For those of you newly interested in K-Pop, here is a guide to get you acquainted with the system.
K-Pop consists of solo artists, dance groups/bands, ballad (non-dance) groups, and bands that play instruments. These bands are not necessarily of the rock or alternative genre, they just each happen to perform their instruments live. K-Pop artists are also referred to as 'idols.'
K-Pop groups tend to debut with mini-albums, and until they garner more popularity, they wait awhile before they release a full-length album. If an album is well received, it may be released as a "repackaged album" with maybe a few new singles and an extra remix of the hit singles. There will usually be new photographs of the artists as well. Singles are also released, but that is generally uncommon unless it's for a special event, collaboration with another artist/artists, or soundtrack. Sometimes, singles are released when companies want to test out their (generally rookie) artists' popularity (based on sales) as well.
K-Pop performers generally perform live weekly on three main music programs: There is Mnet M! Countdown, KBS Music Bank, and MBC Music Core. Other regular music studios that broadcast K-Pop are MBC Show! Champion and SBS Inkigayo, which also gives out awards. There are also other special stages like "Music on Top," "K-Pop Con," large broadcasting award ceremonies, for soldiers, etc. The artists tend to perform one, maybe two singles 2-3 times a week, and various combinations of online voting, digital sales, record sales, search and streaming for each group are converted into points. Then, the artist/group with the highest points is crowned the #1 winner at the end of each week. The artist/s then receive some type of trophy and often perform an encore concert in gratitude of the audience's favor. These performances should always be live, but there are have been times where lip-syncing, or faulty singing underneath the background music, has occurred. Though it is okay when artists are too sick to sing, lip-syncing is highly looked down upon by audiences and Netizens (people who follow the artist/s online). Since live performances are a significant portion of being a K-Pop artist, a [Mr.Removed] category has been established over YouTube to determine if the live performance is indeed live, and the quality in which it is sung. [Mr. Removed] videos dulls the background music and chorus to unveil what the artist actually sings into his/her microphones.
On live studio performances, there are debut stages (where the artist performs live on that stage for the first time), comeback stages (where an artist returns to the stage with a new single), and a goodbye stage, which is the last live performance for a particular track. Some popular tracks are remixed and may be performed even after the promotion period. There are also special stages throughout the year for events like holidays, the half-year mark, end of the year, etc.
Before a new group debuts or a music video is released, there are promotion photos and mini-videos called 'teasers' that feature either individual members or glimpses of the music video. Audiences can see glimpses of the concept or the individual member in the band and anticipate the release of the music video.
Usually there is a change of "concept" for each new single. The "concept" dictates the hair, clothing style, dance choreography and expression in which artists carry out their live performance. For example, a "cute" concept will entail stage outfits and hairstyles that would fit the theme, along with cute expression and dancing during a live performance.
A K-Pop dance group/band tends to have designations for each position. You have a leader, who is usually the eldest member or the one who has trained the longest. Sometimes, like in the case of T-ara, the company designates another member as the leader to give them a chance to develop their sense of responsibility. Then you have the main vocalists, which is sometimes distinguished as 'lead main vocal' or simply 'main vocal.' The lead main vocalists tend to sing before the main vocalist. The same idea goes for lead vocalists, who is the first person to sing in most songs. You also have a rapper, which can also be sub-categorized as "lead rapper" and "main rapper." The main rapper is the one who raps most of the time, while the lead rapper raps first. Sometimes, this is interchangeable. The rest of the members are vocalists or sub-vocalists, who usually don't receive as many lines/parts. This does not necessary mean that the designations are permanent, because it depends on the song itself. Besides vocally, there is usually a designated (best) "dancer" as well. This role may also have a "lead" and "main," though this is usually negligible.
Another form of designation within a group is based on age. From a guy to a guy, 'hyung' is an address to an older brother. 'Sunbae' addresses an older or more experienced person, and 'dongsaeng' refers to a younger brother or sister. From a female to female, 'unni' refers to an older sister. 'Oppa' is the term of address from a younger female to an older male. 'Noona' is the form of address from a younger male to an older female. A 'maknae' is the youngest member.
Artist profiles are always announced with the debut of a group, and updated throughout their career. An artist profile usually contains the stage name of each individual artist, the original Hangul name, birth date/age, birth place, height (in centimeters, often increased by a few cms), weight (in kilograms, often decreased for females), the number of trainee years/past experiences in musical ventures, and other hobbies/talents may also be included.
Once a group has established a fan base and popularity in the industry, the companies tend to split the band into sub-groups or sub-units that act as a separate group for a limited amount of time. They are still part of the main group, but as the sub-unit, they have a different name, different songs and concept to perform, which is removed from their original group. For example, After School was split into two sub groups, After School Red and After School Blue. After School Red performed the song "Into the Night Sky" with an urban and sexy concept, while After School Blue had a cute concept and performed different songs. After School also created a three-member sub-group called Orange Caramel that released their own mini-album. Sometimes one of the stronger members within the group will also temporarily go solo in a process similar to the sub-groups. A new type of subgroup has been added to the industry, like in the case of EXO-K and EXO-M, where though there are twelve members total, six perform in Korea, while the other six perform the same tracks with Mandarin lyrics and promote in Taiwan.
Entertainment companies want to reach out globally, so they usually have their artists learning at least one other language. The language most necessary to acquire is Japanese, as Japanese promotions/expansions occur most commonly. Since Korean artists are well received in Japan, popular tracks are often translated or reinvented in the Japanese language, a new music video is made, and artists are sent to Japan to promote and perform their singles. Other countries frequently visited are Malaysia, Thailand, mainland China, Taiwan, and the U.S. Some performances are in Canada, France, Australia and Vietnam as well.
