I've been making J-pop Music Collections regularly every four months or so since I first got into Asian Pop way back in 1995 but even when my friends who had initially turned me onto J-pop became Hallyu fans, I never bought or even paid too much attention to K-pop, so I think it's quite significant (in a way) that I've finally liked a K-pop song enough that I had to "break the mold" and include it in my latest J-Pop Mix!
Sure, over time I've had Korean ARTISTS appear many times on mixes in the past, acts like BoA, Tohoshinki and even latter groups like KARA and GIRLS GENERATION have all had their latest singles appear at one time or another, but they were all Japanese-language sung songs, either written for the Japan marker or re-recordings of their Korean originals. No, it wasn't until I heard the song "I My Me Mine" by Korean group 4Minute that I finally made the leap!
I first heard I My Me Mine on a wonderful site that showcased both K-Pop, C-Pop AND J-Pop and after immediately falling in love with the song, scrambled to see if they (like so many other K-Pop artists) had made a Japanese Version of it. I don't know if it was simply because I'd gotten so used to the Korean version, but by the time I actually acquired the Japanese version, I just didn't like how the song sounded when it wasn't sung in its native Korean language!!!
At first I tried to resist it, trying to force my ears to get used to the Japanese version, but no matter how much I played it, only the K-pop version sounded good to me! Even though I thought it would disrupt the "flow" of the mix, I decided to leave the Korean version in- and guess what? Not only did it fit in perfectly, it went on to become my favorite track on the mix!!!
Now I'm thinking I might have to check out all those older K-pop artists that my friends have been trying to turn me onto, like S.E.S. and the like! There's a whole 'nother Ball Game out there! LOL
