While most never heard of K-Pop, more and more Americans are hearing about it. I had a conversation with a Canadian who wasn’t Asian and she said that an industry professional advised her to audition for a K-Pop singing show. Even though I told her that she would not quality because she wasn’t Asian – she still wouldn’t give up. At that point I began to dig deeper into the world of K-Pop.

First, K-Pop or Korean pop is based out of South Korea. Secondly, it’s growing fast. Third, K-Pop is a culture, it’s not a genre. The biggest K-pop act are BTS. You probably never heard of them. It’s difficult for a K-pop band to break into the U.S. You generally need top 40 radio to break in America and the K-Pop artists don’t sing in English, although they are very popular on YouTube.

Most Americans vaguely remember South Korean PSY who came out of South Korea but he isn’t really K-Pop. In fact, South Korea which is one of the smaller countries are supplying the pop hits for over a billion Asians. South Korea is a music power player.

The main suppliers farming out the K-Pop idols are companies like JYP, SM and YG. These are hybrid companies which more or less resemble old Hollywood Studios in the way they do business with talent. They are all in one -record labels and management companies. They are training stars for a long time that includes acting, singing, dancing – teaching them foreign languages, training them physically, and even plastic surgery. These companies hold yearly auditions searching for the next K-Pop stars and up to 50,000 teens show up. CONTINUE READING

Selena Gomez – one the most followed singers on instagram with 152 million followers said the social media platform made her depressed. In a time when big tech has come under fire, Gomez says she doesn’t even have the instagram app on her phone.

“It’s just become really unhealthy, I think personally, for young people including myself, to spend all of their time fixating on all these comments and letting this stuff in, and it was affecting me,” Gomez said. “It would make me depressed. It would make me feel not good about myself, and look at my body differently, and all kinds of stuff.”

The Jonas Brothers comes back strong. In fact, they are looking to score a #1 album and they may have the biggest debut of the year edging out Ariana Grande. Their latest documentary ‘Chasing Happiness’ reveals the rise and fall of the band and offers a glimpse of the Jonas story that could attract new fans. Not all successful acts come back with strong numbers but the Jonas Brothers are beating expectations. They are back on top 40 radio, playing sold-out arenas, while their latest single Sucker has over 300+ million Spotify streams. Sure, Nick Jonas is married to global celebrity Priyanka Chopra but they proved there is a demand for the band. I also believe the older fans want to be apart of their journey. The NJ boys always stayed positive and gives a sense of escapism to an audience that is exhausted from the political vitriolic society. Chase happiness and expect great things.

Every superstar artist wants a #1 album – it’s position of power. At times they will fight for a #1 album. In this case, Khaled is suing Billboard when it failed to give him a #1 album. To boost sales, superstar artists will sell merchandise that also includes downloads which are called bundle deals. Billboard would not count Khaled’s downloads that were part of a “bundle deal” with an energy drink costing him a #1 album. Khaled sold more than 100k units that were attached to the energy drink. The Jonas Brothers are on track for a #1 album and their latest album is bundled with tickets. Hillsong scored their first #1 album edging out P!nk. It’s been said that Billboard disqualified roughly 20k in ticket-bundle redemptions from Hillsong United.

Elton John’s biopic Rocketman was supposed to be the next Bohemian Rhapsody, but it took a dive at the box office falling below expectations. In a ten day period – Rocketman only brought it $47.5 million whereas Bohemian Rhapsody clocked over $100 million with half the promotion. Rocketman received better reviews and Elton John was even bigger than Freddie Mercury. So what happened with Rocketman?

Rocketman and Bohemian Rhapsody are vastly different in how they portray the iconic frontman. Bohemian Rhapsody focused on Freddie Mercurys life as an artist and his talent. Rocketman explores Elton John’s sexuality and his drug issues painting him as a sex-crazed junkie. The members of Queen were deeply involved in the making of Bohemian Rhapsody and made sure that Freddie Mercury was defined by his talent and showmanship and nothing else.

As of now Rocketman has generated $72 million while Bohemian Rhapsody has pulled in $900+ million worldwide