K-pop artists on the rise

YouTube's most-watched Korean pop music video, Girls' Generation's "Gee," has earned 74,000,000 American views alone, even though most mainstream U.S. music fans have never heard of it. The song and video – a calculated, colorful, choreographed affair that sees the nine-member girl group smiling and winking for the camera in flirty outfits as they change formations and soloists without a hitch – epitomize how Korean pop music (K-Pop for short) has been able to break language barriers and captivate a passionate U.S. audience.

More recently, acts have begun turning the interest into profitable American tour stops and announcing plans to officially release music stateside. And as if to officially christen the genre's U.S. crossover potential as an internet phenomenon. Here are some groups we think could make a big break in the U.S.A

1. Bangtan Boys (BTS)

Also known as BTS, is a seven-member South Korean boy groupformed by Big Hit Entertainment. The name of the band, Bangtan Sonyeondan, is a combination of "방탄" which means bulletproof and "소년단" which means boy scouts.They debuted on June 13, 2013 with the song "No More Dream" from their first album, 2 Cool 2 Skool.

BTS has won several "New Artist of the Year" awards, including those at the 2013 MelOn Music Awards and Golden Disk Awards, and the 2014 Seoul Music Awards. A year after their debut, they received major bonsang awards for Dark & Wild and The Most Beautiful Moment In Life, Part 1. They have fun, captivating, bright song that can easily make people dance and sing, making them prabable to hit is big in the U.S.

2. Girls Generation

Girls Generation, also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by S.M. Entertainment. The group is composed of eight (formerly nine) members: Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. Girls' Generation officially debuted on August 5, 2007 with its debut single "Into the New World" and subsequently gained some attention with their self-titled debut album. However, it was not until 2009 that they rose to prominence with the single "Gee", which claimed the top spot on KBS's Music Bank for a record-breaking nine consecutive weeks and was named the most popular song of the 2000s decade byMelon. The group solidified their place in the South Korean music industry with follow-up singles "Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)", "Oh!", and "Run Devil Run" from late 2009 to early 2010.

Girls' Generation has sold over 4.4 million albums and 30 million digital singles as of 2012. The group's immense popularity in its native South Korea has earned them numerous accolades, notably titles such as "The Nation's Singers" and "The Nation's Girl Group". Girls' Generation is also regarded as the most popular K-pop girl group in Japan alongside Kara; the group is the first South Korean girl group to have two number-one albums on the Japanese Oricon Albums Chart. Korean newspaper Asia Today placed the group at 45 on its 50 Korean Power Leaders list in 2011.

3. Got7

Got7 (Korean: 갓세븐; romanized as Gatsebeun; stylized as GOT7) is a multi-national K-pop boy group formed by JYP Entertainmentin 2014. Got7 has seven members: leader JB, Mark, Junior, Jackson, Youngjae, BamBam and Yugyeom. They are a multinational group with members from South Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand and the United States.

Got7 released their debut EP, Got It?, on January 20, 2014. On October 22, 2014, they debuted in Japan with the release of their first Japanese single, "Around the World".

For their work in 2014, Got7 won Best New Artist Group at the Seoul Music Awards and received three nominations at the 29thGolden Disk Awards, winning the Newcomer Award and China Goodwill Star Award.With members that are fluent in english, and music that capitvates their fans, Got7 is part of the Hallyu wave that hits America.

4.Twice

Twice (Hangul: 트와이스, stylized as TWICE) is a K-pop girl group formed by JYP Entertainment through the 2015 reality show Sixteen. The group is composed of nine members: Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu. The group debuted on October 20, 2015, with the mini-album The Story Begins.

On October 7, 2015, JYP Entertainment launched the band's official website and announced via SNS that the group would debut with the mini-album The Story Begins and title-track "Like OOH-AHH". The track was described as a 'color pop' dance track with elements of hip-hop, rock, and R&B. The composition team included Black Eyed Pilseung, known for composing successful releases such as Miss A's "Only You." On October 20, the album and the song's music video were released online and through the Naver V App. The group held a live showcase the same day, where they performed "Like OOH-AHH" along with dance tracks "Must Be Crazy" and "Do It Again." The music video hit 20 million views within two months of their debut.

5. EXO

Exo (Korean: 엑소; stylized as EXO) is a Chinese-South Korean boy group based in Seoul. Formed by S.M. Entertainment in 2011, the group debuted in 2012 with twelve members separated into two subgroups, EXO-K and EXO-M, performing music in Korean andMandarin, respectively. EXO rose to fame with the release of their best-selling first album XOXO (2013), which contained the breakthrough hit "Growl". XOXO was a critical and commercial success, winning both Disk Daesang at the 28th Golden Disk Awards and Album of the Year at the 15th Mnet Asian Music Awards. It eventually went on to sell over one million copies, putting EXO as the best-selling Korean artist in twelve years. Their third EP Overdose (2014) made EXO the highest-charting Korean male act on the Billboard 200. EXO were later ranked the most influential celebrity by Forbes Korea for the year 2014.

