In honor of AAPI Heritage Month, here is a glance again at among the main strides made by Asian artists in chart historical past, from the Sixties to the 2020s.
Psy performs onstage throughout KIIS FM’s 2012 Jingle Ball at Nokia Theatre L.A. Dwell on December 3, 2012 in Los Angeles, California.
Christopher Polk/GI
Whereas Asian artists have lengthy been pioneers in trendy music, a Billboard chart achievement will be career-defining, as each a mirrored image of particular person industrial success and a logo of additional strides being made in world music. Because the trade normal of measuring an artist’s mainstream affect, the Billboard charts have included superstars like BTS and BLACKPINK setting new requirements for Asian artists lately — though the worldwide rise of Okay-pop doesn’t inform the total story of Asian music breaking by way of in North America. The primary Scorching 100 chart-topper by an Asian artist occurred many years earlier, and different artists made vital chart strides roughly a decade earlier than Okay-pop totally boiled over right into a mainstream phenomenon on the finish of the 2010s.
Make no mistake: Asian artists nonetheless have an uphill battle in terms of making noise on charts that dominantly characteristic songs and albums by Western musicians. Working to abide by music trade requirements, transcend stereotypes and transmit real musical imaginative and prescient, the artists on this checklist broke down limitations despite setbacks and resistance. They’ve additionally brought on waves of change by representing numerous Asian communities, together with the AAPI neighborhood, exhibiting the world all the groundbreaking artwork (and large hits) that Asian performers can obtain.
In honor of AAPI Heritage Month in Could, we’re highlighting 10 vital achievements by Asian artists within the historical past of the Billboard charts. Though that is hardly an exhaustive checklist that includes each notable chart achievement, these 10 stand out as momentous wins throughout sounds and types. From CL’s solo debut to GOT7’s a number of World Albums W’s, these artists have helped pave the way in which for future generations of Asian and AAPI musicians.
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Kyu Sakamoto’s “Sukiyaki” tops the Scorching 100 (1963)
The Billboard Scorching 100 launched in August 1958, and virtually each high-ranking music on the chart was sung in English in its first few years. Enter Japanese crooner Kyu Sakamoto’s romantic ballad “Sukiyaki,” the Anglo-Saxonized model of the unique title “Ue O Muite Arukou,” that means “I Look Up As I Stroll.” The one hit the highest of the chart in the summertime of 1963 as the primary non-European music to reached No. 1. “Sukiyaki” maintained its high spot for a complete of three weeks, however its catchy melody and cultural significance lingered for many years — it was the one music by an Asian artist to high the Scorching 100 till 2020.
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Marvel Women’ “No one” is the primary Okay-pop music to enter the Scorching 100 (2009)
Though it’s exhausting to ascertain mainstream music with out Okay-pop right this moment, Marvel Women marked the beginning of the sound’s world rise by way of an all-English model of their hit, “No one.” In 2009, their monitor made its approach onto the Scorching 100, and peaked at No. 76, introducing their shiny manufacturing and polished sound to new audiences — and serving to to vary the industrial fortunes of Korean music on a world scale.
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PSY’s “Gangnam Model” turns into the primary high 10 smash by a South Korean artist (2012)
In 2012, PSY’s “Gangnam Model” exploded off of YouTube and impacted the pop charts with a seismic drive that no person might have predicted. The viral monitor permeated the mainstream by way of its grandiose hooks and the meme-worthy “horsey dance” choreography in its music video, which grew to become the primary of its sort to succeed in 1 billion views on YouTube. “Gangnam Model” spent a whopping 31 weeks on the Scorching 100 chart, peaking at No. 2 in October 2012 and enduring as PSY’s signature world hit — though he did rating one other Scorching 100 high 10 hit, “Gentleman,” in 2013.
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CL will get “Lifted” as the primary feminine South Korean solo artist on the Scorching 100 (2016)
After debuting as 2NE1’s fearless chief, Chaelin Lee, aka CL, watched her first English-language impartial single “Lifted” debut at No. 94 on the Scorching 100 in 2016, making her the primary feminine Korean soloist to succeed in the chart. The assured monitor paid homage to Wu-Tang Clan’s “Methodology Man” in its refrain and usually portrayed CL as a crossover star, with a music video shot in New York Metropolis and Methodology Man himself becoming a member of in on the enjoyable in its visuals.
