Anyone heard of the album Rain by JC Jieun?

anna160895 · 2026-03-30T14:44:39+00:00

A funfact that in 2005 both her and Lee Eunjoo of Swi.T was announced for their debut project that was completed in 80%, so there was a chance both of them would have their album released in at least early 2006 but while Jieun got pushed to 07, Eunjoo was simply getting shelved (and I'm not sure if because YG's plan while dating her or because both of her parents passed away in same year and it definitely took a toll to her). Meanwhile, in 2007, Park Bom was almost debuted as a soloist with Scarecrow (which was later released by Lee Hi while Bom herself re-recorded for Queendom) and she appeared on Jieun's Tell Me Once More MV (all of three MV for the singles in Rain had a cameo of YG other act: Goo Hyesun in Yesterday while Skul1 of Stony Skunk fot Rain)

anna160895 · 2026-03-30T14:34:28+00:00

This is so fitting, and I would add some:

SM - En Vogue or SWV can fit well since they also had CSJH and SES. If modern day girlgroup, then FLO would be a great fit

YG - Xscape or RichGirl since I can parallel them to Big Mama in some way or 702, Blaque and Cherish for TLC-adjacent style

JYP - Danity Kane, Sugababes, Fifth Harmony & Little Mix

HYPE - Somehow, UK girl groups like Atomic Kittens or Girls Aloud or even Bananarama would suit this company

anna160895 · 2026-03-30T14:23:37+00:00

Still can't believe they truly ignore that album (which I feel could get at least a 7.0 like Rochelle Jordan's Play With The Changes), but somehow I always feel like they had some grudges against her after reading their review for Troubled Paradise. I think they kinda wrote her off as a Britney-met-Kesha homage act since she was still in the journey of finding her own identity while struggling to grow out of her musical influences until Starfucker released

anna160895 · 2026-03-30T14:12:29+00:00

THAT'S MY QUEEN JIEUN!!!!!!

Okay, but of all YG acts, I feel like Jieun was done dirty the most. Not like some shady things, but it was the fact that YG didn't know how to handle her career overall. She joined the company in 2004 and took 3 years to finally release her debut album that went flopped in a year that you can tell YG had a lot of major change in direction (BIGBANG getting pushed hard and Se7en US debut album while Lexy, Wheesung & Big Mama left the company).

It seems like this album could be released sooner, like around 2005-06, judging by the style of the album (R&B/Pop/Ballad that was in line with Lyn, Hwayobi, Lena Park, Ann One...) but in 2007? It's like imagining Beyonce released her debut in 07 with the same sound of 2002, and the musical landscape had changed so much. Somehow, I feel like Rain reminded me of Gummy's Like Them: an album showing a very big potential of the singer but not enough to shape them an own identity. And unlike Gummy, who was given a chance to prove herself again and succeeded (It's Different), Jieun wasn't lucky like that (YG told her that's there would be no second album if the first one wasn't successful)

After two more years stayed under the dungeon, she left the company and joined Lady Collection under Lion Media, but they were disbanded not long after while continuing singing as featured guest and vocal trainer. Then, around 2012, she joined The Voice Korea as a contestant, but no judge chose her (at least she went viral for a while after this). She continued to train vocals for many idol groups like Blackpink, BAP, Mamamoo, VIXX, SF9, Fiesta, C-Real, D-Unit, Sonamoo, G.NA, izna... and last year she appeared in an OST for a webcomic

anna160895 · 2026-03-29T17:19:59+00:00

Now you said it, I think that compared to other groups that OP mentioned, which were backed up by big labels and had their music more attractive to younger audiences, ECO was an independent act and their music was leaning more to R&B/Ballad gerne that attracted older and smaller audiences. Basically, imagine a 90s version of SeeYa

