Compared to many other fans, I started a little late when getting into K-Pop, Korean Popular Music.

I have only been a fan for about a year, while many have been with these bands since they first debuted a few years ago.

The reason I got into K-Pop was because I wanted to know what people associated me with when I told them I was part Korean.

Many people would ask in disgust thinking that it was weird, or that I was a communist, “Oh, you’re Korean? Do you listen to K-Pop?”

That is not the case so much anymore when it comes to music and the open mindedness of people when it comes to music.

Now, a K-Pop boy band can perform two of their hit songs for Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve and many of the bands are climbing the charts in Billboard, iHeartRadio, and many of the American music awards.

BTS performed their hit song live at the 2017 American Music Awards in November and performed their two songs, “DNA” and “Mic Drop” in Los Angeles for New Year’s Eve.

This new acceptance of K-Pop is not just happening in America, it is happening all over the world.

On January 7th, EXO became the first K-Pop group to perform on the famous floating stage in front of the beautiful Dubai Fountain on January 7th.

According to the official Billboard website, BTS took the title of No. 1 year-end top Social 50 Artists chart, No. 2 year-end World Albums Artist, and had one of the highest rankings on the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 next to people such as Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber, and Drake.

It is even happening here in Susquehannock High School with more and more students beginning to listen to music in other languages, not just in Korean.

When I wear my EXO shirt or my BTS sweatshirt, people compliment me on it and often admit that they listen to K-Pop.

During a fire drill in the fall, I met junior Mei Tomko; when she saw my BTS sweatshirt, we began talking out our favorite K-Pop bands. When I asked Tomko about K-Pop concerts she had gone to, she said that she found K-Pop more welcoming and more culturally ambiguous with people of all race, genders, and ages present.

“It is ultimately showing how culture barriers can be broken through music,” said Tomko. “There were all different kinds of people there (EXO Concert), like people of all different races and ages too. It was really cool to see that that type of music, especially when it’s not in English, that that many people can enjoy.”

Nearly all of the top artists recognized by most Americans have won awards in the Seoul Music Awards including the Disc Bonsang and the Disc Daesang.

The Disc Bonsang is the Main Prize which is awarded to 12 artists by calculating album and digital sales with online vote.

The Disc Daesang is the Grand Prize which is Artist of the Year and is also awarded to the best 12 artists in the same was as the Disc Bonsang.

There are many other awards that resemble that of American awards including Record of the Year, New Artist Awards, and Popularity Awards which many of these artists have won throughout their career and in the more recent award shows.

Here are ten of the top K-Pop artists with a brief summary of their group and music.

BTS

Bangtan Boys, or BTS for short, is a seven member boy band that debuted in 2013 and are only just being recognized worldwide. BTS’s latest album Love Yourself : Her was released in September of 2017 and hit top of the charts in October. The two songs that were performed on New Year’s Eve in LA, “DNA” and “Mic Drop”, were both from this album. ‘Mic Drop’ has become so popular that famous DJ Steve Aoki has completed two reedits and American rapper Designer has done a collaboration involving this song. Leader of BTS Rap Monster has done English collaborations with Fall Out Boy and Wale. BTS is currently in the running for Best Fan Group and Best Boy Band in the iHeartRadio Music Awards.

EXO

EXO is a Korean-Chinese boy band that started in 2011 with 12 members. Since 2012, they perform as two sub groups called EXO-K and EXO-M, one performing in Korean and the other performing in Mandarin. It was EXO-K that was the first ever to perform on Dubai’s new floating stage in their famous fountain in January. They chose to perform their newest song ‘Power’ on the stage, which resulted in a huge burst in the song’s popularity. In later November of 2018, EXO will be kicking off their 4th solo concert series titled “EXO PLANET #4” so be sure to support the boys throughout their new releases.

SEVENTEEN

Although their name may be a little misconceiving, SEVENTEEN is a Korean-Chinese boy band with 13 members. Their common motto is “13 members, 3 units, 1 group.” The 13 members are divided into three different subunits within the group each with its own unit leader and in charge of a different part of the songs. The three units are the Hip-Hip Unit who is in charge of most of the rapping, the Vocal Unit who is in charge of the singing, and the Performance who is in charge of the choreography of the music videos and stage performances. Seventeen debuted in 2015 and released their latest album titled Teen, Age in early November of 2017. For this album, they won the Golden Disc Award Album Division and Disk Bonsang.

