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Billboard K-Town

January 01, 1970

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. Billboard and its website had reported on K-pop for a number of years, following the evolution of K-pop, increasing the number of articles with the spike in 2009, and finally culminated in a column specifically for the genre after Psy's July 2012, "Gangnam Style" hit made K-pop history and doubled online viewership. K-Town was created as part of the popular music publication's website relaunch, with new features for fans, and the goal of providing more on-site reporting of festivals, award shows, and other major music events.

Billboard K-Town
Current Billboard logo.
Screenshot of Billboard K-Town column launch
TypeMusic column
FormatGraphics, text, videos
Owner(s)Billboard
Staff writersJeff Benjamin
FoundedJanuary 29, 2013
LanguageEnglish
HeadquartersNew York City, New York, U.S.
CirculationOnline
Websitewww.billboard.com/k-pop

History edit

 
Beast's Junhyung and Hyunseung, "Fiction" KBS concert rehearsal, 29th New York Korean Festival, Overpeck County Park, October 9, 2011.

Beginnings, 2009–2012 edit

In the fall of 2009, some of Billboard's earliest online K-pop coverage included articles of the first K-pop artists to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, the Wonder Girls, who debuted at No. 76 with "Nobody", including a feature of their stay in the U.S. and their tour opening for Jonas Brothers.[1] 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".[2]

In 2010, the Wonder Girls were featured as the first K-pop artists on Billboard's annual showcase "21 under 21".[3] Later that year, 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 the Billboard Readers' Poll "Your Fave Album Of 2010".[4][5][6]

Billboard reported that the South Korean music industry grossed nearly $3.4 billion during the first half of 2011, and Time recognized K-pop as "South Korea's Greatest Export".[2] 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.[7][8] 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.[9][10] The line-up included TVXQ, 4Minute, G.NA, MBLAQ, Sistar, Beast, Shinee, and Brown Eyed Girls.[11] The MGM Grand said 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."[12]

Psy's July 2012 hit, "Gangnam Style", took "the genre to the top of western charts," and made K-pop history.[13][14] His success reached beyond the Korean-American community, and doubled online viewership, according to Google data.[15] But, not everyone was happy with the song's success on the Billboard charts, especially with its No. 1 spot on the new Hot Rap Songs chart;[16] it reached No. 2 on Billboard Hot 100.[17] 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.[16] Later in the year, 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 a list which included heavyweights in the western music business such as Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber."[18]

2013–present edit

 
VIXX fans, Global Citizen Earth Day concert, National Mall, April 18, 2015

Web presence and K-Town launch edit

In January 2013, Billboard relaunched its websites with new features, including "enhanced content for fans" on its consumer site Billboard.com, with the intent to provide more on-site reporting of festivals, award shows, and other major music events.[19] Billboard's website is one of the most popular music publications online, and in 2013 comScore reported an average of 3.3 million visitors a month in the United States, just after Rolling Stone, and followed by Pitchfork and Spin.[20] A year and a half later, in 2014, the site had 13 million unique viewers for the month of August, and combined with totals for its sister publication, The Hollywood Reporter, the Guggenheim Media Entertainment Group placed as the fourth most popular entertainment website, behind TMZ, E! Online and People.com.[21] In addition to the U.S. based website, Billboard has business operations in South Korea,[22] home of K-pop.[23][24]

The relaunch included a new column, "K-Town", in a move to bring K-pop news, songs and music videos to its readers each week.[25] Girls' Generation welcomed the column with a video greeting,[26] and the first column article was a feature on "rising K-pop superstars" Infinite.[25][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", Billboard reported a continued surge and Psy's scoring again with a new hit, "Gentleman". According to Google, 91% of viewership on top K-pop channels was then 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] At the end of the year, David Bevan of The Washington Post described the "distinctly fervent (and always online) K-pop fan network."[15]

At the start of 2014, in a special to The Globe and Mail, 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." He quoted 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] At year's end, Janice Min, co-president and chief creative officer of the Guggenheim Media Entertainment Group overseeing The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard said, "The world is getting more and more interested in Hallyu content",[32] and "We cover a lot of Korean content at Billboard, I would say almost obsessively."[33] K-Town's 2014 coverage included "Gangnam Style" breaking YouTube's video view counter in December, with more than 2.15 billion views, forcing them to upgrade,[34] and the first K-pop artist on Rolling Stone's year-end list, 2NE1's Crush at No. 6 on the "20 Best Pop Albums of 2014".[35][36]

The "Billboard Korea" website at Billboard.co.kr, refreshened its image and relaunched on December 20, 2017, and included the K-Pop Hot 100 chart's weekly updates.[37]

A January 2019 website analysis by Alexa Internet found that almost half of the visitors to Billboard.com were from the U.S. The top keyword searches sending traffic to the site were the Billboard Hot 100 chart (1.5 percent), the K-pop group BTS (.41 percent), and Billboard "top 100" and "country songs", respectively (.38 percent). The top sites linking in were the Chinese-based baidu.com and sina.com.cn, and South Korean-based naver.com.[38]

K-pop media source edit

As a media focal point for K-pop information, in 2016 alone, K-Town columnist Benjamin participated in K-pop conferences and media inquiries about K-pop's status in America. In February, he spoke on a Boston University College of Arts and Sciences' panel, "Music & Media: Korean Pop Industry", which included issues about K-pop's fit with Western culture and the Korean entertainment industry's close scrutiny of media interviews.[39] In June, at KCON NY, he told NBC News Stephany Bai that K-pop was gaining global fans while retaining its "distinctive characteristics". He credited its continued success with things like accessibility on social media, song titles in English on YouTube, and an ability to involve fans in what he called K-pop's "scene" rather than a genre, which involves them in a "whole different world".[40] In July, with almost 190 foreign reporters registered to cover KCON LA, he told Korea Times reporter Si-soo Park, "K-pop is getting closer to the mainstream", and mentioned its coverage by major news outlets like The New York Times and others.[41] In November, he contributed K-pop analysis for a Time report on artists CL, Eric Nam, and Dean's attempts to enter the mainstream music market in America.[42]

Chart information edit

 
Local K-pop dance teams vie at Kaja Kon dance/concert, Miami Beach Convention Center, The Gleason Room Backstage, October 30, 2016

Lists of K-pop on the Billboard charts edit

Main article: List of K-pop on the Billboard charts
Main article: List of K-pop albums on the Billboard charts
Main article: List of K-pop songs on the Billboard charts
Main article: List of K-pop on the Billboard year-end charts

The Korea K-Pop Hot 100 chart was discontinued in the U.S. in May 2014,[43] and reestablished on Billboard.com as of the chart dated December 30, 2017.[44]

K-Town continued to follow K-pop artists' top and first-time K-pop ratings on all Billboard charts, with chart reports and features watched closely and rehashed by South Korean media and others internationally.[45][46][47] The column, also, reports on YouTube's views in the U.S. and around the world.[48]

