This week's Friday Five:
- In what forms of housing have you resided? Up until I was about six months old, we lived in a townhouse, and then from six months to 20-years-old, we lived in a four-bedroom house. Then, I lived in a shitty two-bedroom apartment with my ex-boyfriend for a year. Then I moved out into a semi-detached townhouse, which is where I still live now. I'll be moving into a one-bedroom-plus-den condo next month.
- What are the best and worst things about the location of your home? Best: It's quiet and spacious but just a five-minute drive to a lot of things like restaurants, supermarkets, Walmarts, movie theatres, the mall, etc. The worst is that driving is still essential to get around. A five-minute drive is still like, a 30-minute walk.
- Where would you keep a second home if you could have one? I would normally say New York City, but quite frankly, I don't want to live anywhere in the US right now. So I'm gonna go ahead and say Vancouver.
- How well would you adapt to permanent RV life? I wouldn't. First off, the bathroom is a big NO-GO. I believe in plumbing and a proper shower. Secondly, I have a lot of stuff. And I don't wanna get rid of it. Thirdly, I am high-maintenance. Like, I need a proper bed and a desk and bookshelves. Fourthly, there would not be enough space for my BTS stuff. So it's a hard pass for me.
- What's the prettiest thing to look at within five miles of your residence? Umm... well, if you go a few km north of here, it's mostly farm land and forests and stuff... So if you like trees and nature, then that's probably the prettiest thing to look at.
Aw, come on. You could turn the RV into a mobile BTS museum and charge admission like a traveling exhibit. What flavor Ringolos did you get? I looked them up on Amazon (U.S.) they aren't available. :(
ReplyDeleteLOL, that RV has to be at least 800 sq. ft., because my current room is about 600 sq. ft. and I've already ran out of space for BTS stuff. :P
DeleteBut a mobile BTS museum isn't a bad idea, actually...
Actually, I can't seem to find Ringolos brand in stores (although it's available online), so I got "barbecue rings" from Walmart brand (Selection), which taste like the original Ringolos flavour.
I just looked up Ringolos, which are manufactured by the Humpty Dumpty snack foods company, and it looks like their products are mainly sold in New England, Quebec, and the Maritimes, which might explain why I can't find them in stores here and you can't find them on Amazon. :/
I saw SuperM on Ellen Degeneres yesterday or the day before. Why are they not as good as BTS? I'm asking seriously. Ellen said their fans were lined up to get in from early in the morning. :)
DeleteOooh, a loaded question!
DeleteNow, it's important to note that SuperM is a supergroup that consists of members from four other well-known, established K-pop groups (Shinee, Exo, NCT 127, and WayV). So individually, the members already had big fanbases before SuperM was even formed.
To answer your question… It's the same reason why I'm not a K-pop fan — I'm a BTS fan. I tried getting into K-pop by listening to a lot of other groups and solo acts, and while there are a handful of songs that I do like, I just can't get into other artists in the K-pop industry (or, frankly, other artists in the pop industry) like I have with BTS. Why?
To put it simply, I just like BTS' music more. To me, they're just sonically more unique and interesting. There are many other groups in which I find their music to follow the same patterns and production methods. BTS write and produce all of their own music, and have a lot more creative input into their work. None of their songs sound similar, and they span dozens of different genres.
Lyrically, their songs are well-written, well-thought out, and cover a lot of important subjects including their corrupt government and education system, mental health, and psychological warfare. Their albums have over-arching stories inspired by literature, philosophy, and psychology. It's like… K-pop for intellectuals.
Performance-wise, no one comes close to BTS. Even K-pop stans will admit this. They stand out. It's why they made it so big, why they get so much attention. It's what catches your eye first. It's what caught my eye first. Even if you don't like their music, you can't help but appreciate their incredible showmanship. The energy, the charisma, the stamina, the chemistry — these guys were born to perform, and to perform together. The seven of them together, it's like a well-oiled machine.
But why I'm so passionate about them, and what's made me ARMY for life? Their sincerity and humility. They're the ultimate underdog story. Rags to riches. Groups like SuperM (and the groups that the members originated from), come from a huge entertainment company and already had promotion and hype surrounding them at debut. BTS came from a small label that was nearing bankruptcy at the time of their debut, had nothing handed to them, were cut from broadcasts and had numerous death threats sent to them — and beat all odds to come out at the top. There is literally no one like them in this industry.
So along with my intense love for them, they also have one thing that other K-pop groups will never get: my respect.
Thanks for reading my essay, lol!
Okay I'm going to have to take a closer look. Because when I watched SuperM, all I could think was that the dancing seemed just like BTS. In the interview segment, I was really impressed with a couple of the guys' English too. But man, they all looked exactly alike to me! I did NOT know BTS writes and produces its own music. This is a huge plus for me. Do they play instruments?
DeleteWell, the K-pop industry grooms all of their trainees to be performers, so they all get trained to dance before they even debut. That having been said, many trainees were already dancers when they were recruited or before they auditioned. For example, Taemin of Shinee, who is in SuperM, is an excellent dancer and was even before he debuted in Shinee.
DeleteBTS has three main dancers - J-Hope (who is the dance leader of BTS) was in a famous local street dancing team who won many awards before he was a trainee; Jimin was such a talented dancer that he got a scholarship to go to art school to major in dance and graduated the top of his class before he was a trainee; and Jungkook (who was recruited at the age of 13 and is the youngest of BTS) was put in a vigorous dance program while he was a trainee. So these three guys make up the main dance line in BTS.
In terms of looks, there is a very specific type of beauty that Koreans like, so they all want a similar look, whether it's achieved by makeup or plastic surgery. This type of "ideal beauty" stems from the Korean entertainment industry, like K-pop idols and K-drama actors. Features like double eyelids, a sharp V-shaped jawline, a straight contoured nose, pale skin, and small reddened lips are all coveted in Korea (and most of Asia, actually). It's what we call the "doll look."
That's not to say everyone gets plastic surgery — from what I can detect based on recent photos compared to their pre-debut teenage photos, BTS has little to none (if they did get any, it's so well done and subtle that it's impossible to tell), and it's why they were criticized for being ugly (or not having "idol faces") for so long — but for many big entertainment companies, it's considered essential and in some cases, mandatory. Especially for girl groups, because they tend to be judged harsher for their looks.
I mean, it's easy to say all Asians look alike at first glance, but it's just about the art of studying faces. If you actually look at their facial structures, you'll see that despite their hair and makeup looking similar, they do have distinctive features, lol. Maybe I find it easier because I was a makeup artist for so long?
Yes, BTS is involved in all of their music! They work with other writers and producers, of course, but they have credits on every single one of their songs, whether it's for writing, producing, or composing. Almost all of them play instruments, but more so recreationally. As it stands, Suga is the only one who has played an instrument on their tracks (he is a pianist).
Thanks again for reading my essay! ;)