K-pop trends in 2020: are Itzy the new Blackpink, and can Korean rock make a comeback?

After a year of sex and drug scandals and suicides, can global attention on K-pop industry’s misogyny, opaque companies and mental health woes bring change?

On stage, see if SuperM become the next supergroup, and whether Ateez or TXT emerge as the next BTS, and watch Twice, Itzy and (G)-IDLE duke it out

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Girl group Blackpink were top dog in 2019, playing the Coachella festival (above), but Twice, Itzy, and (G)-IDLE are looking to take their place this year. SuperM could be the next boy band supergroup, and next-gen groups are vying to be the new BTS.

Published: 10:00pm, 7 Jan 2020Updated: 1:53pm, 18 Feb 2020

K-pop saw some of its brightest lights and darkest hours in 2019.

There were huge successes in the scene, which shows no signs of slowing in the United States. BTS’ triumph at the Rose Bowl in California; Blackpink becoming the first major K-pop act to perform at Coachella; groups such as Monsta X signing with major US labels and collaborating across genres. LA’s KCON, once again, helped drive the conversation around the genre.

Yet after both the Burning Sun sexual assault scandal and the suicides of singers Goo Hara and Sulli, K-pop’s global legion of devoted fans have had to confront the consequences of a corporate pop scene where stars are driven to exhaustion and policed in their personal lives, even though its larger systems are rarely scrutinised.

The year 2020 is likely to be a hugely consequential one, in South Korea and elsewhere. Can new partners keep established stars in the US pop consciousness and bring new ones into the fold? Can global attention on mental health, misogyny and corporate opacity in K-pop drive real change? Here are a few of the trends to watch out for this year in K-pop.

SuperM are a supergroup with members drawn from bands including NCT 127, Shinee, Exo and WayV.

Are SuperM the next supergroup?

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