K-pop (song)

"K-pop" is a song by American rapper Travis Scott, Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, and Canadian singer the Weeknd. It was released through Cactus Jack and Epic Records as the lead single from the former's fourth studio album, Utopia, on July 21, 2023. It was written alongside producers Illangelo, Bnyx, Boi-1da, and Jahaan Sweet, and co-producer DVLP.

Background
Scott announced the collaboration on his social media accounts on July 19, 2023. Both Bad Bunny and The Weeknd had previously been among artists named to appear on Utopia, with Scott previewing an unreleased collaboration with Bad Bunny at a club in Monaco in May 2023. Bad Bunny said in an interview with Rolling Stone in its July/August 2023 issue that he and Scott "worked on that a while back".

Composition
"K-pop" is a "bouncy" trap song, with elements of Afrobeats and baile funk. Billboard 's Mackenzie Cummings-Grady argued that it is "the lightest song on Utopia", and felt that it was a "joyful" intermission that "gives Bad Bunny and the Weeknd the space to highlight their talents". It is performed in the key of F Dorian in common time with a tempo of 122 beats per minute.

Critical reception
"K-pop" received mixed reviews from music critics. Mike DeStefano, Ben Felderstein, and Stefan Breskin of Complex deemed it as the weakest song from Utopia. Pitchfork 's Alphonse Pierre felt the song was "a diabolically stupid plan to create the most popular song in the world," criticizing its "sauceless" rhythm and title that "supposedly isn’t a reference to the Korean pop genre to game extra clicks." Writing for HipHopDX, Vivian Medithi described "K-pop" as a "perfectly adequate" duet between Scott and Bad Bunny that was "appended with an interminable verse from the Weeknd, just to make sure the streaming numbers look as good as the inexplicably Japanese single cover."

Mackenzie Cummings-Grady of Billboard placed "K-pop" at number 11 in her ranking of the songs from Utopia.

Commercial performance
In the United States "K-pop" debuted at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Scott's 12th top-ten single and his first as a lead artist since 2020 single's "Franchise". It also became Bad Bunny's second song in the top 10 in 2023 and the 11th in his career, as well as The Weeknd's third top 10 in 2023 and 17th overall. The song also reached number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, becoming Scott's 21st, Bad Bunny's second and The Weeknd's 24th song to appear on the top-ten of the chart.

The song also peaked at number five on the Billboard Global 200, with 53.2 million streams and 14,000 copies sold worldwide in its first week.

Music video
An accompanying music video for "K-pop", directed by Scott, was released on July 21, 2023. The video features Scott "getting his groove on" in an empty football stadium (OGC Nice's Allianz Riviera) that has been covered with Utopia branding. He teases a potential stadium tour in support of Utopia with signage that reads "Stadium Tour Rehearsal", while sharing a look at his upcoming sneaker collaboration with Air Jordan. Bad Bunny is seen making his way through a nightclub, and the Weeknd is spotted enjoying a meal with Scott in a "unique" mansion surrounded by women. The visual features cameo appearances from Matthew Williams, Pharrell Williams, and SZA.