Statistics on Spotify show that from the beginning of the year to June 30, out of the 30 most played K-pop songs outside of Korea, 19 were from solo artists.
Common denominator
Notably, in the Top 10, there are up to 9 songs performed by solo artists. This shows that global audiences are increasingly interested in the personal colors and stories of each artist, a major shift compared to the previous dominant group model.
Jennie (BlackPink) is the brightest star on this year's list. The song "Like Jennie" from her solo album "Ruby" leads the chart, and the female artist also impresses with 9 songs on the list, all from the same album. This proves her careful investment in music and is a testament to Jennie's global appeal as an independent artist.
Jin and J-Hope - two prominent members of BTS - also affirmed their positions when they appeared with a series of solo hits. Jin's "Don't say you love me" ranked 2nd, while J-Hope had 4 songs on the list including: "Mona Lisa" (position 4), "Sweet Dreams" (position 6), "LV Bag" (position 10) and "Killin' It Girl" (position 16). The fact that BTS members continuously reap individual success shows that this group is not only a strong collective but also a place that produces many talented independent artists.
This prominence is becoming a common pattern applied by Vietnamese showbiz singers. BOF is a music group formed after the reality show "Anh trai vu ngan cong gai", consisting of 5 members Jun Pham, BB Tran, ST Son Thach, Kay Tran, Bui Cong Nam. The group is inspired by the journey of building inner strength, helping a male artist shine in the hearts of fans. Through this, the producer hopes to bring a new image of boys who are not afraid to overcome challenges to burn with passion.
The day the BOF band released their projects, they all created a noticeable buzz. But it is worth mentioning that each BOF member with their personal projects were well received by the audience. Among them, Jun Pham teamed up with one of the hottest producers today to carry out a project that was predicted to be "as good as water". ST Son Thach put aside all performing activities to focus on his personal project with many "top-notch" promises. Bui Cong Nam is currently a name that is so sought after that he has no days off, and Kay Tran is truly an "all-round producer with many quality projects".
The concert “Anh trai say hi” at Planet Hollywood Theater (USA) with a capacity of 7,000 audiences partly confirmed the success of the program. (Photo provided by the producer)
Global Connection
A notable trend these days is international collaborations, Jennie is one of the solo artists who stands out with a series of resounding collaborations. In her debut solo album "Ruby", she collaborated with many international artists such as Dua Lipa, Dominic Fike, Doechii, Childish Gambino and Kali Uchis. These collaborations not only helped shape Jennie's new musical color, but also helped her expand her audience market, from Asia to Europe and especially the United States.
J-Hope also made his mark with collaborations with Pharrell Williams, Miguel and GloRilla. G-Dragon, one of the pioneering icons of global K-pop, also made his mark when he returned with "Too Bad" in collaboration with multi-Grammy award-winning artist Anderson Paak. The song is rich in funky and classic R&B colors but still has a modern feel, and was critically acclaimed as a "cultural collaboration" between East and West, between experimental art and popular taste.
Stopping in the Top 3 of the "Sing! Asia 2025" contest, DTAP and Phuong My Chi completed their mission of spreading Vietnamese culture to the world . Affirming that Vietnamese music is entering the path of global connection is not unrealistic. If "Lac troi" - a hit song that once resonated with Son Tung M-TP, Phuong My Chi and DTAP brings Vietnamese musical identity but with a modern and sophisticated intersectional space to international audiences, then "Chopsticks" - a new composition that DTAP and Phuong My Chi told about Asia through the image of chopsticks - really conquered international audiences.
Inspired by the story of a bundle of chopsticks in Vietnamese culture, DTAP and Phuong My Chi expanded that image into a message of solidarity, friendship and the power of connection between Asian countries. The performance used 5 languages including Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai, Japanese and English as a way to express diversity and cultural exchange.
Before coming to the US, the concert series "Anh trai say hi" created a cultural phenomenon in music in 2024. When bringing the concert "Anh trai say hi" abroad, the producer shared that "this is a strategic step to affirm the organizational capacity, product quality, and global thinking of the Vietnamese creative team".
According to insiders, in the past, music groups operated quite "restricted" due to the dependence between members. Now, this is a thing of the past. Music groups will appear together when they have the same conditions, but when they cannot be together, each individual will shine in their own way.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/nghe-si-solo-va-lan-song-vuon-tam-quoc-te-196250730212929024.htm
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