This just in: Stellar's president is a pos #SaveStellar2K15

[mspopstar.livejournal.com]

"Their agency’s president told them that they will be given a one-week overseas vacation if their new song stays within Melon music charts’ top 20 for a week."

K-pop is very competitive, with tens of groups debuting each year, but only a few actually surviving past their first year and even fewer even getting within the top 20 on music charts. It might be even more difficult for girl groups, with very few options given to them in terms of concept and appeal. You either go sexy or cute, and with more groups going for the sexy, it’s now a competition of how much more provocative you can be, which can draw the ire of netizens and broadcasting censors.

Stellar is one girl group that has recently topped the headlines with their revealing new concept for their latest song, “Vibrato.” In an interview with local news source News1, four-member girl group opens up about their sexy concept choice and what they hope to achieve with the attention they get.

Stellar admits that they wear revealing clothes for the attention. Only then will they be called to perform and people will have a chance to see them, like them, and look up older songs from them. “If this is what we have to do for more people to know us, we’re okay with it.”

Stellar’s other controversial sexy concept was for the 2014 song “Marionette.” Since then, they released two other songs, “Mask” and “Fool,” which weren’t as sexy (“Fool” was a cute concept song), and those songs barely made a blip on the radar.

The interview reveals that the group’s agency went back and forth on deciding whether Stellar should do the sexy concept when they first considered it. Even the company’s president changed his mind the day after he first suggested it. But in the end, Stellar went ahead with the concept, which led to more calls for performances at various events.

Stellar describes how that after “Marionette,” they performed at a lot of events. The members worked hard, dancing in the rain and in the snow, the latter time during which they had to dance barefoot. They received letters from fans that said that they started liking the group after seeing them working so hard, which made the group very happy.

Stellar describes how when they debuted, their dreams were big, but they have faced reality since then.

Their agency’s president told them that they will be given a one-week overseas vacation if their new song stays within Melon music charts’ top 20 for a week.

Stellar really wants that vacation, as well as the chance to stand on stage at a end-of-the-year awards show. Those are the dreams the group has as it endures the negative comments from netizens and critics. The “sexy concept” is only the top layer, the beginning of Stellar, and they hope the public gets to know more about them, look up their old songs, and give them a chance.

Soompi | Naver

Nhf their agency's emotional manipulation. If a song doesn't chart, it's usually because it sucks, not because of the performers.

Comments

[timetobegin.livejournal.com]

Stellar admits that they wear revealing clothes for the attention.

And the incredibly sad thing is that it actually works. As the article goes to point out - songs with a sexy concept usually actually do better than any random cute/innocent concept. It's a shame really.

[adenar.livejournal.com]

i hate this thing companies do where they mediaplay about how bad they treat their artists/how strict they are/what poor conditions they live in and get the fans to support the artist against their agency except then the agency then obviously profits like 'look how awful we are, support our artists so they get a better life!!' i'm not good enough with words to really explain it but i really hate it

[4minutesluts.livejournal.com]

yeah i know what you mean, "we're treating them like shit because they aren't bringing in any money, but it'll be totally different if you give us your money!"

nah fuck you, if you can't treat them right when you're not making money why should I believe that you will do so if you have money, and even if you would, that doesn't excuse treating them like shit now

[yohan94.livejournal.com]

so this is what it is! i always wondered why companys let their artists diclose that stuff on air like i thought it was weird that agency let their idols shit talk them on vareity shows

[mycorrhizoid.livejournal.com]

Yep, most artists will complain a little about schedules/not enough sleep what have you, but it's pretty obvious that the company told them to do it when they keep bringing it up. At this point it's as much a part of their concept as the sexy bit is.

And I wasn't here for it when T-ara and Secret pulled it either.

You treat them like dirt because they don't make enough money? I'm not spending any. Because that money's going to the company first, not the idol, and by spending money I would be encouraging the company to continue doing this to them.

[greenmoon666.livejournal.com]

it's basically a hostage situation.... except they can never be free....

[iamtheliquorr.livejournal.com]

dw I totally get what you're saying and feel the same way. It's skeezing me out so bad and it's working. I mean look how much we're talking about it

[leopolitan.livejournal.com]

so he rewards them like theyre dogs, essentially

whats worse is that hes also apparently releasing new videos for every 'achievement' they unlock (https://twitter.com/Stellar_News/status/623942843627802624). getting within the top 50 means they will release a 19+ video (the official mv wasnt, somehow??????)

