Vocals Vs. Dance: K-Pop Idol Trainer Reveals What Professionals Think Is More Important

What do you think?

K-Pop idol trainer and YouTuber In Jiwoong posted a video regarding a subscribers’ question about whether or not vocals or dance would be more important during an audition.

The subscriber asked, “Hello In Jiwoong. I am a student whose dream is to become an idol. My family is not well off so it’s hard to attend both vocal and dance academy’s as I prepare for auditions. Although it would be best to go to both academies, if you had to choose one, which one would help more during auditions?”

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In Jiwoong felt that his own opinion regarding this matter would not be sufficient and asked for the opinions of other entertainment company trainers and smaller company CEOs on their thoughts. What was interesting about this was that all the professionals that he contacted had the same answer: dance.

| 인지웅/YouTube

When he asked a former SM Entertainment trainer this question, they responded, “Synchronized choreography is a must these days so I think dance is more important. With vocals, there is a certain limit depending on your vocal range. But with dancing, if you are a group, you can grow as you practice with members.”

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A current YG Entertainment trainer agreed that although vocals are important, dance played a major part in becoming an idol. “Although I am a vocal trainer and it would be great to be good at both, idols are seen as sort of a product, making dance more important. With singing, you can hide it through doubling or lip sync but there is no way you can hide dancing.”

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A smaller entertainment company CEO revealed their thoughts as well. “I feel like my answer will be different form normal employees. Most companies are creating concepts and molding their artists into that concept…and if you think about a more global audience, the performance aspect becomes more of the focal point.”

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They added that they felt that idol groups these days were losing mass appeal. “Because I feel that idol groups have lost mass appeal and that auditions usually choose depending on size and not skill…so unless you’re really lucky and get a talented person, you’re most likely not going to be able to get the vocal quality you want even with training.”

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After taking a look at varying opinions, he concludes that when it comes to singing, it’s hard to improve at a fast pace, so there are other ways to balance this such as lip syncing or other technical adjustments.

But with dancing, there is no way to hide or trick people into thinking that they are dancing a perfectly synchronized dance. K-Pop is known for its teamwork and performance factor and this part needs to be mastered in order for it to be thought of as a type of artistry.

Watch the video below for more on his thoughts on this matter.