Why don't vocals and most vocalists matter in Kpop?

Visuals > vocalists

OP : Why vocalist don't suceed ?

also OP: List SM group and forget real vocal group

you answered your own thread alone.

Quote from citron-icy

OP : Why vocalist don't suceed ?

also OP: List SM group and forget real vocal group

you answered your own thread alone.

People just like their favs otherwise they’d be stanning the talent in all of kpop lol.

Because all kpop vocalists suck. Even the best ones in your example are considered among the weak one in many countries. Have you seen Korean Trot? There are so many real talents there. Kpop is more about selling content and faces.

Speaking as an Asian, we are probably one the most superficial cultures:

- beautiful > talented

- rich > saving the planet / philanthropy

- making your relative or friend jealous > curing cancer

The most popular Western singers aren't often the greatest vocalists either.

-Madonna (she was by far THE most popular female singer in the 1980s and early 1990s)

-Britney

-Taylor

They got the star power and performance skills, amongst other talents to back it up, but this is not just a Kpop thing.

I don't think it is just K-pop, most pop singers don't need the best vocal.

Maybe they’re lacking smth else. I don’t think anyone is against good vocals lol but not every song needs it which is also a factor

Quote from VanDamme4Life

Speaking as an Asian, we are probably one the most superficial cultures:

- beautiful > talented

- rich > saving the planet / philanthropy

- making your relative or friend jealous > curing cancer

What's your country

Because having amazing vocals and a good singing technique doesn't guarantee instant success and a love shower when you are a kpop idol, and a pop artist in general. Otherwise, there would be way more random people up there by now who are just as good of a singer.

When you're a pop star or kpop idol you're basically a manufactured and carefully curated product whose team behind you is trying their best to sell you to the big masses and the mainstream. Majority of people aren't looking at a Kpop group and the first thing that stands out to them is how great they can sing.

Like for example, look at Luna from f(x). She was without a doubt the all rounder of the group, had the most developed skills and was actually groomed to be the next BoA (but that was ultimately scrapped and she debuted in a girl group instead). Luna was basically overlooked by Kpop consumers throughout the entirety of f(x)'s run and had the lowest number of fans among the group. She was essentially overshadowed by her other members, who may not have had the best vocals or best dancing skills but had the charisma, X-factor and star quality that made them stand out and appeal to the masses. Not to forget they had visuals that people liked, something Luna was always critized of

Because Kpop is not about music and talent. Especially nowadays where people demand perfectly synchronised dance performances. For teens and young adults which is what most of Kpop fanbases consist of, other things like visuals and trendy groups are more important.

because companies became too obsessed with visuals and bring a dancing machine.

so as long as they have people that sound average and one that's "above average", they feel the group is fine

Quote from Icaro_Ribeiro

What's your country

Canadian Vietnamese.

Baby Monster says Hi!

Because people care more about visuals which is fine you are allowed to like anything you want, what bothers me is the hypocrisi like if you care more about visuals then vocals or talent at least admit it, i hate it when people who stan popular groups that can barely sing act like their group sing so well live and keep praising their vocals like are the best in the industry

people think they care about vocals. They just think their faves sing well. IF it doesn't sound unpleasant to them they don't care.

In the pop industry vocals aren't what carry a song, it's how it's produced. It really doesn't matter if the vocals are strong or weak, the song can be good either way if it's well produced.

Also, Kpop idols sell charm, not vocals. Good vocals are just a bonus.

Others have already said it, but everything is about visuals. You can be the best singer in the world, but if your ugly, nobody will care for you. That's just how it is.

Quote from Fansamy

The most popular Western singers aren't often the greatest vocalists either.

-Madonna (she was by far THE most popular female singer in the 1980s and early 1990s)

-Britney

-Taylor

They got the star power and performance skills, amongst other talents to back it up, but this is not just a Kpop thing.

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Came here to list those 3 artists. They are all avarage singers but obviously have something that appeals to a lot of people.

Kpop? Why are people pretending it's only kpop? It's everywhere. Pop artist and vocalist are two different things. To be a pop artists you need to be have stage presence, personality and good songs, ofc you have to know how to sing but you don't go have to be technically perfect. They are entertainers

Kpop also didn't invent lip syncing. A long time ago there was a controversy in Australia regarding Britney's concert. People complained that she lip synced the entire concert.

Quote

New South Wales’ Fair Trade Minister Victoria Judge, who said tickets to Spears’ concerts should carry a disclaimer stating the show is prerecorded, People reports. “It is Britney’s ‘prerogative’ to lip-sync, and it is my job to make sure consumers know what they are paying for up front,”

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Kpop isn't any different from world's pop stars, in fact, they learned from them.

I do think kpop vocalists are on average worse than other pop vocalists and the bar in kpop is particularly lower.

