SM Rookies: More Info Regarding the New Trainees + Netizens React

[footballfina.livejournal.com]

SM Entertainment recently announced their new project group SMRookies and revealed three of their trainees: Taeyong, Seulgi, and Jeno. On December 10, the agency revealed two more trainees, Lami (age 10), Irene (age 22), and Jaehyun (age 16). Lami, real name Kim Sun Kyung, was recently in the SBS drama “Five Fingers” playing the younger version of Jin Se Yeon’s character. Irene was most recently in Henry‘s music video, “1-4-3 (I Love You)” as Henry’s love interest. Not much else has been revealed about Jaehyun. Hopefully more information will be released about Jaehyun and other SMRookies members.

Article: 'SM Rookies' reveals three additional trainees, Rami-Jaehyun, Airin

Source: Sports Chosun via Nate

1. [+291, -29] This is only SM Rookies in name, they're basically a direct rip off of Japan's Johnny's. Johnny's has completely taken over the Japanese entertainment industry to the point where nothing would be possible without their existence. Their actors, even without any acting skills, are given lead roles in dramas and are debuted at young ages while still trainees to foster strong fanbases, which is basically what SM Rookies is doing. Johnny's is Lee Soo Man's role model. It's because Johnny's is known for having hoards of kids sing and dance all at once that Japan doesn't have any talented idols. The talented idols are all buried under Johnny's and anyone who isn't under Johnny's can kiss their chance of getting into a variety, movie, or drama goodbye. SM Rookies is copying this entire concept... seeing as how Lee Yeon Hee, the representative of poor acting, is given lead roles, SM is probably going to stick the SM Rookies kids everywhere they can. It will only get harder for acting and singing trainees...

2. [+103, -11] What is up with their names...

3. [+96, -7] Johnny's turned Japan's music industry into a kiddie talent show by sticking in their talentless idols into dramas, movies, and theater and now SM is copying that ㅋㅋㅋ How long do you think this amazing Hallyu of yours will last? You'll be lucky if you're not pushed aside by China in 10 years.

4. [+29, -9] New products from the SM factory?

5. [+22, -4] I really don't get why SM is copying Johnny's... Do they really only care about money? I was so happy when Psy got worldwide attention... for showing the world that K-Pop isn't all about puppet idols. I assure you, SM will come out with a 50 member idol group one of these days...


Source: Netizenbuzz , Soompi

Mods: I'm posting these particular comments because they actually brings up interesting issues / comparisons between kpop and jpop and isn't just mindless hate like usual.

Comments

[kiku-cha8-8.livejournal.com]

lmao poor Lee Yeon Hee, is her acting really that bad?

Also I'm interested to see if any of these kids can sing/dance. Any footage yet?

[rawbabyoctopus.livejournal.com]

yeon hee is too stiff for my liking. she can't emote feelings well

[rawbabyoctopus.livejournal.com]

ehh what's with the netz extreme hate over johnny's actors/talents?
they have some of the best actors, tbh. lol

[itskimbitches.livejournal.com]

Gurrrrrl are we talking about the same company?

[camified.livejournal.com]

wow these knetz are really off. johnny's controls the idol scene, not the entire music industry. jpop doesn't even dominate that much of japan's mainstream music, and considering how their industry is 2nd only to america in size the johnny's monopoly doesn't mean much (hence why there seems to be very little resentment towards their artists? within japan, i mean)

[rawbabyoctopus.livejournal.com]

yep, johnny's idols are really popular but the japan music industry itself is still pretty much diversed. the idols are not the only ones getting no.1s / selling extremely well.

[uguukawaii.livejournal.com]

lmao i wonder if im dead inside because i truly do not care about this at all and a year ago i would have had 300 opinions on all of them.. sm has rly alienated me as a former fan lol

[eijem-sawada.livejournal.com]

they keep talking about japanese music but don't know shit about it

[mya13.livejournal.com]

mte. netizens are always shading japan's entertainment industry when they clearly know nothing about it.

[itskimbitches.livejournal.com]

They're so bland....also I'm starting to believe johnny's is purposely bad. Like laughing in fans' faces when they hit #1. One minute they release a cool single then its a campy as fuck single with rainbows and cringe worthy. Like a shock affect I guess, fucks u up psychologically.

[cuizy.livejournal.com]

back when kattun was.... a more functional group their songs were all pretty cool. But maybe the mainstream japanese public just prefers rainbows and what not

[cuizy.livejournal.com]

hahaha..... yeah I totally thought Johnny's when this news came out..... wow is Korean netizens that familiar with the jpop landscape too? lol

On one hand I do like the concept of getting to know the idols even pre debut and growing together..... on the other hand.....johnny's are really not talented..... and some not even good looking. Well I think SM will not get as powerful in korea, there's so many other companies and competition to keep them in check. Also I think SM gives their idols much much better training...... so..... yeah

[gray-fairy.livejournal.com]

Some Johnny's are really talented at singing, dancing, play instruments, variety, etc...but people don't give them enough credit only for being idols. Looks are subjective though but I'd say the current juniors are more good looking than the ones in 2005-2008 tbh.

[iznanassi.livejournal.com]

"seeing as how Lee Yeon Hee, the representative of poor acting, is given lead roles, SM is probably going to stick the SM Rookies kids everywhere they can. It will only get harder for acting and singing trainees..."

All SM actors tho, they're really not that good.

[miwa201.livejournal.com]

srsly. there isn't a single good sm actor. and i'm including jyj in that too.

[miuratenshi.livejournal.com]

The talented idols are all buried under Johnny's

ROFL I love JE but let's be real: half the people in the company can't sing, dance, or act.

[aworldoflies.livejournal.com]

yet they have some of the best actors in the industry. And let's not forget kinki kids and tegomassu.

