K-Pop Latin Crossover
tagStarted 2018Peak 2018-2021Last big hit 2021
Idol-pop fused with reggaeton and Latin pop: dembow bounce, Spanish-language verses or trilingual hooks, plus Spanish-guitar and tropical-house accents. Korean groups pair with Latin stars, keeping the choreography and gloss while swapping EDM drops for reggaeton groove, aimed at K-pop's huge Latin American fandom.
History
Super Junior's "Lo Siento" with Leslie Grace (2018) was the first K-pop track to chart on a Latin Billboard list, followed by "One More Time (Otra Vez)" with Reik - direct bids for the group's Latin American base. The late-2010s reggaeton boom drew in VAV, MONSTA X and CHUNG HA, who recruited acts like De La Ghetto and Guaynaa, making Latin crossovers a deliberate strategy.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lo_Siento_(Super_Junior_song)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_More_Time_(Otra_Vez)
- https://www.billboard.com/music/latin/momoland-t1419-k-pop-latin-artists-collaborations-1235131050/
- https://remezcla.com/features/music/super-junior-kpop-leslie-grace-lo-siento/