I don't follow K- or J-Pop, but based on the time I've spent in Japan, I can say your comments about "artists" and the industry here are really on point. Korean acts are huge business out here too, but from the little I've seen, they definitely seem to be deeper than the average manufactured Japanese idol (tho that's not a difficult bar to clear).

and I'm really looking forward to reading that Rolling Stone article about R&B artists writing for K-groups. whenever I DO hear K-pop, it all just sounds like black music to me (and the choreography is all Michael/Janet/Beyonce). I thought they were really good at imitating, but now I see it goes deeper than that.