kpop music

kpop.....

December 31, 2009 by MichelleZ

The “Korean Wave” is unstoppable! It started with BoA and Rain, then DBSK, Super Junior, Big Bang, and now 2PM, SNSD, and more! Korean artists took over Japan, Taiwan, China, Thailand, and now is even encroaching upon the American music industry. KPop is the word!

I am an unabashedly big fan of KPop, and it’s not just because the singers look handsome/pretty or their songs have ridiculously addictive melodies and rhythms (which is what KPop is stereotypically known for). The truth of the matter is, compared to the other Asian music industries, the Korean music industry has evolved a “fool-proof” system to nurture their artists to become world-class performers. I listen to mandopop, cantopop, jpop, and english pop, and none of the artists in those industries are as versatile or multi-talented as KPop artists, and I say its due to a difference in how their music industries are structured.

1. KPop artists go through a trainee system

There are basically three top record companies in KPop: SM, YG, JYP. Each of them has a rigorous trainee system to prepare would-be singers for their debut. Trainees get singing lessons, dance training, even language lessons, and many of them stay as trainees for years before they officially debut. For example, Jokwon from the ballad group 2AM was a JYP trainee for EIGHT years before he debuted, and G-Dragon and Taeyang of Big Bang have been with YG Ent since their pre-teen days. If you’re good enough to become a trainee, then you’re sort of admitted to this prestigious university for KPop stardom, and you can only get better from there. I think this system also breeds more well-rounded artists. Vocally strong trainees get dance training, and dance-focused trainees get voice training, and gradually they become quite competent at both!

Contrast this to the Taiwan or HK music industries…sigh…I even feel a little ashamed to talk about it. Look at F4 or Fahrenheit, these two immensely popular boybands were basically formed for their looks. They chose guys who can’t sing, dance, or act, and packaged them in this fancy good-looking image and released albums to further their popularity in dramas. I’m sorry, but I remember watching Fahrenheit perform at Asia Song Festival a few years back, and I cringed at their sloppy dance moves and horrible live singing. They just looked like amateurs compared to DBSK, who also performed at the event. And if you consider Korea’s trainee system, you can’t really blame Fahrenheit for being horrible. Each DBSK member had an average 2-3 years of trainee experience before debut, whereas Fahrenheit had none. Korea’s music industry makes a huge investment in their artists before debut, while the artists in other regions don’t really receive systematic training to become singers.

2. KPop’s music promotion structure relies on live performances

KPop artists promote their songs mainly via live music performance programs. Yes they also release music videos, but I’d say the live performances are what really sustains a given song’s popularity.  Each of Korea’s major networks have their own weekly live music programs (Inkigayo, Music Bank, Music Core, Mnet Countdown), and there are also regular concerts and award programs held throughout the year. So think about it, when  KPop artists release a song, they have to perform it live (with legit sound equipment and fancy lighting) in front of an audience at least 4 times a week! And each promotion cycle for a single lasts at least 2-3 months. You can do the math. KPop artists get A LOT of practice and experience performing in front of audiences. And with so many performances, Kpop artists have the room to experiment and develop their stage presence.

The JPop industry also has live performance programs, but they’re not as rigorous or demanding as the Korean programs. And let’s not even talk about Taiwan or HK. These two regions pretty much rely on music videos to promote music. Artists go on variety/talk shows to verbally promote their albums. In fact, if a given album has about 11 songs, 7-8 of them will be turned into MVs, which I think is evidence that they’re dependent on MVs to maintain exposure for the artist. In terms of live music programs, HK has only one, Jade Solid Gold, and every artist who goes to sing on that show always sound more horrible than usual, they must have a very bad sound system. And in Taiwan, there are no shows dedicated only to music performance. The only opportunities where artists can actually perform their songs are at variety programs, and you can guess that the performance space and sound equipment are pretty crappy. So not only are Taiwan and HK artists inexperienced to begin with, they don’t have any opportunities to practice their craft in front of live audiences! Practice makes perfect, and if you can’t learn through practice, you just don’t improve! For example, Show Luo is one of the hottest male singers in Taiwan right now, but when I saw him sing a fast song live at an award show, he was huffing and puffing and out of tune, and he has been in the music business for over 15 years! I mean I like him and all, but his live performances are not even on par with those of SHINee, who are teenagers and just debuted in Korea a year ago.

Basically, Kpop artists get exponentially more practice both behind and in front of the camera. I remember in Malcolm Gladwell’s book “Outliers”, he claimed that in order to become super good at a given skill, the magic amount of time to invest is 10,000 hours! In other words, if you dedicate 10,000 hours of your life to a skill, you’ll become pro at it. I’d say KPop artists are MUCH MUCH closer to reaching those 10,000 hours than artists in other regions. And you wonder why KPop has taken the world by storm…