Some early examples were: Billboard Twitter Real-Time "Trending 140", Psy's "Hangover" featuring Snoop Dogg reached No. 1 in late June 2014,[49] and a No. 1 and K-pop's first time for Infinite with "Last Romeo" in September 2014, on the Billboard Twitter Real-Time "Emerging Artists" chart.[50] Some other chart firsts included Got7 receiving a No. 2 on the Social 50 chart and a No. 45 on the Artist 100 chart in April 2016[51] and in October 2016, BTS receiving a No. 1 on the Social 50 chart (joining Psy's record) and a top K-pop artist scoring of No. 16 on the Artist 100 chart.[52] Additionally in 2016, BTS's Wings charted at No. 26 on Billboard 200 and No. 19 on Canadian Albums chart, setting records for K-pop on the charts;[53] new girl group Blackpink became the fastest act to hit No. 1 on the World Digital Song Sales chart with "Boombayah",[54] and CL's English language song "Lifted" charted at No. 94 on Billboard's Hot 100.[55]

In 2017, one group, BTS, began "dominating charts in the way no Korean act has ever done before", having first charted on the Billboard 200 chart in November 2015, with The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2 at No. 171,[56] and rising to a No. 7 debut for their October 2017 Love Yourself: Her.[57][58] They, subsequently, topped the chart in June 2018, at No. 1 with Love Yourself: Tear,[59] with the album's "Fake Love" debuting as the first for a K-pop group at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100,[60] and again in September 2018, with a No. 1 for Love Yourself: Answer.[61] Their October 29, 2016, No. 1 on the Social 50 chart[56] reached its 100th week on the chart dated November 17, 2018, and they became the "second artist overall, after Justin Bieber, to log a triple-digit stay at the top since the chart began in December 2010".[62] In addition, they had more chart records for themselves on the social artist charts, and for their songs and albums, before, during, and after 2017.[56]

There was an all-time high of ten albums on the Billboard 200 chart in 2018, BTS had three, including the two No. 1 chartings, and others were Blackpink, Exo, J-Hope, Jonghyun, NCT 127, RM and Lay (Exo member who is also a Chinese pop star).[63][64] The Billboard Year-End charts showed BTS "breaking across genres" with multiple top and first-time K-pop chartings, and more K-pop charting for all artists, in general.[65]

Timeline of K-pop at Billboard edit

 
KCON Mexico City, BTS fans with banners asking for 2017 BTS Live Trilogy Episode III: The Wings Tour to come to Mexico, March 17, 2017.
Main article: Timeline of K-pop at Billboard
Main article: Timeline of K-pop at Billboard in the 2020s

K-Town documents K-pop history and events with features or announcements,[28] or "timelines" of multiple events, such as Tamar Herman's 2017, "Timeline of K-Pop on U.S. TV, in Honor of BTS Attending Billboard Music Awards",[66] and her 2018, "How BTS Took Over the World: A Timeline of The Group's Biggest Career Moments".[56]

Earlier coverage, in 2015, included analysis of the future of K-pop in America and which groups might succeed.[67] 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;[68] April: "The Heartbroken (Kpop Remix)", Wonder Girls' Yubin and Justin Thorne, previously of NLT;[69] May: "Doctor Pepper", 2NE1's CL and Riff Raff and OG Maco, produced by Diplo;[70] July: "Cash Money" Brave Brothers and YG featuring Krayzie Bone;[71] and December: Psy released his album Chiljip Psy-da with tracks featuring will.i.am and Ed Sheeran.[72] Also, in March 2015, 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 Benjamin called "a breakthrough moment for Korean music";[73] with echoes from Korean media.[74]

The column includes articles about the attention K-pop artists receive from the film industry, Hollywood and American celebrities, like prior Billboard articles on Rain, his 2008 debut in the Hollywood film Speed Racer,[75] and appearance as a guest on The Colbert Report.[76] K-Town shared multiple 2015 such articles: a TV station Nickelodeon aired a K-pop inspired show Make It Pop,[77][78][79] BigBang's "Fantastic Baby" was played in the trailer of Pitch Perfect 2,[80] Randy Jackson visited Epik High backstage,[81] 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.[82][83] In November 2015, Exo and Disney released "Light Saber", a song and music video for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.[84] And the 2017, BTS inspired timeline, article included a K-pop group's first appearance, BTS at the Billboard Music Award show,[56] along with a first nomination and win for the Top Social Artist award.[85]

Some news just documented the disbandments of groups, like 2016's report: January – Kara, June – 4Minute, October – Rainbow, November – 2NE1.[86] And, some articles provided K-pop analysis showing the interconnectedness with American music.[87]

Industry news edit

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

The K-pop industry news includes financial reports and growth. A June 2014 article discussed a study conducted by kickstarter website, MyMusicTaste.com, which looked at K-pop concert numbers and showed that the Wonder Girls 2010 U.S. tour accounted for 15 of the 18 concerts in North America for that year. After that, numbers ebbed to six in 2011, 13 in 2012, and 17 in 2013; with Super Junior, the largest touring act, first touring around Asia, then increasing tours to four continents in 2013.[88]

Their 2015 article said that K-pop was doing well: an IFPI report showed South Korea still in the top 10 global music market rankings, having moved ahead of Brazil, at $266 million in trade value;[89] 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.[90] Experts credited the jumps to more international album sales and tours, with 2014 the biggest year for K-pop concerts in America.[91]

K-Town examined a new MyMusicTaste.com study in 2016, which found America was becoming a priority for touring Korean acts. The study was conducted while the site gauged local fan interest for future concerts and examined the number of K-pop concerts held between 2013 and approximately May 2016, which found that East Asia still had the most concerts, but their numbers were tapering, while North America, South America and Europe were showing consistent growth.[92] The top three countries with the most concerts abroad were Japan, China and the U.S.[92] The number one touring act in the study was the all-male group BigBang.[92] which was reported, by Forbes, to have made $44 million in pretax earnings in 2015, compared to $33.5 million made by the current highest-paid American all-male arena pop group, Maroon 5 and were No. 54 on the Forbes Celebrity 100.[93]

Reviews, interviews, and concert coverage edit

K-Town interviews K-pop artists when they visit the U.S. and occasionally in Seoul;[94] and publish concert, tour, and musical release announcements and reviews. Some interviews are videotaped at Billboard's studio in New York City and include English language subtitles and performances by the artists.[28][95]

In 2015, some concert reviews were – January: F.T. Island,[96] April: Amoeba Culture's Dynamic Duo, Primary, Zion.T and Crush,[97] June: Epik High[98] and July: BTS,[99] including their Billboard studio performance.[95] Epik High added tour dates and became the biggest North American K-pop tour in years,[100][101] and BTS sold-out VIP tickets were re-sold at more than $10,000.[102] In October, K-Town reviewed the Newark concert of BigBang's six-city North American tour, after their Los Angeles concert scored in the top ten on "Billboard Hot Tours" with a sold-out boxscore earning;[103][104][105] and did a November pre-concert interview with Block B.[106] More coverage included the concerts and conference days for KCON 2015 in California again, and first time on the East Coast,[107][108][109][110] including interviews with performers Red Velvet,[111] Got7,[112] Zion.T and Crush,[113] Roy Kim,[114] Monsta X,[115] and AOA.[116]

