Now I know minors have been debuting in k-pop groups for decades and it’s not something new. However, It is now noticeable that the vast majority of newly debuting popular groups are debuting members that are MOSTLY minors and not just the maknae.
I feel something that is contributing to this is the aesthetics that are currently being used to market the groups to the audience and their fandoms. A great part of kpop audience is teens and there’s nothing more marketable than idols who are ‘relatable’. Idols are expected to keep up with the viral trends/jokes on the tiktok or other media, have the cool-aesthetic vibe that has been really popular with the teen youth, act silly and out-going, etc.
Also, there is much higher demand for ‘real’, ‘refreshing’ or ‘silly’ concepts than it ever was in the earlier generations. Extravagant, majestic, badass, sad, etc concepts don’t go viral these days, it’s always tracks that are lyrically not-very-deep, catchy and have some silly phrases.
Such methods would just not appeal to the audience in the same manner if the idols debuted in the young adults age group because it would come off as ‘non-authentic’ and maybe even cringe to some, especially with the reactions we see to idols doing aegyo. In short, it’s not just that the idols are very young, but also the groups are literally BUILT around the members being young.
What do you guys think? Feel free to agree or disagree
submitted by /u/Commercial-Many-1407
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