British music criticism magazine NME (New Musical Express), with a tradition spanning 71 years, introduced Jungkook's first solo album 'GOLDEN' earlier this month, heralding the emergence of "a new pop king ready to ascend his throne."
As predicted by NME, Jungkook's tracks from 'GOLDEN' are sparking a global pop phenomenon. His title track 'Standing Next to You' entered the American Billboard's main singles chart 'Hot 100' at number 5 on November 14 (KST). It also claimed the top spot on the 'Global 200' and 'Global (excluding the US)' charts, which rank the popularity of songs in over 200 countries based on streaming and sales.
On Spotify's 'Daily Top Songs Global' chart, 'Hate You,' 'Yes or No,' and 'Please Don't Change (feat. DJ Snake)' along with seven other tracks from the album also charted successfully.
'GOLDEN' ranked second on Billboard's main album chart 'Billboard 200' and debuted at number 3 on the UK Official Charts Album Chart on November 11. This achievement is particularly notable given Taylor Swift's '1989 (Taylor's Version)' dominated global major charts at the time.
Music experts attribute Jungkook's breakthrough in the American music market first and foremost to the album's all-English tracklist. Jungkook himself revealed in an interview, "With the overseas music market in mind, I included only English songs in this album."
According to a mid-year report released by Luminate in August, English songs overwhelmingly dominated the top 10,000 tracks played on U.S. music platforms in the first half of the year, accounting for 88.3%. Spanish and Korean songs followed in second and third places, respectively. Despite K-pop's global popularity, Korean songs only accounted for 0.9%. This highlights the strategic importance of overcoming the language barrier with English lyrics.
'GOLDEN' is also celebrated for its eclectic mix of genres, including UK garage, Afropop, acoustic pop, and electronic dance, spanning across 11 tracks. USA Today praised Jungkook for successfully blending various genres such as R&B, EDM, disco funk, and pop ballads in 'GOLDEN'. Consequence of Sound commended him for perfectly utilizing "the greatest 'instrument,' his voice," across different genres.
Remarkably, Jungkook recorded 4-5 songs from the album in just a week, evidencing his flawless interpretation of the songs, vocal control, and adaptability. The production team lauded Jungkook's innate talent and perfectionism for elevating the album's quality.
On Spotify, the album's tracks collectively garnered over 39.65 million streams on the release day, setting a new record for the most streams on a debut day for a Korean solo artist.
Jungkook's appeal as a male solo dance artist is also a contributing factor, filling a void in the pop market, which has been dominated by female musicians in recent years.
Regarding his American TV appearances, the industry praised his decade of experience, hailing his performances on NBC's 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon' and the 'TODAY Show's CitiConcert Series' as "legendary pop star stages." His performance on 'Fallon Show' even topped YouTube's worldwide trending.
NME concluded, "Every decade had its 'King of Pop,' but the 2020s had yet to find a major male solo star. Jungkook with 'GOLDEN' proves that he is more than up to the task, securing his throne and more for the decade. The 2020s have finally found their 'King of Pop,' and 'GOLDEN' is the album that assures his reign." Jungkook is introduced as the new 'King of Pop,' following the likes of Justin Timberlake and Justin Bieber who dominated the 2000s and 2010s, respectively.
