Listening to 99.7 on the radio as I was driving one day, I suddenly heard catchy electronic beats sounding through the speakers, and the very familiar chorus of "Oppa Gangnam Style!" belting through my car. Although initially confused, I won’t deny that I was already jamming by the time the second verse hit.
Hitting number 1 on Billboard’s “Top 100”, currently boasting 409,185,179 views on Youtube and becoming the most liked video of all time, Korean rapper Psy has no doubt achieved mainstream success in the U.S., not to mention all around the world. The only two English words I caught in the entire song were “coffee” and “style”; despite the language barrier, there is something about Psy that makes him so appealing to the American public.
Psy’s explosive success has come as a surprise to the Asian music market, and the Korean music industry in particular, after other Korean singers have attempted to enter the American music market with little success. Korean superstars such as R&B singer Se7en, and the “queen of Korean pop,” BoA, have tried to penetrate this market–and failed. SM Entertainment, arguably the biggest music label in South Korea, has spent a fortune promoting girl group Girl’s Generation in the U.S., releasing English singles, playing their music videos in Times Square, and appearing on the “Late Show with David Letterman.” Despite the time, energy and money spent propelling these artists forward none of these efforts have paid off.
All of these shiny, manufactured, Asian commercial successes are lacking these important things: novelty and originality. This is exactly what Psy brought and what the rest of South Korea can’t seem to understand, the idea that people are attracted to things that are unique and novel. Big foreign music companies try too hard to be “American” and cater to what they think the American public considers to be acceptable music; because of this, the tracks of their artists turn out to be mediocre and lack original substance. Pretty to look at, but in the end falling flat.
Another issue that particularly blocks Korean pop, or K-pop, from entering the U.S. music market is the lack of artistry in the acts it is trying to promote. The majority of mainstream Korean music is comprised of boy bands and girl groups performing synchronized dances to their songs; every aspect of the performance is planned out beforehand, from dance movements to gestures on stage. Although some groups may lend a hand in producing their own music, in most cases the “artists” only record the songs produced for them by their company labels, and learn and perfect the choreography taught to them. This highly perfected system may make revenue in Asia, but the average American will be left skeptical.
The most overlooked and possibly most important factor that determines foreign success is time. The American audience is just too big, too wide and too judgemental to take on without ample preparation. To make it big in this country a singer needs 100% devotion to hone his or her skills and understand the culture. Look at Asian-American hip-hop group Far East Movement, who spent years and years building their discography and recognition before becoming a mainstream success, even without the added burdens of language or cultural differences. With too many foreign artists trying to promote in America and maintain their popularity back home, anything short of full devotion is going to end up falling short.
Foreign artists cannot depend on viral success, such as Psy’s, to break into the seemingly impenetrable American market. It is a daunting task but not impossible, although the way things are going now do not spell out a bright future for aspiring world stars.