Media Experts Reveal The Reasons Behind IU Success

[sra-interesante.livejournal.com]

(c)
With IU’s 7th anniversary fast approaching, an editorial by TV Report revealed several reasons why the LOEN Entertainment solo singer is currently a top star in the Korean entertainment industry.


IU is both endearing and cute. The nation’s sister can even compose her own songs! I’m not even ashamed to admit that I’m a fan of her as a vocalist.

She has secured a large male fan base, and has also picked up a lot of support from female fans. IU has managed to come out unscathed from a scandal, and is now one of the top stars when it comes to marketing and advertisements.

Even though a name is common, you might not know how popular an artist really is until you directly dig into it. When we looked into IU, her popularity turned out to be a lot greater than we expected.



IU didn’t necessarily have what you would call a strong start to her career. Her debut title track “Lost Child (MIA)” debuted at number 60 on the charts, and never rose higher than 54. However, in just a few years, IU is now an artist whose releases are now expected to land at number 1.



We researched IU‘s music success through Korea’s biggest distributor, MelOn which oversees more than half of Korea’s 8 music charts. These days, staying within the top 100 on the charts for a long time is more valuable than reaching number 1 for a short while. Her hit songs “Good Day” and “YOU&I” both stayed in the top 100 on MelOn for 28 weeks. Even more impressive, her self-composed track “Friday,” which was released in 2013, is still sitting in the top 100 right now. Like a salmon swimming back home, IU’s “Friday” has a way of finding its way back to the top of the charts even after an entire year.



To really know how crazy this is you have to realize that even the biggest hit song of 2010, “Gangnam Style” and one of the craziest hits recently “Some” lost to IU‘s songs’ persistence.



As of September 10th, 2015, including IU’s mega-hit “Friday,” there are 20 copyrighted songs that have been written, composed, and/or arranged by IU.



Particularly, IU’s lyrics are both realistic and promote a sense of wonder, while stimulating good feedback from listeners. Her lyrics are backed by down-to-earth expressions and distinctive figures of speech.

With words that won’t touch my hands
Do not make me wiggle
Even if I go out, there’s nothing much
– “Not Spring, Love, or Cherry Blossoms”

All day, my heart rides on that clock hand
Getting closer to you with each tick
– “Friday”

But honestly, don’t you have a little responsibility
For making me so confused?
– “Voice Mail”



Acting? Variety? That’s easy

There is rarely a group without an actor these days. With the exception of the group members with great vocal ability, everyone is trying to assert their presence in acting. But IU is already singing and acting very well, and has also shown a lot of diligence. People used to get angry for casting IU, but eventually compliments began to pile up.




Let’s take a look at IU’s participation in other forms of entertainment. She was a long-time MC for SBS Inkigayo with popular stars such as Lee Jong Suk, and she showed off her personality through SBS’s variety shows Kim Yu Na’s Kiss & Cry and Heroes. These moves turned out to pave an elite course that has led her to stardom.

– April 2011 / SBS Inkigayo MC
– May 2011 – July 2011 / SBS Kim Yu Na’s Kiss & Cry contestant
– June 2010 – May 2011 /SBS Heroes member


Concerts Ads Sell So Well
There aren’t many idols that could hold a national tour (and even less when it comes to a female solo act!) but IU has completed many successfully



– June-July 2012 / National Tour in six cities – Seoul, Suwon, Busan, Daegu, Ulsan, Jeonju
– September 2012 / Encore Concert
– November-December 2013 – IU Solo Concert, ‘Modern Times’ – Seoul, Busan
– May-June 2014 – IU Small Theater Concert, ‘Just One More Step, Just That’ – Seoul



IU has also proven herself in her ability to help market goods

(This shows how many sponsorships contracts iu gets every year,at least 2,with new companies ... some of brands like 'Mexicana Chicken' never ended their contract)

My Chew was IU’s only endorsement in 2010, but five years later and you can see her face even at the bottom of soju glasses. Isn’t it amazing?

(Chamisul goods with iu face lol)


She has had many scandals, such as her being spotted with 2PM‘s Woo Young and her sensitive SNS scandal, but many of her fans consoled her and her fans even increased. This is because most of her fans love her for who she is and her music, not her surface.



(fancafes loveletters)


Fandom’s As Solid As Concrete

IU fans are loyal and even myself felt touched at some of the episodes between her and her fans. Her fans trust her and this is probably why her fandom is so huge for a solo female artist.
IU’s fans in her fan cafe rival that of Girls’ Generation, which is unheard of for a solo artist.


(Only solist in this female fancafes ranking, surpasing groups like Girl's day, Apink and 2ne1)

To find out how popular she really is I researched what may be the most popular hashtags on Instagram. #InfiniteChallenge was 160,000, Kim Soo Hyun was 200,000, and Kim Woo Bin 120,000.
Last year, she was unrivaled in the amount of articles that mentioned her.


Finally, note the number of followers she has on SNS such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

(SNS prooves she also have followers from all over the world)

Just for fun I asked IU fans why they like IU and they said, “Do you need a reason (Eeyoo) to like IU?”



This is it, IU has become a star that people need no reason to love

+


IU About Her New Album: I'm taking new challenges as singer and songwriter"

Singer IU attended the Samsung ‘Play the Challenge’ talk concert at Seoul Jangchung Stadium on 8th Sept and shared her stories about taking on challenges in her music.

On this day, IU reunited with Park Myeongsu, whom she worked together with on the show Infinity Challenge and explored the EDM genre.

IU revealed that she was taking on new challenges as a singer-songwriter. According to IU, “I’m putting the final touches to my new album”and that “ there won’t be a separate producer for the album, instead I’ll be involved in many parts of the album directly and accomplishing things on my own, which is a ‘challenge’ to me” Also, “It could be something with a more serious (theme) than before, but it’ll be an album that contains my own thoughts”.



