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K-Pop

Encyclopedia : K : KP : KPO : K-Pop

K-pop is an abbreviation for Korean popular music, specifically from South Korea (there is practically no popular music industry in North Korea). Many of K-pop stars, most notably BoA, Rain, and Se7en, are very popular in China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and other parts of Asia. The popularity of K-pop is often considered a part of the rise of the Korean Wave, or "Hallyu", in the region.

BoA, who has released albums in both South Korea and Japan, has sold over 10 million records in Asia. In 2004, she won the Most Influential Artist award at MTV Asia Music Awards held in Bangkok, Thailand. In 2005, BoA's 15th single released in Japan, entitled Do the Motion, hit #1 on the Oricon chart making her the first non-Japanese singer in over 21 years to top the chart. She is only the fifth non-Japanese singer to have achieved this feat. That same year, she participated in the NHK Best Singers contest in Japan becoming the only foreign artist to ever be invited to attend four years in a row.

In 2005, Rain was invited to the MTV Japan Awards as the only non-Japanese Asian singer to perform at the show in Tokyo, Japan. Other international guest artists included American singers Ashanti and Mariah Carey. That same year, he won the MTV China-CCTV Mandarin Music Honors Award for Best Artist. Rain has played to more than 40,000 in Beijing and 20,000 in the world-famous Budokan in Tokyo. In February 2006, Rain performed at Madison Square Garden in New York City with both nights sold out within a few days. The singer was the subject of a profile in the New York Times and his performance was also featured in the paper in a review. In April 2006, Time Magazine ranked him the second most influential artist in the world, after Taiwanese director Ang Lee.

Se7en is a Korean artist who is gaining wide popularity not only in South Korea, but also China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. His first Japanese album was released in March 2006. Se7en's popularity has earned him an award for Favorite Korean Artist in the MTV Asia Awards 2006, as well as an award for Best Buzz Asia in the MTV Japan awards 2006.

The emergence of the group Seo Taiji and Boys in 1992 marked a turning point for Korean popular music, as the group incorporated elements of American popular musical genres of rap, rock, and techno into its music. The tremendous success of Seo Taiji and Boys in Korea and such similarly experimental groups as Panic set the trend for the present generation of K-pop groups and artists. Following Seo Taiji and Boys, dance-oriented acts were dominant in the Korean popular music scene of the 1990s.

H.O.T were huge in the 90's when they really started a huge uprising of Korean Pop music.

Recently, rock music has made some headway into the mainstream, with acts like the Yoon Do-Hyun Band gaining national recognition. Popular artists who diverge from the traditional K-pop sound include Lee Jung Hyun, a female techno artist often compared to America's Moby; 1TYM, a four-member rap troupe; and Wax (Korean band), a female alternative rock group. South Korea is also home to a many innovative hip hop artists, including Epik High, Drunken Tiger, and PSY.

Famous Korean Pop Artists

See also

External links

Styles of pop music
Bubblegum pop - Futurepop - Pop punk - Pop-rap - Power pop - Synthpop/Electropop- Indie pop - Teen pop - Traditional pop - Pop metal
By region: American pop - C-pop (Cantopop, Mandopop) - Europop (Nederpop) - Indian pop - J-pop - K-pop
Other topics
Boy band - Girl group - Popular music - Pop culture

 

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