World of K-Pop: RANIA making a U.S. Advancement

From left: T-ae, Riko, Semi, Xia, Jui, Di

RaNia's management DR Entertainment has announced the U.S. advancement of their sexy female group. Despite only having one hit song with their debut single, "Dr. Feel Good," their company is already planning to ride the wave of overseas interest in K-Pop after the explosive popularity of Psy's "Gangnam Style." If they are taking this risk because of Psy's popularity, I really hope they think twice.

Despite hitting the Billboard #1 spot, being the third-most watched video on YouTube, performing at several exclusive venues and making plans with Justin Bieber's agency, Psy is still more known for his music video and "horse dance" than for his name. Though people are looking deeper into his past discography and work, the American public is still heavily fixed solely on his hit track, "Gangnam Style." We don't know if Psy's song is the first stage to entering and progressing into the American market or a one-hit wonder, but we do know that it's not your typical K-pop music. Though K-Pop is all about trademark dances and catchy songs, the topics tend to be more conservative, and sometimes even corny. Mainstream music in the U.S. values catchy beats, but tends to be more picky in the lyrics- especially if the beats are lacking. Really, popular songs can have lyrics that are generally really shallow and all about having a good time, or thoughtful and deep. Psy is distinguishable because he's willing to make a fool of himself, and his music video has a fresh new concept. As for Rania, they have always portrayed themselves as sexy performers, and honestly, there is no end to the list of sexy female performers/groups already in America. If they want to play the sexy card, they will have to be surprising and sexy, and despite their super seductive dance moves (like in "Dr. Feel good"), have they even seen U.S. rap music videos? Girls are basically having sex in each scene, and with every new music video, it's getting closer to the real thing. I'm sure Rania is plenty talented- but if they can't set themselves apart, they'll just be flailing to fit in.

This is where the agency plays a huge role in marketing the girls. They also must consider where other artists, like BoA, Se7en, Wonder Girls, and even JYJ have failed. For South Korea, an unabashedly sexy girl group is still relatively new (and still a little taboo), so promoting that group image is not a bad idea. Consider Hyuna, who is rising to major success on the image of a sexy idol. It would be a better idea to become popular and have a solid fan-base to fall back on in South Korea first. After all, Psy didn't even think about entering the American market when he created "Gangnam Style," but it's popularity in South Korea spilled over and attracted international audiences. Honestly, if your own nation doesn't recognize you yet, what's the chance that one of the biggest nations will?

Fireworks will handle Rania's management in the States while Empire Records, a subsidary of Universal Records, is set to distribute Rania's productions. For those unaware, Empire Records is a known hip-hop and R&B label in the western states. Their CEO, Mike Williams, resides as the marketing director for Chris Brown, while also having prior experience as a promotion marketing manager at Interscope, aiding in the launch of artists like Eminem. Rania will start their U.S. venture in early November.

After finalizing the contract, Brett Lewis, a layer for Empire Records, stated, "Gangnam Style Korean ladies, RaNia, will break into the American music market. We’ll be watching over them as they grow from a K-Pop girl group to one with a worldwide audience, starting with America. It’s about time that a Korean artist with a brand new sound has come to America."

DR Entertainment noted, "A lot of people in the American music market are taking an interest in K-Pop. It was surprising to find out that they know a lot more about K-Pop than we think. They have so many unexpected promotional ideas which we will slowly reveal as they become confirmed. We’re nervous with this new challenge ahead of us but we’re going to do our best until the end to make sure we earn great results."

I was reluctant to refer to Psy's U.S. success at all, but their lawyer's reference to "Gangnam Style Korean ladies" urged me to contribute my two cents. There really is a huge risk difference between being discovered and purposefully paving your way through a different country. It's great that one of their new representatives sounds so confident and headstrong in his statement, but statements like, "girl group [...] with a worldwide audience, starting with America," sounds like they are being too ambitious. Western countries, particularly the U.S., have the most difficult music markets to break into. Breaking into the mainstream would be even more difficult, seeing as some radio stations only play a repeated list of about 20 hit songs every day. As for marketing, profit strategies for artists are very limited, while staying itself is very expensive. Music sales determine much of your income, while promotional activities that are typical to come by in South Korea, like CF's, variety programs, weekly music programs do not exist in America. Singer-turned actor scenarios are rare- only the most famous or talented artists are even given a chance to star in theatre, drama, film or commercial productions. Media appearances are based largely on formidable popularity and a good agency, so it would be hard pressed to appear on a radio or talk show for promotional interviews. In Korea, you start out as a "rookie" and instantly receive chances to appear on weekly shows or music programs. In America, there's a lot of groveling involved, and you start out as a "nobody." Just look at P. Diddy's "Making a Band (3 & 4)" in his creation of the popular former five-member girl band, Danity Kane. All of them were carefully hand-selected after going through many gruesome eliminating trials to test their performance skills. Despite appearing on a reality TV show and having a quality album produced by formidable Bad Boy Records, it was even more difficult trying to get radio stations to play and recommend their music.

Popular former girl group Danity Kane, who made their debut in 2005 and disbanded in early 2009.

With all this said, I'd like to address DR Entertainment with the questions: What will Rania be able to offer, and how will it set them apart from other popular U.S. artists? Did you consider the popularity you may lose in South Korea if your advancement happens to fall through?

On a positive note, I do hope they find some amazing songwriters and get an opportunity to integrate their multi-ethnic cultures into their music. So far, Rania has released some awesome, sultry R&B tracks like "Dr. Feel Good" and "Killer," so I hope that they'll also produce notable dance tracks in the future.

Check out some of their previous tracks below. Do you think RaNia has what it takes to take on the U.S.?