K-Pop Phenoms Stray Kids Want You To Get Weird

K-pop's immense popularity, from a Western perspective, is nothing new. Now technically in its fourth generation, South Korean pop acts have experienced waves of success for decades, particularly in the last five or so years on a global scale, thanks to the connective power of social media. And anyone paying attention to mainstream pop won't be surprised to learn that in 2020, K-pop had a record-breaking year with 44.8% growth, positioning itself as the fastest-growing major market that year. Genre kingpins BTS have been nominated for and performed at the Grammys, and four-piece girl band BLACKPINK were selected as Variety's 2020 Hitmakers Group Of The Year.