- They're great! How could you not be excited about this?
- This is a little cheesy for my tastes.
♪ (industrial intro) ♪
- (FBE) So since we're approaching the end of 2017,
we're going to listen to the mountain of comments
and show a selection of K-pop songs that came out this year.
- Oh! Oh my god!
- I actually contributed in those comments of doing K-pop.
When the YouTubers reacted to K-pop way in the beginning,
and it just started from there. And I haven't stopped since then.
- (FBE) All of these songs were hugely requested.
And although we can never satisfy everyone,
it has been a while since we've covered K-pop
on this channel, so we're gonna hope we satisfy some
of the rabid K-pop fans with the selection
of songs from this year. - Cool, 'cause you're
satisfying me right now. I'm super excited.
- I don't listen to it. It's not something
I like to listen to.
- (FBE) So first up, we have a song by the most requested K-pop group
that we have not yet covered on this show over the years,
Monsta X. - (gasps) Oh! Ah, yes.
- Monsta X. Okay, let's watch this.
- ♪ Dramama ramama ramama, hey ♪
- Woo! I like it. They're going acapella.
- ♪ (singing in Korean) ♪
- They're so cool looking.
- They got the sickest fashion. That's by far...
- "Sweet auditory hallucination." [Bleep].
- Ah, I love the production they have for the music videos!
- ♪ Dramarama ♪ - ♪ Dramama ramama... ♪
- I really wanna be in a boy band just because of this.
- Why are Korean boys so cute? Oh my god.
- ♪ (rapping in Korean) ♪ - This is jiggy.
- Their music videos, I'm telling you,
they're so good.
- ♪ (rapping in Korean) ♪ - (chuckles) I can't.
I can't! I don't like that one.
- You're not gonna fall asleep to this music, you know?
It's very hype up, amped style. I like it.
- This group, I could just bop my head to.
Like, if I'm playing video games,
I feel like this would get me in the zone.
- (FBE) So the members of Monsta X were chosen through a survival show
called "No Mercy" on South Korean music channel MNet.
- What? "No Mercy"? Sounds intense.
- (FBE) In 2017, they had their most successful year so far
on the American music charts. And like other big K-pop groups,
they have their own variety show
on Korean TV called Monsta X-Ray. - Ooh.
- (FBE) What do you think about how you could
have a favorite music group and then also be able
to not just have music and music videos,
but even TV shows to see them on?
- It makes you connect with them more.
I really like that idea.
- That is also why there's more of an aspect of a stronger fanbase.
I love when I see shows like that for members
of K-pop bands, 'cause you're literally
learning about the member. You're learning their names,
their family members. You feel connected with them.
- (FBE) So next, we have a music video from a group
called Twice... - (exhales shakily) Wait, wait.
Wait. (laughs) Oh my gosh, I love them.
- I love Twice so much. I know the dances and everything.
- (FBE) ...who we have shown before on a YouTubers React episode
who was also formed from a musical survival show,
this one called "Sixteen." - Okay.
What's up with all these K-pop bands coming from TV shows?
- It narrows down all of the talents and then they just pick out people
who would be good matches for each other. It usually works.
♪ (bright pop music) ♪
- Ooh, girl. Okay.
- ♪ Dan, dan, da-nan ♪
- ♪ (singing in Korean) ♪
- Very pop. - It's a very different vibe
(laughs) than the last group. Very different vibe.
- See? This is so cute! This is pure.
This is what I love about them.
- This is a little cheesy for my tastes.
Not something that I would necessarily listen to.
- They're so cute.
- Oh my god. (gasps) They're so cute!
- ♪ (singing in Korean) ♪
- Ah, I love them so much!
- I love this.
- That was cool. I liked that one.
They're very creative with their music videos.
- (FBE) So Twice apparently broke a YouTube record
for a K-pop girl group with the most views
in the shortest amount of time with that single
with more than 90 million views in only 27 days and just 20 hours.
- Woo! You go, girls!
- (FBE) Even if you are seeing this video for the first time
and haven't heard many K-pop girl bands before,
what do you think it was about that song or video
that sets it apart from the rest to have garnered
this many views so quickly? - I mean,
it was a really catchy song, an uplifting, happy song.
- It's so catchy. They're so cute.
Their dances, they're really cute to do.
And it's like, there's something you've never thought of before
and it's like you wanna do it.
- (FBE) So we have a few more videos to show you for today.
The next one is the video for the single "Clap"
by the band Seventeen. - (claps softly)
- ♪ Seventeen right here ♪ - I'm digging his hair.
- Dude, these dudes dress so fresh,
I swear to god.
- So many people in these groups!
- Holy crap! Why are there so many of 'em?
- ♪ (singing in Korean) ♪
- (man yells) (silence)
- ♪ (singing in Korean) ♪
- (softly) What? (laughs)
- They're all such great dancers.
- Woo! Mm.
- ♪ (singing in Korean) ♪
- Their music videos are lit. There's a lot going on in this.
- This looks like so much fun. I'm so jealous.
- Everything's so colorful and pretty.
- This is also really catchy.
- Whoa.
How many of them are there? Is there 17 people?
- It's a nice song, it's just not something I'd listen to.
I like that they're all into it.
- I like this one the best so far. They were fun. They were really fun.
They were like the turn up squad.
- (FBE) So Seventeen is made up of 13 members...
