Fahrenheit (TW) and DBSK (KR): It's like comparing heaven and earth
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…
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Supplemental evidence:
To give you an idea of how many performances KPop artists do, below are two collage mvs of DBSK and 2PM’s numerous performances for their songs:
DBSK’s Wrong Number: just look at how many diff suits they wore! The recording is ripped from a live perf as well, and they sound pitch perfect even with the rigorous dancing!
2PM’s Heartbeat: just look at the different versions of the endings!
And now, I dare you to search any Jay Chou/Jolin/Leehom song on youtube…and I bet most of the results will be MVs and you can count the number of live perf results with your fingers.
i agree with you 100%..they really good and very well..it’s not that i not support my country’s artist but..think about that..really make a huge different..
This is really good logic.
Before I became a kpop fan, I was a huge cpop (esp. tpop = taiwanese pop) fan. I absolutely adored the music, and I actually am proud of even to this very day of S.H.E’s ability and some others’ ability to sing live.
However, after the Korean Wave caught me, a few times that I decided to venture off into watching things like Fahrenheit dance, I just want to cringe and I feel really ashamed because I just feel like, “They’re celebrities. They’re professionals. This is their job. Don’t they practice?” I mean, I do feel ashamed at myself for thinking this way and I know I should be more understanding, but I just couldn’t grasp at why the level was so different between countries.
I still loved their music, nonetheless, it’s just that the Korean field grabbed my attention and respect more. And after reading your reasonings, I feel like I appreciate the artists in other countries for trying their best and still taking care of themselves and fans so well by being bright, energized, and full of smiles.
Best of luck to all of them! Keep it up!
I agree with you that kpop singers are generally more talented than other countries’ talents, especially in terms of dancing. I’m a huge kpop fan too but I have to disagree that they can sing. Most, not all though, really can’t sing live well actually. Many actually lip sync and it’s really obvious. I’ve read before that there were even instances that netizens have requested the kpop singers (can’t rmb who offhand) to lip sync because they sound horrible live.
To survive in the kpop industry, all you ever need is dancing with good looks as the pre-requisite. Like in Super Junior, only the KRY members can really sing. The rest barely make it there. Heechul even admitted that he knew he got through the auditions because of his good looks and nothing else. But DBSK is an exception though. They can sing & dance. It’s a pity there’s not much else that are like them.
Hey! I love your views on this matter (: and I’m a kpop fan too… but do you feel that these kpop stars can last long? Yeah, they last longer than most other entertainers around the world, but take DBSK – they’ve been MIA and had all these conspiracies, while 2PM’s popularity is plummetting because of their leader’s problems… I’m not sure, but do you know it they have some sort of strategy to make their stars last?……. and not all entertainer groups from Korea are that good… how bout snsd?
i agree.
what sets kpop apart is just how incredibly busy it is – in all aspects, every single day, for everyone involved (including the fans & followers).
and for the artists, it all starts with the years of training beforehand.
you just have no idea until you get into kpop. no other industry in this world works the way the kpop industry does.
i am more of a YG fan, so thanks for including BIGBANG in your article.
hope to see 2NE1 featured in your articles in the future too.
Woah, K-Pop singers do have more experience. That’s obvious but as far as acting goes, Vic Zhou all the way! He’s amazingly talented and sings well.
Also, realize that Korea’s music industry is unfair to the artists (ie. DBSK broke up) because of the record companies. The artists themselves don’t have much say in what they do or their images. Therefore, they don’t have much room to experiment without being censored and critiqued by JYP, SM, YG, or whatever other entertainment company is in control unless you happen to pull a Rain and start your own, where you become the part of the same machine. I think that regardless of all the time being put in comparing Shinee to Show Lou is ridiculous. Shine has 5 members, all of whom naturally have amazing voices. Jonghyun especially.
Also, Korea’s industry is shaped by the record company’s pick-and-choose way of selecting who is to become successful. So they choose more talented people to begin with.
Not saying that the Korean industry is a bad thing but criticizing the entertainment industries in Taiwan/Hong Kong is unfair because they do have a lot of talented people as well. S.H.E are all good singers as well, maybe not as strong as some Korean groups but they do have ability.
The Taiwanese industry that you are criticizing is the same as the US so why not criticize that, too?
Hmm … those are really good points! What do you think happens to those trainees who don’t become stars?
Usually I do not learn post on blogs, but I wish to say that this write-up very pressured me to try and do so! Your writing taste has been surprised me. Thanks, quite great article.