So I have seem this question many times and I have been asked this several times too and the question is....
"CAN AN INDIAN BECOME A K-POP IDOL?"
And of course, the internet world loves to share their opinions on things.
The general answer I tend to see the most is, NO! And the reasons are the same trivial reasons that people ALWAYS give
- Korea is VERY RACIST they will not accept you
- If you are Northeast Indian with pale skin you can probably pass but if you have dark skin there is no way in hell
- Language barriers
- Why are you trying to be a singer in Korea when you got Bollywood? You can do better in your own country blah blah blah
yeah....those reasons -.-
Here are links as examples:
https://www.allkpop.com/forum/threads/can-an-indian-become-a-kpop-idol.78054/
https://www.quora.com/Can-an-Indian-person-become-a-K-pop-idol
https://www.quora.com/Can-an-Indian-person-become-a-K-pop-idol
but there are also people (Koreans) who think you can and would LOVE to see you as K-pop idols.
But still even though there are people who say YES or NO we don't REALLY know right? Because its never been done before. No K-pop company has accepted ANY Indians as trainees or debuted them as idols.....at least until now!
Meet Z-Girls!!!! They are an up-and-coming K-pop girl group that will debut this year! But the special thing about this group is that they have an INDIAN MEMBER!!!!!
Meet Priyanka!
She is the FIRST Indian female K-pop Idol!!!!
There isn't much about her or any of the members yet but I did some digging and apparently she was on the Changwon 2016 K-pop Festival. She had to win some many rounds and surpass a lot a people to get that spot so she is definitely talented!
Here is a video of her at the festival.
Like I said there isn't that much about her or her group but the girls will be debuting soon! I heard that they will debut at the end of February. I think on the 23rd? I'm not sure though. But IF you want to follow them I will leave links to their Youtube channel the end of the post.
This is a fancam of the girls performing and they look legit! Priyanka is wearing the sparkly sequin black dress and is it too early to say that she is ALREADY my favorite lol xD. I love her attitude and she seems cool and chic kinda like Jennie of BLACKPINK or Yeeun of CLC.
The company they are signed under is, Z-POP DREAM. The goal of the company is, and I quote, "to replicate the success of K-POP and create global music stars from multiple countries by bringing together the KPOP professionals and voting power of fans!
The Project's business model has star creation business and global online monetisation platform. On one side, the proceeds from the ITO will be used to accelerate creating infrastructure for this star creation business, and on the other hand it will create global online monetisation platform, which will tokenize the revenue opportunities generated by the star creation business, including concert tickets, merchandise, online content and admission to exclusive events".
"According to a press release, Z-pop Dream also aims to create its own form of cryptocurrency (like bitcoin) called the ZPOP Coin as the method of payment for music, online content, merchandise and concert tickets. One ZPOP coin will be worth USD 0.08 and will be the main form of transaction for content from the idols under Z-pop Dream. The company promises to use a blockchain to maintain transparency and states, “Hundreds of millions of music fans spread across the world will power [the project] to discover talent and join star creation process with decisive voting power granted through Z-POP Online. Z-POP DREAM Project will return on society by giving a realistic chance to youngsters and decentralize star creation by blockchain based voting.”
The company is hoping to create "an intriguing new global idol group project is under way with the title, 'Z-Pop Dream', launched by Zenith Media Contents".
This is an introduction video to the company and their goals.
It's pretty exciting
BUT
what's even more exciting is that they don't just have a girl group....THEY HAVE A BOY GROUP TOO!!!!!!!!!
Meet Z-BOYS!!!!!
Z-BOYS is an up-and-coming boy group also signed to Z-POP DREAM and just like Z-GIRLS they also have an INDIAN MEMBER!!!!
Meet SID!!!!
He is the FIRST Indian male K-pop idol!!!!
Here is a video with the rest of his members of Z-BOYS!
Again their isn't much information about he boys individually yet but the boys do have their own variety show that is hosted by their company on the company's YouTube page.
On the show is centered around the boys introducing themselves to the audience, exploring Korea and learning about Korean culture through fun challenges and games. They have also gotten the opportunity to meet other K-pop idols like VAV, Chung-ha and ATEEZ.
Both of the groups are supposedly going to debut on the Feb.23rd this month at a live concert Z-POP is hosting in Seoul called, Z-POP DREAM LIVE in Seoul. If you are in the area I will the line below. The tickets are free so if you are in Seoul and have nothing to do than you head on over to the concert ^_^
SO....If you ask me "can Indians become K-pop idols?" I will tell you, "YES!" This is why you need to keep trying...THIS IS WHY you shouldn't listen to people on the internet spreading negativity and telling you what you can and can't do. You can do ANYTHING you set your mind to it's all in the matter of are you going to do it. Like I said before what you have right now is enough ...it's enough to start with all you have to do is get started.
Regardless of whether you are Indian, Indonesian, Hispanic, Black/African-American, White, Native American, etc... and you want to be a K-pop star I hope you found this blogpost encouraging, informative, enlightening....some of you might find it infuriating lol but regardless I hope if gives you something to think about, discuss and consider.
