K-pop in Billboard top 1998 songs (2018 selections)
#91, J. Y. Park's "Honey", did not chart on Billboard charts, but became "an instant K-pop classic", covered over the years by countless others.[3]
US
1999
T
M
D
Event
Details
L
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Jan+
K-pop in Billboard top 1999 songs (2019 selections)
#37, Lee Jung-hyun's "Wa", a techno introduction to K-pop and a classic of K-pop's first-generation; and #70, H.O.T.'s "I Yah!", a social protest song infused with "metal and hard rock elements" by the group that was considered the first K-pop idol group. Neither song charted on the Billboard charts.[4]
US
O
Oct
9
1st use of term "K-pop" in Billboard magazine
In the article, "S. Korea To Allow Some Japanese Live Acts", a report from Seoul correspondent Cho Hyun-jin, in a quote of music producer Kim Chang-Hwan's.[5]
US
2000
T
M
D
Event
Details
L
IN
Mar
25
K-pop Concert Promoters Association formed
A 50-member trade body and lobby group established to modernize the local concert industry, no longer a "mom-and-pop shop", according to its first president, Lee Jong-hyeon of promoter Live Entertainment.[6]
KR
IN
Nov
18
1st licensing deal between South Korean and Japanese record labels
S.M. Entertainment, home of K-pop artists H.O.T., S.E.S. and others, with Japan's biggest independent label Avex Trax, as South Korean government starts lifting ban on Japanese pop music (as of June 2000, restrictions on recording sales, with no Japanese lyrics, had been lifted).[7]
A 24-hour music video channel, jointly owned by Hong Kong-based Asian TV network Channel V and South Korean record label DoReMi; a time of increased regional popularity for Korean pop and hip-hop groups in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.[8]
A 24-hour MTV channel in South Korea, Asia's second-biggest music market; with Korean pop a priority, as local consumers were purchasing it at nearly four times the rate of international pop.[9]
KR
2002
T
M
D
Event
Details
L
IN
Dec
28
South Korean music industry investigation
Allegations included bribery and corruption, specifically chart fixing, payola and "inappropriate" talent lobbying. Popular artists by this time include Shinhwa, H.O.T. and BoA.[10]
KR
2003
T
M
D
Event
Details
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IN
Feb
8
Declining album sales
S.M. Entertainment and the Recording Industry Association of Korea (RIAK) cite industry file sharing as a problem, while some industry insiders and fans account it to a stale product. After H.O.T.'s break-up, its splinter members, Kangta, Moon Hee-joon and jtL remained popular.[11]
Olympic Park concert called "F*, standing for "Freedom, Fever and Future", with 30,000 fans and including artists BoA, Kangta, g.o.d and Drunken Tiger; predecessor was the "Dream Concert", started in 1995.[12]
KR
IN
June
Group creates music videos for mobile-phone service
Physical sales further decline, digital sales rise
According to the Music Industry Association of Korea, physical musical shipments fell to $150 million U.S. dollars, while the Korean Association of Phonogram Producers reported digital sales of $185 million U.S. dollars and rising.[14]
A satellite TV channel for Korean Americans which went defunct in 2007. It was revamped in 2010 with major K-pop content and organized some K-pop concerts in New York City, but by May 2017, had ceased operations.[16][17]
J. Y. Park, artist and producer, featured in the June 16 edition of Billboard, a special advertisement cover for artists or companies selected by the magazine.[20][21]
#10, SM Town Live '10 World Tour, Los Angeles's Staples Center, grossed $1.1 million with 15,015 tickets sold, placing them on the Billboard Hot Tour list on their boxscore report for October 9.[39]
US
B
Sep
23
1st artists on Billboard's annual showcase "21 under 21"
