KELCEY LORENZO WRITES – The Korean Wave, or Hallyu, will be crashing over mainstream American television through Nickelodeon’s new TV musical comedy, “Make It Pop.”
The television network and co-producers Nick Canon and Thomas W. Lynch describe the show as “a comedic, music-infused daily strip about three unique girls who come together to start their own K-Pop-inspired band.”
Megan Lee, YouTube sensation and Korean solo singer who debuted in 2014, will be playing one of the leads in the series. Her character, Sun Hi, is an aspiring pop star and a master of social media.
Although the show appears to be a great way to garner more attention for the already growing music genre, international K-Pop fans were not so ecstatic when the initial news first broke. Online petitions were made to stop the show from airing and fans have been posting their distaste for the show on various social media, saying the show will “degrade the genre and its fans” and that K-Pop “is much more than the music.”
This is not Nickelodeon’s first attempt to break K-Pop into mainstream American television. In 2012, girl group Wonder Girls released a one-hour, self-titled television movie and received not so positive reviews from both fans and general viewers.
Maybe this K-Pop inspired show will be an effective way to ease American audiences into the world of K-Pop – or, perhaps, K-Pop is meant to stay true to its South Korean roots.
“Make It Pop” is set to premiere in April on Nickelodeon.