Rania --- a South Korean experiment in Crazy, Sexy, Cool

I initially read about the new girl-idol group, Rania, by reading through my usual Kpop blogs. Apparently they stunned the Kpop world with their debut --- since nobody could really stop writing about them! What got me curious was that this group was being met with a whole lot of bad PR about them being too sexy.

It was pretty obvious that they were gunning for that image when I got to see their pictures online. 7 pretty Asian girls clad in pointy, black, leather two-piece mini's. That's pretty much a fantasy come true for most straight guys (hehehe!). Even for a gay guy, I have to admit they're hot.

The girls of Rania (not in any particular order): Semi, Riko, Jui, Di, Joy, T-ae, and Xia

So... ok... they've got the looks. They were able to sell themselves visually to me. Now I wanted to sample their music.

Their debut album's lead track is an electro-pop single titled "Dr. Feel Good". Sort of reminded me of another American album (which is funny, since one of their producers is Teddy Riley, who's a pretty bad-ass producer himself in the US), but I didn't want that to distract me.

When I listened to the song for the first time, two things caught my attention:

First --- THEIR ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION IS GREAT! Most Kpop artists would always insert some English phrase into their pop tunes to make it sound more impressive or current for some reason. Sadly enough, a lot of these efforts lack good execution and skill. But these girls knew how to speak the words rather fluently. I was impressed by that!

Second --- The song wasn't your usual Kpop tune. It was electro-pop (which is the rage right now in Korea), but the bass and the underbelly rhythm of the music had a strong pop-rock-slash-hip-hop feel to it. I guess that added to the dark sensuality of the music.

Now if they're so good, why all the darn flack?

I guess people got hung up on the fact that the girls are "too sexy". Ok... take a look at these lyrics from the first part of the song...


Doctor, doctor I felt it the first time
I knew what you were thinking by looking at me
Honestly, I didn't dislike the stares you gave me
My body started shaking like I waited for it


I need a fi-fi-fi-fix
Some type of d-d-d-drug
The Doctor came close to me
And his eyes suddenly changed
You have a special interest in me
You got me feelin f-f-f-feelin' feelin...


Doctor, Doctor Feel Good
Come make me feel real good
My hardened heart has started to melt
Doctor, Doctor Feel Good
Come make me feel real good
Suddenly the frustration in my heart is gone
I wanna feel real good
I need to feel real good
I wanna feel real good
'Cause I've been really bad bad


If that didn't spell out S-E-X on a silver platter, I don't know what will!

Now watch the video and the dance (with English subtitles, of course)...

Honestly, if you're used to American videos and music, you begin to tell yourself that this is just an absolutely well-made song. A song with great strong voices combined with a catchy rhythm is bound to make a splash anywhere it drops, right?

In South Korea, that line of thinking may not necessarily apply. I've seen the Korean concept of "sexy", and it's a bit less forward that what I've seen Rania do in their videos and TV appearances. Based on what I've been reading in the major Kpop blogs, major stations like KBS, SBS and music mogul MNET have asked the producers of Rania, DR Music (which apparently also produced the famous girl group BabyVOX back in the late 90's and the early part of the last decade), to tame both their costumes and choreography. Their reply was a black leather bolero on their shoulders. I wouldn't even be surprised if the networks also requested for a "clean" version of the song.

Rania basically pushed a button that most girl groups have been pushing for some time --- a little bit more "crazy, sexy, cool" in the Kpop biz. Many groups have done it --- SNSD, Kara, BEG, Secret, 4Minute --- name it, they're tried it! I guess Rania may have pounded on the button a little harder than others, but I guess it was bound to happen at some point. With the influx of Western media through the internet and its great influence over the tides of world music and pop culture, a group like Rania would basically exemplify the push and pull of pop and traditional values.

To say the least, Rania was a great risk for both DR Music and Teddy Riley. Time will only tell if the risk was well worth it.

For now, the song is playing in my Kpop favorites list. It's a cool, hot song... can't help it ^^,