being promoted are basically carbon copies of “foreign” material anyway. Aside from the fact that they speak Chinese, everything else about them is basically Korean – so how “Chinese” are they anyway? And if you’re proud of “Chinese” success, isn’t it just a little sad that they’re doing it basically through the Korean model?
March 5, 2009 at 1:55 pm
@Becky I think Top Combine is the only one with a Korean model so far. And like I said, I consider Top Combine’s music mostly kpop. But that doesn’t make them any worse than every other Korean boyband who went through the “Korean model,” which is basically a ripoff from an “European model.” That’s like saying a Taiwanese drama is inferior simply because it’s copied from a Japanese manga. I think it’s unfair to say that Top Combine only succeeded because they copied a Korean model since there are plenty of Korean boybands that floundered. Hunan TV can market, and Top Combine definitely did not rise above the other boybands because of the crappy MV director and songs that DoReMi gave them. Top Combine’s success, minus the training and dancing, has more to do with EE Media and its uniquely Chinese marketing skills than DoReMi’s Kpop music.
BOBO sure isn’t Korean. They have trained in dancing in Korea, but they’ve also trained in Singapore and Taiwan. Their music was produced by HY Bros. And I’m sure you can’t find another boyband with their story.
March 8, 2009 at 6:47 am
Have BOBO released any albums yet? I can’t find any of their songs.
March 8, 2009 at 7:43 am
Yes. ^.^ Their song “If” was the third most searched for song on Chinese Google last year, and they sang “Glory” at the Paralympics Opening Ceremony.
they’ve released an EP and an album. On Chinese sites, you have to search for “BOBO group” to find their songs.
BOBO’s MP3′s on Baidu:
http://mp3.baidu.com/m?f=ms&tn=baidump3&ct=134217728&lf=&rn=&word=bobo%D7%E9%BA%CF&lm=-1
Their songs/mv’s on youtube:
March 18, 2009 at 9:38 am
i would like BOBO to be the hotest cuz they r native idols of mainland.
i do like TC’s members and i think they r talented,but im now a little disgusted with HNTV’s behaviors.
Seventeen r good at singing and talented in composeing.
May 2, 2009 at 12:50 am
i think china needs a boyband
they love super junior and dbsk
they need their own boybands
May 6, 2009 at 5:08 pm
The chinese boy bands are probably the best looking ones hahaha
but they still lack a bit of talent to catch up with super junior…..
I think the chinese music industry should hold more auditions across the world like SM Town company to train youngster into stars! Sometimes it is not only about the looks….but so far the chinese boy bands definitely seems to be the hottest haha
May 24, 2009 at 1:56 am
[...] debuted SJM before Top Combine and HIT-5 and all those other Chinese boybands came out, and I guess JYP will be getting a hold on the Chinese girlband market before eeMedia again. [...]
June 17, 2009 at 4:18 am
[...] really glad that so far, each of the many recent mainland boybands that have came out been uniquely different. From the Koreaness of Top Combine, to the simple [...]
June 18, 2009 at 6:22 pm
GIF is a new mainland china boyband composed of 6 members.
this is their mv.
June 18, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Oooh i like them, very differnt from the other boy bands…how old are they. Did/are they gonna release an EP/album?
June 19, 2009 at 12:59 am
They’re all Korean. Explains why their MV is even more Korean-looking than Arrival
June 19, 2009 at 3:47 am
^That’s an awkward statement.
They’re part of the Korean minority group in China. It’s like saying all those other 54 ethnic minorities aren’t Chinese as well. You’re also implying the Korean minority must hold to a certain image, which I don’t think is fair, especially since Cui Jian is part of that ethnicity and he is known for rock, a genre very underdeveloped in Korea.
I don’t know if they’ll make it though…I don’t know how that Cfanboys group found them. They haven’t been in the news.
June 19, 2009 at 4:03 am
that probably is…the MV comment was formed before figuring out the Korean one, if that’s any excuse at all.
I guess I”m biased against them because of Arirang, another all Korean Chinese boyband which basically sung Korean songs. (are they still a group?) And Jin Mei’er, who seemed more comfortable on Star King than on Xing Guang Da Dao. A
but then, I wanted an all- Yi group, so I shouldn’t be the one talking.
———
and to be honest, I’m not in the boyband mood. Even Top Combine doesn’t interest me that much anymore. And even if they succeed, people won’t change their view of Chinese entertainment because they’ll think the only reason they’re good is because they’re Korean…sorry about all the pronouns.
And for the past few years, I’ve been bothered by how every year on CCTV’s Spring Gala, there’s a Uighur song, a Tibetan song, a Mongolian song and a Korean song, and the other ethnicities are often represented by 5 people who’re probably Han wearing their ethnic costumes. I wish the lesser known ethnicities would come out with more representatives…like Hangeng, except someone who actually knows about their culture.
