#up10tion bit-to

[soulmateszedits]

· · • • • ✤ • • • · ·

⌜ Bit To × Up10tion ⌝ ᓚᘏᗢ

┊ ❀ Simple + Aesthetic

[miyamochii]

wooseok comeback!!!!!!!!!!! WOOSEOK COMEBACK!!!!!!

[weirdfishy]

and suddenly i find myself on an unquenchable quest for knowledge (guy who’s been spending hours reading k-idol info pages)

[junseoing]

literally stop everything. damu and yein at seoul fashion week.

[soulmateszarchive]

Bit To - Masterlist

— Aesthetic

#1

[boysplanetrecaps]

Build Up Ep 1, Part 2

Hello! When we left off in my Build Up Recap adventure, we had just finished the first part of episode 1. In this post, we'll get through more of episode 1, and we'll learn why this man is making this face!

Let's do it!

A reminder on the color coding: blue is soul, orange is allround, green is unique, and purple is power.

We just saw Seongjeong the leaping lizard do his amazing intro.

Then of course it’s time for everyone to talk about who looks like who, as seems to happen at the beginning of every variety show like this, and as usual I don’t see most of them.

They say that Choi Suhwan looks like Onestar, and for this one, I guess maybe. (You may remember Onestar from his time as a vocal trainer on various Produce seasons.)

No one talks about how Hyukjin looks like Lee Yedam from Boys Planet/Onepact. (Or is it just me?) 

Yedam, left, and Hyukjin, right.

Everyone says that Bitsaeon from M.O.N.T. looks exactly like Code Kunst. He doesn’t really, except that both of them have ears that stick out. Everyone seems to be talking about that, so he introduces himself as someone who wants to be as famous as Code Kunst. 

Just then (at least in the edit), V36 starts to play -- it’s Rose Blossom by H1-Key, as performed by Bitsaeon. (I’d have to assume that the song played first, then he introduced himself by name afterward…?) 

Seunghun from CIX starts dancing along as his new friend Hwanhee tries to place the song.

Everyone seems to like the performance, including me! He sounds great, and Sunghun from CIX interviews that their voices would harmonize well. Jay says, “aju nice!” when it’s done -- I wonder if he recognized it as Bitseon, since they probably know each other.  

Bitseon gets 21 votes, and says he’ll prove himself to those who didn’t pick him. 

Seongjeong the leaping musical actor says to his neighbor Joohee that there are a lot of idols here. That leads into a montage of performances from idol singers, all of whom are wondering, will anyone like my voice? (At least, the caption says they are.)  

Seokhwa from WEi, V37

Hwanhee from Up10tion, V38  (Tomboy)

Geonu from Just B, V10

Donghun from ACE, V20 (Miracles in December)

Donghun interviews that he’s here as a main vocal, and he’s expecting to see many other main vocalists. 

Every time I see Donghun in this episode, between his loosened tie and ill-fitting blazer and tired demeanor, all I can see is a beat cop in a police procedural who's ready to interrogate a subject.

Is it just me?

So, in honor of that, I'm going to call him "Detective Donghun" to remember him. As with all my nicknames, they're done to help us remember who is who and they're laced with love.

Kim Seoyhung says that he can’t sing stylish trendy songs, like the way idols sing. Yoon Inhwan interviews that all the idols sound the same, which is I think is unfair. Hwanhee, in particular, doesn’t sound like the others at all. Inhwan is mostly worried that their voices wouldn’t mix well, and I could say something like “I wonder if anyone’s voice would mix with yours, after you drank that gallon of milk before you sang?” But that would be mean. I try not to be mean, you guys. 

All the idol main vocalists get relatively low scores.

Hwanhee gets 14, Seokhwa gets 15, Donghun gets 18, and Geonu gets 11. I wonder if Hwanhee’s low vote tally is as much to do with his sort of sharp vocal color? I love the way it comes through in Up10tion songs but I could imagine people worrying about his harmonizing. Or maybe they didn’t think he showed enough in his teaser, since he sang a pop song and had backup vocals. 

Meanwhile, Seunghun from CIX is super nervous. 

It seems like he and Hwanhee have struck up a bit of a friendship. Hwanhee asks him if he often gets nervous, and Seunghun is like, I really, really do. Even at the pre-tape meeting, he was shaking. Hwanhee is like, there’s nothing to be nervous about -- you already recorded your teaser, so you can relax, right? (“Plus, we don’t have to dance!” -- Hwanhee, probably) But Seunghun is just a bag of anxiety wearing a brown jacket. 

When the voice says V1 will play, he reacts so strongly that it must be obvious that he is V1. As I said in my intro posts, I don’t think he was super successful in this performance, so I can understand why he’d be nervous. Like, you know you screwed up, and now everyone else is going to know, too. Aww, poor guy. When the song finishes playing, everyone applauds, but few had voted for him -- only 7. At the reveal of this low number, a bunch of the guys cover their mouth in shock.

Park Jeup, he of the powerful pussy bow, said he didn’t understand the low result -- in his opinion, this is a voice that would match with anyone’s. But Hong Seongjun from BDC, he of the white jacket with the mandarin collar, said it was “lacking.” Jay interviews that he didn’t vote for it or even really listen because it was in the ballad style, which wouldn’t match with his style.

Seunghun says, “I haven’t shown 20% of my voice. I will be the vocalist that could match anyone’s voice.” Everyone applauds. Fighting! Taehwan from Vanner says to Bitseon, “It’s a voice that could match with anything,” and Bitseon agrees. That’s sweet. 

Kindly hyung Hwanhee reaches out to touch Seunghun’s shoulder. “Do you feel better now that it’s over?” Seunghun says, “I feel better, but it’s a bummer.” He says he knew that the competition would be tough, but he’s still ashamed of the result. I think he might be fighting back tears. Oh no! Poor guy. I think we’ve all been there -- it’s too late to fix it so you just have to ride it out.

After that, we jump straight to V07.

If you’re just reading the recaps and didn’t necessarily listen to all the teasers, be sure to check this one out. Just try to picture someone who’d be singing it. 

The guys all react the moment it begins to play. 

Inhwan likes it. I think. I guess? Not sure. 

Seunghun likes it. I think. I guess? Not sure. 

Ma Jaekyung (former Romeo) says, “oh, what a nice voice.” Bitsaeon (M.O.N.T.) says, “Wow, this is truly unique.” The vote tally immediately begins to climb. Basically, everyone loves it, even Dahee. Kim Seongjeong, our leaping lizard, says that this person has a monster talent.  Jay says, “He was the one I wanted to work with the most out of all 40 people.” Sunyoul from Up10tion is like, just tell us who it is already!! 

