Posts by Kim-Tan

If you ask most idols, they would most likely prefer to be the most popular member from a lesser known group, than the least popular member in a popular group.

At least they have individual schedules and actual work rather than just sitting at home and dorms while the actual popular members are promoting everywhere on TV. And this also leads to work after the group disbands or have an infinite hiatus.

Just look at idols like Uee, Nana, Sejeong, Yeonwoo, Eunwoo or April Naeun before her scandal. They have all established their careers one way or another and often still stay in the public's spotlight, meanwhile for other least popular members in a popular group, they may promote on TV once in a while, but a lot of times don't do much at all and still gets no buzz.

Quote from K-PL

Its Korean beauty standards vs. the rest of the world.

The rest of the world has a general preference for curvier and darker tones.

Korea is an outlier preferring what they prefer, which is unhealthy and expensive.

It also explains why certain groups are not as successful globally as they are in Korea.

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It's not just Korea, but also in East Asia too where they prefer skinny/slim bodies and milky, pale clear skin tones.

But this is part of the industry they're working in. Camera naturally makes someone look chubbier and everyone has to diet to present the unrealistic standards of being a celebrity. If you don't, you will look out of place compared to everyone else who are dieting and look slim and flawless and all that, and you will be criticised for not taking care of your body and not thinking about your fans and all that comes with it etc.

Kang Mina said this on her livestream before, but commoners have no reason to starve themselves and to follow the strict routine that idols and celebrities have to. And that being skinny is not the only beauty standard out there and that she only does it because it's her job.

You said it yourself lol. Shitty ass company changed their CEO or something and completely ignored her for the last few years.

She's coming back soon tho. It was revealed on the latest episode of Dive Podcast with Eric Nam and she released a vlog with some behind the scenes spoilers.

If we're being honest, people wouldn't even be talked about or care for Itzy if they weren't a Big 3 group. Their concepts, styling and music are no different from nugu groups and companies but fans rationalise it and defend it like their lives depend on it.

JYP also sent them on big shows (at the time) like Knowing Bros when they were just rookies.

Lol at this point it's not even about "doing the right thing". People just been waiting and will find any excuse to cancel someone.

This aint even cause a dent in her career.

Seems a bit random to have Kim Sihyeon, and not sure if Yena has what it takes to be a mentor just yet.

Many idols play up the friendships for cameras and their fans. Not saying they hate each other or anything like that, most of them are probably on decent good terms, just not the besties their fans want them to be.

The more real ones are probably the ones where you get stories from bbl or interviews or radios, not necessarily get photos taken on stages or two people together for a 10 second challenge clip.

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.

You gotta strike while the iron is hot. It's natural to keep working when you're still in demand because eventually it's gonna peak and the next hot trendy thing will come and take its place.

I remember reading somewhere before where Twice fans were saying they were overworked meanwhile Nayeon said on bbl or somewhere that they had no schedules and were just sitting around at home. And Karina also said on Lee Youngji's show that idols who say they have no time to date are full of shit.

People always complain about everything but these people are busy to provide content for their fans. Without them being busy, you wouldn't see them in front of you 24/7 like other groups that are in long hiatuses or kept in the dungeon.

To be honest, these groups are only busy for the first 3-4 years, and slowly it will stabilise. They will slowly break into sub-units or solo schedules and into other things. These first years are often crucial and of course it will be the busiest times of their careers, but it's like an investment into building their brand names. Once their position is secured, it will be easy sailing for their careers.

Yall acting like it's easy to be on IU/Suzy level. It took them more than a decade to get there, and just like most idol actors/actresses, they were also criticised early on in their careers.

But the closest we've got in 3rd gen is Sejeong. The Uncanny Counter and Business Proposal are legit hits, and she's also went viral for her musical. That really adds to it, because Koreans love their musical and theatre actors like Cho Seungwoo and Jo Jong-suk. If you get recognised and acknowledged in those areas, there's a special kind of prestige that they love.

More than anything, it just seems like their music isn't exactly hitting it with the public. The most important thing at the end of the day is their songs, and both Nmixx's and Itzy's songs are not the most public friendly like NewJeans right now or Twice back in their prime days.

Maybe gonna be an unpopular opinion in this forum since it's so heavily Kpop focused, but I would put Sejeong number 1 higher than Soyeon or Somi.

