In Asia, K-Pop guiding lights BIGBANG have ruled the continent, their World Tour, presented by Samsung Galaxy, has been an instantaneous sellout from Singapore to Taiwan and if you give their current EP Alive (which isn't) just one listen you will be as baffled at the appeal of G-Dragon, T.O.P, Taeyang, Daesung and Seungri, as I am.
Or perhaps that's not entirely accurate.
This is boyband r&b as written since NSYNC and Backstreet Boys roamed the earth. All close harmonies, finger snapping, falsetto, pop songs. Catchy? To a limited degree. Similar to the K-POp anti-irony movement? Not really. But if your taste goes towards the world of pop music even slightly, it is a huge concert. An opportunity to catch Western through a glass darkly.
This is all highly polished (By G-Dragon) pop veneer. On a song like "Fantastic Baby", BIGBANG do the difficult, they whittle modern dance music down to its parts. It is neither good nor bad, it is like Ground Zero building blocks for how Dance is manufactured.
BIGBANGs November 9th gig at Prudential Center sold out immediately. I forgot to buy a tix but remembered within an hour and it was already sold out. They added November 8th and I didn't make the same twice. If you give a damn about not rock, indie, hip hop but POP: the charts, the stuff that still sells, this is a must see.