Billboard K-Town

Billboard K-Town

Screenshot of Billboard K-Town column launch.
Type Music column
Format Graphics, text, videos
Owner(s) Billboard
Editor Tony Gervino
Staff writers Jeff Benjamin
Founded January 29, 2013
Language English
Headquarters New York City, New York, U.S.
Circulation Online
Website billboard.com

Billboard K-Town is an online magazine column presented weekly, on various days, by Billboard on its Billboard.com site. The column, launched on January 29, 2013, reports on K-pop music; artists, concerts, chart information and news events.[1][2]

History

Web presence

In January 2013, Billboard relaunched its websites with new features, including "enhanced content for fans" on its consumer site Billboard.com, which would provide more on-site reporting of festivals, award shows, and other major music events.[3] This relaunch included a new column, "K-Town," in a move to bring K-pop news, songs and music videos to its readers each week.[1] Billboard's website is one of the most popular music publications online, and in 2013, the site received an average of 3.3 million visitors a month in the United States, according to comScore, putting it slightly behind Rolling Stone but ahead of music outlets like Pitchfork and Spin.[4] Billboard, also, has business operations in South Korea,[5] home of K-pop.[6][7]

Beginnings, 2009 - 2012

In 2009, according to statistics from Google Trends, online searches for K-pop began their steady increase, after the release of two smash hit singles, Super Junior's "Sorry, Sorry" and Girls’ Generation’s "Gee".[8] In the fall of 2009, some of Billboard's earliest K-pop coverage included articles of the first K-pop artists to chart on Billboard Hot 100, the Wonder Girls, who debuted at No. 76 with "Nobody", a feature of their stay in the U.S., including their tour opening for Jonas Brothers, and their inclusion as the 1st K-pop artists on Billboard's annual showcase "21 under 21" in 2010.[9][10]

In November 2010, Billboard invited the first K-pop artists to their New York studio, where JYJ performed "Ayyy Girl" and "Empty" from their album The Beginning; and in December, Billboard's readers put the album on Billboard Readers' Poll "Your Fave Album Of 2010."[11][12][13]

During the first half of 2011, according to Billboard magazine, the Korean music industry grossed nearly $3.4 billion, with K-pop being recognized by Time magazine as “South Korea’s Greatest Export.”[8] On August 25, 2011, Billboard and Billboard Korea launched the Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100 chart, ranking digital sales of the country’s top songs and mobile downloads, and modeled on its Billboard Hot 100 and other Asian charts. Sistar’s song "So Cool" was the first to top the chart.[14][15] On November 25–26, 2011, Billboard Korea hosted the "2011 Billboard K-Pop Masters, presented by MGM Grand" inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.[16][17] The announcement said that the recently created Billboard Korea publication was set to "showcase the top acts in K-Pop music," after releasing its Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100 music chart.[15] The line-up included TVXQ, 4Minute, G.NA, MBLAQ, Sistar, Beast, Shinee, and Brown Eyed Girls.[18] The MGM Grand said, "This event is significant because K-pop singers, who are becoming hugely popular not only in Asia but also in Europe and the Americas, will have their first concert together in Las Vegas." MGM Grand added that the event would serve as "an opportunity to showcase the appeal of K-pop music as one of the fastest-growing musical trends around the world."[19]

In July 2012, Psy's hit "Gangnam Style" took "the genre to the top of western charts," and made K-pop history.[20][21] Psy's success "reached beyond the Korean-American community, with online viewership, according to Google data, showing a doubling after 2012's Gangnam Style".[22] Not everyone was happy with Psy's success on the Billboard charts, especially with "Gangnam Style"'s #1 spot on the new Hot Rap Songs chart;[23] it reached #2 on Billboard Hot 100.[24] Critics said the October 2012 change in the way the magazine tallied their charts, which included digital sales, online streams and radio airplay gave stars with a pop-oriented sound and broad crossover appeal an advantage over other artists.[23] CNN noted that Billboard's 2012 "annual series of top 21 musicians under the age of 21 listed K-pop star IU at 15th on the list which includes heavyweights in the western music business such as Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber."[25]

K-Town, 2013 - Present

Nu'est fan purse, Gilley's, Dallas, Texas concert, May 3, 2015.

