#i know kpop is based on visuals a lot

[lenteur]

one of my biggest kpop pet peeves is the way some teasers do not match the song at all. i'm mostly talking about pictures, but it happens with the mv teasers as well. like, i've seen teasers that hinted at a bubbly pop song and then...................... it's a r&b song. like, come on! teasers are supposed to both hype the public up and hint at what the song might sound like. whenever the teasers don't match the song, i don't want to be there for the artist's new comeback. i'm just tired of it all man...

[fadedtoneverland]

hello I hope you are well, could you write Mingi x male reader who is androgynous and biracial, the reader is a soloist and his music style is city pop fluff and suggestive please 🫶

“pretty city boy” | s.mg

❤︎ synopsis — just some fluff headcanons of mingi with his amazing bf <3

pairing: idol!mingi x soloist!male!reader

theme: fluff ✿ , suggestive ❤︎

a/n: more ateez !! and with a male reader too! ugh, i love my male readers 🫶🫶 we need more of them in the fanfic space.

cw: suggestive jokes. innuendos (because it’s mingi). teasing from woosansang

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before the relationship

when you first joined the industry, you had no idea what to really expect.

making a fan base and career out of being a kpop soloist was scary, especially because you didn’t have a group prior to debuting to gain traction from

so of course, you were scared

but thanks to your amazing company and staff, they promoted you well enough to make your name known throughout all of korea, and even worldwide.

and of course, when fame comes, other idols start naturally hearing about you.

one of them being song mingi from ateez

as a musician himself, mingi had very high respect for the pretty boy with amazing vocals and stunning, unique visuals.

that pretty boy being you, of course.

so naturally, he got invested

mingi learned more about your company, and also the songs you wrote. he really liked the city pop melodies you’d incorporate, and some of the heavy themes you’d sing about in your songs.

so after diving into your discography, he begged hongjoong to get tickets to one of your seoul concerts

it took a lot of convincing, but joong eventually gave in

so now him, hongjoong, seonghwa and san all went together to watch your concert, and get the full experience of your performances

and it was totally worth draining the captain’s wallet

as a performance heavy idol, mingi takes live performances very seriously. his craft is impeccable, and here he was, starstruck by how easily you dominated the stage

you were made to be a star. it’s like god crafted your very being to make the whole world fall in love with you and scream your name

just like how mingi did in this moment

he was so in awe, that san took notice of this, and even waved a hand in front of mingi’s face during the intermission, trying to get his attention.

not like mingi cared, he still processing the adrenaline high from that insane performance. and it was only the first act

when mingi met you at send off, you were just as sweet as you seemed on stage. polite and courteous, even thanking your sunbaenims for attending your concert

to be honest, you were also fanboying a little upon finding out half of ateez was at your concert. you admired their work a lot, and were very happy to know they enjoyed your performance

safe to say, that wouldn’t be the last time you saw mingi. you kept seeing ateez throughout various award shows and promotions, and of course, you’d talk with mingi every chance you got

he was the member that captivated you the most. tall, handsome, charismatic, talented. just everything a guy should be.

and also he was like totally your type too but let’s not talk too much about that

one day after an award show and during an after party, you gave mingi your number, and soon you both started talking more

and of course, that blossomed into something more

during the relationship

mingi first confessed to you, and over text as well

he’s a busy man, so he never had the chance to do anything romantic as a confession

luckily, you accepted, and you both lived for this secret relationship you guys had.

obviously mingi told ateez, and they’re all very supportive

especially the hyungs, hongjoong and seonghwa. they do their best to assure that they support this, and will do anything to protect his relationship

kq also goes extra lengths to keep his relationship private, as does your record label.

the relationship itself is so cute

mingi likes to act all tough and hardcore, with his dude-bro shades n’ all

but the minute you’re around, he softens up like a puppy

you give him the princess treatment he deserves. surprisingly, you’re the one that pampers mingi more in the relationship, and he doesn’t mind at all.

more hugs and kisses from you, please and thank you.

he calls you his pretty boy

emphasis on the “his”, mingi is lowkey very possessive, and does not want to share his lover.

yeosang, wooyoung and san tease mingi endlessly for acting like such a simp around you.

like one minute, he’ll be arguing with wooyoung about who ate the last pack of ramyeon, but the minute he gets a call from you, he stops the argument and is like “hiii babyyy!! :33”

leaving wooyoung dumbfounded, and mocking mingi in the background with his other two besties

“ewwww look at the simp.” “gay behavior smh.” “get a room you guys”

those are some cool phrases from the trio

your dates consist of composing songs together and visiting cafes

the idol life is demanding and hectic, so your downtime is spent with nice, calming activities

whenever mingi’s stressing about something or experiencing bad anxiety, you kiss his knuckles to make him feel better

and following it by peppering his face with a bunch of kisses to let him know he’s loved <33

mingi’s love language is physical affection.

whenever you’re over at the ateez dorms, which is not often, he’ll take it upon himself to throw his body over you, and cuddle you all day.

mingi will also slap your ass a lot

like, a lot. and you can’t do anything to stop it.

sometimes he’ll straight up grab your ass from behind and whisper not so pg-13 things in your ear

“y’know it’d be really easy for me to just bend you over right now on this kitchen counter.” “mingi i swear to god-“

he’s a shameless little fucker whenever it’s just the two of you.

mingi is not the most horny guy in the world, but damn does he know how to keep you screaming all night

one particular night you guys went at it a little too hard in the ateez dorms… and accidentally kept a few people awake.

the next morning, you limped into the kitchen to see a very… very agitated choi san, with his arms crossed and bloodshot eyes

you would’ve been terrified if he didn’t look so goofy in the moment.

“.. pfft— hey san-“ don’t talk to me.”

you apologized to him of course, and san forgave you.

mingi then later walked in the kitchen with visible hickeys on his neck, and shot a smug ass grin to san. a grin that basically said “yep. i bagged that pretty boy.”

overall, the relationship is very sweet and loving, and you couldn’t be happier to have a man like mingi <3

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fadedtoneverland © 2024 | do not steal, modify or repost ANY of my work.

[namraniiverse]

fun ways to visualize

pinterest: this is common but make boards for your drs, you can divide them into sections and add things like your face claim, outfits, your house, s.o, and just general vibes. you can also make a section for a mini fridge and add all the food you want to have in the mini fridge (low key, making boards is like shopping but without the money and its so fun!!)..

playlists: i feel like this is also really common, but finding songs that match the vibes in your drs is super fun. plus, you can listen to those songs in your day to day life, and while adding to your scripts! if you make subliminals, you can make shifting subs with those songs in the background. pro tip!! add songs you scripted to be your own if you have a kpop/singer dr, works so well..

character.ai: okay now im pretty sure that this is something that not a lot of people do, but i know we all love to go on character.ai and it can be a great tool to visualize scenarios. go to the “personas” section in character.ai and make different ones based on your dr self! i might show mine, i don’t know yet. i like to have a subliminal or my dr playlist play in the background while i do this..

[sunsuns-babie]

XO (Only If You Say Yes) | NON IDOL!K.SUNOO x F!IDOL READER

💬: Certified Sunoo Haters Club 👺

Description of characters below ⬇️

SUNOO - Self proclaimed #1 Y/n from CUPETTES fan and runs the biggest Y/n fan account on Twitter ‘Strawberry Cake Y/n’s Hubby’. He does genuinely love her and is a bit delulu but not enough to be completely unhinged. He does know his boundaries as a fan of Y/n. He’s currently a college student just trying to graduate and doesn’t really want the spotlight on him, unlike his friends who have put themselves out there as public figures of sorts. Honestly Sunoo just wants to be in love with Y/n in peace and graduate from college with his degree in teaching.

HEESEUNG - A self sufficient Indie artist who’s on the rise with a bright future ahead of him. He’s been writing and producing his own music and is self taught at it. He is quite popular but hasn’t really broken in to the mainstream market yet. He funds all his music videos and helps directs them with some help from his friends. He even has his friends star in them with him, also with his dancer friend Niki helping him come up with some new choreographies for his new more mainstream “Kpop” era.

JAY - Is a pretty well known but still small YouTuber who’s known for his angelic covers and phenomenal guitar skills. He’s also Heeseung’s main music video director and does all the editing for him when it comes to his music promotional videos; whether that be the mvs, album track sample visualizers, concept films, etc. He also has a passion for fashion so he styles Heeseung a lot. Despite this though he himself is quite passionate about music and has been working on his own music projects, secretly for a while now. Oh, Jay also hates the comparison between himself Jay Park to the other Jay Park. Especially after his “fans” tried to say he was copying the other Jay Park, starting a smear campaign against him back in 2020.

JAKE - In the grand scheme of things at YouTube you could consider him a “small” YouTuber with only 2M+ subscribers but he is a popular streamer and gamer on both Twitch and YouTube. He has a devoted following that has opened many doors for him, making him successful in his field. Usually he does solo plays but a good half of the time he does gameplays with his friends Heeseung, Sunghoon, and Jungwon. Every once in a while Jay and Niki join in, while very rarely Sunoo agrees to join in.

