BACK TO K-POP’S FIRST GENERATION: A4 – Chance

K-Pop’s first generation is often referenced as the foundation for the industry we enjoy now, but there aren’t enough good English-language sources that give its music the focus it deserves. I’m hoping to change that with a continuing flashback series, spotlighting personal highlights from the era – both iconic and obscure.

The era in question is often considered to run from the debut of Seo Taiji & Boys in 1992 to the emergence of TVXQ in late 2003. The music featured in this series will largely fit within that time frame, give or take a few years on either side.

It was a time of bonkers song structures, wild fashion, slamming techno beats, bad reggae impressions, flagrant use (theft?) of American hip-hop samples, hearty power ballads, foul language, the growliest rapper tones you can imagine and an anything-goes scrappiness that’s impossible to pigeonhole. To borrow the name of a popular second-gen act, these years were the “big bang” of an emerging musical powerhouse, still finding its footing and throwing everything at the wall.

Check out other “Back to K-pop’s First Generation” reviews here.

As a huge fan of certain second/third gen producers, I’m always looking for clues to which sounds or songs they may have been inspired by. My love for Sweetune is well-known and, listening to first-gen K-pop, it’s clear they took much inspiration from this era’s melodies and musical approaches.

A4’s Chance is not a Sweetune composition, but damn if it’s chorus doesn’t sound like one. This particular tone and bright melodic structure echoes so many of the team’s lighter pop efforts, making it feel like a forebearer of their sound.

A4 were a trio of Korean-Americans (they were actually a quartet for a short time with member Wheesung, who went on to have a very successful solo career), debuting in 1999 and disbanding in 2001. For those simply taking a quick glance, they’re probably most notable for their long hairstyles. Their second album Miracle’s Happen (not sure what’s happening with that apostrophe…) has a few bangers and one absolutely filthy track. Sometimes I wonder if English-speaking idols at the time were simply taking advantage of the industry’s lost-in-translation ignorance and slipping in super inappropriate lyrics whenever they could. There’s no other explanation for going from squeaky-clean pop to “suck my #$^&” hip-hop within the space of one album.

Anyway… Chance. Chance is great! The bright, bouncy chorus gives way to a super-satisfying guitar flourish, giving its pop sound unexpected grit. It’s more of a footnote than a classic from the era, but the more I’ve listened to it the more enjoyable it grows. And yeah, the Sweetune-ness of the chorus is really hard to beat.

(The audio on the official music video is terrible, so I recommend listening to the other links as well)

Grade: B+