2013

The January 2013 column's launch was heralded as a possibility for more K-pop artists than Psy to seek out a coveted spot on the Billboard charts, with the caveat, "Is it finally safe to say, K-pop is here to stay in the U.S.?"[26] Girls' Generation welcomed the column with a video greeting,[2] and the first column article was a feature on "rising K-pop superstars" Infinite.[1][27] In April 2013, The Korea Herald said the effect of YouTube and the Billboard chart cannot be ignored in the international success of Psy’s "Gangnam Style," and "Billboard’s recent interest in K-pop is not a fleeting phenomenon."[28]

By July 2013, a year after "Gangnam Style", the surge continued, and Psy scored again with a new hit, "Gentleman". According to Google, 91% of viewership on top K-Pop channels were now coming from outside the Asia-Pacific region, as compared to less than half in 2011. Billboard provided a "Top 10 K-Pop Hits Post-Gangnam Style" (Psy's "Gentleman", Girls' Generation's "I Got a Boy", Hyuna's "Ice Cream", G-Dragon's "Crayon", G-Dragon's "One of a Kind", G-Dragon's "That XX", Girls' Generation's "Oh!", Beast's "Beautiful Night", Girls Generation's "Flower Power", and Kara's "Pandora"); and credited the two groups, Girls' Generation and Big Bang, as major acts that had cultivated large international followings.[29]

In November 2013, The Washington Post said that since the late 1990s, Korea had been producing "some of the most exhilarating pop music in the world" and commented on the fans, the "distinctly fervent (and always online) K-pop fan network."[22]

2014

In January 2014, in a special to The Globe and Mail titled, "So whatever happened to pop music’s Korean Invasion?" music critic J. D. Considine[30] wrote, "Perhaps it’s a mistake, then, to think of the Korean Wave as a massive tsunami. Instead, it seems more like a steady flow, rising slowly but steadily seeping in. And it will likely be a deeper presence here in 2014." He quotes Billboard's K-town columnist Jeff Benjamin, "K-Pop lives and breathes online," and "That’s why it’s been able to cross into mainstream consciousness."[31]

On May 17, 2014, the Korea K-Pop Hot 100 chart was discontinued, in the U.S., with Billboard charts' Manager Gary Trust saying, "We've removed the chart temporarily while we make some adjustments and hope to have it back up soon."[32] K-Town continued to follow K-pop artists' ratings on their other charts, Billboard Twitter Real-Time "Trending 140", Psy's "Hangover" featuring Snoop Dogg reached #1 in late June,[33] and a #1 and K-pop's first time for Infinite with "Last Romeo" in September, on the Billboard Twitter Real-Time "Emerging Artists" chart.[34] K-Town also reports on YouTube's views in the U.S. and around the world,[35] and on North American concerts.[36]

In August, Big Bang fan's, the VIPs, won the Billboard Fan Army Face-Off, with 91% of the vote in the final round and second place going to Thirty Seconds to Mars fans, (with wins over Rihanna’s fans in Round 1, Selena Gomez’s fans in Round 2, Girls’ Generation’s fans in Round 3 and Skillet’s fans in Round 4; with over 20 million votes cast.)[37][38]

In October 2014, Janice Min, co-president and chief creative officer of Guggenheim Digital Media's entertainment group overseeing The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard said,"The world is getting more and more interested in Hallyu content," noting that "K-pop is huge. ... K-pop is significant," and 2014 had seen a record number of K-pop albums on the Billboard Hot 200 albums chart.[39] She said, "We cover a lot of Korean content at Billboard, I would say almost obsessively."[39]

On December 1, 2014, Psy's "Gangnam Style" broke YouTube's video view counter, with more than 2.15 billion views, forcing them to upgrade; they said on Google+, "We never thought a video would be watched in numbers greater than a 32-bit integer but that was before we met PSY."[40] Also in December 2014, Rolling Stone placed 2NE1's Crush at No. 6 on their "20 Best Pop Albums of 2014" list, and said, "Almost two years after K-pop first giddily barged into America's imagination, the genre hasn't sustained a post-"Gangnam Style" wave, but the Seoul machine keeps humming."[41][42]

2015

VIXX fans Global Citizen 2015 Earth Day, Washington, D.C., April 18.

