K-Pop heroines sweep Japan

K-pop artists are sweeping across the globe including the Japanese market. Korean girl group TWICE’s new album “#TWICE2,” which was released on Wednesday, has topped Japan’s Oricon Daily Album Chart. In June 2017, TWICE received the Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan for selling more than 250,000 copies of their debut album in Japan, “#TWICE.” Its regular album “BDZ,” released in September last year, ranked first on the Oricon Monthly Album Chart. Tickets for the girl group’s tour concerts starting from March 20 in Osaka, Tokyo and Nagoya sold out only one minute. 　

K-Pop rookie IZ*ONE is also gaining enormous population among Japanese fans. Its debut single album in Japan, “Suki to Iwasetai,” which was released on February 6, was awarded the Platinum certification on Saturday, with 310,000 copies sold. The album also swept Line Music, Oricon and other music source websites.

On Saturday, Blackpink became the first K-Pop group to reach 700 million views on YouTube with its music video “Ddu-du” in 267 days, after its release on June 15 last year. “As if it’s your last” and “Boombayah” have recorded more than 500 million views each. In Aptil, the girl group will perform at the 2019 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.


Jong-Yeob JO jjj@donga.com