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Photos: K-Pop fever sweeps over teens in Chile
Across Chile, parks and cultural centers have come alive with the catchy melodies of K-pop as teens embrace this wildly popular South Korean mix of upbeat electronic music and high-voltage choreography. As gates open in countries across the world for preliminary qualifiers to the 2018 K-Pop World Festival in Changwon, Chilean bands are getting their moves down pat for upcoming contests at home for a shot at a trip to the finals at South Korea later in October this year.
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Updated on May 02, 2018 02:48 pm IST
Tamara of the Chilean music group ‘Rough Bunnies’, a K-Pop band which pays tribute to South Korean band BAP, poses for a picture in Santiago. As embassies around the world stage early competition rounds ahead of the 2018 K-Pop World Festival, thousands of teenagers have been out practicing their moves, with the local winners invited to join the final in South Korea. (Claudio Reyes / AFP)
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Across Chile, parks and cultural centers have come alive with the catchy melodies of K-pop as teens embrace this wildly popular South Korean mix of upbeat electronic music and high-voltage choreography. “We get together to rehearse several days a week,” said Alicia, adding all the group wants to do is dance. (Claudio Reyes / AFP)
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Chilean K-Pop fans watch a performance in Santiago. In February when Kim Hyun-joong, former lead singer of K-pop boy band SS510, announced a concert in Santiago, the tickets were quickly snapped up by some 3,000 delirious young fans. Last year, when another hugely popular boy band called BTS came to Chile, 12,000 tickets sold within two hours. (Claudio Reyes / AFP)
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K-pop mania really took off in Chile in 2012 following the explosive success of ‘Gangnam Style,’ the wacky hit which transformed rapper/singer Psy into an international sensation. Taking the country by storm, the genre inspired the creation of local bands such as Rough Bunnies, which emerged in 2014 after K-pop boy band BAP (Best Absolute Perfect) cancelled a concert there. (Claudio Reyes / AFP)
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The Rough Bunnies prepare for a performance in Santiago. K-pop dominates the airwaves by luring young fans with its electronic rhythms, meticulously choreographed dance routines and immaculately coiffed singers decked out in extravagant outfits. (Claudio Reyes / AFP)
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Rough Bunnies band member Kesly poses for a picture in Santiago.“We started out calling ourselves BTP (the Spanish acronym for Babes: Perfect Tribute) but we weren’t completely convinced and it sounded a bit ridiculous,” said band leader Tamara. Eventually the band came up with a new name and their songs found success on local radio stations, YouTube and social networks. (Claudio Reyes / AFP)
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The Rough Bunnies perform in Santiago. As the K-Pop World Festival opens its regional qualifying round globally, the Embassy of South Korea in Chile will organise a contest for K-Pop fans to choose a group of youngsters who best imitate their favorite Korean artists. (Claudio Reyes / AFP)
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