00:00
Welcome to Kevin's English Room Podcast.
Hello.
Hello.
Hey, guys.
So do you have anything you want in mind?
There's this new K-pop group called New Jeans.
Oh, New Jeans?
OK.
And they've been doing a really great job.
Oh.
Yeah.
So it's a new group for you?
Yeah, for me.
For you.
OK.
It's like a debut.
Yeah, they're very young, actually.
They're so young to the point that it makes me feel weird.
Oh, how old?
28.
They're like, what?
I don't know, like 17 or something.
OK.
I don't know, 16 or something.
Too young to the point where it makes me feel like I'm
a fucking pervert or something.
I don't know.
It's just--
Yeah.
For my self-defense, for my self-defense--
Yeah, OK.
Go ahead.
I started listening to their songs from the music.
Yeah, you're making a CD shape, right?
No, I'm not.
Yeah, I'm making a CD shape.
Yeah, OK.
Their music.
And then their music was so good.
OK, so like Hype Boy, that's good.
What?
Hype Boy.
Hype.
Hype Boy.
Hype Boy.
OK, OK, that's the song title, right?
OK.
Ditto, that's the newest one.
D-I-T-T-O, Ditto.
OK.
That's good, too.
Cookie.
Cookie, OK.
Good.
Attention.
Attention, OK.
That's basically all their songs.
Oh, so four songs.
There's more, but yeah, most of it.
And then I later found out that they were like 16,
and I was like, no, I should stop listening to them.
Oh, OK.
Because they're so young.
Yeah.
And I was like, oh my god, I'm listening
to a 16-year-old song.
Yeah, that's OK.
But like, I couldn't stop.
Their music was so good.
Yeah, that's OK.
So I'm listening to it now, and I love them.
But yeah, that's New Jeans.
New Jeans, OK.
That's their really latest K-pop.
And they have a different vibe.
A lot of the modern, worldwide known K-pop uses a lot of color.
They're vivid with their colors, right?
You know what I'm talking about?
Have you seen any of their music videos?
Very colorful, very--
the video edits that they do, it's
more like computer graphics, more colorful.
OK.
I mean, I can--
yeah, really vivid, and I can imagine that, yeah.
03:02
Their style's more visually quiet, more calmer.
Even though they are that young.
Yeah.
And their vocals aren't that--
I have to be careful how I say this, but not so show-offy
in a good way.
So it's like more--
not like made up or like--
Yeah.
You know?
It's more like live, more like acoustic.
Right.
It's not super high tone, beautiful voice.
It's not a stable vibrato.
It's not a very skillful fake between verses.
It's more--
Right.
More human.
It's like a more soboku.
Yeah, something like that.
And--
Interesting.
Yeah, it's good.
It's good.
Yeah.
OK, so it's like a new group, like new--
that's the new feature.
Yeah, it's a new generation, I feel like.
And it's very exciting.
It's very exciting.
All right.
Very good.
Yeah.
New jeans.
So I've been listening to that.
New jeans.
OK.
New jeans.
That sounds something to me.
New jeans.
Like you, does it ring a bell?
Yeah.
Maybe old songs, old group.
New jeans, kind of.
Yeah, but anyways, yeah.
It's possible that they could have taken their name
from something that happened back a while ago, I guess.
I don't know.
Yeah, I heard, you know, Goto-san, we talked about--
I mean, you talked about K-pop on Goto-san's podcast, right?
Yes.
Some month before.
And since then, Goto-san was kind of
start being interested in K-pop world.
Oh, that's cool.
Yeah, and he kind of dig in some songs.
OK.
For example, the one you introduced.
Yeah, a little bit of Seraphim and all that.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And then he found that there are so many songs that
involved by some Korean producers who had been deeply
into like '80s music, like '70s music.
And then they have those backbones,
and then made it to modern pop songs,
and mix it and present in a modern way using--
not using, but through those idol groups.
So that's what he told me.
So I guess it's more like a revival of the oldies.
That makes sense.
06:00
Yeah.
Like I feel that.
So yeah, so I think New Jeans kind of could be like some--
Like a reference name.
Yeah, maybe.
Possibly.
Yeah.
Possibly.
Yeah, yeah.
So yeah, that's what Goto-san told me.
That's why he kind of interested in K-pop world.
