Top idol Zhang Yixing announced on his 29th birthday: "My trainee plan has officially launched." So far, the video has been played more than one million times on social platforms and has more than 400,000 comments.
Strictly speaking, this is not the first time that Zhang Yixing has been a "producer". The first domestically produced boy band NINE PERCENT to be "popular in the streets" is also the PD.
In recent years, Zhang Yixing himself has served as a "mentor" and "producer" in many domestic entertainment programs, large and small, and has also left many golden words. "How can a good talent come out?" once said on the talent show "The Name of the Boy", which was once regarded as the most "real" summary of the idol living environment where the talent show broke out.
Even going back further, as early as 2013, when Zhang Yixing was just a "young boy" who had just debuted for a year, he slightly showed his ambition.
When asked about his "ultimate ideal", he replied: "To become the second Lee Soo Man", who is the founder of SM, the largest entertainment company in the Korean entertainment industry. From various observations, it is not difficult to see that the plan to establish a company proposed this time was not a temporary idea.
Looking at Zhang Yixing’s development trajectory in the entertainment industry in recent years:
First, he stood out from the cast and was selected as a trainee, and then he became an EXO member and made his debut. He worked hard to develop his business and turned to domestic entertainment. , and appeared as a "mentor" in many talent shows such as "Idol Producer", "Youth with You", "Young You", etc., and then announced the establishment of his own entertainment company - "Chromosome Entertainment Group".
It seemed that every step he took was planned, interlocking, and moving steadily.
In other words, Zhang Yixing’s “road to boss” is more like his own “large-scale project”. We have no way of knowing whether he is a "smart" businessman, but as he said in the video: "On this road, talent can only help you one percent, and hard work with a grateful heart can help you complete it." The remaining ninety-nine percent."
No matter how fierce the fight between fans is, no one can completely deny Zhang Yixing's own strength. As an "idol singer", Zhang Yixing's strength is clear. ***See, some people would even say that he is like a "domestic entertainment ceiling".
Let’s talk about the matter, if we focus on the “trainee plan” itself, it is not difficult to find the question: Can these trainees who have finally debuted after many tests defeat the waves of traffic? Have a place in domestic entertainment? Or, can they repeat Zhang Yixing's "road to fame" and become the next "domestic entertainment ceiling"?
This plan may seem ambitious now, but in actual operation, it will be no less difficult than when Lee Soo Man founded SM. Let's compare Zhang Yixing's own development path in Korean entertainment and domestic entertainment: If the domestic entertainment environment remains unchanged, then this "Chromosome Entertainment Group" will definitely have difficulty in becoming a success.
Let us first take a look at Zhang Yixing’s “ultimate ideal”—Lee Soo Man and SM Company.
SM Company is the largest entertainment agency in the Korean entertainment industry, and its artists cover artists in many fields, from singers to athletes. The name SM is the abbreviation of Star Museum and the initials of Lee Soo Man himself.
After briefly introducing the background of SM Company, let us focus on the interaction between Zhang Yixing’s team EXO and SM Company.
In fact, long before EXO officially debuted, SM Company had experienced "large-scale planning".
In terms of number of people, the configuration of 12 people is very similar to the early Super Junior. The music style and concept of the debut album "MAMA" can also be found in the predecessors TVXQ and SHINee.
In fact, EXO is a turning point for SM, not only from the perspective of income. Now it seems that EXO's explosion is actually a manifestation of SM's maturity in making stars.
For the groups that have been launched since then, whether it is RED VELVET or NCT, we can see that SM is becoming more and more skilled in making stars, and idols are becoming famous faster and faster. There are always some shadows of "predecessors" in the body.
Let’s look back at the current survival status of domestic entertainment companies. Comparing the two, I have to say that the "star-making ability" of the Korean entertainment industry is indeed better.
Let’s break down the idol artists under the “Big Three” domestic entertainment companies Lehua, Wow Haw, and Times Fengjun. There are many people and many genres. Unfortunately, there are many artists who focus on “music”. Very few.
After the news about Zhang Yixing setting up his own entertainment company spread, there were even many voices on the Internet worried about Li Fei.
Li Fei is also the boss of Times Fengjun, because since its establishment, Times Fengjun has been aiming at the "Johnny's Office" in the Japanese entertainment industry, focusing on discovering and cultivating younger people. artist, whose TFBOYS also became popular when they debuted in their teens.