Park Jeup (former IMFACT), with his puissant pussy bow, leans over the red-suited Hyukjin (100%/Fave1) to point out Neon, wearing green. They think it’s him singing. 

Side note: Google translate swears up and down that Park Jeup’s name is “Taxidermy”. Taxidermy is apparently 박제술, andJeup’s name is  박제업. So the first two syllables are the same. That’s unfortunate! 

So, who could it be? Who could be the owner of this interesting voice that won 27 votes, taking over first place…? They expected someone with that voice to be kind of old, but it’s youthful, soft-voiced (when speaking) Kang Hayoon. 

LTR: Lim Jun-hyuk, Woong, Sunyoul (in pink), Kang Hayoon in beige and light blue

He introduces himself with an anacrotic poem with the syllables of his name. “I’ll appeal strongly/ dear god, for me to debut/ please allow me.” Everyone says, “cyooo!” 

Up next is V33, sung by Neon (the one wearing green). It’s Rush Hour. Did he get permission from Jay to sing this? And did he get permission to do what he does next, which is get out of his chair and say things like “make some fucking noise!” making it really clear that he’s the one singing...? It seems at least against the spirit of the rules, if not actually against the letter, but no one is stopping him, so he’s just going to do that.  

A bunch of them get up to dance, including Woong and Sunyoul, both of whom seem ready to have fun here. I enjoy a joiner. 

Choi Haram, in his houndstooth gray and white blazer thing, interviews, “I’m a big introvert, He looked so cool. I was jealous.” I’ll call him introverted Haram. 

Neon introduces himself as an R&B/Soul singer-songwriter. He says he ran around to give them all energy. The running around thing was maybe a mistake, because a few of them say, “oh no, I was too busy dancing to vote!” He only gets 13 votes.  Donghun from ACE would have voted for him, and I think Seokhwa would have too. Neon interviews, “Considering those who forgot to vote out of surprise, I guess I did ok.” 

We find out that Woong from AB6IX has forgotten to vote more than once -- including during Pixar character Jo Hwanji’s audition with Swing My Baby. We see a bit of Woong’s pre-show taping interview, where he is wearing a denim jacket on top of another denim jacket on top of a hoodie. Do they not heat these studios at all or what?

He says, “It’s really hard to be the son of MNET. Right now, I’m the son of Rhymer from Brand New Music.” (AB6IX is under Brand New Music, and Rhymer is the founder.)  “But I’m open to anything. I love you, boss MNET!” 

So, how did Woong do with his singing? Let’s find out! 

He’s V11. The on screen caption says “Unique and captivating voice,” and as you know if you read my episode 0 guides, I like his singing, though I’m not quite sure how trained he is. It just sounds good. Bitsaeon points out that V11 (Woong) does well with the rhythm, and that’s true, he definitely does. As Woong dances along to his own singing, everyone is voting for him. Lee Gwangseok says, “That was outstanding.” And getting a bit of Woong’s personality along with the voice definitely makes the performance… well… sing.

Even though everyone seemed to enjoy the performance, Woong only gets 14 votes, but he stays cheerful. Woong says, “the result is different form the response. I’m still happy with the result. I’ll seize my chance and become the son of MNET. Fighting!” 

Woong center, in blue. In the foreground you can see the back of Hyukin’s head, Park Jeup’s head, and Kim Minseo’s head. In the suit to the left of Hyukjin, that’s Yoon Inhwan, then I think that’s Jo Hwanji the Pixar character, and Lim Junhyeok in white. Behind Woong is Sunyoul from Up10tion in Pink, Kang Hayoon in the cravat, Wumuti in the hat, and Lee Gwangseok/Kwangseok in the leather jacket. 

Fighting! Also here is a picture of Inseok from KNK for my readers who love him. Also, why does Yeo One clap that way? That’s a weird way to clap. LTR: Yeo One, Inseok, and Ma Jaekyoung from Romeo.

Most of the guys laugh and clap for Woong’s enthusiasm, but Hong Seungjun is a bit more serious. 

His group, BDC, was also from Brand New Music, but basically disbanded in August of 2023. BDC even went on Peak Time to try to stir up some interest first, but the group was eliminated in the first round. Basically, Seungjun has had a tough road and it makes sense that he might be a little, I don’t know... maybe "bitter" is too harsh a word, but I think you know what I mean. Like, he’s been through it. And it must be extra galling that AB6IX is doing comparatively well, being from the same agency and all that. 

Seungjun voiceovers, “I thought it was odd. They’re still performing and doing pretty well. I’m wondering, what are they doing here? Especially Yeo One-sunbaenim from Pentagon.”

As if in response, Yeo One interviews, “I’ve been in this filed for a long time. I got 10 seconds, max 20 seconds in each song. I always had the third to sing for 10 years that can never be quenched. I’m here because I want to sing. I’m here to sing. I want people to watch me singing. That’s all I want.”

Then V40 plays -- it’s Yeo One. People seem to be enjoying it, and the vote tally creeps up. They like his expressiveness, which I can understand. Bitsaeon from MONT says, “I want to listen to that before I go to bed.” Personally, I put on a Jenny Nicholson video. Is that weird? Probably. Anyway, Yeo One gets 22 votes, which is pretty good. “I’m happy that people listened to me singing,” he interviews. Ok, Yeo One, we get it, sweetie. 

Little Kang Hayoon is still in first place, and Seunghun from CIX is in last. Dahee asks Hayoon if he thinks he’ll stay in first place, and Hayoon is like, “Didn’t even cross my mind.” 

But now it’s time for… V19. Will Hayoon be deposed? A rough, sweet, textured voice fills the studio. Everyone interviews things like “How can anyone even sing that well?” “It was such a deep voice. I was so surprised by it.” The vote tally is over the top -- it’s 32, leaving Hayoon in the dust. “It kind of poked my heart,” Hayoon says, of falling to second place. And whose voice is it? It’s Lee Gwangseok, the guy in the leather jacket. 

It seems unfair to everyone that such a tall, good looking guy (his normal job is to be a model!) with no training at all can just sing like that.Well, that’s how it be, sometimes, I guess! Sunyoul from Up10tion interviews, “The world is messed up!” and laughs. 

“I never majored in singing or learned it before,” Gwangseok says. I just was hoping I’d get more than 5 votes. I’m grateful they liked my voice. As someone who dreamed of becoming a singer, I’m glad.” 

