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omonatheydid
The K-pop boy band kept conversations going thanks to a slick dance video.
INFINITE earn their first Billboard No. 1 this week with "Last Romeo." The K-pop boy band's '80s-inspired single tops the Billboard Twitter Emerging Artists chart and also hits No. 33 on Billboard Twitter Top Tracks. INFINITE is the first Korean act to top the Emerging Artist chart.
The conversations kicked off on Sept. 3 when INFINITE revealed a "dance practice" video of their single to spotlight its choreography. Watch the guys dance to the intro track from new album Season 2 as well as "Last Romeo" in a high-quality studio recording below:
Fans kept the conversation so high about "Last Romeo," released in late May, that it was able to rank within both of the weekly Billboard Twitter charts. Get deeper into the charts below.
The Billboard Twitter Emerging Artists chart counts up the "most shared songs on Twitter in the U.S. by up and coming artists." Acts deemed as up and coming are determined by their showing on the Billboard Hot 100 and Twitter followers. With no Hot 100 hits (yet), but almost 19,000 followers on their verified @INFINITE_UM account, the septet were deemed appropriate to include in the Emerging Artists chart.
After the Monday to Sunday tracking period, each song eligible is ranked by "the volume of shares over the seven day period." This week, INFINITE owned the social conversation, even beating out Hot 100 hits likes of Kiesza's "Hideaway" (No. 51 on the Hot 100) and Hozier's "Take Me to Church" (No. 75). The No. 1 makes them the most talked about new artist in America on Twitter for that week.
The INFINITE boys also bow on the Billboard Twitter Top Tracks chart that boasts tougher competition. This ranking counts all songs "shared and/or mentioned songs on Twitter" with the band making a respectable showing at No. 33. According to the chart, "Last Romeo" was shared and mentioned more on Twitter than tracks like Jason Derulo's "Wiggle" (No. 34), Chris Brown's "Loyal" (No. 37) and Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball" (No. 39).
Two songs by Korean artists (PSY's "Hangover" and Skrillex's collaboration with G-Dragon and CL "Dirty Vibe") have all ranked higher than "Last Romeo" on Top Tracks in the past. But with "Last Romeo" being a "traditional" K-pop release (being sung in Korean as well as released and promoted in Korea), the track has a big accomplishment in surpassing Girls' Generation's "Mr.Mr."
Another write-up by Mic:
Watch the Boy Band Video That's Getting Americans Obsessed With K-Pop
This month, a band called INFINITE made history for K-pop — it scored a hit, and it did it while singing in Korean on the strength of their song and amazing dancing.
The boy band became the first Korean musicians to top the Billboard Twitter Emerging Artists chart, thanks to a video of them practicing the dance for their catchy single, “Last Romeo.” After the video of their amazing dancing went live, the song skyrocketed to the No. 1 spot on the chart, the single also ranked 33rd on the Billboard Twitter Top Tracks. Both of these rankings signal a huge shift in American audiences — a willingness to finally acknowledge that K-pop is the amazing genre our country needs to diversify its tastes.
This almost never happens for foreign acts. PSY's "Gangnam Style" came closest to accomplishing the feat, but that song was successful largely due to its novelty value and PSY's cartoonish play on Asian stereotypes. Though many American musical acts and songs dominate musical markets around the globe even though they're performed in English, foreign acts rarely have the same effect in America. Domestically you will seldom hear any popular song in a language other than English — regardless of the band's nationality. Foreign bands either sing songs in English, such as Robyn, Bastille and Daft Punk, or they play up their foreignness and become a cultural trope, like PSY. Let’s face it: Few people listened to “Gangnam Style” for its melodic genius. It was to watch PSY dance under a twerking man in his music video.
The seven members of INFINITE, then, are accomplishing something few acts can. They refused to pander to American audiences and proved that undeniable musical ability is all it takes to score a hit. They actually released “Last Romeo” in May, but only after they published a video of their impressive dance practices online in early September did it start to grab attention in the U.S. Rather than make a high concept video, the group hearkens back the '90s style of NSYNC and Britney Spears synchronized dancing mixed with the new-school flare of R&B singer/dancers like Jason Derulo and Usher. They used their video to emphasize the music — not the other way around.
INFINITE's career in America is only just beginning, but it signals a bold new era for American audiences — one where our ears can open our minds.
Sources: Billboard, Mic, woolliment
The Mic article is new and I didn't see the Billboard one posted here. Very cool that they entered the chart so long after the song was released. Trufax about why Gangnam Style got popular in America tho. :-/
Also, every time someone compares current Kpop dancing to '90s American pop dancing, I laugh.
Sorry Mods, completely forgot to source the video embedded in the article. -_-;
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Date: 2014-09-26 02:36 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2014-09-27 01:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-09-26 02:51 pm (UTC)I need a group or sub unit comeback.
and this vid is making me miss brunette myungsoo like crazy
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Date: 2014-09-27 05:42 am (UTC)there was a pic of lee hyun do working on h's album but it's been forever D:
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Date: 2014-09-26 03:10 pm (UTC)but congrats infinite <3
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Date: 2014-09-26 03:42 pm (UTC)oh well get it anyway boys. i prefer sonagi as a song, but that dance practice is indeed awesome. and they just upload dance practice for Back too~
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Date: 2014-09-26 03:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-09-26 03:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-09-26 03:59 pm (UTC)*has a lot of feelings about this*
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Date: 2014-09-26 05:27 pm (UTC)this is nice still, more publicity for infinite :)
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Date: 2014-09-26 09:09 pm (UTC)more fun for me!