Do you want to hear a idol group named Dalmatian sing lyrics like “doggy dog woof woof woof”? Yes, yes, you do.
In 2019, Dalmatian is a mere footnote in K-Pop history, but when they debuted in 2010 with Round 1, they garnered a bit of hype for not only this very catchy song but for their backing by MC Mong, one of Korea’s bigger names in hip-hop back in the day.
(MC Mong would soon be destroyed by a scandal related to his plans to escape Korea’s compulsory military service, but that’s for a separate column.)
At the time, I was especially enamored with their debut track for three reasons:
- Mother-freakin’-cowbells!!
- Its meta lyrics that touched upon their trainee lives and debut process (“six years of training, we stay up the night with bread and tears”)
- the absolute and unapologetic lack of subtlety of a group named after a dog breed singing lyrics like “bow-wow-wow” and the aforementioned “doggy dog woof woof woof” (!)
Dalmatian would soldier on for a few more years, but ultimately, they would be crippled by their own scandal in 2013 where one of its members, Daniel, was caught dealing marijuana. (Insert a requisite comment pointing out that marijuana is a much bigger deal in Korea than it is in the States, although that stigma seems to be gradually lessening.)
Since then, Dalmatian’s group activities have been put on hold, with the remaining members off doing their own thing. While they’ve repeatedly stated that the group has not disbanded, a comeback is looking less and less likely as time goes on.