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Date: November 21, 2023
Recently, K-pop crisis theory has emerged among experts in the music industry. Nevertheless, K-pop stars have continued to grow with remarkable results in the global market.
Recently, the British Guardian Magazine published a column that said the influence of English pop songs in the music market is decreasing due to the advancement of K-pop and Latin music.
As the starting point, The Guardian mentioned Psy's "Gangnam Style" in 2012 and said Korean K-pop among non English-speaking cultures is a huge success worldwide.
Following Psy, K-pop is focusing on an unprecedented boom as several idol groups have gradually revealed that presence in the global music, with BTS showing their global influence beyond music by presenting a new path for boy groups.
BTS, which is focusing on individual activities with the members' sequential military enlistment, proved its endless popularity this year by pouring out new records with each members' solo album. Jimin, who released his first solo album "FACE" in March, topped the U.S. Billboard's main single chart Hot 100. This is the first record for a Korean solo artist, and Jimin left a new mark in the history of Korean pop music by winning the Hot 100 as a solo following his group.
Suga solidified his identity by releasing a solo album under the name of Agust D, and held a solo concert for the first time since the release of his solo album, breathing closely with audiences around the world with the word tour "SUGA | Agust D 'D-DAY' Tour."
V released his solo album "Layover" and entered Billboard Hot 100 at No. 51, while "Layover" went straight to No. 1 on Oricon's "Weekly Digital Album Ranking." Jung Kook ranked first on the Billboard Hot 100 after Jimin with his solo song "Seven (feat. Latto)" and proved his popularity by winning "Song Of The Summer" at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards.
In addition, Jung Kook ranked 2nd on the main album chart Billboard 200 with his recent solo album "GOLDEN", setting a tie for the highest ranking among K-pop solo artist albums in the U.S. as of the first week of its release, and Jungkook became a "Global Pop Star" as it became the first K-pop solo artist to sell more than 200,000 copies in the first week in the country.
BLACPINK, which has been pouring out its first and best records since its debut, as a girl group, held a BORN PINK tour for about a year from October last year to September this year, meeting fans in 34 cities and 66 times all around the world. With this world tour, BLACPINK has attracted 1.8 million audiences, the largest K-pop girl group views, combining 55,000 in Seoul, 540,000 in North America, 215,000 in Europe, 900,000 in Asia, 50,000 in Oceania, and 40,000 in the Middle East.
In particular, Blackpink became the first girl group in the world to enter Las Vegas Allegiant Stadium, San Fransisco Oracle Park, and Los Angeles Dodgers Stadium in North America. Blackpink is the only Korean girl group to perform for two days at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey and Porosal in Mexico City, Mexico. The European stadium was the first K-pop girl group to be flagged through an encore performance at the Paris Stade de France.
In addition, this year, Blackpink became the first Asian artist to be the headliner at the Coachella festival in the U.S., the world's largest music festival, and Hyde Park in the U.K., imprinting its presence as a "world class". Rosé also recently attended a mental health-related event at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit hosted by U.S. president Joe Biden's wife Jill Biden and expressed her belief in the importance of mental health.
Stray Kids topped the U.S. Billboard 200 for three consecutive weeks with their full-length album "⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5-STAR)" released in June, made its debut as the first Lollapalooza Paris headlinernof K-pop in July, and won the "Best K-Pop" category as a "special" at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards at the Prudential Central in New Jersey ini September.
Stray Kids recently completed its 10th large-scale dome tour "Stray Kids 5-STAR Dome Tour 2023 (Five Star Dome Tour) for the first time as a fourth-generarion K-pop boy group.
SEVENTEEN made a new history of K-pop with their 11th mini-album "SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN," which was released last month. They set a milestone as the first artist to exceed 5 million records (initial) in a week after their release with the "SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN," and become the first K-pop artist to reach the top of the list.
SEVENTEEN also attended the 13th UNESCO Youth Forum held at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, on the 14th (local time) and held a special session covering speeches and performances for about an hour. Through this speech, SEVENTEEN was praised for acting as a messenger of hope for the world's young generation and suggesting the role that young people can play for sustainable development based on each members' experience.
NewJeans has made a hot splash with music alone without any global activities. NewJeans stood out as a global popular artist with its single album "OMG" in January and its second mini-album "Get Up" in July. With "Get Up," NewJeans set a new record for the shortest times since its debut in the main album chart Billboard 200 and entered Hot 100 with 5 songs ("OMG," "Dirt," "Super Shy," "ETA," and "Cool With You.")
In August, NewJeans become the first K-pop girl group to appear on the stage of the large U.S. music festival Lollapalooza Chicago, where Billie Eilish and others were headliners, attracting about 70,000 people to sing along, and performing as a performer at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards (BBMAs), which is the most nominated K-pop artist (5 in total).
In addition, Fifty Fifty achieved the feat of entering the Billboard Hot 100 in 130 days after its debut with "Cupid" of its first single, "The Beginning: Cupid," released in February, which is unusual for a rookie in a small and medium-sized agency, setting the record of entering the Billboard Hot 100 in the shortest period in K-pop idol history. "Cupid" rose to 17th place on the "Hot 100" chart and achieved the longest entry record in the history of a K-pop girl group called a 25-week chart-in.
As such, K-pop stars have been making hot achievements in the global music market this year, but many experts point out that they need to have a sense of crisis rather than being satisfied with their achievements.
In a recent entertainment program, JYP's Park Jinyoung said, "The K-pop market has a very high entry barrier. I think it's our task to find the next step," said Hive Bang Sihyuk, "We have to think about 10 years from tomorrow, not tomorrow, so we think of the current K-pop market as a crisis. He expressed his belief that scalability is necessary to make K-pop sustainable.
As they point out, in order for K-pop to achieve untimely and steady growth in the global music market, it is time to find a way to capture global listeners while maintaining the color of K-pop in the rapidly changing music market with sustainability in mind.
Original Article: Naver
