FOR a very long time, it was important to know a bit of English in order to be able to sing along with the lyrics of the biggest hits of the moment. But that's not necessarily the case anymore.
Songs in languages other than that of Shakespeare are increasingly making their way onto the charts, according to music analytics company Viberate.
English no longer reigns supreme in the music industry. The song 'Despacito' by Puerto Ricans Luis Fonsi and Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez, aka Daddy Yankee, has redefined what a hit song is in a multicultural world.
Record companies and other music professionals have realised that the language barrier is no longer an obstacle to a song's success.
The popularity of boy band BTS is the perfect illustration of this shift in thinking. Since its debut in 2013, the K-pop group has established itself as an unprecedented cultural and societal phenomenon.
Never before has an Asian group managed to go beyond the continent's borders and make such an impact on the music industry, all while singing in Korean.
BTS has only released three songs in English since the beginning of their career, namely 'Dynamite', 'Butter' and 'Permission To Dance'. But this hasn't stopped the boy band from reaching a growing audience of music fans. It gained 19.6 million subscribers on YouTube in 2021, according to data from Viberate.
Other South Korean groups like BlackPink are taking advantage of this craze for K-pop, and more generally for artists who don't sing in English.
Spanish-speaking singers such as Bad Bunny and Rauw Alejandro have also seen their popularity take off online in 2021, according to Viberate. The official video for Bad Bunny's song 'Yonaguni' has been viewed more than 467 million times on YouTube, compared to 462 million for Rauw Alejandro's 'Todo de Ti'.
This encourages music lovers to learn new languages to sing the lyrics of their favourite songs. – ETX Daily Up, January 25, 2022
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