dojae-huh

[dojae-huh]

A legit millionare sitting in a cardbox adorned with fake cat ears to serve the customers. The strange world we live in...

You know, Korea had a social class system, people were ranked based on birth and occupation. Musicians (even in court, even if educated) and street performers belonged to the lowest class - "base people" Cheonmin (butchers, tanners, executioners, slaves - all the "unclean"). Nowadays singers and actors earn a lot, but in a sense they are still seen as the lower class when it comes to respect, especially idols.

For some reason kfans have been favouring the cat agenda more and more in recent years.

[dojae-huh]

Gayo Daejeon Summer 2025

Day 2

Woodz opened the second day. He is the idol Jae was in the army band with, they got close. Woodz discharged 5 days ago, and already performs his song, that went viral while he was away, on a festival. He will have a comeback soon. Ambitious man. Not surprising he found a way through Jae's walls (1 (sit together), 2, 3, 4, 5. (Let's also write down Yoo Seungwoo as another Jae's famous bandmate, for the record).

Forget Jaehyun, Woodz need to collab with Doyoung. He also has a metal shrill tinge to his voice, they will match.

The first bg to perform was IDID. They haven't even debuted yet? Starship has some connections, huh. Such green rookies, lol. Even wishies didn't look this rookie. Teens should like them, though. They have that innocent appeal of bambies.

I'm watching the first ggs (Baby DONT cry and HITGS), and thinking that Everglow won't have a chance to make a comeback (they are changing companies). The momentum they had was ruined, and now there are younger shinier girls, who are on their level as idols (vocally and stage presence wise Everglow weren't particularly outstading, they strength was in the concept/lore and hit A-tracks), for fans to be interested in. Although, I don't think these two newbies will last. Not with the producing and managing history of their respective companies.

Close your eye's performance reminded me of SMTR25 (not by level, but conceptually, the presentation). SM really needs to think their strategy through. The market is really oversaturated with groups of similar level (i.e. OK idol dancing skills and mediocre vocals). Just good looks won't do anymore.

Heh, but watching newly debuted groups go one after another is quite funny. Like watching a singing/dancing competition.

Did H2H get the stylist who works with aespa? Those white-and-blue outfits were pretty bad.

I have Simon Says era deja vu.

The beginning of Mark's number was pre-recorded. I guess it had to be done to film the ballet dancers from all possible angles. I'm pretty positive SM staff got the idea once they saw how viral the ballet 1999 version became in SK, and decided on the event where to show it later. They needed time to find a ballet choreographer, dancers, develop a choreo, practice it, sew matching costumes for the male lead and Mark. From watching dance shows dancers need at least a couple of weeks to make a number. One week is pushing it under immense pressure and all hours dedicated to it.

What can I say? It was great number. Exactly what you need when your timeslot is short and you need to impress and be remembered with just one-two songs.

Hm, TXT did well, I can see the appeal. Surprisingly, despite one of the members from this group hosting, it was NCT Dream that closed the day. Seniority? Or idol ranking?

Really nice clothes. On point.

The 2nd day was more fun. However, the whole set up - jumping from stage to stage, participants doing only 1-2 songs, no projection on big screens - doesn't help to create a big spectacle. I guess it's a low budget festival? Inkigayo shows impressed me more, I think.

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Hy, I really like your post coz I rarely found fans that so critical and wise. I noticed Marks (my bias) slouching too. In my college there's an assignment when we have to record ourselves in 70 minutes, and because I'm shy but perfectionist, it's so difficult I have to repeat it many times. The final record is satisfying but I noticed that I'm slouching, although I didn't feel it. Dispite the tiredness the compassion is great. Hence why I think Mark like that too. What do you think?

Haechan slouches a lot too. So does Doyoung, but he had improved on this part (going to the gym helped). It's a plight of our generation and the modern way of living. The way we sit, the way we crane out neck to look onto the phone, how we lay when we watch TV, etc. The poses make certain muscles that bring the shoulder forward shorten and be in constant state of contraction. At the same time, the muscles on the shoulderblades and back are weak and overstretched. The only way to improve the posture is to: 1) do special physical exercises that stretch the chest muscles and strenghten the back muscles, 2) make correction to everyday habits (they way you sit, the way you look at your phone), 3) check your reflection in the mirror and correct the posture again and again untill the body re-learns.

I wrote about it before when I was watching some trainee group performance (maybe even SMTR25), how most boys had their shoulders brought forward. Dancing doesn't improve the posture because other groups of muscles are involved, compensatory adjustments in the body happen.

I haven't watched the episode, but I saw a cut out with a physician/manual therapist who did massage for neos, and he said that Mark's body was in the worst condition. The boy works non-stop and doesn't care for his body.

However, Mark not only slouches, he also keeps his head low and looks at the ground. Maybe the bright lights hurt his eyes, maybe its an introvert thing, maybe it is easier to remember the lyrics and concentrate, get "in the zone" this way for him. However it is, its an engraved habit by now. I saw one dancer comment on Shotaro, saying he can pinpoint that Shotaro was a backdancer in the past because he doesn't look to the front. Idols are taught to look up at the camera, backdancers are discouraged to do so.