In 2016, interviews and concert coverage included Jay Park touring with AOMG,[117] DEAN,[118] Got7,[119] Crush[120] and a concert review of CL, all in NYC;[121] and an interview with Tablo before Epik High's appearances at Coachella.[122] K-Town again covered KCON in New York[123] and L.A.,[124][125] including interviews with Ailee,[126] Crush,[127] Day6,[128] Shinee,[129] Amber,[130] and Twice.[131] And, for the first time, they covered a Canadian event, the Toronto Kpop Con.[132]

In September 2018, Benjamin interviewed Got7 in Seoul,[94] while attending the MU:CON music industry convention and watching newer acts like Hoya, N.Flying, Kim Dong-han, Dreamcatcher and A.C.E.[133]

Fan-based polls and reports edit

In one of the voting contests sponsored by Billboard, the first K-pop win was BigBang's fans, the VIPs, who won the August 2014, 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.)[134][135]

Contributors edit

 
Jeff Benjamin, left and on-screen, hosting MU:CON Seoul 2018 panel on September 10.

Jeff Benjamin is K-Town's columnist and manager.[136] Prior to K-Town's launch, Billboard included K-pop news and articles, written by Billboard and Billboard Korea staff, which included Benjamin.[25][137] He is a music/journalism alumni of New York University, where he interned with Billboard[138] and has contributed to other media featuring K-pop, including The New York Times, Rolling Stone, BuzzFeed, Nylon, CBS Radio, Fuse TV, Mnet America, Mnet TV America and Radio.com.[136][139] For his K-pop journalism and his work at Billboard since 2013, he received the 2020 Korea Image Stepping Stone Bridge Award from the Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI), who said, "Benjamin did a great job of promoting K-pop overseas, being a bridge between Korea and the world."[140]

Billboard Korea Editor-in-Chief Jessica Oak has also written K-pop articles for Billboard since 2012, then for K-Town when it was launched,[141] along with other Billboard Korea staff from offices in Gangnam.[142] Billboard pop correspondent Tamar Herman, a graduate of Macaulay Honors College in East Asian studies, has contributed articles, as of 2016, and is the primary K-pop correspondent;[143] along with contributions to Forbes.com, NBC News, Entertainment Weekly and Vulture.[143][144]

Readership and reception edit

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, 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;[139][145][146] and has appeared in panels for KCON,[147][139] and Global Hallyu Forum 2013 Washington, D.C.[148][149] South Korean media, including South Korea's own music chart's, Gaon Music Chart,[150] has posted interviews and articles about Benjamin.[151][152][153][154] K-Town articles have been re-phrased and quoted in media in the U.S., South Korea, and around the world.[155][156][31][157][158][159]