No one wants to follow that, but Jeup feels like it’s going to be him. We hear from a few of the contestants, including Hwanhee from Up10tion, that the “guy in red” (Hyukjin) and “the guy in the ribbon” (Jeup) are ones to watch. Sunyoul says that Jeup is a “monstrous vocalist”, that he’s so good that it’s like he’s cheating.

We get to hear some of V34, ie, Jeup. It is some serious technique on display. Everyone seems to respect what they heard, saying that it deserves a standing ovation and stuff like that. But the vote tally doesn’t quite reflect that. He gets only 28 votes, putting him in second place. Some of them find if very strange, including Jay and Hwang Inhyuk. 

Geonu from Just B and Sunyoul from Up10tion both interview that they’re hesitant to team up with someone so good. “Because he’s so good, I want to work with him,” Sunyoul says, laughing, “but at the same time, because he’s so good, I don’t want to work with him.”

And that’s all we see of the Voice Check! Again, if you want to hear what I think of all 40 performances, be sure to check out my “episode zero” write ups for each grouping of voices. 

Unique  Power Allround Soul

Here’s the ranking, with the number of votes received, a brief phrase to hopefully help you remember them (what they were wearing, what they sang, their group, etc) and what category they were in (Unique, Power, Soul, Allround.) If their name is in italics, we didn’t see much of them so far, not even as reaction shots or interviews. Some of my notes to jog your memory may refer to my other write ups. 

1. Lee Gwangseok               32        leather jacket                     U 2. Park Jeup                        28         pussy bow                          P 3. Kang Hayoon         27         cravat cutie                        U 4. Lim Sanghyun         25         purple cardigan                 S Kim Seongjeong         25         leaping lizard                     S      Taewoo                     25         black shirt                          U     Jung Soomin         25         Chicago                              S 8. Sunyoul                     24         Up10tion                            U 9. Kwon Euibin         24         beige cardigan                  U 10. Jay Chang                     23         Boys Planet                      S 11. Jeong Inseong         22          from KNK                          A        Hwang Inhyuk         22         light red sweater             A        Yeo One                     22         Pentagon                           A 14. Hong Sungwon           21         Desperado                       U    Bitsaeon                     21          M.O.N.T                             A 16. Kim Seohyung         18          light blue shirt                   U       Donghun                     18          A.C.E. (Detective)            S      Jo Hwan-ji                       18         uniform/Pixar                    P 19. Ji Yeon-woo           17         suspenders                       A 20. Seokhwa                     15          WEi                                  S 21. Choi Haram         14          introverted Haram     P      Jeon Woong         14          AB6IX                              U      Lee Hwanhee         14         Boys Planet/UP10tion       U 24. Jeong Yunseo         13         red and black leather        A Wumuti                     13         Boys Planet                      U      Park Joohee         13           white jacket                     S      Yoon Inhwan         13           drank all that milk           P       Hong Seongjun         13           white jacket / BDC         A       Neon                     13          green sweater                  U       Kim Minseo         13          Rolling in the Deep         P 31. Taehwan                     12          Vanner                       A                       Ma Jaekyung         12           Romeo                           S              33. Lee Minwook         11           Newkidd/ vest lover        S Geonu                     11           Just B /pink hair              A Choi Suhwan         11            Energetic                       A 36. Hyukjin                     10           red suit                         P 37. Bain                       9            orange-red hair            S 38. Seunghun                       7            anxious from CIX         A Lim Junhyuk           7            former Day 6                P 40. Jang Intae                       5            Missing You                 A

I can’t understand how on earth Kim Minseo was rated so low. I also think that Lee Minwook and Bain were much lower than they should have been. The fact that Yoon Inhwan ranked as high as he did is surprising to me -- for me, it was one of the worst performances of the teasers. I guess the guys and I have different taste in singers. 

After the reveal of the rankings, we hear from a few of the guys about how they felt. We hear from Lim Junhyuk and Seunghun about how they feel about being ranked so low, but we don't hear from Intae, despite him coming in last. Ah, MNET. I didn't even have time to miss you.

Dahee announces the next mission: The “Prefour” mission. Bain says, in English, “What’s that?” (He’s sitting next to Jay and using it as an opportunity to practice his English.) It’s where they make groups of four and perform one of these songs.

And you’re sitting there saying to yourself “TOMBOY AGAIN?!” but no, it’s a different Tomboy.

The songs are:

Breath by Park Hyo Shin

Something Like That by Park Hwayobi

Beautiful by Crush 

Delcalcomanie by Mamamoo

다시 사랑한다 말할까 (Shall I Love You Again?) by Kim Dong Ryul

Ditto by New Jeans

Don't Go, Don't Go by Brown Eyes

If You by Big Bang

Tomboy by Hyukoh, a huge hit from 2017

Every Moment of You by Sung Sikyung

It’s is a good reminder that for Koreans living in Korea, kpop is just part of their musical sphere of influence, along with ballads, trot, and other genres. Often enough on Korean top 40s you’ll see very popular ballads, mixed in with the kpop. I think some Western listeners also like some ballads, but I think most of us aren't as interested in them, so we can easily forget how important they are in Korea.

To be clear, I differentiate between a song that is slow and an actual k-ballad. I just don't like 99% of k-ballads. The arrangements are usually straightforward and they’re played on vibraphones with cheesy percussion. Also, the style of singing is just not my favorite. and are always delivered in the most overwrought singing style ever, with way too much vibrato. It can border on operettic but a lot more nasal. I am not saying, for example, that the singing in the original of “Shall I Love You Again?” linked above is bad. I just saying that it’s really not to my taste. But meanwhile, if you watch the clip, the audience is so into it. They’re like, in tears. So who am I to say that it's bad?  This is a genre of music that just isn't for me. I will have to do my best going through this show.

Anyway, everyone’s a bit intimidated by the songs, many of which seme to be well respected classics. Detective Donghun from A.C.E. wonders out loud who would be able to sing Ditto because it has so much English in it. That must be a real issue for idols these days. Ditto is at least 50%, maybe 60%, English.

Speaking of English, my love Bain is speaking it still. When the guys find out that they get to pick the songs they want to do based on the ranking they got in the first round,  Bain says, in English: “I wanna go home!”.

Dahee explains that though the song is a group challenge, they’ll be evaluated individually. A “top tier” contestant will be chosen from each group and will get a benefit. The lower ranked trainees are spurred to promise to try even harder. 

We see a super brief clip of the guys running in all directions to choose the song they want -- I’m assuming we’ll see more of this later -- before we jump to… some time later.

