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Pop idols and boy bands are ten a penny these days, with multi-million-dollar enterprises built on farming young talent, putting it on stage in matching outfits and telling it to follow a routine. Japan has more than its share of floppy-haired boy bands and short-skirted songstresses, many of them decidedly awful and with as much charisma as an emphysemic squirrel with a penchant for racism, but a new group from Taiwan called Ice Man is raising eyebrows all over Asia this week, not just because they’re “painfully uncool”, but because they have nevertheless garnered quite the following and are already making stacks of cash.

Meet Ice Man, a trio of chaps skilled in the art of tried-and-tested dance moves with floppy, windswept hair dyed to match the colour of their t-shirts. You might not think it to look at them, but they’re kind of a big deal in Taiwan and China right now.

First debuting in their homeland in March this year, Ice Man were reportedly “discovered” by singer, actress and media personality Pai Ping-ping, who put them on the stage and gave them her full backing.

▼ Pai Ping-ping with Ice Man, who are either waiting for their change or making the universal gesture for “I dunno what’s going on here either”.

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The initial reception the group received was far from good, however, with many making fun of their outfits and asking why on earth the young men’s shirts were plastered with ICE MAN in such an enormous font. “They have my dad’s dress sense,” chimed one decidedly unimpressed observer. “They’re so not cool,” added another.

Even so, before long there were those who began to admit that, either in spite or because of their awful outfits and ridiculous hair, there was something about Ice Man that they quite liked.

We’re guessing it’s not just that they look a bit like Power Rangers…

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Whether the move was intentional we have no idea, but it would seem that this “dasai” uncool style of Ice Man’s is actually working for them. They may look daft to some (right here!) but the boys have nevertheless become something of a smash in mainland China, and reportedly each make roughly 150,000 TWD (US$50,000) a month. Who’s laughing now, right guys?

Is this the beginning of some new uprising in the pop idol world? Are Ice Man simply pushing all the right buttons with their cliched dance moves and predictable music? Who knows. We’re betting they’ll continue pumping their fists and the tracks out while the money continues to roll in, though, so fair play to them.

We’ll leave you with a couple of videos of Ice Man in action, starting off with their debut song. Um, “enjoy”, I suppose…

Reference: Facebook ICE MAN, ETtoday 
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