References edit

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External links edit

  • Billboard K-Town

January 01, 1970
billboard, town, online, magazine, column, presented, weekly, various, days, billboard, billboard, site, column, launched, january, 2013, reports, music, artists, concerts, chart, information, news, events, billboard, website, reported, number, years, followin. 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 Billboard and its website had reported on K pop for a number of years following the evolution of K pop increasing the number of articles with the spike in 2009 and finally culminated in a column specifically for the genre after Psy s July 2012 Gangnam Style hit made K pop history and doubled online viewership K Town was created as part of the popular music publication s website relaunch with new features for fans and the goal of providing more on site reporting of festivals award shows and other major music events Billboard K TownCurrent Billboard logo Screenshot of Billboard K Town column launchTypeMusic columnFormatGraphics text videosOwner s BillboardStaff writersJeff BenjaminFoundedJanuary 29 2013LanguageEnglishHeadquartersNew York City New York U S CirculationOnlineWebsitewww wbr billboard wbr com wbr k pop Contents 1 History 1 1 Beginnings 2009 2012 1 2 2013 present 1 2 1 Web presence and K Town launch 1 2 2 K pop media source 2 Chart information 2 1 Lists of K pop on the Billboard charts 3 Timeline of K pop at Billboard 3 1 Industry news 3 2 Reviews interviews and concert coverage 3 3 Fan based polls and reports 4 Contributors 5 Readership and reception 6 References 7 External linksHistory edit nbsp Beast s Junhyung and Hyunseung Fiction KBS concert rehearsal 29th New York Korean Festival Overpeck County Park October 9 2011 Beginnings 2009 2012 edit In the fall of 2009 some of Billboard s earliest online K pop coverage included articles of the first K pop artists to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 the Wonder Girls who debuted at No 76 with Nobody including a feature of their stay in the U S and their tour opening for Jonas Brothers 1 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 2 In 2010 the Wonder Girls were featured as the first K pop artists on Billboard s annual showcase 21 under 21 3 Later that year 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 the Billboard Readers Poll Your Fave Album Of 2010 4 5 6 Billboard reported that the South Korean music industry grossed nearly 3 4 billion during the first half of 2011 and Time recognized K pop as South Korea s Greatest Export 2 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 7 8 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 9 10 The line up included TVXQ 4Minute G NA MBLAQ Sistar Beast Shinee and Brown Eyed Girls 11 The MGM Grand said 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 12 Psy s July 2012 hit Gangnam Style took the genre to the top of western charts and made K pop history 13 14 His success reached beyond the Korean American community and doubled online viewership according to Google data 15 But not everyone was happy with the song s success on the Billboard charts especially with its No 1 spot on the new Hot Rap Songs chart 16 it reached No 2 on Billboard Hot 100 17 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 16 Later in the year 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 a list which included heavyweights in the western music business such as Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber 18 2013 present edit nbsp VIXX fans Global Citizen Earth Day concert National Mall April 18 2015 Web presence and K Town launch edit In January 2013 Billboard relaunched its websites with new features including enhanced content for fans on its consumer site Billboard com with the intent to provide more on site reporting of festivals award shows and other major music events 19 Billboard s website is one of the most popular music publications online and in 2013 comScore reported an average of 3 3 million visitors a month in the United States just after Rolling Stone and followed by Pitchfork and Spin 20 A year and a half later in 2014 the site had 13 million unique viewers for the month of August and combined with totals for its sister publication The Hollywood Reporter the Guggenheim Media Entertainment Group placed as the fourth most popular entertainment website behind TMZ E Online and People com 21 In addition to the U S based website Billboard has business operations in South Korea 22 home of K pop 23 24 The relaunch included a new column K Town in a move to bring K pop news songs and music videos to its readers each week 25 Girls Generation welcomed the column with a video greeting 26 and the first column article was a feature on rising K pop superstars Infinite 25 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 Billboard reported a continued surge and Psy s scoring again with a new hit Gentleman According to Google 91 of viewership on top K pop channels was then 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 At the end of the year David Bevan of The Washington Post described the distinctly fervent and always online K pop fan network 15 At the start of 2014 in a special to The Globe and Mail 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 He quoted 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 At year s end Janice Min co president and chief creative officer of the Guggenheim Media Entertainment Group overseeing The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard said The world is getting more and more interested in Hallyu content 32 and We cover a lot of Korean content at Billboard I would say almost obsessively 33 K Town s 2014 coverage included Gangnam Style breaking YouTube s video view counter in December with more than 2 15 billion views forcing them to upgrade 34 and the first K pop artist on Rolling Stone s year end list 2NE1 s Crush at No 6 on the 20 Best Pop Albums of 2014 35 36 The Billboard Korea website at Billboard co kr refreshened its image and relaunched on December 20 2017 and included the K Pop Hot 100 chart s weekly updates 37 A January 2019 website analysis by Alexa Internet found that almost half of the visitors to Billboard com were from the U S The top keyword searches sending traffic to the site were the Billboard Hot 100 chart 1 5 percent the K pop group BTS 41 percent and Billboard top 100 and country songs respectively 38 percent The top sites linking in were the Chinese based baidu com and sina com cn and South Korean based naver com 38 K pop media source edit As a media focal point for K pop information in 2016 alone K Town columnist Benjamin participated in K pop conferences and media inquiries about K pop s status in America In February he spoke on a Boston University College of Arts and Sciences panel Music amp Media Korean Pop Industry which included issues about K pop s fit with Western culture and the Korean entertainment industry s close scrutiny of media interviews 39 In June at KCON NY he told NBC News Stephany Bai that K pop was gaining global fans while retaining its distinctive characteristics He credited its continued success with things like accessibility on social media song titles in English on YouTube and an ability to involve fans in what he called K pop s scene rather than a genre which involves them in a whole different world 40 In July with almost 190 foreign reporters registered to cover KCON LA he told Korea Times reporter Si soo Park K pop is getting closer to the mainstream and mentioned its coverage by major news outlets like The New York Times and others 41 In November he contributed K pop analysis for a Time report on artists CL Eric Nam and Dean s attempts to enter the mainstream music market in America 42 Chart information edit nbsp Local K pop dance teams vie at Kaja Kon dance concert Miami Beach Convention Center The Gleason Room Backstage October 30 2016 Lists of K pop on the