And we'll pick up there in the next post, when we'll actually cover some of the performances! Thanks for your patience and I'll see you soon.

XOXO BPR Noona

[knize-strachkvas]

so i'm not going to watch boys planet bc a) i hate mnet and i don't trust them to treat the boys fairly b) i do not hate myself enough to go through that shit again when i know its just getting worse and worse with each season. that shit is rigged. we know it, mnet knows we know it.

BUT just the bits and pieces that i see online...oh my fucking god that show is so unserious and just so fucking stupid and they don't even bother to hide it anymore?

1. dividing the trainees into koreans (mnets favourites) and the rest of not-that-interesting trainees that are not fortunate enough to be koreans is just bullshit. like dividing them before the show aired during the trainee reveal? weird, but okay i guess. but not letting them perform together for the introduction performance and putting them according to their nationalities? what the actual fuck mnet. tell me one good reason why all nine.i members that are stuck there couldn't perform together when they are already debuted team? jiho and seowon performed as duo and winnie was put with another thai trainee? that was just unnecessary.

2. mnets pushing the narrative that the koreans trainees need to be better then the rest bc this is kpop and koreans just need to be the best in everything just probably creates unnecessary tension between the trainees. no mater how u edit the performances to make the korean trainees look way better and edit out the foreigners with actual talent, it will just crumble down bc mnets editing is shit and it just creates drama where i want just good vibes (yes this is mnet i know i will not get good vibes its not my first rodeo....i watched ioi's season i know shit or two)

3. jiwoong. thats it thats the tweet...no okay. honestly i got worried for jiwoong when he was announced as a contestant bc mnets is shit but worse, mnet is homophobic shit and hell i don't trust them to treat jiwoong right. for now, it seems like they are just using jiwoong for views. jiwoong is brave for saying out loud right at the beginning that he acted in bl drama and didn't try to push it aside. also everybody else playing their parts and being in love with him is just amusing and i hope they are enjoying it. jiwoong is collecting men everywhere he goes and honestly, good for him.

4. hui (and any other contestant that is in active group tbh) like im so fucking confused what the fuck is cube doing. we all know that cue is shit and is not good in dealing with crisis situation but ?!?! this one is stupid even by their standards. hui literary produced songs for mnets little shitshows before. he was a mentor for people who are now going to mentor him. that's just laughable?? hui doesn't deserve any of this. he is way too old for this shit. and in any mean i mean he is too old to be an active idol. hell no. but the rest of the trainees are more than 10 years younger. u can't want him to take care of a bunch of kids that should be in school and not in this circus. also, i dont even want to imagine how much it would have an impact on pentagon as a group - or any group in general. if a trainee that is already a member of an active group (so pentagon, nine.i, up10tion (what the fuck, why), ciipher etc) what the groups would do? would they have the same contract as x1 should have? bein half and half? i can imagine that could go as smoothly as any other mnets ambitious (stupid) plan. the boys would be overworked in no time and the time management? yeah, hell no. and yes it kinda worked with victon but swoo was back way sooner then they planned, or with nuest (good for them). on the other hand, it definitely didn't worked for anybody else with was mostly the companies fault by not taking the chance properly and mismanaging them.

5. the evil editing. we all know mnet is really good at evil editing but every damn year there are people believing it. like why????? mnet has its favourite and its so obvious. its actually so fucking painful to watch. it was obvious even just from the teasers. i understand that that's the point of the show. the more drama the more views for mnet. bad publicity is still a publicity :)

okay im done now. in conclusion, dont vote for a contestant that is a member of an active group (stan the group instead) and for the love of god and everything holy please dont trust mnet :)

[hyumjim]

was tagged by another insensitive spotify user oomf @eunseo to share some spotify playlist shit but idk i will just post 10 (NEW) songs i have been listening to and enjoying of late in these recent times.

IVE - kitsch

LE SSERAFIM - Eve, Psyche & The Bluebeard's Wife

Kep1er - LVLY

lee chaeyeon - I don't wanna know

blitzers - macarena

onlyoneof - blueblueseoul

stray kids - novel

oneus - erase me

boys planet - jelly pop

LE SSERAFIM - flash forward

also it's a bit embarrassing but i'll post my top 10 most listened tracks of the year so far haha... since apparently apple music lets u view it throughout the year now

newjeans - ditto

newjeans - OMG

TXT - new rules

stayc - teddy bear

road-b - nonstop

golden child - knocking on my door

golden child - replay

ciipher - stay

wonho - crazy

up10tion - so beautiful

[sneezyminniejo]

Can you write for up10tion with a sick sneezy Sunyoul? Like, him apologizing for sneezing and trying to hold it back to not spread it to the other members? And them taking care of him (pls include Wooseok, even tho he's unactive but I mean theyre still labelmates even if he'd leave the group) thankss

Here it is. Hope you enjoy

Sick Apologies

It was day three. Yein has been sick for three days, and so far he’s managed to essentially hide it. Although it had helped that day one was just a sore throat and day two was just thick post nasal drip leading to the occasional cough.

Today however, Yein had woken up with his sinuses completely clogged. As soon as he sat up in bed he instantly felt an itch and immediately brought his blanket to his face and muffled three sneezes before making his way to the bathroom. While in the bathroom, he did his best to blow his nose, but wasn’t very successful in clearing anything out. He sighed as he went back to his room to get ready for the day.

It wasn’t long before Yein had to leave his apartment to go to the company and meet with his group. He went back to his bathroom to look for a mask, but unfortunately, he didn’t have any more. He had run out at some point and forgot to buy more. He sighed again and decided that he would do his best not to sneeze around the others.

By the time he had gotten to the company building, Yein was beginning to wonder if he should have called in sick today. He knew he didn’t have a fever because he had checked his temperature earlier. The issue was he was currently running fifteen minutes late and it was his cold’s fault. Yein wound up having to pull over a few times in order to have sneezing fits of impressive length. He also had to stop at a convenience store to get some tissues that he had neglected to bring with him and a mask in the process.

Yein blew his nose into some tissues and placed his mask over his face before joining the others in the practice room. He was fully prepared for some kind of lecture, as he’s normally quite punctual. Therefore fifteen minutes is quite late for him. Sure enough, when he opened the door to the practice room, practice was in full swing. From the looks of it, they were just  running the choreography and made due with his absence.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the song his members were working on was just ending. Just in time for Sooil to turn and see Yein dropping his bag on the floor next to the others.

“Yein, get stuck in traffic or something? You’re never late.” The group’s leader said as he went to pause the practice playlist.

