How international pop is capturing the music world - Action News
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Entertainment

How international pop is capturing the music world

From learning new languages to performing on Saturday Night Live, big name artists from the West and East are breaking the pop music mould in global collaborations.

With streaming and collaborations, international pop hits are dominating charts worldwide now more than ever

Rosalia and J Balvin perform during the 2019 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival in California. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Coachella)

K-pop superstars BTSwowedon Saturday Night Livein the same week that theyshatteredYouTube records with a new music video. Madonna's firsttrack in years is areggaetoncollaboration. Two of the most buzzworthy acts at Coachella this year were BLACKPINKand JBalvin.

Fuelled by streaming and the curiosity of a new generation of music lovers, mainstream pop is easing its boundaries and mixing it up with different genres from around the globe.

Audiences worldwide have long balanced an appetite for Western, English-language pop music with a love of local or regional musical genres. But nowNorth American pop fansare waking up to music from abroad.

"We're now beginning to appreciate music from other places, sung in their native tongue," said Julien Christian Lutz, the Toronto music video producer better known as Director X.

Known for videos like Drake's Hotline BlingandRihanna's Work, Lutzrecently worked with Spanish pop star Rosalia and reggaeton artist J. Balvin on their track Con Altura,currently flying high with more than 71million views on YouTube since its debut in late March.

Forget about language barriers: Lutz saystoday's audiences "can tell a good record is a good record."

"It's a much better world for it," he said.

'I never thought I'd see that day' says Director X on the rise of international pop

5 years ago
Duration 0:29
Canadian filmmaker Director X says it's a whole new world for music in an interview with the CBC's Deana Sumanac-Johnson

Sometimes, all it takes is one song to introduce a new culture to the mainstream, pavingthe way for other acts or similar musical styles.

For instance, today's K-pop chart-toppers might thank PSY for his 2012 satirical, meme-worthy earworm, Gangnam Style. The first YouTube video to reach one billion views, it opened many eyes to the delights of the genre.

"I think a big turning point was the GangnamStyle record being such a big hit: A full Korean-language pop song and massive hit," said Lutz.

More recently, he pointed out, Latin Caribbean music has been making its presence felt. For audiences already familiar with reggae and West Indian music,it's been an easy transition.

"It wasn't a leap out of what we know. It was just a step over."

The power of streaming

The advent of music streaming has been a key reason and easier way for international artists and fans to find each other, according to Amy X. Wang, a music business reporter for Rolling Stone, based in New York.

"You've had that friendliness and an openness that streaming has created," she said. "It doesn't seem so scary to have to jump over a border. It doesn't seem so alien to listen to something that is very different from what you normally listen to."

Rolling Stone music business reporter Amy X. Wang says the average listener has more options today when it comes to being introduced to international music. (Steven D'Souza/CBC)

Apps like Spotify have changed how we consume music,making it easier for the average listener to expand his or her taste, she added.

"With streaming, you're already paying,however much you're paying.So there's really no additional cost or risk to picking up some new artist's album that you may not have heard."

With that lowering of barriers, artists have a greater chance of making an impression,Wang said.

Broadening horizons

Canadian artists have also found success in these new musical waters.

When Justin Bieberdabbled in Spanish for a remix of Despacito,the world noticed.To the excitement of the Latin market, Drake also dipped into Spanishon the song Mia, his collaboration withreggaeton singer Bad Bunny.

Meanwhile, working from Los Angeles, Canadiansynth-pop artist Allie X has co-written songs ultimately recorded by K-pop acts like B.A.P. (Think Hole) and Seohyun(Moonlight).

Today's youngfans are more experimental in the music they seek out, said the Oakville, Ont.-born artist, whose given name is Alexandra Hughes.

Allie X says she would be open to other global collaborations. (Logan White/Facebook)

"It's been quite a change in pop culture and pop music, largely due to the internet and to streaming and to the smart, millennial generation. They don't just take what's handed to them on a plate," she said. "They like to really search and to seek out things that no one else has heard."

For Hughes, that's translated into a desire to team up with a wider spectrum of musical collaborators.

"Writing with somebody that comes from somewhere else,the more interesting and different their background is,the more interesting and different the collaboration can be," she said.

With time, a broadening of musical tastes is a natural evolution, according to Lutz.

"Each generation is a little smarter, a little quicker, a little more accepting. It's just how everything evolves," he said.

"On the radio, it's not always going to be in English. That's a big deal. I never thought I'd see that day and now it's here. It's terrific."

With files from Deana Sumanac-Johnson and Sharon Wu