[Kulture Issue] The sounds of KPop Demon Hunters and latest K-pop trends

Sometimes soft, sometimes powerful. K-pop music trends change rapidly, driven by listeners' tastes and cultural trends. That's also reflected in the recent Netflix animation hit "KPop Demon Hunters."

For more on the K-pop music in this film and the fast-changing K-pop industry trends, we are now connected to our expert Claire Marie Lim, music technologist, artist and faculty member at Berklee College of Music. Hello Claire!

Q1) It's almost hard to tell whether HUNTR/X and the Saja Boys are real K-pop idols or not, as the K-pop groups from the animation musical film KPop Demon Hunters have conquered the Billboard charts and you can hear people sing along to "Soda Pop" and "Golden" all around the world. Do you feel the KPop Demon Hunters phenomenon around you?

Q2) So, who is behind the hit soundtrack, and how have these creators led the songs to become such a success?

Q2-1) What do you think of the Korean lyrics that pop up in those songs and what impact does that have on the viewers/listeners?

Q3) Maggie Kang, the Korean-Canadian director of the film, said that she didn't want KPop Demon Hunters to be a very traditional musical movie, but rather one that has real K-pop music that speaks to K-pop fans. So, what are the elements that made the songs "real" K-pop?

Q4) A variety of K-pop styles can be found in KPop Demon Hunters, just like in the real K-pop world. But some styles dominate others at times. I remember so-called "Easy-listening" songs were very popular. Tell us more about that trend.

Q5) Recently, "Hard-listening" is becoming a thing again. Could you define that for us as well? And why would people like to listen to that style?

Q6) Who creates those trends? Why do they change so quickly, and what impact does such rapid change have on K-pop artists? (Could there possibly be concerns on maintaining the identity of groups?)

Thank you very much Claire for your insights and have a great rest of the week.

Thank you Bella, see you back tomorrow.