#16, Wonder Girls, Birthdates (ages, at the time): Sunye: August 12, 1989 (age 21); Yenny: May 26, 1989 (age 21); Sohee: June 27, 1992 (age 18); Yubin: October 4, 1988 (age 21); Hyelim: September 1, 1992 (age 18)[40][41]
US
F
Sep
26
Group voted "Best Mashup Monday of 2011" Billboard poll
Psy, "Gangnam Style" (peaked on chart dated September 15). The chart acts as an extension of the Hot 100 singles chart, ranking tracks just below the top 100 slots, based on sales, radio airplay and streaming data.[62]
1st yearly top YouTube video and 1st song and artist on YouTube Rewind
#1 Psy, "Gangnam Style", YouTube Top Trending Video, and Psy guest appearance on "Rewind YouTube Style 2012", a mash-up of Psy's "Gangnam Style" and "Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" on the annual series of most popular videos;.[78]
Psy, 2013 Billboard Music Awards, Top Streaming Song (Video), "Gangnam Style", for most watched music video of the year. He was nominated in five more of the total 45 categories, including "Top New Artist", "Top Streaming Artist", "Top Rap Artist", "Top Rap Song" and "Top Dance Song"; and participated in the show, introducing Chris Brown.[75][89]
#61, 2NE1, Crush; and 1st time two acts are on the chart on the same date, with Girls Generation, #110, Mr.Mr.[98][99][100]
US
F
May
2
Artists top categories on Billboard Girl Group Week Readers' Poll
2NE1 #1 Favorite Girl Group Album Crush (write-in vote), #1 Most Fashionable Girl Group, #3 Most Promising New Girl Group; Orange Caramel #2 Most Underrated Girl Group; and Girls' Generation #2 Most Promising New Girl Group[101]
US
CH
May
17
Korea K-Pop Hot 100 chart discontinued
Billboard chart's manager Gary Trust told K-pop news website KpopStarz that it was temporary, for adjustments.[102][103]
#1, Big Bang's VIPs, with 91% of the vote in the final round. #2 Thirty Seconds to Mars Echelon. Started on Aug. 7, over 20 million votes were cast.[112][113]
1st album on Billboard World Albums (Year end) chart
#11 2NE1 Crush, the February 2014 release was the first K-pop year-end entry since the chart began in 1995.[127][129]
US
IN
Jan-
Dec
Biggest year for K-pop concerts in America
2014, After a National Tax Service of South Korea 2013 report that the average annual income for Korean singers rose more than 72 percent, experts attributed it largely to growing overseas activities that generated more international album sales and tours.[130]
Exo Exodus sold 6,000 copies in the week ending April 5 (according to Nielsen); charting at No. 70 on Top Album Sales, No. 95 on Billboard 200,[132][133][134] and No. 1 on World Albums (all charts dated April 18, 2015).[135]
US
IN
Apr
South Korea in top 10 global music market rankings
2015, An IFPI report said South Korea's ranking had moved ahead of Brazil, at $266 million in trade value.[136]
Epik High announced a six concert tour after sales of Shoebox, and increased it to 11 dates in Canada and the U.S., after a popular reception at SXSW 2015 in March.[142][143]
US
IN
Jun
30
1st U.S. available music streaming service with full K-pop playlist
Apple Music, including special lists: Getting to Work Out for Girls: K-Pop, Fun Driving: K-Pop and Behind the Board: Brave Brothers.[144]
1st group with three #1's on World Digital Songs chart
Big Bang, #1 "Let's Not Fall in Love" (chart dated August 22), #1 "Bang Bang Bang" (chart dated June 20), and "Loser" (chart dated May 16); matching solo artist Psy's three number ones in the chart's five-year history.[148]
US
F
Aug
19
Billboard Fan Army Face-Off win (2nd time)
#1 T-ara's Queens, with 3.4 million votes cast for them throughout the competition, defeating Beyoncé's Beyhive after a strong battle against One Direction's Directioners, resulting in smoothing over feelings with a trending global hashtag on Twitter, #WeLove1DandKpop.[149]
#10, Big Bang's Made World Tour stop in Los Angeles's Staples Center, on their six-city North American tour, grossed $1.7 million for a sold-out show of 13,361, placing them on the Billboard Hot Tour list for the boxscores compiled for October 6–12.[151][152][153]
