Three K-pop artists were included in a list of the most important songs as the Billboard on 21 November published its legendary Hot 100 chart covering the past decades, including hits from 2010 until today.
The compilation has been made since the 1950s based on sales, airplay and, since 2012, streaming. Such artists as Adele, Avicii, Lady Gaga, along with Jay Z and Imagine Dragons were considered by experts to be music of all styles.
Since K-pop has invaded music charts around the globe in recent years, three tracks by South Korean artists are on the list for the first time, including BTS' "I Need U", Girls' Generation's "I Got A Boy", and Psy's "Gangnam Style".
The end of the decade has been marked by years of K-pop, as the best producers and musicians work with South Korea, like American hip-hop producer Dem Jointz, the British production team LDN Noise, and others.
1 BTS’ “I Need U” was released on 29 April 2015 as a lead single of the group’s EP “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1”, which sold over 200,000 copies that year. Immediately after its release, the song took the South Korean music charts by storm.
BTS, also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a K-pop boy band that debuted in 2013 and has been called "the biggest and most successful name in K-pop in the world". The band has sold millions of albums and is the first Korean act to top the Billboard 200 with their studio album “Love Yourself: Tear”, winning numerous awards and achievements – thereby representing K-pop all around the world. Among the group’s most famous songs are "Not Today", "Fire", and "Idol" featuring Nicki Minaj, as well as "Blood, Sweat and Tears".
2 SNSD’s “I Got a Boy” is the lead single of the studio album released under same title in January 2013.
Girls' Generation, also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment and is often called "The Nation's Girl Group". It is considered to be one of the most recognisable girl bands in the history of music, not only in K-pop. Some of their best songs are: "Gee", "Catch Me If You Can", "The Boys", "Mr. Taxi", and "Oh!"
3 Psy’s "Gangnam Style" was released on 15 July 2012 and was recognised by the Guinness World Records as YouTube's most liked video that year. The song also hugely impacted culture worldwide by introducing the so-called "horse dance" to the masses. Numerous flashmobs reflecting Psy’s dance moves have been held worldwide.
Psy, whose real name is Park Jae Sang, made the first outbreak in history as the first viral singer. In 2012, his music video for "Gangnam Style" exceeded one billion views on YouTube. In 2018, he left YG Entertainment after eight years and a year later founded his own music company - P-Nation. His most popular songs are "Gangnam Style", "Gentlemen", and "Daddy".
