Rolling Stone picks 10 K-pop groups 'most likely to break in America'

Popular US based magazine Rolling Stone has picked 10 KPop groups that have the potential to break into the US music scene. The website noted that while K-pop artists BoA and Se7en failed in their American debuts in the past, K-pop has garnered a strong following without the help of any major American backing.

"K-Pop is a mixture of trendy Western music and high-energy Japanese pop (J-Pop), which preys on listeners' heads with repeated hooks, sometimes in English. It embraces genre fusion with both singing and rap, and emphasizes performance and strong visuals. It can penetrate the US' Top 40 Market if correctly targeted at children and teenagers and as long as they're allowed to keep the same sounds and concepts that made them popular in Asia." the magazine said.

And the top 10 groups that are most likely to make it in America are:

2NE1 - 2NE1’s genre-hopping and large personalities bring Nicki Minaj’s rap/singing approach to mind. Several of the members have strong English skills, and the group won the award for 'Best New Band In The World' for MTV Iggy, an MTV initiative that showcases music from all over the world.

Girls' Generation - Girls' Generation have proven to be one of the top acts in Asia topping the charts in both South Korea and Japan. With concepts that range from adorable to sexy, Girls' Generation has both a versatility and coherence that define their broad appeal.

Big Bang - Despite a nearly two-year hiatus, boy band BIGBANG continues to be one of K-Pop’s most established and popular groups. Big Bang's new album "Alive" entered the Billboard 200 chart despite no physical release or active promotion in America.

Wonder Girls - The five-member Wonder Girls stands as one of the few Korean acts to have a single chart on the Billboard Hot 100 with English-language single 'Nobody.'  The track peaked at Number 76 in 2009 following their opening for a Jonas Brothers tour as well as performances on 'Wendy Williams' and 'So You Think You Can Dance'.

After School - After School, the Korean version of Pussycat Dolls, was also the very first winner of the Billboard Japan award for K-Pop New Artist of the Year.

BEAST - BEAST embodies a new wave of boy bands shaking things up and focuses on vocals.

Ailee - Ailee is a Korean American who released her first single in Korea early this year. Her debut single 'Heaven,' a huge, long-lasting hit in South Korea, is actually similar to 'Halo,' with big R&B beats amid both soft and powerful vocals.

SISTAR - High-energy female group Sistar may have gotten one of the best platforms for U.S. attention when they earned the inaugural Number One for the launch of Billboard’s new Korea K-Pop Hot 100 chart.

SHINee - With the recent success of boy bands like One Direction and The Wanted, it would be foolish not to take a group like SHINee as serious contenders for American crossover. SHINee's latest single "Sherlock" is comparable to the vocal stylings of the Jackson 5.

Miss A - This four-member girl group has a versatile sound, from the earworm 'Goodbye Baby' to sexy tracks 'Touch' and 'Lips.'

Noticeably absent from the list are K-pop boy bands Super Junior and TVXQ.