Twelve years ago, Korean-American singer Eric Nam’s debut EP Cloud Nine was released.After appearing on the music survival show Star Audition: Birth of a Great Star 2, Nam kickstarted his career as a K-pop solo act. Nam, knowing very little Korean at the beginning of his career, has talked about his dream to be a pop star in America, but without any example of a mainstream Asian pop star, Korea happened to be a starting point. Nam’s story is unique; however, K-pop has begun to launch Asian singers from Korean and other countries to fame outside of Asia. This month, we’re looking at a few examples of K-pop that was born both in and outside of Korea. These idols are pushing the boundaries of Korean music.
I’M NO ALIEN, BIOLOGICAL. Last month, CHUNG HA released her fifth mini album Avilio. Four of the eight songs contain Korean lyrics, like the lead single “Stress,” and the other half of the songs are exclusively in English, including the second single “Salty,” which features Wonder Girls alumnus SUNMI. CHUNG HA, who spent her formative years in Dallas, Texas, is fluent in both English and Korean. Avilio’s underperformance on the Korean charts—her lowest charting EP to date—may feel like a career misstep, but listening to the pop-forward mini-album, CHUNG HA seems to be on a path to a modern Asian pop sound. “Stress” sounds similar to Ariana Grande’s “yes, and?” Invoking the early ‘90s club scene. “Salty” recalls the maximalist pop music of the ‘00s. CHUNG HA’s latest EP contributes to an existential question: what is K-pop in the mid-20s?
NOT LIKE THE SALT YOU SHAKE. At the end of last month, LISA released her debut solo album Alter Ego, the second in a series of BLACKPINK solo albums after ROSÉ’s Rosie last year, and before this month’s release of JENNIE’s Ruby. The three BLACKPINK solo projects are loaded with non-K-pop collaborations, both of which JENNIE’s Ruby contains the most Korean of the three. Last year, when LISA released the first single “Rockstar” from Alter Ego, The Korean Herald reported on the debate between Korean and Thai fans of whether or not to classify LISA’s solo activities as K-pop or Thai Pop, as the singer had worked to produce the single and the video in her home of Thailand. The industry of K-pop welcoming Asians and now even non-Asians in the case of groups like the cringy BLACKSWAN, KATSEYE, and the SM Entertainment-produced non-East Asian-composed group DearALICE, tests the limits of ethnic-based music, and the experiments are another phase in K-pop’s aim at world domination. Whether BLACKPINK or BTS or a new generation of Korean-produced idols, K-pop has become inescapable.
LOOK AT ME, YOU SEE SUGAR AND SWEET. While my playlist is constantly changing, this month, I’m emphasizing women in K-pop for Women’s History Month as K-pop history is still being written. What’s making global waves in K-pop seems to be less Korea-focused; what made this genre unique is the use of Korean and just enough English to cause the global audience to guess what the song is really about. This year, Girls’ Generation alumni Taeyeon celebrates the tenth year of her highly successful solo career. I feature CHUNG HA and JENNIE, who knocked LISA off the playlist this month because of their new songs as well as the pre-debut track from the more traditional SM Entertainment K-pop girl group Hearts2Hearts, “Butterflies.” Hearts2Hearts seems like SM’s answer to NewJeans—now NJZ—teenagers singing minimalist pop. With only two songs released, we’re yet to see how the group will develop and if, perhaps, they help to shape the future of K-pop.
Read the lyrics on Genius.
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