K-pop, or Korean popular music, is a genre of popular music that has its roots in South Korea and is a part of that country’s culture.[2] In addition to its origins, K-Pop encapsulates genres and cultures from different parts of the world. It has pop, hip-hop, R&B, rock, jazz, gospel, reggae, electronic dance, folk, country, disco, and classical. During the 2000s, “K-pop” gained popularity, particularly on a global scale.
Gayo is the term used in Korea for domestic pop music, and it is still often used in South Korea. Although the term “K-pop” can be used to describe any popular or pop music from South Korea, it is frequently used informally to refer to any Korean music and artists connected to the nation’s entertainment and idol industries.
K-pop saw considerable growth in 2018 and elevated to “power player” status, with a 17.9% increase in revenue growth. According to the “Global Music Report 2019” by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, Korean popular music is now at number six among the top ten music markets worldwide, with BTS and Blackpink named as musicians driving the industry growth.[11] K-pop had a record-breaking year in 2020, expanding by 44.8% and taking the top spot among the year’s fastest-growing main markets.
1) BTS
After debuting in 2013, BTS, a South Korean boy band formerly known as the Bangtan Boys, had tremendous success. BTS made history in 2017 by being the first Asian group to win Artist of the Year and the first Korean band to perform at the American Music Awards, in addition to having four No. 1 albums and five straight No. 1 singles. Each of the seven members of the group, with a combined personal net worth of around $20 million, is around $100 million.
It might take some time until BTS releases any new songs, though. During their yearly FESTA event, the band announced in a YouTube video that they are taking a “hiatus.”
2) Blackpink:
Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa are great members of Blackpink, and there is a lot to learn about them.
Since the debut of their album Square One in August 2016, the South Korean pop idols, nicknamed “the world’s most popular girl group,” have gained recognition across the globe.
Blackpink, a four-member K-pop girl group, made history as the first K-pop girl group to perform at Coachella in 2019 and as the highest-charting K-pop girl group on the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200 charts. The group has expanded to include sponsorship agreements with MAC Cosmetics and the Calm app. The group is popular for its attire and dance moves. Even the girl group Blackpink received a Netflix documentary, and in 2021 Lisa made her solo debut.
3) ITZY:
The members of the South Korean girl group Itzy (stylized in all capital letters; Korean: ; RR: Itji; MR: Itchi) are Yeji, Lia, Ryujin, Chaeryeong, and Yuna. The band was started by JYP Entertainment. They made their public debut on February 12, 2019, when they released a single album It’z Different.
ITZY made its debut in 2019 and later became the first and only K-pop girl group to take home the title of Rookie of the Year at each of the five major Korean music award shows, completing the “Rookie Grand Slam” or making history. With the release of their song “In The Morning,” they also made history by becoming the second South Korean girl group to have more than one success on the Billboard Global 200 list.
4) Seventeen
The hip-hop group is made up of S.coups, Wonwoo, Mingyu, and Vernon; the group of k-pop vocalist group has Woozi, Jeonghan, Joshua, DK, and Seungkwan; and the performance group has Hoshi, Jun, The8, and Dino. Thirteen members make up the K-Pop boy band Seventeen. Seventeen made their debut on May 26, 2015, under the label, Pledis Entertainment. Their first release of them is the mini album “17 Carat” and the first single “Adore You”.
Big Hit Entertainment (formerly HYBE Labels), Pledis’ largest shareholder as of May 25, 2020, will continue to run Pledis independently.
5) (G)I-DLE
Cube Entertainment founded the South Korean female trio (G)I-dle in 2018. The group’s name is stylized as (G)I-dle (Korean: (G)I-dle; RR: Yeoja Aideul). The group consists of five individuals: Miyeon, Minnie, Soyeon, Yuqi, and Shuhua. Soojin, the first sextet of the group, left on August 14, 2021. With the release of the song “Latata” off their debut extended play (EP), I Am, (G)I-dle made their public debut on May 2, 2018. They made their Japanese debut as U-Cube on July 31, 2019, with Latata.
The six-member K-pop female group (G)I-DLE was founded in 2018. The group smashed several records for South Korean girl groups after the release of their third EP, I Trust, in 2020, and became the fourth girl group to sell 100,000 copies in the first week of release.
6) ENHYPEN:
I-Land (Korean: RR: Enhaipeun; Japanese: Enhaipun; stylized in all capital letters) is a 2020 survival competition show that gave rise to the South Korean boy band Enhypen, produced by Belift Lab, a collaboration between CJ ENM and Hybe Corporation. Heeseung, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo, Jungwon, and Ni-ki make up the group’s seven members. The K-Pop group released its first EP, Border: Day One, on November 30, 2020.
When ENHYPEN made its debut in 2020, it won four “Rookie of the Year” Awards. Over 100 million people have watched the music videos for the songs “Given-Taken,” “Drunk-Dazed,” and “Tamed-Dashed” by the band, which consists of seven members.
7) Girl’s Generation:
The other members of the group are Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. Nine people made comprised the original group before Jessica quit in September 2014. One of the most well-known K-pop groups in the world, Girls’ Generation has won numerous awards and the honorific title “The Nation’s Girl Group” in their home South Korea.
Girls’ Generation, one of the most well-known K-pop girl groups, has sold over 100 million physical and digital records. Since 2017 their debut, until their ultimate album as a group in 2018, Girls’ Generation paved their way to success and lefts milestones behind. They entered the Guinness World Records in 2018 as the artists with the most awards from the Melon Music Awards.
8) BIGBANG
In response to the television programme Big Bang Documentary, BIGBANG appeared in the K-Pop scenes in 2006. The five-piece with R&B influences became well-known for many years as one of the most well-liked K-pop acts of the 2000s. Due to South Korea’s requirement that all citizens serve in the military, members of the group enlisted in the service in 2017. Rumours of a probable reunion began to spread after members Taeyang and Daesung released from the Korean military in November 2019. Shortly after being released from the military, G-Drag, the leader of Big Bang, introduced a pair of sneakers called the Nike Air Force 1 Para-Noise.
9) Red Velvet:
The quartet of K-pop singers put out “Happiness” as their debut single in 2014. When a new member got into the band in 2015, Red Velvet’s Ice Cream Cake rose to the top of the Hanteo chart in South Korea. In 2017, the band’s third number-one album, The Red Flavour, debuted at the top of the Billboard World Albums chart. They created music history by being the first K-pop girl group to debut with three No. 1 albums on the World Albums Chart. The group’s members represent Salvatore Ferragamo Global, Prada, and Tod’s. Additionally, Converse Korea offered them sponsorship opportunities.
10) TXT
Tomorrow X Together (TXT) released The Dream Chapter: Star as their debut EP in 2019. The music video for the EP’s main track, “Crown,” broke a record for becoming the most-watched K-pop debut music video for a male group within 24 hours after receiving 14.5 views in a single day. They made their Billboard Emerging Artists chart debut at No. 1 and received their first-ever MTV Video Music Award nomination for Best K-pop. Their subsequent album, The Dream Chapter: Magic, peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard World Album chart. As evidence of TXT’s continued success, GQ Japan honoured them with the Men of the Year Pop Icon Award.