What’s better than a K-pop (Korean Pop) album? A K-pop tribute album with humorously rewritten lyrics about life in Tweed Heads. That’s exactly what Gold Coast performer PurpleZain has created with the help of producer 4Eleven and vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Jodie Maloney.
Due for release on 9 July, The T-Pop Mini Album covers five K-pop hits including Brown Eyed Girls’ Abracadabra and Psy’s infamous Gangnam Style. Zain says he first fell in love with K-pop whilst overseas in Asia watching MTV, which then led to him watching SBS’s Pop Asia every Sunday once he returned to Australia.
“After a while, I started thinking it would be worth covering some of the songs because they were already proven hits, just not in Australia, and the more EDM orientated tracks were similar to the music I was creating at the time,” he said.
While the music itself was relatively easy to cover, Zain says translating the lyrics into English was impractical as the English translations often didn’t fit the melody. So he chose to take the theme of each song and write lyrics about his hometown Tweed Heads instead.
“I hope people from Tweed Heads/Coolangatta get a kick out of the lyrics and can relate to the references. I also hope people enjoy the music and that it inspires people to listen to more K-pop.”
Ahead of The T-Pop Mini Album launch, PurpleZain has written a track by track description of the album. Get your K-pop playlist and get ready to dance…
‘THE T-POP MINI ALBUM’ TRACK-BY-TRACK BY PURPLEZAIN
- Abracadabra (Original: Brown Eyed Girls – Abracadabra)
The first K-Pop song I covered. Awesome beat, hook and dance manoeuvre that I also try and do live. The lyrics are about using voodoo powers to break up a couple where the singer is crushing on one of them. I kept the same theme, but just made changes by referencing local locations where I would spy or plot against them.
- Fantastic Baby (Original: BigBang – Fantastic Baby)
BigBang have been around for about 10 years and are the biggest K-Pop band in the world. I got to see them live in Manila, Philippines last year and it was an incredible show. Fantastic Baby recently won SBS Pop Asia’s top 300 Asian songs pole, and rightfully so, it’s just an incredibly awesome song with a blinding film clip to boot. The song is about partying, so I wrote my lyrics about all the crazy parties I’ve hosted at my house called the Terradome.
- Red (Original: Hyuna – Red)
Hyuna is K-Pop’s premier sex siren. Whenever I’m asked who is my celebrity crush I always say Hyuna, then I get a blank stare because they have no idea who I’m talking about. Her normal gig is the rapper in the girl group 4 Minute, but she has also had huge success as a solo artist.
The original song is about how Hyuna wears red lipstick to make herself more confident and sexy, so I re-wrote the lyrics about my girlfriend at the time who would also wear bright red lipstick whenever she went out.
- I Am The Best (Original: 2NE1 – I Am The Best)
One of the most hammer K-Pop songs ever written and even made into the American add for Microsoft’s Surface Pro in 2014. 2NE1 leader CL is currently in America working on her debut English speaking album and all reports she will be the next big thing over there in the mould of Nicky Ménage, and Iggy Azalea.
The original lyrics are about the 2NE1 members bragging about how great they are, so my lyrics reflect that, especially in the chorus where I declare, “I’m the Prince of the Tweed!”
- North Tweed Style (Original: Psy – Gangnam Style)
Gangnam Style needs no introduction, as it is currently the most watched video on Youtube.com with over 2.5 billion views. The original song pokes fun at the hipsters who populate the trendy Seoul district of Gangnam. Therefore, I re-wrote the lyrics about the Area of Tweed where a lot of middle class people live and poke fun at some of their life style choices. Nothing too insulting though as I use to live in that area of Tweed myself.
Follow PurpleZain on Facebook and catch him at his The T-Pop Mini Album launch at Miami Shark Bar on 9 July. More event info available here.
