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Long before K Pop made its way into Nigeria, millions of people in the country were already consumers of K Drama, whose swoony and epic storylines had them glued to the screens.
Before the entrance of movie streaming platforms, K Drama were popular on Nigerian local televisions. With the entrance of Netflix, the Korean import has enjoyed wider reach thanks to its diverse offering.
Using K Drama as an entry point, it didn't take long for K Pop to win over listeners in Nigeria, whose acceptance and consumption of the music is now being reflected on the chart.
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Following the release of the Korean Animation 'KPop Demon Hunters', the soundtrack album for the musical has quickly won over Nigerian listeners.
Buoyed by the popularity of the popular tracks 'Golden', 'Your Idol', and 'Takedown', the album charted on Apple Music Nigeria Top Albums chart, peaking at NO.25. Similarly, it also entered the Spotify Nigeria albums chart.
The soundtrack album's immediate success in Nigeria reflects the movie's popularity in Nigeria, where it reached NO. 4 on the Daily Top 10 Movies. It also shows the growing acceptance of K Pop in Nigeria, whose young population is joining a global audience in embracing the sound.
Before 'K Pop Demon Hunters' Soundtrack album, the groundbreaking K Pop groups BTS and Blackpink, and singer ROSĆ have all entered Nigerian charts.
In an October 2024 article, Nigeria's foremost music chart, TurnTable Chart, shared that K Pop was seeing a major rise on YouTube Nigeria over gospel music, which used to enjoy a sizeable market share on the platform.
TurnTable Chart opined that the desire for diverse sounds coupled with K-pop's unique style, visually stunning videos, and stunning choreographed performances is part of the reasons the music is winning listeners in Nigeria.
The desire to connect with a global community of close-knit fans that shape K Pop is also part of the reasons why young Nigerians have connected with the music.
K Pop's popularity in Nigeria comes at a time when Afrobeats is also being embraced by a global audience.
While K Pop has significantly more mileage, Nigerian pop music and the superstar that drives it could learn a thing or two from K Pop or how to package and market a sound to the world.