THE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN .

‘‘

Editorial Written by Xiaolong on hellokpop.

We’ve all heard stories about life being a K-pop star, but the K-pop industry is tough and you may or may not want to pursue it after reading this.

How to be a K-pop star?

With agencies churning out rookies one after another, one might pose the question: what is exactly needed to be a K-pop idol? If you aspire to follow your bias into the music industry, here is what you need, based on the analysis of contemporary singers.

BOYS WILL BE BOYS … or maybe not

If we were to become a pop star 15-20 years ago, it would have been the macho type of male. You know, be manly, sweat like a horse, be hairy and have a deep, deep voice or at least a very masculine one. Sort of a second Freddie Mercury.  Nowadays, however, the trend is for boys to be more … ambiguous. Girly, even. If you cannot sing, you better be a good dancer – or a rapper.

You have two choices. If you are a more feminine type, you don’t need abs. They will be delighted to look at your face only. If you are a more masculine type, abs are unavoidable. Be prepared for long hours in the gym. Then there are the mixed types, the baby faces with a body builder’s muscles. Those are the freakiest, frankly.

The uninitiated would never be able to tell he’s a boy (Ren from Nu’est).

POLES FOR PIN-UP GIRLS

As for the girls, besides being perfectly pretty, you have to be thin. Some agencies time and time again try to launch bands or singers who do not look like the average pole thin beauty – these are the rare exceptions (like Big Mama or Lee Hi). Long legs are a must, as basically every girl band goes for the shortest possible outfits. Curiously enough, it seems like you cannot have your upper body revealed, so tops and shirts would always be high or as closed as possible, but legs can be shown as much as you like. The requirement nowadays seems to be a double standard for girls; you need to be cute-innocent and y y at the same time. Preferably, you should sing like a 12 year old and dance like a stripper, at the same time.

Girls bring the… legs out… (Girls’ Generation)

10+1 RULES:

Be young. Well, above 15 but preferably below 25. Agencies are not very much known for recruiting “mature” men and women. Probably because kids are still formidable and easier to govern. If you are lucky you may be in the business for a long time, like Shinhwa, and then your age would not really matter much. But for starters, if you are 30, it will be difficult to sell you to predominantly teen audiences.

Cutesiness or aegyo is what a new K-pop idol should be capable of. Even those macho rappers show their tender sides from time to time. But don’t be extreme. Syrupy aegyo will be too much for foreign audiences. If someone is naturally cute in certain situations, that can be a big plus in endearing themselves to people. Overflowing aegyo may have reverse effects with older audiences. If you strive to engage a wider audience, you need to know when to do aegyo. If you are fine with 12 year olds or uncle fans only, just do it.

Some stars are simply not suited for aegyo… (Yunho)

You have to be fashionable, though some newbies might take it to the extremes in the company’s desperate attempt to ‘stand out’. Some stars, like G-Dragon are able to pull of the most extreme fashion styles and look good even in a potato sack but you need to keep in mind that this requires a certain natural personality. If you are only trying to look cool in certain fashion items, it will show. The best is to harmonize your fashion with your personality. Some agencies have concepts for artists and you might need to wear items you are uncomfortable with, just to build up an image. In the long run, fake images will be destroyed one way or another. Take Jaejoong for example, whose initial image was an Ice Prince dressed in ridiculous otherworldly clothes. Soon fans learned the guy is far from being icy.

The Ice Prince image forever shattered… and we all love hi