If you have a hot industry or music take, feel free to reply to this email or send a secure, secret message via the NGL app. All comments will be kept confidential if requested!

Tame Impala and Jennie's "Dracula" is No. 1 on Billboard’s all-format Radio Songs chart this week, jumping one spot and earning 62.6 million in airplay audience throughout September 11–17 — confirming the song was and continues to be Crossover Ready.

American radio remains the last gatekeeper K-pop hasn’t broken. Streaming rewards a mobilized fandom while pure album and digital sales reward them even harder, but radio largely rewards neither. While I always wanted to believe the DJs were listening when I called into KISS FM and requested the new A*Teens single as a kid, I think programmers are more so focused on what won’t make a casual listener change the station. Music with Korean lyrics, or even music that sounds unlike most of the usual American radio fodder, usually doesn’t fit that standard, so Radio Songs gives us a measure of what K-pop has actually crossed over or has simply gotten very good at tuning in to people who were already listening.

A look at the full history of K-pop on the radio charts shows one pattern that holds without exception. Starting with Jennie’s own group BLACKPINK, the group has never appeared on the overall Radio Songs chart with any of their group releases, despite multiple entries at Top 40 radio including last year’s “JUMP,” which earned their best position yet by peaking at No. 19 and spending 13 weeks on the chart (performing even better than their Selena Gomez collab “Ice Cream” from 2020, which topped out at No. 21 and spent just eight weeks on the chart)

But individually, the members’ solo careers tell a different story on Radio Songs…

Four members of a massive girl group, yet Top 40 radio is only partially open to embracing them. All their larger crossover radio appearances are tied to a Western name or a famous sample, while the group itself has never charted. One could put blame BP’s management for having little interest in radio, but pop has show its willing to bite.

Other Korean artists tell a similar story from the other direction: PSY’s “Gangnam Style” reached No. 12 on Radio Songs in 2012 as the first K-pop act to do so. Fifty Fifty reached No. 13. Meanwhile, BTS sent four records: “Butter” at No. 20, “My Universe” with Coldplay at No. 25, “SWIM” recently at No. 18, and “Dynamite” at No. 10 — their highest. Then BTS’ own Jung Kook has three, all collaborations: “Left and Right” with Charlie Puth at No. 28, “Too Much” with The Kid LAROI and Central Cee at No. 38, “Seven” featuring Latto at No. 43.

Today, two records have topped Radio Songs but both have slight asterisks next to them. Tame Impala released “Dracula” on its own last October and radio responded, and the Jennie remix arrived in February, so arguably radio didn’t open itself to more K-pop records but opened to more Tame Impala songs. The other chart-topping track is HUNTR/X’s “Golden,” performed by EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami. This song was sung in English by a fictional group from an American animated film with an awards-winning soundtrack behind it. Calling it a K-pop radio breakthrough requires deciding that a Netflix movie counts, but many — including the Grammys — have cited its breakthrough success as a K-pop breakthrough.

To me, “Dynamite” is the most revealing number on this whole list. All English, no feature, released by the biggest act in the genre at the peak of its powers with a song that was the definition of a feel-good hit when we needed it. It stopped at No. 10 on Radio Songs and No. 5 on Pop Airplay — with the Top 5 entry originally standing as a record for K-pop artists until Rosé and Bruno broke it. If an English-language BTS single with no collaborator couldn’t get past that, the barrier really never felt like it was about language. Songs above “Dynamite” on the radio chart that week? 24kGoldn and iann dior’s “Mood” was No. 1 on Radio Songs (fair), followed by Gabby Barrett’s “I Hope” at No. 2 (was that country radio’s effect?), Ava Max’s “Kings & Queens,” Surf Mesa’s “ily”...

Jennie co-wrote the “Dracula” remix with Kevin Parker, Sarah Aarons and Carly Gibert, so she isn’t just tacked on for decoration and it is a big win for a Korean singer-songwriter. But in almost 15 years and roughly a dozen entries, no K-pop act has reached the top of American radio on its own.

So, does it matter? Sales and streaming can be organized by a fandom, but radio can’t, which is why it’s the chart thought to measure general-audience acceptance rather than fan mobilization. As much as there is talk of radio’s diminishing impact, I don’t know any truly huge pop smash that wasn’t also smashing on radio. So, while the best K-pop songs can’t seem to truly break in a major way on U.S. radio, campaigns with K-pop artist features and collaborations are increasingly reliable ways to gain visibility on radio — which is progress. Slow and small, but progress.

