Forum Friday: What was the moment that got you hooked on your favorite K-pop group?

[klynb]

My first contact with kpop was one member of the entertainment media suggesting I watch Gee. I did. I hated it.

Then 2012 came along. One of my Western biases died early in the year, so there was a hole that needed filling. Five months later, I was introduced to Gangnam Style. After, say, the fourth viewing, I started googling Psy and listening to interviews, watching other videos, etc. 

I haven't been the same since.

[jac92]

Back in 2010 when i heard 2ne1's I Am The Best.

[asha1]

For me I  was in love with kpop since 2011 when I saw a video on my YT homepage on a really really boring day ...so I decided to click it because I thought its something related to some dancing or something and It was Super juniors's "Mr.simple" live on melon !! I was completely blown and at night I decided to check what I really saw so I knew everything about them for a whole 2 days .. Their names ages and everything !! At first it was yesung oppa who made me fell in love and stick to suju but then After a week I was SO in love with donghae oppa  anyways shortly after I knew DBSK and JYJ and I really loved Jaejoongi oppa !! But never wanted to give in to them and really love them over suju but it was just last year that I couldn't take it anymore and gave up so now am officially an ELF-Cassi  i really wish to meet other elf-cassis my age cuz all 89 liners are like disappeared from kpop world :/ 

[fuyukimi]

I've been listening on and off to K-pop since around 2010 with some detached interest in BIGBANG and TVXQ, but this year with BIGBANG's comeback, something clicked while listening to their new singles, and I started digging back to their older songs and variety shows and whatnot... before I knew it, I fell in love. I had a hard time telling apart who was who just two years ago (except for TOP, he simply stood out)... what a world of difference it's been! It was probably TOP's opening verse in "If You" that started the whole fiasco. He remains my bias, followed closely by GD and Daesung, but while all five of them are super talented and charming individually, I love them best when they're all together as BIGBANG. It makes my heart wrench when I saw the news yesterday in an article about GD about how they only re-signed for one year due to the members' upcoming military enlistment. The future of BB is uncertain beyond 2016, but I hope dearly they can stay together as a group, no matter how many years it'll take for VIPs to wait for their return.

[kpopfan102]

IKON is my favorite male group right now..

 

and back when they were TEAM B and sung "Climax"....

[Hanyeoun]

I knew Kpop from the 1990's thanks to H.O.T but what caught my attention was "Gee" playing on a LG TV in a furniture store LOL ! 

[xman150]

I was watching TV and saw CSJH's My Everything music video with Stephanie's solo shot and thought she was beautiful so I decided to find it on YouTube. Mind that this was around 2006 and resources weren't as good as it is today. Once I found the video, I was impressed with the beauty of the group and blown away by their vocals, and I was drawn in from there.

My current group I'm into is EXID. I was interested by how they were making a rise from the dead and watched a performance before watching the Hani fancam and thought the song was catchy regardless. It wasn't until Solji appeared on Masked Singer and I fell in love with her vocals and my obsession started.

With both these groups, aside from their performance skills, they are fun to watch off camera. All the shows CSJH did back in the day like Idol World showed they had fun personalities. The same with EXID with their But But TV series on YouTube and Showtime. 

I guess I'm a sucker for groups with vocals and funny/down to earth personalities. 

[freya_xian88]

TVXQ on their 3rd album.

After they split, I was more into JYJ.

[heks]

I was starting to watch Rooftop prince and Park Yoochun was amazing in it. Naturally, I started to look him up because of the hype in viki's comments section about him. I think I fell in love with JYJ after watching them singing live. When I say their live presence and performance I thought is so much better than recorded, their voices combined are heaven in live shows. I really enjoy their albums as group or solos, but actually they were kind of an inspiration for me, because of all the struggle they had to go through to gain their freedom and sing whatever the like. They taught me a life lesson so I will return to their music as long as I can. I don't think any group went through what they've been and I think it's amazing that they are still mentally stable, healthy, natural and strong. JYJ is truly inspirational!  

[wangnyeo]

SuJu song It is You was first ever kpop song I listened to and loved  was introduced to me by my sister who used to be ELF .. nowadays I more into kpop than her ,, SuJu need to be active more  

 

 

[changssie]

I got hooked on Shinhwa last year. I've been meaning to listen to their music because I was discovering 1st gen groups. And so I listened to the latest album and went backwards. They have great music, but what got me hooked was their variety show, Shinhwa Broadcast. I was only planning to watch one episode just to put names to faces. But they were so funny! So as I watched the show,I began to love them.

I got hooked on TVXQ about 2.5 years ago, back when I first started listening to K-Pop. I heard Crazy on Pandora, and it was nice. I became hooked after I watched the dance version of Before U Go and listened to the Catch Me album. So I did some research and found out that it used to be 5 members. Now, I've known JYJ for about a month before I knew HoMin. But I didn't put the pieces together until some 2-3 weeks after discovering TVXQ. I became even more hooked after listening to their music before the split. They sound great, and had great ballads and Japanese songs.

