It seems like the biggest goal of any artist is to have their music be heard and reach audiences globally. For K-Pop, the international market (specifically Western countries and the U.S.) is the ultimate and most difficult goal to attain. If artists can reach high levels of popularity in South Korea, their entertainment company usually sends them to Japan, where the love for and demand of K-Pop is high. Japanese fans simply adore their K-Pop artists, and Japanese-version album sales are almost always successful. The same is true when they visit neighboring countries such as Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines, etc. When it comes to the American market, though many Asian Americans may know of and listen to K-Pop, it's a totally different story to break into "mainstream" music. When artists "makes it big" in the U.S., their popularity transcends to other Western countries, and ultimately, that makes them famous all around the world. It's not that K-Pop is particularly lacking in anything, but they don't try harder to be extremely different or make huge impressions. The K-Pop industry often focuses too strongly on perfection of their artists in appearance, personality and dance- making sure they are always composed, decent and accepted. In the U.S., music is about making statements, creating good feelings, and ultimately, connecting with people. The idea is that you should be who you are and be free to create music even if it offends people. The K-Pop groups most likely to do that seems to be from Big Bang and 2NE1, because at least in South Korea, they're known to be bold and stand out the most. Many people would include Wonder Girls into that group, but all of their English songs so far have been lackluster and blended in, not the opposite.
Traits that exceptionally popular artists (in the U.S.) possess:
1. Exceptional talent- singing live, innovative dancing skills, accomplished at one or more instruments, composition skills (Think Adele and her ability to translate emotion into song, or Beyonce's ability to awe a crowd when performing live).2. Involvement in their own music/style- Rapper Eminem incorporates his personal experiences and strong opinions into his lyrics.
3. They stand out from everyone else- whether visually, through performances, behavior, or actions (Ex. Lady Gaga and her crazy fashion, Adele and her larger, curvier figure, Nicki Minage and her crazy haircolors, Katy Perry and her feminine, pin-up style). They don't let their clothes define them- their outfits are just accents that highlight their personality- not change them into totally different characters like in K-Pop concept transformations. 4. They're not afraid to be themselves and keep open opinions about the media.
5. They produce meaningful, if not catchy or popular songs- This may be due to high-profile producers or good personal composition skills.
So far, the one artist that has even come close to making a notable appearance on the American market originally through his music (and I mean this because Bi Rain has gained some recognition after his Hollywood action film "Ninja Assassin") is rapper and songwriter Park Jae-Sang, otherwise known through his stage name, "Psy." Psy is also prominently known as a comedian in his videos and stage performances. His latest music video, "Gangnam Style," has recently hit the #1 spot on the iTune's music video charts, beating out Justin Bieber's "As Long As You Love Me" and Katy Perry's "Wide Awake" music video. All around Korea, young people are making references to "Gangnam style" and it's horse-riding dance move. I can see why it got so popular- Psy truly made the music his own by participating in every part of the music video process. He wrote the song, composed it, directed it, and even created the choreography. I wouldn't say "Gangnam Style" the track is a particularly good song, and the music video has its more crude moments (relative to most K-Pop videos), but paired with the music video and Psy's conviction to carry the fun through, it truly reached success. With its upbeat music, bright colors, humorous scenes and silly dance, Psy reminded audiences everywhere that most times, music is just about having a good time.
Psy "Gangnam Style" MV
Psy's music video for "Gangnam Style" and "horse-riding" dance is currently going viral, surpassing 47.5 million hits on youtube and people everywhere (including a handful of celebrities) are busting out with the dance move. "Gangnam Style" even came on at the end of the 5th inning at a Dodgers vs. Giants baseball game on August 20th. The most telling moment was when some audience members stood up and started the trademark dance even before Psy was captured on the stadium's main screen. Though he hesitated for a couple seconds after the big screen spotted his face, he quickly proceeded to whip on his shades, displayed a funny face, and proceeded with the entertaining dance.
LA Dodger Stadium Psy appearance for "Gangnam Style"
Check out a video of Psy's appearance on VH1's "Big Morning Buzz Live" as he discusses the meaning behind his lyrics.
http://www.vh1.com/video/misc/828062/psy-recreates-his-gangnam-style-video-with-carrie-and-jason.jhtml#id=1692326
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