K-Pop has been an unstoppable force since its beginnings, but its growth has taken it to new heights in recent years. Now K-Pop idols are global megastars with fans all over the world, including many famous faces. K-Pop idols and their music have inspired and influenced artists all over the world, and so has the K-Pop industry’s unique trainee model. There are honestly too many to count, but here are some of our fave artists who have been inspired by K-Pop!
Jake $ing
Shanghai-born, California-raised artist Jake $ing should be at the top of everyone’s On Repeat playlists right now. He’s a super talented rising star who cites MAMAMOO, BTS, and Stray Kids as inspo, saying that they “really encompass everything it means to be artists.” And he’s right – K-Pop idols are almost always perfect all-rounders with incredible musical talents, intricate choreography, and a great personal approach. Jake says that these talents are “mind-boggling” and that he has to thank these artists for motivating him.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT JAKE $ING:
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Little Mix’s Jade Thirlwall
Now, there’s no denying Little Mix has inspired artists all over the world – including so many K-Pop girl groups that we wrote a whole article about it – but the same could be said the other way around, too. Little Mix, especially member Jade Thirlwall, has been championing K-Pop for years now.
Jade went to BLACKPINK’s show at Wembley Arena way back in 2018 and said in a 2020 interview that BLACKPINK would be Little Mix’s dream collab, citing ‘Kill This Love’ as her favorite song. Jade is also the number one fan of BTS track ‘Make It Right,’ getting that song radio play long before hearing BTS at the top of every playlist, was the norm.
In 2021, most excitingly of all, Jade co-wrote a track for elite-tier girl group TWICE, called ‘FIRST TIME,’ with a bunch of writers including TWICE’s very own Jihyo. Watching Little Mix or K-Pop girl-group performances, it’s so clear that they inspire each other!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT LITTLE MIX:
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Uptown Boyband
Canadian-Korean group Uptown Boyband is one of our favorite acts to watch right now. Their mix of cultural heritage gives them a distinct sound and a list of influences, and they call themselves the first alt K-Pop group. Musically, they’re really influenced by the likes of 2nd generation icons BIGBANG, and they cite them as fashion inspo too!
TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT UPTOWN BOYBAND:
INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | TWITTER | WEBSITE | YOUTUBE
HRVY
Popstar and Strictly Come Dancing hero HRVY is a big fan of K-Pop! He went all the way to Seoul to record ‘Don’t Need Your Love,’ his collab with NCT Dream, a song he loves so much that he has it tattooed on his arm.
HRVY loves K-Pop, and like a lot of us fans, thinks popstars the world over should listen up, “I think the rest of the world should take notes on how they do music videos, their styling and work ethic.” He’s also a huge, and we mean huge, fan of BLACKPINK. Don’t believe us? We’ll let him convince you:
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HRVY:
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Coldplay
We all know Coldplay has been inspired by K-Pop enough to collab with BTS on megahit ‘My Universe,’ but they’re also really inspired by the meticulous perfectionism and incredible work ethic that a lot of K-Pop idols are known for. About BTS specifically, Chris said that the group are “just cool and stand for good things.”
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COLDPLAY:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | WEBSITE | YOUTUBE
SB19
The Honey POP faves SB19 have been heavily inspired by K-Pop, too, especially the trainee industry model. The five-piece trained under ShowBT Philippines for three years before debuting, and they have an incredible work ethic. The Filipino group has choreography so intricate that it could rival many iconic K-Pop routines (hello, have you seen ‘Go Up?’), and their vocals are out of this world, too. As K-Pop continues to grow bigger and bigger, it’ll be interesting to see where else in the world the trainee model pops up – clearly it works!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SB19:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | YOUTUBE
So many of our faves are inspired by K-Pop, and we know that this list will only get bigger as time goes on. Are any of your fave artists influenced by K-Pop? Who do you wanna see collaborating with a K-Pop artist ASAP? Let us know in the comments or over on Twitter @TheHoneyPop or on Facebook and Instagram!
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