“Or something.” Yein responded. He began to walk to the middle of the studio, but abruptly stopped in his tracks. Yein stood ramrod straight and inhaled sharply. It was a couple seconds later that had him bending at the waist.

"HEH-STIESHHH, HEH-STIESHHH, HIH-NGXSTSHH… Sorry." Yein sniffled and cringed at the mess that was on his lip. So much for the mask he was wearing. He removed the mask and took a tissue from his pocket and productively blew his nose. He stuffed the tissue back in his pocket.

“Sorry.” Yein said as he walked over to the trash can, throwing away both the mask and the tissues. His members were looking at him a bit strangely, causing him to give them a questioning look.

“You good there, Yein? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you sneeze more than once.” Kogyeol asked.

“I’m fine. It’s just a little cold.” Yein said. He went to the center of the room to roughly get into position and the others followed. Jinwook decided to restart the warm up so that Yein could properly warm up. Once warm ups ended, the group began to work on their current tile track choreography for their upcoming comeback.

There was just one tiny issue. Yein seemed fairly distracted. He was consistently almost missing cues and at one point almost got plowed over because he wasn’t paying attention and the part of the choreography they were practicing was quite fast. This meant that Jinhyuk had a hard time stopping in time. Fortunately no accident occurred. Although a water break was called, even though only an hour and a half passed.

“Hyung, I don’t think you’re as okay as you claim.” Dongyeol said. In part because Yein wasn’t actually drinking his water, he was holding his metal water bottle up to his forehead. A moment later Yein brought the bottom of his shirt up to his face and he sneezed four times.

“I’m fine, Yeol. I just didn’t sleep well last night.” Yein said as he used his shirt to wipe his itchy nose. He cringed a little when he saw the mess. “Sorry. I’m just going to qui-HEHSTIESHH, HIH-STIESHHHH go to the bathroom.” Yein unsuccessfully covered those sneezes and clumsily ran out of the room.

“Hyung, you’re not gonna let him practice today are you?” The maknae asked. Sooil shook his head in response. It was clear that Yein wasn’t in good enough condition to be dancing.

Meanwhile Yein was struggling. Shortly after entering the hallway, he succumbed to a fairly intense and messy sneezing fit. He was still a ways away from the bathroom and he wasn't about to go back to the practicroom with his face dripping snot and mucous. He tried to just use his hand and realized zed that that wasn't going to work. Yein decided to use his already slightly messy shirt as a tissue, so he took his shirt off and used it to properly clean his face.

One thing about the building the Up10tion members work in is that the decor and everything is identical throughout. Because of this, Yein hadn't realized that he had completely passed the bathroom while he was tending to his nose.

Wooseok was in the recording studio, working on songs for his solo album. He was currently taking a quick break, and as such, wasn't wearing headphones or anything. Just as he was about to put his headphones back on, he heard a weird sound coming from the other side of the door. Wooseok paused for a second and then heard the sound again. After hearing the noise for the third time, Wooseok decided to investigate. He got up and opened the door, only to find Yein standing just outside the studio door sneezing into his shirt.

“Ye-” “Heh-STIESHHH” “Yein-” “HEH-ngxtshhh, hih-stieshhh” Wooseok decided to pull Yein into his studio and he frowned a little at the warmth he felt. After another moment Yein stopped sneezing and the slightly older man took Yein’s shirt out of his hands and offered him a tissue.

“You good, Yein?” Yein nodded while he used several tissues to clean himself up. He turned away from Wooseok and coughed into the tissues.

“Sorry. Wait, why am I in your studio?” Yein asked, voice full of congestion.

“What do you mean why are you in my studio? You were right outside the door sneezing, so I brought you inside.” Wooseok placed his hand on Yein’s forehead and frowned again. “You have a fever. Let’s go.” Wooseok quickly packed up his bag and grabbed Yein’s shirt. He made a disgusted face at the mess covering it, but handed it back to Yein.

It took about two minutes to get to the practice rooms. Everyone was a little surprised to say the least when they saw Wooseok walk into the room holding Yein's wrist.

"Hyung, why are you here?" The maknae asked. The question seemed out of left field, but Wooseok had unofficially left the group awhile ago. There’s also the fact that they were all honestly so busy that they haven’t really talked to each other, let alone seen each other much except in passing in the building. “I found Yein here outside the studio sneezing into his shirt.” Wooseok began to explain. Yein was a sniffling mess and pressed his shirt to his face as he sneezed again.

“Sorry.” The sick man said as he stepped away from the group a little bit.

“Hyung,” Wooseok looks directly at Jinwook. “Yein has a fever. He should be in bed.” Jinwook and Sooil both looked concerned at that. “Yein,” Jinwook said using his leader voice. “You said you just had a cold. You never said anything about a fever.” “Honestly, I didn’t know I had a fever. I ne-never t-too-hehstieshhh, hih-stieshhh. Took my temperature. Sorry.” Yein rubbed his face on his shirt. The sick man threw his shirt over to his bag and began walking to the middle of the room.

“Yein, you are not working today. Maybe if we were just doing studio time. But dancing is going to raise your temperature further.” Jinwook said as he went to grab Yein’s bag. The leader sighed. “We’re too close to our comeback for more than one person to be out and I know for a fact that no one will be available to give you a ride until our schedules for the day are over. Just relax on the couch I guess.” It wasn’t an ideal situation, but it would have to do.

Yein went to the couch and sat down. Although he didn’t look happy about it. Wooseok had left the room fairly quickly and no one really commented on it, as they needed to get back to practice.

It seemed that Yein was sicker than he was letting on as even though he was in a room with blasting music, the sick man had fallen asleep. He hadn’t actually lied down though. His feet were still planted on the floor and his torso had fallen to the side.

By the time lunch rolled around, Yein was still asleep. However, Hwanhee had repositioned him so that he was properly lying down. Dam woo was currently in the process of waking the sick man for some food, when Wooseok walked in. All of the members looked a bit confused, especially since he was carrying a take out bag.

“What do you have there?” Changhyun asked.

“I thought I’d get soup for Yein. I knew you guys wouldn’t have enough time to make sure he actually eats his food. And since I’m just in the studio for the day, I thought I'd help out.” The other members chuckled a little as Yein slowly woke up. It was true that Yein frequently had a hard time eating whenever he was sick. He always had a major drop in appetite.

Lunch had been nice. It was more of Wooseok spoon feeding Yein soup because the sick man was half asleep. But Yein had eaten his meal. Afterwards Wooseok offered to bring Yein home so he could get some rest on his bed. Everyone agreed including Yein, who after his nap, was feeling considerably worse.