G-Idle is one of the top girl groups but in terms of solo brands Sejeong and Somi are both at the top of idols in the whole industry.

Sejeong has been popular domestically since day 1, doing many shows with Yoo Jae-suk and acting success has only grew her popularity, especially domestically and in SEA where Kdramas are bigger than just in the Kpop space. And girl is a legit all-rounder, doing musicals, theatre plays and hosting year-end award shows like on SBS and MBC.

Quote from randkpopstan

True, only wjsn survived more than 3 years too. They all suffered from their companies oversaturation with trainees, and those dumb companies preferred to debut all those trainees than form a good complementary team around their popular produce girls like ive and lesserafim.

All things in life follow trends and Kpop companies are no different. Back during that time in 2015-2017, it was popular to go the SNSD route and debut large girl groups. The idea was that you have different types of members and there's something for everyone, so you easily become a fan of the group. So you can see why TWICE had 9, WJSN had 12 + Yeonjung, Gugudan had 9 and WeMe - 8 etc.

Obviously times had change and now companies see that it was easier for people to become fans of smaller groups since they get to know all of them. And smaller companies really can't afford to have large number of members as well.

Many other groups could be top groups if they had Big 3 company privileges. Let's admit it, it's not like yall bother checking out non-Big 3 groups anyway.

I mean yeah the public only cared about one member, but the other members also have to show them something to care about as well. What charms do you have to make someone your fan?

Imagine getting mad at the judge because your fave couldn't do the most basic level of performance 8 years into her debut.. And the judges were excited to see debuted idols battle as well.. Clearly didn't meet the expectations.

Lol imagine arguing over meaningless generations in Kpop..

Anyways.. it's the circle of Big 4 companies having more money and connections --> groups naturally get popular --> fans check out and stan groups from same companies.

It seems like nowadays the only way small companies can survive is to bank on one member to get popular enough to get solo gigs and eventually focus on them and ditch the group. If you're lucky enough, he/she can pull the group up and the other members can get some sort of jobs here or there (ala Astro), but if not at least that one member can reel in the profits (ala Wooah Nana).

Of course you still want the group to succeed, but if it doesn't seem likely, this is the best way to cut your losses quick and make that one member your sole focus. Rather than investing all the money in 6+ members, focus on one to go solo, or throw them into acting which is where the big bucks are anyway, and typically this is the member that the public knows anyway.

Quote from sonemariam

And if I'm not wrong, the biggest Kdrama led by idol is Yoona's You Are My Destiney that had over 40% ratings in Korea. No idol has had that. She got a lot of praises for her acting in that drama since she was a rookie actress.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but Uee had a drama My Only One in 2018-19 with viewership rating of 48.5%. And that's in the modern era where TV viewership is a lot more difficult, not like the old days in 2007 when Yoona's drama aired.

Quote from bartkun

as I saw both of recent works of girls

I think I can say they both making 'leaps' forward

what is important about them is that they don't have those 'lifeless'/'emotionless' faces like some idols who start acting careers, you can see emotions and changes in facial expressions when they act

one thing tho is I can see where they careers go

Yoona is more like Sejeong she fits those rom-coms and more bright series

Suzy meanwhile I won't be surprised if she will be playing some dark mad character like venomous chaebol daughter or some killer in the future, she seems more versatile and I don't know how to say it... her 'aura' changes a lot, she might be someone like female version of Namkoong Min

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I don't really see the Yoona comparison with Sejeong tbh, other than that they've done similar dramas in Business Proposal and King the Land. Of course Sejeong can do rom-com, but she's already proven she can do much more than that. She's done two whole seasons of Uncanny Counter, which were the complete opposite of a bright series, playing a dark character with action scenes and all that. Yoona is definitely not pulling off doing action scenes and has yet to show she can do a diverse range of characters.

I don't know about being a female version of Namkoong Min, that's a super high bar to set, but Suzy has already shown that she's willing to play different type of roles in Vagabond and Anna. That alone puts her ahead of Yoona.

Based on general popularity it's clearly Cha Eunwoo above all others for the males.

If we're basing on other factors, D.O. and Yook Sungjae are right there.

From girl groups, Kim Sejeong is head and shoulders above others, and there's no close second at the moment.