Recently K-pop – Korean pop – has dominated Western music charts. It's natural that people started comparing K-pop to Western pop. Although these two genres fall under the pop category, they are completely different. I will discuss the similarities and differences between K-pop and Western pop culture, the selection process, and music production. While reading this article you need to keep cultural differences in mind. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay People listen to American pop music because they like that music and not necessarily because of the artists. In Western pop culture, you don't have to look good to be popular. If your music touches the hearts of many people, gets people excited, or becomes a good bop; it doesn't matter what you look like. People listen to K-pop because they love idols. The K-pop industry is more focused on the visual aspect of music: the idols. Idols are groomed from the moment they enter the company, which is usually around the age of 14-20. It seems like everything, most of these idols don't write or compose their own music and are just told to perform perfectly and be cute, cute and beautiful in front of the camera. These idols must always appear perfect in the eyes of the public. Because that's what they are: idols. And that's why image-destroying scandals struggle to recover their reputation. They dance and sing non-stop for hours, all to look perfect on stage, even if injured or malnourished. In the K-pop world, there are 3 powerful entertainment companies that dominate: SM, YG and JYP. They control most of the K-pop industry. Groups outside of the big three rarely get public attention. Unlike K-pop, there is no standard internship system in Western pop. Groups like One Direction, The Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys all formed through open auditions. These groups made their official debut within 1-2 years. In Western pop, once a group is formed, the question is rarely whether the group will debut or not. K-pop artists or "idols" are created through the internship system by labels. The training period is much longer and more uncertain. Aspiring artists join a company without knowing which group they will join; that is, if they become part of a group. There have been many cases where idols stopped training right before debut. There were also times when trainees trained for up to seven years and still didn't debut. TWICE member Jihyo trained for 10 years before debuting Despite years of training, many K-pop idols fail to write their own music; because their apprentice days were spent improving their dancing, acting, and language skills, they often don't learn, or don't have the chance, to compose/produce their own music until later in their careers. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay However, many K-pop groups like BTS indicate that the situation is slowly changing. The musically talented members of BTS write many of their own songs and are heavily involved in the creation of each song. Most K-pop idols rely on producers hired by the company to write their songs for them. This might seem strange to Western viewers as there is a strong focus on the originality and personal identity of Western pop artists, especially individual singers. Unlike the:, 52, 101929.