Thanks to Gen Z and Millennials, K-pop can finally be considered a mainstream genre of music. 

Thanks to Gen Z and Millennials, K-pop can finally be considered a mainstream genre of music. BTS’s Park Jimin recently topped the Billboard Hot 100 with his solo debut “Like Crazy,” marking the first time a South Korean artist has done so. This milestone is raising the question of whether K-pop has finally become mainstream, which in this sense means making a commercial impact in the U.S. by releasing music both in English and Korean. For K-pop acts, going big in the U.S. is about validation and breaking through old institutions, like the Recording Academy, making something like winning a Grammy more significant for K-pop artists than American ones. The strategic process of “mainstreaming” can help expand a genre’s audience beyond its cult followings and ultimately its community of origin. YPulse’s Music report shows 69% of Gen Z and Millennials say they enjoy music from other countries and 58% say they enjoy music in languages they don’t speak. (Nylon)