Moderator: Blair Smith, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Ya-Hui Cheng, “The Stylish Red Nationalism in C-pop Culture”
Red has historically symbolized luck and ecstasy in premodern China. In modern times,
socialists have adopted red to represent nationalism across all aspects of the humanities and arts
under red regimes, as evident in propaganda entertainment productions. Red movies, songs, and
literature signify a genre that encapsulates socialist nationalism. Traditionally, those red cultural
productions often draw from folklore, illustrated in the musical The East is Red (1964), which
was produced in China as a tribute to Mao Zedong. After the socialist regimes collapsed in the
1990s, stylish red nationalism faded worldwide, except in China. There, leaders adopted
socialism with Chinese characteristics to push socioeconomic reforms forward. China’s success
in reform has helped sustain and promote the stylish red nationalism that has gradually
permeated the cultural industries. More C-pop musicians now create innovative red music, often
blending elements of folk and theater with pop. Some of this music serves as theme songs for
patriotic movies or television dramas. Unlike earlier red productions that primarily focused on
conveying propaganda, the latest red music captures daily intimate activities, binding audiences
with shared sociocultural recollections while showcasing China’s soft power.
As China’s entertainment industry now shapes Chinese mass culture worldwide, these red
cultural productions also reach and engage audiences in the free world. How can these latest pop-
style red productions, with their nationalist themes presented in music and text, resonate with
global Chinese generations? This paper explores stylish red pop musical productions and the
changing interpretation of nationalism in C-pop culture. By studying and contrasting the sonic
components, textual implications, and the use of red nationalism in music productions from
before the reform to now, I demonstrate how the latest notions of stylish red nationalism in C-
pop connect with ancient Chinese glory, promoting cultural sustainability, which transcends
previous socialist nationalism to garner global support.
Wesley Park, “Y2K Is Back! How NewJeans Grabs K-Pop Fans' Attention with 'Attention'”
NewJeans is one of South Korea’s most popular K-pop groups formed by HYBE
Corporation’s subsidiary, ADOR. Its members, MinJi, Hanni, Danielle, HaeRin, and HyeIn have
been catapulted into global stardom with all their songs totaling at least 100 million streams on
Spotify. Listeners may think that NewJeans are just another K-pop group that follows a typical
formula for success in the industry. However, NewJeans did not follow this typical formula and
instead debuted in a way that was brand new to the industry.
To the shock of K-pop fans, NewJeans released their debut single, ‘Attention,’ without
the usual buildup, teasers, or any type of previously released concept. Without any buzz for the
group, CEO of ADOR Min Hee-Jin knew that she had to somehow hook the audience with
NewJeans’ debut music video. As the title of the song suggests, their goal was to grab the
listener’s attention musically and visually as “Attention” is designed to bring in new fans without
buildup or teasers. This is achieved by relating to their teenage audience in Generation-Z with
their trendy Y2K inspired fashion and music concept, a fashion that has not been used by other
K-pop groups beforehand.
NewJeans’ music video features Y2K inspired clothing such as baggy pants, colorful
plastic hair clips, and even an old Yashica film camera and Walkman as accessories. Their Y2K
fashion concept is also represented musically through the song’s R n’ B influences. In my
presentation, I will explain NewJeans’ Y2K fashion concept in their unconventionally presented
debut music video ‘Attention’ and why it is so effective at gaining the support of Gen-Z
teenagers. I will also analyze how the song musically adds to that concept which further gains
their audience’s attention for a successful debut.
Moderators BS
Blair Ebony Smith (artist alter ego, lovenloops) is a practicing artist-scholar and lover. As a sample-based sound artist, DJ and homegirl with Black girl celebratory collective/band, Saving Our Lives, Hear Our Truths (SOLHOT) We Levitate, Blair deepened her love for Black sound...
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Ya-Hui Cheng is an associate professor of Music Theory at the University of South Florida and the recipient of the National Opera Association Dissertation Award. She is the author of the books Puccini’s Women: Structuring the Role of Feminine in Puccini’s Operas (Verlag, 2009...
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Adjunct Professor of Music, Pepperdine University
Wesley Park is a concert classical guitarist, researcher, and educator from the Los Angeles area. With his colorful playing he has played concerts internationally in many countries. He is on faculty at Pepperdine University teaching musicology and is currently conducting research...
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