Hello Everyone, Once Again, Welcome to Idol Weekly!
Apologies for missing out on last month's article, but we've been hard at work preparing some thrilling announcements and projects behind the scenes. In today's weekly, I'm going to shed light on various aspects of idol, including our audition process, solo debut projects, goals, and other intriguing details!
Why are we named "idol"
Many of you may wonder why we chose the name "idol" for our VTuber agency. Some may have thought it was satire, while others assumed we would follow the strict rules associated with traditional idol culture. However, we see "idol" in a different light, one that represents performers who break through the barriers of entertainment and become true role models that people can look up to.
We admire the discipline, dedication, and hard work that traditional idols exhibit, as well as their strong connection with their fans. Our goal is to take that inspiration and apply it to our talents, while providing them with the freedom to become the entertainers they aspire to be and at their own pace.
Defining idol - Our Vision and Approach
With our name established, the driving force behind the idol agency becomes clearer. We recognize that different VTuber corporations focus on various niches, but idol is different. Our mission at idol is to assemble a diverse roster of talents, each offering unique personalities, entertainment styles, and content types.
Rather than limiting our talents or dictating the kind of content they should produce, our goal as an agency is to offer a wide range of content creation and entertainment options that cater to diverse audiences. We believe that the key to successful content creation lies in the happiness of our talents, as it is a mentally demanding job. This is why idol takes a more supportive approach, avoiding the imposition of specific content requirements on our talents. Instead, we provide suggestions and guidance aimed at improving their skills, leaving the ultimate decision-making in their hands. This empowers our talents to thrive in an environment that encourages creative thinking and personal growth.
Uncovering the Secrets of Our Auditions
At idol, we take great pride in our carefully crafted audition process. We understand the importance of selecting the right talents who are a perfect fit for our agency. While the audition process remains a well-guarded secret, and it continues to evolve with each round of auditions, we can share a few key aspects that set our approach apart from other agencies.
Our auditions focus on four main aspects:
Experience
Entertainment / Skill
Personality
Group Dynamic
1. Experience Selecting talents with content creation and streaming experience is vital for us, as achieving this level of comfort can take months or even years. Although having a large following can indicate experience, we give talents of all sizes a fair chance during auditions.
2. Entertainment / Skill Our auditions include live stream simulations with tailor-made scenarios for each applicant, testing their strengths, weaknesses, entertainment style, and adaptability in different streaming situations. These simulations are hard to prepare for, making it easier to evaluate how the talents will perform when streaming at idol.
3. Personality Choosing talents with whom we feel comfortable working and who possess a positive mindset towards content creation is crucial. Multiple interviews and background checks are done to assess the applicants' personalities.
4. Group Dynamic As we debut entire generations, we heavily consider group dynamics, striving for a diverse and engaging roster of talents catering to various preferences. Sometimes, a talent who is a good fit for idol might not pass the auditions if another talent in the same generation with a similar entertainment style has already been selected. This approach ensures an interesting generation to watch, talents who connect well with each other, and a healthy group dynamic.
Our unique audition process gives everyone a fair chance and guarantees that all selected talents are well-suited for idol. We may make exceptions for certain aspects if other qualities of a talent are exceptionally strong. However, all talents, whether auditioned or scouted, must undergo the same audition process and pass it to join idol.
Addressing Scouting
In addition to our regular auditions, we reserve a few spots in each generation for scouted talents, provided we discover captivating individuals. Our scouting process focuses primarily on skill and entertainment value. We have invested considerable resources and time to familiarize ourselves with the VTuber community and various streamers, both big and small.
We recognize that many talented VTubers may not believe they have a chance at joining a VTuber agency, which is why we take pride in our scouting efforts. By scouting potential talents, we ensure that a wide range of talented individuals have the opportunity to join idol and showcase their skills to the world.
Addressing Solo Projects
As mentioned in our previous weekly update, we are currently considering the concept of debuting existing talents with their current models or even redebuting them. This new approach, which we are still finalizing, would only apply to graduated VTubers or indie VTubers, and we would never ask a VTuber to break a contract. We have not yet auditioned any talent for this project, so we kindly ask that you refrain from speculating about it.
It's crucial to emphasize that for this project, we will take extra steps to ensure we bring on board only those talents who can contribute to idol's growth, align with our agency culture and values, and successfully pass the same audition process. We will never compromise our standards, even for well-established talents with a large following. Our commitment remains to work exclusively with talents who are genuinely a good fit for idol.
To wrap up this weekly update, we want to emphasize a crucial aspect of our ethos at idol. We never want to become complacent. Our uniqueness lies in our constant drive to improve, to take on bigger and bolder projects, and to keep things fresh and exciting for idol. We are in a competition with ourselves, always striving to surprise and surpass expectations.
During those seemingly quiet weeks, when it appears that not much is happening behind the scenes, rest assured that our efforts are more intense than ever. We are incredibly excited about what's coming next. Stay tuned, and have a fantastic weekend!