What makes a person a kpop idol? (1 Viewer)

[Selfmate]

I had a very interesting discussion with someone today about what exactly makes a person a kpop idol
There are obvious examples of people if they debut in a company in SK and train and debut as a group then they are an idol.

What of the less obvious examples? What characteristics then does a person have to have in order to be classified as an idol?

is it the language? does the mere fact someone sings in korean make them an idol? what of idols that sing in other languages such as english or japanese or chinese are they then idols of that country?
is it training? does one have to undertake the grueling task of training under a SK company and experiencing that hardship and debuting in order to be an idol?
is it the label - does the record company one is signed to connected to SK?
is it the promotion that an idol primarily promotes in SK - do they have to live in SK?

So a few examples now
is Kaachi a kpop group? they are based on the UK, they didn't train in SK, their songs do have korean...
what about Niziu - they are managed (1/2) by JYP, a few of their members were former JYP trainees, top date they haven't sung an original kpop song

 

[athenaaa]

I think they have to have some sort of connection to korea whether it be some members are Korean, signed under a korean label or sing in korean

 

[Selfmate]

I think they have to have some sort of connection to korea whether it be some members are Korean, signed under a korean label or sing in korean

is it a combination of factors? or would one suffice?
do they have to debut in korea? set foot in korea?
would you consider kaachi a kpop group? since one member I think is korean and their original songs do have korean in them
whereas for niziu they neither have an original song in korean not are any of the members korean but they are 1/2 managed by JYP...

 

[dest]

what makes a kpop idol kpop is the fact they sing Korean pop. its what kpop means . If a idol group was ONLY Korean, but decides to sing a diff genre, they are still a kpop group. it does not change the genre of the band. Tyler the creator sang for a children's movie, did it change him from alt rap to children's music? no!!! kpop is a genre not a classification of people. it is classification of music.

 

[dest]

what makes a kpop idol kpop is the fact they sing Korean pop. its what kpop means . If a idol group was ONLY Korean, but decides to sing a diff genre, they are still a kpop group. it does not change the genre of the band. Tyler the creator sang for a children's movie, did it change him from alt rap to children's music? no!!! kpop is a genre not a classification of people. it is classification of music.

if there as a Korean artist who sang only in English rock, that wouldn't make him a kpop star. Even if he sung in Korean rock, he wouldn't be a kpop star. he would be a krock star

 

[athenaaa]

is it a combination of factors? or would one suffice?
do they have to debut in korea? set foot in korea?
would you consider kaachi a kpop group? since one member I think is korean and their original songs do have korean in them
whereas for niziu they neither have an original song in korean not are any of the members korean but they are 1/2 managed by JYP...

It could be one of the three factors or a combination of them. I would consider both kaachi and niziu kpop

 

[Selfmate]

It could be one of the three factors or a combination of them. I would consider both kaachi and niziu kpop

interesting

 

[Selfmate]

what makes a kpop idol kpop is the fact they sing Korean pop. its what kpop means . If a idol group was ONLY Korean, but decides to sing a diff genre, they are still a kpop group. it does not change the genre of the band. Tyler the creator sang for a children's movie, did it change him from alt rap to children's music? no!!! kpop is a genre not a classification of people. it is classification of music.

if there as a Korean artist who sang only in English rock, that wouldn't make him a kpop star. Even if he sung in Korean rock, he wouldn't be a kpop star. he would be a krock star

I don't necessarily disagree with what you are saying my friend so does that mean the question then becomes what makes a person who sings kpop an "idol"

 

[dest]

I don't necessarily disagree with what you are saying my friend so does that mean the question then becomes what makes a person who sings kpop an "idol"

the fanbase really. popularity. You cant be an idol if nobody idolizes you yet

 

[chiefchilly1]

To be a korean idol you need to train in korea and promote there etc, but there are multiple examples of non-koreans being in kpop groups who are still considered kpop idols.

but idols are not limited to korea. Japan has their own specific idol culture thats much different than Korea’s. Actually some jpop idols go back and forth from Korea and Japan.

AleXa a soloist, whose half korean and considered to be a kpop idol won an award for her song as she represented her home state of Oklahoma so there’s that.

Then there’s XG who is an all Japanese group but with Korean/kpop production and influence who many people still consider to be kpop.

There’s even virtual idols like Vtubers who represent fictional characters, they are also considered idols. So being nice, a role model, hard working, is what all of these people have in common. You don't really need to sing and dance but a lot of them do.

 

[Yelena_Belova]

It could be one of the three factors or a combination of them. I would consider both kaachi and niziu kpop

Someone that understands me!

 

[princesita]

I would consider both kaachi and niziu kpop

I disagree with niziu being a kpop group, sure kaachi but not niziu. they are a jpop group they sing and promote in japan, all their members r japanese, and jyp debuted them as a jpop group. only things that tie them to kpop is their label. their korean singles too but that's the equivalent of a kpop group releasing a japanese song, doesn't make that group a jpop group imo

 

[LoveYooShaSha]

I think as long as the individual or group identifies as kpop, the company acknowledges(markets) as kpop n the audience accepts it as kpop; then its kpop.

Same with being an idol, the individual/group self identifies as being an idol, the company self acknowledges they market an idol(/group) n audience accepts as idol(idolises 'em).

