K-pop music invasion brought to you by YouTube, social media

The Korean pop music invasion of the United States has picked up steam in recent months with tours by K-pop boy band BTS and girl group Blackpink.
You’d never know about the phenomenon if you listen to American radio, which is dominated by iHeartRadio. K-pop music doesn’t get airplay on the major U.S. radio stations.
Instead, K-pop reached its audience outside of Korea through YouTube and other online media.
On April 27, I attended the sold-out Blackpink concert in Hamilton, Ontario, with my 13-year-old daughter. The atmosphere was electric and the crowd filled with super fans of the quartet.
Blackpink members Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa and Rosé performed their hit songs and danced up a storm. It was a slickly produced performance, complete with a killer house band, big video screens, multiple stage elevators, and the requisite lasers, fog machines and pyrotechnics. The crowd sang along and danced to their big hits, including “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du,” “Kill This Love” and “Whistle.”
The next day, by chance, we met the South Korean group at a restaurant at Toronto Pearson International Airport. We told them how much we enjoyed their show and they thanked us before we were quickly shooed away by their management.
Blackpink made their U.S. concert debut at Coachella on April 12. They then kicked off the North American leg of their “Blackpink In Your Area” world tour on April 17 in Los Angeles.
The group is performing in six North American cities. In addition to L.A. and Hamilton, they are making stops in Chicago, Newark, Atlanta and Fort Worth.
Blackpink is filling a void in girl vocal groups in the U.S. The music scene in the states at the moment is dominated by solo female artists, led by Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift. Blackpink is “squad goals” for young girls who’d like to belong to a tight-knit group of friends.

My Twitter coverage of Blackpink’s visit to Canada:

It’s happening #Blackpink (April 27)

Incredible show by Blackpink tonight. (April 27)

Blackpink performed hits like “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du,” “Whistle” and “Kill This Love.” (April 27)

Met the ladies of Blackpink at Toronto Pearson International Airport this afternoon. My 13-year-old daughter was thrilled. Nice surprise. No photos. Didn’t want to intrude too much. (April 28)

News articles about Blackpink and K-pop:

What the Rise of Black Pink and BTS Says About the Future of K-pop (Vulture; Aug. 28, 2018)

How Blackpink Booked a North American Arena Tour Before Playing a Single U.S. Show (Billboard; Feb. 20, 2019)

Why K-Pop Is Finally Breaking Into the U.S. Mainstream (Billboard; Feb. 28, 2019)

Inside Blackpink’s U.S. Takeover: How the K-Pop Queens Are Changing the Game (Billboard; Feb. 28, 2019)

With ‘Kill This Love,’ K-pop queens Blackpink have made YouTube and iTunes history (Vox; April 8, 2019)

Blackpink proves BTS isn’t the only K-pop group that can find success in US (USA Today; April 16, 2019)

Blackpink Proved Why They’re the Biggest Modern Girl Group (Jezebel; May 3, 2019)

Photos: Blackpink, tour announcement and cover of Billboard magazine.