With the current global situation, it’s more important than ever for people to find common ground. Music, a language that transcends cultural and geographical boundaries, can help create stronger bonds between us all. One region that continues to see tremendous success and a growing reach in the global music industry in Asia.
To help everyone expand their musical horizons on a global scale, here’s a brief look into the music of Asia:
South Korea
Popular Music Genres:
- K-pop (a.k.a. Korean pop music), Hip Hop & Rap, R&B, and Soul, Rock
Artist Spotlight – BTS
Quick Facts:
- Also known as Bangtan Boys or Beyond The Scene
- 7-member South Korean boy band that debuted in 2013
- Members often co-write and produce a lot of the group’s music
- Loyal fans of the group are known as A.R.M.Y.s
Global Achievements:
- Broke 3 Guinness World Records with their “Boy With Luv” YouTube music video
- Won the Billboard Music Award for Top Social Artist (2017-2019)
- Won the Billboard Music Award for Top Duo/Group (2019)
- Was the first Korean artist to perform at the American Music Awards (2017)
- Won the award for Favorite Social Artist at the American Music Awards (2018-2019)
- Won the award for Tour of the Year at the American Music Awards (2019)
- Performed on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest (2019)
- Sold out Wembley Stadium (90,000 seats) in London in just 90 minutes (2019)
- Reached 1 billion views on YouTube for their “DNA” music video (2020)
- Collaborated with many Western artists including Halsey and The Chainsmokers
- BTS spoke at the United Nations as part of a UNICEF collaboration with their Love Yourself campaign (2018)
- BTS is the first group since the Beatles to have 3 No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 within a year
- BTS broke the online viewership record with their live-streamed concert “Bang Bang Con: The Live” (2020)
> Had $18.1 million in ticket sales
> Reached 756,000 concurrent viewers in 107 countries and territories
Artist Spotlight – NCT 127
Quick Facts:
- 9-member male K-pop group that debuted in 2016
- The group’s name stands for Neo Culture Technology with 127 referring to the longitude of Seoul, South Korea where the group is based
- Members come from countries all around the world (Canada, South Korea, Japan, & the U.S.)
- Fans of the group are known as NCTzens
Global Achievements:
- Performed in 11 different countries during their first tour NEO CITY – The Origin (2019)
- Was the first K-pop group to perform at the MTV Europe Music Awards and the first to perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (2019)
- Was the first K-pop act to ever perform at Rodeo Houston (2020)
- Had 9 albums rank within various places (three #1 spots) in the top 15 on Billboard’s World Albums chart
- Peaked at #2 on Billboard’s Artist 100 chart
- NCT 127’s albums We Are Superhuman and Neo Zone both reached #1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart
Song Recommendations:
- “Wave” by Ateez
- “Answer” by Ateez
- “The Truth Untold” by BTS featuring Steve Aoki
- “DNA” by BTS
- “Love Me Now” by NCT 127
- “Superhuman” by NCT 127
- “Lucky One” by EXO
- “UN Village” by Baekhyun
- “BOOM” by NCT Dream
China
Popular Music Genres:
- C-pop (a.k.a. Chinese pop music), Cantopop (a.k.a. Cantonese pop music), Mandopop (a.k.a. Mandarin pop music), Hip Hop, Rock, R&B
Artist Spotlight – WayV
Quick Facts:
- The 7-member Chinese boy band that debuted in 2019
- Adopted 2 cats (Louis & Leon) and 1 puppy (Bella)
- Fans of the group are known as WayZenNis
Global Achievements:
- First EP, Take Off, peaked at #7 on Billboard’s World Albums chart
- Second EP, Take Over The Moon, reached #1 on the iTunes Worldwide Album chart and peaked at #12 on Billboard’s World Albums chart
- First full-length album, Awaken The World, peaked at #9 on Billboard’s World Albums chart
- WayV peaked at #12 on Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart
- Had 6 of their songs peak at various places (spots #3, 6, 7, 12, 23, & 25) within the top 25 on Billboard’s World Digital Song Sales chart
Artist Spotlight – Kris Wu
Quick Facts:
- He is Chinese-Canadian
- Singer, actor, and model
- Has songs in both Mandarin and English
- A former member of K-pop band EXO
Global Achievements:
- Peaked at #5 on Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart
- Collaborated with Travis Scott to create the song “Deserve” which peaked at #12 on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart
- Performed at the 2018 Super Bowl LIVE concert in Minneapolis and acted as a Super Bowl LII Ambassador for NFL China
> Was the first Chinese artist to ever perform at a Super Bowl event
- Won the Fan Fave New Artist award at the 2018 iHeartRadio MMVAs in Canada
- His album Antares peaked at #31 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart
Song Recommendations:
- “Electric Hearts” by WayV
- “Slow Motion” by Lu Han
- “Come Back” by WayV
- “Tian Di (天地)” by Kris Wu
- “After Midnight” by WayV
- “Freedom (終於了解自由)” by Eric Chou
Japan
Popular Music Genres:
- J-pop (a.k.a. Japanese pop music), Rock, Hip Hop, Jazz
Artist Spotlight – ARASHI
Quick Facts:
- Debuted in 1999
- Japanese boy band with 5 members
Global Achievements:
- Beat Taylor Swift, BTS, Billie Eilish, and Lady Gaga to win The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry’s (IFPI) Global Album of 2019 award
Artist Spotlight – ONE OK ROCK
Quick Facts:
- Debuted in 2007
- Japanese rock band with 4 male members
- Create music in both Japanese and English
Global Achievements:
- Participated in the Vans Warped Tour in 2014 and 2019
- Performed at the Soundwave music festival in Australia (2015)
- Toured with All Time Low and 5 Seconds Of Summer (2015, 2016)
- Won Best Japanese Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards (2016)
- Was a special guest for the Asia leg of Ed Sheeran’s “Divide Tour” (2019)
Song Recommendations:
- “Traffic Jam” by SPiCYSOL
- “君じゃなきゃダメみたい (It Looks Like It Has To Be You)” by Masayoshi Oishi
- “I Love…” by Official HIGE DANdism
- “Giants” by ONE OK ROCK
- “Hikari” by ARASHI
- “ツキアカリ (Tsukiakari)” by Sakurako Ohara
