British Broadcasting CorporationMillions of fans screamed. A global phenomenon. A multi-billion pound business. No, it’s not Taylor Swift this time. We’re talking about K-pop.
and with Four of the top 10 best-selling artists of 2023 are from South Koreathe British want a share of the pie.
Newly formed boy band Dear Alice have moved forward, applying to appear on the latest edition of BBC One talent show Made in Korea: The K-Pop Experience.
Meet Bryce, Dexter, James, Ollie and Reese. You’ll probably be hearing a lot more about them from now on.
They didn’t know each other until they auditioned individually and were formed as a band by the show’s hosts.
The fresh-faced five-piece then flew to Seoul, the capital of South Korea, to undergo 100 days of rigorous K-pop training with the goal of becoming stars.
Most K-pop training takes years, not months. Not for the faint of heart, the boys’ experience includes lengthy vocal training and learning intricate dances, as well as some sightseeing in Korea (and a great TV show – the Korea Tourism Board will be excited).
The six-episode series is produced in partnership with the BBC, K-pop giant SM Entertainment and Moon&Back Media, and is run by TV veterans Dawn Airey, Nigel Hall and Russ Lindsay, whose past shows include The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent ” and other shows and Saturday night takeaways.
K-pop expert Hee Jun Yoon, the creative force behind some of the biggest K-pop groups of the past 20 years, criticizes the bands’ performances at the end of each week, and it’s safe to say she pulls no punches. Even the BBC’s head of unscripted content, Kate Phillips, said Hee-joon “makes Simon Cowell look like Mary Poppins”.
Of course, former X Factor head judge Cowell is looking for a boy band for an upcoming Netflix series that’s still in production.
Heejun didn’t say much about the first episode of “Made in Korea,” but he gave the band a wake-up call and some solid criticism in the first week. “The dance level is too basic, just kindergarten level.” Oops. Her expression alone could go viral.
The boys will not be asked if anyone wants to leave the show at any time. “You’ll have to wait and see,” said Olly Quinn, 20, a recent dance and musical theater graduate from Sunderland. (Apparently, media training is also rigorous).
They also won’t reveal if they’ve signed a record deal, saying only that they’re still “rehearsing hard” and commenting that all the hard work and brutal feedback has been worth it.
Londoner Dexter Greenwood, 22, who also trained in musical theater, said: “It’s hard work and really challenging, but it turns out the end justifies the means. Everyone at SM Very supportive, but I think we have different expectations than they do!
Reese Carter, 20, from Wiltshire and a former cruise ship performer, added: “It was serious at first but we have a great welfare team… it’s all been done with Love is done.
“They’re honest because they want to push us to be better. I love the feedback. They’re on our side. We have benefits, we have life coaches, we have people who live with us regularly and you can walk downstairs and Talk to someone,” he added.
Ollie agreed: “It’s brutal, to be honest. We need it.”
There were certainly huge differences between the band’s performance in the first episode and the clips from the film that reporters later saw in previews.
Coco Yeonsoo Do is a K-pop dancer and choreographer and former member of KAACHI, considered the UK’s first K-pop girl group.
“It’s really hard to get a K-pop group to the level of BTS or Blackpink,” she told the BBC, but training is the key to successful bands standing out.
“It’s very intense and competitive,” Coco said.
She adds that a key difference between British and American pop groups and K-pop groups is the way the latter are produced.
“It’s obvious, but K-pop groups are more like a group, emphasizing group identity rather than individuality,” she added.
The following Allegations of a very strict and punitive training regime People who wanted to be K-pop singers in the past few years, Korean media reported that debut regulations prohibit some unfair behaviors in contracts The relationship between K-pop trainees and entertainment companies.
Clearly, welfare has always been a top priority for the producers of the K-Pop Experience series.
Helen Wood is Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at Aston University and is conducting a research project on the duty of care in television.
In 2019, a parliamentary inquiry into the broadcasting code followed the suicides of several reality TV stars, and Ofcom also launched a consultation.
2020, The media regulator has announced new rules to protect those taking part in TV shows.
“There is now greater pressure on production to ensure that they take due care of the welfare, dignity and well-being of those involved in production,” she said.
“That’s not to say things weren’t in place before 2021, but now there’s more regulation.”
She added that another key difference brought about by the new Ofcom code is the requirement to show audiences that a duty of care is being developed towards participants.
This means pulling back the curtain and showing viewers some of the backstage production processes to make sure they understand and feel confident that the contestants are being adequately taken care of.
A spokesperson for Made in Korea told the BBC: “The welfare of the band members has always been at the center of their training process,” adding that there was a “strong support team” and the band’s welfare “remains the highest priority” ”.
Reese said they also relied on each other for support.
“We have [the band] Over the past few months, our relationship has grown closer. While it’s great to have perks out there, a lot of the time we don’t need to go to them because we’re strong enough as a team.
Blaise Noon, 19, from London, is the band’s darling, but he seems to be taking it all in stride. He is a graduate of the British School and is considered the most confident.
He said they were really “lucky” to have the advantage as a British band of being immersed in the Korean training system: “We were able to draw on a lot of really good stuff to create this hybrid fusion.”
Interestingly, most of them have never thought of being in a boy band until now.
James Sharp, 23, from Huddersfield, is one of the Sharp twins, whose TikTok account already has 5.5 million followers.
He said he thought boy bands were “cringeworthy,” and Bryce recalled with a laugh that it was “so cool” for them, even though Dexter had always been a fan. Olly received his K-pop education from his aunt who ran a K-pop fan page.
But everyone agreed that this was an opportunity too good to pass up.
But how did they come up with the band name?
Ollie’s suggestion of a British Bulldog was quickly dismissed (not sure why) and they stumbled upon a restaurant in Seoul called Dear Alice.
They all loved it and stuck with it.
“‘Dear’ is like a letter to a fan,” and Alice represents “a love that I can’t explain,” Brian said.
What’s more, according to the lads, the restaurant “sells the best Beef Wellington in the world”.
Not quite your classic Korean food, but Dear Alice hopes a similar cultural fusion will be the secret to their success.
The first episode of Made in Korea: The K-Pop Experience will be broadcast on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Saturday 17 August at 17:15 BST.
Additional reporting by Ruchira Sharma.
