Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on October 2010

Photo by James Hadfield

What’s with all these leggy ladies bothering the J-pop charts at the moment?
That would be Girls’ Generation (So Nyu Shi Dae), the nine-strong idol unit leading the charge in the K-pop girl group invasion.

Japanese people listening to pop in Korean? Surely not!
Actually, the group has recorded Japanese versions of its biggest hits for the local market. Second single “Gee,” which topped the charts in South Korea last year, went on sale here on October 20 via Universal Japan. The label is on a bit of a K-pop binge at the moment: it’s also releasing music by Kara, who hit Number 5 with their single “Mister” in August, as well as newcomers 4Minute and mega-popular boy band Big Bang.

Doesn’t Japan have enough pop stars of its own already?
Not like these, it doesn’t. Aspiring Korean idols often go through at least five years of training before making their debuts, and have a slickness that puts most J-pop acts to shame. It helps that a lot of their songs are catchier than measles, too.

So who’s buying this stuff?
Girls’ Generation and 4Minute have proved a hit with teenage girls, while Kara are more popular with the fellas. All of them already had strong local followings, thanks to import CD sales and the joys of YouTube.

Why the Japanese releases, then?
The bottom has fallen out of the CD market in Korea, meaning that labels there are eager for overseas sales. Their Japanese counterparts do well, too: they’re essentially getting a fully formed act, complete with established fanbase, without having to do any of the legwork.

Who’s up next?
Four-piece 2NE1, whose debut album To Anyone will be getting a Japanese release courtesy of Avex sub-label Rhythm Zone in December.