[wangnyeo]

55 minutes ago, changssie said:

I got hooked on Shinhwa last year. I've been meaning to listen to their music because I was discovering 1st gen groups. And so I listened to the latest album and went backwards. They have great music, but what got me hooked was their variety show, Shinhwa Broadcast. I was only planning to watch one episode just to put names to faces. But they were so funny! So as I watched the show,I began to love them.

I got hooked on TVXQ about 2.5 years ago, back when I first started listening to K-Pop. I heard Crazy on Pandora, and it was nice. I became hooked after I watched the dance version of Before U Go and listened to the Catch Me album. So I did some research and found out that it used to be 5 members. Now, I've known JYJ for about a month before I knew HoMin. But I didn't put the pieces together until some 2-3 weeks after discovering TVXQ. I became even more hooked after listening to their music before the split. They sound great, and had great ballads and Japanese songs.

 

WOW ! 

I have been touched by your story specially that I Like too the Legend TVXQ  , they have many great songs and their J songs also are so amazing ..

[ichigo_akari]

I was a Cassiopeia, but since the splitting case popped up, im basically a muggle fan of any kpop groups..

Then one day, I was reading an article about Infinite who was showcase touring at some cities in Korea using a helicopter in a day. I thought, 'wow thats a crazy showcase idea...', but it sparks some interest in me to get to know them. So I download a few of their MVs and few of their live perfs videos. When I was watching the chaser perf in June 2012, and then... BAM!! The stable live singing, the sharp dances, got me into the fandom until now. Stable live attracts me a lot and makes me stay in the fandom. Especially Namus voice. Ugh.... cant contain mah feelllsss!!! 

Nowadays there is one group that attracts me too, and its BTS. Im always amazed by group that have a stable live singin and hard dance perfs. Whaowwww!

[spacebound]

I got into Kdramas first and then I heard this song in It's Okay That's Love (the one Chen sings) and omg I couldn't stop playing it. So I googled him and found out he was in a group. Then I lookep EXO up and the rest is history (aka I binge watched a richard simmons ton of kpop MVs like a crazy person, not just EXO). 

[magicfish]

I discovered K Pop in 2011 thanks to my then 9 year old daughter. We were watching SBS Pop Asia and came across all these groups. My love affair began. I got into Super Junior, Shinee, 2NE1 and F (x) who are still my favourite groups today. Super Junior are my ultimate bias group. I was impressed with their dancing ability, good looks and vocals. Mr Simple was the song that introduced me to them and is my fav song of theirs

 

 

[Latte_Anyday]

I am a fan of Sistar only through their mesmerizing leader that is Hyolyn LoL. That girl I swear is the total package. I don't get all the hate she's getting or that of her group members either. I remembered watching Hyolyn on Immortal Songs. Back then (the season where she was a cast member of) was a lot more fun 'cause there were a lot of group members of the same age so they injected a lot of youth, fun into the program. Immortal Songs now seem drab and boring... Also there's way too many MCs whereas there was only Kim Gura (back then) at the helm so the show seemed more intimate(?) like the group seemed close, tight knit. It was amicable is what I'm sayin'.  

I just loved Hyolyn puts so much hardwork into everything she does, she seems like a perfectionist but has a lot of heart. I didn't know she was a part of a girlgroup until much later. When I checked out their music my admiration for Sistar grew. And I'm glad they got to where they are today. Considering their label is not as recognized as JYP/YG/SM. What the girls lack for in terms of visual (personally I think they look gorgeous) they make up for in charm, wit and I love the bond the girls share. 

[super2016]

I start loving people when I watch them on variety shows. Such a sucker for those shows. I start to warm up to people i didn't even like or didn't know about. 

Probably just the perfect target audience for the people who create these shows. LOL 

[cynkdf]

Interesting topic, thanks. Never ever thought I'd be so obsessed with a singer until one day in January this year I happened to watch Korean  singer Hwang Chi Yeul on "I Am A Singer" China. He's talented, funny, respectful - and his story is inspiring. Hwang Chi Yeul, thank you for not giving up on your dream. I'll be attending in spirit your concerts in the USA and in Beijing this month  

 

@super2016 re variety shows may I suggest that if you like watching people being dorky, please Google "Hwang Chi Yeul I Live Alone Ep 166" (he appears in the first 9 minutes and last 18 minutes of the episode)

[rikasan]

On 8/2/2016 at 7:30 AM, super2016 said:

I start loving people when I watch them on variety shows. Such a sucker for those shows. I start to warm up to people i didn't even like or didn't know about. 

Probably just the perfect target audience for the people who create these shows. LOL 

 

I am the same way! Seeing my favorite groups on variety shows makes me love them even more than just listening to their music. There have even been times that I wasn't really into a group, but after seeing their personalities shine on variety shows, I fell in love <3

[kmtaehyng]

I got hooked on BTS after I saw a bunch of pictures of Taehyung, and I wanted to know who he was because I thought he was really cute so I started asking around and they told me to watch the MVs for Boy in Luv and Danger, so I did. And just like that, I fell for them. Seeing Jimin hit that punching bag and fetus-er Jungkook got me more interested. Watching Bangtan Bombs and seeing pictures of them together as a whole really made me happy. Their smiles can melt your heart, and quite honestly, I don't know how anyone wouldn't fall for them.