Vernon of K-pop group Seventeen has some thoughts about the evolution of the genre and how it’s starting to closely mirror its American counterpart.
“I feel like K-Pop sounds more and more like American pop instead of K-Pop,” the 28-year-old explained in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
“It makes me want to go back to the 2000s or early 2010s,” he added, bringing up a few acts from the era he considered to have unique sounds.
Vernon also shared why he thinks the music sounds so similar now.
“I think it’s because K-pop producers always try to bring American sounds to K-pop and make it their own thing,” he said. “I think that right now, they got to the point that they’re too good, and you can’t differentiate between K-pop and pop.”
“I think that makes a lot of people want to go back to the old K-pop,” he concluded.
Elsewhere in the interview, Vernon spoke about how the American pop group LMFAO inspired the lead single, “Singasong,” from his new album V8, made in collaboration with fellow Seventeen member The 8.
“I went to a Korean middle school, but even in Korea, everyone was infected by [‘Party Rock Anthem’]. Every time a period ended, I went out to the hallway, and everybody would be just shuffling nonstop like crazy,” Vernon said.
“After finishing our song, ‘Singasong,’ I knew we had to dance for this, but I kept contemplating what kind of dance we should do,” he added. “Then I saw Romance Planet, which is a different musician who shuffles to his own music, and that really inspired me to maybe just bring back the ‘Party Rock Anthem’ shuffle.”
