--- title: CL and K-Pop: How to Break the American Market description: Riding off the success of Korean pop, three artists have their eyes set on the U.S. canonical: https://time.com/4503387/cl-america-k-pop/ author: Joyce Lee article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-01T12:00:04.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T06:52:41.534Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: K-POP's Next Act og:description: Korean singers CL, Dean and Eric Nam have their eyes on the U.S. og:url: https://time.com/4503387/cl-america-k-pop/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt40feadd2bfe8163e/6988a70c656a3fe37bbcd31e/cl-thumbnail.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1920 og:image:height: 1080 og:image:alt: cl-thumbnail og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: K-POP's Next Act twitter:description: Korean singers CL, Dean and Eric Nam have their eyes on the U.S. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt40feadd2bfe8163e/6988a70c656a3fe37bbcd31e/cl-thumbnail.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's Why CL Is the Future of K-Pop in America > Sponsored content. 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Riding off the success of Korean pop, artists CL, Dean and Eric Nam have their eyes set on the U.S. music industry_ by [Joyce Lee](https://time.com/author/joyce-lee/), [Arpita Aneja](https://time.com/author/arpita-aneja/) and [Salima Koroma](https://time.com/author/salima-koroma/) Nov 1, 2016 12:00 PM UTC by [Joyce Lee](https://time.com/author/joyce-lee/), [Arpita Aneja](https://time.com/author/arpita-aneja/) and [Salima Koroma](https://time.com/author/salima-koroma/) Nov 1, 2016 12:00 PM UTC On a warm Saturday morning, Lee Chae-rin—better known as CL—is standing outside the Alexander Wang store in Soho, New York. People passing by do a double-take—she’s striking, with dyed silver hair and a beatific smile. It doesn’t take long for a curious passerby to find CL on Instagram, where she has more than 5 million followers. CL is one of the biggest stars in Asia, hailing from the world of K-pop—that is, the South Korean pop industry. Its stars—like PSY, whose 2012 hit “Gangnam Style” conquered charts in the U.S.—continue to sell out stadium acts all around the world. In 2015, CL topped our TIME 100 readers poll, beating out the likes of Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Rihanna. But despite this, there is no visible Asian or Asian-American singer in the mainstream music market in America. Why not? It’s a question with no obvious answer. “A lot of it is timing and the right song and the right music and the right way of presentation,” says Jeff Benjamin, a K-pop music critic. Enter CL. After becoming a superstar in her homeland as one-fourth of the wildly successful girl group 2NE1, she’s set her sights on a solo career in America, teaming up with Scooter Braun, the music industry mogul who manages Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande. She just released her first English solo, “Lifted,” ahead of her first EP in America. (It features a brief dance cameo from [Method Man](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr29X77OA5g)). And on Oct. 29, CL launched her first North America tour, kicking off in NYC. She’s not alone in her ambitions. There are some who are following her route, or carving their own, to break through to stateside success. R&B artist Dean, who was born and grew up in South Korea, made his musical debut in the states. He’s taking the long road—rather than rising up through K-pop, he’s working to build a fanbase in the U.S. and performing at smaller venues across the country. Then there’s Eric Nam, a K-pop singer and TV host. Nam grew up in Atlanta and was planning on becoming a consultant before “life happened” and he ended up on the big screen halfway across the world. Now, he wants to return to his roots in America. Though they’ve all found success, all three expect the road ahead to be difficult. “It’s how you look at it,” CL says. “You’re building your kingdom—and that’s how I want to live my life.” ## Transcript For the people who don't know who CL is, what is your career, who are you, and what are you doing here? [ MUSIC ] America's introduction to K- Pop was via Psy, Gangnam Style. [ MUSIC ] That was 2012 and since then K- Pop has grown in much more substantial and significant ways. [ MUSIC ] [ UNKNOWN ] Hiphop stars are touring America more than ever where seen the fandalists are a much more substantial in growing. What is it gonna take for an Asian start breakthrough in musically. That's I think the interesting question. [ NOISE ] A dear friend of mine about to make her They fired main hero giving up for. [ MUSIC ] My name is [ UNKNOWN ] and I come from [ UNKNOWN ]. I'm a performer artist, musician. I'm in a band called 2NE1. [ MUSIC ] She's like the Nicki Minaj of that world which is the coolest artist to work with, I think. Right now I'm working on my solo album in America You know sitting on it's own, maybe just the creation process. The first thing that we're actually going to do is pretty simple, is just recite the lyrics to [ UNKNOWN ] The whole thing? I got myself a 40. I got myself a shorty. [ MUSIC ] And she is very [ UNKNOWN ] I didn't see [ UNKNOWN ] doing the right way because she is coming to the right channel so, she is like getting new friends and also developing what is putting around [ UNKNOWN ] record. Do talk shows and then people forget about her she's developing and gaining fans from the ground up. [ MUSIC ] Me coming to US is not that different because To me being creative is expressing myself and i've been doing that for a long time and the only deference would be that i'm singing in English now. [ MUSIC ] There's no Asian artist on a music scene really that is a very small Club that is deciding that is deciding who is in, who's out. Tons of gatekeepers and what not. It's almost easier for an asian star to pick up and leave America and go to Korea where their kind of guaranteed the sort of interest and fame. [ MUSIC ] My names Eric. Eric Nam working based out of Seoul but originally from Atlanta. [ MUSIC ] Growing up in the states you don't have any Asian American or Asian faces doing music here. And so I never thought it was possible and so I always thought to myself I guess I have to go to Korea if I ever want to do music. Photo time. The goal and the dream would be to cross over into the States. That would be the coolest thing, it would be a dream come true. To be able to perform in what I consider to be my first home, in my native language and in front of my friends and family, we're all here. Korea's had its eye on America for a couple of years now, and I think there's been a lot of interesting experiments. [ MUSIC ] [ FOREIGN ] [ FOREIGN ] [ MUSIC ] [ FOREIGN ] [ MUSIC ] Dean is so interesting too because I think he's really quick to distance himself from the k pop world. He's Coming up strictly on his own terms and releasing the videos when he wants and you know, getting the right people that will ensure people are talking about him. [ MUSIC ] It isn't just money wise, it's about taking it to that next level and trying to represent something larger. Someone like CL, that's what I think really burns her and really ignites the passion I feel like there's not one pop star. Like, no one female pop star that's representing all the girls that's living out here. I want to represent, you know, Asian girls. To be honest, the challenge is that America is a huge country with many different cultures and many talented artists. [ FOREIGN ] Race kinda just has to drop out of the picture. The music just has to be really good. It has to be something that people want to connect with and dance to and sing along with. An Asian star will be a success when you see everyone copying their route. Cuz all it takes This is what ? >> What I need right now for me to make it here is, it's a matter of time [ LAUGH ]. 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