Let’s take a closer look at Zhang Yixing’s “trainee” plan. It is aimed at 13-18 years old, which is relatively young. It is also very close to the training direction of Times Fengjun. Perhaps in the future, “Chromosome Entertainment Group” "It is not known whether it will really occupy the living space of Era Fengjun.
But if we compare Times Fengjun and SM Corporation together, the conclusion is undoubtedly positive.
Times Fengjun’s ability to create stars is far inferior to that of SM. In other words, there is no domestic entertainment agency that can compare with SM in terms of “promoting idols”.
Except for TFBOYS, Shi Fengjun’s other groups are not only not popular, but also often fall into "controversies". Even the popularity of TFBOYS back then was somewhat "unconventional" ".
It is difficult for domestic entertainment companies that focus on "idol groups" to do well. This is largely due to the general environment of domestic entertainment. There is indeed not much room for domestic idol artists to survive, and only a few remaining "Idol artists" are also busy transforming. It is difficult to gain a foothold in the mainland entertainment industry if they only know how to sing and dance. This is also different from Zhang Yixing's own experience of becoming famous.
Zhang Yixing serves as the main dancer in the EXO team. Apart from singing and dancing, he has basically not been involved in other fields in the past few years since his debut. Acting and variety shows were only introduced after returning to domestic entertainment. Expanded.
It can be said that a large part of Zhang Yixing's fans are out of "appreciation" of his singing and dancing skills, but similar things, using his "singing and dancing" skills to attract fans, can hardly happen in domestic entertainment. .
First of all, whether it is Korean entertainment or domestic entertainment, idol artists can essentially be divided into two factions. One side focuses on "drafts", while the other side focuses on company resources. Most groups in Korean entertainment are latecomers. The former, but most domestic entertainment idol groups are the former.
Furthermore, whether it is for the talent show or the company, domestic entertainment does not have a suitable living environment for idols. In the environment of Korean entertainment, before Zhang Yixing releases a new song, in addition to daily practice, he also needs to go to various radio stations, variety shows, and events to build momentum for the song.
In the few weeks after releasing the song, he needs to appear on various "singing stages" one after another. At this time, his chart results and "No. 1" record may be set for the end of the year. Provide basis for awarding awards. These awards will not only serve as proof of performance, but will also further increase the singer's popularity.
After returning to domestic entertainment, although Zhang Yixing also released new songs, such as "Lian", "Dream Never Falls in the Rainforest", etc., the response was far less than when he was in the Korean entertainment environment.
Because the above-mentioned things - building momentum before releasing a song, a stage after releasing a song, and credible lists and awards, etc., are all missing in the idol environment of domestic entertainment, even if they are no matter how powerful they are. Strong companies find it difficult to operate under such circumstances.
This makes these "expensive" songs look more like "the idol's comfort to the fans" rather than the idol's own weapon to consolidate and expand his fans.
As an "idol singer", Zhang Yixing himself is also a "victim" of this environment. If the environment does not change, how can the idol group he cultivates stand out?
Moreover, this is not the first idol group launched under the leadership of an artist. A few years ago, there was the Fresh Geek Youth Group created by Shang Wenjie, and there was also the Times Youth Group, which Shi Fengjun continued to invest resources in. In the end, they all responded well mediocre.
If the environment remains unchanged, even if they really "spend everything" to support a strong idol group, without a stage and without momentum, singers and dancers will eventually develop into actors and variety shows. This is a certainty fact.
Finally, as a summary, Zhang Yixing’s establishment of a company can be regarded as “unexpected but reasonable”. As spectators, we appreciate his perseverance and courage, but back to “promoting idols” , I personally do not have an optimistic attitude.
The idol development environment in domestic entertainment has always been criticized. The "explosion" of talent shows is not only a last resort choice for newcomers, but also a proof of market blindness.
In fact, domestic entertainment does not lack idols or companies. What domestic entertainment lacks most is actually the "idol ecology". Zhang Yixing's exposed ambition happens to be the weakness of domestic entertainment.
Therefore, if PD Zhang’s production attempts are limited to “mining”, it may be really difficult to succeed, but if PD Zhang has other ideas, such as building a long-term music program, or If we establish small theaters and other activities that strive to build an "ecology", then perhaps the next "domestic entertainment ceiling" will really be born.