K-Pop Rewind: Baby V.O.X 'Xcstasy'

Baby V.O.X are indisputably an influential nineties K-Pop girl group. While the popularity of the group may have fluctuated in comparison to Fin.KL or S.E.S, Baby V.O.X led the revolution towards sexy concepts for female artists in Korean pop music.

Baby V.O.X interspersed aspects of western girl groups like the Spice Girls and were faced with criticism for going against the cutesy grain. With their unique concepts and contradictory musical sensibility, Baby V.O.X paved the way for girl groups like 2NE1, SISTAR, and 4Minute.

While the group had faced criticism from its debut, the controversial 2004 release “Ride West” helped to usher in the end of Baby V.O.X.

“Ride West” was the seventh album for Baby V.O.X which touted collaborations with American hip hop artist Tupaq Shakur and Jennifer Lopez. However, what was billed as collaborations were unauthorized samplings.

The promotional track for “Ride West” was “Xcstasy” which not only sampled Tupaq but also included footage of the deceased star in the music video.

“Xcstasy” was a catchy R&B track which featured Baby V.O.X singing in English. However, the sexy concept of the music video combined with the Tupaq sample did not help the single or the album.

Baby V.O.X dealt with harsh criticism which included derogatory statements from their peers for both the song and video, which are now tame when compared with present day K-Pop.

In 2005, members Shim Eun Jin and Yoon Eun Hye departed from the group, leading to the overall disbandment of Baby V.O.X.

Kim EZ, the leader of Baby V.O.X, has worked as an emcee for MNET and has also pursued an acting career.

Lee Hee Jin also emerged from Baby V.O.X to pursue a career in acting. She has held supporting roles in “Greatest Love”, “Monstar”, and “Golden Rainbow”.

The leading vocalist for Baby V.O.X, Kan Mi Youn, pursued a solo career and is also the host of her own radio show.

Shim Eun Jin has also pursued a solo vocal career, since the breakup of Baby V.O.X.

Yoon Eun Hye was the maknae of the group who emerged to become a top billed actress. Her most notable K-Drama performances include the iconic role of Go Eun Chan in “Coffee Prince”, Crown Princess Shin Chae Kyeong in “The Princess Hours”, and Lee Soo Yeon in the melodrama “I Miss You”.

Although, “Xcstacy” was controversial at the time of its release, the structure of the song and concept are one that has recently been utilized by many K-Pop girl groups.

Tags
Baby V.O.X
Yoon Eun Hye
Lee Hee Jin
Kan Mi Youn
Xcstasy
Join the Discussion

Latest Photo Gallery

Real Time Analytics