Does Language Of Music Matter? (Mostly Westerns)

We may not be able to understand exactly what people are saying across different languages, humans have evolved to share and express the same basic emotions in similar ways. This allows us to understand each other's facial expressions even if we don't share the same spoken language. So one does not “necessarily have to speak the language to enjoy the music”. For example, KPOP to Americans is considered weird. At first, for me, it was a little bit weird, but then I tried listening to the music. Music is a language that no other language control. Some people may dislike, for example, k-pop because…

it is in a foreign language. But Latino music is making its way into America. I think that k-pop will eventually make its way in.

it is very manufactured. The way that idol groups are formed is by entertainment companies. I guess back in the days, groups were formed by friends who wanted to make music. But shows such as the X-Factor formed One Direction and Little Mix, groups that have made it big in America and around the globe.

some groups do not write their own songs. There are idols who do take part in the composition, lyrics, and arrangement of their songs. Take for example, Seventeen, formed by Pledis Entertainment. Their nickname is “self-producing idols” as one of the members Woozi produces all (maybe the majority of) their songs and the rest of the members take part in the lyrics and composition. All the rappers in the group write their own lines. But remember, some artists give away their songs to others, meaning that not every artist takes part in every song that is attached to their name.

There are multiple reasons why any American could hate K-pop. For example:

Some Americans are racist/xenophobic. They classify any East Asian as Chinese and claim that all K-pop groups and idols look the same.

They don’t understand Korean. Yes, several American pop songs are in Spanish, but Spanish is the second-most spoken language in the US and Americans might be more familiar with the language. This also goes back to the point that some Americans may be racist/xenophobic.

Some Americans criticize male K-pop idols for wearing makeup and appearing feminine. Seeing completely straight, cis males wearing heavy makeup might not be acceptable to ignorant and judgmental Americans.

Culture differences. Some Americans are not accustomed to having so many members in one group.

Some Americans believe that K-pop idols cannot sing or are generally untalented. (Why? Not sure, but my guess relates back to the xenophobia again.)

Music taste. The styles of American pop music versus Korean pop music are completely different. If a person enjoys American pop music, they might not enjoy the more experimental style of K-pop.

Their previous exposure to fans. This might be one of the more major reasons. Some K-pop fans may be obnoxious. For instance, some K-pop fans mention K-pop in places where it is not an appropriate topic. Knowing how annoying these fans are, Americans may grow to hate the music with which they are associated.

Music has no language as long as it can be enjoyed by its beat. Don’t judge music that you have not even tried listening to. It’s wrong to judge other people’s taste in music for what they like. Just because it’s not your taste, doesn’t mean you have to bash the person listening to it and the artist and/or genre. Therefore, music has no specific language. People can enjoy the music they love.