[bleuvelvet.livejournal.com]

idc for her but a part of me is hoping miss korea will be lee yeon hee's reply 1994. lol netizens are always shitting on her acting and it makes me feel bad even though i have no reason to doubt that she is pretty bad.

[ah-mui.livejournal.com]

ita. Crossing fingers for Miss Korea, because it seems really interesting and fun!

[tsuyoi-hikari.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry but I usually didn't care much about what the netizen thinks since they usually just full of hate but that is some big misconception about Japan music industry as a whole. I agree that some Johnny's actors are bad but some are really great and full of talents. :/

And although Johnny's artists and AKB always get #1s, other singers / groups always dominate the charts too -- I mean, just look at B'z, Mr. Children, EXILE, Namie, Utada, Ayumi, DCT & etc, they still sell a looooot and dominate the charts after decades in the industry. Johnny's & AKB dominate the idol scene but the industry itself is very big and has various of music and genre in it.

[gray-fairy.livejournal.com]

lol EXILE was literally everywhere when I was in Japan.

[turtles-tszx.livejournal.com]

I was reading comment on netizenbuzz and agreeing with one of the comment when it comes to the safety of young sm trainee. While johhny have younger junior/artist than sm, they dont encourage saesang activity and are very strict to the fans when it comes to the privacy of their artist.

[luvey.livejournal.com]

that comment stood out for me as well. when they released that there was a 10 year old in the mix, i really got concerned. SMe is known for not really doing anything against saesangs. if anything SMe encourages the crazy fans pre debut to encourage a foundation of fandom for when they do debut.

[erbalurbal.livejournal.com]

I don't really see how SM is turning into johnny's. This is basically the way they have been doing business for years but now they are introducing their rookies earlier. Basically every idol agency works this way

[aworldoflies.livejournal.com]

the introducing rookies earlier part is where they turn into johnnys. So far only johnnys have that concept.

[katzsong.livejournal.com]

I think those netizens forgot about their own market. Japan's entertainment market is huge, while SK is not. SME cannot do JE formula there. and just like some people have pointed out, they're not that dominating/only for idol world. But since SK's entertainment is dominated by idol (so it's seem), so I think I can understand their train of thought.

my....I begin to suspect they're the same guys from 2ch :P

Are they acting like KimiTaku doesn't run the world?

[hipployta.livejournal.com]

Also the Japanese music industry is huge so idols are not burying anyone

Plus I like the actors from Johnny's that can act well

Re: Are they acting like KimiTaku doesn't run the world?

[rawbabyoctopus.livejournal.com]

haha.
KimuTaku is a LEGEND.

[angela-derp-otp.livejournal.com]

lmano those netizens have no clue about how JE works and what's their position in Japan's music industry.

[jia-zhang.livejournal.com]

SM Rookies isn't a JE remake for me, it's more like Mickey Mouse Club 2013, with everybody being "talented" in different areas and everybody is super young and sparkly and peppy and just really peppy. And when they have their variety show (which you know they will) it will be all super kawaii and happy and full of rainbows and unicorns and aegyo and we'll all watch and love it and hate it at the same time.

[frantastic.livejournal.com]

i can see this happening actually

[batterydead.livejournal.com]

i wish the korean music industry was as diverse as japan's

[cultic.livejournal.com]

the japanese entertainment industry is so large/diverse and also really conducive to niche markets (things like visual kei still exist despite very limited general public appeal since say, '97) that it's really apples and oranges...

[djlancerock.livejournal.com]

Am I the only one noticing how strange it is that there is an adult in this team of babies

[bishieaddict.livejournal.com]

lol yeah. I noticed the similarity between SM rookies and Johnny Jrs (what the trainees from Johnny Entertainment are called). It works for JE. The group that I was a fan of (KAT-TUN) was very popular prior to their debut. They were so popular in their trainee days that they were able to hold a concert prior to their debut.

I think SM tried a temporary rotating group in the past, which didn't work out because the fans got too attached to the group (Super Junior 05). Hence why I think the this "group" has such a diverse age and different genders - I doubt they will be one big permanent group.

I don't think it's a bad thing. These rookies spend so long preparing for their debut. Xiah Junsu spent 6 years training and Eunhyuk spent even longer training. People like Junsu or Eunhyuk started training at a young age. They may get discouraged waiting for their debut...if they can spend some time on stage, it will not only give them a boost in popularity, but it can also provide an incentive to work harder. It also gives the company a chance to evaluate their trainees to see who is ready to debut.

[jayene25.livejournal.com]

I guess the Knetz translated by Netizenbuzz and the Jnetz translated by Maji de?! Can finally bond over their mutual distaste for Johnny's, lol...

[princetabi.livejournal.com]

it kind of creeps me out how young these trainees are though. I think its wrong to put these kids under such intense pressure and stress at such a young age and to make them so aware of their physical appearance at an age when that shouldn't be important.

[gray-fairy.livejournal.com]

The 21 y/o it's not that young but overall I agree.

[suxaholic.livejournal.com]

side eyeing the parents and SM. I really feel uncomfortable with fact that they are putting young children out in the public eye like this, like she is only 10 years old.

[maishi-obuki.livejournal.com]

child actors are in the public eye.
dad where are you going are all in the public eye.
An entertainment industry without children is unrealistic because they do need children for CFs and magazines and dramas and Movies.

[jojibear.livejournal.com]

Sure, I thought of Johnny's Juniors when SM Rookies was announced, but I feel that so far we haven't seen nearly enough of these "kids" to jump to the conclusion that it's a rip-off. Can we wait until at least they have their own variety show where they play games and sing and dance to their sunbae's songs before we decide that that's the route SM is going down?