The fizzy, busy sound of Korean pop have conquered airwaves in Japan and China over the past few years, but this week marks the escalation of a campaign to charm American listeners. First, Girls' Generation—arguably South Korea's most popular group—will perform on "The Late Show With David Letterman" on Tuesday and "Live With Kelly" on Wednesday, making them the only Korean musical act to ever appear on American daytime TV. And then on Thursday, somewhere between airings of Rugrats and Full House, TeenNick will air a made-for-TV movie about the Korean five-piece Wonder Girls, documenting its members' fictional attempts to find fame in New York City.
If those sound like small inroads to the American market, it's worth realizing how large these bands' ambitions are. The history of Asian pop stars attempting to crash the U.S. is one littered with artists who went from superstardom in their native country to anonymity in America, along with others who found success only when they morphed into actors or cartoon characters. But the latest contingent headed for the U.S. comes equipped with innovative promotional strategies that may set them up for fame exceeding those of their predecessors'.
The few Asian artists to achieve real success in America only stumbled upon it by moving away from music. The Japanese pop-rock duo Puffy (named Puffy AmiYumi in America following a cease and desist from Sean Combs) released several collections of their Japanese songs in America, but it wasn't until Cartoon Network turned them into animated characters for the show Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi did they become popular
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Molinak Sun
