satoori 45,814 Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 Click here to view the Tweet As South Korean singer/songwriter, model and rapper CL (a.k.a. Chaelin Lee) prepares to make her Toronto debut at Rebel (the former Sound Academy) this Monday (Nov. 14), the jury is still out - but the genre has certainly been making inroads over the past couple of years in this country. The latest volley was fired just a few short weeks ago, when South Korean boy band BTS debuted here at No. 19 with its latest album Wings, an impressive milestone that was almost echoed on the Billboard 200, where the album debuted at No. 26. The numbers aren't astronomical by any means - Wings moved 22,000 units in the US during its first two weeks on the charts - but there's another avenue where not only is BTS skewing big numbers, but serving as the band's most potent promotional platform: YouTube. "YouTube made K-Pop, 100%," says Gerald Belanger, founder and president of Kpopcanada, an organization that stages and promotes events specializing in this genre. "Otherwise, it never would have reached here. There was no radio for it. The videos themselves also are what sold it. Very high production values, bands' impeccable choreography, design, fashion - it all jelled together." It was only a few short years ago that Psy rocked the world with "Gangnam Style," a wildly entertaining and colourfully bizarre song and video that opened the floodgate to mainstream acceptance...or at the very least, cracked the door open a little. Since then, several K-Pop acts have done well in Canada and south of the border: 2NE1 (which features singer CL) landed at US retail with their 2014 album Crush; EXO delivered Exodus in 2015; G-Dragon delivered a couple of titles and the BTS juggernaut began with the 2015 EP The Most Beautiful Moment In Life, Pt. 2 in December 2015, a compilation album also titled The Most Beautiful Moment in Life in May 2016, and Wings, plus the single "Blood, Sweat & Tears," which debuted at 68 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100, not bad for a song that was not recorded in English or French. On the live front, the first indication that there was a groundswell of support for K-Pop was when U.S. company Krowdpop crowdfunded a Massey Hall concert in March 2015 featuring solo stars Ailee, San E and Jay Park to the tune of $200-$270 each, with over 1000 people ponying up the money. Six months later, the biggest K-Pop concert in Canada was held at Toronto's Air Canada Centre on October 13. Promoted by Live Nation and marketed by Belanger, K-Pop hip-hop quintet Big Bang sold out the venue with tickets priced between $95 and $275. Belanger's organization, which was formed in 2013 and has since presented over 50 events since, though the majority of them have been in Toronto - has also staged two K-Pop conventions in the Six. He drew more than 4,000 fans to the last one, which featured the acts VIXX, GOT7, DAY6 and GFRIEND - and will stage simultaneous events in Toronto and Vancouver May 12-14, 2017. "They're totally fan-funded," says Belanger of the K-Pop conventions. "We have no corporate sponsors or private investors, so we don't have to answer to anyone." Mind you, it's still a long stretch to reach the heights of Psy, whose massive hit "Gangnam Style" captured the world's imagination and stuck to the top of the charts like Krazy Glue for seven weeks. One more song, "Gentleman," also cracked the Top 10 (peaking at No. 9). What's especially curious is the demographic that is propelling this movement. "It's 14-44," says Belanger. "There's a big age range, but the majority would be under 20. When you go to one of our concerts, the breakdown is similar to what you would get in a subway car - it's completely diverse. For the most part, it would be 95% non-Korean." They're also extremely loyal to their acts. "Psy was definitely an anomaly, but BTS fans read the translated lyrics and they watch the closed-captioning and they learn Korean," says Belanger. "They're very dedicated to the art." The rise in K-Pop's appeal also coincides with a rise in the popularity of Korean cosmetics in Canada. In the past three years, The Face Shop, a subsidiary of Korean electronics company LG, has opened 30 locations across Canada, with a reputed inventory of 1200 items. As for BTS and CL, the latter signed by Scooter Braun to a management contract, Belanger feels it's just a matter of time before they scale the same heights as Big Bang in terms of live concert draws. But there's one important distinction that will have to happen before K-Pop achieves the mainstream attention most artists dream of... "I don't think people are going to be walking around singing Korean lyrics again like they did with 'Gangnam Style,' and somebody like CL, her new single 'Lifted,' and she's singing in English. And she's rapping in English on a few songs. So I think when you're attempting to break the North American market, you have to sing in English." