K-pop soars over 300% in popularity in 5 years, Spotify reveals
By Bryan Ke
K-pop saw a massive popularity surge in five years on Spotify, with the U.S. making the biggest contribution among all countries. Spotify shared the numbers at a “K-pop talks session” event in Seoul on Tuesday.
- Zoom in: From 2018 to 2023, K-pop streams on Spotify increased by 362% globally, with Southeast Asia seeing a 423% rise. The U.S. led individual countries with a 182% increase, followed by Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan and Mexico. “K-pop has become a global force, with artists breaking into international charts like Billboard,” Park Jung-joo, head of Spotify Korea’s music team said.
- Top songs: The streaming platform also highlighted K-pop tracks that entered its Billions Club — songs that have recorded over 1 billion streams — including BTS‘ Jimin‘s “Like Crazy,” Blackpink‘s Lisa‘s “Money,” Blackpink’s “How You Like That” and BTS’ Jungkook’s “Seven,” which became the fastest song to reach a billion streams in just 108 days. The platform also noted rising global monthly listeners for new groups such as Illit (10 million), Babymonster (7.5 million) and Kiss of Life (6.7 million). “K-pop artists are expanding internationally by releasing albums in collaboration with various global artists. This is helping them gain new listeners,” Park added.
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