With the Pyeongchang Olympics being all anyone can talk about, this will help you get more familiar with one popular aspect of South Korean culture that you will surely be hearing about: K-Pop. Whether you’ve never heard of it or you listen to it all the time, this article will help you learn a bit about K-Pop in America!
Some background:
K-Pop, or Korean Pop, refers to mainstream Korean music. K-Pop is an incredibly particular yet very diverse genre that mixes elements completely unique to South Korea with sounds from all over the world. U.S. hip-hop is one important element infused in the music -- you hardly ever hear a popular K-Pop song without a rap verse or so. Another notable facet of K-Pop is the impressively synchronized choreography that is almost as catchy as the song it goes along with. Fashion is the other prominent element of K-Pop, and has transformed in recent years to a top-notch, high-fashion, trend-setting version of their unique, stand-out clothing concepts.
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K-Pop in the U.S.:
You may or may not be surprised to hear that K-Pop artists sell out some of the biggest stadiums in America (and across the globe) for their world tours. For example, one of the most popular K-Pop groups called BTS sold out two nights at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. (18,711 capacity), and for that same tour also performed at the Allstate Arena (18,500 capacity) and the Honda Center (18,336 capacity) -- a stark contrast from their tour just three years ago when their venue capacities were almost a quarter the size, showing how rapidly and how recently K-Pop is gaining U.S. popularity.
K-Pop in Detroit:
Due to the fact that K-Pop artists will generally pick only one city per one area of the U.S., such as the Midwest, these groups will usually choose Chicago or New York rather than Detroit. This is because those cities have been frequented by other K-Pop groups and therefore tested for successful attendance. There have been solo artists and other acts from South Korea to come to Detroit, but never a K-Pop group. That is, until recently!
The band Day6 came to Detroit this past October. Day6 has managed to become just as popular as it’s fellow mainstream K-pop groups, quite a feat for a group that doesn't dance but instead is an instrument-playing (non-indie) group. That is due in part to belonging to JYP (one of the top 3 South Korean entertainment companies), being part of a reality survival show, and their incredible vocal and instrumental talent .
In order to support and celebrate a hopeful start for K-Pop groups bringing their tours to Detroit, I joined the volunteer promotions team for SubKulture Entertainment (the agency that brought Day6 and other K-Pop groups to North America) and helped spread the word around southeast Michigan. Day6 easily packed the Music Hall on Madison St. in Detroit, and they loved the audience, of course, since Detroit is known for its amazing concert audiences! Thanks to the all-around success of this concert, we can hope for more Detroit K-Pop concerts and can show them the amazing venues, sights, and activities that Detroit has to offer! The next time a K-Pop concert comes to Detroit, make sure you check it out, because they're a blast!
For more K-Pop, check clickondetroit, follow 1d4 on Facebook (our new pop culture-specific page), or follow my personal twitter @mermadge. Feel free to ask questions and chat about all things K-Pop!
Our thanks to SubKulture Entertainment for our header image!
Read about EXO, the K-Pop group that performed at the Olympics!