In 2015 Billboard reported that K-pop was still doing well, an IFPI report said South Korea was still in the top 10 global music market rankings, having moved ahead of Brazil, at $266 million in trade value;[43] the National Tax Service of South Korea said the average annual income for singers rose more than 72 percent since 2010; and overseas revenues growth, attributed to interest in Korea's pop culture, led by music and television dramas, nearly doubled in five years.[44] Experts credited the jumps to more international album sales and tours, with 2014 the biggest year for K-pop concerts in America.[45]

K-Town's continued coverage included analysis of the future of K-pop in America and which groups might succeed.[46] A watch was kept for collaborations of K-pop artists with mainstream American pop artists - March: "P.D.D", Rap Monster of BTS and Warren G;[47] April: "The Heartbroken (Kpop Remix)", Wonder Girls' Yubin and Justin Thorne, previously of NLT;[48] May: "Doctor Pepper", 2NE1's CL and Riff Raff and OG Maco, produced by Diplo;[49] and July: "Cash Money" Brave Brothers and YG featuring Krayzie Bone.[50]

In March, at a major U.S. music festival, Miami's Ultra, CL performed Dirty Vibe, a 2014 release with Skrillex and Diplo (which she and G-Dragon featured on), then her own rap in Korean lyrics, during a performance with Sean Combs, which Billboard called "a breakthrough moment for Korean music";[51] with echos from Korean media.[52]

Some concert reviews were - January: F.T. Island,[53] April: Amoeba Culture's Dynamic Duo, Primary, Zion.T and Crush,[54] June: Epik High[55] and July: BTS,[56] including their Billboard studio performance.[57] Epik High added tour dates and became the biggest North American K-pop tour in years,[58][59] and BTS sold-out VIP tickets were re-sold at more than $10,000.[60] K-Town covered the concerts and conference days for KCON 2015 in California again, and first time on the East Coast,[61][62][63][64] including interviews with performers Red Velvet,[65] Got7,[66] Zion.T and Crush,[67] Roy Kim,[68] Monsta X,[69] and AOA.[70]

Articles included attention from the film industry, Hollywood and American celebrities - TV station Nickelodeon aired a K-pop inspired show Make It Pop,[71][72][73] Big Bang's Fantastic Baby was played in the trailer of Pitch Perfect 2,[74] Randy Jackson visited Epik High backstage,[75] and Emma Stone told Conan's viewers she is obsessed with K-pop, saying it is "beyond excellent, it's the best thing you've ever seen", and her favorites were 2NE1 and Girls' Generation.[76][77]

