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Thanks To BTS, Blackpink, Twice And J-Hope, 2019 Is Now The Biggest Year For K-Pop In Canada

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K-pop has quickly been growing in popularity in a number of countries all around the world, which for many years were resistant to many styles of music that weren’t performed in English. Now, thankfully, things are changing, and more artists chart more and more hits, and while there are still several months to go before 2020 arrives, 2019 has already become the biggest year for the genre in Canada in one important way.

12 different K-pop songs have reached the Canadian Hot 100 in 2019, more than in any other year. 2018 was the biggest year for the genre until recently, as three new tracks from some of the biggest names in the field have reached the tally in the past month, upping the count to over 10 tracks in a single year for the first time in history.

Half a dozen K-pop artists have landed hits on the Canadian Hot 100 this year, though one stands out as the most successful. BTS charted seven songs from their two albums (Map of the Soul: Persona and BTS World) on the list this year alone. Fellow K-pop stars Blackpink, Twice, BTS member J-Hope and most recently, SuperM have all also sent one track each to the chart, as has the collective known as Pinkfong, which is responsible for the inescapable “Baby Shark.”

Twice’s inaugural Canadian Hot 100 hit “Feel Special” became the tenth K-pop song to reach the chart this year less than a month ago. Just one week after the girl group landed their first big win, J-Hope, better known as one-seventh of BTS, scored his first solo placement with “Chicken Noodle Soup,” upping this year’s total count to 11. This frame, new supergroup SuperM starts their first single “Jopping” at No. 85 moving the total to 12.

With at least two months to go, it’s entirely possible that more K-pop hits may be on the way, and if a beloved act like BTS returns with a new album, that 12 number is sure to climb once again, making 2019 even bigger than it already has been for Korean musicians in Canada.