K-pop groups with only foreign members are proof of the diversity of K-pop.
Groups with only foreign members only are becoming a dominant trend in K-pop recently. While their status as a K-pop group is open to debate, it goes to show that K-pop is becoming more dynamic and diverse than before.
BLACKSWAN caused a sensation the moment they first debuted with a non-Korean lineup: Fatou is a Senegalese, Gabi is German of Brazilian descent, NVee is American, and Sriya is Indian. When they first debuted, BLACKSWAN announced themselves to be a K-pop group. They initially had Korean members, but they soon left the group.
BLACKSWAN revealed the difficulty of navigating cultural and social norms, such as using honorifics, but expressed happiness at being able to achieve their dreams.
“Karma” is a major step forward for the group and elevated their status on global rankings. The group will be going on a tour around Asia in September.
XG is another group with no Korean members. They have 7 Japanese members named Jurin, Chisa, Cocona, Hinata, Maya, Juria, and Harvey. While their company’s headquarters is based in Korea, and the group is trained under the K-pop system, XG still claims to be a global group with the hope of overcoming the boundaries of the K-pop industry.
JAKOPS, XG’s producer revealed in an interview, “It is not limited to groups that express the musical characteristics of a country. It contains the desire to develop into music and activities that can be shared with people all over the world.”
After releasing “Tippy Toes” in March, XG is off to a promising start. They continued building on that success with “Left Right” and EP “Shooting Stars” and charted well on the U.S. Top 40 Radio Chart for 10 consecutive weeks.
A Filipino group HORI7ON with 7 members is also garnering attention. The group is created by MLD Entertainment and the Filipino company ABS-CBN through the reality show “Dream Maker” in 2022. The company’s headquarters is in Korea, but the group also claims to be a global group to “transcend the boundaries of K-pop.”
Source: k14
