Jung Kook’s Debut Solo Album
“A new pop king prepares to take his throne.” This was how the prestigious British music magazine NME (New Musical Express), with a tradition of 71 years, introduced Jung Kook’s debut solo album, GOLDEN, in their review earlier this month.
As predicted by NME, Jung Kook is stirring up a “Jung Kook Syndrome” in the global pop market with the songs included in GOLDEN.
Chart-Topping Success and Global Impact
Firstly, he is reaping the rewards on various charts. The title track, “Standing Next to You,” debuted at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (as of November 18th) and was announced on the 14th (Korean time). It ranked #1 in the Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts rank based on streaming and sales in over 200 countries/regions worldwide.
In Spotify’s Daily Top Songs Global chart on the 3rd, another seven tracks from the album, including “Hate You,” “Yes or No,” and “Please Don’t Change (feat. DJ Snake),” also made it onto the chart. This indicates that the mainstream global market is reacting to the new album. GOLDEN climbed to number 2 on the Billboard main album chart, Billboard 200. Also, debuted at number 3 on the UK Official Chart’s album chart released on the 11th. This success is all the more valuable as Taylor Swift’s new album 1989 (Taylor’s Version) swept the major global charts.
Language Barrier Overcome: English Lyrics in the Album
Music experts point to the fact that all the songs in the album are in English as the first reason Jung Kook broke into the U.S. music market. Jung Kook stated in an interview, “As I prepared with the overseas music market in mind, I included only English songs in this album.”
Luminate, a global music market analysis company, confirmed the power of songs in English in its interim report released in August. When analyzing the top 10,000 most played songs on U.S. music platforms in the first half of the year by language. It was revealed that English songs accounted for 88.3%, taking a dominant first place. Spanish and Korean songs followed in second and third place. Even though Korean songs made it to third place due to the global popularity of K-pop, their share is a mere 0.9%. Observers attribute the unprecedented success of a Korean solo artist’s album in the global music market to overcoming the language barrier with all-English lyrics.
The Magic of GOLDEN’s Music Composition
The success of GOLDEN also owes much to its ‘department store of pop music’ composition. The album is filled with diverse music genres across its 11 tracks, including UK garage, Afropop, acoustic pop, and electronic dance, effectively breaking down genre barriers. USA Today praised, “Jung Kook successfully melded various genres into GOLDEN, including R&B, EDM, disco funk, and pop ballad.” Consequence of Sound, a U.S. music specialty media outlet, complimented his talent for perfectly capturing the characteristics of each genre, saying, “He knows how to use his voice, the greatest ‘instrument.'”
Jung Kook recorded 4 to 5 songs from GOLDEN in just one week. This was possible due to his perfect interpretation of the songs, voice control suited to the genre, and flexibility in promptly incorporating feedback. The production team shared, “Jung Kook’s innate talent and perfectionist tendencies elevated the quality of GOLDEN.”
The high-quality and trendy songs appealed to listeners with diverse tastes without causing discomfort, and the songs from GOLDEN set a new record for the most streams on the day of chart entry among Korean solo artists’ albums, with a total of 39,653,740 plays in one day based on Spotify.
Jung Kook’s Appeal as a Male Solo Artist
Jung Kook’s charm as a male solo artist has been evaluated as a significant factor in drawing fans’ responses. The position of male solo dance artists in the pop market is not strong. Looking at the songs that have reached number 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 from last year to the present, the activities of female musicians such as Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, and Doja Cat stand out. In terms of genre, country, led by Morgan Wallen, who took the number 1 spot a total of 16 times this year, traditional strong genres such as hip-hop and R&B have been the trend. Jung Kook stepped up in a situation where there was a lack of dance artists who could captivate the stage with overwhelming performances and quench the public’s thirst for a ‘pop star.’
Right after the release of his new album, Jung Kook appeared consecutively on NBC’s popular talk show The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and TODAY’s Citi Concert Series, where he showcased stable live performances and high-quality performances. The entertainment industry praised him, saying, “A stage that shows 10 years of experience” and “The legendary stage of the new pop star.” Notably, the ‘Fallon Show’ performance was highly discussed, ranking number 1 on YouTube worldwide, trending on the 7th.
NME stated, “There has been a ‘king of pop’ every 10 years, but there hasn’t been a major male solo star in the 2020s yet. Jung Kook proved with GOLDEN that he could fulfill that role and more. The 2020s have finally found their ‘king of pop,’ and GOLDEN will be more than just a guarantee of his throne,” introducing Jung Kook as the new ‘king of pop,’ following Justin Timberlake, who dominated the 2000s and Justin Bieber, who represented the 2010s.
By. Jeong Ji Won
Most Commented