On the topic of ‘challenge’, IU said, “Challenges are something that we face daily, but somehow they are heavy and not easy to deal with” and that “I would like to try taking on the challenge of EDM again, which I did on Infinity Challenge” to the cheers of many in the audience. IU then performed her hit songs to cheer on those taking on new challenges.

Translated by squishyblob with love



Source: Koreaboo via TV Report
iu-jjang Tumblr, Digicable FB, Edaily News

Comments

[miwa201.livejournal.com]

kween <3 people who call her the korean taylor swift have no clue. she's so much more. her emotional delivery is unparalleled between idols imo, she really kills it in my old story

[lightframes.livejournal.com]

Yeah IU is a step above... and I like Taylor Swift, lol

[ari-meh.livejournal.com]

mia is still one of my favourite iu songs. i remember how fascinated i was with her album when she debuted, i couldn't believe how young she was. that album still gives me chills!

[4minutesluts.livejournal.com]

MIA is one of the best songs in the history of kpop tbh and it's infuriating that it got no attention while so many incredibly boring and empty ballads sell like hotcakes

[icedevil0289.livejournal.com]

Omg I love mia. I wish she could release something similae

[lilykt7.livejournal.com]

She reminds me of taylor swift. Lol I think because of that I always get a shady vibe from her. Probably not her fault but it is what it is.

[merlugd.livejournal.com]

Yes totally agree. I found their determination very intimidating LOL. Like those nice girls who will step over you to get wht they want LOL2. But yeah, not their fault they scare me. O.o

[punkylana.livejournal.com]

she's so qt

[mamamoos.livejournal.com]

my queen <3 she's so perfect. i hope her new album includes more of her own compositions, they're some of the best songs in her discography. she's so genuine, it shows in her lyrics.

this perf of hers (and a song she composed) is breathtaking:

[evilsquidx.livejournal.com]

thank you for posting this! This is one of my favourite iu songs but I've never seen this perf before

[mamamoos.livejournal.com]

yw!! the modern times concert was awesome, there were a lot of special performances/rearrangements of songs. just in case you're interested this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-D8TslIwrw) is a mini documentary type thing about it with vids of some of the other performances.

[hearttaek.livejournal.com]

They also forgot to mention that she's pretty. The right kind of pretty.
approachable pretty, the pretty girl in class pretty. The pretty girl i want to be friends with pretty. not the overwhelming kind of pretty that makes you feel bad about yourself when you look at them because you'll never be that. Lots of people would say korea's IT girls are bland, but the same is what happens with "America's sweethearts". These kind of faces are more endearing to the public, not the supermodels, not the extremely beautiful celebs with striking looks.

Ofcourse that doesn't take away from the fact that she IS very talented, hardworking and is just a total sweetheart.

But let's not deny that it's part of the reason she has such a wide reach in cfs, and can get into acting.

Her hustle in 2011 was very impressive, she probably didn't sleep bec she had a lot of things going on from variety shows, music, festivals, cfs. She really paid her dues. And during her nugu days, she was in radio a lot iirc. Her being able to put out a song now without any prior promotions, and still hit no1.. Girl get it! You deserve everything!

And she's still super nice to her fans, and just seems really humble and down to earth even with her success at a young age.

She also has the melancholic quality to her sound/voice that plays right into korea's taste for sad emotional songs.

Tl:dr IU is the perfect balance of talent, hardwork, marketability.

[sra-interesante.livejournal.com]

ia
she has a approachable charm that makes her even more likeable .... the fact she doesn't take her self or her fame too seriously

[yw7.livejournal.com]

she's so well rounded and truly a step above many in the industry.

[sundaetea.livejournal.com]

yassss the true queen of kpop!

[mad-nux.livejournal.com]

her first album is the best... and marshmallow is still my jam

[xxhna.livejournal.com]

I've only listened to a few of her songs but she is very popular and rightfully so.
its great to see a female artist slay so hard =]

[lolylen.livejournal.com]

i remember how i used to get annoyed back in 2011 when ppl kept saying all her songs sound the same..and way too cutesty when they just listened to good day and you & i.
i'm glad no one can says that anymore. giving her full freedom over her music was one of the best decisions leon ever did.
i miss her a lot.knowing that she's coming back w an album fully done by her is making my day.


i rly love reading about how big and loved she is in korea..bc she truly deserves it.i could go one forever praising her.

[mamamoos.livejournal.com]

yess @ everything you said. and she's so diverse w her music, i feel like she's actually been pushing herself to do lots of new things in recent years. really nice to see a female artist getting the recognition she deserves

[sundaetea.livejournal.com]

lol yeah. i would also get super annoyed when people claimed that she was a one-note singer in that she could only do certain genres. but if only they knew that her discography before her hit good day had a lot of r&b influences.

[yuzuruhanyu.livejournal.com]

her discography is sooo impressive those ppl need to get new ears and listen to all her discography

[moomoo-moonstar.livejournal.com]

Still underrated as an actress I'd say. She killed it in Producer, and she's been the best thing about most of the dramas she's done.

[lightframes.livejournal.com]

Her music is fab.

[lycorisc.livejournal.com]

i love her and she's grounded too so gj

[vermicelli-rice.livejournal.com]

I'm just so proud to be her fan...

And also, I feel like I never have to worry about her music. After the days of mashmallow (not that this isn't a jam), when I think her company was just trying to redefine her with cuteness (or see whatever would stick with the public)... Now that she's truly in charge of her own sound, I don't even have to worry about her being one-note. Her taste in music is eclectic and I won't worry about any lack of inspiration. She's willing to try new genres, and I think she manages to pull off quite a whole range of those. :D

Not to mention she's a total sweetheart