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Answerman - Why Can't Idol Singers Have Lives Of Their Own?


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residentgrigo



Joined: 23 Dec 2007
Posts: 2418
Location: Germany
PostPosted: Tue Jul 28, 2015 8:04 am Reply with quote
One can dislike an industry (or just avoid it as i do) without bashing a culture and idols aren´t pops stars as the level of fame can´t even come close to compete. Or money earned and they aren´t the face of Japanese entertainment by a long shot. I would even argue that it is impossible to have a lasting career unless having your life micro managed sounds like fun.
I also never figured out what their exact job is (neither did Justin) besides being a living product and i can only repeat that none of this is hidden knowledge.
The only way i can see to make it out alive of that hellhole of an industry is to become a trophy wife at 27 at the latest but they would also need to last that long. Good luck... or how about trying for a carear as an actual actor, model or singer? Japan has these too. (I am one such "illegitimate" child and a girl in my school was a "real" model btw. She even had a boyfriend. Oh the humanity!)
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leafy sea dragon



Joined: 27 Oct 2009
Posts: 7163
Location: Another Kingdom
PostPosted: Tue Jul 28, 2015 4:32 pm Reply with quote
I don't know if idols make enough money to do so, but I do hear about people who take jobs that are dependent on them being young (namely performance, modeling, and sports), then using that money to invest in something so they can have a source of income when they have to retire from whatever high-paying business it is. Magic Johnson, for instance, went right into buying and starting businesses the moment he retired from professional basketball, for instance. But that's probably because he was trained in business and management from his father and in college.
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yuna49



Joined: 27 Aug 2008
Posts: 3804
PostPosted: Wed Jul 29, 2015 9:29 am Reply with quote
leafy sea dragon wrote:
Magic Johnson, for instance, went right into buying and starting businesses the moment he retired from professional basketball, for instance. But that's probably because he was trained in business and management from his father and in college.

And he earned a helluva lot more money ($46 million in 1980's dollars by one estimate) as a professional basketball player than any member of AKB48 will ever see. How much do you suppose Takahashi Minami has earned over her career with the group? I'd be shocked if it came anywhere near $1 million.
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leafy sea dragon



Joined: 27 Oct 2009
Posts: 7163
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 29, 2015 12:04 pm Reply with quote
Yeah, hence why I began with "I don't know if idols make enough money to do so." I don't know how much money these idols make. They bring in a lot of money though.
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YotaruVegeta



Joined: 02 Jul 2002
Posts: 1061
Location: New York
PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2015 8:11 am Reply with quote
The whole idol as a chaste personality is sad. It reminds me of actors and singers in America who have hidden their sexuality because they're supposed to come off as sex symbols for women.
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TarsTarkas



Joined: 20 Dec 2007
Posts: 5823
Location: Virginia, United States
PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2015 8:36 am Reply with quote
YotaruVegeta wrote:
The whole idol as a chaste personality is sad. It reminds me of actors and singers in America who have hidden their sexuality because they're supposed to come off as sex symbols for women.


The entertainment industry is about making money. It always has been, and it always will be. The bottom line to that is that sex sells. Hollywood will package dreams and fantasies tailored to squeeze as much money out of you as they can get. The Japan Idol industry does the same thing.

It is not sad, it is what the paying audience wants.
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HeeroTX



Joined: 15 Jul 2002
Posts: 2046
Location: Austin, TX
PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2015 9:59 am Reply with quote
Saw this today on Asahi Shimbun, its an interesting (and relevant) article about the "idol industry" in Japan:
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/cool_japan/style/AJ201503310011

A few notable bits:
Quote:
Ami was taking stock of her life one day when she came to the realization that all she wanted to do was "sing, dance and be the center of attention." That led her to form Ange with her friends in February 2014.

Quote:
Meira Tsubaki, 13, the youngest member of the troupe, was busy jotting down the names of her fans in a notebook. She has already memorized the faces and names of 60 fans, whom she calls "people who stay closer to me than any of my friends."

Meira is desperate to make it to the "top of the industry."
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YotaruVegeta



Joined: 02 Jul 2002
Posts: 1061
Location: New York
PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2015 8:14 pm Reply with quote
TarsTarkas wrote:
YotaruVegeta wrote:
The whole idol as a chaste personality is sad. It reminds me of actors and singers in America who have hidden their sexuality because they're supposed to come off as sex symbols for women.


The entertainment industry is about making money. It always has been, and it always will be. The bottom line to that is that sex sells. Hollywood will package dreams and fantasies tailored to squeeze as much money out of you as they can get. The Japan Idol industry does the same thing.

It is not sad, it is what the paying audience wants.


The problem is that they didn't ask the paying audience what they wanted. They assume that the audience wants only chaste or straight people as performers. Yes, some people actually want this, but other people don't care, especially these days. The idea of a chaste idol is one that Japan needs to put in the past.
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Hoppy800



Joined: 09 Aug 2013
Posts: 3331
PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2015 8:52 pm Reply with quote
HeeroTX wrote:
Saw this today on Asahi Shimbun, its an interesting (and relevant) article about the "idol industry" in Japan:
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/cool_japan/style/AJ201503310011

A few notable bits:
Quote:
Ami was taking stock of her life one day when she came to the realization that all she wanted to do was "sing, dance and be the center of attention." That led her to form Ange with her friends in February 2014.

Quote:
Meira Tsubaki, 13, the youngest member of the troupe, was busy jotting down the names of her fans in a notebook. She has already memorized the faces and names of 60 fans, whom she calls "people who stay closer to me than any of my friends."

Meira is desperate to make it to the "top of the industry."


Ami should've stayed in the modeling business, she would've made more money staying there than as an idol. Also, last I heard, being on the cover of a magazine is being the center of attention. As for singing and dancing, she should've went for being an actress instead.

Poor Meira, she don't even know what she's getting into.
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