Happy Wednesday! I got one new reply today, and that’s from Nikki! Quick plug: she does a cosplay idol group called SBA0048; they do AKB0048 cosplay and cover AKB songs! So check them out!

I don’t know – they have a better chance than the four who have really made the (half-assed, let’s be honest) attempt to break out on US soil: Wonder Girls, Utada, BoA, and that one guy who was in KAT-TUN a long time ago. Jin? I don’t know. I’m not a boy band type.

In all three cases there was little to no promotion, little to no radio airplay, and the sheer fact that they were *gasp* ASIAN with *gasp* ACCENTS made it difficult for casual listeners to get into it.

Honestly I think the group with the best chance is 2ne1 – three out of four members speak fluent, accentless english, their music style is one that is really popular here anyway, and they’re trendsetters in fashion circles already. The will.i.am connection doesn’t hurt either.

That said, I think you’re right: ANY effort coming out of any other place, whether it’s European, Asian, African, South American, whatever, has to be concentrated in the US for at least a year. And it has to be a massive effort – the resources of whatever agency have to be concentrated on that for the entire promotional period. It won’t work otherwise. Whoever it is has to become a household name, has to be familiar to the average tween, teen, early twenty-something american person, or else it’ll remain a niche thing. And there has to be fairly regular releases even after the intense promotional period, or people will get bored with the lack of new stuff. Americans, as a whole, are really impatient.

Anyway that’s my long diatribe about potential Asian success in America – it’s a subject I’ve thought about often. Mostly because I want to see the groups I like live without having to fly my ass to Japan.

First off, Girls Generation definitely has the best chance out of the ones who’ve tried so far. However, how much of that is due to the fact they haven’t REALLY tried yet? I mean, there was a ton of hype around Wonder Girls when they first came to the US. They were opening for the Jonas Brothers (ah, remember when those guys were relevant?) and selling copies of their CDs in the US. Even though the only place I physically saw the CDs was in a tween clothing store where I was applying for a part-time job. And the CDs looked cheap. But in terms of popularity, Girls’ Generation has a pretty solid American fanbase already, and probably do have the best chance out of all the Asian music acts.

I agree about 2NE1, though. Their partnership with will.i.am ensures that there will be some mainstream appeal. I know a lot of people rag on the Black Eyed Peas, but their music is EVERYWHERE. If will.i.am can sufficiently promote 2NE1 and get them some radio time, they could be pretty big. The English speaking nature certainly helps, too. I know that two Girls Generation members speak English, but it feels a bit awkward having the two of them doing all the talking.

As for style though,  I’m not quite sure. Conventional wisdom is that American fans want cooler, edgier music and style. However, look at stuff like Blurred Lines. That was the most popular song of the year and, stylistically, it was probably closer to AKB48’s Koisuru Fortune Cookie than a lot of the KPop music out there. I think the biggest thing is getting a catchy song at the right time.

I do agree about promotion. I think the biggest thing that acts do wrong when trying to break into the US market is think that doing just a couple promotional things is OK. An opening act here, a tv appearance there. They have to do something big and keep going with it.

But yeah, I basically agree with your comment, and I agree with your final sentiment. I’d like more acts to come this way, too, so I hope that more groups think about how they promote themselves more carefully!