BTS, Stray Kids emerge most streamed K-Pop artistes in Sub-Saharan Africa- Spotify

Spotify, an online streaming platform has revealed BTS, Stray Kids, Blackpink and Seven other artistes as most streamed South Korean Pop (K-Pop) artistes in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Phiona Okumu, Spotify’s head of music for Sub-Saharan Africa, in a statement on Tuesday said this was gathered in Spotify “Wrapped” data for 2022.

Okumu said other K-pop artistes that topprd the chat were Tomorrow×Together, Twice, J-Hope, Enhypen, Junk Kook, Ateez and Seventeen.

She revealed the 10 most streamed K-Pop tracks in SSA as: “My Universe” by BTS Coldplay; “Left and Right” featuring Junk Kook of BTS; “Dynamite” by BTS; “Money” by Lisa; “Butter” by BTS and “Stay Alive” by Junk Kook.

She said others were: “Yet to Come” by BTS; “Christmas Tree” by V; “Run BTS” by BTS and “Pink Venom” by Blackpink.

”BTS who occupies the top spot for K-pop artistes streamed in SSA and dominates the list of most streamed tracks, covers nearly every music genre in their discography, including South African grown Gqom.

”The band’s hit IDOL, features Gqom-style beats while the video tips its hat to the continent in the band’s dance moves and their African print suits.

”Girl band BS (or Black Swan) made history in 2020 when they introduced the first ever African K-Pop idol, Senegalese model Fatou Samba,” she said.

Okumu noted that in 2022, K-Pop showcased its staying power in SSA with millions of streams in countries like South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria as the top three for K-Pop consumption on the continent respectively.

She said other countries that made it into the top 10 K-Pop markets in SSA included Mauritius, Ghana, Uganda, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia and Botswana.

”K-Pop stars have also increasingly targeted global audiences through collaborations with acts from the West.

”In Africa this appears to have real appeal,” she said.

According to Okumu, for a very long time, the only music that reached a global status of reach and popularity was western music.

She said this was particularly true for American pop music, which dominated the global music scene but also extended to music genres like Hip Hop, R&B and Rock, which were popularised through American music.

”Today, Western music no longer holds that singular dominance, we are now seeing music from new corners of the world gain that same global popularity.

”The latest to follow in this trend of globalisation is South Korean pop music.

”K-Pop is partly driven by the popularisation of South Korean culture through TV dramas and boosted by the virality of South Korean artiste Psy’s smash hit Gangnam Style, K-Pop is on a meteoric rise.

”This year, the K-Pop boy band BTS made history by becoming the first Korean act to be nominated for the fifth time, in as many consecutive years, at the Grammy Awards,” she said.

Okumu noted that surprisingly, there had been a 93 per cent year-on-year increase in K-Pop streams in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2022, which accounted for over 3 billion hours of streaming.

She said from this data, it had become obvious that K-Pop was not just a passing phase but now had a devoted and growing African fandom.

”Some of the key markets contributing to this increase are Nigeria, where there was a 267 per cent increase in K-pop streams, Ghana with 236 per cent and Kenya with a 140 per cent increase.

”To see what is actually propelling the rise, the National Geographic attributes the global rise of K-pop to the pandemic, which inadvertently focused the world’s attention on this East Asian cultural powerhouse.

”Around the globe, millions made use of their time and binge watched K-dramas like Squid Game, at the same time discovering multiple facets of Korean culture.

”While this may be equally true for the African continent, other factors like increased internet access may also have a hand to play.

”With a population which is young and online, it makes sense that Africa is a strong emerging market for K-Pop which enjoys mass youth appeal,” she said.

According to her, streaming has become instrumental in not only enabling the discovery of African music abroad but also in exposing African listeners to new and unexpected sounds.

She said what was capturing the hearts of this new audience, however, was the diverse sounds that K-pop had to offer.

She noted that K-Pop actually ranged across a vast number of music genres such as Pop, Hip Hop, R&B, Rock, Jazz, Reggae, Disco, and even traditional and folk Korean musical stylings.