The Rise of K-Pop
By Manya Ohri (0/082) Wednesday, Aug 18, 2021
K-pop also known as Korean pop has taken the world by a storm. Started in 1992, in just 29 years it has become a 5-billion-dollar industry. When heard of the word K-pop, many people tend to say BTS or Blackpink, but today let us just take a glance of the ancestors of this amazing industry.
There are three things that make K-pop such a visible and unique contributor to the realm of pop music: exceptionally high-quality performance, an extremely polished aesthetic, and in house music production. The year 2009 plays a crucial role in the rising of K-pop as this year was the origin of everlasting K-pop hits such as Girls Generation’s “Gee”, “Nobody” etc. ”.Gee” was a viral internet sensation breaking out of typical K-pop fan spaces and putting Girls’ Generation’s US fame.
The first ever entry of K-pop in billboard top 100 was of “Nobody” by Wonder Girls at number 76. But these hits specifically proved the point that Girl groups were meant to have girl crush themes were as boy groups were supposed to have songs which involved strong choreographies, deep lyrics, altogether a mature theme. This tradition was broken by a girl group called 2NEI when they released their song “I am the best”, which was not at all girly and portrayed a mature theme.
Forwarding few years, One of K-pop's big moments for Western audiences ended up coming from an unlikely source: South Korean rapper Psy,"Gangnam Style" went viral immediately, becoming the first YouTube video to reach 1 billion views surpassing even videos like "Baby" from Justin Bieber in terms of the most viewed video in the platform in 2012.
When listening to K-pop music, it is clear to see defining elements that make up its growing identity. Incorporating Western music such as pop, electronic, R&B and disco, the K-pop sound is typically just a mixture of everything you have ever heard before. The same goes for languages. While Korean is the most prominent, Chinese, Japanese, English, and even Spanish can slip in from track to track.
But the evolution of K-pop, many will agree, has culminated in the success of one of the biggest sensations from South Korea of all time: BTS. The chart-topping septet has broken records in both their home country and abroad, making huge strides for the K-pop industry. From being the first Korean group to speak at United Nations to being the first Korean artist to be nominated for Grammys, from having the most 24 hours views to reigning the billboard longest for any artist, they have broken all records.
The rise of K-pop has just begun. This industry has a long way to go with rookie bands such as Stray kids, Aespa, Ateez with all these bands entering billboard’s various charts. K-pop has just entered the world and has certainly left a big mark over the world. From having the World’s biggest boy band to having chart breaking songs, this industry has it all. It is not a matter of if but when this industry will shake the world from its strong impact.
By Manya Ohri (0/082)- A2
