Why IU is not relevant to K-pop?

No I am not writing for WhyKnock . But against his constant doomsaying about how IU will destroy K-pop.

IU for all her impressive achievements in S.Korea is actually not relevant to K-pop as an industry.

When was the last time a K-pop agency debuted a solo "idol" (not other genres), who already hadn't been a part of group or had some TV fame etc.?

Most agencies would have multiple trainees, with definitely good vocals and distinctive tones, under training etc.

But why don't we see a spate of such trainees debuting as soloists singing bubblegum pop or girl crush etc.?

You get them in other genres - Ballad, R&B, Hip Hop, trot etc. But not K-pop specialities.

Why not pick a talented unknown teenager and promote her(him) to do K-pop and not try to make groups or solos in other genres?

Solos come only after the group fails or winds down.

So while they may want her success, admire her talents etc., No company seems willing to consider her as a business rolemodel.

That's the irrelevancy of IU.

She is a freak anamoly in K-pop, Immensely successful, but nevertheless an exception.

Edit: The irony is Loen debuted her with a heavy ballad, which flopped, then pivoted to Bubblegum pop / electronic dance music.

~~~~

User Dummi correctly got the premise of the post

//it's funny seeing everyone's confusion. it's like a direct response to whyknocks' constant "IU will end kpop" threads, which I also see users falling for always. of course IU is amazing and successful, that's not what the OP is arguing about. he's simply saying that her influence on the kpop industry as a structure wasn't large. you see companies constantly putting out "the next bp" or "the next bts" but there is never an attempt at a next IU.

//

Quote from alexS

God save me, there's another one

I can't be an Anti-whyknock, without some of the wackiness.

Quote from BlackpinkHouse

Very true.

The life of a soloist is harsh af, unless you have a prior fandom to prop you up and give you enough cash to maintain your career no matter how badly your songs flop on charts. I know Wizones will never abandon my girls Yuri, Yena and Eunbi. they're all guaranteed to sell 120k-250k albums per year, not to mention all the soloists from RV, BP, Twice, MMM, etc. But what about acts that are literally living song to song? Who don't even bother to put out albums? How can they make a living scratching and clawing for fractions of a penny that come from digital streams?

Well other genres do that. Antenna has a bunch of soloists in its stable. They make money by producing for others, doing BG music etc.

Yes that's not big bucks of K-pop.

But even struggling K-pop agencies don't launch a pure K-pop soloist from the scratch.

Quote from alexS

But I will be honest, it is very hard to debut a soloist in this days.

I'd say Lee MuJin is the final one that made it.

But that was also after a survival show....

Companies aren't ready to risk sparse promotional money and opportunity on one person.

If it is a group there is a chance that one of the group might strike the public fancy.

Like Tsuki for Billlie or Hani for EXID and attain prominence

Alternately a group is easier to control if prominence is attained, than a soloist who hits fame.

Just controlling the group brand name is enough, whereas a famous soloist can easily break out and operate in their own name.

Quote from alexS

Antenna is making BIG money thanks to YJS and MiJoo, I wouldn't be worried that much about that company

Both of them are recent to the company.

After Kakao invested.

Yet they have been around for sometime. Though many are recruits from K-pop Star TV fame.

Quote from BlackpinkHouse

Actually, i can think of one.

Natty.

Girl came out with a massive bop, Nineteen, but everyone paid it dust. To CJ's credit, they gave her a followup comeback but again, no paid any attention to it.

Such a shame, she deserved much better. At least she's still around and hasnt completely vanished, i saw some tweets about recent updates to her IG account.

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Well she is ex-Sixteen and hardly successful commercially.

Quote from chilean-stan1

Probably cause she is always seen as "the local act". We all clearly know that is not entirely true, but that is the image her career gives off when you enter recently into kpop and discover her

Even if seen only as Korean act, why aren't even small/medium K-pop agencies launching soloists?

The irony is Loen debuted her with a heavy ballad, which flopped, then pivoted to Bubblegum pop / electronic dance music.

Quote from chilean-stan1

probably because is easier to reach more people with more than 1 person

Sure, hence she is irrelevant as a business model. That's my point in the original post.

Quote from azhra-0110

She is. I mean doesn't she have more streams than 99% of kpop groups on international platforms?

Then why aren't K-pop agencies trying to recreate her success?

Quote from MY-Kwangya

Funny, coz I always thought she was.

Then why aren't K-pop agencies trying to recreate her success, instead debut trainees only as groups?

Quote from nana18

This thread is confusing is it supposed to burning up or put down IU ?

You need to enter Whyknock's K-popverse of madness to make sense of it, since it is written in response to his theories.

