MUSIC

SEVENTEEN Satirizes Pop Music with New Album "An Ode"

"An Ode" is still a really good pop record, though.

SEVENTEEN wants you to know they've grown up.

[M/V] SEVENTEEN(세븐틴) - HITwww.youtube.com

They're no longer the charismatic lovesick teens depicted in "Oh My!," and they no longer have the relentless optimism of "Call Call Call." Ok, they're still charismatic as hell, but it's more complicated now. Summer is over, and Seventeen has been on an absolute tear in the K-pop scene since they began. "I want a new level," the hip hop unit raps on "Hit," their latest comeback single and intro to the boy band's third album An Ode. "We're so hot," the vocal unit sings on the refrain, (the 13 members are divided into three separate units: vocal, rap and performance.) The members of the K-pop ensemble are painfully aware of how talented they are; every release since their debut in 2015 has shot them further and further into the stratosphere of superstardom. But they want a new challenge. They're bored with how easy it is to make good pop songs. "Hit, hit, hit, hit, hit sound," they sing on the chorus.

It's hard to hear An Ode's "Hit" as anything but satirical considering the "wow, wow, wows," the autotune, the abrasive EDM instrumental, and the rap unit stating blatantly that "this is a hit."

It becomes difficult to distinguish whether the boys are genuinely pushing "HIT" as their big crossover smash, or if they're just making fun of the formulaic ease with which popular music is made. While impeccably well-choreographed, the music video is a mish-mash of classic western pop archetypes, like aggressive rain-dancing. Right before the chorus takes hold, the ensemble calls out, "From this day forth, we're free, jump!" which is a melody that sounds eerily similar to the way the Backstreet Boys chanted, "Backstreet's back, alright!"

Regardless, the "Carats," as their fans are called, are eating it up. To point out the formulaic nature of their music is not to say that SEVENTEEN doesn't deserve the same acclaim as other K-pop groups. Their music, while thematically much more focused on the stresses that fame brings, is melodically primed for western radio. "Network Love" is a tight, tropical house-infused pop song that shows the vocal unit in their prime. "247" is a fantastic R&B slow jam, and "Snap Shot" sounds like Chance The Rapper and The Jonas Brothers made a musical baby.

An Ode is a compelling pop record that paints a more complicated narrative than your average K-pop group. In fact, it seems painfully easy for SEVENTEEN to make radio hits, which isn't exactly a bad problem for a boy band hoping to find international fame.

An Ode

MUSIC

K-Pop Group PRISTIN Disbands Under Poor Management by Pledis Entertainment

Fans are very upset over the way they feel Pledis Entertainment handled the group.

Pristin

Photo by Yonhap/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

It's a heartbreaking day for fans of the K-Pop girl group PRISTIN, who have officially disbanded only two years after their debut.

The group, managed by Pledis Entertainment, released their first album, Hi! Pristin' in March 2017. Their final album, Schxxl Out dropped in August 2017. Since then, the band's future prospects have been murky. One of the group's 10 members, Kyla, went on hiatus in October 2017. A number of the other members have also opened personal Instagram accounts, which many K-Pop fans view as being indicative of a group's imminent demise.

Now, after two years without any major promotions, Pledis Entertainment has officially confirmed that seven members (Nayoung, Roa, Yuha, Eunwoo, Rena, Xiyeon, and Kyla) have terminated their exclusive contracts. The other three members (Kyulkyung, Yehana, and Sungyeon) will continue under the label in pursuit of solo careers.

Tensions are high amongst fans, with many blaming Pledis Entertainment over what they deem to be poor handling of the group.

Kyla released a statement of her own, apologizing for the group's disbanding and thanking fans for supporting her.


Pledis Entertainment released an official statement, too: "The company and the members had in-depth discussions for a long time and deliberated before coming to a mutual agreement. It has been decided that with the exclusion of members Kyulkyung, Yehana, Sungyeon; seven members (Nayoung, Roa, Yuha, Eunwoo, Rena, Xiyeon, and Kyla) will have their exclusive contracts terminated as of May 24, 2019...We would like to first apologize to fans, who have always been supportive, for delivering this unfortunate news."

Not that fans particularly care what Pledis has to say, especially considering the fact that the girls spent nearly ten years training for their short-lived debut.

We look forward to seeing what all the former members of PRISTIN do next, and we wish them all the best in their future endeavors. Pledis Entertainment, on the other hand, needs to take a long, hard look at how they treat the groups they manage.