K-Pop brought something fresh and novel to the global stage.
‘The Voice’ what once started as a reality singing competition in the Netherlands in 2010 has today grown into a global television phenomenon, with franchises in over 74 countries worldwide. From Germany to Indonesia to Brazil, this world-famous vocal survival show adapts itself to a plethora of languages and cultures, having aired over 150 different adaptations (The Voice Kids, The Voice Senior, The Voice Teens, to name a few). In the past couple of years, however, one genre of music has developed a strong, growing presence on this international show, making its way past any barrier imaginable – K-Pop.
Rise of K-Pop on International Talent Shows
For audiences across the world, K-pop brought something fresh and novel to the stage. Whether it’s the legendary melodies of BIGBANG or trendy songs from newer groups like BABYMONSTER, contestants don’t just bring their ‘voice’ to the show. They enter with a whole power-packed performance, reflecting the very essence of K-Pop itself, by combining vocals, choreography, rap sections, and charismatic stage presence.
Among all K-Pop artists, BTS and BLACKPINK remain the most frequently covered ones on ‘The Voice’ franchises worldwide. Songs like ‘Butter’ and ‘Dynamite’ by BTS and ‘How You Like That’ and ‘DDU-DDU-DU’ by BLACKPINK are especially popular choices among contestants to show their vocal skills and performance ability.
This is one great example seen on ‘The Voice Australia’ (2022), where Amber Ried performs ‘Butter’ by BTS. She adds her own personal renditions to the song while keeping its original charm.
K-Pop Beyond Mainstream Hits
What’s more fascinating to observe is that contestants don’t just cover globally viral songs. On ‘The Voice Kids Poland,’ for example, a girl performed a fairly obscure K-Pop song released way back in 2011. The resurfacing of a lesser-known K-Pop song on Polish television a decade later says a lot about the ability of K-Pop to travel far across time and geography. The song called ‘Mermaid’ was a collaboration, famously referred to as the ‘Diva Project.’
Similarly, in Southeast Asia, contestants have explored a wider range of K-Pop artists, going beyond just BTS and BLACKPINK, highlighting the diversity of K-Pop influences. They’ve brought back some classic tracks from the older generations. For example, on ‘The Voice Indonesia,’ Celine Gabriele showcased ‘Psycho’ by Red Velvet in 2021, and Keisha showcased ‘Come Back Home’ by 2NE1 in 2019. In the same way, ‘Haru Haru’ by BIGBANG was performed by Hansara on ‘The Voice Vietnam’ in 2017.
K-Pop Influences Culture
Apart from the influence of music alone, K-Pop has also inspired people to learn the language and engage deeply with the Korean culture itself. For instance, on ‘The Voice France Kids,’ Sasha showcased a strong cover of ‘Round and Round’ from the popular Netflix series, ‘Squid Game,’ and ‘Sheesh’ by BABYMONSTER. She later introduced herself as a K-Pop fan and then effortlessly covered one of the coaches, M. Pokora’s famous song, ‘Les Planètes’ in Korean. The coaches visibly showed excitement and surprise when Sasha switched between languages, reflecting the growing acceptance and familiarity of the Korean language worldwide.
Music Beyond Language
K-Pop performances mainly show that music is like a force that transcends language barriers. Taeyang’s ‘Eyes Nose Lips’ was performed by 2 different contestants on ‘The Voice Myanmar.’ One covered in English and one in Korean shows that the audience can still connect with a song, despite the language.
PSY’s ‘Ganganam Style’ is also one of the more popular songs to be covered, with contestants adding their own personal interpretations to the iconic track. Here’s Yuri Pak performing the song on ‘The Voice Russia.’
Even the most recent K-pop releases are quickly finding their way onto international talent shows. On ‘The Voice Kids Germany,’ Gina from Holland performed ‘Golden’ from ‘K-Pop Demon Hunters,’ delivering powerful vocals and effortless high notes. Her performance reflects how rapidly newer K-pop tracks are becoming part of global pop culture conversations.
Conclusion
From coaches enthusiastically turning their chairs quickly to a K-Pop performance, to attempting to say a phrase in Korean, K-Pop has woven itself into the global popular culture. Just as there is no age barrier to music, the growing presence of K-pop in international competitions continues to prove that there is neither a language nor a gender barrier.
Today, songs produced in Seoul can inspire someone in Poland, Brazil, or Sri Lanka, something that would’ve seemed unfathomable a decade ago. A single performance can quickly travel across borders online, resonating with K-Pop fans far beyond the show’s original audience. At the end of the day, most spectators might not even understand every Korean lyric that’s sung. Yet the emotion and the energy resonate. That’s probably the biggest achievement that K-Pop has attained, proving that music alone can still connect.
Written By: KAVIYADHARSHINI
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