Do you consider K-Pop mainstream in the US?

    Is K-Pop mainstream in the states? 36

    1. Yes, K-Pop has become a mainstream music genre (2) 6%
    2. Not at all. It's still niche (34) 94%

    I was surprised when about a week ago some people very angrily rejected the mere notion that K-Pop was mainstream, even groups like BTS and BLACKPINK.


    I know we don't have an objective, empirical measurement of what is or isn't mainstream, but there is evidence to suggest this is more than anecdotal.


    We're wrapping up a year where


    • Two BTS members topped the Billboard Hot 100
    • BLACKPINK headlined Coachella
    • Cupid by Fifty Fifty became arguably the most viral song of the year
    • NewJeans had the highest selling album on the Billboard 200 beating out the Barbie OST, the biggest movie of the summer
    • Twice's most recent tour sold out a venue as large as Metlife stadium
    • NewJeans was the first girl group invited to Lollapalooza with 70,000+ people at their stage
    • Every mainstream pop and some hip hop artists seem to want to collab with a BTS member every month

    And for a little bit of anecdotal perspective, when I got into K-Pop in 2012, if someone asked me what kind of music I was into recently, and I said K-Pop, most people had no idea what words I had just said.


    Today, I can't think of the last time I've discussed music with ANYONE and they had zero idea what K-Pop was or who BTS or BP are.


    Heck, every time I looked on youtube, I was getting recommended a video of aespa or NMIXX or Itzy performing on some local television show, and when BTS started their enlistments, it was a front page article on CNN lol


    I'm not saying K-Pop is the biggest or most popular genre in the country, but I don't feel like it's the weird niche it used to be when I got into it.


    What do you think?

  • AllKill VIP

    it depends on what you consider mainstream. physical sales is not accurate measurement for that imo. neither is festivals. for me it is all streaming and radio. kpop does not get played on radio and i think even a bts is at best b-level artist because if they release the full album, it would never get that much traction as most western artists on streaming. blackpink even lower than that. others not even worth discussing. so, only bts is mainstream partially because of their english radio songs.

    Quote from YamaChwan

    Every mainstream pop and some hip hop artists seem to want to collab with a BTS member every month

    Do these collabs ever get traction from the mainstream audience or just K-pop fans? Not a shade, but a genuine question.


    I know K-pop is super niche in Europe. It's fairly easy to get a concert ticket and some people ask for free ones if they don't sell, so all that talk about selling out venues is just media play, apparently.

    It's growing, but it's still a niche. I have two teenage daughters (yes, I'm that uncle) and they have zero interest in Kpop nor do any of their friends. The language barrier is what keeps them from being interested.

    Of course, I am white and only speak English. Feel free to judge. :-) I do work for a large European company and none of my colleagues (variety of ethnic groups) have any interest in Kpop either (unless they are Korean).

    Just look at the Billboard Hot 100 on a weekly/daily basis. How many Kpop songs? I just counted three - SEVEN, CUPID, and SUPER SHY. 3 K-pop songs out of 100. That's a niche.

    Quote from Xibalba

    Do these collabs ever get traction from the mainstream audience or just K-pop fans? Not a shade, but a genuine question.

    Since BTS is releasing music every 2 -4 weeks, not all of them will be catered or targeted towards mainstream audience. For J-hope and J.Cole's collab, HipHop / Rap fans are more likely to check the song out rather than kpop fans.

    Quote from Kitty_Saurus

    Since BTS is releasing music every 2 -4 weeks, not all of them will be catered or targeted to mainstream audience. For J-hope and J.Cole's collab, HipHop / Rap fans are more likely to check the song out rather than kpop fans.

    I didn't have only BTS in mind, but was asking about collabs with international pop stars in general.

    Quote from Icaro_Ribeiro

    I believe kpop is a niche genre now, like Jazz or metal. One thing can be big and niche at the same time. Anime is still niche, although it's a big market

    I don't think anime is niche. Pokemon go was the biggest game in the world during release and gaming market is bigger than music and movie market combined.

    Quote from kirishiki

    I don't think anime is niche. Pokemon go was the biggest game in the world during release and gaming market is bigger than music and movie market combined.

    anime is definitely niche...pokemon is obviously an outlier due to the nostalgia/immense popularity of the IP since way back when red and blue were released on gameboy.

    It's a huge subculture that can sometimes feel bigger than the mainstream itself — if you're in the right place at the right time. In the wrong place, not at all.


    But all these constructs are pretty much fading out anyway.

    Mainstream? As successful as BTS and Blackpink are, those are two groups/artists out of 100+ artists in the Billboard charts that change weekly. Not like a kpop artist is charting high every week of the year. And high rankings are mainly driven by a dedicated fanbase. As for other groups like 50/50, they have a viral hit thanks to tiktok. I wouldn’t even consider them mainstream based on one song and most of America probably don’t even care for 50/50, they just like the song.

    Vachirawit “Bright” Chivaaree can get it every day all day all week every month all year for a lifetime.

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