i was thinking about the way that kpop is trying to become much more american by making english songs and marketing them here, but i'm not sure if that will really help them. when i was in middle school i only knew one other person who liked kpop and she was korean. i graduated from high school last year and almost everyone knew bts, but only for butter. a lot of people knew of blackpink, but didn't really know their songs.
everyone is saying that kpop has gotten bigger in america but is it only bigger in the sense that people hear their songs on tiktok and listen to them, or are there actual fans? people may listen to cupid because it went viral, but would the americans who enjoyed that song on tiktok really come back for more if fifty fifty released some super kpopy song in korean?
i think the whole concept of kpop is very strange for americans, but that uniqueness that it has is what attracts most american kpop fans. it was the craziness of red velvet and orange caramel, and the cuteness of twice and gfriend that got me as into kpop as i am today, and i think many others can say the same.
rather than trying to become more american by releasing english songs and following american trends, kpop should focus on the things that make it unique because that is what truly attracts fans that will stick around!