What’s next: It will be fun to see how long “Dracula” holds over across all radio after spending seven weeks atop Pop Airplay. KATSEYE’s “Animal” just jumped to No. 15 on Pop Airplay in its seventh week and No. 36 on Radio Songs in its fourth as their second entry on the all-format chart — though KATSEYE are a HYBE x Geffen group recording in English, so that is arguably a different solution to the same problem rather than a counterexample.rise

—

Did you recently see an ad for Ooni in a newsletter? We’re running a short brand lift survey to understand what’s actually breaking through (and what’s not).

It takes about 20 seconds, the questions are super easy, and your feedback directly helps us improve how we show up in the newsletters you read and love.

If you’ve got a few moments, we’d really appreciate your insight.

Take the survey.

—

—She Didn’t Make KATSEYE But Is Outpacing K-Pop on the Album Chart: Adéla — who was cut from Dream Academy, the audition show that produced KATSEYE — sent her debut album PRIMA at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on Top Album Sales with 30,900 copies. This week it fell to No. 13, an expected trajectory for a release carried by fan-demanded physical variants. But her singles are still climbing in the album’s release with “Nicole Kidman” hitting No. 1 on Spotify’s U.S. charts and HitsDailyDouble expects PRIMA to rise next week — the opposite of the month-or-so-long collapse that follows a fandom-driven debut.

—Elsewhere on the Album Charts: Stray Kids’ This & That is the biggest K-pop album in America this week at No. 17 on the Billboard 200, down from No. 15 in week six; ENHYPEN’s THE SIN : BLISS is at No. 115 on the Billboard 200; and new HYBE girl group TUIDE debuted at No. 3 on World Albums with TUNE & PLAY, behind SKZ and ENHYPEN.

—Two More Radio Chart Notes: KATSEYE’s “Animal” rose to No. 15 on Pop Airplay in its seventh week. Khalid and Ahn Hyo-seop’s “Something Special” is parked at No. 40 in Week 11 after peaking at No. 34, which suggests a KPop Demon Hunters association is a helpful radio asset but so is teaming with a Western hitmaker.

—LE SSERAFIM Put Out 10 Versions of One Song & It Worked a Little: “Made My Night” debuts at No. 14 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100, the chart that tracks songs just short of the Hot 100. The release came in roughly ten configurations — including a remix with EJAE of KPop Demon Hunters fame — plus physical CDs. With Jennie, KATSEYE, Adéla and Lisa all on the Hot 100 with English tracks of their own, LE SSERAFIM charting in the Bubbling Under with their own English song is not a bad accomplishment as a more traditional K-pop act, and seems to justify all the remixes, but does the song itself get diluted as a result?

—Winter Blooms on the Global Charts: aespa’s Winter has the week’s biggest debut on Billboard’s Global Excl. U.S. chart at No. 108 with “Saddle Up,” her solo song from the group’s special four-track single that features songs each member performs on tour. Karina’s “16 Bit” wasn’t too far behind at No. 149.

—Half a Year in the Water: BTS’ “SWIM” hits half a year on the Billboard Global 200 this week at No. 21, down from No. 18, after debuting at No. 1 just 26 weeks ago.

—Another Global J-Pop/Rock Moment: “For Okinawa” by YOA featuring Awich, Chico Carlito, ONE OK ROCK and Paledusk debuts at No. 188 on Global Excl. U.S. — a Japanese all-star lineup sneaking onto a global chart.

—Also in the week’s Global Excl. U.S. debuts: Lim Young Woong’s “Love Always Run Away” (No. 150) and “ToTo” (No. 159), and IU’s “Dear My Crazy Soulmate” (No. 187).

—Jackson Wang Gives His Take on Artist Management & Being a Product: On Apple Music’s New Music Daily, Jackson Wang confirmed with Zane Lowe that his “Thank You” video was a formal Apple collaboration, not just a phone he happened to use — and then announced two finished albums and a Chinese-language one in progress. “Usually, when I shoot videos, I would need a month at least for the preparation…I always think of myself as a product. A lot of times when I tell other people, share that with other people, they’re like, ‘No, you’re not a product.’ But I’m saying it in a good way. I’m an artist, and to me, it’s a product, but I’m also my own product manager… one of the lyrics that I mentioned in the song, in verse two, was, ‘I don’t need any middleman between me and my audience.’ And that’s why, for the majority of my solo career, I’m never assigned to anybody as a manager. And even if I did, even if I do in the future, I make sure I’m the one who’s dictating everything.” (Apple Music)