Anyway to explain, IU is rare exception in the business of K-pop, which nobody is trying to recreate. So she is no threat or boost to K-pop.

But that's only from the business perspective.

As an artist, musically she is critical to K-pop, no doubt about that

Quote from dummi

it's funny seeing everyone's confusion. it's like a direct response to whyknocks' constant "IU will end kpop" threads, which I also see users falling for always. of course IU is amazing and successful, that's not what the OP is arguing about. he's simply saying that her influence on the kpop industry as a structure wasn't large. you see companies constantly putting out "the next bp" or "the next bts" but there is never an attempt at a next IU.

Exactly.

Quote from azhra-0110

Technically they are trying by giving their popular idols solo careers which is easier than starting with a soloist from the ground up. Reaching IU's status is not easy or even likely task tho, a success like that just has no formula, similar to the success seen by bts other companies have tried to replicate with their bgs.

That aside doesn't change the fact IU is still seen as a kpop idol and is very much relevant to it, at least in the kpoppie bubble

See, including you all the responses basically repeat what I have mentioned in the original post, in different ways and words.

IU is undeniably a phenomenon in K-pop industry.

But not in terms of business or the direction in which agencies are going.

Hence Whyknock's constant cribbing that she will destroy k-pop is nonsense.

Every agency wants the next BTS, next Twice etc.. But no agency is interested in creating the next IU.

Quote from azhra-0110

Gonna be honest I didn't even read op since I expected it to be a whyknock rehash

I am rebutting Whyknock.

Quote from prodigy210

depends on what you mean by next

for bts its recreating success in the west

twice brining back the Japanese market

bp more focus on girl crush concepts

Iu success is nothing radically different or bring anything "new" for companies to chase after or be the next in. There are plenty of soloist such as bol4, rothy, natty, yena, eunbi, yuri, somi, chungha,

than you have idols such as taeyeon, eunji, suzy, sunmi, ect because its not like iu success is recent its been going on since 2010/2011 so you can say any soloist after that whether they were part of an idol group or not was trying to be the next iu

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I suggest you read the original post fully.

Quote from WhyKnock

Ennik was the best shot they had. Unless the soloist was really, really special, it is not easy to get the attention of the international fans in the first few promos.

Also, other than arguably GDragon and Kang Daniel, there were few people who could find success on his own so there were few male solos developed for world consumption, and only balladists catering to the Koreans only, like Lim Youngwoong (who is a balladist with a trot costume) and Lee Mujin were developed by the stations.

All your examples, had achieved fame otherwise or not K-pop.

Even a nugu K-pop agency with little resources, still prefers to launch groups, than attempt an IU.

She simply is not seen as a viable model for business.

Hence all your doomsaying is meaningless to the agencies.

She is sort of like Switzerland in geo-politics.

Unconquered, unbothered and benefits no matter what happens to global economy.

Quote from prodigy210

i read it fine im saying what do you mean by next iu because if you just mean a super popular soloist id say many agencies are and have tried to recreate that

I don't think you have read it "fine".

No company is debuting an unknown trainee as a soloist in Kpop like IU was and promoted to superstardom, not even small companies.

All cases since her, are either

1. Already debuted in a group, then solo debut.

2. Have some fame through some TV show etc

3. Not K-pop.

Anyway, you have not got the specfics nor the context.

So up to you.

Quote from prodigy210

rothy, lee hi, bol4, suran, heize, jrabbit, juniel

if your just talkng about artist that never been part of a group there's plenty and especially if you include males

also this is what im talking about debuting solo artist outside of a group or tv show is not something new so it would be weird to call that being the next iu instead of boa.

When people talk about next bts they either mean two things the next big bg to reach success or promoting in the west.

Next bp means next big gg or following the girl crush trend.

twice next big gg or having increased foreign members j line especially

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Not sure about all the names mentioned.

Lee Hi and BOL4 are from TV show fame, then recruited.

Others are they considered K-pop?

Maybe Heize comes close, debuted as unknown and then TV fame.

BoA yes, but since IU is later in that model, the proximal example is more pertinent than the one in past.

The context of the post is rebuttal to Whyknock who thinks IU is a big danger to K-pop business.

And my rebuttal is that she is not, because no K-pop company is interested in recreating her model of success.

They prefer groups, even the smallest company prefers to debut groups.

It only after attempting group that some of them redebut as solos.

Soloists are more found in non K-pop.

Hence she is not the "future" of K-pop, an ideal others aspire to- business wise.