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STORM 7,555 Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 Haha, NO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ddeulgi 2,342 Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 no Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sickwithsin 11,102 Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 Doubtful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHenchanted 4,704 Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 it already is. its kinda wild how many people irl are actually kpop fans or at least now know what it is when i discovered at work that a few of my co-workers were kpop fans it was so odd, ranging from moms to men too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoplz 2,333 Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 never tbh lololol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justgolol 1,622 Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 Doubtful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sorecer 19,892 Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 we are going downhill if we talk about kpop success in other countries aside of asia so No, I don't think so. the hallyu wave already passed their peak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L'Arachel 480 Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 Haha, NO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LUKΞWΔRM 2,261 Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 i do want my faves. to be recognized worldwide and get more famous but at the same time, i dont wanna share kpop with everyone though im selfish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena 21,718 Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 we are going downhill if we talk about kpop success in other countries aside of asia so No, I don't think so. the hallyu wave already passed their peak um no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akhuun 1,166 Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 Why do people in this thread argue with the title instead of reading an article? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAUCY 44,499 Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 ia, it'll be hard to get on the same plane as GS. esp without english. but they'll do what they can. anyway hope bts go on a massive tour next year Haha, NO. no Doubtful. never tbh lololol Doubtful. Haha, NO. so yall didn't read this short article.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cafemiel 148 Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 Not informed enough but aren't all of Black Pink members fluent in English? Somehow, I can see that becoming more common these upcoming years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acer 396 Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 im sure Bighit Upcoming GGs and BGs will be promoted in all market i mean when they debut in 5 years yeah so far NO! but another Korean song (This time Kpop group) will go viral mark ACER words! BTS come to anytime here im ready " Toronto's Air Canada Centre" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindControl 1,646 Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 we are going downhill if we talk about kpop success in other countries aside of asia so No, I don't think so. the hallyu wave already passed their peak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeongwon 2,631 Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 we are going downhill if we talk about kpop success in other countries aside of asia so No, I don't think so. the hallyu wave already passed their peak the Hallyu wave applied the most to Asia in the first place and I definitely don't think that's true, with more and more people becoming connected to the Internet and to different cultures, k-pop is just becoming more known about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImAmazing 7,501 Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 I can't say that Kpop will be mainstream popular in the US or the west, but I can see some group establishing a decent sided US/western fan base. It's very difficult to break into the US market if the song isn't English, not impossible, but difficult. Bts are juggernauts? I can see Bts having a decent sided US/Canadian fan base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
satoori 45,814 Posted November 15, 2016 Author Share Posted November 15, 2016 we are going downhill if we talk about kpop success in other countries aside of asia so No, I don't think so. the hallyu wave already passed their peak Actually according to some news outlets in Korea there is a new hallyu wave...new generation idols (bts being one of the leaders) no longer just focus in Japan and China...but also spreading to Europe, Canada and America. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiraNa 120 Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 agree if they sang in english it would be possible, otherwise I do not think kpop can make it to mainstream. But I do not believe that its hallyu pick either. People are bored. And when majority of your local "artists" sing about broccoli at best, you sure can check out a song where you dont understand a word. At least you dont have to cover your ears in that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaroonedInMumbai 3,918 Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 Eh, how are we going downhill?! Do ya'll even pay attention? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
satoori 45,814 Posted November 15, 2016 Author Share Posted November 15, 2016 I can't say that Kpop will be mainstream popular in the US or the west, but I can see some group establishing a decent sided US/western fan base. It's very difficult to break into the US market if the song isn't English, not impossible, but difficult. Agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peopletooyoung 47 Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 the most you can do is have niche, loyal fanbases in America. HOT already had that in the late 90's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adina kim 484 Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 join the illuminaty ,then YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balancetonquoi 4,707 Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 I meet 1 kpop fan randomly every month so yeah I think so Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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