US
CH
Oct
7
1st Girls' Generation soloist and Billboard #1
#1 World Albums chart, I (Taeyeon EP) which was released on October 7, 2015, and sold 2,000 copies in two days.[154]
US
B
Oct
30
Artists on Billboard annual showcase "21 under 21" (6th time)
#18, Seventeen, Birthdates (ages, at the time): Choi Seungcheol, aka S.coups: August 8, 1995 (Age: 20); Yoon Jeonghan, aka Jeonghan: October 4, 1995 (Age: 20); Hong Jisoo, aka Joshua: December 30, 1995 (Age: 19); Wen Junhui, aka Jun: June 10, 1996 (Age: 19); Kwon Soonyoung, aka Hoshi: June 15, 1996 (Age: 19); Jeon Wonwoo, aka Wonwoo: July 17, 1996 (Age: 19); Lee Jihoon, aka Woozi: November 22, 1996 (Age: 18); Lee Seokmin, aka DK: February 18, 1997 (Age: 18); Kim Mingyu, aka Mingyu: April 6, 1997 (Age: 18); Xu Minghao, aka The8: November 7, 1997 (Age: 17); Boo Seungkwan, aka Seungkwan: January 16, 1998 (Age: 17); Hansol Vernon Choi, aka Vernon: February 18, 1998 (Age: 17); Lee Chan, aka Dino: February 11, 1999 (Age: 16).[155]
1st (2nd year) on World Albums Artists (Year end) chart
#7 Exo, for the chart (time period December 6, 2014 through November 28, 2015), and #8 on World Albums year end for Exodus.[159]
US
CH
Dec
19
1st artist charts on Artist 100 chart
#88, Psy; the chart "combines radio airplay, sales data, streaming data and social media activity to rank the top 100 artists in America each week."[160]
Descendants of the Sun: Yoon Mi-rae "Always", Chen and Punch "Everytime", Davichi "This Love", Gummy "You Are My Everything", Kim Na-young featuring Mad Clown "Once Again", K.Will "Talk Love", Lyn "With You", and SG Wannabe "By My Side".[163] In addition, in February and March, these songs were among the top 10 YouTube K-pop videos viewed in the U.S. and internationally.[164][165] Again, in May, two later releases, Xia "How Can I Love You" and MC the Max "Wind Beneath Your Wings" were in the top 10 YouTube K-pop videos viewed internationally.[166]
Reported by kickstarter website MyMusicTaste.com for the approximate period between 2013 and 2016; East Asia still led, with tapering numbers, but North America, South America and Europe were showing consistent growth; with most concerts abroad in Japan, China and the U.S.[169]
BTS, a top K-pop Twitter presence and Twitter global music trend of 2015. It ran through June for a global contest tracking the group's best fans.[170]
Blackpink #1 Boombayah, #2 Whistle, just after their debut, making them only the third group to hold the top two positions after Psy and Big Bang.[172]
US
F
Aug
Billboard Fan Army Face-Off win (3rd time), 2nd time for one group
#1 T-ara's Queens, 2nd year win, with about 1.8 million votes cast for them throughout the competition, defeating Thirty Seconds to Mars The Echelon in the final round.[173]
US
MT
Sep
6
1st U.S. TV show, based on South Korean TV show, films with K-pop group in Seoul
Concept Korea, at New York Fashion Week, with designers Yohanix, KimmyJ, and Greedilous; with K-pop music including arrangements of Baauer's "Temple" featuring M.I.A. and G-Dragon, and GD X Taeyang's Good Boy.[175]
#1, BTS, (chart dated October 29); chart ranks the most active and popular artists on leading social networking sites. Psy topped previously as a solo artist.[178]
US
CH
Oct
17
1st act with three albums on the Billboard 200 chart
Top 10, BTS, "Spring Day", soon after the February 12 release, while competing with tracks from the 59th Annual Grammy Awards show that aired that night. Psy topped the chart as a solo artist with "Gangnam Style" in 2012.[182]
US
CH
Feb
21
1st group charts on Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
#15, BTS, "Spring Day", (chart dated March 4); Psy had the first #1, as a solo artist, with "Gangnam Style" in 2012.[62]
US
CH
Feb
21
1st act with top 4 on World Digital Songs chart