The one issue here was Wooseok had forgotten the address of Yein’s apartment, so he brought them to the dorm that really only get used when Up10tion is having an active comeback. He quick sent a text to Jinwook to tell him he brought Yein to the dorm before making a trip to the pharmacy. He and Yein spent the afternoon sitting on the couch watching tv while the sick man drifted in and out of consciousness,

It was a couple hours later that the doorbell rang. Confused, Wooseok got up and answered the door. Only to find delivery food, enough to feed the entire group. A moment later his phone rang with a text from Minsoo, telling him that he had ordered food for everyone and that they’d all be by in a few minutes once practice was fully over.

The commotion of the others arriving is what woke Yein up the most. While he was still feverishly groggy, he was coherent.

“Guys, I promise I’m f-fine. I can totally work tom-heh-stieshhh, hihngxst-nxgtshh. Sorry. I’m fine to work tomorrow.” Yein said, not at all confidently as he continued to use his soiled shirt as a tissue. All of the members exchanged looks before Jinwook shot the idea down, citing the standard policy of no fever for a minimum of twenty four hours.

Since the comeback really was just around the corner, the rest of the group decided to move back into the dorm a little bit early. That way they’d all be able to keep an eye on the sick member and make sure he didn’t actually try to work when he wasn’t in any condition to do so.

[satanandsoul]

2,8 and 10! for the astro ask!

Hi there! Thank you for your ask. I would love to have more interactions with you guys! 💕💛💕

2. Which is your favourite astrological aspect? And why?

Moon conjunct Venus. Period. The motherly love that these people exude is just so sweet! 💕💛💕 They are so gentle (when this conjunction isn't negatively aspected by Pluto or Saturn or Uranus). Plus, don't you think it is truly a blessing that your emotional need is the same as your personal taste, your aesthetics and your way of courtship and adoration? What you want is exactly what you emotionally need. That is just fantastic. And you know what is even better than Moon-Venus conjunction? Moon-Venus-Mars conjunction! I know, people who study Vedic astrology will disagree as in Vedic astrology Mars is a malefic planet. But hear me out. When you have Moon-Venus-Mars conjunction, you will go after what you emotionally need and like, and get it. So how can I not love this astrological aspect?

8. Which celebrity's natal chart do you envy?

I indeed came across one when I was scrolling mindlessly on the Kpop astrology archive Twitter page. I find Up10tion Xiao's natal chart highly enviable.

I mean, look at his chart. None of his planets falls into 6th, 8th or 12th house (these are houses I find particularly hard to work with). Saturn does not make any stressful aspect to any personal planet. So there will be no blockage of any sort. Pluto is only in conjunction with Mercury. This is another astrological aspect that I love as it gives extra perceptiveness to the native. I have not seen a single dumb person with this aspect lol. All of them are super intelligent. Otherwise Pluto does not make any stressful aspect with personal planets. I myself have my Sun-Venus conjunction squared by Pluto and I have hated the Plutonic energy in me since I learnt about astrology. And lastly Xiao has his Mars squared by Venus. I know this means that his actions doesn't align with his way of adoration. BUT this aspect is SEXY. Any Venus-Mars aspect IS sexy. So I don't mind. I can deal with that. After all, we can't have only "good" aspects in one chart.

10. Why is astrology so interesting to you?

I feel like humans have the tendency to ask the question of why they become the way they are. Freud would explain that it was because of their childhood trauma. I always find this explanation a little bit off as I feel like it leads people to blame on others. I, as someone who studies astrology, will explain that it is because you are under the influence of how the planets interacted at the moment you were born. I would like people to get more connected to the cosmo and see my analysis as an entry point for them to work on the planetary influences that are already within them and channel them in a positive way rather than shifting blames on others. I once did natal chart readings for my classmates in my master's programme. You will be surprised how astrology can help people bringing their subconscious into their consciousness. In short, I find using astrology to help people become a better version of themselves really rewarding.

[astroyongie]

Yongie is Hyunjins crush BIT-TO Up10tion?

nopeee

[soulmateszedits]

UP10TION ᓚᘏᗢ

✧ 2023 Season’s Greetings

✧ Simple

✧ AJ

[k-fangirledits]

UP10TION Gif Set Masterlist

Main Masterlist

Former Members

Kim Wooseok (Wooshin)

Lee Jinhyuk (Wei)

Kim Jin Wook (Jinhoo)

Current Members

Lee Dong Yeol (Xiao)

Lee Hwan Hee (Hwanhee)

Han Gyu Jin - Now Changed Name to Han Damwoo (Gyujin)

Seon Ye In (Sunyoul)

Lee Chang Hyun (Bit-to/Bitto)

 Go Min Soo - Now Changed Name To Go I-an (Kogyeol)

No Soo Il (Kuhn)

[junseoing]

literally hello???

[emeraldbabygirl]

Just thought about who Hikaru reminds me of cause I’m looking at all the members and I see lil bits of similarities in the way they look or how they gesture or their expressions and it reminds me of other people and I always do this with people and it’s not a negative thing I just see someone and think of someone else because they just look or act similar but Hyunjun from IZ. Like the way both Hyunjun and Hikaru talk, not like specifically but the way their lips move or some of the expressions they make or even the odd things like if that put their fingers to their lips when speaking or if the shift their weight to one side and cross their arms it just looks very familiar seeing Hikaru just doing any movement or gesture and I see Hyunjun even like when they’re both smiling or laughing and their eyes like do the thing. It’s the same with Ren like the way he smiles reminds me of the way Yunho from ateez smiles and Abe kinda reminds me of Teo from Lunafly and Shota’s face shape? And like the way his mouth moves I guess and his facial expressions remind me of Jaei from Great Guys. I already mentioned Raul but even Date-Sama, not anyone I can think of but they way his lips are kinda small and pushed together? when he speaks and his voice is gentle but firm and his idk I guess his mannerisms?? or gestures remind me of someone he seems very calm and wise and a lovely person to be around idk there’s just something about him that feels?? or looks maybe calming?? Idk how to describe it but whenever he’s speaking and the camera is on it I just like the way he is? his vibes or aura I guess. It’s hard to follow what I’m trying to say cause it kinda is not the right words but idk what words I’m trying to say. Maybe I just have seen so many idols with different features and personalities that it seems like it’s mixing or something. But I really did think that video I saw of Ren was Yunho and that’s why I clicked on it cause I thought Kinki-Kids did something with Yunho. Then I wanted to find out who he was. Also also Abe’s face and his small lips remind me of Jonghyeong from Dongkiz

