Ask Me About Kpop

It's a Kpop tale as old as time, and now it has hit us very close to home. A girl group that should have been huge and deserved better has been unceremoniously disbanded. So we have to make an episode about them to process our grief. Weki Meki, you were so special to us, and we wish you had been special to Fantagio. Thank you for everything. You will live on in our hearts and our playlists for always!! Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0khiwDzVkDGcQefeezi53r?si=4726894cdf624c12

We're back with yet another Patreon chosen deep dive! And this week the group in the spotlight is Highlight, formerly known as B2ST! Tune in for 15 years of Kpop history that span from the most 2nd gen anything could possibly be, all the way to like...a month ago. Filled with a ton of really great music, drama between members and their company, crazy haircuts and shirt ripping, serious scandal, and persevering through all of it! Happy almost 15th anniversary Highlight! We're proud of you for sticking to it!!!

It's time once again to go back and look at the Korean music scene 20 years ago. And after doing these for 5 years, 2004 might be the oddest year yet? And not because the music is super crazy... but because there's barely any Kpop or Kpop adjacent songs! So come with us to explore this strange vast desert of a time when the 1st gen was solidly over, but the 2nd gen hadn't even really started. Don't worry, there's still plenty of weird hairstyles to look at. Playlist of MVs and Stages: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-8Wdlv0O5P7D3XonLtC3V1Yo3Ca1ZqHI&si=1zkjPJcDq3uur6bn

In 2021, when Brave Girls shot onto the charts, a phenomenon known as 'The Millboard Chart' came into public consciousness. So today, we're going to explore the Korean military's effect on Kpop girl groups and soloists. Tune in to learn all about 'Military Presidents' from all throughout history, starting in the 1960s and on. We'll learn about the types of groups and songs that soldiers go crazy for, and how they have helped push more unknown groups into the spotlight!

Y'all know we love any excuse to make a SHINee ep, and this is a really good one!!!! The SHINee 15th anniversary movie is now available with English subtitles so you know we had to watch it (several times)!!! Tune in for a full recap of the movie, including a key for figuring out which SHINee World concerts each stage is from, getting teary eyed over displays of old technology, reveling in the honest and funny stories that SHINee tells, and of course enjoying flawless concert performances that we've never seen in HD before. Then, we get a little in our feels about some uncomfy omissions and feelings that got brought up in the aftermath of watching, and hear a voicemail from one of our listeners! If you watch the movie, please tell us what you think!! We really truly want to know!!!

How do you thank the person responsible for writing the song that changed your life as a fangirl forever? That's what we had to figure out this week as we welcomed the one and only Chikk to the podcast!! Chikk has written dozens of Kpop mega hits including SHINee's 'Don't Call Me', NCT127's 'Kick It' and of course our EXO gateway, 'Monster'!!!! We ask her all about her career in Kpop starting with getting thrown right into the deep end of an SM writing camp, creative perseverance, the freedom that is making music, and wait til you find out her EXO bias (Shannon actually screamed). Thank you so much Chikk for coming on the podcast and sharing your stories with us! We were truly geeking out to the highest degree. Chikk's Credits Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6PrBVodchfY5uUDVwrvflh?si=ca3f957d319048f5

This week, AMAK is proud to welcome the incredibly talented and unbearably adorable girl group, Weeekly!!! We'll start out with an infamous AMAK group "snorkel" into their career with member intros and a quick timeline rundown. Then it's time to hear from Weeekly themselves! We discuss our incredibly similar music tastes, skateboard lessons, stage fright, communicating without actually talking, and a very special announcement! Thank you thank you to the lovely ladies of Weeekly for being the first girl group to come on the pod! Also big thank yous to IST, Lobeline, our in room translator Aiden, our post translator Kate, and Dana Wickens for being the voice of our audio subtitles.

It's flashback time again and the time machine is taking us to the year 2014, which might have been huge for Kpop drama, but it was also huge for GREAT FRIGGIN SONGS! Listen along as we freak out exponentially from stage to stage because this one is ALL BOPS OKAY?!?!(This episode has the video playing underneath so you don't have to watch at the same time, but you might want to!!)

It's flashback time again and the time machine is taking us to the year 2014, which might have been huge for Kpop drama, but it was also huge for GREAT FRIGGIN SONGS! Listen along as we freak out exponentially from stage to stage because this one is ALL BOPS OKAY?!?!(This episode does not contain video audio as it is meant to sync up with the video commentary style!)