Do you think an idol could become a success if they debuted....

1. Were over the age of 25

or

2. Were married with a kid

or

3. Were physically unattractive?

Quote from zuzuhhaa

yes, probably not, and completely possible.

to elaborate, i think your age essentially doesn't matter as long as you have the youthful innocent charm kpop likes to see. the likelihood you'll actually get into a company after 25 isn't that likely though so if they let you in then they probably have a pretty valid/reliable reason for it.

if you were married i think its not as easy because you have to sacrifice a lot of time, and correct me if im wrong but moms don't always seem to have that much time- esp with younger kids. but hey, who am i to say its not possible? i think it could totally happen if you have the right mindsight.

and for the last one, i think it could also go hand in hand with the first one, the likelihood of getting accepted from a company is low but they probably saw potential. also PS is also an option if both the person and the company is willing to follow through with it

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For the second one, I'd be less concerned with the amount of time the parent had, but with fans reaction to an idol that was married with kids. Could an idol become super popular without that bf/gf fantasy? Would the fans want a love song from or sexy performance by a person with a family?

Quote from Jichu

Well the odds are not in their favor unfortunately

but it would be a wonderful story

I know there are a couple of idols that did debut older. I don't know of any with a (public) family and kid. I would be wild if we found out one was hiding a family the whole time tho!

Quote from Charmed123

Park bom and dara were 25 when they debuted in 2ne1 one of the most popular Kpop gg ever

That's very true. And 2ne1 were also considered to not be conventionally beautiful by kpop standards. I wonder if they could debut today or if the industry has changed to the point that it is even more focused on youth and beauty.

Quote from selfmate

hmmm....let's separate it into males and females right...

since for a female

debuting over 25 whilst having a kid whilst being physically unattractive is unheard of in kpop and thus that idol would be facing such an uphill battle that it probably isn't even worth it...why? well there are currently idols that are prettier and younger and no kid who are struggling let alone all three "weaknesses"

sure anything is possible but it's certainly adding more burdens to the load that an idol already has

for a male though

I think there are currently idols who are married and have kids and over 25 and who are "let's call it doesn't meet korean beauty standards" who are somewhat successful and thus if such a person debuted I wouldn't think it would be that much of an issue...

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oh, i didn't mean all three at the same time. Yeah, I think it would mostly be insurmountable, at least for a female idol. Probably for a male one too though. I was posing those as separate scenarious.

Quote from Flowercrew

nope, don't think so.

None of the scenarios? Is there one that you think is more likely than the others?

Quote from tetetete

They will need a different kind of marketing

the unattractive ones, they can focus on talent, i'm not like the others, a "real" artist

For the ones with family, they could try to gain sympathy through children, maybe do a few korean shows with the children lol

I dont think being over 25 is a big deal, they could always hide their age, call themselves younger than they are lol

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that's true. Marketing is a powerful thing and a lot of fans will find differences like that appealing. I wonder if we could start seeing older idols debut or at least stay active as kpop itself ages. There are fans who got into kpop in the first and second gens who may still be fans and may be more amenable to older idols.

Quote from leqant

1. Over the age of 25: I could see that work, especially if they look 'good' or 'young' for their age. For men, the big problem is that they have to go to the military soon so they have fewer years to build their career than and 18-year old would have at debut. Women meanwhile have 'expiration dates'.
2. Married with a kid: Given how many idols already got shit for dating, I can't see a huge success out the door.
3. Physically unattractive: By average person standards, probably not. It would take a lot of talent to overcome that barrier and even then the person would rather be a non-idol musician. Note that even the 'visual holes' are still more attractive than >75% of everyday people

I wonder if SK men can choose to go into the military at an early age. If so, maybe some company should fill a group with some guys who already went through enlistment at like 21 and then they wouldn't have to break their career for enlistment later.

Quote from Kataphract

1. Yes been done before and I don't see why age really is a determining factor.

2. Yes. But the family might need to be secretive or idols themselves in a way. There could be a little trouble if fans don't take ppl having family well. I mean Rain has a kid now (but then again he debuted before that so dunno).

3. Hard sell. Its entirely possible that they might bank on unique looks or being helped by group members ( that they are within in the relative ranges of each other.) Then again if they are one of those "unbalanced" idols and go solo, they could win out by pure skill or something like that. Rare, but been done before.

(just being realistic here. no offense meant)

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Since a lot of kpop fans are on the younger side and the bf/gf fantasy is so prevalent, I think companies like having younger idols. A 19 year-old guy is an easier "sell" to a 16-year old fan than a 27-old guy. I think it's especially true for ggs.

Quote from Kataphract

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

you mean in kpop right

yea age would be more of a determining factor.

but honestly in other areas, its actually much less of a factor. Especially when shooting for a more masculine image, rather than a boyish highschool vibe.

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True, it's not a disadvantage for "beast idols".

Quote from JiminieKookie

Depends heavly on different things.

If they for example would be let's say 27, finished army allready, are married since 3 years and have a 5 month old child but are the hottest mofo in SM of all time, than people might let it slide and could probably support him, altho some people will still come like "Why the fuck does SM debuts him?" but if the same guy goes to a underrated or new company than either nobody gives a fuck or he will be known as "this one random dilf that debuted somewhere"

Not sure how they would handle it when it would be a woman. Maybe some people with prejudices would come at her and say "but you have a child, you can't go to work for 9 hours a day, 6 days a week with 1 full concert-tour each year!" and especially Knetz who often have a brain like their grandmothers would wonder why she gives up being the housewife altho she has a child at home ... The mindset of Koreans is totally different most of the time than what many western people would think so she might be more accepted by international fans than by Knetz ...

lol I'm totally imagining this hottest mofo in SM in all time lol. I'd support! :D

Quote from finana

Shindong is pretty succesful and he dont fit in the kpop beautystandart

Do you think someone like Shindong could debut now in the 4th gen?

Quote from supa

There are plenty of successful idols that are physically unattractive.

Are there? I really can't think of many at all.

Quote from SandyBee3

I think 3 has already happened several times.

I can't think of any idols that are actually unattractive.... at least from 3rd gen forward which is what I'm familiar with

Quote from 0ppar

plenty of idols are have debuted that are physically unattractive: sure there have been lots of visual holes

plenty of successful idols that are physically unattractive: you can probably count the total number on one hand.

Yeah, i think it would be a barrier to at least their individual success

Quote from nana18

We've seen a lot of J-Pop idols debut above the age of 25 either from big or small companies same thing with unconventional attic idols some times all that matters are your skills but a married idol it will never happen weather it's a mal or female just take a look at how people reacted to Chen marriage or tvxq changmin he had one the best fandom yet people turned their back on him once he got married

It's really sad how some fans can't handle an idol living their life. I don't understand not hating an idol just cuz they're married. It's not like there was any chance they would date the fan any way.

Quote from Sparkling_eyes

like wanna one Jisung????? I don't think he is ugly, but i think people used to call him that. He was popular because he was funny.

*googles*

this dude?

This dude is unattractive?

Man, kpop fans are brutal.