21 Mar 2019: Dreamcatcher, the day to be called ‘female BTS’ is not far off? Assessing the reason behind their worldwide attention
Dreamcatcher, the day to be called ‘female BTS’ is not far off? Assessing the reason behind their worldwide attention
Dreamcatcher, a 7-member girl group that is unique in its heavy rock sounds, is currently garnering attention all around the world.
This statement may make some go “aren’t you exaggerating a bit?”. However, the data doesn’t lie. Their earlier Korean album, “The End of Nightmare’, (Lead track ‘PIRI’) reached 5th place on the iTunes worldwide album chart (February 24th 2019, Survey by Kworb), trailing (such artists as) Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, and Queen. The youtube views of videos related to them also reached over 60 million. They also reached the top 10 in the album charts of 27 countries, while also coming in at 6th place in the Billboard Top World Albums Chart, accomplishing top-level achievements for a Korean girl group.
When we say a female Korean artist ‘found success overseas’, it often seems to be about achievements in Japan and the Sinese region, including Taiwan and Hong Kong, or in southeast Asia such as Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia. However, Dreamcatcher’s popularity isn’t confined to a specific region. The countries where ‘The End of Nightmare’ was popular are spread over diverse regions, including not only the aforementioned areas, but also Oceania (Australia, New Zealand), Central and Southern America (Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Mexico), Europe (Austria, Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, Czech, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Finland, Portugal, Russia), the middle east (UAE, Turkey) and so on. Their popularity is ‘world-wide’, in the literal sense.
Why are they garnering so much support, then? To name the one reason, it’d be that they appreciated the two sides – visuals and sounds – in the visual image shared by the world. To transcend borders presenting a stylized appeal, apparent in the colorful live performances from the members, adorned in dazzling costumes, as well as in the emotional melody lines that sport intense instrumentals, to a wide range of generations in an easy to understand way. Pursuing this goal in reality often makes for bland results or overly fringe results. It’s a difficult balance to strike, but Dreamcatcher managed to pull it off without much trouble.
The fact that they pursued originality as well as ease of understanding is another point that can’t be dismissed. Their sound is based on hard rock, reminiscent of northern European metal and easy to approach. On top of that, they added the moist vocals and sharp beats which are staples of K-Pop, as well as their lyrics and visuals done in the nightmare concept, creating a completely unique style. Their charm, so unique, but with much potential to appeal overseas, spread throughout the world in a blink of an eye. This popularity was behind the hit of the new album and their new song PIRI.
While it could be said that their rapid rise to stardom is due to the uniqueness of their sounds, it is certain that the down-to-earth personalities of the members also played a large part. Their true selves aren’t different from what’s seen on television and other media – kind and cool. As such, we’ve heard that they are adored by other girl groups and singers as well. Their friendliness during events is famous, and thanks to their friendly reception towards everyone who attends their events, the number of fans is also steadily rising. Their good personalities shouldn’t be overlooked as a reason for their breakthrough to success.
Seemingly riding an upwards momentum, Dreamcatcher released their 2nd Japanese single, ‘PIRI ~Fue wo Fuke~ -Japanese ver.-’ on March 13th, as if to spur their own momentum on further. The track of the same name is a song which is set in the same world of the original ‘PIRI’ while adding Japanese lyrics. Against carefully arranged gothic metal sounds, the track sings about how humans try to escape loneliness and anxiety. With this single, they are set to break preconceptions about K-POP girl groups in Japan, and enter a new phase as the only ones like themselves.
Sounds, visuals, personalities, all of these factors worked positively towards Dreamcatcher’s world-wide popularity. Ever since their debut, they have built up a unique position with their unique sounds and overwhelming performances. Seeing how their popularity reach a world-wide scale, we find ourselves thinking that the day they are christened ‘female BTS’ may not be far off.
Please do not take translation without credit
Original Source: Real Sound