Busker Busker Drummer Bradley Rae Moore Shines A Light On The Dark Side Of K-Pop

[oppameansit.livejournal.com]

In an interview with Busker Busker drummer Bradley Rae Moore, published earlier this week on Vice Magazine's music blog Noisey, the band's only American member revealed horror stories about his rise to K-pop star status.

According to Moore, the worst abuse the band faced in their quick ascent to superstardom was inflicted during their time on the television singing competition "Superstar K."

Busker Busker was forced to stay in a network-owned dorm where their keys and wallet were taken from them and regular Botox injections were the norm.

The group was also required to make endless commercials for "Superstar K" sponsor Coca-Cola that they weren't paid for.

"The last week was one of the happiest times in all our lives, because we knew that that Friday night, we could go home," Moore said.

"And then the next day, we were going to wake up in our beds, our real beds."

The Busker Busker drummer also claimed the group's celebrity manager during their two-months stint on "Superstar K3" Seok-Hyeon Kim, along with everyone else involved with the show, knew that Ulala Session would be the winner.

On Thursday, a spokesperson for South Korean Entertainment giant CJ E&M, the company that produces "Superstar K" denied that the show was fixed.

"The words to Busker Busker about Ulala Session winning was said when we were telling them what would happen in the case that Ulala Session did win," the spokesperson said.

The company also defended their practices of not paying "Superstar K" artists for commercials.

"The Coca-Cola advertisement that Brad mentioned is for a main sponsor [of 'Superstar K']. The conditions of that ad is that the contestants must film for it," read an official CJ E&M company response.

"So it was not their personal commercial, but a company one."

The CJ E&M statement also called the Botox surgical procedure that Moore said was so painful it moved him to tears, "just a process of becoming a pro, along with getting vocal training as a singer."

The Busker Busker drummer appeared to back away from some of his complaints in a Twitter post from early Thursday morning,

"When I was on 'Superstar K' I didn't know Korean and Korean culture well and misunderstood things," he wrote.

"But now I'm studying Korean hard and happy doing music and broadcasting. I am very thankful for 'Superstar K' for all their support and their contribution to my life."

Source: KPOPStarz

And here's the Vice article for interested parties. It was posted before but not with the agency's responses.

Honestly the idea that Superstar K is fixed doesn't surprise me as much as it should - but maybe the company's explanations are legit.

Comments

[hitsujiga.livejournal.com]

BOTOX IS "just a process of becoming a pro, along with getting vocal training as a singer." EXCUSE YOU?

yh it might be the case in korea, but this has nothing to do with becoming a pro in MUSIC BUSINESS. FUCKING FUCK. GOSH I AM SO MAD AT THIS SHIT. yh look good while you're talented at singing..it must be so fucking important to you. but well, korea...do proceed. >_>

also keys and wallet taken away for a fucking show...this sounds like prison. don't tell me otherwise or i will throw bricks at your botox'd face.

[torontok.livejournal.com]

iasfm about the keys and wallets thing.It reminds me of the whole SM confiscating passports thing.Even if there's a practical purpose to it,the idea of someone having access to legal documents/personal belongings makes me wanna break out in hives

[hitsujiga.livejournal.com]

forcing someone to use botox..i mean..to put FUCKING POISON in his face even if he DOES NOT WANT..like hellooooo? are we there yet big brother?

[asnindie.livejournal.com]

Someone will always claim "but they signed a contract". These twats would defend human trafficking aslong as a kpop company's name was on the front.

[hitsujiga.livejournal.com]

ifkr. gosh i'm so mad why am i still in kpop? TT

[asnindie.livejournal.com]

It's why sometimes Kpop is a scary thing to be influenced by, how some people are desensitised to the taking away of basic human rights.

But then I imagine it's young kids who've never worked and don't realise the feeling of working and not being paid the right amount for it.

[torontok.livejournal.com]

Ueah no forcing/pressuring someone into getting any cosmetic procedure done if they're unwilling is completely unethical and has nada to do with musical talent or ability.Be blunt and admit that BB weren't marketable if they were ugly.
I STILL find it really sketchy that they didn't get paid for the Coke commercials but unless they reveal legal documents that back the claims, I'll remain neutral
and of course Superstar K is scripted.As is American Idol,X-factor and pretty much every other competitive reality show on the planet.

[love-allure.livejournal.com]

i still don't get their explanation lol. how the hell does botox help a drummer become a pro. HOW CJ U LYING LIAR?

unless, but i really doubt this, instead of injecting it in the face, they shot it in his hands so it restricted the sweat glands there so he could hold the drum sticks better. but again, i highly doubt they did that.

[ah-mui.livejournal.com]

Like I said on the previous post, the Coke commercial thing (and other CFs they filmed during the competition) is probably like American Idol, when contestants filmed the Ford commercials. They're sponsors of the SHOW, not the contestants.

[achan123.livejournal.com]

read the article. was shudder inducing tbh

[ceecile.livejournal.com]

I think the part about what happened after the show with the bus supposed to take them to the a house was the scariest.

[achan123.livejournal.com]

i know
that was almost kinda like a kidnapping

and ur icon is freaking me out :S

[21banged.livejournal.com]

It definitely was for me. I would never for the life of me have seen that coming :\

[hipployta.livejournal.com]

Ugh...wow

[asnindie.livejournal.com]

There was an article about a girl contestant in Kpop star Hunt that was told she looked old (she's 14) and was too dark to be a musician and had to get surgery. Her mom basically told the show to go fuck it self.

