Tag: Red Velvet

Choreographer Bailey Sok Brings Her K-Pop-Inspired Dance Routines to Roblox’s Spotify Island

September 8, 2022

Back in May, we debuted Spotify Island on Roblox to connect fans and artists in an otherworldly digital destination. Then came K-Park—which celebrates the K-Pop genre, the launch, and the culture it inspires as the first of several themed islands unveiled on Roblox. Now, we’re bringing professional K-Pop choreographer Bailey Sok into the mix. 

Bailey Sok’s K-Park avatar

We’ve partnered with Bailey to create her official Roblox avatar, and from September 8 through September 19, fans globally will be able to visit K-Park and join her for a virtual dance session. In addition to dancing alongside Bailey herself, players will also be able to engage with her avatar.

Bailey’s dance career took off at a young age when multiple videos of hers on YouTube went viral. Since then, she’s been dancing professionally, teaching young dancers, and choreographing routines for K-Pop groups like Red Velvet and SHINee. 

In celebration of Bailey’s arrival to K-Park, we invited some of her biggest fans to Spotify’s downtown LA campus where they had the opportunity to connect with Bailey in person and learn a dance routine fit for a K-Pop star. 

The class was part of a K-Park-themed event that captured the magic of this new island almost precisely as it blurred the lines of reality and the metaverse. Guests mingled on K-Park cafe’s checkerboard flooring and admired the Korean Hangul signs, bright crystals, and larger-than-life foliage that seemed to be plucked directly from the digital experience. They also enjoyed traditional Korean foods while taking a virtual trip to Spotify Island on a Roblox gaming station. Then it was time to get in a formation with Bailey, who taught guests a routine set to SUNMI’s “Gashina.” 

From BTS to BLACKPINK, the Power of K-Pop Has No Bounds

February 24, 2020

K-Pop is beloved by fans around the world, so we took to the data to see just how popular the music is globally. The genre, which originated in South Korea, has since taken on a life of its own. Thanks to East-meets-West collaborations from BTS and U.S. singer-songwriter Halsey, whose “Boy With Luv” track has over 380 million streams, the reach continues to grow as more and more fans in countries like Egypt and Colombia connect with the music.

Since Spotify released its first K-Pop flagship playlist, K-Pop Daebak, in 2014 (and then a massive hub dedicated to the genre in 2015), there have been more than 41 billion K-Pop streams on Spotify. From rising artists to international collaborations, there’s something for both new and old K-Pop lovers on the platform.

Top-streamed K-Pop artists on Spotify include BTS, BLACKPINK, EXO, TWICE, and Red Velvet. In 2019, BTS was the first group from Asia to surpass 5 billion streams on Spotify. And, as of February 2020, the boy band reached a new milestone: more than 8 billion streams (8 billion streams!) on the platform.

No “FAKE LOVE” here, folks. See how much Spotify listeners love the genre.

Download the infographic here.

Check out the K-Pop Daebak playlist and stream BTS’ MAP OF THE SOUL : 7 The Enhanced Album, which is exclusively available on Spotify.