#and why sm isn't bothering to debut male soloists anymore

[sanstropfremir]

awhile ago in ur post abt ur fav kpop dancers u talked abt how taemin is unique bc of his really clear and grand overall vision and concept and execution (if i'm misquoting u i'm sorry!) and it got me thinking abt how the "next Taemin" isn't abt that person being a good dancer but rather someone who will have a similarly grand, unique, and clear conceptual vision and theme and execution. which brings me to my question: i feel like woodz is capable of reaching that level and i was wondering what you think?

tl;dr woodz is the next taemin in terms of unique concept and scale of execution, yes or no 👀?

hi hello!! nope you're not misquoting; even if that's not verbatim what i said, that's exactly what i meant!

i have sort of talked around this idea of 'being the next (x)' with this post about rain and kai and also sort of this post about kai and taeyang, and i feel like i talked about it in relation to key 'filling the taemin void' somewhere but i don't remember where, but yes i 100% agree that there isn't going to be a 'next taemin' but there will be someone who can embody that same grandiosity of spirit and concept. it just depends on who's got the guts and the backing (creatively and financially) to step up. especially since i don't think sm is planning on debuting a soloist from nct in the same way they did with the shinee boys.

woodz is probably the most interesting and versatile next generation male solo artist active right now; he's already shown that he can handle a variety of musical genres and aesthetics, he has great instincts and a unique voice and he's got just enough of that indie sound to make him stand out from the main trends. the only thing he's suffering from is a lack of funds and a really good creative director. whoever he's been working with has been doing good, but i think to really reach that taemin-esque level he needs someone to come in with a complex and more experimental visual concept with really solid vertical integration with mv, album theme, and also all the promotional stages. both feel like and waiting were really close and although i put them both in my top releases of 2021 i think they're that touch too 'normal' to really grab attention in the way that they need to to really propel him. personally i'd love to see what he could take on with a bigger budget, but also i know that the indie energy is a big part of his charm, so it'd be a delicate line to walk. i know he could do it though.