Z-Pop’s dreams of ‘One Asia’

MANILA, Philippines — The Z-Girls and Z-Boys, the newest groups to break into the K-Pop music scene, made their Manila stop last week after touring Vietnam and Indonesia.

The groups form part of the Z-Pop Dream Project, which aims to create and groom global music stars from multiple countries in Asia by using the strengths of the successful K-Pop star creation business. “Z” also stands for Generation Z, or those born in the mid-1990s to mid-2000s, which is the age demographic of their members as well as their target audience.

While they were trained under the famous K-Pop system, the Z-Pop artists are stirring media attention for being, as The Korea Times puts it, a K-Pop band without Koreans.

Members come from seven different countries, including the Philippines. The Z-Girls are Bell (Thailand), Priyanka (India), Joanne (Taiwan), Queen (Vietnam), Vanya (Indonesia), Mahiro (Japan) and Carlyn (Philippines). The Z-Boys are Blink (Thailand), Sid (India), Perry (Taiwan), Roy (Vietnam), Mavin (Indonesia), Gai (Japan) and Josh (Philippines).

The non-inclusion of a Korean artist is intentional, according to Zenith Media Contents (ZMC), the South Korean agency that runs the Z-Pop Dream Project. With the goal of “One Asia,” they are going beyond K-Pop — the music genre, culture and industry — and finding the next generation of music idols from other parts of Asia. 

“Korea is the center of K-Pop but Asia is the center of Z-Pop. Korea is also in Asia but we want to give more chance to artists from other countries,” said ZMC CEO Kang Jun during a presscon at the Teatrino in Greenhills Promenade last Thursday. He brought the two groups to the country in partnership with Viva Communications, Inc. and Glimmer (which is run by TV host Grace Lee) that represents Z-Pop in the Philippines.

Z-Boys is made up of Perry (Taiwan), Blink (Thailand), Gai (Japan), Sid (India), Roy (Vietnam), Mavin (Indonesia) and Josh (Philippines)

ZMC is described in the Korean press as an entertainment firm backed by industry experts behind the success of BTS, Psy, EXO, among other K-Pop superstars. Kang himself has over 30 years of experience working in Korea’s vibrant entertainment business. “I belong to the first generation of K-Pop,” he said, adding that it has always been his dream to work with artists outside Korea. “Through the Z-Pop Dream Project, I want to give a chance to anybody who wants to be a star.”

With the help of local partners like Viva and Glimmer in the Philippines, ZMC found the members through open auditions late last year. Kang said that these youngsters made the cut because of their talent, personality and the drive to succeed. “We looked at the whole package,” he added.

Most of them have showbiz backgrounds (as models, YouTube stars, band members, etc.) in their respective countries. Take, for example, the Pinoys in the groups. Carlyn used to be part of Viva Records’ Pop Girls while Josh was a member of G-Force.

The Z-Girls and Z-Boys were finally launched in Seoul at the Seoul Olympic Stadium where they reportedly drew a crowd of 7,000 and shared the stage with some of the biggest names in the K-Pop world like Rain, APink and Monsta X.

They already debuted their first singles which are in English — No Limit for the Z-Boys and What You Waiting For for the Z-Girls. 

What You Waiting For was composed by some notable names in the recording biz including producers DEJO from Sweden, Abi F. Jones from Britain and singing star-composer Kanata from Japan. Vanya of Indonesia said that they really loved the song and appreciated the fact that the producer listened to their thoughts about the song when they first heard it, and about what kind of music they want next. 

No Limit, on the other hand, was produced by Andreas Ohrn from Sweden who swept through the top music charts of Spain, Mexico, Germany, Russia and Korea as well as the Billboard Dance Music Chart. Mavin, also of Indonesia, explained that the song talks about not setting limits on oneself and to always “chase after our dreams no matter how high they go.”

Both groups band together as the Z-Stars in the song Our Galaxy from Korea’s hit-making producer Min Young Lee (a.k.a. EastWest) who has written for Ailee, Girls’ Day, Sistar, Suran and Turbo.

Kang said that in the future, their songs will feature the local languages of the members, a smart move to reach out to more music fans from where they come from.

For the Z-Girls and Z-Boys, it’s been a dream come true to be part of this international project. They got to experience professional K-Pop training and meet their K-Pop idols, among others, at the same time, be part of a one-of-a-kind cultural exchange.

Out of over 200 Filipino auditionees, Carlyn and Josh were chosen to be part of the Z-Pop Dream Project

According to Priyanka of India, “In India, (K-Pop) is becoming more famous than before. Also, we have K-Pop contests every year, like in 2016, I represented India in the K-Pop World Festival in Changwon. That was the first time India got to the finale. India has been conducting K-Pop concerts since five years ago. It’s really big now.”

Carlyn, for her part, said, “We’re all K-Pop fans, so when we heard about the auditions, we really applied. Like in the Philippines, there were 200 of us who auditioned, and only two of us were selected. I am super happy and grateful because we were the ones who were chosen and entrusted with the opportunity to represent the Philippines.”

Fellow Pinoy Josh, who spoke on behalf of the Z-Boys, said, “We feel really blessed, same as with the Z-Girls. Like from Vietnam, they had 500 auditionees also... So, we feel so grateful to Zenith, Viva and all the people behind this. We really love it, especially the concert last Feb. 23 at the stadium and the acceptance of other foreigners was really touching!”

Referring to their launch, which was graced by Rain and other K-Pop stars, Carlyn gushed that “it was a huge honor to share the same stage as them.”

The K-Pop idol machinery is famous for being competitive as it is stringent and systematic. For four months, they trained in Seoul, from vocalization to choreography, to even how to “manage your gaze” when facing the cameras. They were housed in a dorm and learned to get along and live with each other despite their differences, culture-wise. There was admittedly a lot of adjustment.

“That’s a big question (how we’re able to deal with each other). We’re from different countries, we speak different languages, so it’s kinda hard for us to communicate with each other, but then we try to our best to communicate,” said Carlyn. “It’s a funny thing because sometimes we use translating apps like Google Translate, actions, body language, but then some of us can speak English, so we understand each other. But yeah, we have one dream, one goal, that’s the reason why we work.”

And it’s the reason they stand out from other groups, Sid of India said. “We share a special bond with each other because we come from seven different countries. And it’s really innovative, a new feel of how people of different cultures come together and present (music). That’s how we stand out.”

With the “One Asia” goal and the unique line-up, the members believe they have a lot of potential and room for growth because there isn’t any group like them yet.

Their big dream is to grow into a global idol band one day, hold concerts around the world, including Korea, and have chart-topping hits. From the looks of it, they’re off to a good start.

Meanwhile, the Z-Pop Boys and Girls will be busy introducing themselves to music fans and doing shows in the days to come. These include a special appearance at the CR3W concert, which is headlined by James Reid, Billy Crawford and Sam Concepcion, on April 5 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.