Episode 2

The Wonderful World of K-pop After Dark

What’s up, everybody! It’s your favorite Ajummah, Young Ajummah and I am your guest host for this episode of A3Day Sister Show.

Now if you don’t know who I am…where have you been? Lolz. I am a Korean Entertainment Content Creator. Writer, Youtuber, Podcaster, Interviewer. I’ve pretty much done it all. That means I’ve been exposed to different types of Korean music and I gotta say, no disrespect to k-pop, Korean RnB is where I belong. There is something so exciting yet soothing about familiar chords coming from new to me artists so I thought, it would be a great idea to introduce you to some artists that dominate the genre.

I won’t be able to talk about everyone, I don’t have that type of time, but hopefully, you’ll find an artist you’ll love. Now I’m going to be referring to this as the after-dark genre and if you’re wondering why I‘ll tell you. Honestly, it just has a nice ring to it.

We’ll start with something familiar to those who are fans of 2nd gen k-pop. I’m talking BigBang, more specifically, GD & Top with their song “Baby Goodnight.” Let me set the stage for you. GD & Top had a collaboration album back in 2010 (dang that’s a long time ago) and released their first m/v for their song "High High." But we aren’t here for that song. "Baby Goodnight" was the last m/v they made for their first album and oooh baby. It showcases GD & Top with their significant others in what I guess is a hotel suite. The music was very different to what I was used to coming from k-pop artists back then and the lyrics were…honestly tame but suggestive. The video ends with both GD & TOP leaving their women to come sit on the couch and sleep or something, I don’t know.

Look, it’s k-pop and it was back in 2010. Nothing was going to happen. But it piqued my interest in this genre of music.

Now if you‘re interested in something more…mature. Allow me to possibly introduce you to one of my favorite artists, Elo. He’s currently under the AOMG label and, the man is sex on water. There’s really no other way to put it. I’m not talking visually because I firmly believe beauty is in the eye of the beholder but when he gets in his mood…he’s singing someone’s panties off.

For example, he featured on Jay Park’s 2016 song Turn Off Your Phone remix. Now to be fair, Jay Park also came with some fire, but the moment Elo showed up…it was over. How do you get outsung on your own song? Lolz now that’s just my opinion but listen, trust me. There’s a reason the comments to that video are 95% about Elo singing “baby come to daddy.” I thought this might have been a fluke, but I’ve dived deep into his discography most notably, his collaboration with rapper Penomeco. There’s a reason why there was only one music video. Titles like "Deep" and "Body" might be an indication if you’re picking up what I’m putting down.

Now it’s not just the men that have been getting down in this after-dark section of the world. Female artists like Hoody (who has a collaboration with Elo called friends with benefits, so you already KNOW what that means), Miso, and SAAY have been putting on their high heels or Timbs, whatever they prefer, and have been STOMPING all over the scene.

I want to focus on independent artist Alisha. Oh, her name doesn’t sound familiar? Understandable. I didn’t know of her, so I did some research for all of us. Alisha (알리샤) is an independent American-South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter, and producer. She debuted on November 13, 2017, with the digital single, "Love Me." She has a song called "Drunk Texting" that… well actually it's pretty self-explanatory. She’s drunk and she’s texting someone of the opposite sex. You can imagine how that goes. All of her music is on Spotify, so I strongly urge you to check it out.

Another female artist that is holding her own is Bibi. She was a hot topic ever since she released Benzino in 2020 so I’m looking forward to hearing what she has for 2021. One song that really caught my ear was her collab with Crush for his album, "With Her." Listen, I could have a whole episode on Crush, but we don’t have the time for that now. The song he and Bibi did was called "She Said" and… I don’t even know how to explain this song so just listen to it. I will say this, Bibi gave Crush a run for his money.

Now I don’t want to leave my traditional k-pop fans out of this episode. Artists like Baekhyun, Red Velvet, and Taemin have numerous after dark songs that will have you swaying to the music with your eyes closed and mind… elsewhere. In fact, Baekhyun is part of the subunit EXO-CBX with Chen and Xiumin. In 2018 they released their second album, Blooming Days. on it there was a song called "Thursday" and… honestly, I don’t know what in the world this has to do with a Thursday or any day for that matter. I looked at the lyrics, but I guess it loses something in translation because the words just didn’t seem to fit. What did fit was their voices.

You want to talk about getting underwear thrown at them? Let them sing this song at a concert. Someone is getting hit with a bra. Just saying.

JeonWoong from AB6ix is another one who’s in danger of getting hit with flying pieces of clothing. This is a moment where I am so glad for the people I’ve met via social media. I had completely skipped over AB6ix and someone was kind enough to help me see the error of my ways. Have you seen JeonWoong’s music video for "MoonDance"? What "Moon Dance," JeonWoong? Was that what you were doing in the video? That’s what that dance was called? Jeez. To be fair, he’s an adult and can do whatever he pleases but…jeez. I actually looked up his age to be sure watching it wasn’t illegal.

Now objectively, the song is good. A nice change from the group’s sound. I am curious to see what is in this man’s future; musically speaking of course. Now I have to say that one of the reason’s why I like these types of songs so much is because they’ve been produced by people I’m familiar with. For example, I am a huge fan of Red Velvet’s song "Kingdom Come." When their album came out, I must have replayed that song 1000 times. Finally, I got myself together and checked out who the producer and surprise, surprise, it was The Stereotypes. Please Google them if you don’t know who they are.

Discussing k-pop after dark music is so fun but unfortunately, it’s time for me to go. If you enjoyed everything we discussed and want to learn more about these artists, or you just want to hang with me, make sure you follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube at Young Ajummah.

About the Podcast

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A3Day Sister Show
Hallyu Storytimes & Musings

About your host

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Ashley Borjon

Ashley is a content creator, educator, and public speaker. As an authority on the Hallyu phenomenon, she has collaborated on projects and events with various domestic and international companies and brands as a music historian. As the host of An Album a Day, she leads an English-language podcast promoting commentary on South Korean pop music.