Indo Pop Music Rises as K-Pop Dominance Falls: What's Happening?

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — Music analyst Buddy Ace responds to the phenomenon of the waning dominance of K-pop in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia. Based on Spotify Daily Charts, since 2024 Indo Pop music has gradually been displacing K-pop’s dominance on the Indonesian chart and even in Malaysia.

Buddy says the shift in Indonesian music tastes is due to a variety of factors. Besides the rising quality of Indonesian musicians, changes in the behaviour of younger generations, digital algorithms, fatigue with certain global music, and the role of social media platforms such as TikTok.

“TikTok’s role is enormous in turning a song into a hit. In the past, to become a hit, a song had to pass validation on radio, TV, and under the umbrella of a major label. Now a single, relatable lyric fragment can explode on its own,” Buddy told Republika on Thursday (21 May 2026).

Buddy notes that Indo Pop is highly compatible with the TikTok user culture in Indonesia, which is identical with melancholic, reflective, romantic, and poetic tones. According to him, this condition makes local songs more easily go viral organically because they feel close to the listener’s personal experiences, especially among Generation Z.

He says one of the biggest factors in the fall of K-pop’s dominance in Indonesia today is that Indo Pop has begun to excel in emotional closeness with listeners. Because in daily consumption, young people listen to music to feel understood and to represent their feelings.

“Emotional connection between the song, language, life experiences, and the social reality of Indonesian listeners is much stronger when delivered in an Indonesian local context. If you use Gen Z phrasing, they would say ‘lagu ini gue banget’ (this song is so me),” Buddy said.

Not only that, but the use of Indonesian makes the emotion in the song easier for listeners to receive. He cites simple lyrics such as “Aku kehilangan kamu” (‘I have lost you’) which are seen as able to immediately trigger memories and personal experiences of Indonesian society, making it feel more intimate.