K-Pop, a musical genre that has conquered Latin America

The Latin American market has become one of the main objectives of several K-Pop groups, that quite peculiar and exclusive genre from South Korea . More and more Latinos have ended up conquered by the rhythm, choreography and personalities of these artists, something that the pioneers of this industry see with good eyes.

The main idea of this genre was, in the first instance, to reach all possible Asian countries, which they more than achieved in the blink of an eye.  Conquering other continents was decisive and therefore they had to go a little further, so there was no better strategy than using English phrases in their songs as a first step. A great example of that daring was the rapper PSY with his Gangnam Style in 2012, whose song broke viewing records on YouTube and opened the doors for his compatriots to this side of the world.

As time passed, more and more groups began to arrive, especially in Latin America. K-Pop fans appeared in masses and that motivated this industry to set a goal to conquer this market that is often complex, something they successfully achieved after including several of our cities in their tours . What more could we demand of them? Collaborations with Latino artists? Singing in Spanish? Well yes, they did that too.

Conquering Latin America

In 2015 we saw how GFRIEND released a single titled Me Gustas Tú, a risky proposal that was well received and motivated others to use Spanish phrases in their songs, such as BASTARZ in Nobody But You. Other examples worthy of applause happened during the Music Bank World Tour, a live concert tour with K-Pop bands and artists organized by the Korean music program Music Bank. There, in the 2012 edition in Chile, the Davichi duo sang Gracias a la Vida by Violeta Parra to lift the audience from their seats. Three years later, in Mexico, something similar happened with EXO-K when they performed the bolero Sabor a Mí.

As for the collaborations there are also several to highlight. To find out if the industry was on the right track, the band Super Junior released the song Lo Siento in collaboration with the singer of Dominican origin Leslie Grace. The success was so great that the same group repeated the formula, this time with Reik in the song One More Time. Given this, new groups like VAV followed the wave and published a single called Señorita. Also, Becky G collaborated with J-Hope (member of BTS) with a song titled Chicken Noodle Soup.

In conclusion, it can be assured that the influence of K-Pop in Latin America has been gigantic during the last years. Knowing and learning about oriental culture is something that many of us have enjoyed, and we are sure that they must feel the same about ours. If you are one of those who still do not know about this musical genre, here we leave you a playlist with 10 of the best bands of the moment. To enjoy!

Bts

This is probably the most popular band at the moment. They debuted in 2013 and since then they have been evolving in their musical repertoire. It is made up of seven members: Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook.

Blackpink

Suffice it to say, they are the first and only K-Pop girl group to enter and top Billboard's emerging artist charts. Made up of Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé and Lisa, these girls are a hit group.

EXO

They had the peculiarity of debuting, in 2012, with twelve members separated into two subgroups: EXO-K and EXO-M. However, due to some inconveniences, three members decided not to continue so Xiumin, Suho, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen, Chanyeol, DO, Kai, and Sehun joined forces to form EXO.

TWICE

In 2015, the reality show Sixteen formed this group that is made up of Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu. It should be noted that the success of these girls in Japan was so great that they became the first K-Pop girl group to receive a platinum certification.

KARD

Comprised of J.seph, BM, Somin, and Jiwoo, this band hit the music scene in 2016 and quickly began to gain popularity. Their awards include Best Rookie and Hottest Rookie at the Asia Artist Awards and CJ E&M America Awards, respectively.

GFriend

Although they come from a company not as recognized as others, they have achieved multiple accolades since their debut in 2015. The gropu is made up of six beautiful girls: Sowon, Yerin, Eunha, Yuju, SinB and Umji.

SHINee

They have been active since 2008, being considered today as fashion icons. To their credit they have -so far- 9 studio albums, 5 mini-albums and 4 live albums. Its current members are Onew, Key, Minho, and Taemin.

Also read: What is lo-fi music?

Mamamoo

With the voices of Solar, Moonbyul, Wheein and Hwasa, these girls debuted in 2014 as the best K-Pop group of the year. If there is something that characterizes them above the rest, it is their "concepts" of retro, jazz and R&B.

Super Junior

Formed in 2005, this group has several recognitions, including three awards at the Teen Choice Awards, being the first South Koreans to win these awards. The group is made up of Leeteuk, Heechul, Yesung, Shindong, Sungmin, Eunhyuk, Donghae, Siwon, Ryeowook, and Kyuhyun.

GOT7

This is a band made up of seven members -of which three are foreigners-: Jackson (Hong Kong), BamBam (Thailand), Mark (United States), Yugyeom, JB, Youngjae and Jinyoung. Since their debut in 2014, they have demonstrated that cultural diversity that led them to success around the world. In early 2021, JYP Entertainment announced that all members would be leaving the company due to the expiration of their exclusive contracts.