Timeline of some highlights

Date Event Notes
Summer 2009 1st K-pop opener for U.S. artist concert tour Wonder Girls for Jonas Brothers World Tour 2009 North America leg of tour.[9]
July 20, 2009 1st K-pop artists perform on U.S. television show Wonder Girls' Nobody on The Wendy Williams Show[78][79]
October 31, 2009 1st K-pop single to hit Billboard Hot 100 chart Wonder Girls' "Nobody" debuted at No. 76.[9]
December 9, 2009 1st K-pop artists perform on U.S. dance competition TV show Wonder Girls "Nobody" on So You Think You Can Dance[78][80]
September 23, 2010 1st K-pop artists on Billboard's annual showcase "21 under 21" #16, Wonder Girls, Birthdates (ages, at the time): Sunye: August 12, 1989 (age 21); Yenny: May 26, 1989 (age 21); Sohee: June 27, 1992 (age 18); Yubin: October 4, 1988 (age 21); Hyelim: September 1, 1992 (age 18)[10][81]
November 26, 2010 1st K-pop artists perform live at Billboard Studio JYJ at Billboard's New York studio, from their album The Beginning "Ayyy Girl" and "Empty"[11][12]
December 8, 2010 K-pop artists on Billboard Readers' Poll Your Fave Album Of 2010 JYJ, The Beginning[13]
August 25, 2011 Korea K-Pop Hot 100 chart launched[82][83] Sistar’s song "So Cool" was the first to top the chart.[14]
October 11, 2011 Billboard article on K-pop artist going to military Rain joins Republic of Korea Army[84]
November 25–26, 2011 "2011 Billboard K-Pop Masters, presented by MGM Grand" Las Vegas 2 nights of concerts in MGM Grand Garden Arena, produced by Billboard, MGM Grand and KPMA, LLC. The line-up included TVXQ, 4Minute, G.NA, MBLAQ, Sistar, Beast, Shinee, and Brown Eyed Girls.[16][17][18]
January 31, 2012 1st K-pop artists perform on U.S. late-night talk show* Girls' Generation, The Boys on Late Show with David Letterman[78](*Rain was a guest on Stephen Colbert's show May 5, 2008 episode for a dance-off, but did not sing or perform K-pop.)[85]
February 1, 2012 1st K-pop artists perform on U.S. morning talk show Girls' Generation, "The Boys" on Live! with Kelly[78]
March, 2012 1st K-pop album on Billboard 200 chart* Big Bang, Alive debuted at No. 150.(* BoA's English language album BoA charted #127 on the chart in March 2009.)[86]
August 23, 2012 Korea K-Pop Hot 100 1st Top 10 Songs of the Past Year #1 IU, "You and I", #2 Davichi "Don't Say Goodbye" #3 Lyn "To Turn Back Hands of Time" #4 Trouble Maker "Trouble Maker" #5 T-ara "Cry Cry"[87]
September 2012 1st K-pop artist to hit #2 on Billboard Hot 100 Psy, "Gangnam Style'[24][88]
September 22, 2012 1st K-pop artist at iHeartRadio Music Festival Psy, "Gangnam Style"[89]
October, 2012 1st K-pop artist tops Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart #1, Psy, "Gangnam Style"[23]
October 17, 2012 Billboard article on 1st U.S. K-Pop Convention KCON 2012, October 16, convention and concert, Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Irvine, California[90]
November 3, 2012 1st K-pop artist on Billboard magazine cover Psy, "Gangnam Style"[91][92]
November 29, 2012 1st K-pop music on U.S. musical comedy-drama television series Glee cast perform Psy's Gangnam Style and dance to Big Bang's Fantastic Baby[93][94](*Big Bang song not reported by Billboard)
December 21, 2012 Billboard 1st yearly round-up, 20 Best K-Pop Songs of 2012 #1 Infinite "The Chaser", #2 Sistar "Alone", #3 Naul "Memory of the Wind", #4 2NE1 "I Love You", #5 Big Bang "Bad Boy"[95]
January 29, 2013 Billboard K-Town column launched and 1st K-Town article Welcome video by Girls' Generation[2] and 1st K-Town article: "Meet INFINITE: Video Q&A With the Rising K-Pop Superstars"[1]
March, 2013 1st K-pop artists at SXSW K-Pop Night Out at SXSW, March 13, f(x), The Geeks, Guckkasten, No Brain, Yi Seung Yol, Jung Chang Shik, and Galaxy Express[96][97]
April 4, 2013 Billboard 1st article on K-pop concert performed in Korea "G-Dragon Opens Up at World Tour Kickoff", March 30–31, G-Dragon 2013 1st World Tour, Olympic Gymnastics Arena."[28][98]
May 4, 2013 1st K-pop artist tops Streaming Songs chart #1, Psy, "Gentleman"[29]
July 15, 2013 Billboard Top 10 K-Pop Hits Post-Gangnam Style Psy "Gentleman", Girls' Generation "I Got a Boy", Hyuna "Ice Cream", G-Dragon "Crayon", G-Dragon "One of a Kind", G-Dragon "That XX", Girls' Generation "Oh!", Beast "Beautiful Night", Girls Generation "Flower Power", Kara "Pandora"[29]
November 3, 2013 K-pop music video wins 1st YouTube Music Awards Girl's Generation's I Got a Boy at 2013 YouTube Music Awards, wins the inaugural show's award for "Video of the Year"; Tiffany accepted the award at the New York City show.[99]
December, 2013 1st K-pop artists on Billboard's World Albums Artists Year End chart G-Dragon, 9th Place and SHINee, 10th Place[100][101]
January 27, 2014 K-pop group guest on U.S. dating game show filmed in Seoul 2NE1 teach The Bachelor cast dance moves to I Am the Best on their show, filmed in a Seoul mall.[102][103]
