Amidst the myriad of controversial opinions surrounding Son Tung M-TP's MV Come my way, many viewers believe that Son Tung has reached international level.
The evidence is taken from the fact that Son Tung once collaborated with "genuine stars" such as Snoop Dogg (in the MV "Hay trao cho anh") and this time Tyga.
Along with that, fans prove by data on views, shares, interactions, discussions... revolving around Come My Way to outperform the digital music market. Accordingly, on platforms, there is also the participation of accounts named after international stars.
The account named La Toya Jackson, Michael Jackson's older sister, is also said to have commented and praised when the MV Come my way "teased".
However, if you look at the success of true international stars like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber or in Asia with Blackpink, BTS, you will see that the definition of "international star" is still a very distant dream of Son Tung.
Definition of "international star
A study by the Hyundai Institute of Economics (HRI) published in 2018 once showed that for every 13-14 international tourists to Korea, 1 person will come because of BTS.
This study estimates that the BTS group contributes about 3.4 - 3.5 billion USD per year to the Korean economy through tourism and exports of related consumer goods.
Especially, when the group organizes events, concerts or fan meetings, the number of international tourists flocking to Korea brings in a large source of revenue for tourism.
This shows that BTS or Blackpink possess a large international fan base to the extent that they can contribute to changing the landscape of the country's tourism and commodity economy.
With a large international fan base in all countries, BTS and Blackpink have conducted tours including a series of concerts around the world.
BTS's concert series is always sold out in major cities such as New York, Paris, London... BTS is the group that tops global charts in terms of interaction and multinational coverage.
A survey by Upgraded Points shows that ARMY (BTS's fan community name) is the most loyal fandom in the US, surpassing even icons like Michael Jackson or Lady Gaga. BTS fans tend to be willing to spend heavily and travel through many different countries and cities just to attend the group's concerts.
During the time BTS members performed military service, temporarily suspended music activities, the global public interest index (Parrot Analytics demand index) for BTS still always ranked No. 1.
Major world-class awards such as the Oscars also have to show BTS images to save ratings (viewer index) for the awards ceremony, or the Grammys also have to invite BTS to perform to have more attraction.
Each member of BTS is also a famous personal brand. Jungkook performed at the 2022 World Cup, and soon BTS and Lisa (Blackpink) will participate in performing at the 2026 World Cup final.
BTS or Blackpink are always typical examples showing the strength of Asian stars who have suddenly shined and entered the international market.
The dream is still far away
Of course, all comparisons are lame. To emerge from Kpop and create influence, sweeping the entire powerful US - UK music scene, both BTS and Blackpink have large companies, powerful teams behind to support along with a methodical strategy, financial investment strength for a long time.
They are not solo singers, operating almost independently and in a small market like Son Tung M-TP.
But also to see that collaborating with 1-2 international artists, filming MVs abroad... does not mean that Son Tung M-TP can be strong enough to reach out to the world.
Son Tung still needs a lot more, needs a team that is good enough and qualified enough, needs a strong international fan base, needs music to spread strongly, needs to create influence with international media...
Son Tung M-TP is only being considered a special case in the Vietnamese digital music market.
Each MV released has a great attraction, creating many controversies, and having a certain influence with overwhelming numbers in the market.
However, even the fact that Son Tung M-TP, when considered the leading singer of Vietnamese youth music, has created controversy. Experts do not accept this, when Son Tung himself after so many years of operation still cannot have an official album (full album).
Son Tung is still loyal to the way he releases singles, EPs, and single MVs. Meanwhile, the market has and is having many other promising names, their reputation is rising with systematic investment in music, such as Soobin Hoang Son is a typical example.
