Is there a Japanese "American Idols"?
 

Is there a Japanese "American Idols"? I always hear people say "Ayu back in her Idols days"?

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N-no... "Idol" means something completely different in Japan... I'm pretty sure idols in Japan are equal to American models, but I could be wrong....

About the citation of Ayu is the fact that she isn't as popular as she was in a few years before. And "idols / aidoru" in Japan are very young models who wears a small number of costumes.

And I don't know about an 'Japanese Idol' in there. :P

Idol is just a generic word for entertainer. Namie Amuro was an idol during her peak. But it can be singer/actress/dancer/model, or any combination of them.

As for the show, I don't think they have any equivalent there.

if you mean like a talent show thing, I don't think there's a direct japanese version of the "idol" franchise.

whole audition / talent show / star search thing has been played out in Japan long before whole talent search "Idol" thing became a hit in the west & the US.
open auditions / castings to find new j-pop singers have been a common thing for awhile now.

there's an article about the whole non-talent show Idol phenomenon on wikipedia here.

Wasn't there an Okinawan Idol that Namie Amuro guest judged on a couple of years ago? It may have been just a rumor, but I do remember seeing it somewhere.

there is(/was?) a show called "Uta Star" for a while. Foxxi misQ was formed on that show.

You have to realize, "American Idol" is not an original show in itself anyway--there are many "cousins" of the show over in Europe and elsewhere. It's not a new concept.

i thought there's okinawan idol...
in namie's play tour, they appeared

"Idol" Is talking about "Gravure" ahaha XD
Gravure Idol. You know, bathing suits and the whatnot?

Cool, thanks. ^^ But what was "Idol on Stage" then? It sounds a lot like a talent show to me, and Ayu was in it. o-o Or can all Idol=bathing suit models sing?

Yeah, I am pretty sure "Idol on Stage" was similar in many respects to that of "American Idol", although, I'm not certain as to which aspects of the show were different or if it made a significant difference in the nature of the show.

not all idols do gravure.

Actually, for the best meaning of "Idol" in Japan you should look to the 80's where you had the likes of Seiko Matsuda, Akina Nakamori and, going into the early 90's, Noriko Sakai. These Idol's stayed, but many other's sometimes only had the one song and faded from the limelight. If you do a little research on these singers (or various others... there were many) you would gain a better understanding than what i can give you. The whole Idol ideal of that era is still present in a few modern day groups, Morning Musume for example. Idol's kept up a squeaky clean image and were sort of the "nation's sweethearts" for want of a better phrase.

Anyway i'm taking thise slightly off topic. As for "Idol on Stage" i think it wasn't so much a talent show in the same vein as American Idol, but more a showcase for up and coming stars. Maybe i'm wrong, but that's how it's seemed to me in the past.

I've always wondered the same thing. I know there was this one show from like years ago called 'Idol on Stage'...Ayu performed on it but I don't know what it was exactly.

Yeah, maybe, or maybe it was one of those shows taking over the spot for gilgamesh drool shows or whatever. I just can't imagine it being a mainstream show?

Curious fact is also that japanes embraced this term because idol = ai-doru in japanese a Love Doll. ;) Should explain a little bit of it.

It basically has nothing to do with American Idol. The wikipedia entry on the term Japanese Idol explains it all.