Sharon Osbourne describes K-pop industry as “soul-destroying” and “a complete factory”

nme.com:

K-pop industry, calling it “soul-destroying” and “a complete factory”.Osbourne was the latest guest on The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan, the new podcast by the Smashing Pumpkins frontman.In the episode released yesterday (February 19), Corgan recalled with Osbourne a record label meeting he once attended – and how he lost his temper when he was suggested to change the band’s direction in order to appeal to audiences.“They’re trying to saw the edges off of the true weirdoes and the true one-of-a-kinders,” Corgan remarked, to which Osbourne replied: “Well, look at it now with all the Korean bands that come out, and all this K-pop.”Corgan asked Osbourne if she knows how K-pop is made, telling her an anecdote about a friend he knows who once travelled to Korea to “hang out” with people in the K-pop industry.“So they have these rooms, and literally in one room, they’ll just write choruses,” he said. “They don’t try to write a song, they just write choruses.

And in another room, they have kids who are really good at writing bridges. And in another room, they have kids who are really good at writing verses.” Watch the episode below (skip to 1:31:11 for the quoted segment).Once they’re done, he added, they would “pile the stuff” and pick and choose what would go together. “It’s just a factory,” he remarked.Osbourne agreed, adding: “It’s a complete factory, and they’ll chop these kids up to make them look like more Western.

And, as soon as they get old, [they’re] out! A younger one comes in, and it’s just soul-destroying. Totally soul-destroying.”Earlier in the episode, Osbourne revealed that Ozzy was “offered to go and read for Pirates Of The Caribbean“.“I’ve never said this to anyone, and I said no,” she said. “Now.