Inside the cut-throat battle to build K-pop’s next superstars
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SEOUL, May 6, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Thirty teenagers, thousands of hours of training, dozens of shattered dreams: it all comes to a head next week when the Blitzers will be launched into the cut-throat K-pop market, hoping to become the next BTS.
An all-male septet like the musical phenomenon that topped the US Billboard charts last year their three years of training are being distilled into three minutes of music and dancing that will determine whether they are a hit, or just another nowhere band.
The routine, always intense, is punishing in the weeks running up to their debut: gym sessions, singing lessons, promotional shoots, and around 10 hours of dance practice into the early morning.
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Thirty teenagers, thousands of hours of training, dozens of shattered dreams: it all comes to a head next week when the Blitzers will be launched into the cut-throat K-pop market, hoping to become the next BTS.
An all-male septet – like the musical phenomenon that topped the US Billboard charts in 2020 – their three years of training are being distilled into three minutes of music and dancing that will determine whether they are a hit, or just another nowhere band. Members of the K-pop boy band Blitzers pose for a photo at a rehearsal studio in Seoul. AFP
The routine, always intense, is punishing in the weeks running up to their debut: gym sessions, singing lessons, promotional shoots and about 10 hours of dance practice into the early morning.