In 2015 EXO broke their previous Billboard record with the release of their second studio album EXODUS, which became the highest charting album for a male K-pop group on the Billboard 200 as well the K-pop album with the highest first week sales. EXODUS's title track "Call Me Baby" also earned the honor of becoming the first and only K-pop track to enter the Canadian HOT 100. EXODUS later went on to sell more than one million copies, earning EXO the title, "double million sellers." Their fourth EP Sing For You (2015) later broke EXODUS's first week sales record by selling 267,900 copies in its first week. In early 2016, EXO were revealed to have again ranked as the most powerful celebrity by Forbes Korea for the year 2015.

6. AOA

AOA (Hangul: 에이오에이; an acronym for Ace of Angels) is a South Korean idol girl group signed under FNC Entertainment. The eight-member band consists of Choa, Jimin, Yuna, Youkyung, Chanmi, Hyejeong, Seolhyun, and Mina, while the seven-member idol group consists of all the members except Youkyung. The group debuted their single album Angels' Story on July 30, 2012.

On January 1st, it was announced that AOA would be having a comeback in the first half of the year, and that AOA Black would also be releasing new music.[31]

On January 27, FNC said in interview that "Chanmi, Hyejeong and Yuna will promote as a unit group. They are planned to release a new song in February. We ask for a lot of anticipation."[32] On the 31st of January they announced that the new sub-unit was called AOA Cream and that they would make their debut on 12 February. On the next day they released the teasers on their official page. The title track "I'm Jelly Baby" was composed by Black Eyed Pilseung.

7. BIGBANG

Despite a nearly two-year hiatus, boy band BIGBANG continues to be one of K-Pop’s most established and popular groups. Before their comeback this year, BIGBANG made a statement at the 2011 MTV European Music Awards by winning "Best Worldwide Act." The award was voted on by fans and saw the group beating out Britney Spears and other popular artists from all regions.

The group reemerged with their Alive EP, which included mid-tempo R&B-influenced ballads like "Blue" and high-energy bangers like "Fantastic Baby." The set charted on the Billboard 200 at Number 150 despite no physical release or active promotion in America. BIGBANG members G-Dragon and T.O.P in particular have caught the eyes of super-producer Diplo (who produced a track for their duo project titled "Knock Out") and British pop singer Pixie Lott (who features them on the track "Dancing On My Own" for the Japanese release of her second album). 8. After School

Originally introduced as a Korean version of the Pussycat Dolls, After School stands out for their live performances. In one promotion cycle, the entire group learned a drum-line routine for single "Bang!," and turned to complicated tap dance for Korean track "Let’s Step Up."

As electro-pop dance ballads, tracks like "Shampoo" and "Because Of You" epitomize the genre-blending of K-pop. After School was also the very first winner of the Billboard Japan award for K-Pop New Artist of the Year.

With a unique graduation system that keeps the line-up changing (similar to the way the Pussycat Doll brand works), the group can stay relevant and fresh. It’s unclear if any of the current members (nine girls are in the group at press time) can speak fluent English, but with the shifting membership, if an American debut was eyed it would make sense for their label to recruit English-speaking members. 9. SHINee

With the recent success of boy bands like One Direction and The Wanted, it would be foolish not to take a group like SHINee as serious contenders for American crossover. The quintet has released catchy Korean electro-pop singles including "Ring Ding Dong" and "Lucifer."; recent single "Sherlock" not only showcases their emphasis on captivating hooks, but also recalls the vocal stylings of the Jackson 5. "Sherlock" in particular is notable in any genre as a "hybrid remix," mashing up two different tracks from their latest EP, tracks "Clue" and "Note". Several members can also speak English.

Since their debut, Shinee has released nine full-length albums (five in Korean language and four in Japanese language), five mini-albums, three live album and various Japanese singles as well as Japanese remakes of their Korean releases. They have also won many awards, held four concert tours and starred in their own reality shows. Shinee is considered to be a fashion icon having started the "Shinee Trend"[4] and are known for their highly synchronized and complex dancing.

10. 2EN1

One of South Korea’s most notable acts, 2NE1 stands out for the wide array of sounds heard in their latest EP that includes the club banger "I Am The Best," the slick electro-pop/hip-hop "Hate You," and the emotionally charged "Ugly." 2NE1’s genre-hopping and large personalities bring Nicki Minaj’s rap/singing approach to mind.

Without any push into the U.S., the group caught the eye of will.i.am, who signed on to work on their American debut rumored to be released later this year. Listeners can get a sample of what a will.i.am/2NE1 production sounds like with the track "Take On The World," currently being used for a promotional video for Intel. The foursome’s fierce fashion even caught the eye of designer Jeremy Scott who has styled for the group. Several of the members have strong English skills, and the group won the award for "Best New Band In The World" for MTV Iggy, an MTV initiative that showcases music from all over the world.

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