SUNGHOON - A famous and even Olympic champion figure skater who’s started breaking into the typical celebrity world by guest starring in a few dramas and sometimes being a substitute MC for a few music shows, let’s not even get started on his modeling career. He has a very loyal fan base and is one of the youngest and most successful people of the current generation, making a name for himself through his hard work, dedication, and passion. His talent is great and unlimited, truly there’s nothing he can’t do.

JUNGWON - Is a college student alongside Sunoo and his best-BEST-friend since childhood. Because of their mutual friend Jake and his gaming streams Jungwon grew to like playing games and recording himself (since Jake filmed face cams of his friends when they played together all except Sunoo who wants to maintain his privacy). So Jungwon created his own Twitch channel where he streams random games here and there when he’s not swamped with college work. He mainly plays Minecraft and Roblox Dress to Impress though. Did I mention he’s openly gay and has a crush on Jay that only Sunoo and Niki know about?

NI-KI (RIKI) - The VERY youngest choreographer in the game, he is known as a dance prodigy, and works with many Kpop groups sometimes working as a backup dancer. He now mainly works with the girl group CUPETTES being credited as the choreographer for pretty much all of their choreographies. Not that his friends know that because he’s chosen to keep that fact to himself, mostly because in general he doesn’t talk about the celebrities he works with. He’s pretty famous himself with his own fanbase after going viral for his visuals in a fan cam for SHINee’s Key when he was a dancer for him and his choreographer in 2020.

masterlist | profiles (2)

taglist open 🏷️: @starlit-rin @onlyhyunjin @sol3chu @sugariricookies

[olderthannetfic]

Sorry to vent, but to be honest a lot of people shouldn't call themselves "proshippers" when they start moralizing liking/making RPF-y related fanwork. Really. They shouldn't. It's tiring having this exact same conversation almost every single month but people just are really stupid about it, it cannot be overlooked. Everyone is proshipper until RPF enters the room.

The subject matter that brings this conversation know is this Spanish movie titled La Sociedad De La Nieve. You all know the deal, is a "based in real events" movie, where a group of people survive in a mountain and commit cannibalism to survive. Some people are making fanfics about it, obviously, and some other people are going full "BUT YOU ARE DISRESPECTING THE VICTIMS YOU PIECE OF SHIT". Right now the only thing I can think of is Hbomberguy saying "no? They're writing fanfic about Zac Effron, you know, the attractive actor?" when pointed out how James Somerton was personallt offended people were writing fanfiction about two Netflix shows of serial killers.

Well, it's the same fucking logic. Most people aren't thinking about the actual real person that got cannibalized in the damn snowy mountain, people. They're writing about the damned actors in the damned exaggerated movie, they visualize the actor's face and their interpretation and their mannerism, because authors don't fucking now the actual victims. For fuck's sake. And yeah yeah, yadda yadda, the same disclaimer as always that people can find this thing gross all they want and not wanting to engage with it. This is not a discussion about that. It's about people saying authors are horrible people disrespecting dead people and that censorship should be applicable in those cases because It's Morally Bad. Why the fuck this has to be said every single time? Jesus.

--

TBH, plenty of so-called proshippers moan about kpop rpf and all sorts of other things. This is just a case where they can get more people to side with them.

Oh, wow, this is based on the Andes flight disaster? That's particularly amusing because there are so fucking many books and things about it, and the actual events are... kind of uplifting? Most cannibalism in the mountains type incidents involve a lot more murder and people turning on each other and a lot less wholesome cooperation. Honestly, there are so many more tasteless things RPF or fic of ripped-from-the-headlines movies could be based on, though I haven't seen this particular film and how it treats the subject. Given how much this was in the media at the time and has inspired things since, I hardly think some RPF hiding on a fic website is going to annoy survivors more than whatever else is out there.

[skyeblue8]

ᗯι𝜏ԋ Ɛʋҽɾყ Ɲҽցα𝜏ιʋҽട, ㆜ԋҽɾҽ 𝓐ɾҽ Sσ𝓶ҽ Ƥσടι𝜏ιʋҽട... ♚

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So, because I'm in a bit of a shitty mood due to a whole lot of work I have to do before my break, and I don't feel like piling onto the already large list of what's wrong with the Helluva Boss series - and also, because everyone liked the Beelzebub list, I decided to do a quick list of my top five favorite songs from Helluva Boss. Despite the questionable writing, characters, world-building, creator, etc, the songs are actually truly solid when they want to be, and for that, I'm willing to give praise.

𝟏.❞𝕂𝕝𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝔹𝕚𝕥𝕔𝕙❞ 𝐛𝐲, 𝐆𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐳 & 𝐆𝐥𝐚𝐦

❥ Putting aside my general love for these girls, however brief their appearances were in the episode, this song was just incredible to me! The dancing was smooth, the beat was heavily reminiscent to Kpop, which I just love anyway, the visuals were stunning, in addition to their overall designs, and I'm honestly just sucker for fish-based characters since they have a whole siren aesthetic going on. Speaking of, many people find these twins to be reminiscent to The Dazzlings, from EQ Girls, and that's just the cherry on top for me! The full version truly makes this even better and, overall, I think the song was brilliant in establishing the whole rebranding of Mammon and how these two pose great threats to Fizz, much like those badass singer villains in Saturday morning shows. You know, the one's everyone ends up simping for at some point in their childhood. Anyway, because of the new episode, this song managed to shoot its way to the top of my faves, knocking down my original fave in the process!

𝟐. ❞𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣❜𝕤 𝔹𝕒𝕝𝕝❞𝐁𝐲, 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐳𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐛

❥ This song walked, so "Cotton Candy" could trip and fall on the scalding hot pavement. Apologies if I sound dramatic, and you happen to like Cotton Candy, but the amount of disappointment I feel towards the fact that we didn't get this song is indescribable. Now of course, I understand WHY we couldn't (again, waste of time when someone could've just gotten Rochelle in the first place 😑) but I digress. Aside from the fact that a specific line in the song gives clear clarification of who the hell the flying fox is, it feels like the cool, degenerative (said affectionately) party girl song that I would've actually liked to hear.

❥ To me, it's reminiscent of "Cannibal" and "Die Young", and I feel like both themes generally tie into what we think of a Modern Beelzebub to be like. The beat, the shift in pace of the lyrics that brings out the fast party vibe, the fact that it felt like a real pop song that didn't take fifteen minutes to get through just to see the rest of the episode – all these are what made this song my former #1 favorite, now my #2. And the "non-binary specimen" line was a cool, quick inclusion to me.

𝟑. ❞𝕁𝕦𝕘𝕘𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕀𝕫 ℂ𝕠𝕠𝕝❞ 𝐛𝐲, 𝐌𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧

❥ I know this is technically too small to be an actual full song, but I still loved it regardless. It was really cool in its short runtime for the following reasons: the Tom Hardy's vocals (idk what it is, but something about Australian accents that just sounds satisfying, especially when singing), the praising of the Twins, and the satisfaction of seeing Fizz squirm a bit. Apologies to any of you who like Fizz. I don't hate him per se, but rather, I'm just bitter that we're loosing out on other character development because of him and Ozzy. And, I prefered Robo Fizz who was an unrelenting asshole and not another UWU boy that, imo, there are one too many of in Hell.

❥ Anyway, it was cool seeing more visuals of the Greed Ring stage. And seeing the spider visuals that are associated with Mammon. I understand if some people thought it was kinda tacky, but I personally think it could work if assessed the right way. (Hint: I'll be explaining more about this in later Greed Ring Headcanons and/or Mammon Headcanons.)

𝟒. ❞𝕍𝕒𝕔𝕒𝕪 𝕥𝕠 𝔹𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕥𝕠𝕨𝕟❞ 𝐛𝐲, 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐤𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐝𝐚𝐲

❥ Admittedly, I was a bit iffy on whether or not I should include this considering my feelings on Verosika. I don't hate her by any means considering, you know, it's Blitzø, but she has nothing going on for her and her one note personality just feels unfair to her considering what she had to deal with. That being said, I realized that I'm judging based on musical appeal and not entirely on character, so I said "fuck it" and put this as #4.

❥ While notably slower and softer than the other songs, I enjoyed it after revisiting it. The pink aesthetic and visuals were just gorgeous to me.

❥ It's slow, playful, and it reminds me a lot of Doja Cat and her songs, and I really loved that. Above all else, it was soothing and nice, and I feel like it was wasted on the Spring Break episode though as, while the episode introduced it a bit more worldbuilding, it felt like a whole load of nothing considering it all happened in one place and that same worldbuilding went out the window almost immediately. Still love the song though. Honestly, if there was a musical battle between Verosika and the Twins, I'd struggle to pick a winner.

