Can Jackson Wang's debut in India open the gate for K-pop concerts and idols in India?
It’s no news that the Indian market is a Bollywood dominated industry in the field of entertainment and that it’s a tough nut to crack for the western artists. Looking at the post pandemic surge of K-pop fans in the country, the question why western artists always keep India out of their world tour plan is a bit disturbing and disappointing for the fans.
India has been topping the charts in streaming and rooting for the K-pop bands such as BTS, Exo, TXT, Blackpink etc on a global font. Nevertheless, it remains uncertain if this level of popularity is sufficient for K-Pop to expand its market presence in India. Amid all of this India for the first time got the opportunity to host the world class musical extravaganza Lollapalooza and since the hope for any K-pop band or idol to attend the concert was quite dim, GOT7 member Jackson Wang decided to show up, and it came no less than a treat for desi K-pop fans.
Why India can’t hold K-pop concerts ?
It would be wrong to state that India never got a chance to hold K-pop concerts or the K-pop idols never got a chance to test the water here. From the recent Blackswan gig to previous Kard, M.O.N.T etc concerts there have been plenty of times when we witnessed K-pop industry trying to expand its roots in the country, but the reason why India still can’t hold a big scale K-pop concert lies somewhere within the core.
The biggest factor behind the dilemma is the infrastructure. In an interview with Rolling Stone Maxperience founder Max Yang stated that India's infrastructure needs to be upgraded in order to conduct live events because Korean artists are so particular about the hospitality and technical aspects when they travel abroad. By this time every Indian K-pop fan has come to the conclusion that the expensive concert tickets and music albums are the major barrier to attending a K-pop show. As per the experts Artists like BTS make a lot of money through album sales and concerts when they perform abroad like the US or Japan, however the mentality of most southeast countries are a bit different.
Jackson Wang India visit
GOT 7 member and soloist Jackson Wang, the Chinese K-pop idol is among the most celebrated K-pop idols in the world with an amazing fan following. Also known by the name of ‘Magicman’ Jackson’s performance in Lollapalooza India was the major highlight of the 2 days musical festival. Not only this but a swarm of desi fans rushed to the airport to greet the K-pop showing their love for him. Jackson is one of the few K-pop idols who consistently expressed his wish to visit India, and in reaction, the Indian fans here opened their hearts for him.
He promised to return again. The audience that gathered to watch him perform undoubtedly passed the vibe test, and at this point, we don't think that K-pop bands will face any challenges if they ever wish to host a concert in the nation. India as a market has a lot of potential Unlike China which shares an on and off relationship with the K-pop industry.
