Songs Impossible to Listen to With a Straight Face Anymore Because of K-Pop: Batch #2

Welcome back, Soompiers, to “Songs Impossible to Listen to With a Straight Face Anymore Because of K-Pop.” Thank you so much for the great response to the first batch; I’m thrilled that you all liked it!

My hope is that this segment will incorporate a little bit of humor into Soompi so that our loyal Soompiers will get their weekly chuckle. Or possibly painful “I-can’t-breathe-ow-my-stomach-gosh-I’m-crying-now” laughter. Either one.

Well, without further ado, take a look at our three featured songs today, as well as the featured artists.

1. “Tik Tok” by Ke$ha
“Tik Tok” is one of Ke$ha’s greatest hits, and its popularity was also quite impressive in Korea. SNSD’s Jessica and f(x)’s Krystal collaborated to this song during SMTown’s Live World Tour in 2010, and another SM diva belted out to this song, as well.

Introducing KEY$ha. (Honorable Mention: Onew and Taemin, for moral support and dancing, and Jonghyun, for his vocal featuring) By the way, am I the only one who thinks this is better than the original? Thanks, LiaLee1310 for the suggestion!



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2. “Take You Down” by Chris Brown
I’m not a big Chris Brown fan, but “Take you Down,” was one of the few songs I knew that were by him. Thanks to Kikwang’s “American Dance,” though, oh man….

As an aside, I thought it would be important to note that a) that dance movement is a part of the original choreography of the song, and b) at least 50% of the reason as to why Kikwang’s “American Dance” is so hilarious is the reaction of the Korean audience. The reaction could have very well been completely different in another country.

Things start getting really interesting at 1:00, and by 1:55 I was dying and laughing at the same time. You have been forewarned. Thanks, ininay for the suggestion!



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3. “Like a Man” by Fly To The Sky
Fly To The Sky is THE orginal Korean R&B group, and a lot of newer idols have tried imitating Brian and Hwanhee’s voices, but these two have been the most memorable thus far. Siwon’s imitation of Brian is just funny, and Yong Hwa’s is actually pretty good. Humorous and impressive make quite an interesting combination. They start singing at 0:44.



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And now a chance for redemption!
Below are three clips of Key, Kikwang, and Choi Siwon, respectively, where they aren’t singing in weird pitches or dancing awkwardly on national television or trying to sound like someone else. In other words, take a look at them doing what they’re supposed to be doing: being awesome.

1. Key: “Lucifer” by SHINee



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2. Kikwang: “Fiction” by B2ST



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3. Choi Siwon: “Sorry Sorry” by Super Junior



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*Bonus!*
“Bonamana” by Super Junior
Because this doesn’t exactly fall into the criteria for this segment, I’ve just added it as a bonus clip. I don’t really know how to describe it, so watching and then judging for yourselves will probably be best.



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Hope you all enjoyed the second batch of “Songs Impossible to Listen to With a Straight Face Anymore Because of K-Pop.” Please comment below on your reactions to the three songs. Also, please leave suggestions for future batches. It is only your help that will guarantee the longevity of this segment. Otherwise, I’ll be fresh out of ideas, and the segment will come to a standstill. Thanks!
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Note: This segment isn’t supposed to be exclusive to male idols. It just happens to be that that there aren’t many instances in K-Pop where female idols break out of their shells the way male idols do. This is largely, if not completely, due to the Korean culture, but I’ll save that discussion for a different editorial. If any of you have examples of female idols for this segment, please let me know! I’m not a sexist. I promise!