BTS proves that K-pop can grow in America

Maytinee Kramer/ Opinion Director

Even if you’re not a K-pop fan, you certainly can’t deny that the most talked about performance at the American Music Awards was a performance put on by one of Korea’s hottest boy bands.

And they weren’t even nominated for an award.

It was truly a historic moment, not just for the fans, but for their beloved idols, BTS, a K-pop septet that left ARMYs crying and screaming, Jared Leto speechless and the whole world tweeting.

While America has seen K-pop acts before — stars like Big Bang and EXO have toured here — it’s have never seen group quite like BTS, who are the torchbearers for K-pop. BTS, formally known as “Bangtan Boys” or “Bulletproof Boy Scouts,” is a Korean boy band composed of three rappers and four singers, all in their early 20s.

Their lyrics are almost entirely performed in Korean over music that vaguely follows American trends. K-pop actually began its international explosion about a decade ago, but has seen a decline in the recent years.

There are many reasons as to why that is, but probably the biggest reason why K-pop acts have declined is the dissolution or hiatuses of hugely successful acts like SISTAR, SNSD, 2NE1 and Big Bang.

There are even political factors: China has banned Korean entertainers due to controversy over the pending deployment of the U.S.-backed THAAD missile-defense system in Korea.

There’s also the tiring idea that K-pop has become oversaturated with artists after the “Korean wave.” New groups constantly pop up, leaving older groups to fade out or eventually disband. It can even be hard for some K-pop fans to keep up. However, these issues don’t really resonate in America.

Despite K-pop being an immense success in Asia, it’s still considered a bit of an oddity in America. Korean artists have always made efforts to break into the American market, but have failed to break through. The “Big 3” monolithic K-pop labels — YG, SM and JYP — have even spent a lot of time, effort and big bucks to Americanize their own artists, but still it didn’t work.

Americans tend to be interested in things that are unique. This is why BTS, who didn’t shy away from embracing their K-pop roots, attracted the curiosity of many and proved that K-pop can grow in America.

But it’s not just the efforts of BTS, but also their fans.

Through the use of social media, ARMYs propelled their idols to the bigger stages, created awareness of their oppas, and generated a lot of talk among the town.

Having garnered the high social media following that put them on the global market, BTS was able to perform at the AMAs, be guests on “Ellen DeGeneres Show” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!.” The K-pop act even collaborated with Steve Aoki for their highly anticipated remix of “Mic Drop” and became the first K-pop group to have an album chart in the top 10 of the Billboard 200.

There’s value, curiosity and creativity when you’re the biggest K-pop stars in America. To continue rising to the top, BTS will need to stay true to what K-pop is and ultimately, themselves.

DISCLAIMER:

The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of Panther Press Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.

Photo retrieved from BTS Official Facebook.