NewJeans Announce Break: What’s Trot and Japan’s Next Big Target After K-POP?

In recent years, K-POP has dominated Japan’s music scene. At the end of last year, the Japan Record Awards saw “NewJeans” and “JO1” win the Excellent Works Award, “ILLIT” take the New Artist Award, and “LE SSERAFIM” receive the Special International Music Award. This further fueled the excitement. At the “NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen,” along with these artists, “TWICE” and “TOMORROW X TOGETHER” also showcased the strength of K-POP.

Great expectations for the next move! What’s inside?

K-POP seemed secure for a while, but BTS, the cornerstone of HYBE, a monster agency with a market value of around 1 trillion yen, went on a hiatus as its members enlisted for military service.

Additionally, the popular girl group NewJeans, which debuted with high expectations, caused a contract termination scandal at their agency and declared a hiatus, creating some uncertainty.

As the future of the Korean entertainment industry becomes unclear, the next big move being anticipated to keep the Korean Wave alive is the new music genre, trot.

What exactly is trot? Columnist Aiko Kodama, who is well-versed in Korean entertainment, explained:

“Trot is similar to ‘enka’ in Japan. However, the new generation of trot is different from the traditional, deep enka style of songs like ‘Busan Port is Return’ (released in 1976) sung by Cho Yong-pil (75), which was a big hit in Japan. Trot nowadays often has a lively rhythm with a melancholic melody, and it’s gaining popularity among young people in Korea, competing with K-POP in terms of attention.”

The potential of trot music

Among the many Korean audition programs, the highest-ever viewership rating of 35% was achieved by Tomorrow is Mr. Trot, a show aired in 2020 that selected male trot singers. The popularity of trot in Korea is undeniable.

In December last year, the 4-member girl group sis was formed from the Korean audition program Trot Girls Japan. They debuted with the single Love’s Battery and have been gaining attention.

sis has brought on Kenichi Maeyamada, known as Hyadain, as the producer. They are scheduled to hold a fan meeting and concert in Tokyo on March 30.

The reason trot has not only gained popularity in Korea but is now expanding into Japan may have a strategic purpose, according to columnist Aiko Kodama.

“Trot has become a genre popular not only with older generations but also with young people. There are more and more families supporting it across generations. Of course, K-POP maintains strong popularity, but the reality is that the idol group market is saturated with too many groups.

Korean fans tend to stay loyal once they have decided on a favorite artist, which can limit market expansion. The move into Japan might be a strategy to expand the market.”

Kodama further explained the potential influence in Japan.

“At this point, trot is not yet a major topic in Japan. With so many K-POP acts already in Japan, it won’t be easy for trot to capture the hearts of Japanese people. However, Japan is currently experiencing a resurgence in Showa-era songs. It’s very possible that trot will gain popularity in the future. We hope to see trot singers featured in this year’s Kohaku Uta Gassen.”

By the end of the year, we might witness a trot wave sweeping Japan’s music scene.