can someone differentiate the main and lead positions in kpop groups

[Sooyoung's Wife]

they always just seemed like the same thing to me and whenever i see it in profiles idgi. both main/lead positions are just members exceptionally better in a certain area of music than others, so they carry their group in that aspect. what makes them different? does one position mean you do high notes and the other doesn't?

 

it makes even less sense when i see main/lead dancer. like what does that even mean?? ya got 2 good dancers in the group, what role does main have over lead? is one less showcased than the other? wouldn't that make them not a main/lead then? idgiiii

 

what's the point of putting members in 2 categories that basically mean the same thing? just so they each get a different title?

[A Hamster Named Loneliness]

main vocal gets the high notes and they do the adlibbing (though sometimes the lead vocal does as well, like with GFriend). And it isnt a thing anymore but in the past the main dancer would be invited onto dance variety shows like Star Dance Battle and show off their skills. 

[pinkpanda_spirit]

the main ones usually get the highlights, it's different

[amal.ha]

the only difference I can make is Vocalist and rapper in a group   I don't even know who is the dancer and visual as most groups have the same dance for all members and all seem good looking to me .  

[Rose.]

You have your main vocal that's usually singing the chorus and the high note parts

 

Your lead vocal sings prior to that. Lead vocalists are usually the second best singers 

[Usagi.]

Main vocal gets more lines

For main dancer, it's based on skills, not really hard to notice, tbh.

[Sooyoung's Wife]

so leads are not as good as main's yet they have the title of LEAD, you'd think they lead vocally over everyone else? and they just don't get high notes? what's the point? that seems so stupid.

[kimchi-nyoen]

 

Main vocal gets more lines

For main dancer, it's based on skills, not really hard to notice, tbh.

 

[D'Arco]

Main and lead vocal usually get the important parts of the song which usually is the chorus, in addition the main also usually gets the high notes and adlibs. 

[Sooyoung's Wife]

 

Main vocal gets more lines

For main dancer, it's based on skills, not really hard to notice, tbh.

 

ok but what's the point of a lead dancer then? if x is a main dancer and always gets invited to shows to show off their dance and they represent the group in the dance aspect, what's the point of y being the lead dancer if they don't?

 

and why do main vocals get more lines than leads if they both have the best vocals out of their group?

[coval]

Main dancers are the choreographer leaders.

Not necessarily the ones that get the"killing parts" that's usually the centres 

But they're the most skilled dancers of their group

They're responsible helping their groups learn the choreography, make sure the group stay in sync,  monitor their practices & performances to improve them. Like how the leader is the bridge between the company and the group, the main dancer is the bridge between the choreographer and the group. Some main dancers even have to create their own choreography for the group. It's a lot of hard behind the scenes work.

 

Plus special stages and all the other extras.

[Usagi.]

ok but what's the point of a lead dancer then? if x is a main dancer and always gets invited to shows to show off their dance and they represent the group in the dance aspect, what's the point of y being the lead dancer if they don't?

 

and why do main vocals get more lines than leads if they both have the best vocals out of their group?

 

Lead dancer also has good skills in dance but are not as good as main dancers, it's to, after all, create a balanced line while doing the choreography.

 

Main vocals get more lines than leads either because they also have better skills or because of their voice color or because their voice suits to said group songs the best. 

[Sooyoung's Wife]

Main dancers are the choreographer leaders.

Not necessarily the ones that get the"killing parts" that's usually the centres 

But they're the most skilled dancers of their group

They're responsible helping their groups learn the choreography, make sure the group stay in sync,  monitor their practices & performances to improve them. Like how the leader is the bridge between the company and the group, the main dancer is the bridge between the choreographer and the group. Some main dancers even have to create their own choreography for the group. It's a lot of hard behind the scenes work.

 

Plus special stages and all the other extras.

what do lead dancers do then? if main dancers are the very best and they're responsible for whipping the group into perfect choreo, what's the point of the lead dancer position?

[NothingOld]

Main is the best and Lead is the second best

[Usagi.]

Main dancers are the choreographer leaders.

Not necessarily the ones that get the"killing parts" that's usually the centres 

But they're the most skilled dancers of their group

They're responsible helping their groups learn the choreography, make sure the group stay in sync,  monitor their practices & performances to improve them. Like how the leader is the bridge between the company and the group, the main dancer is the bridge between the choreographer and the group. Some main dancers even have to create their own choreography for the group. It's a lot of hard behind the scenes work.

 

Plus special stages and all the other extras.

 

That's not a rule

I would say most Main Dancers don't do all this.

[hee_woo]

Pretty sure it has to do with skills.

 

Main vocals are usually the best vocals, but they don't always get the most lines, it has to do with the type of lines they get (usually the most difficult parts and high notes). Lead vocals lead through the rest of the song.

 

Main dancers are the best dancers and lead dancers are there to lead the dance along. In CLC's case for instance, Seungyeon ad Yujin are sometimes pair up to dance behind certain members during important parts or do the dance breaks.

[U R Messy AF]

what do lead dancers do then? if main dancers are the very best and they're responsible for whipping the group into perfect choreo, what's the point of the lead dancer position?