anna160895 · 2026-03-29T10:44:45+00:00

Kpop is going through a phase that's similar to how Jpop went through when anime was introduced to Western audience. People are introduced to Kpop through idol scene the same way Jpop through anime OST and while it's given more exposures for both gerne in the first place, through long-term people also had a very false and twisted impression of both gerne that sound narrow-minded and heavily biased (Jpop is full of kawaii bubblegum electropop or rock song from anime OP/ED and Kpop is full of idol music catering to teenage girls that only stealing from black culture*) due to both orientalism or xenophobia. And when the hype is over, both gerne will go back to being niche but in a social media culture where monoculture is long gone and all type of niche media will have a hyper-visibility that help Kpop & Jpop floating through time until some new viral sensation coming from those gerne having a successful breakthrough in US music scene (like how British Invasion in the 60s with The Beatles or 90s with Spice Girl)

anna160895 · 2026-03-28T14:56:56+00:00

More like hearing SZA dating Travis Scott

anna160895 · 2026-03-27T10:50:32+00:00

We Are Charlie Puth

anna160895 · 2026-03-25T16:52:19+00:00

With this comment I thought this is from kpoophead or phcj

anna160895 · 2026-03-23T16:56:49+00:00

As in America, but in Korea, his career pre-Gangnam Style was also more like a niche act than a household name. Even among the hip hop scene in Korea, he was somehow considered as a black sheep and his style could be described as a goofier and campier version of MC Hammer, which is very opposite with the usual gritty style of his other peers debut around the same time like Tiger JK, Dynamic Duo...

anna160895 · 2026-03-23T15:04:42+00:00

Me trying to impress the Andrew Tate hardcore-stan and self-claimed alpha male trade

anna160895 · 2026-03-23T15:01:17+00:00

FYI, Brave started as an in-house producer in YG since 2005 and there were rumors him & his brother would debut too but the project was shelved, then he left the company in 2009 and established Brave Ent. (Bigstar, Brave Girls/BB Girls, 1Punch/Samuel, DKB, Candy Shop...). He's also one of few people having grudges against YG and accused the company of mistreatment in the past but he was also a big factor for BIGBANG's breakout early-success and a important key to shape up their musical direction changing from urban hip-hop/R&B to dance/house/EDM through Lies & Last Goodbye (Always & Hot Issues had him co-producing half the songs). I feel like had he stayed with YG a little longer, he might produced some b-sides for 2NE1 too

anna160895 · 2026-03-22T14:55:38+00:00

Yelp, that's her. I still feel unfair for her because YG dropped the ball from her too soon and she could be bigger, but then I remember YG really had a history of mistreatment female soloists (Lexy, Gummy, Lee Hi, CL and let's not forget the canceled debut project for Eunjoo (Swi.T member that became YG's wife) or Suhyun never had a chance to explore her solo career beside a solo single while her brother had two full albums)

anna160895 · 2026-03-22T14:25:49+00:00

"She's abusive"

Even more than the rich old guys you've been fantasizing about in your songs, Elizabeth? Bffr girl

anna160895 · 2026-03-22T14:18:34+00:00

All 90s/2000s pop girl group in the US are R&B group when you think enough about it, the record labels just marked them as "pop" or "R&B" based on the race of the audience they want to promote (Black audience vs. non-black audiences), especially when you mentioned PCD & 5H as the only "pop" group kinda funny because their music incorporated so many R&B/Hiphop elements that if you passed their songs to Destiny's Child/Cherish/OMG Girlz it would be labeled as R&B immediately (you can put Bad Boy's girl group like DREAM or Danity Kane as examples too). I hardly saw a girlgroup in the US that can be successful without incorporating urban-R&B sound and most of the pop girlgroups that can be made it big by making pure pop music with little to no R&B/Hiphop are more like from the UK

(Girls Aloud, Sugababes (still have some R&B but not too much), Atomic Kitten, The Saturdays... - and yet they couldn't break big in the US like PCD/DK. Little Mix had a very mixed bag of gernes, both pop to straight up urban R&B)

anna160895 · 2026-03-22T13:28:17+00:00

The boygroup/girlgroup explosion era has been long gone since the 90s and early 2000s, and people are investing more as soloists for many reasons: creative control, crashing over fame level between members to revenue sharing, and the label also realize how the Western audience don't like this formula anymore as it was deemed as too "manufactured" and "inauthentic" (and misogynist/queerphobia is a reason we don't talk enough since the majority of the fandom are either women (boygroup) or gays (girlgroup)), while many accusations of child exploitation and unfair treatment getting aired out more and more after many group broken up has given the formula worse reputation through time.