Billboard charts edit Main article List of K pop on the Billboard charts Main article List of K pop albums on the Billboard charts Main article List of K pop songs on the Billboard charts Main article List of K pop on the Billboard year end charts The Korea K Pop Hot 100 chart was discontinued in the U S in May 2014 43 and reestablished on Billboard com as of the chart dated December 30 2017 44 K Town continued to follow K pop artists top and first time K pop ratings on all Billboard charts with chart reports and features watched closely and rehashed by South Korean media and others internationally 45 46 47 The column also reports on YouTube s views in the U S and around the world 48 Some early examples were Billboard Twitter Real Time Trending 140 Psy s Hangover featuring Snoop Dogg reached No 1 in late June 2014 49 and a No 1 and K pop s first time for Infinite with Last Romeo in September 2014 on the Billboard Twitter Real Time Emerging Artists chart 50 Some other chart firsts included Got7 receiving a No 2 on the Social 50 chart and a No 45 on the Artist 100 chart in April 2016 51 and in October 2016 BTS receiving a No 1 on the Social 50 chart joining Psy s record and a top K pop artist scoring of No 16 on the Artist 100 chart 52 Additionally in 2016 BTS s Wings charted at No 26 on Billboard 200 and No 19 on Canadian Albums chart setting records for K pop on the charts 53 new girl group Blackpink became the fastest act to hit No 1 on the World Digital Song Sales chart with Boombayah 54 and CL s English language song Lifted charted at No 94 on Billboard s Hot 100 55 In 2017 one group BTS began dominating charts in the way no Korean act has ever done before having first charted on the Billboard 200 chart in November 2015 with The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Part 2 at No 171 56 and rising to a No 7 debut for their October 2017 Love Yourself Her 57 58 They subsequently topped the chart in June 2018 at No 1 with Love Yourself Tear 59 with the album s Fake Love debuting as the first for a K pop group at No 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 60 and again in September 2018 with a No 1 for Love Yourself Answer 61 Their October 29 2016 No 1 on the Social 50 chart 56 reached its 100th week on the chart dated November 17 2018 and they became the second artist overall after Justin Bieber to log a triple digit stay at the top since the chart began in December 2010 62 In addition they had more chart records for themselves on the social artist charts and for their songs and albums before during and after 2017 56 There was an all time high of ten albums on the Billboard 200 chart in 2018 BTS had three including the two No 1 chartings and others were Blackpink Exo J Hope Jonghyun NCT 127 RM and Lay Exo member who is also a Chinese pop star 63 64 The Billboard Year End charts showed BTS breaking across genres with multiple top and first time K pop chartings and more K pop charting for all artists in general 65 Timeline of K pop at Billboard edit nbsp KCON Mexico City BTS fans with banners asking for 2017 BTS Live Trilogy Episode III The Wings Tour to come to Mexico March 17 2017 Main article Timeline of K pop at Billboard Main article Timeline of K pop at Billboard in the 2020s K Town documents K pop history and events with features or announcements 28 or timelines of multiple events such as Tamar Herman s 2017 Timeline of K Pop on U S TV in Honor of BTS Attending Billboard Music Awards 66 and her 2018 How BTS Took Over the World A Timeline of The Group s Biggest Career Moments 56 Earlier coverage in 2015 included analysis of the future of K pop in America and which groups might succeed 67 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 68 April The Heartbroken Kpop Remix Wonder Girls Yubin and Justin Thorne previously of NLT 69 May Doctor Pepper 2NE1 s CL and Riff Raff and OG Maco produced by Diplo 70 July Cash Money Brave Brothers and YG featuring Krayzie Bone 71 and December Psy released his album Chiljip Psy da with tracks featuring will i am and Ed Sheeran 72 Also in March 2015 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 Benjamin called a breakthrough moment for Korean music 73 with echoes from Korean media 74 The column includes articles about the attention K pop artists receive from the film industry Hollywood and American celebrities like prior Billboard articles on Rain his 2008 debut in the Hollywood film Speed Racer 75 and appearance as a guest on The Colbert Report 76 K Town shared multiple 2015 such articles a TV station Nickelodeon aired a K pop inspired show Make It Pop 77 78 79 BigBang s Fantastic Baby was played in the trailer of Pitch Perfect 2 80 Randy Jackson visited Epik High backstage 81 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 82 83 In November 2015 Exo and Disney released Light Saber a song and music video for Star Wars The Force Awakens 84 And the 2017 BTS inspired timeline article included a K pop group s first appearance BTS at the Billboard Music Award show 56 along with a first nomination and win for the Top Social Artist award 85 Some news just documented the disbandments of groups like 2016 s report January Kara June 4Minute October Rainbow November 2NE1 86 And some articles provided K pop analysis showing the interconnectedness with American music 87 Industry news edit nbsp Nu est fan purse Gilley s Dallas Texas concert May 3 2015 The K pop industry news includes financial reports and growth A June 2014 article discussed a study conducted by kickstarter website MyMusicTaste com which looked at K pop concert numbers and showed that the Wonder Girls 2010 U S tour accounted for 15 of the 18 concerts in North America for that year After that numbers ebbed to six in 2011 13 in 2012 and 17 in 2013 with Super Junior the largest touring act first touring around Asia then increasing tours to four continents in 2013 88 Their 2015 article said that K pop was doing well an IFPI report showed South Korea still in the top 10 global music market rankings having moved ahead of Brazil at 266 million in trade value 89 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 90 Experts credited the jumps to more international album sales and tours with 2014 the biggest year for K pop concerts in America 91 K Town examined a new MyMusicTaste com study in 2016 which found America was becoming a priority for touring Korean acts The study was conducted while the site gauged local fan interest for future concerts and examined the number of K pop concerts held between 2013 and approximately May 2016 which found that East Asia still had the most concerts but their numbers were tapering while North America South America and Europe were showing consistent growth 92 The top three countries with the most concerts abroad were Japan China and the U S 92 The number one touring act in the study was the all male group BigBang 92 which was reported by Forbes to have made 44 million in pretax earnings in 2015 compared to 33 5 million made by the current highest paid American all male arena pop group Maroon 5 and were No 54 on the Forbes Celebrity 100 93 Reviews interviews and concert coverage edit K Town interviews K pop artists when they visit the U S and occasionally in Seoul 94 and publish concert tour and musical release announcements and reviews Some interviews are videotaped at Billboard s studio in New York City and include English language subtitles and performances by the artists 28 95 In 2015 some concert reviews were January F T Island 96 April Amoeba Culture s Dynamic Duo Primary Zion T and Crush 97 June Epik High 98 and July BTS 99 including their Billboard studio performance 95 Epik High added tour dates and became the biggest North American K pop tour in years 100 101 and BTS sold out VIP tickets were re sold at more than 10 000 102 In October K Town reviewed the Newark concert of BigBang s six city North American tour after their Los Angeles concert scored in the top ten on Billboard Hot Tours with