Why K-pop is having a Brazilian funk moment

SEOUL – Brazilian funk is gaining a stronger presence in K-pop, with some of the industry’s leading acts turning to the hard-hitting rhythms born in South America.

Ateez brought the genre to the forefront in June with Bad, the lead track from their 14th EP, Golden Hour: Part.5, while Enhypen followed in August with Bloody Paradise, the Brazilian funk-driven lead single from their eighth EP, The Sin: Bliss. Both albums debuted atop the Billboard 200.

But Brazilian funk – sometimes introduced in K-pop through the closely related term favela funk – is hardly new to the industry.

NewJeans’ 2023 hit ETA for instance, incorporated favela funk into a track produced by Lee Ho-hyeong, better known as 250. The song became a global hit, reaching No. 81 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Music critic Lim Hee-yun recalls 250 talking about his fascination with favela funk and Jersey club about seven or eight years ago, well before he began producing for NewJeans.

“He told me the music was extremely intense and had a way of building towards a powerful peak, which he thought connected well with K-pop’s aesthetics,” Lim said. “He wanted to combine that sound with K-pop.”

Other major K-pop acts were exploring the sound around the same period. Tomorrow X Together teamed up with Brazilian pop star Anitta and production duo Tropkillaz for Back For More in September 2023, while Aespa released a Brazilian funk-infused Tropkillaz remix of Better Things that same month.

Nmixx experimented with the sound even earlier. Their 2022 debut single O.O incorporated baile funk, another term associated with the Brazilian funk scene.

So, why is a sound with roots thousands of kilometres from Seoul now appearing with increasing frequency in K-pop?

Three factors help explain its appeal.

The first is musical compatibility.

Brazilian funk’s forceful percussion, repetitive rhythms and explosive peaks fit naturally with K-pop’s performance-heavy format, particularly for acts built around powerful choreography and visual identities.

“For groups like Ateez and Enhypen that pursue powerful images, the genre is a natural match,” Lim said.

The second is its affinity with social media.

Bad demonstrated that particularly well. A highlight dance move performed by Ateez member San spread through social media challenges and memes, extending attention around the song.

Brazilian funk’s repetitive beats and immediate rhythmic impact also translate readily into choreography and short-form video. Lim describes it as a particularly “stimulating” genre – a quality that has become increasingly valuable in a K-pop environment where a few seconds of music or choreography can travel widely online.

The third is K-pop’s growing ambitions across the Americas.

Enhypen performed their first Latin American concert in Sao Paulo in July, before releasing Bloody Paradise the following month.

They later released an English version featuring Brazilian pop star Luisa Sonza.

The song delivered Enhypen’s best performance to date on Billboard’s global song charts, while The Sin: Bliss became the group’s first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200.

Ateez has similarly expanded their presence across the Americas, touring extensively in the US while building their following in Latin America.

For K-pop, the Latin American and US markets are not entirely separate. A large Latino population gives Latin music and culture considerable influence within the US, which remains a key market for K-pop acts seeking the kind of global expansion demonstrated by BTS.

Building a stronger following among Latin audiences can therefore give K-pop acts another point of connection with listeners in the US. Brazilian funk arrives at a moment when groups such as Ateez and Enhypen are broadening their reach across both markets.

That does not mean K-pop companies are adopting the genre simply to court Latin listeners. Its presence in K-pop predates the industry’s recent expansion in the region, and Lim sees the near-simultaneous releases from Ateez and Enhypen as more likely a reflection of how quickly musical trends now circulate among producers worldwide.

“Producers today are aware of what’s trending globally almost in real time, so I think Ateez and Enhypen may have arrived at Brazilian funk independently,” Lim said.

“It’s the kind of intensely stimulating sound that, once a K-pop producer hears it, naturally makes them want to experiment with it.” THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK