Firstly, I know that my name, KoreanDream, and my love of K-pop can make it seem that I think Asians are better than non-Asians or that Asians deserve a lot of success over others, but trust me, that isn't true. Just wanted to make sure no one thinks I'm racist or anything before proceeding.
ANYWAY, I wanted to ask a very simple question which I'm sure has been posed plenty of times. My question is simple:
Why don't Asians achieve mainstream success outside of Asia?
Some Asians have taken cracks at being successful outside of Asia, but they have yet to prove successful. Charice had a large buzz surrounding her debut album outside of Asia, but while it did reach the top 10 on the Billboard 200, it failed to achieve a certification or spawn any successful singles, and her second album has gotten off to a shaky start with 3 unsuccessful singles.
Korean artists BoA and Se7en both took shots at having American success, but neither proved to be fruitful. BoA's English album, produced by the likes of Sean Garrett and Bloodshy & Avant, contained radio-friendly material and had high-quality videos but her album failed to sell more than 10,000 copies in the United States and didn't crack the upper half of the Billboard 200. Se7en, also successful in Asia, released a single featuring Lil Kim, "Girls", in 2009 and its video was premiered on 106&Park, yet the single failed to chart.
My question isn't why simply because these artists failed to succeed. My question is why when Asian artists have succeeded in other areas. SM Entertainment, the label that BoA (mentioned above) is signed to in Korea, held two concerts in Los Angeles featuring BoA and her labelmates and both sold out, playing to crowds of at least 20,000 both nights at the Staples Center. The label also performed multiple sold-out shows in a similar sized arena in Paris. Korean group Big Bang also received 100s of thousands votes to come to America, among other countries, in a poll on their Facebook page.
If they can sell out concerts, then why can't they land a hit single or a hit album? Is it going to change since the Wonder Girls have a Nickelodeon movie set to air soon, are working with Claude Kelly, and have already landed a song on the Hot 100 which was in Korean and received no promotion and 2NE1 are working with will.i.am on English material? Or will there just not be famous Asian popstars?
I'm curious to know what everyone thinks.
lol
Yes...
