Minty Gal

For the last few years, my love for K-pop has grown exponentially. I am just amazed at what these artists can show us artistically. I am drawn to the music. Each concept usually highlights all the things I love, unbothered by the restraints of gender. The overall styling, including the makeup and fashion, is always a breath of fresh air. Thus locking me in because how can you not?

As much as I am drawn to this style of music I can’t help but feel conflicted due to the industry’s dark side, which has been brought to light in recent years. The crazy and toxic fandoms, the shipping and comparing visuals of idols, the romanticizing of unhealthy diets, and the strange parasocial relationships the genre creates frustrate me. Oh and let’s not forget the overwhelming amounts of cyberbullying and “scandals” that happen because you are no longer a human if you are an entertainer. It becomes tough to ignore, fueling a constant push-and-pull relationship within myself. Do I stop supporting something because I don’t support the lack of ethics around it? Or do I simply support the idols’ creative projects (which they usually have little say in) because they are living out their dream that they worked unbelievably hard to achieve? The inner debate continues but I root for individuals who work hard for their dreams and their relentless pursuit to make them come true. The amount of resilience these artists have to continue to pursue their dreams after a long, uncertain journey inspires me to never give up. Therefore, I still listen to K-pop and am always excited when a new group pops into my feed. That group is XLOV.

Let’s talk about XLOV. A 4-member group (soon to be 5?) under 257 Entertainment that includes Wumuti, Rui, Haru, and Hyun. A recent discovery after the YouTube algorithm blessed me with their debut song “I’mma Be” which dropped on January 7th this year. Remember what I mentioned earlier about the styling and being unbothered by gender constraints? Well, that was on full display, giving a very Taemin vibe. When you are in the same sentence as the legendary Taemin, things are heading in the right direction. Just look at the comments under their videos. Simply said, we are here for it.

The styling (those finger waves I can’t get over), the crystals strategically put on the guy’s faces… just wow. Granted this is not a new idea, but you can’t deny they looked pretty damn good. All the moody outfit changes matched the choreography well without being too much. The catchy song left you wanting more which, in my book, is considered a success in a very saturated market.

Waiting for the next song to come out because this will be on repeat until I get sick of it.

Still waiting for that day to come though…