𝟓. ❞ℍ𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝔸𝕤𝕞𝕠𝕕𝕖𝕦𝕤❞ 𝐛𝐲, 𝐀𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐮𝐬 & 𝐅𝐢𝐳𝐳

❥ While my opinion of Asmodeus has wavered lately, his debut song was incredible! I loved the deep vocals and jazzy tunes used in the song, and I didn't completely mind the bits with Fizz in it given all that's happened. Above all else, I adored how they called out Stolas publically in the episode. Shame it couldn't stay that way. Seriously though, as sexy as the man's voice is his design just doesn't fit that. But, yeah, that's my opinion.

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Anyway, yeah, that was my list. Let me know what y'all think and whether or not you agree with my choices. If any, do you have a favorite song in Helluva Boss? Or a least favorite? Let me know. ✌🏾

[loonarii]

Ari's K-Pop Roundup: June 2024 (LISA, Red Velvet, NAYEON, NewJeans, KATSEYE, CHUU + MORE)

Hope everyone had a nice pride month - I unfortunately was chained to my textbooks for the brunt of it and didn't do anything pride related, but I did see Taylor Swift, so I guess it wasn't all bad. This is the 5th installment of this series - genuinely didn't think I would make it this far - you can check out last month's roundup here, or see my full masterlist here. Enjoy :)

ROCKSTAR - LISA (BLACKPINK)

It's very rare that we see a kpop idol's pure, unadulterated vision for the music they release due to the manufactured, consumerist nature of the industry, but here we have Lisa, arguably the most popular female kpop idol of all time (at least internationally) free from the company that is widely known for formulaic, repetitive music. Will she stick with the brand YG has created for her and reinforce the box Teddy has placed her in sonically, or will she forge her own way?

Right from the teasers, I knew we were in for something a little different. Although conceptually the chrome, futuristic vibe is nothing new in kpop, seeing Lisa without those god forsaken white washing filters was very exciting. And the fact that k-netizens are taking to it very well?? Lisa is here to rock the boat. 'Rockstar' is only a single with no mini album, but hey, it's Lisa, meaning she doesn't need to boost the length of her releases to snatch those extra sales, she do well commercially regardless. Usually a single album would annoy me, but BLACKPINK are back to releasing music, so today I will let it slide.

With a Kendrick Lamar 'Humble' visual reference in the music video, a Tame Impala sample, and a sneaky little writing credit, Lisa clearly wants to reshape her framing in the industry - with 'Rockstar' she's rejecting the somewhat diminishing 'idol rapper' status, and seeking that 'rapper rapper' reputation. She wants to sit at the table with Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion, and 'Rockstar', in my opinion, does a decent job at securing her seat.

You can't reference Kendrick and not put in a double entendre in your lyrics, and Lisa (and her fellow writers) delivered in that category with quite a lot of success actually. In the line 'been MIA, BKK so pretty, Every city I go to is my city' 'MIA' is used to mean either 'missing in action', referencing how absent Blackpink has been from the music industry thanks to YG's interesting management choices, or as a reference to the Miami IATA airport code just as BKK means Bangkok, Thailand - in this context its an allusion to Lisa's multilingualism and her international influence as a member of Blackpink. It's a really good line, is what I'm trying to say.

Most of the issues I have with 'Rockstar' stem from the songs length. With the base track clocking in at 2 minutes 18 seconds (oh my god what have we come to), the song feels like it's just begun when it's all over. Excluding the choruses, hooks, and pre-choruses, and pasting what remains together, we are left with one singular, honestly quite short verse. Yeah it's a pretty good verse, both in flow and lyrical content, but one verse in what is clearly trying to be a rap song is unacceptable.

'Rockstar' is frustrating to me because while it has its genuinely great moments, like when 'lala' is used in reference to singing and to Lisa's real name when bounced onto the next line, a lot of that greatness gets eclipsed by the track's shortcomings (pun somewhat intended). However, although she's done solo work before in YG this is undoubtedly something of a debut, and through that lens, while it is flawed, the track shows potential. 'Rockstar' knows exactly what kind of song it wants to be, and even though it doesn't quite measure up, it's still a step in the right direction. I'm very excited to see what Lisa does next with her career. At the very least, 'Rockstar' was fun, for sure.

Cosmic - Red Velvet (Cosmic)

When I write these reviews, I try to describe the feelings and emotions and energies the song in question evokes, and I have found that when I struggle, the song is good - and I mean exceptionally good. 'Cosmic' is one such track - I fucking love every part of it - it's so addictive to the ninth degree, from that gorgeous music video to the low and slow verses to that utterly euphoric chorus. From Joy's slightly psychotic edge to her lines that she perfected in the 'Peekaboo' era, to Seulgi's vocals in the hook, and Wendy's high note pulling us into that final chorus; everything about 'Cosmic' WORKS. Lines like 'I'm riding on your rhythm through the solar system' and 'love is cosmic' work both in their catchiness and emotiveness. This era is obviously inspired heavily by the 2019's 'Midsommar', a visual feast of a horror film about a disturbing Scandinavian cult, and let me tell you, if 'Cosmic' is a cult, consider me initiated. Not to spoil my end of 2024 ranking or anything, but as for right now, 'Cosmic' is taking the cake for the best kpop song of the year, no questions asked.

Red Velvet b-sides always hit, and the 'Cosmic' mini album delivers as expected. 'Sunflower' furthers that 'i just took an edible and i found my way onto Spotify' energy, and that hook of 'OOH WOW FEELING SO FUN FUN FEELING SO FUNNY' is hilariously good, this is a standout for sure. The other b-side I want to highlight is 'Night Drive', the album closer. With elements of citypop and 80s synthpop, 'Night Drive' feels like exactly that - a 3am drive around a city you hardly know with people you know better than yourself. It's a celebration of music, and that's putting it lightly.

SM might be working up to shunting Red Velvet into their peripheral vision, what with the new 12 member girl group debuting soon, but 'Cosmic' proves their legend status once and for all. We freaking love you RV, never change. (And I would in fact join a cult if Seulgi was my fearless leader xx)

ABCD - NAYEON (NA)

Look, JYP may be my op until the day I die, but I'm not going to sit here and lie - he knows how to write hits when he wants to, and 'ABCD' is a HIT.

2022's 'POP!' was just that - pure, unadulterated pop music, exactly what was trending in Korea at the time - the image of modern kpop. And don't get me wrong, I loved it, but when it came for Nayeon's first comeback, I was worried she was again going to pull from the current trend cycle, and right now that means airy, Pinkpantheress type beats with a UK garage adjacent vibe - and that's not Nayeon. Her voice is full and powerful and rich in colour and flavour, a song like that just wouldn't work for her. I was nervous, for sure, but when the teaser dropped, I knew it was going to be good. In 'ABCD' Nayeon is rejecting the trend cycle almost entirely - it still flaunts that 00s vibe unabashedly, but here we are pulling from a trumpet fueled 'Crazy In Love' Beyoncé energy, and oh boy does it work. The lyricism in this song goes crazy, that chorus is masterfully written and unbelievably catchy, and that post chorus build up is INSANE. Nayeon's range is on full display here, and she sounds incredible.

The rest of the mini album is pretty amazing too. 'Butterflies' has some super interesting vocal layering, and many great moments like 'a little mental picture, every time I'm with ya' - and although it's pretty clear this was supposed to be a TWICE track once upon a time, with Nayeon even appearing to imitate the members' styles of delivery (it's like I can hear Jihyo, Jeongyeon, and Chaeyoung on this track clear as day) it's still an easy hit that I can't help but love. 'Heaven' doesn't quite work for me, it's not unlistenable, but the feeling that it has simultaneously too much and not enough energy perserveres, unfortunately. 'Magic', the song that my girl Julie features on is pop perfection, and these girls work so well together - Julie's interjections are so catchy and her parts steal the show entirely. 'Magic' is a bonafide hit. 'HalliGalli' is very AKMU (as to be expected), but I can't help but feel like it's a little immature, both for Nayeon and this album. It has some fun elements, but the complete track just isn't it for me. 'Something' is a fun pop song, if a little dull at moments, but that post chorus is a stunner. 'Count It' brings down the tempo of the album a little, in a groovy track with some beautiful vocal production - it's exactly the punch up the tracklist needed after the weaker couple of tracks that precede it.

Nayeon is my blog namesake, and she has done me proud on this album. Yes, some tracks were on the weaker side, but the overall product is strong, with Nayeon's oustanding performance on every track, and a killer title song in 'ABCD'. In terms of other TWICE members getting solos, I would love to see how Sana approached a song on her own, or even Tzuyu, who despite being the maknae and visual, tends to get lost in the sauce of a lot of TWICE releases. We will have to see, I suppose.

Right Now + Supernatural - NewJeans

God, I sound like a stuck record every time NewJeans drops some new music, but holy hell is it always good. Following their 2nd single album 'How Sweet' earlier this year, the girls are dipping their toes into the Japanese market for the first time with two tracks - 'Supernatural' and 'Right Now'. NewJeans have captured the attention of all of South Korea pretty much, it's now time to look further afield.

