Asian pop groups have been trying to make inroads into the North American market for years. Wonder Girls, one of the first girl groups of the current Kpop movement, released their second American hit single this year. It is called, Like Money and features Akon.
The first comment about Like Money is that if it played on the radio here, I wouldn't notice. It is just so English. It doesn't quite match what is happening musically right now, but it is so close that I doubt anyone would really notice.
My second comment it that their music video looks like it was really expensive, yet it is not well done. The concept is bad science fiction movie material. The dance scenes were shot from too far away. The car scenes were blurry. The hair was too tight and bun-y. The outfits were... disappointing. And, if I didn't know better, I would say that they were trying to hide that they are Asian. Scratch that. They were trying to hide their Asianess. The rap solo was shot profile style, the car shots were blurry, there were very few close-ups, the hair cuts were bad immitations of Beyonce, and the eye shadow covered up their single eye-lids. They were most definitely trying to hide that they are Asian.
By spending so much time hiding that the Wonder Girls are in fact Asian, the producers of this music video ruined it. The dance could have been shot to look cool and difficult. It wasn't. The costumes could have been shot to make them more flattering. They weren't. The concept could have made more sense. They didn't need a plotline. There is the great big question of why they were in space in the first place. Also, Akon sang almost half the song. Why? The Wonder Girls can sing. That's why they are a group. They are also all pretty, so why no close ups? It's a pity that their North American music video was ruined in order to hide their beautiful Asianess. This music video is a failure on the producer's part.