First-generation K-pop idols from g.o.d,Son Ho Youngand Park Joon Hyung, along with Kim Jae Joong, shared their thoughts on the current state of the idol industry. They noted a key difference: the difficulty in distinguishing individual voices in today’s groups.
Voice Recognition Challenges
During an episode of “Jae Friends,” Son Ho Young initiated the discussion. He expressed difficulty in identifying which member sings which part in modern K-pop tracks. “The hardest part for me is figuring out who is singing which part,” he stated. He further explained, “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 with this sentiment, acknowledging that it is “tricky.” Son Ho Young elaborated that in the past, listeners could easily identify individual members by their voices. “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,” he said. Park Joon Hyung added a point about SM Entertainment, “But we know which groups are from SM, because SM has a distinct style.”
Netizen Reactions
The discussion sparked a wave of reactions from Korean netizens, who revisited the episode and shared their own perspectives:
“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 donโt know.” “Itโs not that newer idols have similar voices or are tuned the same; itโs just that, compared to idols back then, individual recognition is much lower. People canโt match faces to voices, so they just assume they all sound the same.” “Before saying you canโt distinguish them, maybe check if you even know the membersโ names, faces, and voices first. 1st-gen idols were on another level when it came to recognition.” “Totally agree, especially with HYBE groups.” “I donโt really get it either. A lot of them mumble and slur their words. But I guess thatโs just the trend these days. If I donโt like it, I donโt listen.” “Itโs all auto-tuned.” “Some groups are distinguishable, and some arenโt, lol.” “Hasnโt it always been like this? You hear as much as you know.” “You hear as much as you knowโฆ I couldnโt even tell 1st-gen idols apart, lol.”
The comments reflect a range of opinions, with some agreeing that modern idols sound similar, while others believe it comes down to familiarity and recognition. Some also pointed to the use of auto-tune and mixing differences as possible factors.
