From Blackpink to Exo: Who will be the next K-pop act to top the US charts?

Blackpink, SuperM and Seventeen are on the radar as K-pop sets out to conquer the music charts in America

'Dynamite', BTS's first all-English song, debuted at No 1 on the US music charts this week, making the group the first Korean pop act to top the chart. AP

K-pop girl group Blackpink could be next to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart. AFP

K-pop band SuperM will release their debut full length album on September 25. Getty Images

K-pop boyband Seventeen's album 'An Ode' was named the best K-pop album of 2019 by critics at Billboard. Courtesy Pledis Entertainment

Got7 member Jackson Wang has been making a name for himself as a solo artist. Getty Images / AFP

Exo, viewed as rivals to BTS, released their sixth studio album 'Obsession' in November 2019. Getty Images

BTS made history last week as the first K-pop group to score a No 1 single in the US with their track Dynamite. The English-language song debuted in the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 chart after it achieved 265,000 downloads in its first week.

However, BTS aren't the only K-pop acts aiming to top the US charts. Here's a look at five other artists we think could achieve the same success in the near future.

Blackpink

The four-piece scored their first top 40 single when their song How You Like That debuted at No 33 in the Billboard Hot 100 chart in July. The video for the song also held the YouTube record as the most viewed music video in the first 24 hours before BTS broke it.

As one of the most popular K-pop girl groups, there are high hopes that Blackpink also one day score a No 1 single, especially as they are set to release a full-length album in October. They've already topped the South Korean charts and collaborated with Lady Gaga and Selena Gomez. It only seems natural they soon conquer the charts in America, too.

SuperM

SuperM consists of members from various other boy bands signed to SM Entertainment: Taemin from Shinee, Baekhyun and Kai from Exo, Taeyong and Mark from NCT 127 and Ten and Lucas from WayV. The group's self-titled EP has already debuted at No 1 in the Billboard 200 album chart, which is a good sign ahead of the release of their first full-length album, Super One, on Friday, September 25.

With an established fan base and a strong promotional push in the US – including a 10-day tour in 2019 – SuperM could be ones to watch when it comes to the Billboard Hot 100.

Seventeen

Since their debut in 2015, Seventeen have been well received by fans, finding success throughout Asia. The 13 (despite their name) member band have released three albums, with their most recent, An Ode, going straight to No 1 in South Korea and Japan, and reaching No 7 in the Billboard World Albums chart in 2019.

Critics at Billboard ranked An Ode as the best K-pop album of the year at the end of 2019, so it might not be surprising to see them top the US Billboard singles chart next.

Jackson Wang

The Chinese member of K-pop group Got7 has been making a name for himself as a solo artist with the release of his debut album, Mirrors, in October 2019. Wang, an incredibly popular figure in China, is fluent in five languages: Mandarin, Cantonese, Shanghainese, Korean and English.

Unlike other K-pop acts, he has already released music in English (such as his track 100 Ways) and has recently collaborated with Swedish DJ Duo Galantis on a new EDM single called Pretty Please.

Exo

Exo, often viewed as the rivals to BTS, have been on a bit of hiatus, with members having enlisted or working on solo careers and other projects. But Exo fans have been waiting for new music since the band released their single Obsession, which showed off a darker sound, in November 2019.

However, the nine-piece was missing three members when the track was released. Having topped the Billboard World Digital Song Sales and the Japan Hot 100, crossing over to the US charts seems possible as well. The group have a passionate fan base and perhaps if they one day fully reunite and release new music, that could be just the push they need.

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Read more:

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