BTS, #1 "Spring Day", #2 "Not Today", #3 "A Supplementary Story: You Never Walk Alone", #4 "Outro: Wings", (chart dated March 4).[62]
1st group win and appearance at Billboard Music Awards show
BTS, 2017 Billboard Music Awards show, Billboard Music Award for Top Social Artist. A large global fanbase, "Army", voted for the award on Twitter and on the awards website more than 300 million times and continued to dominate social media while the band was at the ceremony.[16][187][188]
US
CH
May
29
Korea K-Pop Hot 100 chart re-established
Relaunched on Korean website, Billboard.co.kr, only, as of the chart dated May 29 – June 4, 2017.[189]
#13, Blackpink, "As If It's Your Last", (chart dated July 15); besting BTS' #15 "Spring Day" to become highest charting group to date.[190]
US
F
Aug
30
Billboard Fan Army Face-Off win (4th time), 3rd time for one group
#1 T-ara's Queens, 3rd year win, with 1,349,680 votes, defeating Liam Payne's Payne's in the final round.[191]
US
CH
Sep
24
1st album in Top 10 Billboard 200 chart
BTS, #7 debut, Love Yourself: Her, (chart dated October 7); also fourth #1 on World Albums chart and a fifth #1 on World Digital Song Sales for the song "DNA", beating out Psy's four #1s on the chart.[192][193]
US
B
Sep
28
Artists on Billboard annual showcase "21 under 21" (7th time)
BTS, Love Myself (campaign) joined UNICEF's #ENDViolence campaign by pledging 500 million KRW and 3% of the Love Yourself series physical album series sales income. The campaign is to make the world safer for children and teenagers.[197]
KR
CH
Nov
7
1st girl group #1 on same date for World Albums and World Digital Song Sales charts
Twice's album, Twicetagram, and single, "Likey" (chart dated November 18); the first girl group to achieve this and second K-pop act after BTS, who charted simultaneously with Wings and "Blood, Sweat & Tears", in 2016; and You Never Walk Alone and "Spring Day", plus Love Yourself:Her and "DNA", both in 2017.[198]
US
F
Nov
13
1st artists with over 10 million Twitter followers
BTS, with accompanying hashtag #LoveBTS10M, earning the group's third Twitter emoji; 1,793 days after their first tweet on December 17, 2012, months before their official debut on June 12, 2013.[199]
K-Town's Jeff Benjamin credits successful Spanish language music like "Despacito" and Korean language music like BTS's "DNA", and more, as evidence that "English is no longer a requirement for mainstream U.S. success". Jesus Lopez, chairman/CEO of Universal Music Latin Entertainment and Universal's Iberian Peninsula division accounts that music consumption, through streaming music and videos, has lowered the language barrier.[215]
US
O
Dec
27
Long running girl group disbands
miss A, together since 2010, confirmed their breakup on December 27, according to their company, JYP Entertainment.[216]
KR
CH
Dec
27
1st K-pop feature on Rock Digital Song Sales chart
#2, RM features, rapping in English, on the debut Fall Out Boy remix "Champion", (chart dated January 3); marks new territory in the rock charts.[217]
US
MT
Dec
31
1st group performance at NYC New Year's Eve celebration
BTS' "Mic Drop" (February 6) and "DNA" (February 9) were certified gold (half a million sales units) by the RIAA; the first group, after soloist Psy's "Gangnam Style" in 2013.[85]
US
CH
Feb
13
1st time for two artists on Canadian Hot 100 on same chart date
#87 debut, Red Velvet, "Bad Boy", (chart dated February 17), along with #86, BTS, "Mic Drop", on the chart for 11 weeks.[221]
US
B
Feb
15
Artists on Billboard magazine cover (3rd time) and cover story
BTS, first time for a group, on the Billboard edition dated February 17, included eight different covers, a BTS stand-alone, and one each of the seven group members; and, for the first time, a limited-edition box set, with eight full-size posters and the eight issue versions. The issue and website featured an article of the cover photo shoot and interviews, conducted in Seoul.[222][223]
