In a past episode of 'Jae Friends' featuring g.o.d's Son Ho Young and Park Joon Hyung, the first-generation K-pop idols touched upon the current issue of the current generation of idols.
During the episode, Son Ho Young, Park Joon Hyung, and Kim Jae Joong sat down and reminisced about their promotion during the earlier times in the entertainment industry. They also talked about the differences in the idol industry compared to the first generation.
Son Ho Young started on the topic by sharing, "The hardest part for me is figuring out who is singing which part." He continued, "When you hear a track [it's hard to distinguish who's who]. I can't match the member to the voice."
Kim Jae Joong agreed, saying, "It's tricky." Son Ho Young elaborated, "Yeah, [In the past] you'd hear a song and [Right away] know which member is singing. But the voices these days are so similar." Park Joon Hyung added, "But we know which groups are from SM, because SM has a distinct style."
Korean netizens are revisiting this episode and reflecting on the current situation of the idol industry. They commented:
"What he said is true."
"True."
"Oh, so it's a mixing difference that makes it easier to distinguish. Among boy groups, SM has a distinct sound."
"You hear as much as you know. If you've listened to a group a few times, you can tell them apart, but if not, you just don’t know."
"It’s not that newer idols have similar voices or are tuned the same; it’s just that, compared to idols back then, individual recognition is much lower. People can’t match faces to voices, so they just assume they all sound the same."
"Before saying you can’t distinguish them, maybe check if you even know the members’ names, faces, and voices first. 1st-gen idols were on another level when it came to recognition."
"Totally agree, especially with HYBE groups."
"I don’t really get it either. A lot of them mumble and slur their words. But I guess that’s just the trend these days if I don’t like it, I don’t listen."
"It’s all auto-tuned."
"Some groups are distinguishable, and some aren’t, lol."
"Hasn’t it always been like this? You hear as much as you know."
"You hear as much as you know... I couldn’t even tell 1st-gen idols apart, lol."
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