The problem with K-pop? The songs are a minor cog in a monstrous machine |
The problem with K-pop? The songs are a minor cog in a monstrous machine
In this column, we deliver hot (and cold) takes on pop culture, judging whether a subject is overrated or underrated.
May 30, 2026 — 3:30am
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Back when I was a helpless tweenage sponge, the coolest boy band on Earth was called The Sweet and Ballroom Blitz was the peak of pop factory perfection. From electrifying drum intro to metallic guitar riff, coy verse to barking mad bridge and slam-dunk chorus, each hook launched off the last like a precision NASA operation.
Catching it on TV was like crash-landing in the future high on cordial. The hair! The glitter! The singer’s cherry-red sequinned ensemble! I was drunk on the witchy man-girl in the satin cape, the drummer’s tinfoil pants and lipstick, and the strange, thrilling way the whole thing moved. The Sweet were a gang. The gang included me.
I share this cherished memory to illustrate why BTS, whose “largest global K-pop tour of all time” hits Australia next February, makes perfectly fabulous sense to me. The factory has been assembling gangs to dazzle children since Motown. BTS and their countless production-line clones and foils are the future now.
The best K-pop delivers that Ballroom Blitz sugar-hit in hi-res 3D. Styling, choreography and hooks are built for meme-length........