Earlier this decade, it seemed as if the long-vaunted South Korean takeover of American pop was finally happening. In summer 2020, BTS’s Dynamite became the first K-pop track to top the US chart, and in 2023, girl group Blackpink became the first K-pop act to headline Coachella. But just two years later, the story looks very different.
Ruby and Alter Ego, recent solo albums by Blackpink members Jennie and Lisa, each debuted at No 7 on the US album chart before dropping out of the Top 10 after one week, and neither album produced a single that peaked higher than No 68. Relative newcomers such as Tomorrow X Together, Ateez and Twice have achieved solid first-week chart positions, thanks to strong physical album sales, before facing precipitous drop-offs. NewJeans – a young, critically acclaimed new K-pop group who looked to be the genre’s strongest hope in the US after Blackpink and BTS – have been bogged down by controversies and legal dramas in South Korea, stopping them from capitalising on the success of their 2023 single Super Shy.