—KATSEYE’s Documentary Lands on Disney+ and Hulu Next Month: KATSEYE: WILD HEARTS streams October 16 in the U.S. on both platforms and internationally on Disney+, after a previously limited theatrical run. Nadia Hallgren directed it, and Interscope Films and Boardwalk Pictures produced it with HYBE x Geffen. “From the intense pressure of Dream Academy to chart-topping viral success, audiences experience the highs, setbacks, sacrifices, and breakthrough moments that transformed KATSEYE on their path to global pop stardom.” (Disney)

—Bvlgari Makes Ningning a Global Ambassador: aespa’s Ningning was named a Bvlgari global ambassador on September 21, fronting its Divas’ Dream and Serpenti campaigns after wearing Serpenti Viper to this year’s Met Gala. She was already a Gucci global ambassador. “Fans get the novelty of a new celebrity association, while the brand keeps the visual grammar anchored in products and motifs it already owns.” (ContentGrip)

—KPop Demon Hunters Becomes a Theme Park Attraction and a Monopoly Season: Netflix is building a walk-through KPop Demon Hunters experience at Netflix House in Dallas (opening November 12 — my birthday!). Meanwhile, Scopely launched a Monster Mash season in MONOPOLY GO! running Sept. 23–Nov. 25 with HUNTR/X and Saja Boys mini-games, a themed shop and the licensed soundtrack. “Fans don’t just want to watch KPop Demon Hunters, they want to live in the world of HUNTR/X,” Netflix’s chief marketing officer Marian Lee said. (Netflix Tudum · GamingonPhone)

—Tiffany Young Is Back as Roxie Hart: The Girls’ Generation member returns to the Korean production of Chicago at LG Arts Center Seoul from December 5 through March 14, 2027, alongside fellow K-divas Ivy and Choi Jung Won. Tiffany first won the role by open audition in 2021. The Korean production of Chicago has run 26 years with more than 1,700 performances to date. (allkpop)

—A.C.E’s Junhee Is Going to Eurovision Asia: He officially releases “DEEP DIVE” on Sept. 25 as a Eurovision Asia entry representing the Republic of Korea — the competition taking a new route into a new market with little to do with Europe despite the name.

—Complex Publishes Its Best K-Pop Songs So Far List in September: The 20-song list, by Esperanza Rosenbaum and Aani Nagaiah, dropped September 22 — with an interactive twist where readers vote each entry “Underrated,” “Agree” or “Overrated.” The Top 5: KiiiKiii’s “404 (New Era),” Hearts2Hearts’ “RUDE!,” LE SSERAFIM, ILLIT & KATSEYE’s “Iconic by Mistake,” ZEROBASEONE’s “TOP 5,” and aespa feat. Ty Dolla $ign’s “Switchblade.” (Complex)

—Nana Apologizes for a Lip Fillers Scandal: Viewers said the actress’ lips read as anachronistic for a Joseon-era widow. She responded on fan-messaging service Bubble: “If my lips made viewers uncomfortable, then that was my fault. I think it was a personal choice that wasn’t the right one for me as an actor.” She added, “I imagine that my fans, who love me, must feel hurt seeing the harsh criticism directed at me, so I’m even more sorry.” The series is currently on Netflix’s non-English Top 10. (The Korea Herald)

—Cover Dance, Uncovered: Twelve U.S. teams who won regional rounds at the Korean Cultural Centers in Detroit and Chicago — from Milwaukee, San Marcos, Irvine, Grand Rapids, Calumet City, Columbus, Minneapolis and elsewhere — fly to Seoul for the Global K-Pop Cover Dance Championship on October 3 at Dosan Park. Street Woman Fighter choreographers Aiki, Rian, Nain Cho and BlackQ judge; every team gets an opening slot at the Gangnam Festival’s K-Pop Concert on Oct. 4. (Recorder Online)

—The College Kids Are Writing Think Pieces: A Quinnipiac University student paper argues K-pop conquered the world by being deliberately undefinable — “K-pop is any style of music, any genre, with any intention and written about any topic” — and therefore infinitely projectable. (The Quinnipiac Chronicle)

Thanks for reading this far, and if you appreciate this reporting, please consider upgrading your subscription to support my independent work! For as low as the price of a coffee, you’ll get access to all my paywalled stories and content, including exclusive charts not available anywhere else. Either way, I appreciate you being here. Until next time…XO.