The last years have seen a growth in the popularity of a music genre that originates from South Korea popularly known as Korean Pop, with the artists conquering the hearts of many fans from different countries including Ghana.
Aside taking over Twitter trends a fair number of times, Korean pop (abbreviated as K-Pop) groups have also dominated the Ghana iTunes Top Album charts. Some instances include boy groups Big Bang, EXO, and BTS topping the charts at Number 1 with their albums Made, Tempo, and Map of the Soul: 7, respectively. The genre had gathered a lot of fans spread throughout the country but lacked airplay on Ghanaian radio stations.
Famous for its diversity in music, Ghana’s number one urban station, YFM took an interest in the genre by including a few Korean hits to its playlist occasionally.
However, the year 2018 marked a new era for YFM with the creation of a weekend pop show, which featured a K-Pop segment. Introduced in November 2018 as part of YFM’s 10th-anniversary celebrations, Pop Central is the first and only radio show in Ghana with a Kpop playlist.
In the space of 20 months, several Kpop groups and artists have featured on Pop Central under various weekly themes. Themes such as the Spanish theme, Pop versus Kpop, 8-bit, Dual titled Kpop songs, International collaborations, and more have been explored on the show. Starting off with a KPOP Top 3, then moving to a KPOP Top 6 to a KPOP Top 12, listeners of Pop Central have been in control of the Korean Pop songs played on-air through Twitter polls and song requests.
Based on the number of airplay on Pop Central every Sunday from 4 PM GMT to 6 PM GMT (previously 4 PM to 5 PM), here are the top KPOP groups and artists in Ghana.
Top 10 Solo Artists
- Amber Liu
- Jay Park
- Tiffany Young
- Eric Nam
- Taeyeon
- Hyuna
- Baekhyun
- Zico
- Lay
- Jackson Wang
Top 10 Girl Groups
- ITZY
- Mamamoo
- Wonder Girls
- Sistar
- F(x)
- 2ne1
- Twice
- Blackpink
- Girls’ Generation
- Red Velvet
Top 10 Boy Groups
- Day6 & Seventeen
- Shinee
- Big Bang
- Super Junior
- BTS
- Stray Kids
- NCT 127
- Monsta X
- GOT7
- EXO
Pop Central is a 2-hour show which features a mix of Pop Music from various parts of the world. It airs every Sunday at 4 PM GMT and was created by Winston Micheals and Ella Okunmwendia, host and producer of the show, respectively.
Pop Central is known for its segment the K-POP TOP 12 produced by a team of Korean culture enthusiasts and content producers. The team consists of Dr.Araba Dawson-Amoah, Joella Abena Nuer, Clara Selorm Doku, Edinam Ama Amekpleame, and Kafui GH.
By: Ella Okunmwendia & Joella Abena Nuer