[bauci.livejournal.com]

ick
if it goes down the same road (sans the trip to girls) then i don't want to be here for that

[iznanassi.livejournal.com]

this isn't new though a bunch of groups do this

[leopolitan.livejournal.com]

i know companies bait fans with dance practices if they get a certain # of youtube views (which is the most annoying recent trend in kpop) i just find the 19+ reward/~mystery~ future rewards skeevy

[iznanassi.livejournal.com]

i agree but still other companies do this

[kyokomurasaki.livejournal.com]

I actually like dance practice videos but yeah this is unnecessary

[pbutterlion.livejournal.com]

hngggggg if they were at least enjoying it i wouldnt feel weird watching or listening to their mvs/music. im starting to wish them to be the odd and become popular like exid?

[scheisse.livejournal.com]

Lmao, they don't control the charts. What're they supposed to do, buy the songs themselves? What an ass.

how about a one-week vacation for working so hard? :)

[sabser.livejournal.com]

“If this is what we have to do for more people to know us, we’re okay with it.”

This is what hits me hardest. They feel like they don't have a choice. It's either they get attention by being presented like this, or they flop. It worries me because from the looks on their faces in the image above, plus that dance practice video where they looked SO uncomfortable, they really don't seem okay with it, at all. It scares me to think what might go on behind the scenes to make them say that they accept it :/

[forsureyoudo.livejournal.com]

Cant they break their contracts? Not everyone gets to success

And lol

Their agency’s president told them that they will be given a one-week overseas vacation if their new song stays within Melon music charts’ top 20 for a week


Did they even hit top 80? lol

[jeliza]

Highest number I've heard is 73, that's why they "unlocked" that (awful) dance practice MV.

He knows there is no way in hell they can do top 20, so that's a cheap damn promise to make.
(Mamamoo is in the top 20 this week, but the only other acts that aren't super established are from OSTs/TV Shows.)

I'm guessing they feel like they are too far along now to have a second chance somewhere else, especially carrying the rep from Stellar with them, so might as well run with it? IDK.

[mamamoos.livejournal.com]

Cant they break their contracts? Not everyone gets to success

it's not that simple. it takes money and they're prob severely in debt

[myrrhcat.livejournal.com]

its a lose/lose situation whether they do well or not. the only thing we can do is set their president on fire

[waves-of-light.livejournal.com]

Works for me

[mamamoos.livejournal.com]

If a song doesn't chart, it's usually because it sucks, not because of the performers

lbr even the quality of the song comes second to the agencies groups are from and their popularity. sm artists will invariably top charts whereas nugus and groups from smaller companies with great songs can easily go unnoticed.

[gray-fairy.livejournal.com]

+1000
Like other people have said sometimes, there are certain groups that could release an entire album of farting noises and it'd still top charts, at least during the first few days.

[mamamoos.livejournal.com]

too true lmao

[heyitsrocky91.livejournal.com]

lmao so true

[lazmy.livejournal.com]

as long as the company dangles the vacation in front of them, theyll be willing to "work hard" aka be exploited by a creepy old fart :S
i just try to leave the girls as much love as possible on ig and hope for the best

[a-cheshire-grin.livejournal.com]

I don't know what is worse: Their company treating them like animals or the girls saying that they are okay with it as long as more people get to know them or the fans who say that Stellar are "owning their sexuality", when they're clearly not or the antis who are calling them "sluts", even though the girls have no influence on the concept whatsoever.

I watched the dance practice video for "Vibrato" for about a minute. Two of the girls looked so uncomfortable and one of them looked "dead" (like, she had no expression other than "please make it stop".).

[hurtmybones.livejournal.com]

I feel so sorry for them. they're stuck with these concepts thought up by their gross company men and are conditioned to be thankful for them bc it gets them attention, attention that also comes with disgusting comments.

[angela-derp-otp.livejournal.com]

I feel bad for them but honestly if they aren't outstandingly talented to make up for their shitty agency and the poor marketing/promotion there isn't much they can do, the competition is fierce.

What is really sad is that they are just doing it for the glitz and glam of a life they aren't even living, because if it was about they showing their talents and whatnot they wouldn't feel the need to push themselves to these concepts.


This interview was really sad and I just feel pity for them.

[gray-fairy.livejournal.com]

If a song doesn't chart, it's usually because it sucks, not because of the performers
Not really because their song is actually good. Lots of basic/generic songs chart high while lots of good songs flop either because the group is not popular enough for the public to check their song or because it doesn't suit the general public's taste for some reason.

