I’m not a die-hard fan, but I listen to a fair amount of Korean Pop music.  I’m a bigger fan of Korean variety shows, which often feature these idols, as the trained singers are called, on the shows as guests.  

What I find so fascinating is that the idols will be goofy, nervous, normal human beings most of the time, but then they’ll get asked to perform a snippet from their new song and something changes.

They’ll be getting into formation, maybe still laughing at the last joke the hosts of the show made, but as soon as the music starts, they snap into character and dominate the stage with charisma.  You can literally see the look in their eyes change.  

Both aspects of these artists – the relatable human being and the world-class stage performer – make up these individuals, but what does it take to be able to flip a switch and change like that?

From everything I’ve seen, heard, and read about them, it’s the incredible journey of countless hours of honing this performer.  Idols start as trainees who often leave their homes to live in tiny dorms with little to eat (they have to maintain their figures, after all), and go through grueling training sessions day after day of dance rehearsal, vocal lessons, and physical workouts.  

Then, if they work hard enough to rise to the top of all of the other trainees, then they might get a chance to debut as an artist, and then if that group does well, you transition into stardom where you have insane 18-hour long days of interviews, traveling, and performing, week after week.  In the highly competitive, cutthroat industry, this pressure cooker conditions allows these teens to become professionals. 

If being famous and sorta rich and living a celebrity’s life away from your non-celebrity friends and family, and working ceaselessly at your craft is your goal, the only way is hard work and a lotta luck.  

But if that isn’t your goal, why would you put yourself through this grief?  

Goals are awesome, but just make sure you know what you’re signing up for before you go after them.