#10 debut, BTS, "Fake Love", (chart dated June 2), join soloist Psy's two top ten chartings; along with their first #1 on the Digital Song Sales chart.[232]
#1, BTS, (chart dated June 2), previous peak was #2 on April 14; following release of Love Yourself: Tear; the first K-pop and first primarily non-English language act to reach #1, since the chart started in July 2014.[235]
US
CH
Jun
25
Highest charting girl group on Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200
#55, Billboard Hot 100, Blackpink, "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du", (debut on the chart dated June 30), second after Wonder Girls' 2009 "Nobody" at #76. And a #40 debut for their EP Square Up on the Billboard 200.[236]
US
CH
Jun
25
1st girl group tops Emerging Artists chart
#1, Blackpink, (chart dated June 30); second act overall, after NCT in May.[236]
US
B
Jul
24
Artists on Billboard greatest music videos century list
"The 100 Greatest Music Videos of the 21st Century: Critics' Picks" (staff picks); #12 Psy "Gangnam Style", #48 Orange Caramel "My Copycat", #67 BTS "Blood Sweat & Tears" and #92 Girls' Generation "Gee".[237]
US
F
Aug
3
Artist in highly Tweeted viral dance challenge
A BTS July 23 tweet, of J-Hope doing Drake's "In My Feelings" dance challenge, has 10.5 million views and was included in the song's official video on August 2.[238]
2nd #1 album on Billboard 200 and 1st artists with three albums in Top 10
#1, BTS, Love Yourself: Answer (chart dated Sep 8); includes several pop music top statistics on Billboard charts, including "first pop act since 2014 with two No. 1 albums in less than a year", following One Direction's feat.[234]
NCT 127, "Regular" (English version), performed onstage with Mickey Mouse, (pre-recorded for broadcast).[247]
US
CH
Nov
11
1st group reaches 100th week at #1 on Social 50 chart
#1 for 100 non-consecutive weeks, BTS, (chart dated November 17), became the first group and second artist overall, after Justin Bieber (with 163 weeks), to reach 100 or more at #1 since the chart began in December 2010. They debuted with #1 on October 29, 2016.[248]
US
O
Nov
21
1st gold album RIAA certification, and 1st platinum group single
BTS, album Love Yourself:Answer receives gold (half a million sales units), and single "Mic Drop" receives platinum (1 million sales units), along with a gold for single "Idol", all on November 9. Singles "DNA," Fake Love" and "Mic Drop" were certified gold earlier in the year.[249]
Jimin, biggest 24-hour debut, solo ballad "Promise" (uploaded December 31, 2018 and streamed 8.5 million times); besting Drake's "Duppy Freestyle" which had 4.9 million streams.[258]
O
O
Jan
6
1st group doll collection by major American toy company
BTS was the top tweeted account overall and a video of J-Hope performing Drake's "In My Feelings" dance challenge was the top tweet.[264]
O
IN
Feb
21
Twitter announces K-pop tweets for 2018
5.3 billion K-pop related tweets in 2018 emanated from these 20 countries: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and Vietnam.[264]
O
B
Feb
28
Artists on Billboard magazine cover (4th time) and cover story
Blackpink, first girl group, on the Billboard edition dated March 2, included five different covers, a Blackpink stand-alone and one each of the four group members, and a limited-edition box set, with five full-size posters and the five issue versions. The issue and website featured an article of the cover photo shoot and interviews, conducted in Los Angeles.[265][266]
US
IN
Feb
28
Streaming sites report major K-pop growth
Spotify, since 2015, listening has increased by 65 percent annually; Apple Music, yearly growth with an 86 percent increase in the U.S. between 2017 and 2018; Pandora's girl group station increased 182 percent in 2018 and the boy band station by 90 percent.[267]
US
IN
Feb
28
100 percent K-pop growth in sales and streaming