[modestgoddess79.livejournal.com]

Go Mom!

[love-allure.livejournal.com]

superstar k is stating to lose steam now so i'm happy cause i'm tired of all these music competitions. not even counting the shows in korea but the ones here in the us makes my head boggle. nobody can tell them that a show in show business isn't rife with dickbags controlling things behind the scenes.

[candycrush808.livejournal.com]

This. I'm glad I never watched Superstar K.

[twinedays.livejournal.com]

showbiz is shady everywhr. ughh.

[mjspice.livejournal.com]

[herocountry.livejournal.com]

would've been 23543x better if the vice article had focused on the manufacture of busker busker and the kpop machine instead of on how ~the white man was subjected to the weirdness of south korea ("all of Korean music history" my ass, literally who cares about bradley ray snore)

[asnindie.livejournal.com]

Apparently Intl kpop stans have been claiming Bradley is a case of white privilege and ungrateful. Gotta love kpop fans.

[oonalala.livejournal.com]

I thought the article did focus on the manufacture of Busker Busker and the kpop machine (as experienced by one person who is an anomaly in the industry). I don't see a problem with Brad telling his story to those people who are interested in hearing it.

[ceecile.livejournal.com]

But at the same time the reason we got this interview and why they aren't signed to a 5+ years contract with CJE&M is because he's a foreigner.

[laschifosavita.livejournal.com]

The article originally had "Great White Hope" in the title, but it seems to have disappeared once people started calling it out. The author seems to be blaming everything that people don't like about the article on the editors.

Having read this author's stuff before, I wish this had been written by someone a little more professional.

[cotxpaxi.livejournal.com]

ya its vice tho, thats how they portray everything. sometimes i wish i worked at vice for access privileges but the perspective they push sucks

[laschifosavita.livejournal.com]

I was going to be generous and say that 95% of the time the are the worst, but then I realized that every feature that I remember liking was years ago and I might be giving them too much credit.

[aaalove.livejournal.com]

Makes me wonder what are the conditions for other idols..if they're forced to get plastic surgery or the ones that claim to never had procedures how they get away with out getting surgeries...industry is scary tho.

[secretchord.livejournal.com]

"When I was on 'Superstar K' I didn't know Korean and Korean culture well and misunderstood things," he wrote.

"But now I'm studying Korean hard and happy doing music and broadcasting. I am very thankful for 'Superstar K' for all their support and their contribution to my life."



lol, ok

Now that you've ~~~studied Korean culture, forcing botox injections on young musicians and confiscating their personal property seems totally understandable

what is this even

[oppameansit.livejournal.com]

he's engaging in the worldwide time-honored tradition of backpedaling

[yolleh.livejournal.com]

And I don't blame him for a second.
We know he was blatantly forced to do so

[luvey.livejournal.com]

very "stepford wife"

but he's perfecting the art of being in k-entertainment industry - saving face.

[cricket.livejournal.com]

i see he got called in for re-education.

[cherrypop.livejournal.com]

He knows that no one will buy / is buying is post-response and I think he said it this way on purpose - to show very bluntly that CJ forced him to make a new statement.

[ceecile.livejournal.com]

I think it's more about the bad contracts and ~working conditions.

[cherrypop.livejournal.com]

It's not surprising. The K-industry is a shit hole that fans buy into no matter how unethical it is - and as long as there's money to be made - they're going to keep their shows and stars as fake as possible.

[cotxpaxi.livejournal.com]

alot of the things on the list can also apply to being an english teacher under contract in korea.. shudder

[candycrush808.livejournal.com]

*shock*

[seroquels.livejournal.com]

Say what?!

[cotxpaxi.livejournal.com]

yep it's all happened to folk working in korean hagwons (private institutes).

[cotxpaxi.livejournal.com]

yeah those are the most common problems. i mean they can even hold onto your passport so you don't decide to do a midnight-run once you realize the crap you got yourself into. they definitely are in a position to blackmail you and force you to perform shit you don't want to do since they sponsor your visa/livelihood and you're so far away from home. i mean most people who teach english in korea are doing it because they're dead broke otherwise. i've heard of employees being verbally abused, even beat up. my employer and another guy suggested i do one-on-one tutoring sessions for males/ 'executives'. it was the sketchiest shit. catch my drift? it can transcend into the dankest stuff and i thought i had a pretty good deal to begin with. so whoever asks me if they should do it, i tell them, nah unless you seriously got 0 options back at home, then sure go to korea and grit your teeth through your contract/s. i swear everyone i know still teaching over there is fuckin miserable.

[ah-mui.livejournal.com]

I definitely think Japan did it better in terms of child labor laws for the underage kids. But the K idols working in Japan probably don't see it that way, when they're restricted from going on shows with the rest of their members they probably think it's ~unfair~ or something because they want to work.

Seriously though, say what you want about the Disney machine but those kids are all protected by law.

[yolleh.livejournal.com]

Would you mind sharing?

[ceecile.livejournal.com]

These are really the least worrying thing he talked about in the article but it's what everyone seems to focus on.

I'm assuming because of the tl;dr attitude.

[candycrush808.livejournal.com]

Right. You have to fight against a lot of weird crap to live your dream. So if it isn't your dream or you think it's some easy road to money and status, just don't.

[mollyana.livejournal.com]

jfc, this article. whanever facts of behind the industry come out I get chills, they treat this people with a dream as human badge.