The First Quarter of 2014; Which K-Pop Music Was Viewed the Most in the US

News media Billboard featured an article on what music videos were popular on the first quarter. The ranking of the videos are based on views. Here are the most popular videos that people viewed in the United States and globally.

January; in America

1) Got7; "Girls Girls Girls"

2) Girl's Day; "Something"

3) Ga-In; "Fxxk U"

4) Rainbow Blaxx; "Cha Cha"

5) Gary; "Shower Later"

6) Rain; "30 Sexy"

7) Rain; "La Song"

8) B1A4; "Lonely"

Globally:

1) Girl's Day; "Something"

2) Got7; "Girls Girls Girls"

3) AOA; "Miniskirt"

4) Rainbow Blaxx; "Cha Cha"

5) Ga-In; "Fxxk U"

February; in America

1) Girls' Generation; "Mr. Mr"

2) B.A.P; "1004 (Angel)"

3) TVXQ; "Spellbound"

4) CNBLUE; "Can't Stop"

5) Sunmi; "Full Moon"

6) Stellar; "Marionette"

7) BTOB; "Beep Beep"

8) BTS; "Boy in Luv"

Globally:

1) Girls' Generation: "Mr. Mr"

2) Stellar; "Marionette"

3) B.A.P; "1004 (Angel)"

4) CNBLUE; "Can't Stop"

5) S.M. The Ballad; "Breathe"

March; in America

1) 2NE1; "Come Back Home"

2) 2NE1; "Happy"

3) Orange Caramel; "Catallena"

4) 4Minute; "Whatcha Doin' Today"

5) Super Junior-M; "Swing" (Chinese Version)

6) Lee Michelle; "Without You"

7) Toheart; "Delicious"

8) Crayon Pop; "Uh-ee"

Globally:

1) 2NE1; "Come Back Home"

2) 2NE1; "Happy"

3) 4Minute; "Whatcha Doin' Today"

4) Crayon Pop; "Uh-ee"

5) Super Junior-M; "Swing" (Chinese Version)

Same Artists on the Chart; Just a lot of Moving Around in terms of Chart Ranking This Week

Due to the Sewol ferry incident, there has been no new comebacks. So, the only thing that has been happening in terms of chart ranking every week is that the stars are moving around. So this being said, news media Billboard featured an article on who ranks number one this week and where some of your favorite idols rank. Siblings Akdong Musician ranks number one this week for their single, "200%." Rookie male group High4 featuring IU, ranks number two for their single, "Not Spring, Love, Or Cherry Blossoms." Ranking number three are 15& for their single, "Can't Hide It." The girls are proving their talent and should be happy on where they rank this week.

Akdong Musician Ranks #1 This Week

News media Popdust featured an article about Akdong Musician being rank number one this week. Rookie male group High4 and IU ranks number two for their song, "Not Spring, Love, Or Cherry Blossoms." Ranking number three is 15& for their single, "Can't Hide It." Cute group A Pink ranks number four for their "Mr. Chu" single. SISTAR's Soyou and JungGiGo ranks number twelve for their single, "Some." Orange Caramel ranks number thirteen for "Catallena." The last two groups that the article featured were 4Minute as they rank number thirty for their single, "Whatcha Doin' Today." Lastly, Crayon Pop ranks number thirty-one for their song, "Uh-ee."

Mark James Russell Explained What K-Pop is

Business news media Marketplace, featured an article about how K-Pop got popular here in the United States. The star that people know when they hear the word K-Pop is Psy. But, people will soon hear more about Korean pop music and idols in the coming months and years. For this article, Mark James Russell explained how K-Pop got recognized and why the music is addicting; which people will enjoy listening.

K-Pop is getting popular internationally and Mark's new book, "K-Pop Now! The Korean Music Revolution," explains about how Korean music was getting recognized in the 1990s. Mark is a music journalist who lives in Seoul, South Korea. The question that Mark had to answer was, "What exactly is K-Pop anyway?" Mark's answer, "There’s usually upbeat dance music, it’s very loud, it’s very flashy." He further explained, "To use the old Spinal Tap reference, this one goes up to 11, in Korea, they start at 11 and they go up from there."

"Gangnam Style" is really popular in the United States because of Psy. Though, Mark said that this single is not really a great song to show how K-Pop is even though the music video has almost two billion views on Youtube. Mark explained about how Asia views the United States when it comes to the music industry. Mark said, "Asia occupies a strange mental place with people in the West. Some people think it’s exotic or weird or goofy. Often they’re laughing at it. But when people enjoyed “Gangnam Style”, it felt like they were laughing with it.”

The article further goes on to explain how Korean pop music in the past was looking to gain attention globally. Not only this, but also that K-Pop is helping the country when it comes to the political and economic side. Mark said, "K-Pop from very early on was looking to get out of Korea. It was looking to become more international. So they brought in songwriters from other places. They buy a lot of music from Scandinavia. Universal Music Europe sells a lot of stuff to Korea...I’ve talked several times to the head of A&R (Artists & Repertoire) there... he has taken away songs from American artists and given them to K-Pop artists because he feels the right combination could be more profitable in Korea." For the political and economic side, Mark said, "It’s been a whole series of changes that go back quite a ways. From the rise of democracy and the Olympics in ’88 (to) the country just opening up, it’s become a much more lifestyle-oriented country. For many years people worked very long hours six days a week. But now people have more money and more free time, and they want to fill that time with fun things."

What do you think about K-Pop getting more recognized in the United States? Do you think Korean pop music will be broadcast live on air so that people can listen to it on their radio station? Type your opinions below.