Wonder Girls already stand on firmer footing than other coming-to-America Asian pop groups. The act formed in 2007 as the result of an MTV reality show (think Making The Band) and soon became among Korea's most-popular songstresses courtesy of a hip-hop-inspired sound unafraid of borrowing from Euro-pop or '60s girl groups. In March 2009, its members dipped their toes into the American market by performing three concerts stateside, but their break came in June of that year when Disney moppets The Jonas Brothers selected Wonder Girls to open on their North American tour. Propelled by this exposure, Wonder Girls' inaugural English single "Nobody" debuted at 76 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in October 2009, marking the first time a Korean artist ever charted in America. Since then, the pop outfit has played various live dates and even released a special promotional single titled "K-Food Party," which celebrates ginseng and kimchi. In 2012, they hope to tap into the U.S. tween/teen market via their TeenNick movie and an English debut album.

Girls' Generation, meanwhile, boast endorsements from a singular American tastemaker: Snoop Dogg, who appeared on a remix released this month of their English-language single "The Boys." Another Korean contingent eyeing America is 2NE1, a quartet that raps and sings over often-aggressive beats. The Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am (who has talked the group up over the past two years) has been working on their debut album, clutch of music critics elected their song "I Am The Best" into the top 100 singles in the Village Voice's 2011 Pazz And Jop survey, and the group's rabid fan base recently casting enough votes to declare them the "best new band in the world" in an MTV Iggy poll.

While these three Asian outfits are the latest to harbor U.S. hopes, they aren't the first. That distinction was awarded back in 1963, when Japanese singer Kyu Sakamoto's melancholy tune "Ue o Muite Aruko" (retitled to "Sukiyaki" in the West) became one of the most unlikely songs to top the Billboard charts. For three weeks, the sung-in-Japanese track stayed at number one, making Sakamoto the first Japanese artist to chart and the only one ever to reach the top spot.

Yet the Asian artists following Sakamoto never approached his surprise success. The next group to test America was Japan's Pink Lady, a pop-disco duo that dominated their homeland's charts in the late 1970s. Once their sales started slipping in Japan, they ventured to U.S. shores. Pink Lady's journey started on a high note, as their single "Kiss In The Dark" made the Billboard charts at 37 (the second and last time a Japanese artist would chart). Looking to leverage this hint of stateside success, Pink Lady's management got the group a variety-show gig on NBC alongside comedian Jeff Altman. Pink Lady and Jeff was meant to showcase the duo's singing ability and personality, which proved problematic given that the pair didn't speak English well. NBC axed the show after five episodes, and the program torpedoed Pink Lady's U.S. career. Today, Pink Lady and Jeff is regarded as one of the worst TV shows ever.