What was the gateway song/artist that got you into K-pop?
I feel like most of us probably got introduced into the world of K-pop through a song or artist that caught our interest, and that trickled into getting deeper and deeper into the whole industry. I’m curious about your guy’s story!
For me, it was Blackpink. It was when covid hit, and I was just bored and trying to find new hobbies. I listened to D4, thought it was fun, and decided to actively participate in the comeback for HYLT. I LOVED that song, and I started looking up the users, watching their variety, etc. After that, the rest was history. I ultimately stan Dreamcatcher now, but I wouldn’t have known about them without Blackpink.
Dreamcatcher is a good choice. I'm glad that they've been able to achieve what they have.
I like their Minx releases too.
Black pink was mine too with a very similar story. Mamamoo is probably my top group now and is great for introducing others to kpop.
I only use Mamamoo if the person is into jazz. Their early stuff was very jazzy, so I put them into that box. I do like some of their more recent releases though.
So, my first introduction was Rain back when Ninja Assassin was released, 2008. My husband and I watched some of his videos and yeah, I was into it, but never looked deeper. However, at that point, I would say I liked kpop. (Was familiar with a lot of jpop/jrock and some cpop in those days, so also liking kpop wasn't a stretch.)
Next touch was the MTV EMAs in 2010 when Big Bang won for Tonight. Again, liked the song, said I liked kpop, but never got into it more.
Obviously, Gangnam Style was everywhere. Again, I 'liked kpop', but never really went any further.
2013, I got into watching professional LoL and my favorite team was a Korean one named SKT T1. Korean games streamed on Twitch on OGN and during commercial breaks, they would play kpop. This really got me to look into kpop and watch what was out there. I couldn't get enough of it. Big props to 4Minute - Volume Up and Nu'est - Face MVs, which are just amazing and I would keep going back to.
So I've been following extensively since late 2013.
Gee gee gee gee... I know, I'm heading for the grave. 2009 wasn't that long ago..
Same. My cousin was into Starcraft during the time, and he showed me a kpop performance. I was hooked
Looking for BoA's "Every Heart" song for Inuyasha, I discovered her Korean stuff too, then found out about DBSK, Lee Hyori, BigBang, and I never looked back. lol Yes I am old...
It was either Mirotic or Sunset Glow, probably. Big Bang definitely kept me in kpop for a long time.