How Different Can American And Korean Pop Artists Be?
With Korean Pop group BTS rising in fame in America and Billboard, many are probably wondering this same question: “What’s so different about Korean artists than American artists?” Honestly, they each have their strengths and their weaknesses, but that’s just what makes them both so interesting. The way Korean artists are made and go through their music careers seem pretty different from the way American artists do.
Korean artists have to learn many skills to be an idol. Many artists are either picked-up off the street for their looks or talents, or auditioned for the position. They have to go through many years as a trainee, some even up to ten like TWICE’s Jihyo, before they can debut (“These Are The Main Differences Between K-Pop And American Pop”). During these years, they learn to sing, some to rap, dance, host for many radio and TV shows --what they call “MC-ing”--, have variety show expertise, and acting. They also need to learn different languages that will be helpful for them, as many artists will release songs in Japanese and Korean, and mostly have English lyrics in many of their songs. Many even know or are fluent in English, like BTS’s RM and GOT7’s Mark and Jackson. GOT7 even released their song “Lullaby” in four different languages: Korean, Mandarin, Spanish, and English.
Unlike many Korean artists, most American artists are picked because of their natural talents and don’t go through much, if any, training at all. If they do go through any training, it was usually on their own time and money, which is different from Korean artists, whose training is paid for by their companies (“These Are The Main Differences Between K-Pop And American Pop”). Many artists are chosen from shows like The Voice, X-Factor, or America’s Got Talent. They also don’t sing many different languages, most recently just English and Spanish.
Many Korean artist will have what we call “bands,” but are called groups in South Korea. These groups can consist of two to thirteen members. Many groups have about six to nine, and are mostly one gender. But there are some co-gender groups, like KARD who has four members, two boys and two girls. Some groups can even have more than thirteen, like NCT 2018, who has eighteen members who are divided into NCT Dream, NCT 127, and NCT U, with some of them being in all or just one subdivision. Or like Produce 101, who has one-hundred and one members who are all trainees. Like NCT, many groups’ companies can split them up into sub-groups for more publicity.
There is also designated sections that the members of the groups are put into. All groups have what they call a “leader” of the group. Most of the time this is someone who is responsible and deemed the “spokesperson” of the group, and they don’t have to be the oldest. They also have what they call a “hyung line” and a “maknae line”, hyung meaning oldest and maknae meaning youngest. For example, in BTS, there is the hyung line including Jin, the oldest, Suga, RM, the leader, and J-hope. In the maknae line is Jimin, V, and Jungkook, who is the maknae. Korean companies also focus a lot on appearances, so many groups will have a “visual” or multiple in a group.
Many groups also have international members. Like GOT7’s Jackson, who is Chinese, Mark, who is from America, and BamBam, who is from Thailand. Companies do this to have more publicity and get more attention internationally.
There seem to be more solo artists in American Pop than bands or groups. But there are still American bands like One Direction, Fifth Harmony, and new ones like Why Don’t We. But these bands don’t really put an emphasis on a leader or certain positions of the members in these groups as Korean artists do. Older groups like NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, and artists like Paula Abdul had some choreographed dances, but the groups and solo artists nowadays don’t seem to put much of an emphasis on choreographed dances as Korean artists do, as they seem to focus more on the singing aspect. Then again, this might be changing with the American group PRETTYMUCH releasing a dance video to their song “Would You Mind.”
Concerts of Korean artist are very similar to those of American artists, besides one difference. Most, if not all, have a choreography for almost all of their songs that they train tiredly to learn. They work until they have the moves down, are practically in-sync with each other if in a group, for hours so that their concerts can be amazing for their fans. They learn to sing, and/or rap, while doing these hard dance moves for an entire song. They also like to play fun games for their fans to watch or join in if they’re lucky.
In Korea, they also have what they call fan-meetings. Fan-meetings are where fans get to meet their favorite artists. The artist or members are usually on a stage with a table where they can sit down, and there is usually no more than a hundred to a hundred and fifty fans. To get invited, you have to have purchased a lot of merchandise, like twenty CDs and such. The artists sometimes have games set-up and maybe perform and sing some songs. Then they start the fan signing. Fan signing is where the members sit behind the table and the fans line up with things for them to sign and give to them as gifts. You’re given about a couple minutes to have a conversation with them and to even high-five them or hold their hand.
Another thing that seems to be different in American artists and Korean artists, according to the article “What Are The Differences Between K-Pop and Western Pop,” is that American artists have a longer lifespan than Korean. Artists like Madonna, who is nearly sixty years old, have been making and singing music for a long time now, which is unheard of in Korean pop because they usually only stay popular while they are young and good-looking, which is why they learn so many skills (“These Are The Main Differences Between K-Pop And American Pop”).
Many Korean groups don’t want to start scandals, and usually don’t have time for relationships as they spend so much time training and performing for their fans. Many even have strict “no dating” policies made by their companies.
Also unlike Koran artists, it seems that American artists can decide to date whoever they want, if they want to. There is not any strict no-dating policies as there seem to be in Korea, as American companies let their artists be more free and do their own thing. There also seems, mostly in my opinion because this might not be true, more drug abuse and scandals in American artists, as Korean companies keep a tight leash on their artists.
While Korean artists do seem very different from American artists, it is to be expected because of the cultural differences. But this doesn’t seem to stop Americans from listening to their music and vice versa. And while they may seem vastly different, I believe they all have one major thing in common: they want their fans to listen and enjoy their music.
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