Today marks K-pop Day on Blastro featuring videos from BoA, Big Bang, and Wonder Girls. K-pop has major commercial success in Japan and now its producers and stars have their eyes set on the biggest prize of all: superstar success in America. BoA has relocated to the USA and has an English album with four music videos. Wonder Girls are scheduled to open on the Jonas Brothers tour. Big Bang is a hip pop boy band whose songs combine both Korean and English.
Can these music acts have the same success in America as Korean brands such as Samsung, LG, and Hyundai?
I believe it is possible for Korean acts to have success in America, but there are several obstacles they need to overcome. Unlike Japan or Korea, America is a geographically vast, heterogeneous society with many cultural and media fragments. Whatever tactics used in Asia will probably not work here. Secondly, music acts need close to ten years to develop an American audience for long-term commercial success, but pop music does not lend itself to this timeframe. Finally, success in the pop genre has two gatekeepers: the major music labels and Disney corporation. The Wonder Girls have one of the gatekeepers letting them in on a few stops of the Jonas Brothers 53-city tour.
If the Korean producers want commercial success as independents, I have a few recommendations.
1) Succeed in Los Angeles first. LA is home to more Koreans than any city other than Seoul. It is also the most diverse city in America, which will expose artists to new and different cultural influences.
2) Be Korean. Even though much of the K-pop music is influenced by urban culture, don't try to get acceptance among the urban cultural elite because it is not going to happen. America likes to accept people who are true to themselves.
3) Think long term. The vast geography of the United States makes it hard to for performance tours. Have a long term plan to build success in different regions across the country. Trying to tour the entire country year after year is too hard physically for most people.
BoA may have the opportunity for commercial success in America, but she needs to make some adjustments. She's only 22, but that is approaching the sunset years in pop music that craves teen stars. She needs to know where she wants to be creatively ten years from now and start making the transition today. Her core audience is also making life transitions as well, so she can draw support from her fan base in Korea and Japan. She should let her base know about every little success and setback that happens in America. Whether that's finally getting a radio show interview that she's worked on for months, or losing out on an audition for a TV show.
These K-pop artists have the talent to make it here. Their singing and dancing skills are top notch. However, the American market is big and highly competitive. K-Pop stars need both the patience and tenacity to make it here. I'm cheering for them.
Rob Campanell
Director of Content Programming
Blastro.com