K-POP’s Biggest Mistake: Entering The Western Music Market

appealing to markets outside of korea isn’t a new concept in kpop. stay tuned to find out why is breaking into the western music market the biggest mistake that kpop groups are making! subscribe to kookielit for more kpop news and videos.

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[salambo]

It's absolutely NOT their biggest mistake. Their biggest mistake is losing the focus on singing and music and doing only performance groups who don't even know how to sing or why. Their biggest mistake is playing big on consumerism with their albums and merch that is creating a real problem with fans who don't know how to control themselves with it. Their biggest mistake is continuing to exploit idols and fans. They totally can play on domestic medias and western and still be relevant. This is really weird as a western audience to tell how and why they should stay 'domestic'. Really weird.

[kitabuhm]

As someone who lives in the USA I love
Kpop because they are so different from the music made here. I really hope kpop doesn’t change to fit in with western music.

[yoshisarethebomb]

I don’t like how K-Pop songs barely contain Korean anymore and are mostly English 😢

[melodramatic]

The US has ALWAYS been the end game for kpop and the answer is simple. Money.
Making it big in the US means making millions.

[dum]

The biggest mistake in k pop generally is that visual is more important than how talented you are and other big mistake is that now is more important how many brands you are ambassador than how nice you sing, dance, perform in general

[justinnyugen]

I got into K Pop because it picked up a lot of things that most mainstream western pop artists already abandoned - boy/girl bands, intricate choreo while singing, HARMONIES, chorus/pre-chorus/verses that actually sound different from each other, verse 1 and verse 2 having different melodies, choruses that are actually sung instead of having one phrase "talk-sung" over and over a beat drop.

[Cailette]

One of the things that I love about k-pop groups that do put out English albums is that it can serve up a totally different vibe. Monsta X's english albums are one example of this. Their English discography sounds different from their Korean ones and depending on my mood, I get to choose what I wanna jam too. I am totally here for it and I have loved those guys since the Dramarama comeback.

[TEAM__POSEIDN]

Kpop as a whole is not going to collectively "succeed" or "fail" in international markets. Kpop is just music and artists managed and produced by companies based in Korea. (There is a somewhat common formula in management and production, but still a lot of qualitative differences between groups.) Some groups are going to succeed more internationally than others. The problem for many groups is summed up in the saying "don't put the cart before the horse". In other words, the groups that have been most successful internationally are the ones that let the international demand PULL them into the international markets. BTS and Blackpink are the best current examples of this. Groups that tried to make it big in the international markets before there was any big demand for the groups were like putting a horse behind the cart and trying to push the cart (i.e. trying to PUSH western fans to make them like the group), instead of letting the horse PULL the cart (waiting until western fans are DEMANDING the group). Psy and Gangnam Style is a very early example. Psy didn't decide to push and promote his song in western markets. Instead, when western markets fell in love with his song, the demand pulled him there for several successful appearances and shows. It's correct that 2NE1 had huge potential appeal to western markets and the demand was there. But something obviously went wrong with their project with will i am . YG has never spilled the beans, but it's entirely possible that the music wasn't very good and/or the western companies and parties involved were demanding things that YG didn't think would be in the best interests of YG or 2NE1. Hard to know. But I'm sure there's a lot more to that story that we don't know. When SNSD appeared on American TV, I knew they weren't going to get good results. The music was generic. But, more importantly, a 9-member group that nobody knows anything about is not going to suddenly get a lot of new fans just by appearing on TV a few times. It just looked like a chaotic performance by too many people on a stage that was too small and nobody in the audience knew who was who.

[mr.jimmazing]

I used to be a super huge kpop fan. I'm still a fan but I do feel the music itself lost what made kpop so amazing and unique. Companies are focusing so hard to appeal to the western market that most of the groups sound the same now. Like you can literally interchange groups to sing the songs and you wouldn't be able to tell which group is singing it cause most groups sound the same now with the exception of the popular ones. I miss the days when a song came out by T-ara, Kara, SNSD, Infinite, Suju etc... and you right away new "oh yea, that's definitely a Kara song" or "here comes the catchy ass repetitiveness of T-ara". Like you always new what kind of sound or song type was unique to a group or artist. Now most groups use the same type of beat and cadences in their music it kind of is a let down.

[nvck]

I agree.. the Kpop industry breaking into the western market kind of saturated it for the worst… nothing seems “Kpop” about it anymore and it’s basically a competition to see who can gain name in the US first.

[KamenRider]

Ill be honest, Kpop groups shouldn't change too much breaking into western audiences. Never forget your roots!

[fledglingcrafter]

KPop isn't KPop anymore since they are like models already. Face is more important than talent. They can sing but during the first gen and second gen KPop, lipsync isn't allowed and frowned upon. Now AUTOTUNE is the key....

[JayJay-iwop]

Dreamcatcher is one of the K-pop groups that broke into the western countries without releasing english songs or promoting. They are Gold and Underappreciated.

[janhvidarole]

It’s crazy how most of the views and support comes from India 🇮🇳 but none of the groups have ever held a single concert in India

[Rinadharb]

It's ok but it's cringe when they try so hard to fit in there

[DJMan]

imo the biggest problem in Kpop now is that they are making new groups with 13, 14 year olds who are literally still kids with no intelligence, maturity or character to become a star. SK government needs to start banning underage idols as it can become a problem within the younger generation thinking it's okay to skip school. KPop artists need more substance, not kids who look good and dance like robots, they're nothing when the popularity is gone and start to look old - it's incredibly sick.

[wHiPpEdFoRJeOnJuNgKoOk]

Entering the western market is what they aim for, they are not limited to their country, K-pop idols have the greatest success overseas with music in their native language from Korea to the World

[Linkfan]

I think Monsta X did it right. 2 amazing English albums which mixed the true MX style along with some western influence. However you can tell it was still very much MX. They kept the lyrics more mature like their Korean music too which really helped it feel authentic. They're both albums im proud to share with others.

[kpoppapi]

I think Seventeen has done a good job in entering the western market but still remain Kpop. They have released one English song as a group. One English song by Joshua and Vernon and Vernon's English solo Black Eye but everything else has been in Korean. Japanese and Chinese. I think this is smart marketing because they are satisfying their international fans and of course the Knetizens are the ones angry over it because they want to control the idols and spread rumors to the point they hurt the idols, cause them to be depressed and ruin their careers and lives. Here is some news for you you don't have to be KOREAN to enjoy Kpop. I listen to music from all over the world whether it is in English or the person's original language.

[knjgoldencomics]

I feel like it's also because of America's prestige and the feeling of "you've made it" if you gain success in the US. The Oscars, American Music Award, Billboard Music, Emmy, Tony, etc. America does great business, which in turn, gives America greater influence. A lot of KPop acts want to make it big in the US because we have highly praised actors, singers, innovators, colleges, etc. Once you're popular in America, you have this reach that expands to every country. Everyone knows who Micheal Jackson is. It's also based on history because America has produced many famous and well-known industries, even the UK because of The Beatles. People and KPop industries want that acknowledgment and status.