It's very shitty from the president that they're basically obligating the members to do well as if they had any control in charts. Smh.

[hitthoselightz.livejournal.com]

lots of good songs flop either because the group is not popular enough for the public to check their song

mte
still pissed youre pitiful/one more by fiestar were not #1

[miwa201.livejournal.com]

one more is such a jam, seriously, i'm pissed i found out about it too late

[gray-fairy.livejournal.com]

Yeah, and the same with most of 9muses' songs and many others. I can't @ people thinking that a song that's charting high is necessarily good and songs that are "flopping" are crap when it depends on a lot of factors. I don't think Vibrato is any worse than for example...A Pink's Remember but that one is top 5 and Vibrato is not even top 100. It's pretty clear that popularity is a HUGE factor because even when a popular group "flop" they usually don't flop nearly as hard as a nugu group.

[iamtheliquorr.livejournal.com]

you're pitiful was so flawless

[hitthoselightz.livejournal.com]

i feel so bad for them and practically for every group trying to make ends meet
i hope them, tahiti, 9muses, fiestar and all the other girl groups can catch a break <3

[iznanassi.livejournal.com]

I thought the actual interview would be put up here since I feel like this doesn't give the whole story: http://5uho.tumblr.com/post/125046439120/please-read-this-interview-with-stellar-its-just

Like yeah the company is at fault for a lot of this but so is the public for being massive hypocrites, this isn't just a one-sided issue. They've had good songs (when I say good I mean that the consensus is that they're good) that brought them into debt. Anyone saying that they just need to "release better music" is just as naive as anyone who thinks this is "women owning their sexuality" and shouldn't be talked about.

Their situation is depressing and is a pretty good example of what's wrong with pop culture.

[norringtons.livejournal.com]

i want to stan them badly, because the girls are so sweet and talented, but i don't know if that would be seen as promoting what the head honchos are doing to them?

[10135.livejournal.com]

That doesn't stop people from stanning SM artists.

[audiograms.livejournal.com]

true I hate SM yet I still like their groups.

[10135.livejournal.com]

I've loved almost all their releases. It really does suck that their company is doing this to them, but what mostly sucks is that the company knows, and judging by this interview they know too, that the sexy dances and music videos get big hits. For a variety of reasons. If hat is tiring is that people are shaming them, calling them whores (looking at all types of people and ages) and that they can only be famous if they do sexy things, but at the same times these people won't support anyone other than big stars from SM and YG and then they wonder why people have to do this? Nah ah. You can't sit there and wonder when you actively support such bs.

[thomaswilmoore.livejournal.com]

Poor girls... :/

[a-seagreen.livejournal.com]

i feel so sad for these girls, every article that comes out makes it clear how poorly they're treated. i bet the manager isn't even considering giving them a vacation, probably thinking about the opportunity to film their next ~sexy~ comeback there. unfortunately i doubt this manipulative treatment is exclusive to stellar (i think i read somewhere about a girl group not getting their cell phones back until they reached a certain chart position? but idk if it was a rumor or truth)

[mycorrhizoid.livejournal.com]

Secret have been talking about how their company took away their cell phones after debut and wouldn't give them back until they won #1 for years. They debuted in 2009 and were still mentioning it occasionally in 2012.

[a-seagreen.livejournal.com]

ty, i thought it was aoa or a pink but couldn't find anything on it. anyways it's a cruel and degrading "reward" system but i shouldn't be surprised with anything kpop companies do tbh

[iamtheliquorr.livejournal.com]

This whole situation skeeves me out massively, b/c I believe p much every non-big 3 company does this to their girl groups; Stellar's company was just shrewd enough to actually exploit their exploitation as a marketing strategy. It's just so wrong from every possible angle

[bloodtaki2.livejournal.com]

This song is so good, but it's really hard to stan them with the way they're marketed and treated. These poor girls deserve so much better than this. It's so sad.

[jesymphony.livejournal.com]

Sigh their songs are good - Marionette was a solid bop, but the concepts are so distracting. And yet it's only when they do these concepts that they get noticed T_T

A moment to remember the song that made me like Stellar in the first place, and is still in my playlist of top jams:

[heyitsrocky91.livejournal.com]

:( their songs have been bops tbh so it's not about the music...this shit is so emotionally manipulating ><