Today, as a true testament to how quickly K-pop is spreading and growing in popularity, PSY’s ‘Gangnam Style’ was played on BBC Radio 1.
It was introduced as being similar to the kind of songs LMFAO produces, and according to the DJ, it received a great response! Listeners commented that even though they couldn’t understand what was being said, they still enjoyed how it sounded. They also said that it sounded like an anthem, and people even recommended that others should check out the dance routine and video for the song, as they are incredibly amusing! The DJ, Greg James, even commented that ‘Gangnam Style’ is a tune to watch, as he has a feeling that it is going to be huge.
Personally, I take this as a good indication that mainstream music listeners in this country aren’t too worried about listening to songs in languages they don’t understand, as long as the song sounds good enough! With some K-pop bands being fairly westernised in sound, this could be good news if they are looking at breaking into the UK music market.
With ‘Gangnam Style’ achieving the most amount of hits for a K-pop video on Youtube and signing with Island Records, PSY has done amazingly well for himself!
With such a positive response to ‘Gangnam Style’, do you think K-pop really has a viable future in our mainstream music market? If so, which bands?