June 20, 2009 at 6:43 pm
^ I kind of feel that way too…about the boybands.
I mean, I feel like the whole thing with them is kind of weird. Like that nagging question of why aren’t they solo, or if they even like music.
The personality and group interaction is like a huge crutch to make up for lack of standout talent. I’m not saying boybands don’t have the potential to be great artists, as with HOT, but at the same time…most aren’t.
Most are spoonfed by companies, and I don’t want to fangirl people who I think are dictated in every move they make by a company. There’s always this sort of “What am I fangirling exactly?” question raised when I see them.
I still like Top Combine. They have potential. But right now it’s a lot of potential underneath a lot of commercial stuff and that commercial stuff is killing their appeal to me somewhat.
I have no idea if I made any sense.
As for people dismissing the Chinese boybands…they’ll probably get over it soon, especially if the boybands like Top Combine can compose. I mean, I though HOT was a rip-off of Japanese artists’ style when I first saw them.
July 12, 2009 at 3:11 am
top combine, before korean jin eunshen joined the group.
http://images.rednet.cn/articleimage/2008/01/16/17623234.jpg
July 12, 2009 at 8:43 pm
i love china! beautiful country with beautiful people!
-foreigner who loves china
July 19, 2009 at 2:40 am
About piracy in China….
Artists & people in the music industry around the world hardly make money from CD sales. The music industry gets most of its monies from concert tickets. So piracy in China isn’t that much of a big deal. Besides, music will spread more if it’s free. If their music is heard by more people, there will be a greater chance of gaining more fans (who will by tickets for concerts). Ever wonder why some US artists ‘accidentally leak’ their albums? It’s so that more people can hear their songs.
August 25, 2009 at 4:57 am
Just out of random, I decided to check up on the bands mentioned…
Top Combine is obviously doing the best (bar BOBO). Their popularity is hard to deny, what with a bestselling photoboo, and their second album is coming late this year.
HIT 5 seems to be gaining some momentum after their EP release, but they’ll need to either come out with something new soon, or get a boost promotionally, or else they’ll be eclipsed by SJM and TC.
Seventeen is deader than dead, and all the members have moved on.
A-ONE is suffering from their slowness to actually come to a definite lineup and release materials, but has a core fanbase to build off of.
Feng Yun Bang is now sans two members, and has become a five member band. If they don’t gain some major momentum soon, they’ll be completely left behind and go the way of Seventeen.
BOBO… well, they’re doing awesomely, duh. I think that goes without saying.
BTW, not that anyone will see this, but anyone know anything about the band 风云组合 (“Wind and Cloud Group”)? I randomly bumped into their Baidu Tieba while Looking for Feng Yun Bang, and it seems like they’re a mainland boy band that debuted back in 2006. Their voices aren’t stellar, but are fairly solid, and they’re still chugging along in obscurity… They seem to have been endorsed to some degree by CCTV, so I’m kinda wondering why they didn’t catch on.
August 30, 2009 at 10:15 pm
dayum i was gonna learn more about chinese pop culture but this place seems anti-korean
August 31, 2009 at 3:53 pm
I agree apisda that there’s too much anti-Korean sentiment in this post. It worries me what will happen to China in the near future?
Will it see a burst of arrogance that suffocates the hell out of everyone? Will the self-criticism turn on others? Let’s hope not, and thank you for reminding everyone why they should not speak ill of others.
September 21, 2009 at 1:37 am
I think that you probably should’ve posted Top Combine’s self composed song up instead.
Actually, I’ve already heard of these bands before I read about them here. Personally, I think HIT-5 (besides needing a different band name) is decent at live and so is BoBo considering the fact that they haven’t been in the music industry quite that long, and same goes for Top Combine.
I’m glad that Mainland China is coming out with their own bands though because I personally think Taiwan’s boybands suck. Lollipop and Fahrenheit both cannot sing live, and when they do, I feel like my ears are bleeding. Even in some of their albums they aren’t able to harmonize. Specifically ‘Wo You Wo De Young’, the notes that were held out were horribly out of pitch.
Not only can the Taiwanese boybands not sing, the band members themselves don’t even have a sense of friendship. Fahrenheit’s controversy with Jiro and Wu Zun much?
I still like the bands, but my favorite boyband will continue to be DBSK. DBSK, HIT-5, Top Combine, SuJu, Shinhwa, Arashi, KAT-TUN, among some others seem to to be the only boybands with talent in my opinion. The talent varies from band members being able to compose songs, play various instruments, simply being able to harmonize with the rest of its members, or even just being able to stay in the industry, but whatever it is, there’s something about these boybands that just makes me like them.
October 14, 2009 at 6:18 pm
if they r a quality group/band…ppl will like…
love hit5 out of them all
fighting hit5
lol finally i can sing without much effort…n finally i can understand what i’m singing!
but their quality still needs to improve… idk something is still lacking if you ask me.
fighting hit5!!!
