Trying to answer this thread in anons:
As much as SM is trying to make their artists popular in the west, I think their music sound is still not made to break it into the west.
Only BTS and Blackpink were able to chart high in billboard HOT 100.
But my question is...
Is SM really trying and doing their best to give their groups a song to chart into Billboard HOT 100?
What do you all think?
I don't know why people are always "oh but SM is SO KOREAN and made for KOREA"literally almost every song from that company come from western demos, always working majority with western producers, the biggest hit from that company last year was a REMAKE of an american song from a american movie
I saw something that will sum this up perfectly:
Sm artists image are what kpop stans like, JYP and YG artists have images everyone will appreciate. SM artists are very cold and exclusive, while JYP and YG have images that aren’t that, and that are friendlier? and something that non kpop stans will appreciate.
-someone on another forum
Most of their issues are timing and the inability to seize an opportunity. NCT 127's promotional push was very well done and used things outside the then kpop norm like the Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Houston Rodeo.
This is the last English song NCT 127 has released and had it been a couple of years later, I think it would have benefited from the post-pandemic kpop boom.
Oddly enough the group with the best chance imo is WayV. Love Talk was awkwardly released during the "pretend WayV is it's own thing" era and despite that it still blew up enough to be the most streamed song by a Chinese artist on Spotify.
I think that honestly most of the SM just gets in their own way. They are focused on the overall vision and miss the opportunities. I feel like this is constantly happening with every company's attempt at cashing in on TikTok. Companies push challenges because that's what is expected these days, but the things blowing up are unpromoted b sides. Even Zoo... a performance that Taeyong had to beg for and choreo he helped create in a very small timetable has been the most viral SM related thing.
No one but their fans care about the songs, they don't have the music nor star power to attract masses. Then again it's not like the other companies got many groups charting. JYP did it ages ago and recently because of very particular condition that will not repeat themselves since billboard changed their rules. Hybe only has BTS. YG only BP. ???
I think SM is very interested in charting in the West but not interested enough to do the homework. I disagree with the argument the music is weird or unexpected for the West. SM’s sound tracks pretty well with current r&b and hip hop, albeit often a few years out of date, so despite Kpop fans freaking out on the Sticker flute, it was something already treated in tracks by Drake and Future back in 2017. NCT songs like OK and Round&Round completely fit in with mainstream American sounds.
For example, leading with Jopping as the track for the US instead of something that more closely mimics a song with Western appeal, like Super Car or Drip (granted, you’d have to put those songs in English). Better Days was perfect for the lockdown climate, but they led with One and 100. (Together at Home could have worked too.) Again, to crossover, songs need to be in English, sorry to say.
If you look at the top 11 most streamed songs by all NCT units, 4 are in English. That kinda tells you what you ought to be doing - NCT 127 and WayV are perfectly capable of making all English albums but they don’t (contrast this to how JYP smartly made all English albums for Itzy and Twice). SM put out Regular and Highway to Heaven as English singles as part of their American promotional push on NCT 127, as well as an English language version of Cherry Bomb and a trio of English collabo singles…and haven’t dropped an English single since, despite knowing there is a devoted American fanbase. 🤔 They make the effort to ensure the social content is in English or promotions or interviews but not the damned songs. How you gonna make a Target-specific version for the US market and not bother to slap an English song on it?
I mean, honestly, SuperM was meant to target the Western market but the bulk of the album is not in English. And what makes it all stranger is that you can keep the K in the Kpop by releasing a double album - it’s not SM’s first rodeo here, they previously released EXO songs in two languages (all songs on the album) and NCT Dream songs (multiple songs on the album.) AND more importantly as a level setter, Lay’s Namamana, which was a double album entirely in Chinese AND English. (Now maybe it didn’t sell well here and SM feels they don’t want to risk it again but the Kpop market has changed substantially since then and since they go so hard to include English translations and/or spoken English on everything from award shows acceptance speeches to TikTok to entirely English social content, it’s so so strange to me that their flagship NCT brand with the greatest Western exposure and success does not really record songs in English anymore..)
When Zoo and Try Again were going viral, why not make an English language version? Or at the least capitalize on releasing tracks from those artists in any language while people are cruising the song on Spotify, but nope..crickets.
Tl, dr: it’s not the music or the artists but that SM is ass at maintaining American momentum.
I would note tho that I feel like sometimes people are overly dramatic about SM artists not charting in the Hot 100 when very very few Kpop artists do. It’s not like everyone’s charting but them.
In fact, there are only 12 artists that have charted in the last 13 years and of that amount, 8 of them came from the same 2 groups. (Pinkfong is counted as Kpop but I’m not counting them here.)
Groups who charted:
- Wonder Girls (2009)
- BTS (2017-2021)
- Blackpink (2018-2020)
- Twice (2021)
Soloists:
- Psy (2012-15)
- CL (2015-16)
2020)
Yes SM really wants to be success in the west because every label wants that. More exposure means more money. But SM has the quintessential kpop sound.. they basically perfected the kpop sound that appeal to niche groups. They can’t drastically change the SM sound because it’s their brand.
What I think is that other labels groups will pull people in kpop (with less kpop sounding music) and when people are used to kpopish type, they will be interested in SM groups.
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