Why do I feel like kpop stopped growing?

It’s still growing. Album sales and streams are still growing across the board

SKZ, enhypen and TXT are breaking their own records sales.

Let’s not talk about GG crossing 100k years ago was a rare feat now you see debut albums selling 300k

IVE, NMIX, LSRF entered Spotify charts with their debut single when.

A lot of groups earned their 1st entry this year too.

It’s not like when 2017 when kpop went global but the growth is bigger.

i think the sense of lull is bc virus concerns in korea and elsewhere driving hiatuses and delays

now lively again for me after le sserafim, ive, and dreamcatcher

I don't know, I don't feel it. All I see is album sales and Spotify numbers growing.

sale wise its growing

artistic direction? nah

It feels like awhile since sth big and innovative happened

I blame the fans, they all want the companies to just follow very safe routes that guarantees success

you probably don’t feel it as much as you did in 2017 because it isn’t as much of a niche as it was back then. it’s almost mainstream with how many people are into it and know about it’s existence

K-pop has definitely grown a lot,especially in the past few years.

So many groups,especially 4th gens,are easily hitting numbers that most of their predecessors could've only dreamed of.

On on the other hand,we are yet to get someone truly groundbreaking that can top the success of the likes of BTS and BP,so maybe that's why you're getting that impression?

you are not wrong. musically speaking there are no innovations happening, especially from 4th gen. the releases are either bad or just boring as hell.

it has been kind of stagnant musically. kpop has been globalized but so has the sound.

Quote from LovenRose

It’s still growing. Album sales and streams are still growing across the board

But it only really started growing because of the pandemic. Since the pandemic so much more albums are sold and while new fans do join kpop, it is nowhere near the level it was before

As others have said, its more of changed perspective of what growth is. Its like the saying that you only remember your 1st million dollars, meaning the journey to making it is always more romanticized than what comes after. Kpop kinda made it. So everything else kinda feels like gravy. Even BTS breaking record after record is becoming expected, like it was bound to happen (even tho i realize its never guaranteed).

Which sadly makes the achievements get crazily skewed high. Now the bar is, who takes off in the west or highest month spotify streams versus melon charting or 1 million being a crazy number).

So it didn't stop growing, i think just be exponential growth, kpop is growing faster than ever, but because Kpop kinda made it already, its just gravy now.