Technically Psy has already done it - both "Gangnam Style" and "Gentleman" had significant Top 40 radio play in the United States and he is about as ubiquitous as anyone could ever hope to be, the most popular Korean arguably of all time.
However, due to the nature of his music, and the comical personality that goes along with it, it is still arguable whether or not his unique brand of K-Pop broke into the American mainstream, or whether his character did.
In the K-Pop universe there are scads of talented idols working extremely hard just to make their music well-known in South Korea, let alone across the globe.
The Asian market seems like the most accessible overseas venture, and many singers first go off on promotional tours in places like Japan, China, and southeast Asia. Even mega groups like
Super Junior and
Girls' Generation have managed to corner large numbers of fans in markets outside of Asia, in Europe, the Middle East, and South America.
But the US market remains the holdout.
The United States already has an incredibly thriving pop music industry of its own, one that is full of diversity and originality, making it incredibly difficult for the American population to accept foreigners into the airwaves. And that is just the tip of the iceberg.
Despite being a "nation of immigrants," the entertainment industry in the US is not very diverse, and people of color, or especially those without perfect English skills, tend to be type-casted into their own niche roles.
This is where
Psy comes in again. He can speak English, which makes him widely accessible to the American masses, but he represents this cultural notion that Asians are cute, colorful, and comedic - not exactly the kind of people the music industry can take too seriously.
This misnomer will prove to be the greatest challenge for any Korean artist looking to really make it in the US.
In order to really do it, a Korean singer must strike the delicate balance between being accessible to the masses yet different enough to stand out and make an impression. Psy, in this case, managed to lock down these two elements, but the recipe was a little off and it turned campy.
In the past, there have been several others who have made valiant efforts to release music for the mainstream American audience, the
Wonder Girls,
BoA, and
Se7en most notably. And while their music made a brief splash, the efforts were ultimately unsuccessful and they returned to Korea.
In these cases, it was the opposite of Psy's overboard approach - the music itself was not all that different from what already exists in the US and the promotion tactics left something to be desired.
Consider other international acts who have seen widespread praise and fame in the States recently - Adele, One Direction, Shakira, Gotye - they have all brought something new and refreshing to the table.
Adele rekindled our love of blues and One Direction revived the boy band with a modern spin, not to mention both acts have the benefit of English as a first language.
Shakira came onto the scene with sex-appeal and creative original songs that have been praised for being a swirling fusion of many different musical elements.
Gotye had a major hit song, "Somebody That I Used to Know," but since then the Belgian-Australian singer-songwriter has all but fallen off the US music industry's radar. Gotye's one-hit success can be attributed to the fact that while that single was new and interesting, his musical style is not that difficult to find already existing in the US market.
Creating something original, getting it out to the public in just the right way, and ultimately speaking English very well seems to be the trifecta for success in the US and the biggest obstacles for a Korea artist to overcome.
So who could legitimately do it?
When this question was posed at a panel discussion about the nature and future of K-Pop in New York City on May 22, the experts in attendance had their own ideas.
Jeff Yang, a columnist for the Wall Street Journal with over a decade experience writing about Asian media and entertainment, said he would put his money on
2NE1. Yang explained his choice by praising the four-member girl group for having a very unique style. They would not be seen as a novelty act and "given the right music, they could do it." Yang also pointed out that the can speak English, which is a big plus.
Billboard's resident K-Pop expert, Jeff Benjamin, suggested Big Bang leader
G-Dragon as a K-Pop artist who could make it in the US and offered a comparison to make his point.
"G-Dragon is like Nicki Minaj. He has a big personality and definitely has the talent," said Benjamin. How he sees it happening - "Thrown on a remix, then a single - it could be interesting."
Johnny Noh, a popular K-Pop new blog founder, suggested that "Americans would take G-Dragon as a poser," and suggested Girls' Generation instead. "Nine girls on a stage... where can you see that?"
All speculation aside, the challenge of breaking the US mainstream continues to hang over many of the K-Pop idols today and only time will tell if a legitimate crossover can really happen.
kpopstarz
Reluctant to appear too small for the sake of the children
