The Kpop industry continued to succeed in 2022, with many hits reaching major charts around the world. Multiple groups had success this year. These include BTS, Blackpink, Stray Kids, and Aespa. The groups were chosen based on their success on the Billboard Hot 100 and/or Billboard 200.
BTS
HYBE Entertainment’s BTS, consisting of RM, Jimin, Jin, Jungkook, J-Hope, V and Suga, released the compilation album “Proof,” which featured the group’s biggest hits and various demos. The album was the sixth biggest-selling album of 2022. It contained the single “Yet To Come,” which reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reflects on the group’s past and future. The song’s accompanying music video features the group wandering in the desert with various props referencing their previous videos.
The group also released a significant amount of solo material in anticipation of their upcoming military service. These include Suga’s collaboration with “Gangnam Style” singer PSY in “That That” and Jungkook’s collaboration with Charlie Puth on “Left and Right” — both of which hit the Hot 100 (peaking at the number 80 and 22 positions, respectively).
In addition to their music, BTS also pursued several other avenues, such as collaborations with Disney, Cookie Run Kingdom and Just Dance. Finally, they created a new song for their merchandise line BT21, entitled “Would You.” The group plans to return as seven in 2025 after the members complete their military service, but will continue with individual schedules in the meantime.
Stray Kids
JYP Entertainment’s Stray Kids, consisting of Felix, Bang Chan, Hyunjin, Lee Know, I.N., Han, Seungmin and Changbin, saw a great 2022. Two of their extended plays, “Oddinary” and “Maxident,” reached number 1 on the Billboard 200, making Stray Kids the only Kpop group to reach this achievement in 2022.
They also became the first JYP boy group on the Billboard Bubbling Under Chart when Maniac, the lead single off “Oddinary,” reached 119. The song makes references to Frankenstein’s and presents themes of embracing one’s inner oddness. The song’s accompanying music video depicts the group in two parallel universes, the real world and a deserted town. The group also performed the song on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.”
As for the group’s other major single-release of the year, “Case 143”, the lead single “Maxident,” it focuses on love and confusion. Its accompanying music video features the members as both detectives and victims as they investigate a case involving heart-shaped monsters. The group interviewed with many famous companies, such as Vanity Fair, REACT and Buzzfeed. They also participated in the “Groove Back” challenge, where they danced to the chorus of the titular song created by their label head Park Jin-Young.
Blackpink
YG Entertainment’s Blackpink, consisting of Lisa, Jisoo, Jennie and Rosé, released music for the first time in two years with the release of “Born Pink.” The studio album reached number 1 on the Billboard 200 on Oct. 1. This placement is particularly notable because they were the first Korean female act to reach this position.
There were two singles that accompanied the album: “Pink Venom,” which reached number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 and “Shut Down,” which reached number 25 on the chart. “Pink Venom” was also notable for its high number of first-day views — 90.4 million — making it the third most viewed video within 24 hours behind BTS’s “Dynamite” and “Butter.” The group also went on a world tour, visiting locations such as Dallas, Bangkok and Amsterdam.
The group also went viral with the “Pink Venom” Challenge — a collaboration with Youtube Shorts — where fans could dance to the song’s chorus. Perhaps the most significant part of the challenge was how many celebrities took part in it, including Taylor Swift, JYP idol Yuna (of ITZY) and singer Tinashe. Blackpink also appeared on the MTV VMAs (Video Music Awards) to perform “Pink Venom,” and held interviews with Sirius XM, Kiss FM and Elle.
Aespa
SM Entertainment’s Aespa, made up of Winter, Karina, Gislele and Ningning, released an EP titled “Girls,” which reached the number 3 spot on the Billboard 200. They also released music videos for two tracks from the EP: the title track “Girls” and their first English single, “Life’s Too Short.” The former is a female empowerment song that depicts the group performing the song in various rooms in a futuristic environment. The latter is a song about living proudly and features the girls singing in a pink bedroom.
“Life’s Too Short” was also first performed at the group’s Coachella performance. At the end of the year, Aespa worked with Red Velvet on “Beautiful Christmas” for SM Entertainment’s Christmas album, “2022 Winter SM Town: SMCU Palace.” The group performed on Good Morning America and made appearances on various prominent talk shows and Youtube channels, such as the Daily Show, First We Feast, Buzzfeed, Jimmy Kimmel Live and MTV. “Girls” also inspired a dance challenge, which Aspea promoted through Tiktok. Many idols contributed videos to the challenge, including JYP’s Itzy, who collaborated with the group.
Overall, the Kpop genre continued to enjoy success in 2022. However, with BTS’ impending military service, many wonder if the genre can maintain its success. In the meantime, I hope that BTS and Blackpink continue releasing their solo material, Stray Kids continues to have decent chart success, and Aespa gets a hit on the Billboard Hot 100 or Bubbling Under Chart.
Bailey Kanthatham is an Entertainment Contributing Writer. He can be reached at bkanthat@uci.edu.
