If you’re a fan of K-pop, or a follower of the Hallyu wave, by now, you know how rare it is to hear a Korean act on US radio. In the past decade, there have been snippets of Girls’ Generation and Wonder Girls playing on some Top 40 stations across the nation and, today, we have BTS and BLACKPINK’s Lisa on rotation.
However, big names in K-pop aren’t the only ones getting radio play. South Korea’s very own independent Alt-R&B artist BIBI has broken into the US Top 40 Radio with her groovy pop hit “The Weekend”, and is the first Korean independent female act to do so. Landing at No. 37 on the US Pop Radio Top 40 Mediabase Chart, the young FeelGhoodMusic artist continues to live up to the name of becoming the latest emerging artist hailing from South Korea.
“[Who thought] I could be the first in something?” the R&B songstress cutely expresses in a thank you video. It’s a charming characteristic as fans, BIBI Bullets, know her as the fiercely bold and unapologetic artist on stage. “That’s insane! Thank you so much. I’m gonna work harder and strive to better. Thank you for the love and support. It’s all because of you guys!”
However, this milestone in her career isn’t the only one that’s being written in the books. This year alone, the 23-year-old artist released her second EP Life Is A Bi… in April, became the newest recruit of American multi-national music collective 88rising, lent her voice in the soundtrack of the box office hit Shang-Chi (“Never Gonna Come Down” with Mark Tuan) and became one of the most anticipated acts at 88rising’s Head in the Clouds music festival last month. (Check out her flirty performance of “The Weekend” where she plants kisses on cheeks and lips of fans.)
As “The Weekend” continues to play on the airwaves, the single itself has already made a spot on over 29 playlists on Spotify including the streaming platform’s New Music Friday playlist as well as placing in Apple Music Korea’s Top 100 Songs of 2021.
It’s safe to say, with all the achievements accrued in 2021 and the next year to come, the South Korean rap star is “never gonna come down” to where she is and will be going now.