A Billboard analysis of Nielsen's sales data of 17 acts on the Billboard charts for the past decade estimated that sales and streaming activity rose almost 100 percent and more per year, for the past four years, with a 166 percent increase from 2017 to 2018. 2018's activity was mainly from BTS, with their physical sales activity at 41 percent; while overall U.S. physical sales decreased by double-digits.[268]
US
IN
Feb
28
U.S. chain store company to sell K-pop music/items
Trans World Entertainment announced they will add a K-pop section to its 210 U.S. stores and websites, to sell music and merchandise; and have signed an agreement with South Korean chart company Hanteo[269] to report K-pop music sales.[268]
BTS, "Boy with Luv" feat. Halsey, released April 12; earned titles: "most viewed YouTube video in 24 hours," "most viewed YouTube music video in 24 hours," and "most viewed YouTube music video in 24 hours by a K-pop group."[282]
O
F
Apr
18
K-Pop fans set Twitter record
Recognized by Guinness World Records for "the most used hashtag on Twitter in a 24-hour period, with the hashtag 'Twitter Best Fandom'" for voting during the 14th Annual Soompi Awards in March.[282]
O
MT
Apr
18
2nd boy group performs on Good Morning America
NCT 127, "Superhuman" (premiere of new single) and "Cherry Bomb".[283]
Blackpink, performed "Kill This Love" and played a game called "Flinch" with the host.[284]
US
CH
Apr
21
3rd #1 album on Billboard 200
BTS, Map of the Soul: Persona (chart dated April 27), third #1 in less than 11 months, along with Love Yourself: Tear" (June 2, 2018), Love Yourself: Answer" (September 8, 2018); includes several pop music top statistics on Billboard charts, including "first group since The Beatles to earn three No. 1s in less than a year."[285]
#8, BTS, "Boy with Luv" feat. Halsey, (chart dated April 27), along with "Fake Love" #10 (June 2, 2018); join soloist Psy's two top ten chartings.[286]
US
MT
May
1
1st win for two Billboard Music Awards and 2nd performance
BTS, 2019 Billboard Music Awards show; 2nd year performance ("Boy with Luv" with Halsey), 3rd year win (Top Social Artist), and first K-pop win (Top/Duo Group).[287][288] Exo and Got7 were also nominated for Top Social Artist.[289][290]
NCT 127, performed "Superhuman" and played a game called "Flinch" with the host.[292]
US
MT
May
15
Artists perform in Central Park concert on morning show
BTS, Good Morning America's summer concert series, live TV performance of "Boy with Luv" and "Fire", and chat with hosts.[293][294]
US
MT
May
15
The Beatles 50+ year homage on U.S. TV show
BTS, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, perform "Boy with Luv" in black and white filming, mimicking The Beatles Feb. 9, 1964 debut in the same venue, the Ed Sullivan Theater on The Ed Sullivan Show; also performed "Make It Right" and chatted with host Colbert.[295][296]
BTS, BTS World Tour Love Yourself: Speak Yourself, 8 concert dates (6 in the U.S. and 2 in Brazil) grossed $51.6 million; the biggest one-month total for 2019, so far.[299]
BTS, two concerts of their Love Yourself: Speak Yourself World Tour.[291][300]
O
IN
June
12& 14
Entertainment agency scandal
YG Entertainment's artist B.I leaves iKon after allegations of prior attempted drug purchases, adding to other company related allegations from the Burning Sun scandal, and two days later, its founder Yang Hyun-suk and his brother, CEO Yang Min-suk, resigned.[301][302]
KR
O
Jun
20
1st artists, two platinum single RIAA certifications
BTS, "Boy with Luv" with Halsey; received gold and platinum on the registry entry date, following "Mic Drop".[303]
2019 MTV Video Music Awards, "Best K-pop", nominees are Blackpink's "Kill This Love", BTS and Halsey's "Boy with Luv", Exo's "Tempo", Monsta X and French Montana's "Who Do You Love?", NCT 127's "Regular" and TXT's "Cat & Dog".[306]
US
O
Jul
25
Artist collaborates with Billboard 100 top artist
