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In Japanese pop culture, an is a young manufactured star/starlet marketed as someone to be admired, usually for their cuteness. Idols are intended to be role models. They are supposed to have a good public image and be good examples to young people. Idols aim to play a wide range of roles as media personalities (''tarento''), e.g. pop singers, panelists of variety programs, bit-part actors, models for magazines and advertisements.〔〔 Most idol singers work across genres of Japanese pop music, usually in the genre that is most popular at the moment, but since a lot of idols sing cute sentimental songs, one can say that those kind of idols form a sort of music genre of their own.〔〔 Their songs typically do not require great singing skills; their popular appeal comes largely from the attractiveness of their public image.〔 Idols are often not considered "serious" musicians or "serious" actors. Consequently, many young stars now reject the idol label in their desire to be seen as professionals rather than as objects of fanatical devotion. Some Japanese idol groups use a to facilitate the identification of the members and to make an individual character more clear.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=戦隊モノ、アイドル…、グループにおける色と役割の関係 )〕 The term is commercialized by Japanese talent agencies,〔 that hold auditions for boys and girls with little or no prior experience in the entertainment industry and market them as idols, often as a sort of aspiring stars/starlets to be adored for their sweetness and innocence〔 and to have a frenzied following. A lot of Japanese people who are fans of female idols see them as akin to sisters or girl next door types;〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/68TMy9rFq )〕 they empathise with the idols and love the way in which they are presented as ordinary kids who happened to become popular, enthusiastically following their growth from inexperienced amateurs to famous experienced artists.〔 Some people say that the Japanese society is obsessed with cuteness and youth〔 〕 and the idol phenomenon is just a part of the whole Japanese people's adoration of everything that is kawaii. Whether a person is categorized as an idol depends on how he or she got into the entertainment business and whether he or she is promoted as being an idol. Some entertainment (mostly music production) companies and music projects specialize in idols, and they automatically market everyone they sign as an idol. Such idol music projects have their own steady following, i.e., idol fans who prefer the style of one particular project they support. But bigger companies can choose, for example, not to refer to a new pop group they create as an idol group. As a result, there are some girl groups and boy bands with practically the same kind of fan following that are not idols according to their official profiles. ==History== The idol phenomenon began during the early 1970s, reflecting a boom in Japan for the musician Sylvie Vartan in the French film ''Cherchez l'idole'' in 1963, with Japanese title in November 1964. The term came to be applied to any cute actress or female singer, or any cute male singer. Teenage girls, mostly between 14 and 16, and teenage males, mostly between 15 and 18, began rising to stardom. One in particular, Momoe Yamaguchi, was a huge star until her marriage and retirement in 1980. Idols dominated the pop music scene in the 1980s, and this period is known as the "Golden Age of Idols in Japan".〔(Minoru Matsutani: Pop 'idol' phenomenon fades into dispersion. The Japan Times Online 25.10.2009. )〕 In a single year, as many as 40 or 50 new idols could appear, only to disappear from the public spotlight shortly afterwards. A few idols from that era, such as Seiko Matsuda, are still popular. In the 1990s, the popularity of female Japanese idols began to wane, as the music industry shifted towards rock musicians and singers for whom music was a more important sales point than looks or wholesomeness, as well as towards genres such as rap that were harder to square with conventional prettiness. At the same time, the popularity of male Japanese idols, such as SMAP, Kinki Kids, Tokio, and V6, grew. They gained high popularity in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Initially the term "idol" arose to describe very young newly emerging female singers who were noted for their innocence and freshness and sang cute songs. A diversification occurred in the 1990s and instead of few idols vying for popularity, a number of idols with specific characteristics divided the market. There is, however, an opinion that it is incorrect to use the word in this broader meaning and that an idol by definition should have some kind of fanatical overexcited following, something that a minor magazine model can't achieve. In the mid-1990s, idols became much younger than before, and groups of idols like Speed and Morning Musume became prominent. Idols also became a fixture in countless ''anime'' by singing opening or ending songs that have little relevance to the anime itself. Some experimented with being voice actors, and so voice actors themselves became somewhat like idols, becoming increasingly popular. Even today, some are still involved with the video game industry, though they are not always entirely successful. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Japanese idol」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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