K-pop and Latin: Why the time is now for foreign language hits

And it’s not only Latin stars, but K-pop artists who are jumping in on the act too – with boyband BTS sweeping awards shows, achieving two number one albums on the US Billboard chart, and selling out London’s O2 last month.

Since then Dua Lipa has collaborated with South Korean supergroup Blackpink, and the Black Eyed Peas have joined forces with K-pop’s self-proclaimed “baddest female”, CL.

So why have the British begun to embrace music in foreign languages?

“Looking back through history, we generally only see foreign language songs as being one-off novelties like Las Ketchup,” says James Masterton, author of the website Chart Watch UK.

“Nothing really ever started a trend. Yes, Julio Iglesias and La Bamba topped the charts with Spanish language hits but they were always one-offs.”

Nena’s 1984 hit, 99 Red Balloons, was a hit in the US in German – but had to be translated into English before it was released in the UK: “Almost as if Britain was considered too insular for it to be a hit in a foreign language,” remarks Masterton.

So what’s behind the shift?

Sebastian Krys – a five-time Grammy award-winning record producer, who has worked with the likes of Shakira, Luis Fonsi, Gloria Estefan and Ricky Martin – says technology has a large role to play.

“I think Spotify and YouTube have a lot to do with what’s going on. Before, music was curated by the record industry gatekeepers, who were generally middle class, middle-aged white men. And now it’s curated by the masses,” says the Argentine, now based in LA.

Masterton agrees: “Artists aren’t restricted to releasing things to certain territories at certain times. As consumers there is no barrier to consumption.”

This one-size-fits-all policy on release dates means we are seeing music released in one language – rather than localised versions for different markets.

“But we’re still seeing that, generally, to have an international success you have to have some English,” he adds.

Krys says cultural migration has also had an impact: “You have about 15 million Spanish-speaking people in [the USA]. Everything about the culture starts shifting: it starts with food and then TV and other mediums.

“We now have a Latin actress as the highest paid on US TV,” he says of the Colombian Modern Family star, Sofia Vergara.

“It permeates into the culture of what people think they should look like and what they should sound like. And the same thing is happening now for the Asian community with [the film] Crazy Rich Asians.”