'Right Now', drenched in sassy lilting vocal runs, is bedroom pop at it's finest. The up-and-down choral melodies evoke the energy of a 2am gossip debrief at a sleepover with your best friends. The dichotomy of Minji's languid repetition of 'I don't care' with a chorus that speedy and spirited is humorous and perfectly captures what it is to be a teenage girl with a crush. NewJeans know who their audience is, and are making music directly for that.

'Supernatural' came next, embracing that New Jack Swing sound wholeheartedly - its very 'early 00s street dance movie'. It's quite a bit more mature than 'Right Now', the girls decorating those gorgeous synths and groovy instrumentation with a genuine collected confidence. As always, it pushes the boundaries of the y2k trend and thematically pulls from the era itself, not other people's recent interpretations of the era. It's experimental for NewJeans I think, which works for a debut, and while it takes a lot of the right risks, and makes a lot of the right choices, the chorus leaves a little something to be desired. The melody and hooks are perfect, I have no issues with them, but the vocal direction needs tweaking. A song like this demands a chant style chorus with all the members in my opinion, and while the vocal layering of the individual members singing attempts that anthemic feel, it comes off as slightly limp-fisted. I'm kind of dramatizing this issue because to be frank, it is rare I find something in a NewJeans track that I can pinpoint as a problem. The song is still of a supremely high caliber, and to be honest, any thinness in the chorus vocals just inspires the listener to fill in the gaps themselves with an impromptu karaoke session.

Lyrically, both 'Right Now' and 'Supernatural' break the kpop-takes-on-the-Japanese-market formula by including not only a blend of Japanese and English lyrics, but some Korean lines too. I find it quite clever, like saying 'this is NewJeans' debut in Japan, but they will always be a korean pop group first and foremost'. While some groups like Girls' Generation and Twice find their discographies split into 2 - kpop and jpop, NewJeans are clearly making an effort to unite both markets under 1 discography.

As a debut, this works. Two tracks united by classic NewJeans production and differentiated by themes and tone. It's really been a rough year for these girls, what with the whole Min Heejin vs HYBE drama and with Hyein's injury leaving her out of promotions for both single albums altogether, but there's a light at the end of this tunnel, and as long as the music stays consistently high quality as it has been, I will have no complaints.

(sidenote: the fact that I wasn't at Bunnies Camp in the Tokyo Dome is a little sick and twisted.)

Debut - KATSEYE

I mean, maybe expectations were unrealistically high since KATSEYE is HYBE's first real stab at the western market, but come on, we all deserved better than this. A half-hearted pop song that fails to innovate in every sense of the word, and they have the audacity to not even make it three minutes. IT'S BARELY EVEN TWO MINUTES. Kpop companies pulling from PinkPantheress constantly is truly a double edged sword, on one hand we get fucking incredible songs like 'LOOP' and 'Super Shy', and then on the other we get every kpop company waking up and deciding that actually it's totally okay to release 2 minute songs and act like it's a completed product. As a British girl, seeing the effects of the recession and the cost of living crisis on the people around me in real time is one thing, but seeing fucking SHRINKFLATION weed its way into pop music as well is like the burning cherry on top of my cesspit sundae.

I genuinely don't know what happened in the production of this song, like they got Ryan Tedder, who has contributed so much great music to this world, and then somehow the end product was so dull and uninspired.

The worst part is these girls are absurdly talented and they are getting served dirt. HYBE - that mini album coming later this year better be good istg. Ok, I'm done ranting.

BUT OH MY GOD TWO MINUTES AND THREE FUCKING SE-

Strawberry Rush - CHUU (Strawberry Rush)

(obligatory note: if you want to stream Chuu's old solo tracks, or any other old loona songs, please stream via the loona podcast or the twelveM account on spotify in accordance with the boycott)

Having the LOONA girls free from that cesspit of a company is one thing, but getting new LOONA music this often is certainly an unprecedented win for me.

Following her re-debut under ATRP in late 2023 with 'Howl', Chuu is back for her first comeback with 'Strawberry Rush'; a mini album drenched in electric pink and cherry red and sunny yellow. Chuu has an innately magnetic quality and Strawberry Rush as a title track takes full advantage of that. It's an utterly adorable song that I genuinely can't imagine anyone not loving. That disco synth thrumming the song's heartbeat is reinforced with a killer baseline, and Chuu's gorgeous vocal colour gives the track even more energy than it already has. The intro and opening are perfect at punching up the mood and setting the scene for the chorus, but it's when Chuu comes in with 'packing that heat, packing that heat, packing that PEW PEW PEW' that the song truly swings into motion and you know that this is going to be a fun one.

The mini album doesn't quite match the energy of it's title track, with it maintaining a more relaxed vibe, but it's enjoyable nonetheless. 'Honeybee' is an acoustic track decorated in summer daisy chains and buttercup bouquets, and it works wonderfully with Chuu's more airy vocals. 'Daydreamer' follows a similar sonic theme to 'Honeybee' but with a more late night nap with the cicadas vibe - Chuu's ability to switch between powerful, call-to-action vocals in 'Strawberry Rush' and featherweight tones in the b-sides is truly commendable. 'Lucid Dream' comes next, a perfect midpoint between 'Strawberry Rush' and 'Daydreamer', heartfelt and addictive. It's a real stand out on the album for sure. 'Chocolate' was released as a single a while back, and I enjoyed it then absolutely, but it makes so much more sense on this album - somehow it just got even more catchy.

Effortlessly adorable, effortlessly catchy, effortlessly perfect - Chuu, you have done it again.

MINI REVIEWS:

Boom Boom Bass - RIIZE: absolutely no notes, im obsessed. I've literally never loved a boy groups music like this before. wow.

Inner Dance - tripleS Glow: tripleS' ability to establish their own sound and musical motifs so early on in their career has served them very well, and 'Inner Dance' shows that clearly. Light and casual and airy, it's the perfect backtrack to your summer break.

Summer Festa - IVE: I usually don't dignify these type of advertisement songs with a review, but this one is actually kind of a bop. A little bit 'Espresso' coded; it's something fun for the summer that inadvertently encourages getting blackout drunk at the hotel bar in Bali. I'm still not drinking Pepsi though. Or Coca Cola for that matter, NewJeans pipe down.

BADVILLAIN - BADVILLAIN: (requested by @a-moth-to-the-light) Although apparently capturing the eyes and ears of seemingly the entire kpop community, this one wasn't hugely to my liking. This might be controversial but my first impression was in fact 'wow this sounds like something babymonster would release' - I can see the appeal but unfortunately these songs just aren't meant for me. I do enjoy the classical influenced production and for the most part the vocal performances were fun too, but with the hook I wish they had bumped up the high note at the end of 'villain' another octave - that's such a nitpick I know but the thought struck me immediately when I heard it. '+82' on the other hand impressed me immensely, such a powerful, call-to-action type song. That background production is a killer, and perhaps I just have Kendrick on the brain from my Lisa review, but the beat feels somewhat along those lines. And holy fuck can these girls dance - wow.

Sabotage - Kwon Eunbi: Can Eunbi release a flop title track? Turns out, once again, no she can't. I love 'Sabotage', it's so hilarious and catchy, and singing along feels like accusing an imaginary boyfriend of gaslighting lol. Woollim giving this song to Eunbi feels a little ironic, considering since she left IZ*ONE, it seems all they've done to her career is sabotage her with poor promotions. The song is fun, and Eunbi sounds excellent as always, with 'Sabotage' boasting many a vocal riff, especially following the bridge. Give this one a listen, and whilst you're there, go check out the rest of my girl's discography, she's truly a hidden gem.

[nightswithkookmin]

LOVE ME AGAIN BY V

I haven't been so nervous over a song lyric in my life

Pinning this here so I come back to it and write a review of the song. 6 hours. Let's get it

Whatever he's saying here- I don't understand any of it- but i think he means it.

V never disappoints.

It's interesting how it fits right into his playlist- singularity, Scenery- can't tell if his decision to give us something we know, something we are familiar with is him being too comfortable in his comfort zone or him just solidifying this genre as his signature move.

This is V. This is what we know him for. This is what he is good at- don't look up the lyrics you will cry. I sure did. I'm almost always scared of his lyrics cos he has a way of pulling on my heart strings and picking at my wounds. I don't want to be the broken hearted girl forever and yet V always reminds me of the pain of loving and losing. I hate it yet I love it so much. I can't stay away.

It is nice to hear this V make a comeback again. As part of BTS, I always thought it was nice to hear this laid back rich texture of his voice outside group songs. It offered such a Stark contrast against the poppy falsettos and almost indistinguishable baritone that was his signature.

By focusing on this low range and letting us hear this for a while 3mins track, we could appreciate how soulful he is. For three mins we'd be held captivated by his low beautiful voice and we would love every minute of it.

