K-Town, 2013 - present Billboard K-Town

1 k-town, 2013 - present

1.1 2013
1.2 2014
1.3 2015
1.4 2016

k-town, 2013 - present

nu est fan purse, gilley s dallas, texas concert, may 3, 2015


2013

the january 2013 column s launch heralded possibility more k-pop artists psy seek out coveted spot on billboard charts, caveat, safe say, k-pop here stay in u.s.? girls generation welcomed column video greeting, , first column article feature on rising k-pop superstars infinite. in april 2013, korea herald said effect of youtube , billboard chart cannot ignored in international success of psy s gangnam style, , billboard s recent interest in k-pop not fleeting phenomenon.

by july 2013, year after gangnam style , surge continued, , psy scored again new hit, gentleman . according google, 91% of viewership on top k-pop channels coming outside asia-pacific region, compared less half in 2011. billboard provided top 10 k-pop hits post-gangnam style (psy s gentleman , girls generation s got boy , hyuna s ice cream , g-dragon s crayon , g-dragon s 1 of kind , g-dragon s xx , girls generation s oh! , beast s beautiful night , girls generation s flower power , , kara s pandora ); , credited 2 groups, girls generation , big bang, major acts had cultivated large international followings.

in november 2013, washington post said since late 1990s, korea had been producing of exhilarating pop music in world , commented on fans, distinctly fervent (and online) k-pop fan network.

2014

in january 2014, in special globe , mail titled, whatever happened pop music s korean invasion? music critic j. d. considine wrote, perhaps s mistake, then, think of korean wave massive tsunami. instead, seems more steady flow, rising steadily seeping in. , deeper presence here in 2014. quotes billboard s k-town columnist jeff benjamin, k-pop lives , breathes online, , s why s been able cross mainstream consciousness.

on may 17, 2014, korea k-pop hot 100 chart discontinued in u.s., billboard charts manager gary trust saying, ve removed chart temporarily while make adjustments , hope have soon. k-town continued follow k-pop artists ratings on other charts, billboard twitter real-time trending 140 ; psy s hangover featuring snoop dogg reached #1 in late june, , #1 , k-pop s first time infinite last romeo in september, on billboard twitter real-time emerging artists chart. k-town reports on youtube s views in u.s. , around world, , on north american concerts.

in august, big bang fans, vips, won billboard fan army face-off, 91% of vote in final round , second place going thirty seconds mars fans, (with wins on rihanna s fans in round 1, selena gomez s fans in round 2, girls’ generation s fans in round 3 , skillet s fans in round 4; on 20 million votes cast.)

in october 2014, janice min, co-president , chief creative officer of guggenheim digital media s entertainment group overseeing hollywood reporter , billboard said, world getting more , more interested in hallyu content, noting k-pop huge. ... k-pop significant, , 2014 had seen record number of k-pop albums on billboard hot 200 albums chart. said, cover lot of korean content @ billboard, obsessively.

on december 1, 2014, psy s gangnam style broke youtube s video view counter, more 2.15 billion views, forcing them upgrade; said on google+, never thought video watched in numbers greater 32-bit integer before met psy. in december 2014, rolling stone placed 2ne1 s crush @ no. 6 on 20 best pop albums of 2014 list, , said, 2 years after k-pop first giddily barged america s imagination, genre hasn t sustained post- gangnam style wave, seoul machine keeps humming.

2015

vixx fans global citizen 2015 earth day, national mall, april 18

in 2015, billboard reported k-pop still doing well: ifpi report said south korea still in top 10 global music market rankings, having moved ahead of brazil, @ $266 million in trade value; national tax service of south korea said average annual income singers rose more 72 percent since 2010; , overseas revenues growth, attributed interest in korea s pop culture, led music , television dramas, doubled in 5 years. experts credited jumps more international album sales , tours, 2014 biggest year k-pop concerts in america.

k-town s continued coverage included analysis of future of k-pop in america , groups might succeed. watch kept collaborations of k-pop artists mainstream american pop artists - march: p.d.d , rap monster of bts , warren g; april: heartbroken (kpop remix) , wonder girls yubin , justin thorne, of nlt; may: doctor pepper , 2ne1 s cl , riff raff , og maco, produced diplo; july: cash money brave brothers , yg featuring krayzie bone; , december: psy released album chiljip psy-da tracks featuring will.i.am , ed sheeran.