JO1 also has some members that look or act in similar ways like whenever Junki smiles it reminds me of Woodz and Sukai has this strong? face that I want to say reminds me of Zuho but now I don’t know if that’s who I’m thinking of. He’s got a nice face with sharp edges and things but when he smiles it becomes soft like his eyes just melt idk cause sometimes his stare is intimidating but when he’s smiling he just looks like a lil cinnamon roll and I used to think Sho reminded me of Tomo from Orbit but after I saw a pic of them together I don’t think that as much. Ren reminds me a lot of Lee Jinhyuk and maybe Sunyoul from UP10TION but idk he kinda looks like he could be a kpop idol?? Like some of the members kinda look more Korean than Japanese but Idk maybe like cause I’ve seen a lot of jpop and kpop groups and sometimes there’s like something that makes you think they’re one over the other and Ren just looks Korean? Idk if that makes sense lol and Syoya I thought looked like members of noir like morphed together?? Like his face shape and lips I kinda get reminded of yeonkuk maybe and shiyeon? And maybe Siha or Minhyuk. And with JO1 in the beginning I was getting Junki and Takumi mixed up and Sho and Mame? or the Shion? Is there a Shion? Now tho it’s just I think Mame and the one that isn’t any of the other members that I kinda don’t know?? Sometimes I wonder if I know Mame lol and Junki seems to have harder eyes? like his stare and eyebrows looks idk harder is the only world that comes to mind, I know I describe stuff really weird, and Takumi’s eyes are more soft?? Idk idk it makes sense to me lol

[boysplanetrecaps]

Build Up Episode 0: Getting to Know the Boys Part 4: Team Unique

Hey, friends! This is the fourth and final post in my “episode zero” series of my MNET’s Build Up recaps. I’m giving you some basic background info on each of the boys, including where you may have seen them before, the group they’re in normally if applicable, and my opinion/analysis of their teaser performance. In the previous post, I covered Team Power. This will wrap things up with Team Unique. Woot!

Kang Hayoon

Hayoon is 20, and before this, he went on LOUD and Kookmin Singer. He may have met Jung Soomin (the kid from Chicago) on the show Loud, and he may have met Kwon Euibin on Kookmin Singer.

He was V07, and his teaser song is One and Only by Adele. He has a genuinely unique singing style that doesn’t at all match the way he dresses and looks. It’s a very specific vocal color that might not appeal to everyone -- deliberately somewhat nasal, but in a controlled way. It sounds retro-modern, the way that a lot of Western artists sing these days. He’s obviously a genuine talent, but I can almost feel his throat closing up as he sings. He needs a bit of training to really use that amazing instrument he has. I hope he gets it, and that it doesn’t destroy his natural color. 

Jeon Woong

Hair-stylist Unnies, what the fuck? Seriously.

Much better, thank you.

Woong is 26 years old, and was V11, performing Bad by Christopher. He sings the song almost exactly the way the original performer does, even down to the little purposeful vocal kicks. I would have liked to hear a bit more of his interpretation of the song instead of karaoke version. He uses falsetto to hit some of the high notes, but that’s ok, they’re very high notes and he sounds good. I like his singing in an instinctive way, but I’m not sure how well trained he is.  

Woong is in AB6IX, a four member group (used to be five) from Brandnew music. Like CIX, this is post-Wanna One group; Daehwi, a former member of Wanna One, is the center and face of AB6IX. Woong, meanwhile, is the main vocal. AB6IX started off doing pretty well, but one of their members, Youngmin, had a DUI arrest and had to leave the group in disgrace. It hurt the group pretty badly, and they haven’t really bounced back. Hopefully, going on this show will draw some good attention to the group, who I’ve always liked but thus far haven’t stanned. The song of theirs that I like best (of the ones I’ve heard -- there are lot of kpop songs, you guys, I don’t always keep up) is Close. 

And if you want to hear more of Woong’s voice, here’s his solo song, Moondance.  

Sunyoul

Sunyoul is 27 and a member of Up10tion. 

He has been on a few shows before this, including two reality shows devoted to trot, a uniquely Korean style of music, and a stint on King of Mask Singer in 2016 where he managed to convince everyone that he was a female trot singer. People were pretty surprised when they found out who he was! Seriously, check out his performance -- I don’t think I’d guess in a million years that this was a man.

For his teaser performance, he was V04, and did a song called Twenty Five Twenty One. He had some shaky moments, but showed his strong lower register and some serious vocal agility, moving from low to high notes almost effortlessly. I think he’s one to watch. 

Let me talk briefly about Up10tion. They debuted as a 10 member group in 2015, and didn’t really catch the world on fire. Several members went on ProduceX101 and two members did well enough that they basically started solo careers afterward instead of really bringing the fame home to the group. (I’m not criticizing them -- that was mismanagement on the agency’s part, not their fault.) Three members have left the group, and two members went on Boys Planet (Hwanhee and Xiao). Several members have left the agency, including Hwanhee and Sunyoul, and the future of Up10tion is really dubious at this point.  

Meanwhile, I’ve liked a few songs of Up10tion over the years, so it’s a bummer that they never really worked out. I think the first song of theirs that I liked was Blue Rose. Also, What if Love is great, especially the chorus, even if it sounds like they’re saying “ready for love” instead of “what if love”. In my opinion, a lot of Up10tion songs have weird intros and kind of mid verses and then awesome choruses held down by Hwanhee’s marquee vocals and Sunyoul’s sweet higher register. So if you listen to the first 30 seconds and you’re like “meh?” give the whole song a listen. Also, their song Spin Off was one of the best songs of 2021 and lives forever on my playlists. It’s one of those full-on kpop songs that isn’t really any genre, just sort of pop that makes you feel happy. 

Wumuti

Wumuti is 24 and is from China, though he’s actually an ethnic Uyghur, a Turkic ethnic group that is an officially recognized ethnic minority in China. If you read my Boys Planet recaps, you know that I have a soft spot for him. He just wants this so bad. Plus, and I don’t want to bum you out too much, but the Uyghurs are facing some pretty serious problems, including forced sterilization and labor camps and it’s really really bad. So I can’t help but always cheer for Wumuti, you know? 

He also seems like a really sweet, genuine, and hard working person. He seems pretty fluent in Korean and has been on all the Korean reality shows: Road to Star, The Dance & The Voice, Super Idol, Under Nineteen and Boys Planet. So this makes the third survival show in a row that Wumuti and Jay will be on together! (The other two were Under 19 and Boys Planet.)