He is good at this and he knows it.

I feel both nostalgic listening to this.

I appreciate that he didn't do an English Kpop. As much as I would love to hear him sing in English, the influx of English Korean songs these days has me in a daze. I needed someone to hit pause and keep me grounded kpop and this song does just that.

I appreciate the costume and set design- it does a lot to enhance the vibe of the song- but knowing V, the vibe would have shined through even without the visuals. His voice is that powerful.

Part of me wanted to hear something entirely different from what we are used to hearing from him. Something outside his comfort zone. Something upbeat, quick tempo, similar to take two.

Yet part of me really love that he didn't. To a lot of people they are meeting V for the first time as a solo artist. While it might be nice to give the old timers something new- cos they've heard this over over- I think this is a great way to introduce himself to his new audience. This is the base he will always come back to and everyone needs to know that. It sets the pace and controls the expectations. Nothing too crazy and off base. He's actually a genius for this.

He's easing us into his musical world and journey. This will certainly resonate and draw in all the past Stans who knew him for this type of music. Anyone who left because he'd 'changed so much' will come home to this. Well done Tae.

V said, "Optimus prime calling all autobots" 🔥

I can't wait to listen to the rest.

[rainytypology]

ATEEZ Wooyoung MBTI Analysis

- ESFP -

An in-depth analysis of an idol's MBTI type. Based on my opinion and observations, may change later. Not an expert.

ESFP (Se - Fi - Te - Ni)

Dom: Se (Extroverted Sensing)

A perceiving function that uses our 5 senses to process the external world.

Wooyoung is always aware of the present moment, quick to react and to take action. He also pays attention to physical things such as aesthetics, the visuals of the performance, the way he looks, etc physical appearances matter a lot to him.

He enjoys photography and videography, which are pretty good activities for Se - it allows him to use his senses to make visually stimulating images and videos. Physically engaging activities seem like the best way to energize him e.g cooking and riding a bike. Cooking is great for his Se as it engages with all his senses - all the movement in cooking, tasting the foods, the aromas, watching the food cook, plating, maybe he enjoys hearing the sounds of food cooking as well and/or the way kitchen tools slightly hit each other (e.g knife on a cutting board).

This moment especially was an incredibly Se dom moment. Comparing it to Si user Jongho (Si has to step back and assess first), being the Se dom he is, Woo just went for it.

Aux: Fi (Introverted Feeling)

A judging function that uses one's own values and belief to compare and make choices

As Fi wants to be authentic, that is what Wooyoung always strives for - he always wants to express himself well, to be real. He wants people to like him for him. He returns the same gesture with others - he wants to know the real version of others. Wooyoung tries not to make assumptions at first meet since he knows he will not learn everything just from one encounter. He seems very empathetic.

Tert: Te (Extroverted Thinking)

A judging function that uses established facts and systems to make objective, working decisions.

He's quite goal oriented and takes time to plan to achieve these goals, even if it's not the most detailed. Either way, he knows how to get what he wants and works hard to reach his achievements.

Wooyoung lays down the rules as well - Te can be by the book, which Wooyoung can be sometimes. E.g when he was explaining how he found it rude when juniors would not put in the effort to correctly bow down to him and other senior artists. Wooyoung has a strong belief in being humble and kind (Fi) and wants to implement this in everyone.

Inf: Ni (Introverted Intuition)

A perceiving function that uses one's own personal insights and ideas

In his episode of "Fill in the Blank" series, Wooyoung said he wanted to use dance to convey deeper messages and emotions for others. He wants to be a sense of comfort, the light in other's darkness. He has always wanted to make an impact on others from a young age, especially considering how much he values relationships.

___

Why is he not an xSFJ or ISTJ

Both types use Si - Ne, which I do not see in Wooyoung at all...xSFJ's Fe is understandable, but Wooyoung is sometimes a bit too straightforward and honest to be using Fe in his main stack though lol.

And ISTJ just does not make sense in general for him.

___

Other analysis:

Enneagram | Birth Chart

___

Kpop typology list

[wildernessuntothemselves]

You make a really interesting point actually.

I’ve always been aware that not every member was going to be equally talented in certain categories and sometimes they weren’t even that talented and were added just for their looks (which I don’t believe is right considering the overwhelming amount of talented people that could’ve been in their place, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love them any less). But I feel like I saw people always being kinda mean about it so I tried to defend them and sometimes try and delude myself into believing they had more talent than they really did. I just wanted to be more positive if I’m being honest, but hindsight is 20/20 and I’ve realized that them being mean wasn’t always the case, they were just stating the facts lol. I’ve also grown since then. Idols like that still exist and I don’t hate on them for it. But I also don’t try and convince myself or anyone else that they’re something they’re not. I have hopes that they’ll continue to improve though!

As for demanding equal lines, I admit that I am one of those people, or I at least just complain about it to myself or my friends. But I’ve recently realized that more often than not, it’s for a good reason. They might not get many lines in singing or rap, but they can be a stellar dancer and show their talent through that. I’ve never quite considered that to be a possibility.

I do remember times though where I noticed a member got little to no lines, but were constantly center or at the front during the dance or got lots of screen time during the music video. I’d like to think that the reason why that is is because the company wants the members to present themselves and perform in the best way possible that is effective to their strengths and weakness and not because they like or dislike a member more than the others (which is also a possibility that I keep in mind).

The thing with all-rounders is interesting as well. I personally do think that some idols are all-rounders, they’re just the strongest in one category and that’s usually the one that they present as the most. But I agree that most idols aren’t all-rounders when their fans consider them so. I wonder if that’s just because they want to think the best about them even when it’s not completely true. I personally do base my “favorite singer in the group” or “favorite rapper in the group” off of my personal tastes, but I’ll always say that when stating my opinion because I know it’s not a universal thing.

The Kpop fandom as a whole is soooo… I don’t even know.

Anyways! I’m sorry for the long paragraph and opinion that literally no one asked for 🥲, I’m just having all of these epiphanies😅

I hope you’re doing well! Love youuuuu🫶🫶🫶

I guess in kpop it makes sense some are added for their looks. Kpop isn't just about vocals. In fact it mainly isn't and the visuals are the stan attractors but they at least should carry a tune and there should be a proper main vocalist.

Yeah there is being mean and there is stating a fact. Like i said some are my own faves and even i can admit they're not good lmao but they shine somewhere else

Oh i used to be one of the equal lines demanders and i used to resent jungkook because he got the most lines in bts songs lol but now i get it. He is by far the most stable live and the most in control over his own vocals. My own fave at the time V had and still has very poor technique that despite his pleasant tone of voice makes him hard to listen to for long.

Yup while there are cases of idols with good vocals not getting their due lines (liz from ive is the most recent example) sometimes they make the idol shine in something else like momo in twice. Ofc at the same time they should still get a couple of lines so they're not completely removed from the song because that's just cruel.

Yeah there are all rounders but they're very rare. Like txt for example, yeonjun is the only all rounder. The rest aren't and it's dishonest to say they are but companies wanna claim their idols are all all rounders to not do the work of finding standout talent over just visuals. Like newjeans, ive, lesserafim, all groups I adore but where is the main vocalist? Main dancer? Main rapper?

Yeah the kpop fandom is made up of younger kids so of course they'd be passionate about defending their faves. I was when i was their age.

[boysplanetrecaps]

Build Up Episode 2: 숨 (Breath)

Welcome back to another recap of MNET’s Build Up. In the last one, we covered Something Like That, and I got myself a new bias! In this one, we’ll be taking a look at The Hardest Song on the Show (along with all the other songs), 숨/ Sum / Breath. Let’s do it!

(photo: Choi Haram’s Insta Update, via Reddit)

As has become traditional on the show, the judges talk about how this is the hardest song. They say that about literally all the songs, though. Vocal Coach Guy (VCG) wonders aloud if the guys chose the song voluntarily, or if they were forced to do it because no other songs were available. No, that was mostly Every Moment of You. 

Breath was originally performed by Park Hyo Shin, who, per Wikipedia, “is a South Korean ballad singer and musical theatre actor known for his emotional vocals.” His songs have reached number one on k-pop hot 100 charts, beating established acts like A*pink. Breath came out in 2016 and hit number 1 in Korea. Here’s a cover of it by Chen from Exo, and here’s a cover of it by Jungkook from BTS, and here’s Bang Chan and Lee Know reacting to the original version. I just like covering my bases. 

It’s a sad song, but it’s a bit hard to say what it’s actually about. It seems to be about being depressed and lost and not really wanting to face reality. I’ll let you read the lyrics and decide for yourself.

The guys come up to the sound of athletic guitar music, like they’re ready to wrestle or box or something. It’s… 

LTR: Lim Junhyeok, Choi Haram, Jeong Inseong from KNK, Lee Hwanhee from Up10tion

Lim Junhyeok, the one who was a member of Day6 for about six months, introduces himself as a singer-songwriter. He was V5.

