Harsh Realities of Show Biz Part 1: What’s the Chance of Becoming a Top Star?

Unlike the past when many children dream to grow up to become scientists, most children these days dream of becoming a celebrity. But not just any celebrity. They want to be an idol group member. And to meet such a demand, many audition programs like “Super Star K,” “Star Audition,” and “K-Pop Star” were born.

Singers these days don’t just sing, but venture out into dramas, movies and variety shows. There are many, many unemployed citizens who are preparing to become celebrities. One has truthfully confessed, “To become an actor, I’m preparing to debut as a singer.”

So, what’s the chance of becoming an A-lister? One manager (mentioned as “Mr. A” within the article) who worked 13 years with an entertainment company shared, “There’s no success rate in entertainment. It’s zero.”

◈ Competition to become part of an idol group? 10,000:1
If you heard of K-Pop, you probably have heard of idol groups like Big Bang and Girls’ Generation. Many children spend countless hours and years practicing in order to achieve similar, if not somewhat close, success as these representative idol groups. Mr. A said, “Idol groups like Girls’ Generation worked really hard to achieve what they have and found what they’re good at.” He shared that only those who have talent and determination can succeed as a celebrity.

Mr. A revealed a little about the audition process, “So as an example, lets pretend 100 people were chosen from auditions. From here, we’ll drop it to 10, and later to 1. We repeat the same process from 100 people to 1. Afterwards, if there’s anyone we like, we’ll pick some as trainees.”

There are many idol groups who come and go without a trace. Even if they’re placed in groups, there are many who have never had a real debut. That’s the truth about the current flood of idol groups.