Extreme Debut: Wild Idol (2021)

Interesting

I will admit that I watched the show from beginning to end...
We got to see some of the complicated process that a young guy in Korea has to go through if he wants to fulfill his dream of being a famous singer. From what I've read online, some of them work as models or have been trainees for some time and others were members of groups that failed or never debuted.

But, despite all that, this show truly showcases most of the toxic "idol" culture in Korea and here is why.
I understand the vocal and dancing exercises, but some of the stamina and strength ones were a bit pointless and served only to get them some points and to tire them a lot. Even some of the vocal exercises seemed a bit useless, especially when the guys didn't even know the song they were going to sing. Rapping has never been my "cup of tea" but I was able to appreciate some of the creative ways they had to write some lyrics, but aside from one or two, the rest were not that good.

We got to see the typical Asian cliché that all male idols have to be strong, handsome, super thin, preferably with six-pack abs (as we even saw the two main female hosts almost drool over some of their abs), they were fed mostly boiled chicken breast and rice because part of the image is maintaining a certain weight and the group had to have vocals, rappers, and dancers.

While it's great that these 7 guys will be able to finally debut as idols, nothing is guaranteed for them as we've seen many groups disband in the past or lose members that can't handle the pressure of being an idol in Korea and have to quit the group due to personal reasons or that end up suffering from depression or other mental health problems that make them take a drastic decision like harm themselves or even commit suicide. I truly hope these 7 are mentally and physically ready for what's coming for them, especially because the group (oddly named T.A.N., which means "To All Nations") now will have compete with plenty of recently created male groups like Ciipher, T1419, Just B, Kingdom, Mirae, NTX, ATO6, Omega X, W.A.O., EPEX, Blitzers, W.O.W., Megamax, Luminous, all of which debuted in 2021. Plus, competition from male groups that debuted a few years ago like ONF (which now went into hiatus as all members except for Japanese member U, have enlisted in the military at the same time), ONEUS, and of course, competition from the more established bunch like Seventeen, Astro, Tomorrow by Together, Ateez, etc., that already have a growing fanbase. So, the road ahead is certainly not easy for T.A.N.

So, the show was entertaining and it was fun to watch some of their interactions as they spent so much time together in the wilderness, it also brings a lot of the troublesome nature of being a singer/idol in Korea and how much pressure these guys have just to be able to be deemed "good enough" to debut. Best of luck to all of them.

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