- Jeez. - (FBE) ...and are multinational
with Chinese, Korean, and Korean-American,
which also is a trait of some K-pop groups.
- Oh, I actually really like that.
- (FBE) They are one group, but have focused sub-units
within the band. One focusing on vocals, one on performance,
and one on hip hop, allowing them to perform as a unit
without overlapping, but still coming together
as one. - That's actually really sick.
- Cool, it's like a mega group.
- (FBE) People say their live shows are incredible. What do you think
about that concept? - I think that's kind of cool.
- That's strategic, and that's really smart.
There's no way for them to slip through and fall through
or anything, 'cause it's all calculated.
- Honing in on their talents is genius. I never even thought
of doing that, and now I get why they have 13 members.
- Multi-diversity and multi-countries
and even different focuses on music,
you can come up with so much more stuff.
- (FBE) So the next music video is from the band Red Velvet.
- Red Velvet? They're gonna be sweet like cake.
- I love them, 'cause they were cute when they came out,
and then they grew to be more mature
and they matured in their music and it built up.
And that's one of the really big girl groups that I love.
- ♪ (singing in Korean) ♪
- There's so much going on. There's so much fruit.
- This is different.
- This almost looks like a commercial.
- Their hairstyles are so cute.
- (giggles) I can't.
- This music video's weird.
- Are they judging fruit? I'm so confused.
- (mouthing along)
- God, I'm so frustrated by stuff. I'm like, it's super cheesy,
but I'm bopping in my chair.
- I like that one. That one is my favorite.
- This is a song where you wanna go skipping in a field,
like all of this. I just wanna skip in a field of flowers.
- They're good songs. It's just not something
that I would like to listen to.
I'm not really into girl groups either,
so I think that's kind of it too.
- (FBE) Red Velvet's band name is actually a representation
of their sound as a whole that is somewhat unique
from what we could research. But people at home
should let us know if there are any other similar groups.
The "red" represents the catchy pop in their music,
while the "velvet" is representative of their slower R&B-based sounds.
- Okay. Yeah, I did notice that one didn't have the bass drop
like the other ones had.
- (FBE) And fandom names are a thing across the world and also in K-pop,
so if you are in Red Velvet's fandom,
you are part of the ReVeluvs. - Oh, okay.
- (FBE) Fandoms is a massive part of K-pop in a way
unparalleled possibly with anything in music today.
We know this from the endless requests
to cover K-pop to endless people who wish we would
leave their fandom alone, kind of a double-edged sword.
What is your opinion on the K-pop fandom at large?
- The K-pop fandom is a wonderful place.
It's full of so much diversity and so much togetherness.
- I've never seen fandoms this dedicated to the artists
that they listen to. And I think that's one of the things
that contributes to the, you know, wide success of K-pop artists.
- When you find a group, it's kind of your thing,
especially if no one's told you about it.
So you wanna keep it your thing for as long as possible,
but it's so good that you wanna share it with everyone.
- (FBE) So these days, we can't do a K-pop video
without including BTS... - Of course!
- (FBE) ...because no matter how many times we cover them,
people will get upset if we don't show them,
so we have a clip from this year's American Music Awards
where BTS made their US TV debut and made history
as the first K-pop group to ever be on the AMAs.
- That's wild. That's so sick.
- That's just showing how K-pop is moving over to America.
- (Alex) Making their US TV debut, make some noise...
- Is that the Chainsmokers? (laughs)
- I remember watching this and I was crying.
- ♪ (singing in Korean) ♪ - He is so fine! Oh my god!
I love him.
- It would be cool to see a K-pop performance live.
- Man, the people are loving it.
- That crowd's going nuts.
They have such a presence worldwide.
- This song is a banger.
- Man... look at 'em go.
- They're great! How could you not be excited about this?
- Hey, it's Ansel Elgort! (laughs) He was so into it too.
He was like, "Oh my god!" (laughs)
- They're such good dancers.
- (claps softly - (fans screaming)
- Everyone was going crazy.
- I like to watch their fans. I could get into that.
- That opens a huge door for K-pop groups going forward,
so yeah, big ups to BTS. That's big time.
- A different culture literally coming in
and everyone just loving it, that's super cool to see.
- (FBE) So we have now been covering K-pop for over half a decade
on this channel, and you could say that now compared to then,
it has become much more known. Do you think it would get
so mainstream that it won't be considered niche
at all anymore and just like a full subgenre
of music here in America?
- No, 'cause of the language barrier.
- I really hope that it stays a niche,
'cause I'll probably stop liking it if it gets really big.
- If you even look on your phones, it's already a genre
on your Apple music,
so why wouldn't it become a major genre?
- I don't think there's this cultural barrier anymore
that we used to have years ago where it was kind of like,
"We don't want any different types of music.
We have our American music."
Everything's blending together, which I love.
- K-pop's just gonna be everywhere. I feel it.
I feel like it's gonna happen.
- Thanks for watching this episode of College Kids React.
Shoutout to Tahlia Johnson for watching last week.
- Subscribe if you want a shoutout like Mia Marie.
- Want a shoutout like Sneaky Wizard?
Leave a comment below. - Hi, guys. I'm JC.
- And I'm Kenira. We're part of the team that helped
put this episode together here at FBE.
- Thanks so much for watching this episode of College Kids React.
If you want more K-pop episodes, check out the description below.