Episode 53: Ninety One and the Global Appeal of Adorkable
In this episode I speak with Jessica Doyle from the Singles Jukebox and of the fantastic Ninety One Series. Her series is ostensibly about the Kazakhstani boy group Ninety One but it also goes deeper into the nature of idol pop and idol pop fandom. I really enjoyed reading it.
We discuss Bollywood (check my Bollywood for Beginners posts here), the nature of culturally specific media, how it would cost to have Shahrukh Khan at your wedding, Melissa Johnson’s Kpop blog, the pushback against “feminine” men re: Ninety One (with the caveat that Radio Free Europe is considered the American equivalent of Russia Today) and in China, Shahrukh Khan’s infamous rose petal Lux ad and the response in India, Pakistani band Jal (I’d also recommend people check out Coke Studio), “Taboo” ft. Ирина Кайратовна review of their American tour, the trailer for To The Ends of the Earth which was filmed in Uzbekistan, Ninety One carpool karaoke, Totsuka Shota’s essay series, L’s dating “scandal” (the dating was the scandal), the “Oreo” controversy, and the Epik High scandal.
ETA: A few more links—the Qpop “Bollywood” song, Jessica on EXID and 4 Minute, QPop translations on YouTube, the Making of “Bata” with English Subtitles, Ninety One tumblr fan account, and a Ninety One focused playlist for Spotify if you too would like to join the .01%.
The songs played are:
“Dil Se Re” from Dil Se (1998) [The film is available on Netflix and I highly recommend it.]
“Bata” by Ninety One
“I Me Mine” by 4 Minute
“Bad Boy” by BigBang
“Айыптама” by Ninety One
“Good Boy” by AZ (Cover of GD x Taeyang “Good Boy” on K-Top Idols)
“Dschinghis Khan” by Dschinghis Khan (and check out the great cover by Finnish band Leningrad Cowboys)
“History Maker” by Dean Fujioka
“Кеш менi” by ORDA
“Nice Weather” by Ninety One
“Yes I am” by Mamamoo x Ninety One (live on Korean television show I Can See Your Voice) [QPop Translations video is here.]
“Yeski Taspa Bii'“ by Ninety One
“Bring Back the Time” by New Kids On The Black (feat. En Vogue, Salt-n-Pepa, Rick Astley)
“Men Emes” by Ninety One
"SEÑORITA" by Ninety One
“eMoji” by Ninety One
“E.Yeah” by Ninety One
“Graceful Runner” by A.B.C-Z
“E.Yeah” by Ninety One
“Ah!Yah!Mah!” by Ninety One
“Men Emes” by Ninety One
“DARN” by Ninety One
“ABUSE” by Ninety One
“eMoji” by Ninety One