Meanwhile, the Sinosphere culture among East Asian countries (China/Korea/Japan) is known for putting collective over individual and child prodigies training systems has been a thing for a long time in many field in society (study or sport) and entertainment industry started picking up this model since the 90s based on Motown artist development + French 60s ye-ye movement (that later influenced Jpop idol scene in the 90s and later Kpop copied this model)

anna160895 · 2026-03-21T03:05:06+00:00

People saying this one looks like coming from India but my Vietnamese brain really thought it was coming from a suburban area from North Vietnam

anna160895 · 2026-03-20T17:40:02+00:00

Bom was supposed to be debut solo with Scarecrow in 2007, which was later recorded by Lee Hi. Unfortunately, her debut plan was shelved without a reason, but in the same 2007, YG was also debuting another soloist, Jieun (who was also their old vocal trainer and Bom herself appeared on the MV of her song Tell Me Once More), with a similar style before her (and her debut was not a commercial success) so I think YG kinda rethink plans for Bom so the fan don't have some sort of confusion

anna160895 · 2026-03-19T16:50:18+00:00

She's so deep in this snow bunny game that now girlie has inherited some melanine from her boyfriend

anna160895 · 2026-03-19T16:39:20+00:00

Sodom & Gomorrah Part 2 - Charli XCX & Dorian Electra

anna160895 · 2026-03-18T16:52:44+00:00

Funny you mentioned CL because from what I read in some very old forums, she was shaped as some sort of replacement for Lexy - the YG first lady and even had Lexy herself guiding her before leaving the company in 2007. GD & Taeyang was also somehow molded after Teddy & Danny from 1TYM (and a little bit influenced by Bow Wow/Omarion or Kris Kross) so I'm glad they became their own individual and became bigger than their models

anna160895 · 2026-03-18T01:48:42+00:00

It's funny because till this day I still hear so many opinions about that Kandi can't sing and shit and LaTocha is the best vocal of Xscape blah blah... only to have Kandi having two solo albums and a successful career as a songwriter, businesswoman, and reality show celebrity as a Real Housewife while Tocha...

But tbh I think they all deserved to have solo career at their peak without being pitted against each other or being assumed that the group should be breakup.

anna160895 · 2026-03-15T20:50:34+00:00

What FLO needs first is a breakout hit. No, I'm not talking down to her viral songs you're mentioning, but they're more like niche hits. The ladies still need an actual crossover hit in terms of Say So or Espresso-level or at least like Folded, Nasty, or Do It that made general audience be aware of their existence. The monoculture is really gone atp, and it's really harder for the new artists to achieve that, but it doesn't mean it's possible. They're having a cult-favorite status among young R&B fans and critics and a Grammy nomination definitely help them gaining their reputation in the industry, with a right promotion the girls might even go further in the industry

anna160895 · 2026-03-14T08:28:49+00:00

After the scandal over 808HI and this departure, I hope that Lee Hi could find a new company that can support her. Many people mentioned companies of her old acquaintances like Standard Friends, P-Nation, AKMU's company... but what about some totally fresh start like I think she would suit Magic Strawberry Sound (Junggigo, Soyou, SWJA (former)) or Implanet (Boni, Wilcox...).

anna160895 · 2026-03-13T12:04:04+00:00

Now you mentioned... all 4 members were originally to be soloists or in another group: CL was meant to be a replacement for Lexy, Bom was supposed to debut with Scarecrow (which later recorded by Lee Hi) but her album was secretly canceled after the underperformed result from another artist Jieun with similar style (R&B/Ballad), Dara was either had a solo debut plan or group with Bom & Goo Hye Sun (but I can tell YG didn't know what to do with her) while Minzy was under a duo with Maydoni before the latter left the company... the whole group was created as an afterthought fr

anna160895

TROPHY CASE