October 31, 2009 at 11:12 pm
I’m Chinese and I hate these bands..
All of them suck ass..
While all the Korean bands have all this nice beats and stuff,
Chinese bands just can’t beat them..
My advice to the people who are letting these bands debut and stuff, PLEASE STOP!! It’s soo freaking embarrassing!! If you’re gonna have boy bands, please, just please, make them have songs that would keep me excited for more…!! Geez, the only song I like from one of the bands, Fahrenheit, is Wo you wo de young, even though some parts sucks.. I only like the chorus part >.<
November 1, 2009 at 12:02 am
@Bebe
What does being Chinese have to do with anything? Just because Chinese does not give you the right to diss every single Chinese artist without actually listening to them and finding out more about them.
Top Combine’s Arrival is Korean, if it’s bad, it’s no worse than any kpop band.
Yet they did write their own fame song – Cotton Candy.
BOBO’s “If” is also beautiful.
These people did not work their butts off to be a part of a category that people ignore because they simply won’t care.
November 20, 2009 at 12:27 am
@darklight:
1st of all:
Top Combine is not a Korean band. Just because there is a Korean member in there doesn’t mean that they’re Korean. Maybe before you start talking back, do your research, alright?
2nd of all: I’m not dissing every single Chinese artist. I actually love some of them. Just cause I said they suck ass doesn’t mean that I meant all of them.
3rd of all: Yeah, I know they worked their butts off, but that doesn’t mean that nobody cares about them.
4th of all: I tried to listen to the songs.. but the ones that I find on youtube are the worse ones ever.
5th of all: I LOVE Top Combine. But their songs are just as good as Korean bands.
February 11, 2010 at 7:04 am
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April 13, 2010 at 2:15 am
In my opinion all I really want is more Chinese bands because I just feel China is starting to lose their edge while Korea, Japan, and the U.S. are making huge sales in the entertainment business.
I really love Kpop/Jpop/Jrock/& U.S. music (Cuz I am in the U.S.)
Haha..
But I would really appreciate more Chinese music.
There isn’t as much as I would like.
It seems that entertainment business is also boost economies.
I know if China’s economy goes up, U.S. will head more down
but I think China deserves that bit of freedom, since they have
been working hard. Plus, my cousins are there trying to take care
of my grandparents.
April 13, 2010 at 6:28 pm
@graciagirl: yaa,.. i agree with youu:)
April 16, 2010 at 2:32 am
@Bebe
Top Combine’s record label is DoReMi, which is a Korean company. Their albums are all produced in Korea, with all but the songs composed by Top Combine members being composed by Koreans. Their Arrival MV was also filmed in Korea, and their main outfits are also from Korea.
@graciagirl
In terms of commercializing music, mainland China has never had any edge and is actually gaining tremendously in terms of commercial music in recent years.
April 16, 2010 at 11:45 pm
@idarkligh
Well, I’ve kinda noticed that with Da Mouth’s debut.
You know them? o.O
I think they’re pretty good.
Their song “Rock it, Rock it” is okay. but a lot of
their other songs are better.
But usually when it comes to China publicly, like in U.S.
you won’t find much Chinese music. Usually its the same
artists that keep appearing. But I’ll admit they’re good.
Just I wish there were some more newer/fresher faces!
July 3, 2010 at 8:52 am
I really ike all bands… they are all good..
but why the other hate the band in their country..
ah, okey..all of us have a different reason.. now i understand that..
i support my band here in philippines they are P-POP.. XLR8…
i love all bands… KJMP-POP i love them…
i really love Go Go Club.. im very fanatic to them…
they are cool.. i like chen zeyu… hehehehe…
forgive me.. i supportall bands…
thanks..and more power to all..
xiao xin..zaijian pengyou♥
September 24, 2010 at 5:13 am
You guys are funny.
Can’t you guys just grow up and respect what they do unless news come out that they plagiarized?
But don’t be too into ‘em like yall are with whatever kpop groups are there because no one likes to see war.
September 24, 2010 at 12:39 pm
@idarklight:
I understand that they work with a Korean company, but they are not KOREAN!
Their songs are in Mandarin Chinese not Korean.
Have you thought about maybe the Korean member helped translate everything for them? Or maybe there is a translator?
They are Chinese, not Korean!!
November 14, 2010 at 11:37 pm
@Bebe
I know they’re not Korean. But the type of music the produce, especially with their EP, is more Korean than Chinese. In their new album, though, there’s a significantly bigger Chinese influence since most of the songs are written by the members themselves, rather than by Korean composers from DoReMi.
December 1, 2011 at 7:51 am
A mi m’grata HIT-5, porque ells molt waba.. i LOLLIPOP, ells cantar(dance) molt be .