What Is K-Pop?—How It Changed the Music Industry
You’ve probably heard of pop, right? It’s pretty hard to miss since it’s what you constantly hear every day on the radio and sometimes, it’s used on videos you see on social media. Pop is a music genre that is so catchy that even though you’re not fond of the artist, you end up liking their song anyway. You’ve probably played a hundred pop songs a thousand times without even realizing it, that’s how catchy they are. But have you ever heard of K-Pop?
The K stands for “Korean” which you would have already guessed by now that the term “K-Pop” refers to Korean music. It all started when the influence of western culture dominated South Korea in the late 80s and 90s and eventually led aspiring Korean artists to produce music of their own. But it wasn’t until in the 2000s that K-Pop made its way to other countries. It was commonly popularized by Korean bands such as Big Bang and debuted in 2006. Fast-forward to today, K-Pop has dominated western culture and is now well-known around the world.
K-Pop sound is a mixed blend of catchy beats, rapping, and an instrumental appropriate for dance breaks. If you noticed, some K-Pop artists have different versions of their music video—the official music video and a full dance version. An official music video follows a story plot related to the song whereas a dance version is a video entirely focused on the artist dancing to the song. The K-Pop industry is praised quite often for their dedication to making their choreographies perfect and with their unique sense of style, the video and choreography would end up trending by everyone dancing as well.
An important factor in how K-Pop has become so popular over the years is the choreography. Unlike the artists in western pop culture, K-Pop pairs their songs with a dance routine which they eventually perform during music awards and concerts. Although western pop culture has its fair share of catchy songs that are coupled with a dance routine with the likes of Britney Spears and Beyonce, K-Pop brings it to a whole new level.
The global music industry has always been dominated by western pop culture and artists but these days, K-Pop has made a name for itself and is now well-loved by everyone around the world. Because as the music industry continues to grow and evolve, K-Pop isn’t far behind.