These past couple of years Korean pop, or K-pop, has been rushing into the spotlight. Several Korean bands such as, BTS, EXO, BLACKPINK, and TWICE have grown to be exponentially popular in recent years. K-Pop enthusiasts can be found worldwide but sales for this genre of music have been skyrocketing in America recently.
One group, BTS, even won the Top Social Artist Award at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas this year. The Top Social Artist Award is an award given to a nominated artist who has received the most votes by fans. BTS received 20 million votes this year, resulting in their Top Social Artist Award.
Glendora High School is also experiencing a K-Pop phenomenon. There are staggering amounts of students and teachers at the school who listen to K-pop.
Anthony Lopez, a senior here at GHS, is one of the many students at the school that enjoys listening to
K-Pop. “It just gets me in a good mood and, like, it makes me happy and it makes me dance,” explains Lopez. His favorites are groups such as, TWICE, Red Velvet, LOONA, and Wonder Girls.
Lucy Manalo, GHS' art teacher, is also a fan, even having attended a BTS concert earlier this year in L.A.
“I think as an artist myself, you have to be open-minded in trying new things and listening to new things...” stated Manalo. She was first introduced to K-Pop when a few of her former students showed her some K-Pop artists and ever since then, she’s been listening to it. Some of her favorite groups are BTS, BLACKPINK, BIGBANG, and 2NE1.
“There’s a lot of things out there that people are kind of afraid, I guess, to kind of open themselves up to...” says Manalo who encourages people to always try to have an open mind and give everything a chance. Lopez shares this sentiment and recommends giving K-Pop a shot and to be open to the music.
