Southeast Asia’s homegrown artists are knocking K-pop off its pedestal | Music News
Southeast Asian Music Industry Sees Surge in Local Talent
Filipino call center worker Jaycer Bajo has observed a significant shift in his music preferences over the past few years. Once predominantly a fan of chart-topping American hits, Bajo now favors a diverse array of Pinoy Pop, or P-pop artists. Among his favorites are boy bands ALAMAT and BGYO, along with the girl group BINI, which made history in April as the first all-Filipino girl group to perform at the Coachella music festival.
“Over the past five years, I think I’ve switched from listening to 70 percent Western music to around 70 percent Filipino,” Bajo said, residing north of Metro Manila. He noted that while quality music has always been produced in the Philippines, its popularity surged significantly following 2020.
The rise of ALAMAT, BGYO, and BINI—each debuting in 2021—reflects a growing blend of K-pop, J-pop, and Western pop influences with Filipino themes and languages. “They borrowed structure from K-pop, but the talent elements are homegrown,” Bajo added.
This trend of local artists gaining prominence is not limited to the Philippines. In Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand, the percentage of local artists in Spotify’s weekly top 10 has risen drastically: from 39 percent to 97 percent in Indonesia, 31 percent to 81 percent in the Philippines, and 71 percent to 76 percent in Thailand between 2021 and the first half of 2026. This data was provided by Soundcharts, a music analytics platform.
Radio rankings reflect a similar trend; in Indonesia, local artists increased their share of the weekly top 10 from 29 percent to 55 percent; in the Philippines, their share rose from none to 5 percent; and in Thailand, from 38 percent to 65 percent during the same period.
Cod Satrusayang, a Thai film producer working with local musicians on soundtracks, noted a significant shift towards homegrown influences in the commercial music landscape. “For the longest time, T-Pop and Thai music were just an emulation of Korean and American styles,” Satrusayang said. “Recently, we see Thai artists forging their own identity.”
Since the debut of Psy’s “Gangnam Style” in 2012, K-pop has achieved unprecedented mainstream success compared to its predecessors from Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Notable K-pop acts such as Blackpink and BTS have collaborated with major American artists, establishing a new standard for cross-cultural appeal.
The South Korean government’s Korea Culture and Tourism Institute reported that K-pop generated $893 million in 2023, encompassing album sales, streaming revenue, and live performances, illustrating the genre’s commercial viability.
Satrusayang emphasized K-pop’s influence on local music industries across Asia. “It has demonstrated that Asian-based pop culture is globally viable and attractive,” he said, noting that this realization is fueling a renaissance in the Thai creative space.
In the Philippines, revenue from digital music, which includes streaming, downloads, and podcast advertising, nearly doubled from $93 million in 2021 to $180 million in 2025, according to analysis from Statista. Thailand saw a similar increase, with digital music revenue rising from $132 million to $204 million in that time frame.
Social media platforms, particularly TikTok and Instagram, have played a critical role in this growth, allowing artists like BGYO to engage directly with their fans. “We interact with all our fans every single day,” said Nate Porcalla, a member of BGYO. “We’re on the phone a lot, posting TikToks, dances, and updates.”
This pop renaissance coincides with increasing consumer spending power throughout Southeast Asia, echoing historical trends observed in the U.S. and East Asia during their economic booms post-World War II. Thailand has been classified as an upper-middle-income country since 2011, while Indonesia was re-evaluated as such in 2023. The Philippines remains a middle-income nation, with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. aiming for an economic upgrade by 2028.
“All these different waves adapt and innovate for both regional and global consumers,” said Mary Ainslie, a researcher at the University of Nottingham’s Ningbo Campus in China. “K-pop has inspired local industries to pursue global appeal.”
Regional Outliers
However, countries like Singapore and Malaysia present notable exceptions to this trend. In these nations, Western and K-pop music continue to dominate radio airwaves and Spotify playlists. In Malaysia, local artists saw their share of the Spotify weekly top 10 rise from 1 percent in 2021 to approximately 8.3 percent in the first half of 2026, while regional artists’ share grew from 5 percent to 45.7 percent.
According to Tsurezure Lab, an independent researcher, Indonesian artists have driven much of this regional interest. Analysis of Spotify’s top songs from 2023 shows that Indonesian artists increased their share in Malaysia from 18 percent to about 22 percent. This phenomenon reflects “cross-border cultural alignment,” attributed to the historical and cultural similarities between Malaysia and Indonesia.
For individuals like Elhana Sugaiman, an Indonesian living in Taiwan, the rise of Indonesian pop music has nurtured connections to her home country. Sugaiman frequently listens to No Na, a girl group from Indonesia signed to the U.S. label 88Rising. Their work resonates with her, incorporating familiar cultural elements and sounds.
“They really put forward Indonesian culture in their music,” Sugaiman stated. “I think it makes me proud of being Indonesian,” she added, observing how global audiences engage with Indonesian culture through these artists.