GOT7

GOT7 is a seven member boy group that debuted in January of 2014. In October of 2017, they released a mini album seven months after the release of their full album Flight Log. For Flight Log: Arrival, they won both a Disc Bonsang and a Disc Daesang for their respective category. They were also voted in the V Live Awards as the Best Worldwide Influencer due to their popularity in the United Kingdom as well as in the Global Artist Top 10 for the second year in a row.

MONSTA X

MONSTA X is a seven member group that debuted in 2015. 2018 is the third year that they have held a position in the Global Artist Top 10 for the V Live Awards, and the results are still pending for their nominations in Disc Bonsang, Disc Daesang, and the Hallyu Special Award, which is awarded to the performer who gained popularity around the world during the year; however, they are expected to win them all. MONSTA X is currently on tour with their next stop being in London, United Kingdom after several live concerts in Japan. They will be coming to America in 2018 with stops in New York and Los Angeles in mid – July of 2018. They were also chosen to pass the torch for the 2018 Winter Olympics being held in Seoul, South Korea with a sponsorship from Coca-Cola because they are such an influential group.  

BIGBANG

BIGBANG has been around since 2006, but they are still growing in their popularity almost 12 years later. With five members, they are often referred to as the “Kings of K Pop” by the media. Continuously since 2011, they have been nominated for Popularity Awards and Best Song Awards and have won being in Top 10 Artists. Their last album came out in 2016 titled Made, but they have not lost any footing when it comes to all these new artists and groups rising. The leader G-Dragon and vocalist Taeyang have gone on to produce their own solo albums which have given a boost in popularity. Taeyang is scheduled to perform for the 2018 Winter Olympic Ceremony in order to bring people together through music no matter the language or culture barrier.

WANNA ONE

WANNA ONE is one of the top newest artists that just debuted in 2017. With eleven members, they were formed through Produce 101 which is similar to American Idol. In 2018, they won the New Artist of the Year award to add to their titles of Rookie of the Year and Best New Male Artist from last year’s award ceremonies. They currently have one full album and one extended album out which were released in late November of 2017.  They are the newest up and coming stars, saying in an interview that they wanted to be like SEVENTEEN with their teamwork and performances. They have not yet announced any tours coming to America or the United Kingdom because they are still new, but with enough support and popularity, they have have said may come to New York or Los Angeles for a few live concerts within the next few years.

BLACKPINK

Yes, there are girl groups in Korea too. BLACKPINK is a four girl group that debuted in 2016 and quickly hit top of Korean charts with the songs “Whistle” and “Boombayah.” For the 32nd Golden Disc Awards in 2018 which is similar to the Grammy’s, BLACKPINK was selected to perform ‘As If It’s Your Last’ which is seen in the picture above. In 2018, BLACKPINK won the Digital Bonsang and the Global Artists Top 10 with the results still pending for the Popularity Award and the Hallyu Special Award, an award given to the performer who gained popularity around the world during the year. Many fans speculate that BLACKPINK will be releasing an album in 2018 or 2019 since it has been 2 years since their last album, but nothing has been confirmed by the group yet.

RED VELVET

RED VELVET debuted in 2014 as a four member girl group and added a fifth member in 2015. Their 2nd full album, Perfect Velvet, was released in November of 2018 with their hit song ‘Peek-A-Boo’ reaching the Top 20 in Korean charts. They won Digital Bonsang in 2018 and several Best Female Group awards in 2017. The results for the Seoul Music Awards are still pending, but they have a high chance of winning the Bonsang Award, the Popularity Award and the Hallyu Special Award.

TWICE

This nine member girl group debuted in 2015. They released two albums in 2017 as well as two mini albums. Their first ever Japanese album was released in June of 2017 by the name of Twice while their first studio album was released in October titled Twicetagram. They won two Digital Bonsongs for Twicetagram and their hit song “Knock Knock” as well as the Global Artists Top 10 for the second year in a row with more Bonsang and Popularity Awards still pending for the Seoul Music Awards.