Music/culture that is popular outside the home country

[Emelee]

I'm thinking like Morrissey becoming massive among US based Mexicans, and Mexican Americans. British David Gray first breaking massive in Ireland, Norman Wisdom in Albania- etc. Wondered if you knew of any more examples?

About 15 years ago, DH and I were walking along a street in Kuala Lumpur at night. We saw a huge crowd of local men gathered around a television shop, watching something on one of the TVs that had been left on. We expected some sort of sports match, but when we got there, it turned out to be Mr Bean.
We then also saw a small child from a jungle tribe wearing a Mr Bean T-shirt on the same trip.

Tango in Finland. Apparently it was massive when it arrived in the 1930s, the Finns adopted it and turned it into a uniquely Finnish tango music.

Went to a conference in Helsinki, they opened it by singing the national tango of Finland.

Mexican soap operas and a South American tea called mate are really big in Lebanon.

Oh god yes, I've sat through "Dinner for One". I mean, it's quite amusing - but you still need to ask....why?

Charel2girl5 · Today 14:22
K pop is just massive everywhere. It’s so lovely to see/hear how we can appreciate cross cultural lives now. Well mostly anyway

Yes, also K drama.

Adidas in Russia. It's become a self deprecating stereotype by now but it was a real thing.

Oh, and vimto is huge in the middle east as a ramadan drink.

Country and western in huge in Australia (or it was) and in the UK in certain areas.

1950s rock and roll has always had a huge underground scene. All those Butlins weekend for 80's, 90's themes come from the 50s scene who have been doing that since the early 1970s. Minor rock and roll stars who had stopped playing in the USA were brought to the UK in the 70s, 80s and 90s and wet shocked to be playing to teenagers...and their parents/grandparents.

Jazz is similar but a more middle class crowd!

There’s nothing like a bit of Weltschmerz to bring in the New Year.

Pizza. No matter where you go, you can always find pizza. Of some description.

More great responses! Turkish soap operas seemed to be very popular in Poland/Slovakia. There are also sub national/city pockets of interest. Goth I think is massive in Leeds, the Scandinavian countries famously love metal.

So like countries adopting an artist that weren't as popular in their own countries - like Kylie in the UK she's British as far as I'm concerned or ABBA in Australia. Although I know ABBA were famous all over but Australia claimed them as their own.

Northern soul in Dublin..

Ballroom dancing in Quebec and Ontario.

YuMex music in the last days of Yugoslavia - Mexican musical styles sung in Serbo-Croat.

Allo Allo, Mr Bean, Are you being served were very big when I first moved to the Netherlands in the early 2000’s. I was bemused because things that you view as typically British, apparently travel very well. Don’t get me started on Dinner for one in Germany, Germans feel slighted when you explain that it isn’t a thing in the UK and that you’ve never heard of it.

David Hasselhoff - inexplicably massive in Germany to the point where he played the Berlin Wall just after it fell and its become an iconic moment.

I've also found that cultural aspects associated with Northern England is very well received in Ireland; many people love Coronation Street, the Smiths toured here a lot when breaking through. Manchester United & Liverpool are extremely popular

Eastern European players seem to be taking the US NBA by storm these last couple of years.