Bright, fast and fun; K-Pop has witnessed increased popularity globally over the past few years, creating a subculture that amassed enormous fandoms of teenagers and young adults. This year however, the K-pop phenomenon has reached a fever pitch: On Spotify, more than 80.3million K-pop playlists and 2.4million hours were spent streaming K-pop music, with fan-favourite artists such as BTS leading the charge and experiencing incredible popularity in the Middle East.
The music genre’s fast beat, choreographed dance routines, colourfully appealing visuals and its unique storytelling have made it one of the most streamed genres in the world. These traits have undoubtedly captivated fans across the region who have well and truly jumped on the K-Pop bandwagon. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco, for instance, are the top countries in the MENA region listening to music of this fast tempo genre.
With their highly anticipated concert in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this coming October 11th, as part of the ‘Love Yourself: Speak Yourself’ tour, it is of no surprise to see that the South Korean pop sensation BTS topped the most streamed artist within this music genre in both the KSA and UAE. The group’s record-breaking collaboration with American pop-star Halsey, ‘Boy With Luv’ has received worldwide acclaim since its release in April this year, and being the number one most streamed K-pop song in KSA and the UAE, proves that fans in the region love it just as much as the rest of the world.
To give fans the feeling of knowing the band even better, global sensation BTS also recently launched mobile simulation application, ‘BTS World’ where players can play along and become the group’s manager. The seven-member boy-band’s collaboration with Charli XCX, ‘Dream Glow (BTS World Original Soundtrack) - Pt. 1’ which was unveiled this summer alongside the release of the app, came in third in the list of most streamed K-pop tracks on Spotify in KSA and the UAE and it is the first of three original songs that will be featured in ‘BTS World’.
BTS have certainly taken over the Spotify world by holding an impressive record of six songs in the top 10 list of most streamed K-pop tracks in the UAE and four out of ten in Saudi Arabia.
The second most streamed artist within the k-pop genre in Saudi Arabia and the Emirates is the four member girl-group BLACKPINK. After their successful album debut ‘Square One’, released during the summer of 2016, they continued breaking-through the music scene with the launch of their Kill This Love EP. As a testament to their continued success, the ‘Kill This Love’ track is the second most listened to k-pop song in both countries. Furthermore, the girl-group’s 2018 collaboration with megastar Dua Lipa, ‘Kiss and Make Up’ has been a success since its release and till today fans in the Middle East are enjoying the upbeat rhythm of this song where it reached the top five in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
“Witnessing the massive popularity and demand that Korean pop music enjoys in the region is just mind-blowing! Despite the fact that K-pop is coming from a different culture and is in a different language, its catchy and engaging style has managed to mesmerize hundreds of thousands of people from Saudi Arabia and the UAE!" says Claudius Boller, Managing Director for Middle East and Africa at Spotify. “At Spotify, with more than 3 billion playlists, we are here to let everyone discover new and different music cultures from around the world.”
For your K-pop cravings
From the latest K-pop tracks to Korean OSTs (dramatic and highly addictive love songs), there’s a suitable playlist within Spotify’s dedicated hub. First introduced in 2015, the K-pop hub is as addictive as the music itself, leading to a significant increase in streams and sharing of Korean music on Spotify.
Find out more about Spotify’s K-pop streaming trends in Saudi Arabia and the UAE below.
Most streamed K-pop artists in Saudi Arabia
- BTS
- BLACKPINK
- TWICE
- iKON
- (G)I-DLE
- RM
- Stray Kids
- Monsta X
- EXO
- CHUNG HA
Most streamed K-pop artists in the United Arab Emirates
- BTS
- BLACKPINK
- TWICE
- iKON
- Stray Kids
- RM
- Red Velvet
- GOT7
- SEVENTEEN
- EXO
Most streamed K-pop tracks in Saudi Arabia
- BTS, Halsey - Boy With Luv (feat. Halsey)
- BLACKPINK - Kill This Love
- BTS, Charli XCX - Dream Glow (BTS World Original Soundtrack) - Pt. 1
- iKON - LOVE SCENARIO
- BLACKPINK, Dua Lipa - Kiss and Make Up
- BTS - FAKE LOVE
- BTS, Lil Nas X, RM - Old Town Road (feat. RM of BTS) - Seoul Town Road Remix
- TWICE - FANCY
- JENNIE - SOLO
- BLACKPINK - DDU-DU DDU-DU
Most streamed K-pop tracks in the United Arab Emirates
- BTS, Halsey - Boy With Luv (feat. Halsey)
- BLACKPINK - Kill This Love
- BTS, Charli XCX - Dream Glow (BTS World Original Soundtrack) - Pt. 1
- iKON - LOVE SCENARIO
- BLACKPINK, Dua Lipa - Kiss and Make Up
- BTS, Zara Larsson - A Brand New Day (BTS World Original Soundtrack) [Pt. 2]
- BTS - FAKE LOVE
- BLACKPINK - DDU-DU DDU-DU
- BTS - Make It Right
- BTS - Heartbeat (BTS World Original Soundtrack)
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