a sold out boxscore earning 103 104 105 and did a November pre concert interview with Block B 106 More coverage included the concerts and conference days for KCON 2015 in California again and first time on the East Coast 107 108 109 110 including interviews with performers Red Velvet 111 Got7 112 Zion T and Crush 113 Roy Kim 114 Monsta X 115 and AOA 116 In 2016 interviews and concert coverage included Jay Park touring with AOMG 117 DEAN 118 Got7 119 Crush 120 and a concert review of CL all in NYC 121 and an interview with Tablo before Epik High s appearances at Coachella 122 K Town again covered KCON in New York 123 and L A 124 125 including interviews with Ailee 126 Crush 127 Day6 128 Shinee 129 Amber 130 and Twice 131 And for the first time they covered a Canadian event the Toronto Kpop Con 132 In September 2018 Benjamin interviewed Got7 in Seoul 94 while attending the MU CON music industry convention and watching newer acts like Hoya N Flying Kim Dong han Dreamcatcher and A C E 133 Fan based polls and reports edit In one of the voting contests sponsored by Billboard the first K pop win was BigBang s fans the VIPs who won the August 2014 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 134 135 Contributors edit nbsp Jeff Benjamin left and on screen hosting MU CON Seoul 2018 panel on September 10 Jeff Benjamin is K Town s columnist and manager 136 Prior to K Town s launch Billboard included K pop news and articles written by Billboard and Billboard Korea staff which included Benjamin 25 137 He is a music journalism alumni of New York University where he interned with Billboard 138 and has contributed to other media featuring K pop including The New York Times Rolling Stone BuzzFeed Nylon CBS Radio Fuse TV Mnet America Mnet TV America and Radio com 136 139 For his K pop journalism and his work at Billboard since 2013 he received the 2020 Korea Image Stepping Stone Bridge Award from the Corea Image Communication Institute CICI who said Benjamin did a great job of promoting K pop overseas being a bridge between Korea and the world 140 Billboard Korea Editor in Chief Jessica Oak has also written K pop articles for Billboard since 2012 then for K Town when it was launched 141 along with other Billboard Korea staff from offices in Gangnam 142 Billboard pop correspondent Tamar Herman a graduate of Macaulay Honors College in East Asian studies has contributed articles as of 2016 and is the primary K pop correspondent 143 along with contributions to Forbes com NBC News Entertainment Weekly and Vulture 143 144 Readership and reception editIn 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 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 139 145 146 and has appeared in panels for KCON 147 139 and Global Hallyu Forum 2013 Washington D C 148 149 South Korean media including South Korea s own music chart s Gaon Music Chart 150 has posted interviews and articles about Benjamin 151 152 153 154 K Town articles have been re phrased and quoted in media in the U S South Korea and around the world 155 156 31 157 158 159 References edit Bell Crystal November 20 2009 Breaking amp Entering The Wonder Girls Billboard Retrieved September 23 2014 a b Jackson Julie 13 August 2013 Then amp Now A look back at the changing tides of K pop The Korea Herald Retrieved 30 November 2015 Billboard Staff September 23 2010 21 Under 21 Wonder Girls Billboard Retrieved September 21 2014 JYJ Performs Ayyy Girl and Empty at the Billboard Studios in NYC MTV K November 26 2010 Retrieved September 21 2014 Letkemann Jessica November 26 2010 JYJ Performs Live in Our Studio Billboard Retrieved September 21 2014 Readers Poll Results Your Fave Album Of 2010 Billboard Retrieved September 20 2014 Yoon mi August 31 2011 Sistar tops first Billboard K pop chart The Korea Herald Retrieved September 17 2014 PR Newswire September 28 2011 Billboard Korea Premieres K Pop Masters Event Presented By MGM Grand Friday November 25 Reuters Archived from the original on September 26 2014 Retrieved September 17 2014 Lee KyungNam December 5 2011 Hallyu stars at Las Vegas for 2011 K Pop Billboard Masters Mwave Archived from the original on September 26 2014 Retrieved September 21 2014 jbarky December 2 2011 Recap 2011 Billboard K Pop Masters Soompi Retrieved September 21 2014 Billboard 2011 K Pop Masters Songkick Retrieved September 17 2014 K Pop to Descend on Las Vegas in November The Chosun Ilbo October 6 2011 Retrieved September 17 2014 McCurry Justin September 28 2012 K pop stars the lowdown on South Korean pop The Guardian Retrieved September 21 2014 Power John Voice Can Psy start a new Korean Wave The Korea Herald Retrieved September 21 2014 a b Bevan David November 8 2013 A year after Gangnam Style K pop continues to make its mark in America The Washington Post Retrieved September 21 2014 a b McKinley Jr James C October 26 2012 Changes to Charts by Billboard Draw Fire The New York Times Retrieved September 21 2014 Billboard Staff November 1 2012 PSY Watch Will Gangnam Style Reach No 1 on the Hot 100 Billboard Retrieved September 21 2014 Voigt Kevin October 25 2012 Psy One hit wonder or K pop breakthrough CNN Retrieved September 26 2014 Staff January 29 2013 Billboard Reimagines Brand with Relaunch Business Street Retrieved September 16 2014 Carr David January 7 2014 New Leader at Billboard Sees Future in Visuals The New York Times Retrieved September 16 2014 Billboard Staff October 6 2014 Billboard com Breaks Traffic Record Billboard Retrieved January 20 2019 Staff January 28 2013 Billboard revamps magazine iPad app sites Chicago Business Journal Retrieved September 16 2014 Lamb Bill K Pop About com Entertainment Archived from the original on June 26 2014 Retrieved September 25 2014 Choe Sang Hun August 9 2013 Cramming for Stardom at Korea s K Pop Schools The New York Times Retrieved September 25 2014 a b c Bae Soo min January 31 2013 Billboard launches K pop column with INFINITE The Korea Herald Retrieved September 15 2014 Benjamin Jeff January 29 2013 Billboard amp Girls Generation Welcome You to K Town Billboard Retrieved September 16 2014 빌보드 K POP 칼럼 K 타운 신설 in Korean Korea Daily January 30 2013 Retrieved December 5 2014 a b c d Jeong Jin young April 14 2013 Will Billboard interest in K pop expand the market The Korea Herald Retrieved September 21 2014 Gruger William July 15 2013 K Pop s Profile Expands Exponentially All Thanks to Psy Billboard Archived from the original on September 15 2014 rocksbackpageslibrary J D Considine Rock s Backpages Retrieved September 22 2014 a b Considine J D January 8 2014 So whatever happened to pop music s Korean Invasion The Globe and Mail Retrieved September 22 2014 Kim James S October 8 2014 Janice Min Talks About K pop s Global Impact and Future KoreAm Archived from the original on January 21 2019 Retrieved January 21 2019 Jackson Julie October 6 2014 Herald Interview Billboard s Janice Min talks potential and future of K pop The Korea Herald Retrieved November 30 2014 Lynch Joe December 3 2014 Psy s Gangnam Style Breaks YouTube Video Counter Billboard Retrieved July 5 2015 Benjamin Jeff December 22 2014 2NE1 s Crush Is First K Pop Entry on Year End World Albums Chart Billboard Retrieved July 5 2015 Charles Aaron Caryn Ganz Maura Johnston Brittany Spanos Barry Walters December 19 2014 20 Best Pop Albums of 2014 Rolling Stone Retrieved July 5 2015 Billboard Staff December 20 2017 Billboard Relaunches in Korea With Focus on K Pop Billboard Retrieved January 20 2019 billboard com Traffic Statistics Alexa Internet January 20 2019 Archived from the original on January 20 2019 Retrieved January 20 2019 Cheng Michelle February 22 2016 Western Journalists Take on K Pop Phenomenon The Quad Retrieved November 1 2016 Bai Stephany June 30 2016 KCON NY The Dream of K Pop Is Alive in New York NBC News Retrieved November 1 2016 Park Si soo August 1 2016 K pop gets closer to US mainstream The Korea Times Retrieved November 1 2016 Joyce Lee Arpita Aneja and Salima Koroma