O’Leary 1

John Minbiole

CAS 137H- Section 006

5 November 2018

TED Talk Outline

INTRO

1. Hook
a. To begin, I would to take a trip back to high school, don’t worry it will be quick,
back to a time characterized by the opinions of others. One factor that I remember
being harshly criticized was music.
i. Music taste was and is still seen as an extension of ourselves, so we feel
personally hurt when our music tastes are rejected by others. This made it
relatively difficult for me to admit my love for music that lay outside of
the common American Pop or Rap.
1. Greater acceptance towards foreign music would not shift until the
arrival of one talented group from South Korea. K-Pop would
ultimately break through the language barrier built up around
music.
2. Background
a. Transition: In context, K-Pop is not just a genre of music but a industry in itself.
The idols produced from this industry and flawless in every way. They go through
years of intense training before even making it to the debut stage.
i. The combination of charmings looks, difficult choreography and perfect
singing is all carefully packed into a 3-4 minute MV. Their ability to do it
all amazes us since many of our artists shine in only one or two of these
areas.
ii. The first phase of the shift began with K-Pop boy group, BTS, and their
award of Top Social Artist from the BBMAs in 2017. This was the first
time that a foreign group beat out top American artists such as Justin
Bieber, Ariana Grande and Shawn Mendes in a category based on social
media popularity.

Thesis: ​The entrance of BTS into the western music industry acted as a catalyst to shift
society’s viewpoint from one that was more skeptical of foreign music to one that now
holds K-Pop on the same level of critically acclaimed American artists through their
greater presence in the western world.
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POINT 1:​ Recognition from other celebrities

1. Transition: After successfully developing a loyal fan base through social media,
BTS gained the attention of other American music artists. With their support, BTS
further pushed foreign music into the American consciousness.
a. One prominent example of this are the different music collaborations that
are beginning to take form between Korean artists and American artists.
i. BTS started the trend with their new song “Idol” that features
popular rapper Nicki Minaj. Minaj was excited to work alongside
BTS and the two tweeted back and forth supporting the other’s
new album. Soon other K-Pop groups followed suit and collabed
with American artists. The most recent example of this is between
Dua Lipa and girl group BLACKPINK.

2. What does this mean?

a. What we see here is that K-Pop is able to prove the success of foreign
music in the states. By first gaining the loyalty of regular fans and then the
loyalty of fellow music artists, BTS reaches the same status as the artist’s
they collab with.
b. This creates the “if Nicki Minaj likes them then I should too” type of
feeling in citizens that may not have been as familiar with K-Pop.
c. This also begins to dissolve the language barrier that we have built around
foreign music. Even though we may not be able to speak Korean we can
feel the music and still get into it.

POINT 2:​ Recognition outside of the music industry

1. UN General Assembly
a. Lastly, a final milestone for K-Pop in the western world was made again by BTS
when they spoke at a UN General Assembly. The group had partnered up with
UNICEF and their goal to end youth violence.
i. Being invited to a UN assembly is something that many American music
groups cannot even dream of. BTS’s lead member Nam Joon gave a
speech at the meeting that reflected the values in their album ​Love
​ e went on to explain how true love first starts with learning to
Yourself. H
love ourselves.
ii. BTS did not realize the immense positive impact their message had on
their fans until they heard how they were learning to love themselves too.
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iii. The language barrier is no more as these foreign idols were able to
personally affect their fans in a language unknown to them.

CONCLUSION

1. In summary, K-Pop has led the path for foreign music to become more mainstream in the
U.S. because of its great achievements in the American music industry and society in
general. BTS was the predominant leader of the western K-Pop movement. After
becoming the top social artist in America, they swiftly gained the opportunities to collab
with other American artists and appear in front of the world.
a. This shift in thought has allowed for K-Pop to appear more frequently in
American daily life. Now K-Pop and other foreign songs are heard more in
public, on the radio and have a greater presence on iTunes and Spotify. K-Pop has
become more commonplace as it has weaved its way into the same areas that we
see American music.
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Works Cited

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Web. 23 Oct. 2018.

Liu, Marian. “Bigger than Bieber? K-Pop group BTS beats the US Stars to Win Billboard Music

Award.” ​CNN.​ Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, 22 May. 2017. Web.

11 Oct. 2018.

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Yorker. ​Cond​é​ Nast, 29 May. 2018. Web. 11 Oct. 2018.

Romano, Aja. “How K-Pop Become a Global Phenomenon.” ​Vox.​ Vox Media, 26 Feb. 2018.

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Wang, Amy. “What the World’s Youths Might Learn from BTS, the K-Pop Stars who Spoke at

the U.N.” ​The Washington Post​. The Washington Post, 25 Sept. 2018. Web. 11 Oct.

2018.

Wilkinson, Bard. “K-Pop Band BTS Tells World Youth to ‘Speak Yourself’ at UN.” ​CNN. ​Cable

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Zellner, Xander. “BTS Becomes First K-Pop Act to Hit No. 1 on Billboard Artist 100 Chart.”

Billboard.​ N.p. 30 May. 2018. Web. 11 Oct. 2018.

Zellner, Xander. “BLACKPINK Makes K-Pop History on Hot 100, Billboard 200 and More

With ‘DDU-DU DDU-DU’.” ​Billboard.​ N.p. 30 May. 2018. Web. 11 Oct. 2018.