U.S. magazine "The Atlantic" asks, "Does Korean Pop Actually Have a Shot at Success in the U.S.?"

On January 30th, U.S. magazine "The Atlantic" (Boston, MA) published an article online titled, "Does Korean Pop Actually Have a Shot at Success in the U.S.?"

K-Pop has already made a path for itself in South Korea and Japan, and has been stretching over the countries in Asia for awhile. In the last year or so, K-Pop began making its way worldwide, holding K-Pop concerts in Brazil, Los Angeles, New York City, Paris, England, Germany, and more.

This week, U.S. television will introduce some of the most popular K-Pop acts, the Wonder Girls and Girls' Generation.

Girls' Generation will be appearing on "The Late Show with David Letterman" on Tuesday and "Live With Kelly" on Wednesday. On Thursday, "The Wonder Girls," Wonder Girls' fictional attempt into finding fame in New York City, will air on TeenNick at 8PM.

The Atlantic writes, "If those sound like small inroads to the American market, it's worth realizing how large these bands' ambitions are. The history of Asian pop stars attempting to crash the U.S. is one littered with artists who went from superstardom in their native country to anonymity in America, along with others who found success only when they morphed into actors or cartoon characters. But the latest contingent headed for the U.S. comes equipped with innovative promotional strategies that may set them up for fame exceeding those of their predecessors.'"

The articles goes on to describe the Wonder Girls success in South Korea before making their way into the U.S. and performing as the opening act for the Jonas Brothers's U.S. tour. It also highlights the Wonder Girls' success at being the first Korean artists to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 2009 with their English single "Nobody."

It then describes Girls' Generation's plan of a U.S. debut by having Snoop Dogg feature in their remix single for "The Boys." Another hot and popular South Korean female group, 2NE1, was described as "a quartet that raps and sings over often-aggressive beats." The writer then adds that Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am has been working with the group for their U.S. debut album.

But will these latest South Korean acts make any waves in the U.S. market? The writer continues, "While these three Asian outfits are the latest to harbor U.S. hopes, they aren't the first. That distinction was awarded back in 1963, when Japanese singer Kyu Sakamoto's melancholy tune "Ue o Muite Aruko" (retitled to "Sukiyaki" in the West) became one of the most unlikely songs to top the Billboard charts. For three weeks, the sung-in-Japanese track stayed at number one, making Sakamoto the first Japanese artist to chart and the only one ever to reach the top spot."

Other Asian artists who made their attempts, but never reached the success that Kyu Sakamato had, included Pink Lady (Japan), Hikaru Utada, BoA, Puffy (Puffy AmiYumi), and Rain.

"First was Japan's Hikaru Utada, who made two of the top three best-selling albums in Japan over the last decade and was named as the "most influential artist" of the '00s by the Japan Times. She released her English debut in 2004, which featured production work from Timbaland and was greeted with indifference. Four years later, the "Queen Of Korean Pop Music" BoA also tried to crossover via an English album and a remix featuring hot-at-the-time Flo Rida."

"Similarly, Korean superstar Rain was named one of the "100 Most Influential People Shaping Our World Today" by Time magazine and went on to appear in the film Speed Racer and star in the movie Ninja Assassin. Yet despite building his fame in Korea on music, Rain never released any music in the United States. He sold out a few concerts, but he is ultimately more famous in America for having a dance-off with Stephen Colbert than for any songs he has made."

Closing the article, the writer comments on the Wonder Girls, Girls' Generation, and 2NE1's success rate in their attempt to break into the U.S. market.

On the Wonder Girls, the writer says, "Whereas Utada and BoA just showed up in America and presumed being big in Asia would equal sales abroad, Wonder Girls is being introduced—or, for those who saw them open for The Jonas Brothers, further developed—specifically for the teen and tween markets. Given the music industry's hyper-segmentation, it's a smart move to focus on the same audience that turned artists like Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato into household names."

However, Girls' Generation doesn't seem to favor as good a comment as the Wonder Girls, and the writer writes that they "seem poised to repeat the mistakes of previous Asian artists. They released "The Boys" virtually void of promotion, and now will have to hope an established American rapper can give them a boost—although, to be sure, "featuring Snoop Dogg" trumps "featuring Flo Rida" any day."

Not much is said about 2NE1's chance of success as they have yet to release anything official for their U.S. debut.

You can read the entire article by "The Atlantic" here.

NOTE: The article makes a mistake that the Wonder Girls' made their debut through a reality show showed on MTV, which was actually "MTV Wonder Girls," a show that was used to introduce the members to fans prior their official debut.

Source: The Atlantic , koreaboo.com