May 2, 2014 K-pop artists top categories on Billboard Girl Group Week Readers' Poll 2NE1 #1 Favorite Girl Group Album Crush (write-in vote), #1 Most Fashionable Girl Group, #3 Most Promising New Girl Group; Orange Caramel #2 Most Underrated Girl Group; and Girls' Generation #2 Most Promising New Girl Group[104]
May 17, 2014 Korea K-Pop Hot 100 chart discontinued Billboard chart's manager Gary Trust says it is temporary, for adjustments."[32]
June 2014 1st K-pop artist tops Billboard Twitter Real-Time "Trending 140" chart #1, Psy, "Hangover"[33]
Summer 2014 2nd K-pop opener for U.S. artist concert tour Crayon Pop, invited for the entire Lady Gaga ArtRave: The Artpop Ball tour, opened June 26 - July 22, as their schedule allowed.[105][106][107]
August 2014 K-pop song used in U.S. focused commercial 2NE1's I Am the Best in Microsoft Surface Pro 3 ad.[108][109]
August 18, 2014 K-pop fans win Billboard Fan Army Face-Off #1 Big Bang's VIPs, with 91% of the vote in the final round. #2 Thirty Seconds to Mars Echelon. Started on Aug. 7, over 20 million votes were cast.[37][38]
September 2014 1st K-pop artist tops Billboard Twitter Real-Time Emerging Artists chart #1, Infinite, "Last Romeo"[34]
September 22, 2014 K-Town adds Reader's Comments section A Reader's Comments section, at the ends of the column articles was added back, after being taken down previously.[110]
October 2014 1st non-Psy act tops Billboard World Digital Songs chart #1, 2NE1's "I Am the Best", on the October 11 week's chart.[111]
October 8, 2014 Top Billboard staff speaks at Seoul music conference Janice Min, co-president and chief creative officer of Guggenheim Digital Media's entertainment group overseeing The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard, at Seoul International Music Fair (MU:CON SEOUL 2014).[39]
November 14, 2014 K-pop group guest on U.S. reality television show filmed in Seoul BtoB judge America's Next Top Model contestents dancing to their Beep Beep.[112][113]
December 5, 2014 K-pop group perform on U.S. reality TV show filmed in Seoul 2NE1 on America's Next Top Model, perform "Crush" on runway stage.[112][113]
December 11, 2014 Billboard's 10 Best K-Pop Albums of 2014 #1 2NE1 Crush #2 Nell Newton's Apple #3 IU A Flower Bookmark #4 Seo Taiji Quiet Night #5 HA:TFELT Me? #6 Taeyang Rise #7 B.A.P First Sensibility #8 Epik High Shoebox #9 CNBLUE Can't Stop #10 Rain Rain Effect.[114]
December 1, 2014 Psy's hit breaks YouTube view counter "Gangnam Style" gets more than 2.15 billion views, forcing YouTube to upgrade to a 64-bit integer counter.
December, 2014 1st K-pop on Rolling Stone year end list, "20 Best Pop Albums of 2014" #6 2NE1 Crush[41]
December, 2014 1st K-pop on Billboard World Albums (Year end) chart #11 2NE1 Crush[41]
March 29, 2015 K-pop singer closes Miami's 2015 Ultra Music Festival with American artists; raps in Korean CL performs her verses from Skrillex and Diplo's Dirty Vibe, then raps in Korean, from her solo song MTBD on Crush, with Sean Combs performance of It's All About the Benjamins.[51]
April 5, 2015 Largest K-pop album sales in U.S. Exo Exodus sold 6,000 copies in the week ending April 5 (according to Nielsen); charting at No. 70 on Top Album Sales, No. 95 on Billboard 200,[115] and No. 1 on World Albums.[116]
April 2015 1st K-pop inspired U.S. TV show Make It Pop on Nickelodeon in the U.S., stars three Asian leads, including Korean American Megan Lee, who said they wear one outfit, a plaid, red and white concept, which is like f(x)'s from their Rum Pum Pum Pum video.[71][72][73]
April 18, 2015 K-pop artists perform at Earth Day concert in US capital city Roy Kim sang John Lennon's Imagine and VIXX performed their K-pop songs at "Global Citizen 2015 Earth Day" in Washington D.C. on the National Mall with American artists, including Fall Out Boy, Mary J. Blige, No Doubt, Train, Usher, and will.i.am.[68][117]
May 28, 2015 Biggest North American K-pop tour since Wonder Girls World Tour Epik High announced a six concert tour after sales of Shoebox, and increased it to 11 dates in Canada and the U.S., after a popular reception at SXSW 2015 in March.[58][59]
August - September, 2015 K-pop artist tours with American artists CL performed with Jack Ü in various cities during the Mad Decent Block Party 2015 US and Canadian tour, their songs Dirty Vibe and Doctor Pepper, the later which CL wrote.[118][119][120]
August 19, 2015 K-pop fans win Billboard Fan Army Face-Off (2nd Year Win) #1 T-ara's Queens, with 3.4 million votes cast for them throughout the competition, defeating Beyoncé's Beyhive after a strong battle against One Direction's Directioners, resulting in smoothing over feelings with a trending global hashtag on Twitter, #WeLove1DandKpop.[121]

