Show Review: Make it Pop
May 20, 2015
With the craze of K-pop spreading overseas, Nickelodeon has welcomed the trend with open arms. “Make It Pop” is Nickelodeon’s newest typical tween show, with a twist of K-pop. The plot is pretty standard; three girls make their way through high school life with a passion for music. They clash with the typical mean preppy girls and overly cocky, yet charming, pretty boy jock.
The main character, Sun Hi, played by the K-pop star Megan Lee, is the irritatingly bubbly, stereotypical “cute Asian girl.” She begs for the spotlight and will stop at nothing to get it. Sun Hi regularly video blogs her life for her non-existent fans, and is constantly on a high horse.
Sun Hi gets paired with Jodi, played by Louriza Tronco, as roommates for their freshmen year. Jodi is your fiery fashionista who constantly designs clothes, and is Sun Hi’s sidekick in their relationship.
Not long after Sun Hi and Jodi arrive to their boarding school, they find out that they will be having an additional roommate, Corki (Erika Tham). Corki completely contrasts with the flashy Sun Hi, always shying away from attention and is extremely conservative.
The three start their high school life alongside Caleb (Dale Whibley), an aspiring DJ. They come together and form a band, immediately becoming popular on the internet and their school.
Despite the show’s claim that it follows three girls balancing out their high school life with their K-pop stardom, the only thing close to being K-pop on this show is the main character being Korean.
Sun Hi radiates with the stereotyped K-pop style, dressing with “cute” outfits that many associate K-pop with. Her overly caffeinated personality gets irritating quickly, and is almost enough to make you to change the channel.
It was brave of Nickelodeon to try out a new concept like K-pop for a show. Not only do they have to worry about the number of viewers, but also K-pop already had a large fan base waiting to attack or praise the show for how they portrayed their music style. Younger girls might enjoy this show for the stereotypical story and bursts of song and dance. However, for high school students, “Make It Pop” is just another sitcom to ridicule.
