Hey, Barbecutie

A little overdue self-promotion: I wrote an article for the November (I know) issue of the spectacular Pop Bitch Magazine app on K-pop, J-Pop and a little madness therein. Focussing mostly on idol culture and the pressures felt by young popstars, and the press hysteria over even the most minor “scandal”. It was a really fascinating topic to research and also incredibly grim. The Pop Bitch app is available from all good app stores, and if you’re not already subscribed to the weekly email, you are seriously missing out.

A brief extract:

Girl group f(x) got in trouble in July for burning a book in the opening shot of their video Red Light, which was immediately identified as the Bible, presumably as it’s the most flammable text in the world. Other fans suggested that it was a telephone book, in keeping with imagery later in the video, but that’s exactly the sort of thing the Illuminati would want you to think.