BTS's RM joins Lil Nas X for a remix of his "Old Town Road", titled "Seoul Town Road", with new art cover including a purple horse, a nod to BTS fandom's color purple;[307] "that helped push the country/hip-hop hybrid to its record-breaking 17th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart."[308]
US
MT
Aug
1
3rd boy group performs on Good Morning America
Monsta X, "Who Do U Love?", an English language release featuring French Montana; during U.S. stops for their We Are Here tour.[309]
Monsta X, 2019 Teen Choice Awards, performed "Who Do U Love?"; and award wins: BTS, Choice International Artist, Choice Collaboration (Boy with Luv featuring Halsey), Choice Summer Tour (BTS World Tour Love Yourself: Speak Yourself); Blackpink, Choice Song: Group ("Ddu-Du Ddu-Du"); Red Velvet featured with Ellie Goulding and Diplo, Choice Electronic/Dance Song ("Close to Me (Red Velvet Remix)"}; and #BTSARMY, Choice Fandom.[310][311]
Blackpink,"Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" was certified gold (half a million sales units) by the RIAA.[312]
US
MT
Aug
26
Artists win 2 of 5 MTV VMA nominations
BTS, 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, won "Best Group" (Blackpink was also nominated in this category), and "Best K-pop" for their song "Boy with Luv" with Halsey, which was also nominated for "Best Collaboration", "Best Art Direction" and "Best Choreography".[306][313]
1st artists 2 times on Billboard annual showcase "21 under 21" (K-pop 9th time)
#13, NCT Dream, 2nd year, (ages, at the time, 17 - 19).[315]
US
IN
Sep
26
K-pop one of the most popular genres in the world
2019 report, IFPI lists K-pop seventh in a music listening survey of 18 countries; preceded by pop, rock, oldies, hip-hop/rap, dance/electronic and indie/alternative.[316]
O
CH
Sep
27
2nd group top debut on Social 50 chart
#2, SuperM, (chart dated September 28); highest debut after BTS #1.[317]
#81, (chart dated October 12), J-Hope feat. Becky G, "Chicken Noodle Soup", sixth artist and third soloist overall; and J-Hope's second #1 on World Digital Song Sales chart, after "Daydream".[321]
SuperM, in their TV debut, performed their debut single "Jopping" and interviewed with host.[322]
US
C
Oct
11
1st foreign artists headline stadium show in Saudi Arabia
BTS, King Fahd International Stadium, BTS World Tour Love Yourself: Speak Yourself; placed them on Billboard's top Hot Tours along with their Seoul concert dates.[323][324]
O
O
Oct
11
20 years of the term "K-pop" at Billboard
A look back at the first use of the term "K-pop" in the October 9, 1999 issue of Billboard, by Seoul correspondent Cho Hyun-jin (currently a professor at Kookmin University).[3]
US
O
Oct
14
Death of K-pop celebrity at 25-years-old
Sulli, (death reported on October 14), singer and actress, previously of the group f(x).[325][326]
KR
CH
Oct
19
2nd group and 1st debut album tops Billboard 200
#1, SuperM's SuperM (chart dated October 19), following BTS; and first in top 10 for any of the supergroup's originating groups.[327][328][329]
BTS, recognized by Guinness World Records for "the fastest time to reach one million followers on TikTok" after joining on September 25; done in three hours and 31 minutes time.[330]
O
CH
Oct
31
All-time record at #1 on Social 50 chart
BTS, #2 all-time (chart dated November 2), second artists to reach 150 weeks at #1 on the Social 50 chart, behind Justin Bieber with 163 weeks (leader since 2011); followed by Taylor Swift (28 weeks), Miley Cyrus (21 weeks) and Rihanna (21 weeks).[331]
US
F
Nov
1
Large fan fundraiser to support group member
"Monbebe", fans of Monsta X, raise more than $20,000 for a Times Square billboard to support Wonho's return to the group after his agency dismissed him.[332]
BTS, Love Yourself: Answer (chart dated November 9), on chart for 52 non-consecutive weeks.[335]
US
CH
Nov
15+
1st on Billboard Decade-End charts (2010s)