in march, @ major u.s. music festival, miami s ultra, cl performed dirty vibe, 2014 release skrillex , diplo (which , g-dragon featured on), own rap in korean lyrics, during performance sean combs, billboard called breakthrough moment korean music ; echoes korean media.

some concert reviews - january: f.t. island, april: amoeba culture s dynamic duo, primary, zion.t , crush, june: epik high , july: bts, including billboard studio performance. epik high added tour dates , became biggest north american k-pop tour in years, , bts sold-out vip tickets re-sold @ more $10,000. in october, k-town reviewed newark concert of big bang s six-city north american tour, after los angeles concert scored in top ten on billboard hot tours sold-out boxscore earning; , did november pre-concert interview block b. more coverage included concerts , conference days kcon 2015 in california again, , first time on east coast, including interviews performers red velvet, got7, zion.t , crush, roy kim, monsta x, , aoa.

articles included attention film industry, hollywood , american celebrities - tv station nickelodeon aired k-pop inspired show make pop, big bang s fantastic baby played in trailer of pitch perfect 2, randy jackson visited epik high backstage, , emma stone told conan s viewers obsessed k-pop, saying beyond excellent, s best thing ve ever seen , , favorites 2ne1 , girls generation. in november, exo , disney released light saber , song , music video star wars: force awakens;

2016

local k-pop dance teams vie @ kaja kon dance/concert, miami beach convention center, gleason room backstage, october 30, 2016

in 2016, k-town reported on study found america becoming priority touring korean acts. study conducted concert kickstarter website, mymusictaste.com while gauging local fan interest future concerts. study examined number of k-pop concerts held between 2013 , approximately may 2016, found east asia still had concerts, numbers tapering, while north america, south america , europe showing consistent growth. top 3 countries concerts abroad japan, china , usa. number 1 touring act in study all-male group big bang. in july, forbes reported made $44 million in pretax earnings on past year, compared $33.5 million made current highest-paid american all-male arena pop group, maroon 5 , no. 54 on forbes celebrity 100.

still without designated k-pop chart, column continued feature articles on k-pop s performance on billboard charts, continued watched closely , rehashed south korean media , others internationally.

chart history news included got7 receiving no. 2 on social 50 chart , no. 45 on artist 100 chart in april, followed bts in october, received no. 1 on social 50 chart (joining psy s record) , top k-pop artist scoring of no. 16 on artist 100 chart. bts s wings, also, charted @ no. 26 on billboard 200 , no. 19 on canadian albums chart, setting records k-pop on charts. new girl group black pink became fastest act hit no. 1 on world digital songs chart boombayah , received no. 2 whistle , , cl s english language song lifted charted @ no. 94 on billboard s hot 100.

interviews , concert coverage included jay park touring aomg, dean, got7, crush , concert review of cl, in nyc; , interview tablo before epik high s appearances @ coachella. k-town again covered kcon in new york , l.a., including interviews ailee, crush, day6, shinee, amber, , twice. and, first time, covered canadian event, toronto kpop con.

k-town columnist benjamin participated in k-pop conferences , media inquiries k-pop s status in america. in february, spoke on boston university college of arts , sciences panel, music & media: korean pop industry , included issues k-pop s fit western culture , korean entertainment industry s close scrutiny of media interviews. in june, @ kcon ny, told nbc news stephany bai k-pop gaining global fans while retaining distinctive characteristics . credited continued success things accessibility on social media, song titles in english on youtube, , ability involve fans in called k-pop s scene rather genre, involves them in whole different world . in july, 190 foreign reporters registered cover kcon la, told korea times reporter si-soo park, k-pop getting closer mainstream , , mentioned coverage major news outlets new york times , others. in november, contributed k-pop analysis time report on artists cl, eric nam, , dean s attempts enter mainstream music market in america.

the year closed report of 4 girl groups disbanding: january - kara, june - 4minute, october - rainbow, november - 2ne1.