Kpop is not based on any one talent but a combination of appealing qualities and that’s why it’s alright to have extremely low vocal standards

The river has come to meet the sea. Just like how the line of Hollywood superstars has almost come to an end, so has the era of actual vocal talent in pop music.

No need to have a great voice when computers can create any voice you want with autotune and correct every mistake in pitch, you could literally sing every note wrong and the computer will fix it for you. It's not just pitch correction, the computer will completely change your vocal color to anything you want. Whether Kpop, Hot 100 pop, Indian pop, Europop, Latin pop, J pop, there is no point in worrying about vocals.

Even if there were a ton of great voices in Kpop, who knows if they would ever be put to use? Kpop is 10x better than Hot100, some Kpop songs still manage to insert even just the tiniest bit of musicality and human emotion into their production. But i fear of what's to come if the cultural reset started by NJ takes hold and ALL labels eventually succumb to their stripped down, emotionless, musically bankrupt sounds.

Think of a vocal powerhouse like Whitney, or Mariah, or mah girl Morissette...you could see them really flexing their insane vocals on some songs like I AM. Now imagine them singing basically a jingle like Ditto or Super Shy or ETA. LIke these songs do have their moments of catchiness, but with their super easy repetitive melodies that are devoid of any vocal challenges, the vocalists would be bored out of their mind. They could literally listen to the song once and record it.

So basically we have a situation where autotune and pop music trends (all human emotion and musicality stripped out) have conspired to render vocal technique and vocal color/tone irrelevant in many songs.

It would help If, in K-pop, main vocalist going solo wasn't the synonym of boring ballad for the average korean in their 40s

I shoulda put this in my rant, but for those that dont want to read my repetitive dissertation above just listen to these two songs back to back. You will know in your heart why the age of the pop vocalist is falling away.

Both of these songs are about a first crush. But the difference in EVERYTHING ELSE just hits you in the face within seconds. Whitney's vocals would be utterly and completely wasted in NJ's song, but they are allowed to shine like a diamond in her song.

Quote from BlackpinkHouse

I shoulda put this in my rant, but for those that dont want to read my repetitive dissertation above just listen to these two songs back to back. You will know in your heart why the age of the pop vocalist is falling away.

Both of these songs are about a first crush. But the difference in EVERYTHING ELSE just hits you in the face within seconds. Whitney's vocals would be utterly and completely wasted in NJ's song, but they are allowed to shine like a diamond in her song.

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I agree with you, NewJeans's songs are super catchy but even a 3/10 vocalist could sing them, which makes sense considering NewJeans's member's vocal prowress

In that sense i think they are very smart on how they are promoting NewJeans focusing more on being cute and having catchy songs and not giving them songs outside of their range i wonder if people are going to get tired of NJ giving us the same every comeback or if they will remain popular for years, sadly we are in an age were tiktok is famous and people make millions of dollars by being "cute" (aka using filters and a ton shit of make up) and doing cringe things, like when i see what's popular now days i lose hope in humanity

Quote from sonemariam

There is/was also Whitney Houston, Celin Dion, Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Adele, Destiney's Child.

My point is that it's not just a Kpop thing to have popular singers that aren't actually the best vocalists.

I mean, the Spice Girls weren't exactly top vocalists either and they are the number one selling girl group of all time.

What they had was a fun image, good songs and interesting personalities.

Quote from Minazuki

It would help If, in K-pop, main vocalist going solo wasn't the synonym of boring ballad for the average korean in their 40s

the way your comment reminded me of this

Quote from Minazuki

It would help If, in K-pop, main vocalist going solo wasn't the synonym of boring ballad for the average korean in their 40s

But to also acknowledge this song BODIED the rest of kpop

God bless Baekhyun tho. I don’t think another true main vocalist will ever have a disco with that much quality without it being a slow ballad.

Quote from paradis

the way your comment reminded me of this

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One thing I love about Jungkook going solo is that his solo songs on BTS' disco are my least favorite, but I think Golden is pretty amazing. It's my 2nd favorite BTS solo album (after D-2, if It counts).

Quote from ISaidISaid

But to also acknowledge this song BODIED the rest of kpop

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God bless Baekhyun tho. I don’t think another true main vocalist will ever have a disco with that much quality without it being a slow ballad.

As much as I love Chen, his solo career hasn't been my cup of tea. I will always give a listen to everything he releases, but so far anything is hitting.

I remember when this song smashed and got like +900k uls in first 24h, tho. I wasn't expecting, even through he previously had a hit OST

Quote from ISaidISaid

God bless Baekhyun tho. I don’t think another true main vocalist will ever have a disco with that much quality without it being a slow ballad.

I love Baekhyun's discography! In 2024 we deserve a full album...