K-pop (song)

"K-pop" is a song by American rapper Travis Scott, Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, and Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd. It was released through Cactus Jack and Epic Records as the lead single from the former's fourth studio album ''Utopia'' on July 21, 2023. The three artists wrote the song with producers Illangelo, BNYX of Working on Dying, Boi-1da, and Jahaan Sweet, and co-producer DVLP.

"K-pop" charted in severals territories, debuting at number seven on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming Scott's 12th, Bad Bunny's 11th and The Weeknd's 17th top-ten single on the chart. The song has over 100 million streams on Spotify as of August 2023.

Background

Scott announced the collaboration on his social media accounts on July 19, 2023. Both Bad Bunny and The Weeknd had previously been among artists named to appear on ''Utopia'', with Scott previewing an unreleased collaboration with Bad Bunny at a club in Monaco in May 2023. Bad Bunny said in an interview with ''Rolling Stone'' in its July/August 2023 issue that he and Scott "worked on that a while back".

Composition

"K-pop" has been described as a "bouncy" trap and reggaeton track, with elements of Afrobeats and baile funk. ''Billboard'''s Mackenzie Cummings-Grady argued that it is "the lightest song on ''Utopia''", and felt that it was a "joyful" intermission that "gives Bad Bunny and the Weeknd the space to highlight their talents."

Critical reception

"K-pop" received mixed reviews from critics. Mike DeStefano, Ben Felderstein, and Stefan Breskin of '' Complex'' deemed it as the weakest song from ''Utopia''. '' Pitchfork'''s Alphonse Pierre felt the song was "a diabolically stupid plan to create the most popular song in the world," criticizing its "sauceless" rhythm and title that "supposedly ''isn’t'' a reference to the Korean pop genre to game extra clicks." Writing for ''HipHopDX'', Vivian Medithi described "K-pop" as a "perfectly adequate" duet between Scott and Bad Bunny that was "appended with an interminable verse from the Weeknd, just to make sure the streaming numbers look as good as the inexplicably Japanese single cover."

Mackenzie Cummings-Grady of ''Billboard'' placed "K-pop" at number 11 in her ranking of the songs from ''Utopia''.

Commercial performance

In the United States "K-pop" debuted at number seven on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming Scott's 12th top-ten single and his first as a lead artist since 2020 single's " Franchise". It also became Bad Bunny's second song in the top 10 in 2023 and the 11th in his career, as well as The Weeknd's third top 10 in 2023 and 17th overall. The song also reached number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, becoming Scott's 21st, Bad Bunny's second and The Weeknd's 24th song to appear on the top-ten of the chart.

The song also peaked at number five on the on the ''Billboard'' Global 200, with 53.2 million streams and 14,000 copies sold worldwide in its first week.

Music video

An accompanying music video for "K-pop", directed by Scott, was released on July 21, 2023. The video features Scott "getting his groove on" in an empty football stadium that has been covered with ''Utopia'' branding. He teases a potential stadium tour in support of ''Utopia'' with signage that reads "Stadium Tour Rehearsal", while sharing a look at his upcoming sneaker collaboration with Air Jordan. Bad Bunny is seen making his way through a nightclub, and the Weeknd is spotted enjoying a meal with Scott in a "unique" mansion surrounded by women. The visual features cameo appearances from Matthew Williams, Pharrell Williams, and SZA.

Charts

Release history

References

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2023 singles
2023 songs
Bad Bunny songs
Cactus Jack Records singles
Epic Records singles
Song recordings produced by Boi-1da
Song recordings produced by Illangelo
Song recordings produced by Jahaan Sweet
Songs written by Bad Bunny
Songs written by Boi-1da
Songs written by Jahaan Sweet
Songs written by Travis Scott
Songs written by the Weeknd
The Weeknd songs
Travis Scott songs