The Ascension of the Asian Stars
Along with technology, popular culture is also advancing and evolving at a blistering pace. In recent years, Asian singers and movie stars are accumulating popularity all over the world and are no longer appealing only to Asian audience. But why are Asian stars able to break what used to be a glass ceiling and touch the hearts of the western audience?
To commence with, globalization plays a crucial role in the rise of the East. Under the effects of globalization, the borders that separate countries are gradually vanishing. Connection between countries has been strengthened and segregation between countries has been weakened under the influence of globalization and technological advancement. As communication and cultural exchange become increasingly common, especially through the internet, the work of Asian stars can be easily distributed to the west. With that, western audience gain more opportunities to enjoy masterpieces created by Asian singers and movie stars. For example, with the aid of globalization, Asian singers will hold world tours and release albums that are obtainable all over the world. Action movie star, Donnie Yen, has become a world renowned superstar as his movie, Ip Man, was shown all over the world. This definitely contributes to the ascension of the stars of the east.
The uniqueness of Asian culture is another vital factor to this situation. Dominating the pop culture scene for more than a decade, western-style pop culture has become monotonous and mundane for the general western audience. In this situation, Asian-style pop culture brings new and intriguing factors to the table. From Chinese action movies to K-pop songs, Asian pop culture has presented surprises to the western audience, who are looking for something evolutionary and mind-blowing. Standing out from the crowd, Asian stars are able to differentiate themselves from typical western stars, drawing in new audience from the west. The record label, 88rising is an excellent example in this case. 88rising, as the pioneer of Asian culture in the western market, has signed Asian sinters, like Rich Brian, Kris Wu, Joji and the Higher Brothers. As they incorporate Asian culture into hip hop, they have become the centre of attention for western audience who begs for something fresh. This resulted in them taking the west by storm and holding concerts all over the world.
Last but not least, governments of Asian countries have been sparing no pains to upgrade their entertainment business. Finding out that the entertainment industry is a decisive factor in their country’s sustainable development, governments of Asian countries have been injecting a lot of resources into pushing the entertainment business to new heights.
Not only can that help nurture future talents in related industries, it can also improve the quality of current productions. It has come to a point where Asian movies can level with movies of the Hollywood caliber. With such a boost in resources and support, it is not shocking that Asian singers and movie stars are garnering a tremendous amount of popularity and are able to be neck and neck with western stars. One example is the rising K-pop group, BTS. Despite being Asian stars, they have been achieving major breakthroughs as they have gained a large fanbase in the west, as well as sweeping numerous music awards and coming out on top among western singers. The effort spent by the governments have really reaped great results.
Encapsulating everything covered, globalization, uniqueness of the culture, and government support are the major reasons for Asian stars to become more appealing to western audience. Bringing new elements and flavor to the flourishing pop culture cence, the ascension of Asian stars will undoubtedly be a blessing and the icing on the cake.