Choi Haram introduces himself as the “icon of challenge”. He’s a musical actor and was V8. 

Jeong Inseong is from KNK and seems to have a certain fanbase out there. He was V6. He introduces himself as the main vocal of KNK with a “soft charisma.”

Lee Hwanhee is from Up10tion, but you might remember him better from Boys Planet. He introduces himself as the cutie of team Breath. He smiles big, and then just a tiny bit looks like he wants to evaporate.

“Why do I keep going on these shows omg when will people just like my voice it’s a good voice I hate dancing I just want to sing oh god…” --Hwanhee, probably

The show makes a lot of their “prince-like visuals.” Are they handsome? You guys know by now that I have no idea who is or isn’t considered handsome by other people. 

Eunkwang gets right to the point and says it’s an extremely difficult song, so did anyone there choose it voluntarily? Haram, looking dapper in his pinstripes, says it was his first choice. The judges ask why.

Time for a flashback!

I’ll tell you now the order that the guys join. Inseong was in 11th place and chose it first, then Haram in 21st place chose it. Hwanhee came right after Haram, while all other options were still open, so it’s fair to say that at least those three consciously chose the song as their best option. Junhyuk was tied for 38th and had a choice of either Every Moment or Breath, and chose Breath, so it wasn’t really much of a choice for him.

We see the guys talking about how Breath is hard and wondering who would want to tackle it. But we also see the other guys asking Haram what he wants to do, and he always answers “Sum” (Breath). 

Side note: Kpop songs where you can hear the word “sum”!  It’s in the first line of Sugar Rush Ride by TXT (saenggageun got sumeul meomchweosseo), it’s at the beginning of the chorus of Mmmh by Kai (Mmmh mmmh, sumeul naeshwigo baeteo like…), and of course it’s in the first line of Breathe, performed by Lee Hi and written by Jonghyun (sumeul keuge swieobwayo). Those were just the first few songs I thought of. If you open your ears, you’ll hear “sum” a lot. 

We learn that Haram is a pianist as well as a musical actor.

Huh huh. Pianist.

Haram explains that he hasn’t engaged much in Korean music as he pursued classical music, but Park Hyoshin’s songs were his first exposure to singing. “I know it’s a really dangerous choice,” he interviews, “but I really wanted to sing the song that raised my dream on stage.”

Hwanhee takes the wrong route up to Breath and ends up going all the way around. Isn’t that just how things go for Hwanhee? He needs General Gunwook to boss him around. 

As Junhyuk arrives on the team, we get to see a little of his life. (I found a nice video on Youtube of this part, if you want to watch it. )

He says that he writes and sings his own songs, confirming my suspicion that songwriting is his true love, not singing exactly. He says that he has been releasing singles, and even teaching students at an academy. 

Pianist, Idol Main vocals, Singer-songwriter

Haram and Junhyuk take the lead on dividing harmonies almost immediately. 

Inseong asks Hwanhee, what she would do now? And Hwanhee says, “I guess… take a breath?” 

“They talked about music stuff a lot,” Hwanhee interviews. “To be honest, I don't know much about that. They were using difficult musical words so I couldn’t say anything. It was scary/” See? He needs someone to boss him around. Luckily, he has Haram and Junhyuk! 

Hwanhee tries singing his part, using a lot of vibrato, and Junhyuk confirms my good opinion of him by suggesting that Hwanhee dial back the vibrato a lot. It’ll give it a more casual, conversational feel.

Haram is so glad to have Junhyuk on his side to help, and we see a little montage of Haram working really hard. Does this mean Haram will be top tier? 

Here’s the link to the version without reactions. 

My thoughts:

This was a great performance. All four of them had voices I found myself liking a lot. Listening with my eyes closed, I was still able to pick out Hwanhee (I mean it’s pretty obvious) but I was listening to the others blindly and I found I had a positive opinion of all four voices. I don’t even want to nitpick them too much since I really thought this was all very good. I didn’t even mind the song -- I put this on my playlist. 

Haram’s voice is so full and mature, it’s almost incongruous with his youthful looks. I really like how he sings, though I’d prefer if he used a little less vibrato. There may have been moments when he was very slightly off pitch, but I couldn’t swear to it because the song’s melody isn’t super clear to me. I also would have preferred if he sang with his eyes open. But those are nitpicks. His voice is lovely.

Side note: He and Hwanhee are both wearing suits that are way too big on them.  What’s up with that, stylist unnies? Did you ask them to wear sweaters and they said no so you punished them with giant suits? 

Inseong’s voice is rich like Haram’s, but not quite as deep, and a bit smoother. I have no criticism. He also does a great job harmonizing with Hwanhee, singing in a sweet falsetto. I know I’m not saying a lot about Inseong, but it’s just because I have no notes! He did great. 

If you read my Boys Planet recaps, you know that I really like Hwanhee’s voice and always have. I think he sounds a lot like Baekhyun from Exo, and that is fully a compliment to both of them. He uses more vibrato than I would have liked here, but that’s a preference thing. I think he did great here, and I hope he won a few fans, since I feel like not many people supported him on Boys Planet. But isn’t it satisfying when it’s his turn to sing? I love his full belts. 

I wasn’t thrilled with Junhyuk in his teaser performance, but I find his story so sad and affecting that I was really rooting for him. So I was so glad to find out that the full, bright, satisfying belts I heard with my eyes closed belonged to Junhyuk. He also proved himself singing low as a counterpoint to Haram later in the song. Ok, his vocal color is a tiny bit sharp in tone (not pitch), but not unpleasantly so. He can get a tiny bit nasal, but it’s never anything “bad.” 

The harmonies were great overall, and I credit those to Junhyuk and Haram. 

I don’t know who I’d pick as my top tier, I really don’t. Every time I think I’ve decided on someone and type his name, I immediately change my mind to someone else. This was a strong team, in my opinion. 

The MNET Edit is kind, as is usual on this show. It was funny for me to hear one of my biases (Baekho) compliment another one of my biases (Hwanhee). But it seems that the judges didn’t like Junhyuk -- they were squirming around uncomfortably during his high belts. Well, I liked it, you dumb dumbs. 

Hong Seong Jun is enjoying the singing. I think. I guess?

When the song is over, everyone applauds and says they did a good job. 

VCG says that the song is hard to sing well, then tells Haram that he enjoyed his singing, for not trying to imitate the original singer too closely, but instead singing it in his own style. 

VCG goes on to say that Junhyeok was disappointing with “one thing” -- his voice was too “bare” in the chorus. He wanted to hear his “modal voice”, which I think meant his chest voice. I disagree, personally. I think having the contrast of Junhyeok’s voice was refreshing. But I guess that’s just a matter of taste. Also, since VCG said that Junhyeok was disappointing with “one thing”, the implication is that VCG must have had a lot of compliments for Junhyeok as well that we didn’t get to see. 

We don’t hear them say anything about Hwanhee or Inseong. 

The judges vote, and it’s unanimous -- they all vote for Choi Haram. 

That seems fair -- his singing was impeccable, and he also helped devise the harmonies. 

Haram pretty much can’t believe it. 

He almost looks like he’s going to pass out for a second, then says thank you and promises to keep working hard to justify his win.  

As the guys leave the stage, the judges say that they’re glad that the difficult song worked out so well. Then VCG adds, “It’s so nice to have an audition with just singing. I’m used to dancing too and this is much better.” 

Ok, my friends, I’ll post this much so that I can keep going crazy with as many screen shots as I want. Just two more songs to go! I fear I’m going to fall further and further behind… Sigh. Well, thanks for sticking with me and being patient. I’ll see you in the next one, which is going to be Decalcomanie, originally by Solar’s group Mamamoo. That should be interesting! See you then. 

Xoxo BPR Noona 

[moondaeznuts]

Debut or Die chapter 22 behind the scenes

Soheun

JangJin sometimes writes down notes that can add to the feel of the storyboard, and these comments were also included in this reaction video!

Review by a foreign general YouTuber (lots of tattoos, messy house in the back...) We showed Azusa's <To a New World> performance to a current ballerina who doesn't know Kpop! <Same video feel (studio shooting) It feels like a K-pop fan bringing family or friends to review... (2 women) I think it's a background show file.

In this episode, it was fun to try out editorial design for YouTube and other sites. I feel a different pleasure every time I work on a design that is not aimed at making things pretty and neat, but rather to bring out realism.

From the time I saw the storyboard, I was strongly impressed by the last part of episode 22, and it hit me hard while I was writing it. There is a message that becomes stronger when expressed visually. It was an episode that made me think a lot about this and that.

JangJin

When I sent the storyboard for episode 22 and Soheun's drawing came, I was so excited to see Sohyun's life-size cutout with the sign 'Sohyun's drama coming soon' attached. POP☆CON is Marshmallow’s orginal song and since it is an idol that appears on the first competition stage, we created a detailed setting even for parts that did not appear in the main episode, and we gave it a lot. It was the best setting that showed that the four members continue to interact and remain close even as time passes.

