CL, Yang Hyun Suk, And Scooter Braun Talk To BBC News About K-Pop's Overseas Expansion

"Whatever happened to Psy and K-pop's bid to conquer the world?" That's what BBC News is wondering in a K-pop focused article.

In 2012, Psy's "Gangnam Style" became a worldwide hit and the YG Entertainment singer was impossible to ignore. At the time, K-pop was heralded as the next pop genre to go global, but by an article published on Wednesday by BBC News questioned what happened.

The BBC spoke to YG Entertainment's CEO Yang Hyun Suk, 2NE1 member CL, and American producer Scooter Braun about K-pop.

K-pop's more succesful internationally than many thing and will likely keep growing, reports the BBC. While less visible in 2015 than in 2012, Psy earned over an estimaed $55 million from his work in the West, and is popular in China. 

"Chinese fans love his music," Yang Hyun Suk told the BBC, highlighting Psy's most recent collaboration with Chinese pianist Lang Lang. "It topped [all the] Chinese music charts."

The BBC also spoke to Scooter Braun, the producer behind the likes of Justin Bieber, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Ariana Grande. Braun signed both Psy and CL, the leader of YG Entertainment's popular girl group 2NE1.

"My team first saw CL perform with 2NE1 in Seoul at one of Psy's concerts," Braun said. "We were extremely impressed with her stage presence... [she's an] amazing performer. We wanted to help her bring her taleent to the US." 

"Now that I've been an artist in Asia for eight years, I feel like challenging a new crowd," CL told the BBC. "I definitely have a long way to go, but I feel like I have the right people around me, a good team."

CL recently released the collaboration "Doctor Pepper" with Diplo, Riff Raff, and OG Maco. 

The BBC also highlighted K-pop's glossy training system, and discussed the difficulties that idol trainees face before debuting as K-pop stars. Ida Simmons, a former trainee of SM Entertainment, spoke to the BBC about the difficulties in signing a 13-year contract with SM and being unable to leave the company despite not formally debuting as a K-pop star. 

"It was definitely difficult," Simmons said. "Now I'm just happy to be able to move on with my career." 

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BBC
K-Pop
Psy
CL
Scooter Braun
SM Entertainment
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