Korea Observer

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin A 17-year-old rookie K-pop singer has been chosen by Billboard as one of the hottest young singers this year. (Clockwise from top left) One Direction, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and Lee Hi (Photos courtesy of Instagram account of One Direction, Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus and www.newsen.com)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Kim Hyun Joong and girl group KARA claimed the top spots on the latest Billboard charts while other K-pop artists are also enjoying chart success in Japan.   According to the latest Billboard charts, Kim Hyun Joong's third mini-album "Round 3" debuted at No. 1 on the World Albums chart. Photos: www.newsen.com

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin JYJ member Junsu said music is his life and the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson, had a major influence in his career. "Ever since I was a kid, music has always been in my life and it is the only thing that I know and I can do," Junsu told Grammy.com in an exclusive interview. Junsu at his press conference in Bangkok last July 19. (Photo by www.newsen.com/C-JeS)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin Korean rapper Psy grabbed six nominations in the 2013 Billboard Music Awards including Top New Artist and Top Streaming Song for his hit single "Gangnam Style." Billboard announced the nominees for this year's awards, which will be held on May 19 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - The editorial director of Billboard is impressed with K-pop artists and says that the "right song" like Psy's "Gangnam Style," regardless of its language, can succeed in the US market. Bill Werde said this as response to my question during Billboard's IAmA ("I am a") question-and-answer session on popular social site Reddit last Feb. 1. Hyuna (Photo by www.newsen.com)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - Is the "Gangnam Style" craze waning in the US? The latest Billboard charts showed Psy's viral hit further slipping down to No. 7 on the Hot 100 from No. 5 last week and No. 2 for the past seven consecutive weeks.

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - Korean rapper Psy will be gracing the cover of the Nov. 3 issue of Billboard magazine, thanks to his viral hit "Gangnam Style" raking in 531 million views since July. Billboard's main story titled “500,000,000 PSY FANS CAN'T BE WRONG” spotlights on "How the K-Pop breakout star harnessed the power of YouTube, Ellen, SNL, The Today Show, and more to become music’s new global brand." Psy on the cover of the Nov. 3 issue of Billboard magazine. (Photo courtesy of Billboard)

Psy is appealing to fans to help him get to No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 as his "Gangnam Style" reaches 400 million views on YouTube By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - Korean rapper Psy will not settle for second place as far as his ranking on the Billboard Hot 100 chart is concerned.

By JONATHAN M. HICAP MANILA, Philippines - Korean rapper Psy didn't wait for his hit single "Gangnam Style" to reach No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 to fulfill his promise to perform shirtless. Psy held a concert before a massive crowd at Seoul Plaza in Korea on Thursday evening to celebrate the achievements of "Gangnam Style" and thank the public for supporting him.

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - Korean singer IU has made it to Billboard's 21 Under 21, the chart's "annual ranking of music's most powerful minors." "They've got hit records, millions of fans, and the kind of success most musicians only dream of -- and they can't even uncork a bottle of champagne to celebrate their success," according to Billboard.com.

2011 was an exciting year for K-Pop fans and the Korean music industry. In August, Billboard opened a new chart for K-Pop music, Billboard K-Pop Chart. Following the J-pop Chart, this is the second release of a country based music chart from Asia. And only a few months later, Google operated webcast provider YouTube launched its K-Pop Channel online.  The news created a buzz among fans and industry experts alike as it was the first time that YouTube had created an exclusive channel for any one country. The main reason for the decision was based on the fact that there are over 5 million K-Pop related webcasts on YouTube, but only 600,000 of these can be found using the search word ‘K-Pop’. A separate K-Pop channel was in demand to facilitate the search for Korean music for K-Pop fans worldwide.