Please help me with my research! I am trying to understand K-pop fans overseas.

Kpop's international popularity is a bit like that of anime and manga. It's not necessarily a mainstream interest or a cultural staple, but it has its audience and a big enough devoted fandom.

Personally, I don't think there is much correlation in musical interest between kpop fans. Kpop is extremely diverse, whatever it is you like outside, there will be something similar within the idol music realm. Outside of kpop I mostly listen to European indie- and art-pop (London Grammar, Florence + The Machine, Rina Sawayama, you get the idea), jazz/blues/quiet storm (Sade, Nina Simone, Bill Withers, etc.), some contemporary rnb and neo-soul, some hiphop, and a handful of random weird things: musical theater, acapella groups, sea shanties.

Kpop is my mainstream pop fix. I love just enjoying the sound of it without understanding corny mainstream pop lyrics. Idol groups I listen to are EXO, BtoB, Mamamoo and Ladies' Code. I also like a bunch of non-idol artists: AKMU, Epik High, Dean, offonoff.

/r/kpop Thread