The Key That Unlocked the Path

“Oppan gangnam style”, many may recognize the hit sensational lyric from the song, Gangnam Style, that skyrocketed in views on Youtube to become the first ever Youtube video to reach a billion views in 2012. The famous song is sung by Korean singer and rapper, PSY, who’s meaning behind the song is of the desire to live a luxurious lifestyle in the richest district of South Korea. This hit single charted consecutively for 31 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and opened up a door for others to gain more interest in Korean pop. 

The Kings of K-pop

In South Korea, this YG Entertainment boy band from the 2nd generation of K-pop is highly praised by many current 3rd generation Korean idols. The credit of this mighty label,”The Kings of K-pop”, belongs to the one and only, BigBang. 

This group consists of five members: G-Dragon, TOP, Taeyang, Daesung, and Seungri. BigBang is known to have helped spread K-pop more internationally and be one of the most influential groups since they are a self-production group with amazing stage presence. 

G-Dragon’s Influence

BigBang’s G-Dragon, the one who started the many trends we see in K-pop nowadays. As a matter of fact, he was the first celebrity to do the strongly used finger heart among many K-pop idols. He is also the reason as to why in every comeback, many groups tend to dye their hair in other colors. Moreover, he wanted his group to have their own customized fan light. Which leads to what we now call, lightsticks, among the Korean pop music community. G-Dragon carried the Korean pop industry to make it more unique for many fans. 

BTS (방탄소년단) 

The boyband who originates from a small entertainment company in South Korea to dominate the music industry globally. Their heartfelt, inspiring lyrics really had an amazing impact on many, such as their big fan base A.R.M.Y(Adorable Representative MC for Youth). BTS is a seven member group who are; RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook. These 7 young men went from winning no awards to sweeping awards, and now to earning Grammy nominations for the same category for the 2nd year. In South Korea, many other current K-pop groups are grateful and say that BTS paved a way for them. This entitlement was earned after BTS earned their very first Billboard Award for ‘Top Social Artist’, which led to be the first to perform at the AMAs with their song “DNA”. Furthermore, they are also the first Korean music group to attend the Grammys, perform and speak at the UN, sell out the Wembley Stadium, and earn the Artist of The Year Award at AMAs. BTS is creating a good impact and representation not only for Korea, but also for the upcoming generations. 

The Bangtan Effect

In this world, we all have faced the obstacle of a pandemic together. And as for many, the sudden change of lifestyle that restricted us from having that once socially used aspect of life to the feeling of being alone at home would take a toll on them. Who would have thought that not seeing people everyday would eventually become boring. Even for the BTS members themselves the pandemic lifestyle would bore them, and also understood how many were struggling through it. The group decided to release their title track for ‘BE’, Life Goes On. Which discusses their own similar views on the pandemic as to the majority, and speaking as to how one day we will think of this as a simple dream. 

More into the pandemic, BTS missed performing, so their company came forward to the idea of having an online concert. They first started off with a free online streaming platform of their oldest performances to their most recent ones at that time hosting an actual performance called “BangBangCon”. Then, hosted another named “MOTS ON:E”, that included songs that have never been sung and were supposed to be performed in front of A.R.M.Y for the Map of The Soul 7 Tour. After BTS’ online concerts, many more groups in the K-pop industry started doing the same as they saw fans enjoy these events. 

Life Goes On 

Atlast, the strong winds have turned into a breeze. After 2 years of no face to face interaction, we are gradually going back to the state of normality that we knew. Now we have BTS being officially back, where they performed a total of 4 successful shows in Los Angeles at SoFi stadium. Hinting another concert that will occur during March in Seoul, South Korea at the final day of their small concert series. However, BTS aren’t the only ones who are going to meet fans around the world.

TWICE announces 4th World Tour “III”

Famous K-pop girl group, TWICE, announced their 4th world tour “III” on November 15, 2021. The tour was hinted at alongside the release of their popular single ,“The Feels”, back in October. To blast off the tour, the first show will take place in Seoul, South Korea on December 24. The tour will consist of the visit to 6 cities and the total of eight shows, which are the following; Seoul, Los Angeles, Oakland, Dallas, Atlanta, and ending it at New York. Many of ONCE’s are excited for this upcoming tour. 

ATEEZ announces World Tour “The Fellowship: Beginning Of The End” 

ATEEZ, an 8 member K-pop boy group, has announced their 2nd world tour after their debut tour back in 2020. They will kick off with their first show on January 7th in South Korea continuing to 5 other cities; Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Dallas, and Los Angeles. 

Let the Anticipation Begin

This is just the beginning of tours to be announced, and so far many shows have been sold out for those that the tickets have gone on sale for. But don’t be too discouraged because there are many more shows and tours from other amazing K-pop sensational groups to be patiently waiting for.