By Mitch Rice
Around the last few years, performers from all over Asia, including South Korea, Hong Kong, and China, have been lighting up the stage, garnering success and global recognition. While Asian music artists have been marginalised and ignored for many decades, the last few years have seen global audiences finally getting to experience everything Asia has to offer.
The internet and the growth of streaming services have allowed people to experience more music than ever before and given music artists a global platform. Today, you can easily listen to top artists from countries all over the world who you may never have had the chance to discover just a few decades ago.
Asia has seen a lot of big changes over the last few decades. Major music stars finding global fame is just one of them. The internet has opened up other avenues in sports, entertainment and media to give Asia more of an influence on the world. Sports betting is now legal in many Asian countries, and sites such as Asiabet provide resources and information on the best betting sites to use. They feature tips and expert advice to help Asian gamblers enjoy the finest online gaming experience possible.
Here are just some of the biggest Asian music stars who have achieved global fame in recent years:
BTS
This Korean boy band started in 2013 and has gone on to become the biggest group to have come out of Korea. After becoming the first K-pop group to win an award at the Billboard Music Trophies in 2017, the band went even further by breaking into the top 40 of the US singles charts for the first time. Later that year, they also won three more awards at the Mnet Asian Music Awards in Hong Kong.
The group’s name comes from a Korean phrase that translates as Bulletproof Boy Scouts. With their current album Map of The Soul: 7, they’ve topped the iTunes charts in over 91 countries and territories. Not only that, but they’ve now reached over 26 million YouTube followers and are the first K-pop band to ever top the US album charts.
BabyMetal
Babymetal is a kawaii metal band from Japan. Suzuka Nakamoto (called “Su-metal”) and Moa Kikuchi (aka “Moametal”) make up the band. Kobametal of the Amuse entertainment agency is the band’s producer. At concerts, a group of session musicians known as the “Kami Band” backs up their voices with strong metal instruments.
Already a hit in their own country, the group has played abroad alongside some of the genre’s biggest names, including Metallica, their idols. While they originally consisted of three members, Yui Mizuno had to leave the band in 2018 due to poor health. However, this hasn’t stopped them from ricking out, and their viral hit “Gimme Chocolate!!” has over 150 million views on YouTube.
Super Junior
Super Junior, often known as SJ or SuJu, is a South Korean boy band formed by producer Lee Soo-man of SM Entertainment on November 6, 2005. Due to their significant contributions to Korean Wave, they have also been dubbed the “King of Hallyu Wave” by the Korean media. Korean Wave or Hallyu Wave is the term given to the increase in the global popularity of South Korean culture since the 1990s.
The band are so popular that they even have their own Chinese sub-unit, called Super Junior-M. This was the first international music group in China to feature members of both Korean and Chinese descent and helped them to gain more popularity in the country. Their hit Sorry Sorry went viral around the world, reaching more than 130 million views on YouTube.
Blackpink
The four-member Korean girl band has shattered multiple records and is now the world’s largest Asian girl band. They were the first K-pop girl group to perform at Coachella and gain 1 billion YouTube views, making them the most-subscribed music group on the platform, as well as the first girl group from any country to make Forbes Asia’s 30 Under 30 list.
On top of all that, Blackpink broke Guinness World Records in 2019 with the tune “Kill This Love,” which has over 312 million Spotify plays and over 824 million YouTube views. They also embarked on the most financially successful concert tour by a Korean female quartet the same year.
