Apr. 22nd, 2013

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My song of the moment is Evol's "Get Up," a jagged little get-ur-freak-on riff plus kasbah oogling, Timboesque but with the tension relaxed, the raps a nice balance between pressurized and blissful. Dreamy '40s jazz-pop melodic jumps, also blissful. The group are well-drilled as dancers, combining tautness and style, a lot like their sound. Leader Say has been compared on YouTube threads to After School's former leader and star dancer Kahi. So clearly, Evol are poised... to go nowhere.


They entered the Gaon chart at a poor 120, and were off entirely the following week. This is typical of recent rookie groups. No new idol group has reached genuine stardom in K-pop since 2010.* That's about two-and-a-half years. Mat and I discussed this a few weeks back. The only true new stars I could think of were solo acts Lee Hi and Ailee, both of whom feel extraneous to K-pop (or to what I love about K-pop, anyway, which is not a knock on Lee Hi or Ailee, but they're more r&b and balladry, and I think Lee Hi could well be better off aesthetically if she moved to America). Boyfriend and B.A.P have done reasonably well, and Lee Hi's fellow Kpopstar alums Baek A-yeon and 15& have a shot at capitalizing on their initial popularity. RaNia and EXO are viable, and I guess Dal★Shabet, Exid, BTOB, Spica, Myname, and Nu'est are still in business. Little-known Crayon Pop seem to have the support of their little-known agency. Block B have label problems, ChoColat are on hiatus, I'm hoping Chi Chi will get another chance. Promising solo performer Fat Cat has health issues. Koganbot faves Flashe and Clinah and Gangkiz and New F.O seem gone.

Cumulative advantage )

Korean hip-hop )

Little additions in the background )

And dance rehearsal — Say's the one with gray sweatpants, headband, violent hair:

<

*Which produced CN Blue, Miss A, Girl's Day, Teen Top, Sistar.
**Not that the thoughts are mine: I was presenting Duncan Watts' particular ideas; and it's a long-understood economic-psychological principle that the rich get richer and the rest languish, that all fame is based in part on being famous for being famous, and that chance plays a huge role, that there's an ineradicable element of unpredictability.

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Frank Kogan

July 2025

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