#1, Psy's "Gangnam Style", Streaming Songs;[336] #4, BTS, Social 50, (at report time on November 27, they had spent 152 weeks at #1 (with nine more weeks at #2), and were the only artists, along with Justin Bieber with over 28 weeks, then 100, then 150 weeks on the chart (Bieber first charted in January 2011 and BTS in October 2016); also, #20 Exo, #28 Got7, #39 Seventeen, #43 Monsta X, #45 Psy, #48 NCT 127, and #50 NCT;[337][338] #44, Psy's "Gangnam Style", Digital Song Sales;[339] #45, BTS, Top Touring Artists.[340]
US
B
Nov
19
1st on Billboard Takeover Tuesday
TXT were invited by the weekly Billboard column to put together a playlist of music they were listening to.[341]
3 songs on Billboard "100 Songs That Defined the Decade"
BTS ("I Need U"), Girls' Generation ("I Got a Boy") and Psy ("Gangnam Style"); Billboard staff picks for the 2010s with no numerical ranking.[345][346][347]
US
O
Nov
24
Death of K-pop celebrity at 28-years-old
Goo Hara, (death reported on November 24), singer and actress, previously of the group Kara.[348]
BTS, American Music Awards of 2019, nominated and won three awards, Favorite Social Artist, Favorite Duo or Group – Pop/Rock, Tour of the Year (Love Yourself World Tour) to become the year's top group or duo; the group did not attend the awards show.[349][350]
US
B
Nov
25
1st Billboard decades-end K-pop song list
100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of the 2010s: Staff List, #1 is IU's "Good Day" from her 2010 EP Real.[351]
#2 overall, BTS (Good Omens (TV series) was #1); along with #1, BTS, for Top 50 K-pop groups, and positions #1 through #7 for all the BTS members, led by Jungkook at #1, for Top 100 K-pop Stars.[354]
#1, BTS, K-pop artists (Apple Music's 2019 Top Streamed Artists by Genre) and #1, BTS featuring Halsey's "Boy With Luv" (Most-Shazamed Songs by Genre).[355]
O
F
Dec
4
K-pop awards show top Twitter trends
2019 Mnet Asian Music Awards, 102 million tweets from start of voting on October 24 through the date of show on December 4 (21 million tweets on that date) with #1 trending hashtags (#1 #MAMAVOTE, #2 #BTS) across 46 countries (#1 South Korea, #2 United States).[356]
O
B
Dec
4
Artists on Billboard best 2019 live shows list
The Best Live Shows Of 2019: Staff Picks (24 picks in date order, mostly from the U.S.); included BTS' Love Yourself World Tour (MetLife Stadium, May 19). Four honorable mentions included Blackpink's Coachella concert stage (April 12).[357]
US
CH
Dec
5
Group tops Year-end Social 50 chart for 3 years
#1 BTS (for Year-end charts for 2017, 2018 and 2019); others on 2019's Year-end top ten were: #2 Exo, #4 Got7, #6 Seventeen, #7 NCT 127, #8 Monsta X and #9 Blackpink (first girl group in top ten).[358][209]
US
B
Dec
6
Song on Billboard new release report
"Suga's Interlude" on Billboard First Stream, Suga collaboration with Halsey from her album Manic.[359]
YouTube Rewind 2019: For the Record, Most Liked Videos of 2019: #2 BTS "Boy With Luv" featuring Halsey, #3 Blackpink "Kill This Love" and #9 J-Hope featuring Becky G "Chicken Noodle Soup"; annual series of most popular videos, with no artist listed twice (for variety).[360]
O
C
Dec
6& 13
Two groups perform at 2019 iHeartRadio music events
BTS, KIIS-FM Jingle Ball (December 6 in Los Angeles), "Boy with Luv" with Halsey, etc.; and Monsta X (2nd year iHeartRadio event performances), iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour (December 13 in NYC), "Who Do You Love" (French Montana collaboration), etc.[361][362]
US
F
Dec
9
2019 Twitter top music account and top tweet
#1 BTS, Most Tweeted Musical Act, and #1 BTS June 9 tweet of Jungkook dancing to Billie Eilish "Bad Guy" was the Most Retweeted Tweet.[363]
O
F
Dec
12
1st K-pop mv on YouTube decades list
#5, Psy, "Gangnam Style", (most viewed for the 2010s), with nearly 3.5 billion views.[364]
O
B
Dec
17
Best K-pop albums of the 2010s
#1 f(x) 2013 Pink Tape, etc.; a Billboard staff pick list of 25 albums.[365]
US
B
Dec
29
Best K-pop songs of 2019
#1 Exo "Obsession", etc.; a Billboard staff pick list of 25 songs.[366]