Moondae’s meals still inevitably consist mainly of convenience store and instant food, but I feel fortunate that Soheun always portrays the inside in a meaningful way. It's best to eat well.

I’m really happy that Soheun worked with me on this episode! I think I've thought about it a lot. In particular, overseas kpop reaction videos are some of my favorite content, so I hoped that these features would be well captured, but I was grateful that they included more than that (even when I was busy with just drawing!)

Starting with the episode 22, reactions to the Internet will gradually change. Finding faults in small things, and specific accusations against individuals will begin. It is fun to write and create reactions on the Internet, but such negative reactions seem to be stressful for the working side as well. However, that's how much affection, silly comments, and support you get for the participants. I will try to include a lot of supportive responses from the participants. ♡

Just in time for Halloween! I would like to release the storyboard version of the highlight scene of . The overall story of New World was based on the original work, and was a story about a vampire pretending to be a human being who tricks a target, and then other vampires attack the target and hunt them down. :) The storyboard is very rough, right? I'm just grateful that you save it with fresh drawings every time.

[idol-trickster]

Unprompted HC rambling covering:

- How popular Trickster / No Spin really was.

- What Inspiration/Generation they're based on.

To give context, this was prompted when I looked over Adam's outfit description:

Now, I always HC'd NoSpin to be a 2.5-3rd generation (It was the golden age of Kpop). This solidifies that for sure, because of the venue itself. {But also if you look at the light sticks for both YunJin, and NoSpin, they're very 'dated'. NoSpin's notoriously reminds me of NCT, EXO, or 2PM which had the name on the stick and likely doesn't change color. YunJin's reminds me of BigBang's [and a few others]}

This is a large stadium...so large that not many k-pop groups perform at this venue, simply because it's not ideal. Unless a large k-pop event with multiple acts is hosted, there are not too many groups that have performed here (Despite having tons of cool features to a LOT screens, lighting, and the like). I found an interesting website I'll source here while researching, but I'll copy and paste share the snippets. {Remember this was written in 2016 so it may have changed, but for the time period i think it lines up}.

The two (three counting BigBang, which I think Inspired "NoSpin") major groups that performed here are BTS (which makes sense since they used a producer from BTS to inspire All-Kill), and EXO. (I personally think Oh Sehun is the closest Face-claim for Trickster I could find, and one I was quiet on outside of streams. {I know people say San from Ateez, but comparatively... Sehun matches a lot more with the interestingly unique and sharp visual features that Trickster has. Exo ALSO has some of the best vocals in all of K-pop. They're filled with legendary singers that have an amazing range.}

Now both these groups are huge! Albeit, BTS of course the much larger, but I refuse to believe NoSpin was that big. (BTS just had a lot of things going for it that I don't think NoSpin would have, especially given that Ji-Woon was so dissatisfied. {the gimmicky era of 'figuring out sound' though does tie in.} They did have to be quite perfect though as role models and most def felt the pressure which I think was inspo.)

With all that being said, I definitely do think NoSpin was quite the popular group! If they could pull in so many fans, especially after their death, I'm sure plenty of people wanted to support Ji-Woon. A macabre headline like that would definitely bring in morbid curiosity and make a memorable impression. From the concerts in NoSpin's memory to Trickster's (re)birth, I'm sure South Korean media was following this man's career closely, which could have caused a bit of pressure and disdain for still living in NoSpin's shadow. (And push him to make a unique sound to make him stand out.)

Now I don't think any group is a 1-to-1 inspiration. I definitely use a lot of Block B influence because it hits a lot of the "outlier sound" group dynamic, which was so different from other K-pop at the time; held up against BTS when they shared a stage/"battled" for an award show; and had some minor controversies (Thailand incident that the press held some fault for, along with bad management/company, and backlash at some songs being too insensitive {Song: LOL *one of my favorites. I mean come on they were inspired by Eminem, is it a surprise they were a dark horse?} ); and produced one of the more successful solo artists, Zico, who went through his own 'demons'; either public upset with 'controversies', inside criticisms and 'pressured' times. (There's a reason he formed his own agency.) -- I just think from a social/psych study, they make great information as an inside look at a k-pop music industry environment, and how it can have upsets.

I don't really have a way to wrap this up, other than man's got issues and I could go on forever. But anyway Found this out and wanted to comment on it somewhere. It might be repeated in some asks if I get around to them, so act surprised if you see it. But I wanted to drop it here before I forget.

ALSO ADAM. He may not have stanned Trickster before, but I can say, after going to specifically a k-pop concert; you absolutely leave there being a fan. If anyone's gone to one (which I had the pleasure of), you probably know what I'm talking about. You really do feel the artist's energy, along with the crowd. It's certainly very memorable. I'm just saying maybe Adam had a Trickster Bias for a little bit.

[sanstropfremir]

So what is actually y2k? Because when I look it up it gives me the y2k problem when people thought the computers were going to crash. Which made me go huh then what is the y2k aesthetic? And if possible could you give examples of groups that are doing it whether it's their own spin on it or the more traditional ish way? I delved into the y2k rabbit hole and I'm realizing it's more than low rise jeans and tank tops so I'm shook 😳

please know that i've never felt older than i have in this moment reading this for the first time slfjskkflslfjfjnfnesmmsk.

so the 'y2k aesthetic' had been a term that's evolved out of the nostalgic cycle return of fashion from the late 90s to the mid-ish 2000s. 'y2k' as a term itself means 'year two thousand' (k is shorthand for thousand) and the original y2k does indeed refer to the incoming computer crash that was thankfully avoided in 1999, but in later years has come to be used as a delineating adjective for anything surrounding that specific era.

as far as fashion goes, it's hard to give a precise definition of what was the actual 'typical y2k' fashion because there was pretty wide range of changes and a couple of different subcultures that were prominent influences. most famously and distinctively is probably scene, which is the direct ancestor of eboy/girl fashion, but also there was surfer chic (pukka shell necklaces, tribal tattoos, bleached tips, wearing board shorts to non-swim related functions), skate punk, an obsession with oversized denim and oversized clothing in general, whatever you wanna call the lisa frank aesthetic, and whatever you wanna call whatever was going on with ed hardy, like blingy tattoo chic? i dunno, i don't think anyone can explain that one. this was also the start of the heyday of the branded sportwear trend, popularized by black hiphop and rnb artists starting in the early 90s and continuing up until now, basically. the other thing that i need to stress, as someone who lived through this, is that a lot of it was UGLY. the 'y2k aesthetic' of now has taken the best and most flattering bits of it an combined them with contemporary trends to make everything look good to modern eyes, but the reality of wearing clothes in the 2000s was that shit was just ugly. there were such a messy conglomerate of trends, plus an 'ideal' body type of heroin chic (yes that was actually what it was called) meant that popular styles like lowrise jeans were miserable for anyone who was vaguely normal shaped. also extra long spaghetti strap tank tops are flattering on nobody. it was a profoundly unflattering era for everyone, and it's important to remember that no current version of it truly captures how bad it was, because if it did, it would not have been revived by all these tiktokers obsessed with 'aestheticizing' everything.

the most obvious examples in kpop are sunmi's you can't sit with us, which is quite literally a mean girls (2004) reference, but also is referential to the popularity of zombie media at the time (shawn of the dead also came out in 2004, the walking dead started airing in 2010). the highly maximalist 'bedroom' set has a bunch of 2000s tech (including the coloured imac g3, which is the computer i learned how to type on) in it and is very much on trend with how girls' bedrooms looked at the time.

another example is jeon somi's dumb dumb, which hilariously came out at the same time, and ALSO has a mean girls reference, although this one plays more on high school media tropes than specific y2k trends, but bc i was in school in that era that tends to be an unconcious association.

yena's smartphone also uses a lot of y2k visuals in the styling, in particular the heavy hair accessories, but it combines them with a modern slant.

of course there's also all of newjeans content, which is very explicitly based in a medley of teen y2k aesthetics, but their most true to life styling is probably the one from their fact music awards performance, which pretty authentically hows how much of a mess the era actually was:

aespa also uses a lot of y2k ideas in their mvs; life's too short features the same bubblegum pink teen girl bedroom idea that shows up in both sunmi and somi's mvs, very obviously is their remake of dreams come true, which is literally an s.e.s song from 1998. but also i'm going to argue that girls has the same energy as early tvxq mvs with the high contrast dramatic colour grading and incredible weird pseudo scene fashion.

for the guys there's less obvious examples, because men's fashion doesn't have as frequent trend indicators, and because pretty much ALL bg fashion is in some way traces back to y2k trends in the first place.

the clearest example is probably enhypen's blessed cursed, which quite literally references y2k (the event) IN the mv, and keeps relatively closely to the popular silhouettes of the time: oversized pants, sportswear, large jewelry, those round sunglasses. and also it uses fisheye lens shots, which were SUPER common in mvs at the time

there's also the original kpop it boy kangta's mcountdown eyes on you stage, which is so unbelieveably late 90s that if you put the video down to 240p i would have thought it was FROM 1999. stylist whoever made this choice do you want to make out:

it's shown up in some other places as well, including the recent sungkyu photoshoot with the very oversized denim:

and also in the recent promo photos from sm winter palace, which seems to be taking a messy vaguely winter themed stab at styling that i am thoroughly enjoying:

[rosietrace]

I need to know... What do the other group's costumes look like? Or what's their aesthetic/theme? Oh and maybe add in what their music is like too...

