Music Buzz: International

Travel around the world (including the heart of the USA)  with these hit albums from international musicians!

Italy: Teatro d’Ira by Måneskin

This is the second album from the wildly successful, Eurovision-winning Italian band, and features the hit that Americans will recognize the most: I Wanna Be Your Slave.  The band originally formed in Rome, Italy in 2016, and – fun fact – the band name is drawn from the Danish word for moonlight. You may also have heard their rendition of the song Beggin’, which was originally popularized by the band The Four Seasons in 1967. That song doesn’t feature on this album, but you can hear the song that won them the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest – Zitti e buoni.

Colombia: Dharma by Sebastián Yatra

If you’re a Disney fan or have kids, you may have seen the Disney film Encanto – and if you have, you’ll remember the pivotal song Dos Oruguitas. Sebastián Yatra is the performer of that song, both in the Spanish and English versions, but he’s also a highly successful musician in Latin America, known for romantic ballads and reggaeton influences. Born in Medellín, Colombia and raised in Miami, he released two previous albums and has collaborated with artists including Daddy Yankee, Ricky Martin, and the Jonas Brothers.

Puerto Rico: LA 167 by Farruko

Farruko first broke into music as a collaborator to J Balvin, Bad Bunny, Nicki Minaj, and others, before launching his solo career his first studio album, El Talento del BloqueThis most recent album features his wildly popular song, Pepas, which is in his signature Reggaeton style mixed with an electronic dance style called Tribal guarachero. You won’t want to miss this album particularly because it may be the last of this kind – at an event in February he announced his retirement from urban music in an emotional speech.

USA: Run Rose Run by Dolly Parton

Both Dolly Parton and James Patterson are juggernauts of mainstream American culture, and now they’ve pooled their talents in a special project that feels uniquely American. Run Rose Run is both an album and a novel, and in both cases it tells the story of a young country music star trying to make it big despite a dangerous past catching up to her.  The album doesn’t require you to read the book, since the tracks are universally appealing statements in a number of styles, from bluegrass to ballads, pop and more.

Key Changes: New K-pop

In case you’re not familiar, K-pop is an increasingly popular music industry based in South Korea. It features energetic tracks inspired by styles of music from all around the world, along with tight choreography. K-pop has produced a number of talented bands, including the ones highlighted below. Forming a k-pop group is taken very seriously in South Korea, with aspiring musicians becoming trainees and working hard to be chosen for a group, all while under a great deal of public scrutiny and strict rules for conduct. If this is all new to you, read on to discover your next intercultural music addiction! If you are familiar with this global sensation, you’ll definitely want to keep an eye out for the below albums, recently added to the library collection. (Side note: k-pop tracks are also highly featured in the Just Dance video games, and make for quite a good workout!)

BTS (or the Bangtan Boys) is a seven-member pop group that first debuted in 2013, really breaking into the global music market in 2017 and quickly becoming one of the most popular Korean groups in the United States. Be is the South Korean boy band’s 5th album in Korean, and their 9th total, including their 4 albums in Japanese. It was created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, featuring the band members’ thoughts and feelings during the crisis and the album’s creation. Primarily a pop music sound, the album includes influences from hip-hop, disco, synth-pop, funk, and many others. Lead single on the album is “Life Goes On”, and music critics have praised the album’s authenticity and simplicity. Previous albums available include Love Yourself: Her, Love Yourself: Tear, Love Yourself: Answer, Map of the Soul 7: Journey, and Face Yourself.

Blackpink is a four-member pop group, also based in South Korea, that debuted in 2016 and quickly rose to fame on the international charts, repeatedly setting new records for most-viewed music video within the first 24 hours of release. The Album is the group’s first Korean album (preceded by Blackpink in Your Area, a Japanese album, and their two-track debut album, Square One), their first full-length work, AND the first album by a Korean girl group to sell more than a million copies. The album’s eight tracks include collaborations with Selena Gomez and Cardi B and explore love and the complexities of growing up, highlighting the group’s mature side. Reviews have been mostly positive, complimenting Blackpink’s vocal ability and stylistic variety.

See also: Blackpink: Kpop’s no.1 girl group and BTS: Blood, Sweat, and Tears, two nonfiction works about the groups, as well as some great YA fiction featuring the industry: Shine, Somewhere Only We Know, I’ll Be The One, and K-pop Confidential.