MTV's New Reality Show Highlights American K-Pop Stars Trying To Make It Big In The U.S.

If you're drinking the K-pop Kool-Aid like me, I have a little surprise for you. MTV is releasing a new series that follows three American K-pop stars in their quest to take over the Western market and it looks intense AF, so buckle in. MTV's Homecoming trailer is a sneak peek behind the very exclusive curtain guarding the K-pop world and what it actually takes to become a true idol. Specifically, with this series, fans will also see exactly what it takes to tackle a new market, even with a whole successful career to back you up.

The series includes former K-Pop stars Jay Park, Tiffany Young, and Amber Liu. All three performers have achieved huge success and status in Korea and are on a mission to dominate the United States, too. In the trailer, fans listen as Park, Young, and Liu describe what it was like on their come-up abroad and what is motivating them to switch gears today. Independent interviews are edited with choreography interstitials showing each artist setting the stage on fire. If you don't already know these folks, it's a great introduction to their talent.

To set the scene, the trailer opens with Tiffany Young explaining, "Your new artist moments come once in a lifetime. The fact that I get to experience this again?"

From there, you hear little snippets from each performer about their careers up until now. Seattle-born Jay Park touches on what it was like to relocate to a new country to pursue his K-pop career, saying, "Everything was so unfamiliar. I couldn't really speak the language, didn't really know anybody."

And, Amber Liu talks about her motivation to release English music. "I felt very motivated to release some things in English because I want to represent my community," she said.

Park followed that up by noting, "You don't see a lot of Asian people just in mainstream media in general, but, ya know, I enjoy the challenge. I like making what seems impossible possible."

Give yourself one minute to watch this motivational trailer:

You in, or what?

While Park, Young, and Liu have always had niche, dedicated fanbases in the U.S., Homecoming is sure to brighten the spotlight on these stars even more.

Here's the drive-by on each artist:

Jay Park

Jay Park was born in Washington but traveled to Korea as a teenager to pursue his music career. There, he was recruited into the boy band 2PM who he was with from 2008 to 2010. At that point, he and the band went their separate ways. Then, he launched his own solo career and his first EP, "Count on Me" topped the Korean charts. He also has a mini-album called Take a Deeper look that once chilled at number three on the Billboard World Albums chart. He also launched his own labels, AOMG and H1GHR MUSIC, and is the first Asian-American to sign with Roc Nation, which is of course owned by the one and only JAY-Z.

Tiffany Young

California-native Tiffany Young is from the mega-famous K-pop group, Girls Generation. In 2017, she left Girls Generation's label SM Entertainment to head back to the U.S. (though it's unclear if she's completely done with Girls Generation at this point). Young signed with Paradigm Talent Agency in June of 2018 and recently released a super fun and sexy single called "Over My Skin" which I now play exclusively when I'm getting ready to go out on the weekend.

Amber Liu

As for Amber Liu, K-Pop fans know her as a member of the group f(x), which just happens to be the first K-Pop group ever to perform at South by Southwest back in 2013. The California-born artist also hosted a number of television shows, including the extremely popular MCountdown. She debuted her first EP in 2015 called "Beautiful," and is revered as not only a singer and dancer but also a rapper, songwriter, and composer, too.

The series Homecoming premiers on Monday, Jan. 14 and you better believe I have the date circled on my calendar. Don't miss it, guys!