How do you measure success?

장애물 따윈 없는 듯이 달려라

태민 you gotta move, let's go, let's go

Run as if there were no obstacles

Like Taemin you gotta move, let’s go, let’s go

“VVS” (Show Me the Money, Season 9)

I’ve written thousands upon thousands of words over the years trying to capture what it is that makes idols so special from the fan’s perspective. Idols, like Indian film “heroes” or classic Hollywood stars, add something ineffable to our lives--something more than glamor or beauty (although both are in short supply in today’s American culture). Sometimes we speak about them as we would our friends and at other times it’s with awe. We laugh knowingly at SHINee’s Minho displaying his infamous competitive spirit on variety show quizzes but when he performs, a magic spell is woven and he becomes “SHINee’s Minho”, an unearthly creature, an idol. The mundane and sacred existing as two sides of the same coin.

But that is from the fan’s perspective.

What about the outside world?

Since joining the English language conversation around “Kpop” and idols online I’ve been frustrated at both the misinformation and the bizarre ideas held by international fans around idols. Some cling to desperately to the kayfabe of the happy group of the most talented friends of all time just puttin’ on a show for the folks out there in TV land while others are trapped in an equally fantastical meta-narrative kayfabe where their work as active participants in juking certain industry metrics is treated as if each copy of an mp3 sold means they’re one step closer to reaching the ultimate nirvana.

A copy of an mp3 is sold, logged in a spreadsheet, downloaded, and then deleted. The song exists only for a brief moment in time, a mayfly made up of ones and zeroes, unplayed and ultimately forgotten.

But what good does it do the idols--to their long term careers--to be the recipients of this devoted attention to their metrics? 

Metrics, awards, ratings, rankings… none of this means anything on its own.

It’s only one side of the coin. 

When a brand wants to hire an idol or a drama production is thinking of casting an idol in a role, they aren’t checking how many mp3s were sold or “ULs” were gained in Melon because these metrics mean nothing when it’s an open secret that a relatively small number of fans are the ones doing all of the work. Taemin’s single “Move” currently has about 54 million streams on YouTube. This is less than other songs from other idols who would have fit the rhyme scheme of “VVS” quoted at the top of the post (e.g. BTS’s “Run” has 155 million views) … yet it was Taemin’s song and Taemin’s name that act as the cultural touchstone. Metrics can’t achieve that.

Idols bring their fandom eyeballs, yes, and that is a factor but there’s also an idol’s image and, importantly, their talent. For example, G-Dragon brings something distinctly G-Dragon with him to his endorsements like Nike Air Force Ones. You couldn’t just drag and drop another idol in his place and get the same buzz and lines wrapping around the block. Or think about SMAP’s Kimura Takuya and his drama roles. Winner’s Mino in his variety show appearances. Kanjani8’s Okura in that excellent BL film I just watched. 

Was it metrics that got Matsumoto Jun the career making role in Hana Yori Dango? At the time KAT-TUN were the more popular group by metrics. Was it obscenely high streams of hit singles that cast Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan in Chén Qíng Lìng? Was it record breaking “ULs” that sent Tsukada Ryoichi into Matusko Deluxes’s panel of eccentrics? Boatloads of CDs sold that cast SixTones Kyomoto Taiga in Elisabeth? Was it holding the record for having the highest number of music show awards ever for a single that sent Winner’s Kang Seungyoon on his incredible run on King of Masked Singer? (Hint: No.)

Metrics can be useful to the industry but they aren’t looking at record breaking streams on YouTube. Did the project generate the expected financial returns? Yes or no? And unless companies decide to release the line item budgets then all we have is mediaplay and fodder for inane fanwars.

And that’s even leaving aside the off screen factors. Is the idol easy to work with? Is their agency a nightmare to deal with? Do you have a sponsor breathing down your neck to hire his daughter’s current obsession? These are things that you as a fan cannot change them no matter how many mp3s you buy or “antis” you harass on social media… unless that’s your daddy in charge of pulling the strings and chances are if you’re reading this it’s not.

My favorite idol group of all time is Japan’s A.B.C-Z, who remain the group at Johnny’s & Associates with the smallest fan club and who have the lowest public profile. While I would love for them to have a song blow up and become a favorite with the general public, it’s okay that they haven’t had that kind of success because A.B.C-Z have cultivated an extremely strong career in the theater. It’s harder for us to see this overseas but the members are regularly tapped to give a bit of idol sparkle to stage plays. The members are as busy on the stage as other groups are with drama roles. The metrics stans use say “flop” but they’re respected professionals who have been working steadily for almost twenty years. What exactly about that is “flopping”? The steady work part? The respected by their peers part? The doing good work part? The cultivating a solid fandom part? Strange definition of flop.

I recognize that I’m shouting against the wind here. There are people who do benefit from the buying/streaming/obsessive chart tracking behaviors of fans: e.g. the tech companies harvesting your data as you stream. And there are powerful incentives built in to keep fans engaged in those cycles. It’s intoxicating, getting swept up in the collective work of buying and streaming but it’s ultimately empty for both the fan and idol. 

Enjoy the songs; join the fanclub if you want; have fun counting down the days to the concerts and new releases; buy the CDs to admire the photobooks and trade photocards; write fanfic; learn a new language; watch your fave’s dramas; track the career moves of different idols and the business strategies of different agencies; daydream about running into your favorite idol at the local coffee shop; contribute to a rice wreath or sending a coffee truck for a special occasion; laugh and gossip with your friends. This can be a fun and enjoyable hobby but only if you’re able to break away from the toxic fantasies. The entertainment business is cruel enough to idols as it is without their fans adding to their burdens.