K-pop bands: best bands to listen to

There is the planetary success of the BTS extensioncurrently on a career break after having conquered audiences all over the world with hits (from “Dynamite” to “My Universe”, with i Coldplay), but there is also the recent decision of Coachellathe most loved music festival globally which, for this 2023 edition, scheduled from 14 to 23 April, has chosen to bet everything on unpublished headliners, including the beloved Korean girl-band of the Blackpink. Both maximum expression of K-pophowever, are only the tip of the iceberg in a very rich world, made up of so much music and just as many kids and very young stars.

What is K-pop music

K-pop, J-pop, all these acronyms confuse us. So let’s clarify one of the most popular musical genres of Generation Z and which at the moment monopolizes not only the charts of the Far East, but of the whole world, to the sound – it is literally appropriate to say it – of absolute hits . The wording K-pop is just an abbreviation of korean popmusical genre born in South Korea, about halfway through the last century, when the Asian nation itself began to open its happy history to contamination with the West and its variegated musical traditions. But the K-pop is much more than the simple pop we have been accustomed to in recent years, between the composition of texts that are easy to understand for the general public – hence its being defined as “pop” or rather “popular” – and melodies often characterized by a strong catchy sound, in able to attract as many listeners as possible to them and thus climb the charts. The korean pop

he bases his whole story on being experimentalas after all is the nation itself, into a fusing whole rap and melodicwithout thereby also maintaining rock and electronics in a corner. That’s why K-pop, beyond Gen Z, is really liked by everyone today, driven as much by its fresh and revolutionary being as by the presence of numerous boy and girl bands become in all respects real teen idolalso capable of accompanying their music with choreography very captivating and very difficult.

Journey to discover the most famous K-pop groups

And if it is true that “curiosity is female” and that our magazine is a meeting point for the general female public (and not only), here we have thought of a short guide to appease your curious souls. With Cosmopolitan discovering the best k-pop bands of the moment.

BTS extension

If the new juncture of Korean pop has been able to reach us by conquering unprecedented success – both in the rankings and in the “following” public – an important role has certainly been played by the K-pop band at the moment most famous of all. We are talking about the BTS extensionfrom Bangtan Boyswith in training RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook. First Asian boyband to reach the #1 position of the most important American chart, Billboard 200 with the single “Dynamite”, and a nomination at the Grammy Awards 2021, BTS have a truly unique style on their side, which perfectly blends the most pop and typical western musicality with hip-hop influences. Also worth listening to is their beautiful collaboration with i Coldplay in “My Universe”, as well as the very recent “Butter”, released in streaming shortly before the group temporarily retired from the scene to devote themselves to military service at home.

Blackpink

The female answer to BTS’ blockbuster? There is and it’s called Blackpink. The beloved South Korean girl-band will be none other than one of the Big Three headliners at the Coachella Festival 2023. With Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé and Lisa, Blackpink are a concentrate of style, music and energy, but above all synonymous with great talent, between pop and rap, which has been able to reach overseas and all over the world. In fact, it is not uncommon to hear some of their most energetic and beloved pieces, such as soundtracks for films and television series. They are the most followed girl group on Spotify and also boast the highest number of subscribers on Youtube. Ditto with regard to social views, especially after the numerous collaborations with some of the most popular singers globally: from “Sour Candy” with Lady Gaga

to “Ice Cream” with Selena Gomezwithout forgetting the hit “Bet You Wanna” where they are accompanied by the rapper Cardi B.

TXT extension

Are 13.3 million fans on Instagram alone enough to guarantee them a prominent place among the most loved K-pop bands? We are absolutely sure of it. So, in the rich list of groups K-pop absolutely to be listened toit is good to also include i TXT extensionwhose name is none other than the acronym of Tomorrow X Together. Born in 2019, the boy-band with Choi Soo-bin, Choi Yeon-jun, Choi Beom-gyu, Kang Tae-hyun and Heuning Kai represents the umpteenth bet of Big Hit Entertainment which, for non-experts, is the same record company that brought BTS global success. With their first EPby title The Dream Chapter: Star, released on March 4, 2019, quickly reached #1 on the Billboard Emerging Artist, World Albums and World Digital Song charts. Their story is yet to be written, meanwhile let’s listen to some of their best songs: “Good Boy Gone Bad”, “0X1=LOVESONG (I Know I Love You)”, “Loser=Lover”, “Blue Hour”.

Red velvet

Strong like red, soft like velvet. It is precisely on the dichotomy that is also hidden behind their name, that the very famous ones Red velvet they founded their entire success. Born in 2014 a Seoul, are currently a musical collective of five female artists. Some with a “red” soul, pop and eccentricother super “velvet”, able to look at soul to R&B and the elegance that distinguishes these two genres. They are called Irene, Seulgi, Wendy, Joy and Yeri. Among their best songs to listen to, the singles “Ice Cream Cake”, “The Red”, “The Velvet”, but also “Russian Roulette”, “Rookie The Red Summer” and “Perfect Velvet” deserve a mention.

twice

The explosion of acclaim collected by the numerous girl-bands active in the rich genre K-pop, has meant that those taboos, still too much alive on all-female music, were dissolved all over the world. All this is also thanks to the twice who, with 27 million followers on Instagram alone, were born in Seoul in 2015 from the union of many different nationalities, from Korea to Japan and Taiwan. There are nine of them and they were born within the well-known television programme Sixteen

who opened the doors of the musical world for him with ben seven unreleased albums published.

The five groups listed above are just a welcome taste of what great South Korean music can do. Our advice is therefore to delve even further into the many facets of K-popalso dedicating himself to listening to boy and girl bands currently less known, but which we are sure, in the not too distant future, will conquer the best music charts in the world. It is the case of Everglowof the Enhypeni GOT7i BIG BANGthe wealthy collective of NCT extension and the Crystal Clear or CLC extension. Without forgetting the great success of EXO extension – whose palmarès of performances can count nothing less than an exhibition at the closing ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics – and SEVENTEEN who, really started in 17, are now in 13. Well divided into three different units, to thus deal with the writing of texts, creation of bases and productions, choreography.