Ofc there are unsuccessful/wannabe idols as well, i wont name names (cos im not inflammatory/familiar).

XG, Niziu or Kaachi i hv no stance since i dont stan em. Idek if Rain is considered a kpop idol at this point in his career. Or BoA if she wasnt in GOT the Beat. I aint got no horse in this particular race, i think. Ill just enjoy wat i like n cheer my faves.

 

[Selfmate]

the fanbase really. popularity. You cant be an idol if nobody idolizes you yet

interesting then what's the difference between an artist and an idol then?
an artist has fans and fans idolize their artist so???

idolize - admire, revere, or love greatly or excessively.

and what is popularity? even nugu or lesser known idols have fans but they are still idols no? does it that imply then that even if a person has one fan then they are an idol?

 

[Selfmate]

To be a korean idol you need to train in korea and promote there etc, but there are multiple examples of non-koreans being in kpop groups who are still considered kpop idols.

but idols are not limited to korea. Japan has their own specific idol culture thats much different than Korea’s. Actually some jpop idols go back and forth from Korea and Japan.

AleXa a soloist, whose half korean and considered to be a kpop idol won an award for her song as she represented her home state of Oklahoma so there’s that.

Then there’s XG who is an all Japanese group but with Korean/kpop production and influence who many people still consider to be kpop.

There’s even virtual idols like Vtubers who represent fictional characters, they are also considered idols. So being nice, a role model, hard working, is what all of these people have in common. You don't really need to sing and dance but a lot of them do.

does that imply that one must be in korea to be a kpop idol?

that's right I have yet to consider the virtual idols - you raise an interesting point - they would be considered virtual idols but would they be considered kpop idols??? hmm...

but alexa trained in korea correct?
for XG are they not similar to niziu then? that there's an argument that until and until they sing in korean they aren't considered a kpop idol?

 

[Selfmate]

I think as long as the individual or group identifies as kpop, the company acknowledges(markets) as kpop n the audience accepts it as kpop; then its kpop.

Same with being an idol, the individual/group self identifies as being an idol, the company self acknowledges they market an idol(/group) n audience accepts as idol(idolises 'em).

Ofc there are unsuccessful/wannabe idols as well, i wont name names (cos im not inflammatory/familiar).

XG, Niziu or Kaachi i hv no stance since i dont stan em. Idek if Rain is considered a kpop idol at this point in his career. Or BoA if she wasnt in GOT the Beat. I aint got no horse in this particular race, i think. Ill just enjoy wat i like n cheer my faves.

interesting a person can self-identify as a kpop idol? hmmm...and who is the audience - we as kpop fans? the korean GP? the korean media? my point is what if there's a disagreement as to whether someone is or is not a kpop idol
that's the reason for me making this thread to hear different perspectives as to what people consider a kpop idol

but one would argue that an unsuccessdul or nugu idol is still an idol no? so one could argue that it's not the success or failure of a person's music that makes them an idol or not...

hmm...that raises a different question of whether a person remains a kpop idol or even former kpop idol - both BOA and Rain have released music in the past 2 years or so I think Better for boa and switch to me from rain???
a better example might be someone like yoona or sooyoung or seohyun from snsd - they haven't released anything but for last year's SNSD activity and they currently self-identify as actresses so are they kpop idols???

 

[chiefchilly1]

does that imply that one must be in korea to be a kpop idol?

that's right I have yet to consider the virtual idols - you raise an interesting point - they would be considered virtual idols but would they be considered kpop idols??? hmm...

but alexa trained in korea correct?
for XG are they not similar to niziu then? that there's an argument that until and until they sing in korean they aren't considered a kpop idol?

I mean if its in Korean and its pop music then sure you can label it as such, you don’t need to necessarily be Korean or be in Korea for it to be kpop because its more of a genre then a group of people. And no NiziU is J-pop not K-pop specifically because their members are Japanese and their music is sung in Japanese. And vtubers from official agencies are just considered idols, nothing to do with kpop.

 

[Selfmate]

I mean if its in Korean and its pop music then sure you can label it as such, you don’t need to necessarily be Korean or be in Korea for it to be kpop because its more of a genre then a group of people. And no NiziU is J-pop not K-pop specifically because their members are Japanese and their music is sung in Japanese. And vtubers from official agencies are just considered idols, nothing to do with kpop.

so the question then is what makes a person an idol
is there a difference between a kpop artist ie. someone who sings in korean and pop music vs. an "idol" or is it the same?

 

[chiefchilly1]

so the question then is what makes a person an idol
is there a difference between a kpop artist ie. someone who sings in korean and pop music vs. an "idol" or is it the same?

An idol already means an icon, someone you idolize, like a parent for example. Kpop idols are meant to be like that, people you would like to idolize. Thats why kpop caters to the younger audience not the older ones. When kpop idols refer to themselves they call themselves “idols” usually not “hey I’m a kpop idol” unless they need to say it.

 

[Selfmate]

An idol already means an icon, someone you idolize, like a parent for example. Kpop idols are meant to be like that, people you would like to idolize. Thats why kpop caters to the younger audience not the older ones. When kpop idols refer to themselves they call themselves “idols” usually not “hey I’m a kpop idol” unless they need to say it.

then my point is under that definition aren't all artists idols? since if the definition is idolize? idolize - admire, revere, or love greatly or excessively.
then every single artist has fans who idolize them no?