November 1 2016 Here s Why CL Is the Future of K Pop in America Time Retrieved November 1 2016 Kim Ji soo October 8 2014 Janice Min says K pop needs authenticity The Korea Times Retrieved January 21 2019 K pop Hot 100 Chart date December 30 2017 Billboard Korea September 14 2019 Archived from the original on June 4 2020 Retrieved September 14 2019 Doo Rumy June 3 2016 Solo K pop acts go strong on Billboard chart The Korea Herald Retrieved September 16 2016 Tam Lincoln May 28 2016 Fans plan to welcome K Pop group with haka The New Zealand Herald Retrieved September 16 2016 Kim Yu Young July 20 2016 K pop groups dominate Billboard World Albums Chart The Jakarta Post Retrieved September 16 2016 Benjamin Jeff June 6 2014 Most Viewed K Pop Videos in America vs Around the World May 2014 Billboard Retrieved September 26 2014 Benjamin Jeff September 3 2014 How Has K Pop Performed on Billboard s Twitter Charts So Far Billboard Retrieved September 24 2014 Benjamin Jeff September 11 2014 INFINITE Become First Korean Act to Top Twitter Emerging Artist Chart Enter Top Tracks Billboard Retrieved September 24 2014 Benjamin Jeff April 4 2016 GOT7 Fly Into Multiple Billboard Charts Outpeak PSY on Artist 100 Chart Billboard Retrieved September 26 2016 Bangtan Boys hit No 1 on Billboard s Social 50 The Korea Times October 19 2016 Retrieved March 8 2017 Benjamin Jeff October 17 2016 BTS Wings Sets New U S Record for Highest Charting Best Selling K Pop Album Billboard Retrieved October 18 2016 Benjamin Jeff August 16 2016 Blackpink s Major Debut New K Pop Girl Group Lands No 1 amp 2 on World Digital Songs Chart Billboard Retrieved September 26 2016 Benjamin Jeff October 12 2016 CL Enters the Hot 100 With Solo Single Lifted Billboard Retrieved October 12 2016 a b c d e Herman Tamar May 14 2018 How BTS Took Over the World A Timeline of The Group s Biggest Career Moments Billboard Retrieved January 20 2019 Herman Tamar November 3 2017 Get the Stateside Take on Korean Supergroup BTS Billboard Archived from the original on January 20 2019 Retrieved January 20 2019 Jeff Benjamin and Keith Caulfield September 24 2017 BTS Score Top 10 Debut on Billboard 200 With Love Yourself Her Album Billboard Retrieved January 20 2019 Caulfield Keith May 27 2018 BTS Love Yourself Tear Becomes First K Pop Album to Hit No 1 on Billboard 200 Chart Billboard Retrieved January 20 2019 Trust Gary May 29 2018 BTS Scores First Hot 100 Top 10 for a K Pop Group amp Its First No 1 on Digital Song Sales Chart With Fake Love Billboard Retrieved May 30 2018 Caulfield Keith September 2 2018 BTS Scores Second No 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With Love Yourself Answer Billboard Retrieved January 20 2019 Anderson Trevor November 11 2018 BTS Hits Landmark 100th Week at No 1 on Social 50 Chart Billboard Retrieved January 20 2019 Billboard Staff December 17 2018 The 20 Best K pop Albums of 2018 Critics Picks Billboard Retrieved January 23 2019 Herman Tamar October 19 2018 Lay Takes Fantastical Journey in NAMANANA Music Video Premiere Billboard Retrieved January 26 2019 Benjamin Jeff December 6 2018 The Year in K Pop on the Charts BTS Breaks Genre Barriers While the Scene Expands Its Reach Billboard Retrieved December 7 2018 Herman Tamar May 18 2017 Timeline of K Pop on U S TV in Honor of BTS Attending Billboard Music Awards Billboard Retrieved January 20 2019 Benjamin Jeff March 6 2015 Will a K Pop Girl Group Take Over the U S Soon Or Ever Billboard Retrieved July 26 2015 Benjamin Jeff March 13 2015 4Minute s Crazy EP Debuts at No 1 on World Albums Chart Billboard Retrieved July 26 2015 Benjamin Jeff April 1 2015 Exclusive Video Premiere Singer Songwriter Justin Thorne and Wonder Girls Yubin Enlist Their Fans for The Heartbroken K Pop Remix Billboard Retrieved July 26 2015 Benjamin Jeff May 22 2015 Listen to Diplo CL Riff Raff amp OG Maco Team Up for Doctor Pepper Billboard Retrieved July 26 2015 YG amp Krayzie Bone Break International Borders With Brave Brothers Produced Cash Money Exclusive Video Premiere Billboard July 10 2015 Retrieved July 26 2015 Benjamin Jeff November 30 2015 PSY Reveals Daddy amp Napal Baji Videos Star Studded Album ft Ed Sheeran Will i am amp CL Billboard Retrieved September 19 2016 Benjamin Jeff March 30 2015 Why CL s Ultra Performance Was Way More Than a Cool Cameo Billboard Retrieved July 26 2015 씨엘 해외 팬 영향인가 타임 100 2위 배경은 in Korean Yonhap April 14 2015 Retrieved July 27 2015 Lee Hyo won March 7 2014 Rain Returns With Movie Roles Album Showcase Billboard Retrieved January 20 2019 PSY s Gangnam Style The Billboard Cover Story Billboard October 26 2012 Retrieved January 20 2019 Benjamin Jeff April 28 2015 Nick Cannon s Make It Pop How He Mixed K Pop amp Nickelodeon Culture for Hit Kids Show Billboard Retrieved July 26 2015 Benjamin Jeff April 30 2015 Make It Pop Star Megan Lee Talks K Pop amp Diversity on U S TV Status of Career Billboard Retrieved July 26 2015 Caramanica Jon April 5 2015 Review Make It Pop on Nickelodeon Veers Toward K Pop The New York Times Retrieved July 26 2015 Benjamin Jeff April 16 2015 New Pitch Perfect 2 Trailer Features BIGBANG s K Pop Hit Fantastic Baby Billboard Retrieved July 26 2015 Benjamin Jeff June 19 2015 Epik High Talk U S Tour Getting Randy Jackson s Co Sign amp Being Afraid of Yoko Ono Watch Billboard Retrieved July 26 2015 Benjamin Jeff July 16 2015 Emma Stone Says She s Obsessed With K Pop Loves 2NE1 and Girls Generation Billboard Retrieved July 26 2015 Actress Emma Stone confesses love for K pop on Conan The Korea Times July 16 2015 Retrieved July 26 2015 Benjamin Jeff November 10 2015 K Pop Boy Band EXO Collaborate With Star Wars on New Single Lightsaber Watch Billboard Retrieved September 19 2016 Lipshutz Jason May 21 2017 BTS Thanks Fans For Top Social Artist Win at Billboard Music Awards 2017 Watch Billboard Retrieved January 20 2019 Herman Tamar December 23 2016 K Pop Ends 2016 With a Generational Shift as Girl Groups Disband Billboard Retrieved January 20 2019 Kelley Caitlin October 9 2017 How Korean Music Shows Diverged From MTV and Became the Epicenter of K Pop Fan Culture Billboard Retrieved January 22 2019 Benjamin Jeff June 25 2014 K Pop Concerts on Major Global Increase Infographic Billboard Retrieved September 26 2014 Smirke Richard April 20 2015 Seven Takeaways from IFPI s Study of the Global Music Market Last Year Billboard Retrieved July 26 2015 Benjamin Jeff February 2 2015 K Pop Star Is Top Dream Career for Kids in South Korea Billboard Retrieved July 26 2015 Benjamin Jeff January 19 2015 K Pop Star Earnings Swell in Recent Years Billboard Retrieved July 26 2015 a b c Benjamin Jeff May 3 2016 K Pop Concerts Continue to Grow Outside Asia Exclusive Infographic Billboard Retrieved September 16 2016 O Malley Greenburg Zack July 26 2016 Bigbang Theory How K Pop s Top Act Earned 44 Million In A Year Forbes Retrieved September 16 2016 a b Benjamin Jeff October 10 2018 Watch GOT7 Reflect On the Importance Of Present You Album Review Each Other s Solo Songs Billboard Retrieved January 22 2019 a b Benjamin Jeff August 13 2015 BTS Show Love for America Fifth Harmony amp Perform Live in Billboard Studios Billboard Retrieved September 16 2015 Benjamin Jeff February 2 2015 FTISLAND Rock Out Preview Future Sound at Debut New York Concert Billboard Retrieved July 26 2015 Benjamin Jeff April 3 2015 Amoeba Culture Tour Indicates Bright Future for Live Korean Hip Hop in America Billboard Retrieved July 26 2015 Benjamin Jeff June 16 2015 Epik High Defy Conventions Electrify Audiences in New York Live Review Billboard Retrieved July 26 2015 Benjamin Jeff July 20 2015 BTS Impress With Style and Freestyle Performances at Curtailed New York Debut Live Review Billboard Retrieved July 26 2015 Benjamin Jeff April 9 2015 Epik High Announce Biggest American K Pop Tour in Years Billboard Benjamin Jeff May 5 2015 Epik High Extends North American Tour See the Full Schedule Billboard Retrieved July 26 2015 Benjamin Jeff June 24 2015 BTS Show Off Some