Back in February when Apple TV+ announced their newest music competition KPOPPED hosted by PSY and Megan Thee Stallion, both K-pop and western pop music fans alike were intrigued – us included. A show where some of the most well-known western pop stars team up with K-pop acts to transform their biggest hits? Sounds like a fever dream and one that I need to be seated for, but the question was… which acts could they get to take part in the series that was filmed and produced in Korea? 

 

Well, gossips, a preview for the series has dropped and the lineup is f*king fire. So fire that it sent me and Lainey into a frenzy of stan panic this morning.

 

No, you are not hallucinating. That is indeed Mel B and Emma Bunton from the f*king SPICE GIRLS taking part in the series, set to transform “Spice Up Your Life” into a K-pop smash with girl group ITZY. It’s kind of a no-brainer that the Spices would be the headlining choice for this series. After all, they’re the world's best-selling girl group to this day and are among one of three girl groups to have ever graced the cover of Rolling Stone alongside Destiny’s Child and BLACKPINK. It’s no wonder they were the first acts featured in the trailer. 

 

The Spice Girls aesthetic and sound was such a force in pop, so now that music and groups are evolving into a whole new realm with acts like Girls Generation, BLACKPINK, TWICE, KATSEYE etc… this is one episode that I simply cannot wait to witness. Also, not for nothing, but I couldn’t imagine being a member of ITZY and having two members of the most legendary girl group of all time working with you on anything, let alone a performance. ITZY’s western breakthrough is just around the corner, mark my words.

 

The rest of the lineup not only holds up well but is arguably even more iconic, with the Western artists being paired up as follows: Megan Thee Stallion & Patti Labelle, Kesha & Eve, Boyz II Men, J Balvin & Kylie Minogue, Ava Max & Jess Glynne, TLC (I literally was wearing my TLC merch yesterday!!!!!!!!) & Boy George, and Vanilla Ice & Taylor Dayne. The acts span multiple decades from the 80s to today, and various genres including hip-hop, soul, rap, reggaeton, dance-pop and R&B. From the looks of the teaser, the performances are giving big budget and high-energy which is everything I need and more. Plus, never did I think I’d witness Patti Labelle performing one of her hits as a K-Pop jam. I’m hoping we get a rendition of “New Attitude” or of course “Lady Marmalade” – ahhh, the possibilities are endless! For a newer K-pop fan like myself, this is exciting because I’m now being introduced to a whole bunch of acts that I never have been exposed to before and already have considerable followings online. Shout out to BLACKSWAN, ATEEZ, KEPL1ER, KISS OF LIFE, JO1, BILLIE and STAYC; I look forward to meeting you all on my TV screen very soon. 

 

It’s always so nice to see when legendary artists can get over the pretentious bullsh*t and just have some fun for the sake of music and culture period. Acts like TLC, Kylie Minogue and Boyz II Men tend to tour Asian markets quite a bit but otherwise, many western artists don’t usually engage too frequently with that market. Now that both regions are merging for one big celebration of music, it feels like we are ushering in a new era of what it means to be a worldwide commercial pop star. 

KPOPPED begins streaming August 29th on Apple TV+. 

Photo credits: Apple TV+

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