K-POP AUTHENTICITY AND COSMOPOLITAN STRIVINGS:
ZICO’S “I AM YOU, YOU ARE ME” MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS
Being one of the most successful hits in his solo career so far, Zico’s “I Am You, You Are Me” and its music video highlights the hybridization between authenticity and cosmopolitan strivings that is now making K-pop globally expand its popularity and gradually penetrate the competitive Western music market. This paper will conduct a critical analysis of the music video regarding the set, the use of props, and English in the lyrics that demonstrate K-pop’s cosmopolitan attempts, as well as K-pop’s trademarks shown through the genre fluidity and the way Zico well presented himself as a Korean male hip-hop idol.
This MV’s effort to place itself on a broader consumption of “the ever-globalizing entertainment world” (Kim 2018:99) is shown in both visual and auditory contexts. The whole video was filmed in an artificial set of a classic Western-style convenience store, in which almost every goods are recognizable by foreign audiences, particularly those in North America. There are no Korean elements appear on this set, except the two main characters. Moreover, the twin-flame concept throughout is also illustrated with many universal and English-contained items from the couple’s attires to the close/open sign, the magazines, and the light signs. These make the meaning of this video be easily understood by both domestic and international audiences. As a core component of every music video, the song also contributes to the efforts of hybridization by mixing English in the lyrics (Jin and Ryoo 2014:113). Specifically in “I Am You, You Are Me”, English appear in whole sentences at the start of the two pre-chorus, as aside (e.g. good morning, yeah), at the end of the song and in the song title. The moderate emplacement of these English parts effectively brings a general connection between the song and the foreign audience, blurring the language barrier and follows the contemporary trend of cultural globalization of K-pop (Jin and Ryoo 2014:128).
The song is described as an Urban R&B and Ballad that convey a new attempt of Zico after being acknowledged by his great individuality of trendy hip-hop through the hit songs “Eurika”, “Boys and Girls” and his participation in Show Me The Money 4. However, this is actually an adoption to the Koreaness of K-pop regarding “hybridity discourse” indicated by Lee Hye-eun (2006:137). By turning his vocal into the main part while the rap is shortened and flown on laid-back melody, Zico not only show his talent of being a singer-songwriter who can both rap and sing, but also make this song become “acoustically local” (Lee 2006:38) and more favorable to consume. Besides the change in music, Zico’s appearance in this music video shows another feature of K-pop, which is its emphasis on the visual of the artist as an idol who has a “parasocial connection” with his fans (Elfving-Hwang 2018:196). “The idol as an aesthetic spectacle and the necessity for the idol to remain in the public and fan gaze to ensure their continual popularity mean that they are required to maintain the appearance expected of an idol” (Elfving-Hwang 2018:197). As a “K-pop” product, this music video is not an exception of being influenced by this notion through the way Zico was revealed with a dreamlike and gentle look, as well as the focus shots on his face and eyes that create intimacy with the viewers.
In conclusion, as “K-pop music videos have distinguished themselves with a flamboyant mixing of classical and kitschy, old and new, foreign and local elements, precisely to be able to travel across cultural borders in the age of global media” (Kim 2018:96), Zico’s “I Am You, You Are Me” music video is a particular indication of K-pop efforts to maintain its identity that is constantly appropriate to the Asian fans, including Korean, where it originated, and appears to be exotic; while at the same time universally adapting and innovating that authenticity to continue developing and attract more attentions from the international audiences in different regions.
Bibliography:
Lee, Hee-Eun. “Seeking the ‘others’ within us. Discourses of Korean-ness in Korean popular music.” In medi@sia Global media/tion in and out of context, edited by Todd Joseph Miles Holden and Timothy J. Scrase. 129-146. London and New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2006.
Kim, Suk-young. K-pop Live: Fans, Idols, and Multimedia Performance. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2018.
Elfving-Hwang, Joanna. “Kpop idols, artificial beauty and affective fan relationships in South Korea.” In Routledge Handbook of Celebrity Studies, edited by Anthony Elliott. 190-201. London and New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2018.
Jin, Dal-Yong and Woong-jae Ryoo. “Critical Interpretation of Hybrid K-Pop: The Global Local Paradigm of English Mixing in Lyrics.” Popular Music and Society 37 (2014): 113-131.
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