 

Someone having a lead position in a group is to signify that they are more skilled than most of the other members, but not necessarily the best or most vital to the composition of the group. A lead still has to pull their weight and shine in their respective area - which is why they're the lead - but ultimately it falls onto the main to excel the most in that area and hard carry the group if necessary. Hence why although main vocalists usually get the most challenging parts in a song, the lead vocalists still sing quite a lot and occasionally handle more challenging parts than a vocalist or sub-vocalist. They're more vital than the vocalists and sub-vocalists, which is why they're lead vocalists, but the main vocalist is the key vocalist. A main is basically the strongest lead in a group. I don't know else to explain it.

[tiarabot]

I always thought for vocals, the mains are the best and then the leads are a step down

Like for exo - mains: baek/chen/soo, leads: xiumin/suho

 

although the replies are making me think i was mistaken

[Sooyoung's Wife]

 

Lead dancer also has good skills in dance but are not as good as main dancers, it's to, after all, create a balanced line while doing the choreography.

 

Main vocals get more lines than leads either because they also have better skills or because of their voice color or because their voice suits to said group songs the best. 

 

i feel like these positions are way too restricting, formulaic, and don't represent groups well. like, jimin, hoseok, and jungkook are all the dancers of the group but they all have different styles and skillsets in dance. how do you put them all together and determine which one is the VERY best when x is best at street dance, y is best at contemporary, and z is best at dance in a general sense but might not be as well-versed as the other two? i can't even tell which member is supposed to be main and lead.

 

in a similar sense, how can you really say "x and y are the best singers of the group, but x is better than y therefore y won't get to sing adlibs and high notes" when x and y might just use different techniques or have different ways of singing. and what if x is horrible at falsetto, but y is good at it, and y is bad at low notes, but x is good at it? and what if both are good at adlibing but y is restricted just cuz they have some bullshit position that implies they're not as great? how is that fair?

[U R Messy AF]

I always thought for vocals, the mains are the best and then the leads are a step down

Like for exo - mains: baek/chen/soo, leads: xiumin/suho

 

although the replies are making me think i was mistaken

 

No, you're correct. If we're ranking positions, it's main > lead > regular > sub.

[coval]

what do lead dancers do then? if main dancers are the very best and they're responsible for whipping the group into perfect choreo, what's the point of the lead dancer position?

basically the same thing

the larger the group the more important the lead dancers are

just lead dancers aren't as involved with monitoring,mentoring aspect but  the special stages, choreography

[classiq]

I found it confusing at first, because before kpop, the best singer of a group was known as the "lead singer"

 

But in kpop that means second best to the main. I guess in the end, they're the most prominent singers of the group But the main gets the highlights

[Sooyoung's Wife]

i should've said before but yall need to ELI5 cuz to me main and lead are just too similar

 

 

Main is the best and Lead is the second best

i might be getting too deep but then what classifies 2 of the best group vocals as best and second best? how do you accurately determine that for every single group? like, sunny used to be a sub vocal and now she's a lead vocal. doesn't categorizing them like that initially undermine their vocal ability?

 

Pretty sure it has to do with skills.

 

Main vocals are usually the best vocals, but they don't always get the most lines, it has to do with the type of lines they get (usually the most difficult parts and high notes). Lead vocals lead through the rest of the song.

 

Main dancers are the best dancers and lead dancers are there to lead the dance along. In CLC's case for instance, Seungyeon ad Yujin are sometimes pair up to dance behind certain members during important parts or do the dance breaks.

okay, this makes sense. i'm starting to get it now, for the vocalists at least.

 

Someone having a lead position in a group is to signify that they are more skilled than most of the other members, but not necessarily the best. A lead still has to pull their weight and shine in their respective area - which is why they're the lead - but ultimately it falls onto the main to excel the most in that area and hard carry the group if necessary. Hence why although main vocalists usually get the most challenging parts in a song, the lead vocalists still sing quite a lot and occasionally handle more challenging parts than a vocalist or sub-vocalist. They're better than the vocalists and sub-vocalists, which is why they're lead vocalists, but the main vocalist is better. A main is basically the best lead in a group. I don't know else to explain it.

maybe i'm dumb but i still don't get the difference between main and lead dancer. main = best and gets recognition/praise, but would what does a lead dancer do for a group?

[Sooyoung's Wife]

basically the same thing

the larger the group the more important the lead dancers are

just lead dancers aren't as involved with monitoring,mentoring aspect but  the special stages, choreography

wait ok so say x group has 10 members. there's like 4 lead dancers but 1 main dancer. main dancer is basically representative of the group's dance skill and is the one to go onto tv shows and do solo stages to show off their dance. the 4 lead dancers don't do that but are still better than the other 5 members to keep the sucky ones from sucking too bad so that responsibility doesn't fall entirely on that 1 main dancer?

[U R Messy AF]

maybe i'm dumb but i still don't get the difference between main and lead dancer. main = best and gets recognition/praise, but would what does a lead dancer do for a group?

 

A lead does the same thing that a main does, but on a smaller scale. The main is the best at that thing and is the one primarily in charge of representing the group in that area, while the leads (who are better than everyone except the main ) back the main up so that it doesn't completely fall on them.

 

wait ok so say x group has 10 members. there's like 4 lead dancers but 1 main dancer. main dancer is basically representative of the group's dance skill and is the one to go onto tv shows and do solo stages to show off their dance. the 4 lead dancers don't do that but are still better than the other 5 members to keep the sucky ones from sucking too bad so that responsibility doesn't fall entirely on that 1 main dancer?

 

Pretty much, except leads do occasionally represent a group on shows as well, from time to time. A main dancer is basically just the strongest lead dancer in a group.