Here’s one of my favorite Wumuti performances, gross lollipop aside. (He’s the one in the white hat.) Oh, now I miss Boys Planet!

Then there’s his cover of Antifragile, which he released shortly after getting kicked off Boys Planet. 

Ok, as for his teaser song, he was V12, performing Seven by Jungkook. He sounds fine, though I wouldn’t say at all his voice belongs in Unique. I think I’d call it Allround -- I couldn’t promise that I’d know his voice just from hearing it the way I would with, say, Hwanhee or Jay. Also, the rapping is a little cringe, but TBH it’s cringe even in the original version of the song. 

I think he was hoping to get people’s attention by singing a super popular song in English. His end game isn’t to make the top 4 of this show -- he wants to launch a solo career. I mean, that’s what I assume, anyway. I’m not sure if that will work out for him, but I hope it does. 

Lee Gwangseok, aka, Lee Kwangseok

Gwangseok is kind of a question mark overall -- I know nothing about him, not even his age. We actually learn on the first episode that he has no training at all and works as a model (!). So he has never been on any other show and he’s definitely not in an existing group. 

He’s V19 in the teaser song, showing off a unique, smokey, extremely thick kind of voice. I enjoy his performance, even though he’s singing a ballad, so that says a lot, though I know that some people may not personally like this distinctive style. I wouldn’t necessarily have guessed that he has no training. Maybe he just has good instincts, or maybe he had some light vocal training, like in high school chorus or something like that, because he can hit some fairly high notes in his chest voice. And some singers are charming without training -- Joni Mitchell comes to mind as someone like that. They sing the way they sing, and people can like it or not.

I’ll be really interested in see more of Gwangseok. I don’t know if he’s right for a vocal group based on harmonies, because his voice is so distinctive. However, he’s apparently quite handsome* and that combined with genuine vocal talent and his sort of self-effacing charm could give him a decent solo career.

*Those of you who regularly read my recaps know that I have no idea who is and who isn’t “handsome” or “pretty” in the kpop world. I often pick out the member who everyone thinks is the “ugly one” in a group and choose them as the one who’s best looking! So I have no idea. But the other guys on the show react in such a way as to indicate that he’s really handsome, and he works as a model, so I guess he’s handsome. 

Hong Sungwon

He’s a musical actor, and that’s about all I know. 

He was V21, doing Desperado by the Eagles. He sings it with a slight country twang, which is wild for a non-native speaker. (I assume he’s a non-native speaker? Maybe I’m wrong.) He has a rich, warm tone and impeccable pitch. I don’t love all his weird rhythmic choices in the song, but he’s trying to show that he’s fully singing live. It’s hard to critique a voice like this -- it’s just really good without necessarily really being all that unique. I like it a lot, don’t get me wrong. It’ll be nice to hear him sing more on this show. 

Neon

He’s listed as a solo singer, but I can’t figure out much more about him. There’s another Korean singer in this world named Neon Bunny (check out her song It’s You, one of my all-time favorites -- she’s not a kpop singer, she’s an indie artist and the song is amazing) and another Kpop performer named Neon who is a band called About U, so it’s hard to find out info about this particular guy with the same/similar name. I do know that he’s 28 years old -- that’s about it!

He was V33, doing Rush Hour by Crush. He has clean, nice vocals -- not particular unique, despite his category. He’s just really nice to listen to. Good pitch, good breath control, good power, all the good stuff. In fact, I think I would have put him in the Power category. You can see him in his silhouette performance standing quite a distance from the microphone, still singing loud enough to be heard clearly.  I’m looking forward to hearing more from him.

Kim Seohyung

Soehyung is a musical actor and has a similar singing style to Kim Seongjeong and Choi Haram. So it’s just not going to appeal to me, as much as I can respect his skill. His teaser song was V18, Me After You by Paul Kim. He did falter a little on one of the high notes, but I mean, it was just 90 seconds of singing one song, and mistakes happen. I think he belongs in the Power category, not the Unique category, but that’s just me.

A fan of his made this “Kim Seohyung cut” of episode 1 -- all 90 seconds that we got to see of him in episode one. MNET really doesn’t care much about Seohyung! 

Lee Hwanhee

Hwanhee is from Up10tion, but you might recall him from Boys Planet as the guy who ended up on General Gunwook’s team for Kill this Love. (Performance) You might also remember that he had to withdraw from the show midway due to his health issues. 

He is V38, performing Tomboy by G-Idle. He did the song justice, I thought, putting enough snap and sass into it. There were some backup prerecorded vocals that make it tough to tell how much he’s singing live. But I’ve heard enough of his vocals to know that he’s capable of some excellent singing.

I never got the sense that many of my 3-4 readers liked Hwanhee much, but I think he’s a really good vocalist. I like his distinctive, Baekhyun-esque vocal color, which adds nicely to Up10tion songs. However, he might be a tad outclassed by some of the other guys on this show, who have more training than he does. I think sometimes he wears out his voice and kind of runs out of steam while he sings. 

I think I would have put him in the Power category, but maybe I don’t really understand what the categories are about. 

Kwon Euibin

I can’t get over this official picture. Imagine being like, “Yes, this represents me. This is my brand. I’m going for that, like, pissed off substitute teacher vibe.” I mean. IDK.

He really likes beige sweaters over white shirts, I guess. 

Ok, so Euibin is only 25 years old, and my scouting tells me he’s a trainee going for the idol life. He went on two other shows: The Idol Band: Boy's Battle and Kookmin Singer. On the latter show, he may have met Kang Hayoon, the one who sang the Adele song for his intro clip.

He was V35, another fecking ballad, but his voice was unexpectedly sweet and pretty compared to his serious countenance.  He strained a little on some of the higher notes and the whole thing felt a little uneven, occasionally kind of shouty. It’s nice to listen to despite all that. I’m not quite sure what to make of him so far, so I’ll reserve judgment for now.  But again, not sure he’s “unique.”

Taewoo

Taewoo is 26 and my sleuthing tells me he’s a songwriter who appeared on a few other shows I haven’t heard of, Sing Again 2 and Vocal Play 2. 

He’s V28, Thought of You by John Park. I really like his voice. It’s slightly gravely, in a good way -- it has character. Finally, a unique singer who is actually unique. It’s hard to say how trained he is based on this clip but I know I want to hear more of him!

And that’s it! Gang, we did it. We made it through all 40! Now, I’ll move on to the recap at last. 

See you then and there!