Very Dope Looks amp Dance Moves in New Video Billboard Retrieved July 26 2015 Big Bang joins Billboard Hot Tours list w 1 7M in revenue from LA stop The Korea Times October 29 2015 Retrieved September 6 2016 Benjamin Jeff May 27 2015 BIGBANG Announce Huge Arena Tour for America This Fall Billboard Retrieved September 6 2016 Benjamin Jeff October 13 2015 BIGBANG Confirm Their Power as a Group amp Individuals at Jersey Made Arena Shows Live Review Billboard Retrieved September 14 2016 Benjamin Jeff November 10 2015 Block B Preview U S Tour Talk Favorite America Memories Exclusive Billboard Retrieved September 19 2016 Benjamin Jeff August 2 2015 KCON 2015 Saturday Recap Super Junior GOT7 Monsta X amp More Shake the Staples Center Billboard Retrieved September 16 2015 Benjamin Jeff August 3 2015 KCON 2015 Sunday Recap Shinhwa AOA Zion T Crush amp More Shut Down Staples Center Billboard Retrieved September 16 2015 Benjamin Jeff August 9 2015 KCON 2015 New York Recap Girls Generation VIXX amp More Attempt to Satiate East Coast K Pop Fans Billboard Retrieved September 16 2015 Benjamin Jeff August 10 2015 KCON Los Angeles amp New York Draw 75 000 Total Attendees Billboard Retrieved September 16 2015 Benjamin Jeff August 6 2015 Red Velvet Talk First U S Performance Their New Member amp Summer Songs at KCON 2015 Exclusive Billboard Retrieved September 16 2015 Benjamin Jeff August 7 2015 GOT7 Talk Just Right Learning Acrobatics amp Give Confidence Advice to Fans at KCON 2015 Exclusive Billboard Retrieved September 16 2015 Benjamin Jeff August 12 2015 Zion T amp Crush Reveal New Music Details Favorite R amp B Albums at KCON 2015 Los Angeles Exclusive Billboard Retrieved September 16 2015 Benjamin Jeff August 20 2015 Roy Kim Previews New Album Talks A Cappella at KCON 2015 Exclusive Billboard Retrieved September 16 2015 Benjamin Jeff September 1 2015 Monsta X on Rookie Rivals amp Why They re The Avengers of K Pop at KCON 2015 L A Exclusive Billboard Retrieved September 16 2015 Benjamin Jeff September 10 2015 AOA Reveal Confidence Tips amp Who s the Best Lacrosse Player at KCON 2015 L A Exclusive Billboard Retrieved September 16 2015 Bateman Vicky A April 10 2016 Jay Park Plans to Release English Songs in June Exclusive Billboard Retrieved September 26 2016 Herman Tamar June 7 2016 Despite Last Minute Venue Change South Korean R amp B Singer Dean Stuns During NYC Debut Billboard Retrieved September 26 2016 Herman Tamar July 7 2016 Korean Boy Band GOT7 Discusses Breaking Records Selling Out Shows amp Dabbing Billboard Retrieved September 26 2016 Melendez Monique November 16 2016 Crush Talks His Really Personal Jazzy Upcoming EP wonderlost Billboard Retrieved March 8 2017 Herman Tamar October 31 2016 CL Solidifies Solo Stardom With Stellar New York City Concert Billboard Retrieved March 8 2017 Herman Tamar April 12 2016 Epik High on Being First Major South Korean Act to Play Coachella It Feels Like a Miracle Billboard Retrieved September 26 2016 Melendez Monique June 26 2016 KCON New York 2016 Ailee Comes Home Seventeen Makes First American Appearance amp More Billboard Retrieved September 26 2016 Herman Tamar August 1 2016 SHINee GFriend amp More Light Up KCON LA 2016 Billboard Retrieved September 26 2016 Herman Tamar August 2 2016 KCON LA 2016 BTS Monsta X Davichi amp More Close Out Fest Billboard Retrieved September 26 2016 Herman Tamar June 27 2016 Ailee Talks New Jersey Homecoming Haters amp What Empowers Her at KCON New York 2016 Exclusive Billboard Retrieved September 26 2016 Melendez Monique June 27 2016 Crush Talks Erasing Musical Boundaries at KCON New York 2016 Exclusive Billboard Retrieved September 26 2016 Melendez Monique June 27 2016 Day6 Talks the Meaning of Rock Career Aspirations amp Fusing Dance Music With Their Sound at KCON New York 2016 Exclusive Billboard Retrieved September 26 2016 Herman Tamar August 3 2016 SHINee Talk Upcoming Projects amp How EDM Is Influencing K Pop Artists at KCON LA 2016 Billboard Retrieved September 26 2016 Herman Tamar August 4 2016 Amber Talks Emigrating to Korea amp Her Eclectic Music Inspirations at KCON LA 2016 Billboard Retrieved September 26 2016 Herman Tamar August 5 2016 TWICE on Being a Multinational Girl Group amp Recording South Korea s Song of the Summer Billboard Retrieved September 26 2016 Herman Tamar May 24 2016 GFriend amp More Memorable Performances From Toronto Kpop Con 2016 Billboard Retrieved September 15 2016 Benjamin Jeff September 21 2018 The Boyz MXM amp DIA Shine at a More Mainstream Focused MU CON 2018 Billboard Retrieved January 22 2019 Song Dain August 6 2014 Big Bang goes head to head against Thirty Seconds to Mars for best fan army JoongAng Daily Retrieved September 27 2014 Big Bang s VIPs win Billboard s Fan Army Face off The Korea Times August 19 2014 a b Contributor Jeff Benjamin K Pop Columnist Billboard February 16 2020 Archived from the original on February 16 2020 Contributor Billboard Korea Staff Billboard Archived from the original on October 1 2014 Retrieved September 26 2014 Jeff Benjamin Staff Writer at Fuse TV K Pop Columnist at Billboard LinkedIn Retrieved September 26 2014 a b c Special Guests Jeff Benjamin KCON Archived from the original on October 21 2014 Retrieved September 21 2014 Jung Min ho December 16 2019 2020 Korea Image Awards go to SKT pop columnist and jazz singer The Korea Times Retrieved December 18 2019 Contributor Jessica Oak Billboard April 28 2019 Archived from the original on April 28 2019 Billboard Staff and Billboard Korea Staff 20 Best K Pop Songs of 2013 K Town Picks Billboard Retrieved January 9 2015 a b Pop Correspondent Tamar Herman Billboard April 23 2020 Archived from the original on January 18 2020 Tamar Herman Pop Culture Analyst tamarherman com Archived from the original on January 21 2019 Retrieved January 20 2019 What is K pop NBC News August 12 2014 Retrieved September 26 2014 Trivedi Anjani August 1 2013 Forget Politics Let s Dance Why K Pop Is a Latin American Smash Time Retrieved September 22 2014 Benjamin Jeff October 17 2012 KCON 2012 15 Things Seen amp Overheard Billboard Retrieved September 24 2014 Global Hallyu Forum 2013 Hallyu Live Korean Cultural Center D C Archived from the original on October 29 2014 Retrieved September 26 2014 Stanley Adrienne May 9 2014 Chad Future amp The Debate Over What Defines K Pop KPopStarz Retrieved September 26 2014 GhostWriter September 4 2014 Gaon Chart releases chart rankings for August 24 August 30 Allkpop Retrieved September 26 2014 Choi Tae January 30 2014 레이디스 코드 美 빌보드 2014 주목 할 만한 k pop스타 선정 in Korean Gaon Music Chart Archived from the original on September 26 2014 Retrieved September 26 2014 lt 인터뷰 gt 칼럼니스트 벤저민 케이팝은 이제 하나의 문화 in Korean Yonhap November 9 2013 Retrieved September 26 2014 음담패설 빌보드 K POP 전문기자 제프 벤자민 알고 보니 존박 고교 동창 in Korean YTN March 20 2014 Retrieved September 26 2014 음담패설 존박 美 빌보드 기자 제프 벤자민과 고교 친구 in Korean TV Daily March 20 2014 Archived from the original on March 4 2016 Retrieved September 26 2014 Billboard s 20 Best K Pop Songs Of 2013 Vibe December 24 2013 Retrieved September 26 2014 Ahn So hyun January 30 2014 레이디스코드 빌보드 주목할 만한 K팝스타 선정 걸그룹 유일 in Korean JoongAng Ilbo Archived from the original on September 26 2014 Retrieved September 26 2014 EXO s Overdose most viewed K pop video last month Billboard GlobalPost June 9 2014 Archived from the original on March 7 2016 Retrieved September 26 2014 L US Billboard predit une grande carriere pour le groupe de Jacki Chan JJCC Double JC in French KPopStarz French March 26 2014 Archived from the original on April 27 2015 Retrieved September 26 2014 Winner lo hizo de nuevo y se ubica en el primer lugar de la lista mundial de albumes Billboard in Spanish Soompi Spanish August 23 2014 Retrieved September 26 2014 External links editBillboard K Town Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Billboard K Town amp oldid 1221722996, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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