*prepares for long ass post* I shall deliver ✨idol lore✨

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As it's already been established, NRC Corp is basically the idol equivalent of night raven college. The seven divisions act as the equivalent to the dorms.

Each dorm has their own aesthetic and music style, as well as differing in costumes. Which is thanks to the wardrobe department helping each group stand out on their own.

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[ Hearts & Roses ]

Division: [ Heartslabyul ]

Leader: Riddle Rosehearts

Manager: Frisk De La Rose

I'd describe the group's aesthetic to be a mix of cutesy with a grunge inspired side to their general aesthetic. An example would be like wearing wearing grunge clothing but with more prominent red and/or pink accents.

For reference, most of Freyah's outfits are similar to this. She's typically wearing red or pink with a lot of chains, and she's usually wearing shorts or skirts. But they aren't short enough to oversexualize her.

Though I don't know if this is actually grunge ;-;

Their accessories are similar in the sense that they're also grunge inspired, but they're much more 'cutesy'. The stylists wanted them to be eye-catching and somewhat incoherent because the members are given outfits that aren't all that cohesive but somehow work well together.

For music style, the grunge aesthetic is still there with instrumentation as well as the visuals and concepts for their songs. Most of their songs discuss rebellion and going against the norm and going by your own rules. But Freyah's music style specifically is inspired by [ (G)-idle ] and [ Red Velvet ].

Cater and Frisk are more involved in marketing and promoting the group while Freyah and Riddle handle the music production for most of their songs.

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[ King's Roar ]

Division: [ Savanaclaw ]

Leader: Leona Kingscholar

Manager: Grey Nephrite

The group's aesthetic is slightly based punk rock, especially with their accessories. Much more chains compared to [ H & R ] and the colors are much darker in comparison.

This is what their outfits usually look like, the fishnet sleeves and boots are the most prominent in all of their looks.

Their venues for performances always have air-conditioning since the amount of layers they wear for their stage outfits is astonishing.

For music style, they lean more into traditional rock and heavy metal with a mix of [ TxT ]'s music style.

Grey's most involved in the budgeting for music videos and occasionally involves herself with music production.

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[ Ocean M4fia ]

Division: [ Octavinelle ]

Leader & Manager: Azul Ashengrotto

Much like the name of their group name, their aesthetics and costuming leans heavily into the 'Mafia' aesthetic that's popular on platforms like TikTok and Wattpad.

They have a very monochromatic color scheme. Mostly consisting of black, white, and purple with silver or gold accents.

The stylists for the group were also heavily inspired by the 1920's mob boss aesthetic. Or at least the mainstream media version of it

The group's music style is also reminiscent of the 1920's while also mixing it with what most Kpop boy groups use with instrumentation.

They're also inspired by the silent film era of the 20's, giving their music videos a unique aesthetic that helps the group stand on their own.

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[ Serpentime ]

Division: [ Scarabia ]

Leader: Kalim Al-Asim

Manager: Lumina Glow

Their aesthetics are similar to popular Kpop boy groups and have a 'casual' feel to it. Most would describe their aesthetic to be along the lines of 'boy best friend' or 'boy next door'.

Their outfits are more simplistic compared to the other groups since it allows them to have more mobility and freedom of movement while dancing.

In general their aesthetic is 'basic' for their similarities to Kpop groups like [ BTS ], but there's nothing wrong with being heavily inspired by a popular style of music.

Due to Kalim's familial wealth, they usually provide a hysterically large budget for music videos. Which is one of the reasons why the music videos are full of aesthetically pleasing sets and incredible camera work.

In terms of instrumentation, they're heavily inspired by the 90's and 80's music style for popular boybands while mixing in the classic Kpop boyband formula in a unique way.

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[ Poisoner ]

Division: [ Pomefiore ]

Leader: Vil Schoenheit

Manager(s): Koral Larrane(Eventual), Erik Venué(former), Divus Crewel(former)

This group in particular focuses on the classic K-pop girl-crush look(but for both genders), but in the sense that the looks are more eye-catching and, unfortunately, happen to be one of the problems for objectification towards members.

This reference happens to be one of Victoria's outfits when she was still in the group, and one she still uses.

Many find it disgusting that the members who happened to be women were much more sexualized by the costume department. Their outfits were stylish, but at the cost of showing certain amounts of skin that they might not be comfortable with.

Which is likely one of the reasons Victoria and Jiyoon left

The boys also have more revealing clothing compared to most Kpop boybands, but they aren't as sexualized compared to the girls.

Seeing as [ Poisoner ] happens to be one of NRC Corp's oldest groups, they definitely had the most controversy when it came to their clothing.

For instrumentation and music style, the girl-crush aesthetic were inspired by [ BlackPink ] & [ Mamamoo ] and the sexualization of the girls wouldn't be as excessive. But there were certain moments in songs Victoria and Jiyoon were in that felt like the voice directors wanted them to sound more sensual.

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[ Tartarus ]

Division: [ Ignihyde ]

Leader: Idia Shroud

Manager: Azrail Despoina

Given the futuristic aesthetic the division has, it's natural for their group to have a very sci-fi and/or cyberpunk feel to their look. And that means their outfits are mostly techwear.

The outfits mostly cover the whole body aside from the hands(unless they wear gloves) and the amount of layers [ King's Roar ] has for their outfits are nothing compared to [ Tartarus ].

The colors are also stereotypical 'sci-fi'. Lots of black with white, turquoise or bright blue aesthetics. In the case of the manager, the blues are replaced with bright pink.

Compared to [ Poisoner ], [ Tartarus ] is less likely to have their members be objectified since the looks don't appeal to the male nor female gaze. They're pleasing to the eye, but the members don't look like sexual objects.

Music style is also heavily inspired by a futuristic aesthetic and leans into cyberpunk territory. The vocals for the members are auto tuned to sound more robotic with enough humanity in their voices to sound good.

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[ (!)nsomniac ]

Division: [ Diasomnia ]

Leader: Malleus Draconia

Manager: Mozus Trein(former)

The aesthetic for this group is the only one that's 'traditional punk' + goth inspired aesthetics.

Rings, chained belts and earrings are basically trademarked by the group by the amount of times they wear those accessories.

Not to mention there's a large emphasis of black mixed with bright greens to help give the outfits look eye-catching and 'pop'.

The members often wear facemasks with patterns reminiscent of street art such as spray painting. It also helps the members hide their faces and look more mysterious.

For music style and production, they often mix a similar music style from [ Enhypen ] with heavy metal and gothic instrumentation. It helps make their music more unique alongside their vocals.

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Tagging: @starry-night-rose @nem0-nee @fumikomiyasaki @authoruio @sakuramidnight15 @windbornearchon @geminiiviolets @knights-escort @twsted-princess @crazyyanderefangirlfan

[koishua]

😰 i think i need one too bc your opinions r valid . hope i got the emoji right help

idols wouldn't be idols if they looked like the average population and i do think that it's not wrong to expect them to look a certain way. they're entertainers— performers!!— who are very visually based. they aren't only singers or only dancers. their entire job is to be pleasing to the eye (be it their choreography, appearance, attitude, style, etc) and entertain viewers and fans when they're on (or off) stage. you want to be taken to another world with them. i don't believe that it's a big deal to get job done on your face or body if that is what your job requires you to do. their looks are what sells them the most, followed by their skills, so they have to upkeep and maintain (and even work on) themselves physically and ability-wise. kpop equals aesthetics first and foremost now everyone has to admit that whether they like it or not. people are not wrong for expecting a lot from idols. however, the issue arises when they expect too much. things happen, stuff change and so do appearances and people will drop you and bash you left and right if something goes wrong even a little bit. that's why the key to an idol's longevity and success long term is absolute skill and good music. your face is your moneymaker, but you have to solidify your place in the entertainment world to the point where you'll still be relevant regardless of what you look like. but i could be wrong idk.

anyways it's their job to look good and if people take that personally and try to change themselves to be like them, that is their problem idc. Go into kpop knowing that you should not hold yourself up to their standards bc it's not YOUR job. it's hard yes bc it's like they keep emphasizing beauty and body and you WILL be influenced in some way or another but try to remember that. just listen to the music, have fun with their dances, and be there for the vibes