Anything else he said about K-pop I'm interested?
I mean, he's a musician and producer at the same time.
And he produces some Johnny's idol sometimes.
So I think he's more interested in that side,
not like performing or music video side.
So that's maybe a different point of view.
But yeah, that's what he--
mainly he was telling me was kind of producing side.
Like the song is quite actually authentic,
like having strong backbone from those '60s, '70s.
For example, disco songs or like dancing songs.
Well, BTS, of course.
But yeah, so yeah, that's what he said.
OK.
Another thing I want to talk about was XG.
XG.
You know XG?
It's a gold kitaiji.
No, no.
The measurement that we've recently
using in the Premier League.
Oh, no.
No, no, no, no.
XG is like that.
Expectation of gold, I guess.
No, no, no, no.
No.
It's a group.
XG group.
OK.
Girl group.
Yeah.
Well, aside from me loving new jeans--
well, I love new jeans.
But what I also am very surprised and very huge kitai
is XG.
So XG is a--
I don't know how many members there are, but six or seven--
Yeah.
--female group.
It's a brand new group.
I guess it's a new group.
And it's from Japan.
Oh, from Japan?
It's from Avex.
Oh, really?
Yeah.
And many of the members speak Japanese, Korean, and English.
Oh.
And their style of music is very much
similar to what the current popularized K-pop version is
like.
And to me, from my knowledge, they
are the first Japanese group to really go
for that global audience with a similar style of K-pop.
09:03
True.
If you look at their music videos,
they share a similar vibe.
Yeah, and the styles, the colorfulness
that used to hold me.
Yeah, yeah.
And if you also look at their marketing,
how these extra YouTube videos that they put on--
Ah, OK.
The teasers.
Yeah, the teasers.
Right, right.
And the relay dances.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And the cover videos.
If you look at that, the style of marketing is very similar.
And I feel like it's--
wow, this could really be--
maybe this could be like a band that would be known globally,
just like how the BTS, like the TWICE, Blackpink
is known worldwide.
They even have a really good shot at this.
Oh, that's great.
I'm really looking forward to them.
Oh, XG?
XG.
They recently released a rap video.
What?
Like a rap video.
OK.
They're just rapping.
Rap.
Yeah.
So is a song--
Yeah, it's like a five-minute video.
And there's four members in that video.
And one, two, three, four.
Yeah, four.
And each member have their own verses.
And the track is taken from a very different song,
like some other rapper song.
And then they make their own lyric.
And they sing in their own lyric.
Japanese, Korean, and English.
And it's so good.
Oh, really?
It is so amazing.
It's so cool.
And I mean, they have-- they're really talented.
Their vocal skills are very talented.
Yeah.
One of the members sound like a member from Fifth Harmony.
Oh, Camila.
Yeah, Camila.
One of the members look like and sound like Camila.
Look like and sound like.
OK.
OK.
Wow.
OK.
Wow.
Yeah, but they're so talented, man.
Really?
So talented.
The English pronunciation is so on point.
Oh, wow.
I mean, they're all Japanese?
Or like--
I actually don't know.
OK.
Well, maybe they have some different background,
for sure.
But they speak many languages.
And that style of the globalness is so K-pop style.
And I thought, wow.
I'm looking forward.
So now, love them and respect them.
12:05
Yeah, I mean, I think they're going to be really big.
Oh, wow.
XG.
XG.
OK.
So what song do you--
I think they only have two songs out so far.
So quite new.
Yeah.
New born group.
Yeah.
Mascara, that's their most popular one.
And the other one is Tippy Toes.
Tippy Toes, OK.
But yeah.
OK.
And also rap video.
The rap video, that's very viral.
OK.
Very viral.
Oh, viral.
OK.
Yeah.
And I feel like that video, that rap video,
is getting a lot of global attention on TikTok.
OK.
I see a lot of reaction videos of like--
yeah.
So.
Wow.
I feel like that's coming.
OK.
That's my--
My prediction.
--excitement.
Yeah.
OK, great.
Yeah.
XG.
XG.
So proud it's a Japanese brand.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Avax.
True.
Yeah.
Right.
Hope they'll be huge and--
Yeah.
Yeah.
--frock the world.
Yeah.
Right.
Yeah.
Exciting.
All right.
Thanks for listening guys!
Thank you!
