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View the Substack version of this piece here! At the beginning of 2024, I made a wide range of predictions on the 17 Carat K-Pop podcast about what to expect from the world of K-pop and the music industry overall. Here’s how those predictions panned out! About the Music Itself What I said: K-pop songs would draw a lot of inspiration from the worlds of Afrobeats and Latin pop. What happened: Afrobeats were a go-to influence for everyone from girl group UNIS to R&B soloist PENOMECO. The trend is less surprising when considering the resources behind Afrobeats’ global popularity boost. As for Latin pop’s influence on K-pop, that remained evident in songs from Stray Kids, TEN, Jimin, and many others. NMIXX most overtly targeted the Latin music market, releasing a Spanish version of “Soñar” and becoming the first K-pop act to appear at a Billboard Latin Music Week event. What I said: Singles would continue to be shorter than they used to be on average. What happened: Much to my (and surely other music enthusiasts’) dismay, it did become more common for songs to be under three minutes long, often skipping a verse or omitting the best part: the bridge. (I might have to write an “In Defense of the Bridge” essay at some point; it truly makes me want to cry to hear so many songs go bridge-less now! The soul of the song gets lost so often when this happens!)
Since 1990, the average Billboard Hot 100 song length has shortened by almost a full minute, and in just the past couple of years, the trend of singles being under three minutes long seems to have accelerated. While it would be an overgeneralization to say that K-pop songs this year strictly followed that trend, there was definitely a notable increase in the amount of times a song’s run time appeared rounded down to two minutes instead of up to three or four. What I said: K-pop songs would continue to incorporate more and more English lyrics. What happened: While I have yet to see data that is updated for 2024, reporting from near the end of 2023 showed an increasing amount of English lyrics in K-pop songs and did not indicate a high likelihood that the trend would be reversed anytime soon. There definitely seemed to be an increased amount of English lyrics in K-pop songs in 2024, at least when it comes to singles. I will update this post if/when new research is available to verify this. About K-Pop Group Membership What I said: Increased attention and resources would go towards creating and promoting “non-K-pop K-pop,” acts that follow a K-pop promotional format and/or training model but do not have Korean members and/or do not primarily sing in Korean. What happened: Just to name a few of the “non-K-pop K-pop” acts that were busy last year:
The walls between the western and Asian entertainment industries further fell down with…
About the Uses of Technology in Music What I said: There would be a rise in the use of AI and similar technology in all subcategories of the music industry; the K-pop industry would be no exception. What happened: AI and “metaverse” concepts were indeed extensively used in K-pop:
More Things I Said to Expect in 2024 A big focus on in-person events for K-pop fans: Experiences, not just material things, stayed a big draw for fandoms of all kinds. This took many forms for K-pop enthusiasts, including fan club gatherings, concerts, and pop-up shops. The Grammy Museum was particularly busy, hosting a HYBE-artist-dedicated exhibit and a series of performances and Q&As. Plus, the business-to-business event “K-Story & Comics in America” was actually in America for the first time, and it had a new business-to-consumer angle. Clearly, the desire for K-content continues to be strong and include more than just music. More K-pop artists filling bigger venues: Many K-pop artists did upgrade from performing in concert halls to theaters or from theaters to arenas! Big things from THE BLACK LABEL: They debuted a new girl group, MEOVV, who had a strong start, signing a separate deal with Capitol Records before they even debuted and winning and performing at the MAMAs already! Also, THE BLACK LABEL signed ROSÉ to promote her solo music! Lots of viral “K-pop x sports” moments: K-pop artists were involved in the Olympics! Jin carried the torch for part of its journey, MINHO attended as an official “Friend of the Olympics,” HYBE IPX created an official light stick for South Korean athletes, and BSS’s “Fighting” was the team’s official cheer song! Besides the Olympics, lots of K-pop stars threw out first pitches at baseball games, NCT’s MARK was invited to attend the Wimbledon Men’s Final (while repping Ralph Lauren, no less!), LE SSERAFIM began a years-long partnership with the NBA, and BAEKHYUN sang both the Korean and American national anthems at an MLB game! Things I Wanted to See Happen but Didn’t Necessarily Expect to Happen For HyunA and DAWN to get back together: No. :( HyunA actually got married to someone else (Yong Jun-hyung) in October, and DAWN started his own new life chapter - in the most surprising way possible! A Jung Kook shout-out or cameo during USHER’s Super Bowl halftime show: This almost happened; Jung Kook was invited to perform “Standing Next to You” with collaborator USHER, but he had to turn down the offer due to military enlistment. News about a BTS 2025 comeback show at The Sphere: Maybe still to come?! Stay tuned for more “Year in Review” recaps, including…
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