Boy bands and girl groups from The Beatles to One Direction and Destiny’s Child to Fifth Harmony have always enjoyed immense popularity among the masses. Chart-toppers and sold-out concerts have been the norm with them since the first group came into being. The advent of social media and streaming platforms, and the subsequent blurring of geographical and cultural demarcations has helped K-pop groups reach an unprecedented level of success and popularity.
No longer concerned with English-only lyrics and more open to embracing new forms of self-expression, the west has welcomed K-pop stars – ‘Idols’ as they are normally called – with open arms. Several thousand people at concerts singing along to songs in a language they don’t speak or understand, no longer seems surprising even to an unassuming onlooker.
However, K-pop’s break into the western market wasn’t instantaneous. Although Psy’s “Gangnam Style” became a hit back in 2012, the craze fizzled out and the first KCON held in South California the same year could only pull-in a few thousand people, despite providing the opportunity to attend concerts and meet-and-greet events. The footfall has since snowballed to more than a hundred thousand people attending the event on both American coasts as well as in France and Australia.
Experts have credited the success of K-pop groups to the seamless amalgamation of western influences into the genre without letting go of their Korean identity. Unlike others, K-pop groups undergo intensive training making them seasoned performers even before their debuts. The highly organized structure – where each member plays a specific role, alongwith eye-grabbing costumes, engaging choreography, graphics and energetic music make K-pop concerts a multi-sensory experience.
BTS finds a special mention in K-pop’s journey as one of the most successful Korean groups ever. A global phenomenon in its own right today, the group played its first concert in the U.S. to an audience of only 200 in 2014. Later that same year, In spite of being the newest artist on the lineup, the crowd’s reaction at the group’s KCON debut was so intense that a U.S. concert tour announcement would not have seemed unusual at that early stage.
Following the release of its debut album Dark & Wild, also in 2014, BTS embarked on its first concert tour although it was limited to East and South-east Asia. Since then, the group has embarked on several world tours, with stops in the US and UK. With its concert at NYC’s Citi Field in 2018, BTS made history by becoming the first Korean group to perform in a U.S. stadium. Sold-out within 20 minutes, the concert found a name in ticket vendors’ list of 2018’s best-selling concerts. BTS went on to become the first Korean group to receive music recording certifications in the US and UK and the first K-pop artist to stay on the Billboard 200 chart for a whole year. It has also been the recipient of multiple American awards such as the American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards and People’s Choice Awards among others. In 2019, its album Love Yourself: Tear became the first Korean album to be nominated for the prestigious Grammy Awards.
Collaborations with popular names such as Zedd, the Chainsmokers, Nicki Minaj, Missy Elliot and Marshmellow among others has helped K-pop groups tap into different genres and expand their fan-base. The impact of the Korean Wave on South Korea’s economy over the years has encouraged the government to take initiatives to expand the popularity of the genre. The embassies and consulates have taken to organizing concerts outside the country and inviting overseas fans to attend major K-pop festivals and events in South Korea.
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