Please refer to the case “The Globalization of East Asian Pop Music” and view the below listed videos. What best explains why some Asian singers and bands succeeded in expanding across their national borders while many others failed? (Please note we will discuss each of the below videos.)
Cases of failed international expansion:
Toshi Kubota failed in the U.S. with “Nothing But Your Love”
Dreams Come True failed in the U.S. with “Song of Joy”
Coco Lee succeeded in the Asian market with “Baby I’m Sorry” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSPX9mJzDhI but then failed in the U.S. with “Do You Want My Love” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl_ba8PWbUw
Cases of successful regional strategy:
Some 35,000 Beijing citizens paid $85 per ticket to see the Japanese band Glay perform “Missing You” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBcvCeMJKbM (live concert in Thailand)
Ayumi Hamasaki had regional success with her songs “Duty” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-xYArml1a4 and “Memorial Address” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfRYFpCht2I
BoA had regional success first with her Korean-language song “No. 1” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUDW4klqovQ and her Japanese version of the same song which she sings herself in fluent Japanese https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQqAKoAdNAM
Singers who had regional success but then tried and failed in the U.S.
Utada Hikaru had great success in Asia with her song “First Love” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T__wyGyehaQ but then failed with her attempt to target the U.S. market with “Exodus” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0luJ9DsV8o
Rain enjoyed regional success with his songs “Bad Guy” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghI3l_xSYxk and the Japanese version of “Sad Tango” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPBLTjmW5FY but then failed after entering the U.S. with an English version of “Sad Tango” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jchPQrM8rwI
Cases of niche success in the U.S. and other western markets:
The Wonder Girls have had niche success with their song “Nobody” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA7fdSkp8ds which led to a U.S. tour in which the band opened for the Jonas Brothers in 2009
The Korean singer Stony Skunk received recognition in the animated reggae genre for his song “Boomdi Boomdi” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsitUwyqnm8
The Twelve Girls Band enjoyed niche success in the West with their song “Glory” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stqTBRNVJS0
Case of a global mass-market hit:
The one truly global mass-market hit has been Kyu Sakamoto’s “Sukiyaki” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbH754gScuk which led to numerous additional appearances on U.S. television. Sakamoto tragically died in an airplane crash at a young age, but his song caught on and has been redone, for example, in Spanish by the late singer Selena https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC6SzHJKgYI , in French & English by Lucille Starr https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT13gFSHvsc , more recently in English https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCCB2dixm4c
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