I wasn't planning on watching this show. Honestly, I just wasn't that interested in it because I don't really follow any of the groups involved. I knew of all of the groups for sure and I definitely have heard at least one of their songs. (Throwback to me talking about BTOB's Movie and having Stray Kids and SF9 on my top 10 songs of 2020.) The issue was I wasn't particularly invested in one group over another and wasn't interested in watching another competition show. I get overly invested in these shows and feel rollercoaster of emotions that I just am not here for. However, the YouTube algorithm strikes again because I have watched basically every performance and was like "Fuck it, Viki has it with English subtitles. I'm just gonna watch it." So, here we are.
To add to my preface, I am most familiar with BTOB and Stray Kids. BTOB has been around for ages. Ilhoon was my bias mainly for his job cohosting with Apink's Bomi on Weekly Idol(he has now been kicked out do to weed use so rip). I have definitely seen them on variety shows couple of times and I know just how absolutely insane these people are. I started sort of distancing myself as they started to release a lot of ballads because those aren't my thing but I still really like them and a lot of tracks are on constant repeat in my playlists, particularly 2nd Confession, I am obsessed with that song. I started getting into Stray Kids late last year, in between the release of Back Door and All In. So, I definitely missed a lot but I'm living for the memes. I cleanse my soul with an 1 hour loop of Hoodie👚hoodie👕negan⚡️shim✨ toga💫 ji⭐️boogie💃 boogie💃 iepon💥 kogo🔥dance💃️groovy🎵groovy🎶on a regular basis. I have recently been getting into The Boyz, mainly because of SF9's cover of The Stealer and their cover of O Sole Mio, so thank you Kingdom. I actually do really like their songs and don't really know why I didn't listen to them earlier. Like I have been listening to The Stealer and Breaking Dawn almost everyday for the past couple of weeks. Now, the actual show.
The introductions were pretty standard. It was insanely awkward before the living legends BTOB entered. I was really apprehensive to see them compete because they are such a senior group and a lot of their members are enlisted right now, but I am so happy that they are here. They really are very entertaining and add that more lighthearted atmosphere that this show really needed. It was also really cool to see the camera rehearsal for each of the teams. They always add this stuff in for drama but it was really cool to see them prepare all the camera angles, as we saw from the ATEEZ rehearsal with the running, because in all of the performances the camera angles are constantly changing and really add to the performance and seeing them work that out is really cool.
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Not gonna lie, I have never listened to a full ATEEZ song, and if I did I don't remember it. So, when the performance started and the first line was Hakuna Matata, I was really confused and kinda shook. But yeah, the performance was really good and I was impressed. I particularly love the ending pose. It really felt like San(?) was like climbing a mountain to reign victorious or some shit, which was cool. It was intense and I love the sort of pirate storyline going on.
They really are amazing vocalists. I got goosebumps listening to their harmonies. You can really tell that vocally, there is no weak link because they sounded phenomenal. For this performance, it left me wanting more in the sense that I could listen to them sing all day long. I really don't know why they were worried with Minhyuk singing, because he sounded amazing. Also, Eunkwang is just such insane singer like he is unbelievably good.
I was really psyched for this performance because from what I've seen from SF9 is that they are insanely creative. We've seen this over and over again with the pinwheel from KO, the matador aesthetic of O Sole Mio, and like the entire choreography of Jungle Game. So, I was expecting a lot, which only made me feel a bit let down. I was expecting more of a storyline, which I didn't get, but it was still a good performance. They definitely looked really cool and danced really well, I was just expecting a lot.
This was exactly what I wanted from them. It was definitely very intense. I am obsessed with the inclusion of a lot of fun and interesting elements that made it very entertaining. Felix's part with the climbing and the flip (I could not see who did the flip for the life of me even after multiple viewings) and Changbin's part with the fireworks were definitely the most impactful for me. It really was a performance. I was thoroughly entertained. 10/10
Absolutely stunning. The choreography was amazing. Sunwoo's part with only the hands appearing on camera were really original and I really appreciated it. I also love the chorus of The Stealer because they really take advantage of the hits, which makes it so impactful. And then the piano section. The dancing was just so beautiful and graceful. I am so amazed that they could make such an expressive dance be in sync. So, yeah I really loved the performance.
iKON is another group on here that I don't listen to. I have definitely heard Rhythm Ta and Love Scenario, but other than that I don't know any of their songs. I was impressed with the stage. When I think of iKON, I don't think of impressive dancing and more just hip hop vibes. However, they did show that they were capable of more structured choreographies while still keeping that hip hop vibe. I definitely thought it was a fun stage. One thing I really appreciate about iKON is that you can visibly see them enjoy themselves, and there's just something about seeing people do something that they love.
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It would be really hard for me to rank these performances because they all did absolutely amazing. I would say my favorite would probably be Stray Kids. They really just went above and beyond. I would say a close second for me would be the Boyz. I think the choreography was just amazing and it was great to watch. Turns out, I have the popular opinion because Stray Kids won that round and The Boyz came out second.
Anyway, I'm excited for the next round. I'm probably gonna go right into it. I have seen all of the performances for that round, so I already know what everyone is doing, but it might be fun to see some interactions between all the groups and some behind the scenes for each of the performances. For the show as whole, I don't really have a favorite to win, but we will see if someone wins me over by the end of this. So... Um... Yeah...
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