Stray Kids: K-Pop dominated the global charts in 2023

Image source, Getty Images
By Mark Savage BBC Music Correspondent
Inevitably, Taylor Swift was the world's best-selling artist last year - but new recording industry figures suggest Western artists have lost their grip on the charts.
Four of the 10 best-sellers came from South Korea, with groups such as Stray Kids and Seventeen, stars including Drake and The Weeknd.
Although neither group has topped the UK Top 40, they are responsible for millions of streams worldwide, while K -Pop continues its phenomenal growth.
In the 12 years since Psy's Gangnam Style became an international hit, K-pop has continued to to expand its reach, making impressive inroads into the typically impenetrable American music industry.
The charge was led by boyband phenomenon BTS, whose highly conceptual anthems (with references to Carl Jung and Herman Hesse) placed them at the top of charts around the world, even before launching into English-speaking pop on hits like Butter and Dynamite.
In 2019, they became the first K-Pop group to headline Wembley Stadium. Two years later, they performed at the Grammys and collaborated with Coldplay.

Entertainment Feb 22, 2024 0 32 Add to Reading List

Stray Kids: K-Pop dominated the global charts in 2023

Stray Kids attends the SBS Music Awards at Inspire Arena in Jung-gu on December 25, 2023 in Incheon, South Korea

By Mark Savage BBC Music Correspondent

Inevitably, Taylor Swift was the world's best-selling artist last year - but new recording industry figures suggest Western artists have lost their grip on the charts.

Four of the 10 best-sellers came from South Korea, with groups such as Stray Kids and Seventeen, stars including Drake and The Weeknd.

Although neither group has topped the UK Top 40, they are responsible for millions of streams worldwide, while K -Pop continues its phenomenal growth.

In the 12 years since Psy's Gangnam Style became an international hit, K-pop has continued to to expand its reach, making impressive inroads into the typically impenetrable American music industry.

The charge was led by boyband phenomenon BTS, whose highly conceptual anthems (with references to Carl Jung and Herman Hesse) placed them at the top of charts around the world, even before launching into English-speaking pop on hits like Butter and Dynamite.

In 2019, they became the first K-Pop group to headline Wembley Stadium. Two years later, they performed at the Grammys and collaborated with Coldplay.