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Pikotaro’s “PPAP” hits the Scorching 100 in lower than a minute (actually) (2016)
Daimaou Kosaka, additionally recognized by his comic alter ego Pikotaro, composed a foolish music titled “PPAP,” brief for “Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen,” and printed it on his YouTube channel in August 2016. The novelty jingle is simply 45 seconds lengthy — however was found and morphed into an Web sensation after Justin Bieber tweeted the music out as his “favourite video on the Web” that September. “PPAP” reached the Scorching 100 shortly after, peaking at No. 77 and staying on the itemizing for 4 weeks; it remained the shortest music within the chart’s historical past for a couple of years, till Child Cudi’s 2020 monitor “Stunning Journey” clocked in at a mere 37 seconds.
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BTS’s “Dynamite” makes historical past at No. 1 (2020)
Whereas 2020 was a memorable yr for a number of Okay-pop acts, BTS made it a record-setting one. After crashing the highest 10 in years previous, their infectious single “Dynamite” shot straight to No. 1 on the Scorching 100 in September 2020, making BTS the primary all South Korean musical act to ever high the chart. The famous person septet’s first all-English single spent 3 nonconsecutive weeks on the high, however “Dynamite” was just one piece of their large chart yr: earlier than the tip of 2020, BTS had additionally reached No. 1 as a visitor on Jawsh 685 and Jason Derulo’s “Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat),” and once more with their very own single, “Life Goes On.”
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Rosé of BLACKPINK’s “On the Floor” turns into the highest-charting music by a Korean feminine soloist (2021)
Following the footsteps of CL as a member of a Okay-pop lady group to additionally chart on her personal, BLACKPINK’s Rosé launched her solo monitor “On the Floor” in 2021, that includes a buzzy melody that was clearly distinct from BLACKPINK’s standard sound. The monitor hit No. 70 on the Scorching 100, making her debut music the highest-charting single by a Korean feminine soloist previous to the discharge of her solo venture, R, in 2021.
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Joji’s “Glimpse of Us” scores the primary high 10 debut for an Asian solo act on the Scorching 100 (2022)
Joji’s profession was constructing to a breakthrough hit by the point he launched “Glimpse of Us” from his third file, Smithereens — and the emotional monitor promptly debuted at No. 10 in June 2022, climbing to a No. 8 peak a month later. Its early success can largely be attributed to TikTok, the place customers generated numerous video clips to the refrain, though “Glimpse of Us” additionally discovered a large streaming viewers other than the app. His monitor marked the primary debut of an Asian soloist within the high 10 of the Scorching 100, and Joji can also be solely the second Japanese artist to succeed in the highest 10, after Kyu Sakamoto in 1963.
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BLACKPINK scores the primary Billboard 200 No. 1 for a Okay-pop lady group (2022)
BLACKPINK’s endurance has helped the quartet set a number of information throughout platforms, from being the primary artist to hit 75 million subscribers on YouTube in June 2022 to being the primary Asian act to headline Coachella in 2023. In September 2022, nevertheless, the group made historical past on the Billboard 200 albums chart when their second venture Born Pink debuted at No. 1, making BLACKPINK the primary Okay-pop lady group to high the chart. The upbeat “Laborious to Love” and addictive “Pink Venom” on the file’s eight-song monitor checklist contributed to the album’s world success, and have since racked up a whole bunch of hundreds of thousands of streams.
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GOT7 units the World Albums chart file amongst Okay-pop acts
With a whopping 19 entries on the World Albums chart, the multi-continental Okay-pop septet has stayed prolific and earned constant appreciation from world listeners. Out of the 19, GOT7 has 15 high 10 tasks and 4 chart-toppers, together with their Acquired It? EP in 2014 and Flight Log: Turbulence in 2016. Though GOT7 left JYP Leisure in 2021, their syncopated, snappy sound continues to be beloved by followers worldwide, and the group scored a high 10 debut with their self-titled venture in 2022.