KIEN (ArRC) suspected of being oppressed by the company, debuting just to look good?

ArRC is a boy group project managed by Mystic Story - a subsidiary of SM. The ArRC lineup attracted the attention of Vietnamese fans when it included member KIEN, born in 2004 from Ninh Thuan. KIEN is also the only foreign member of the group.

The boy group released their debut EP AR^C, which includes 5 songs that combine many musical elements, from synth-pop, hip-hop, jazz to hyper pop. The title track S&S has a vibrant hip-hop sound. The chorus is arranged to create a space to highlight the group's dancing ability. ArRC also shows off their impressive rapping ability among 5th generation idols.

As for the MV, S&S was inspired by the fable of the fox and the grapes. The 6 rookies were built with a youthful and colorful image. The MV emphasized the group's performance segments, helping ArRC show off their strengths.

In the official debut product, the Vietnamese member's individual screen time has also been more reasonably balanced. Although only taking up a small part in the MV, KIEN makes viewers extremely curious. The male idol has a bright, handsome appearance like the "boyfriend next door". His sweet appearance with an energetic smile is the highlight that helps KIEN leave many good impressions.

KIEN's smiling eyes also remind many people of SEVENTEEN's male god Joshua. With his physical advantages, KIEN is predicted to be a member who attracts fans in the future.

This has dispelled the rumor that KIEN was "discriminated against" by the company. Previously, the noise about the Vietnamese male idol being obscure in the predebut MV and being suppressed in the group's reality show had received many mixed opinions.

KIEN's real name is Nguyen Trung Kien, from Ninh Thuan. Kien is also the only foreign member of ARrC, introduced by the group account with a caption in Vietnamese.

Nguyen Trung Kien was a student of Nguyen Trai High School. After graduating from high school in Vietnam, Kien went to Korea to become an intern and an important piece of ARrC.

The trend of debuting foreign idols is not uncommon in Kpop. It is easy to see that idols from America, Japan, Australia, China or Thailand are more popular, but we rarely see Vietnamese idols promoting in Korea.

However, the globalization trend is helping more and more Vietnamese idols have the opportunity to become a Kpop idol, below are some examples.

Tram Anh (Beauty Box)

Beauty Box is a multinational group that debuted in 2021 under By-U Entertainment. The group has 6 members, 2 Koreans, 1 Thai, 2 Japanese and Tram Anh from Vietnam.

Tram Anh is considered to have a good-looking appearance and outstanding dancing skills in Beauty Box. However, up to now, she and her group have not been able to stand out in the extremely competitive Kpop market. The group's music videos have only received a few hundred thousand views on Youtube.

Before debuting, Tram Anh used to work under the stage name Cherie and had a cover of Nguoi Tinh Mua Dong that was quite popular. Many people even said that the photos taken in Vietnam of Tram Anh had a much more charismatic aura than when she debuted with Beauty Box.

Not stopping there, in 2019, Tram Anh also participated in the survival competition Z-POP Dream Vietnam Audition Season 2 - Touching the Dream but was not successful. She also had acting experience when she played in the web series New Journey to the West Vietnamese Version.

Queen (Z-Girls)

Z-Girls is a group formed from the winning members of Z-POP Dream Vietnam Audition Season 2 - Touching Dreams, debuting in 2019. Queen's real name is Luc Quyen and she was born in 1997.

Queen was chosen as the main rapper and lead dancer of Z-Girls. Despite being known as a K-pop group, Z-Girls' fan base is mainly from abroad, partly because the group has no Korean members.

Roy (Z-Boys)

Roy debuted on the same day as Queen because both are part of the Z-POP Dream project managed by Zenith Media Contents. Roy's real name is Hoai Bao, born in 1996.

Before officially debuting with Z-Boys, Roy was also active in Vietnamese showbiz and participated in programs such as Khuc Hat Se Duyen, Minh An Trua Nhe...

Z-Boys' fate is quite similar to Z-Girls' in not being noticed by Korean audiences. The group's songs are all in English and bring in several million views mainly thanks to international fans.

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