There is usually not more than one full length concert tour in a year because K-Pop artists have such packed schedules, but when they do make the time, the concert may take place in more than just Korea. For example, boy band Infinite had their Second Invasion concert in Korea, but their tickets were sold out so fast that Woollim Entertainment hosted an Encore concert in Japan shortly after with some new performances not seen in the first concert.
Live promotions include participation in variety shows and radio broadcast interviews. Some variety shows include Weekly Idol, Birth of a Family (where a male and female group work together to take care of abandoned pets), Superstar K (a talent show similar to American Idol), We Got Married (where two celebrities act as if they are married and romantically interact), Music & Lyrics, etc. The main issue with variety programs is that they are sometimes scripted, so the idols speak not upon their own thoughts, but act for the cameras. Some temporary shows/segments are created to specifically center around a particular group, for example, Infinite's dorm life was filmed pre-debut under a segment called "You Are My Oppa" where they were forced to live with and take care of a girl as if she was their younger sister.
K-Pop artists may also perform in live broadcasted events like "Star Dance Battle" (where artists perform dances against and in front of one another, and "Idol Star Athletics," where artists gather and compete athletically.
Member changes and leaving trainees are common before debut, but after debut, it is uncommon for members to leave or be replaced. This is usually not recommended for the company, as fans become attached to the members and see them as a necessary component of the group's overall dynamic. A notable member resignation was when 2PM's leader, Jay Park left because of scandal regarding his online post four years ago as a trainee, saying he "...hate(s) it here (Korea)." Though he apologized and explained that, at the time, he was young, naive, and new to being uprooted to another country for a tough trainee period, there was so much outrage and controversy issuing from Netizens (internet + citizens) that he left the group and returned to the U.S. until the scandal died down. Regarding member changes, U-Kiss representatives replaced two original members that have been with the group for six years because they felt like the group needed to be stronger vocally. This was such a swift decision that the two leaving members were perplexed and rumored to be forced out of the group. This sparked frustration in many of U-Kiss's Kissme fans, and some even openly declared that they wouldn't accept the new members. Other groups, such as After School, have so many replaced members that it's difficult to keep track of member names. Being a nine member girl group, new members were added and replaced each year, sometimes virtually unnoticed. However, their entertainment company threw a positive spin to it, deeming each leaving member as "graduated" from the group. A member replacement chart was even established on Wikipedia to show the duration of time in which members have been in the group. Bekah, the main rapper from After School, recently left because she wanted to explore fashion design, and hence announced as "graduated" from After School.
Once they have gained popularity, K-Pop artists tend to branch out into other activities, such as modeling, dramas, movies, commericals (CFs), becoming spokespersons, hosts/MC's, or even guest starring at cameos in other artists' music videos. Entertainment companies typically acquire their trainees from a younger age and not only focus on their musical performances, but also teach them how to become modest, well-rounded idols. Among K-Pop's audience, it is highly important that fans are captured by the personalities of their stars, hence the term 'idol.' The idea is that if they are interested in the individuals behind the scenes, they'll be more likely to follow their progress into the future.
Almost every idol group has a fan name. These may be suggested by the group and fans can vote on which name they wish to be called. For example, DBSK (TVXQ's) fans are called Cassiopeias, while A-Pink's fans are called Pink Pandas.
Idol groups may also have a group color. This is usually for when there are concerts consisting of more than one artist or group. When this happens, fans of separate bands can hold different colored balloons, banners, etc. Back in the day, rival groups H.O.T. sported white raincoats and balloons while S.E.S. fans wore yellow raincoats and waved yellow baboons. (Ha! JK).
Of course, the best way to support your artists is to purchase their music. Since I can't read Korean I find it easier to just purchase the digital single (or even whole digital albums) online on iTunes. However, iTunes is limited in its K-pop collection, so they only have music from popular artists and select albums. It also doesn't count towards the Gaon or Hanteo charts. If you want variety and hard-copy albums, the site I use to purchase most Asian goods (not just K-Pop products) is YesAsia http://www.yesasia.com/us/en/home.html. YesAsia is a large official vendor with prices usually lower than those found on Amazon (for new K-Pop CDs), however, the company is based overseas and products may take over two weeks to arrive. Free international shipping is also available for most products so long as you order at least $39 USD. Another major site is KPopTown http://www.kpoptown.com/. If you want your purchase to count in music charts, make sure to check that your vendor is associated with music charts such as the Hanteo Chart, Gaon Chart, and Oricon Chart. The Gaon (Korean) and Oricon (Japanese) chart are equivalent to the Billboard in the U.S. The Hanteo Chart counts album sales.
It should be noted that in South Korea, digital sales and its subsequent rankings are a greater indication of success than physical copy (album) sales. The idea is that physical albums may be purchased by people who are already fans, but high counts in digital sales indicate that a song is also popular in mass media, and are heard by those that may be unfamiliar to the artist/s before. For example, Infinite's Kim Sunggyu released a solo album called "Another Me" that sold over 70,000 copies. This is considered a very respectable amount, even more so for a solo artist. However, his song did poorly on digital charts. Despite being praised for the quality of the album, his songs were not highly recognized by the general media, so the media may regard that as under-performing, or even a "failure" (grimace).
(Related article) Introduction to K-Pop: What to Expect
http://kpopdebut.blogspot.com/2013/03/intro-to-k-pop-what-to-expect.html
Nicely done!
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