List of K-pop on the Billboard charts

Contributors

Jeff Benjamin manages and writes the column.[122] Prior to K-Town's launch, Billboard included K-pop news and articles, written by "Billboard Korea staff,"[1][123] which included Jeff Benjamin. He is a music/journalism alumni of New York University, where he interned with Billboard[124] and has contributed to other media featuring K-pop, including Rolling Stone, BuzzFeed, Nylon, CBS Radio, Mnet America, Fuse TV, Mnet TV America and Allkpop.[125]

Occasional other contributors are Jessica Oak in Seoul, Billboard U.S. staff, and Billboard Korea staff from offices in Gangnam.[126][127]

Readership and reception

In April 2013, The Korea Herald said, "the more Billboard talks about K-pop, the faster the speed of K-pop advancement in the U.S. will be."[28]

As a K-Town columnist, Jeff Benjamin has been called upon for his opinions on K-pop from the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Entertainment Weekly, New York's Korea Society, Mnet America's Headliner series, Television in South Korea, NBC News, and Time, among others;[125][128][129] and has appeared in panels for KCON,[90][125] and Global Hallyu Forum 2013 Washington, D.C.[130][131] South Korean media, including South Korea's own music chart, Gaon Music Chart,[132] has posted interviews and articles about Jeff Benjamin.[133][134][135][136] K-Town articles have been re-phrased and quoted in media in the U.S., South Korea, and around the world.[137][138][31][139][140][141]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Bae, Soo-min (January 31, 2013). "Billboard launches K-pop column with INFINITE". The Korea Herald. Retrieved September 15, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 Benjamin, Jeff (January 29, 2013). "Billboard & Girls' Generation Welcome You to K-Town!". Billboard. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  3. Staff (January 29, 2013). "Billboard Reimagines Brand with Relaunch". Business Street. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
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  48. Benjamin, Jeff (May 22, 2015). "Listen to Diplo, CL, Riff Raff & OG Maco Team Up for 'Doctor Pepper'". Billboard. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
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