BTS and Camila Cabello end dominance of Western English-language pop, IFPI report finds Western pop dominance is coming to an end, as breakthrough stars like Korean boyband BTS and Camila Cabello herald a new global future

From Elvis to Ed Sheeran, English has always been the lingua franca of pop.

But that era of Western dominance is coming to an end, as breakthrough stars like Korean boyband BTS and Camila Cabello herald a new global future for music.

Growth is in Latin America and Asia

International music industry body IFPI said that the next generation of chart-toppers will hail from Latin America, Asia and Africa rather than the traditional rock and pop powerhouses of Europe and North America.

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Like BTS, who have sold out two nights at Wembley Stadium, despite singing predominantly in Korean and Japanese, those artists will no longer have to compromise their national identities by performing in English to become global stars.

Europe market sluggish

IFPI said the global recorded music market grew by 9.7 per cent in 2018, fuelled by the take-up of paid-for streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.

However growth in the UK (3.1%) and Europe (0.1 per cent) is sluggish.

BTS outsold Sheeran

For the fourth consecutive year, Latin America (16.8 per cent), South Korea (17.9 per cent) and Asia and Australasia combined (11.7 per cent), is leading the music business out of a decade of piracy-induced recession.

K-Pop band BTS, famed for their choreographed dance moves and colourful videos, sold 5 million albums in 2018, the IFPI report said, comfortably outpacing Sheeran, who shifted another 1.3m copies of his ÷ collection.

The Cuban-American singer Cabello scored the biggest-selling song of 2018, streaming or selling 19m copies of Havana, the IFPI Global Music Report 2019 said.

The song was boosted by a Spanish-language remix featuring Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee, whose Despacito, with Luis Fonsi, sold 11.8m copies.

Music ‘truly global’

Frances Moore, IFPI chief executive, said: “Music has become truly global – in ways we never before imagined.”

“From BTS capturing the hearts of fans from Seoul to Rio to the Colombian reggaeton singer, J Balvin, taking his place among the pop elite to emerging stars like the Mali-born French artist, Aya Nakamura, showing language is no barrier to reaching beyond home borders.”

Stu Bondell, Vice-President, International at Sony Music, added: “Today for the first time a hit can come from anywhere.”

“Streaming means the global consumer is much more open to non English-language repertoire. Korea and Latin America are generating big hits not in English.”

IFPI Global Album Chart Rank Artist and Album Global album units (m) 1 Cast of ‘The Greatest Showman’ – The Greatest Showman (OST) 3.5 2 BTS – LOVE YOURSELF結 ‘Answer’ 2.7 3 BTS – LOVE YOURSELF轉 ‘Tear’ 2.3 4 Lady Gaga – A Star Is Born (OST) 1.9 5 Johnny Hallyday – Mon Pays C’est L’amour 1.7 6 Ed Sheeran – ÷ 1.3 7 Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody 1.2 8 P!nk – Beautiful Trauma 1.2 9 Eminem – Kamikaze 1.0 10 Cast of ‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again’ – Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (OST) 0.9

TOP 10 GLOBAL DIGITAL SINGLES OF 2018