Doyoung is also an introvert, and he has tendency to "fold on himself", curl up and become smaller to go unnoticed, but when he goes on stage, all his attention turns to the audience and the whole environment. He pushes himself to forget about his shyness and command the attention. He monitors himself a lot and makes improvements. Remember how everyone praised him during "Favorite" for his dramatic expressions and head swings? Implementation of acting? Mark doesn't do it. Mark continues to just push forward, dance faster, do more. And noone around him would say "hey, you have this problem, it is better to correct it", because Mark is already succeeding as he is, so why bother. K-pop choreographers don't have that mentality. Which sucks, I want someone to grab Doyoung and make him believe he can dance, show him how to work his body, and correct his mistakes. Do won't believe in himself untill he feels and sees the change. Does it limit Mark and his potential? I think it does. However, SM and k-pop don't operate on the scale where it matters for the staff to have the understanding or believe it is paramount to change it (Mark sleeps 4-5 hours as it is). Look at Blackpink, their level of talents (mediocre), and the size of the stadiums they gather. Also, I don't think it is easy to persuade Mark in something, make him listen.

These are the backs to aim for.

These two should take notice. Hyuk said he started exercising to strengthen his body, so let's wait and see.

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All your JaeDo fanfics suck. This one has no competition.

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They really widened his upper raw of teeth to get room and pull the front incissors back, huh. Look at those molars filling in the mouth now. The bottom teeth were also brought to order.

Temporal fake bottom teeth to hide the brackets? What is it? Lol. Looks like some torture device.

[dojae-huh]

Mark vs Doyoung

SM knows what to do with Mark as a soloist better than what to do with Doyoung. Singles, promotions, MVs, stages, collaborations - all very creative, very on point, fresh. Either it is because different A&R people work with the two, or it is easier to have creative freedom and go bananas with an artist like Mark, and with his target audience. The "Doyoung" project feels stiff in some places, restricted and confined. His first indie-like MV, his "the boy you can introduce to your parents" clothes, "bring in flowers and orchestra". The team makes improvements when it comes to the artsy staff (the 2nd MV, the Crack of Down photoshoot, he "Listening experience" exhibition), the outcome becomes more sophisticated and refined, but it is evidently not as easy. Kind of like female idols can't portray emotions in MVs properly because they need to look beautiful like porcellain dolls. Or agencies being afraid to blur the idols faces in photobooks, because fans can't understand photography as art and want a glossy magazine with retouch. Even Doyoung said the A&R makes him look serious. With Mark everything is built anew, with Doyoung the old "habits" need to die first (expectations how a ballad singer/band vocalist should look). There is hesitance, with one promotional material/idea/approach being advanced and the other "safe and familiar".

On the other hand, Mark needs the crowd of backdancers and elaborate stages as his own stage presence is relatively weak (that is why Jaemin is the real centre in Dream). He can't fill in the space, become the point of focus alone. He has advantage on screen because he is as relatable and fun as Spiderman, but on stage his habit of looking down, slouching, voice dissapearing during singing works against him. It's not a problem for strictly a rapper who only raps, but Mark wants to be a singer and entertainer.

Two different artists with different strengths, two genres, and two approaches to building up the artist's image.

[dojae-huh]

NCT 127 album in 4Q? It's not a drill?

Taeyong will be discharged December 14th, but there won't be time to include him... Tae constantly speaks about spending Christmas with the fans. A winter single album would cover it. However, is it possible to include vocals and burn CDs in a week? Or a digital release and physical with a delay?

Unless the congs were recorded more than a year ago, of course. And have Jae as well.

Suspence!

[dojae-huh]

SBS Gayo Daejeon Summer 2025 

I try to watch full concerts where Doyoung MCs or NCT 127 performs. Use my interest for my biases to get a glimpse at other groups and see how NCT and SM looks in comparison to other performers. You need the flow of the full concert to properly judge it, watching performances separately won't do.

1st day

NCT Wish lipsynced all performances. Most groups did exept for few (like BeFirst, Xikers, Ive). NMIXX are famous for singing live, but there were enough phrases on backtrack, plus some tinkering with the sound.

I like Xikers, even gave a few listens to their albums after I saw them at MAMA (or somewhere else). The group has its own concept it sticks to, and the performances are fun, the members put effort and try their best. They are easy to notice.

Only Liz from Ive, the vocalist of Jannabi, and Doyoung served vocals.

Younger groups did remakes of old hits. I should say I approve of Wish sticking to their concept even when they do covers. It helps the branding and the image. Cuteness and well-synchronised and choreographed choreos are their ID markers. Meovv, on the other hand, looked strange (their own songs are all over the place as well, the musical direction hasn't been decided on).

Ive's performance was good, stood out among all the ggs. Their company started to invest in delivery (usage of props, backdacers, make up, outfits), and it pays off. The other 3 girls remain invisible, though. Very weak star power and stage presence.

Itzy performed well, but I wouldn't know it were them without following the new releases and what happens in k-pop. They really lost their identity. Who are you? Meovv? LSF? Browned eye girls?

NCT 127 closed the show. And it was one of the best performances from the unit as of recent. I'll write about it separately.

The pre-recorded "Memory" with the orchestra was out of place. Both because it followed NMIXX's performance (very different in genre and tone), and because Do introduced and hyped the crowd during his real appearence that followed. I think it would have been much better if Do just sang two songs live in his MC clothes. He didn't need to change, so he didn't need extra time to prepare for his turn. The pre-recording was done only for the orchestra, but it wasn't a "wow" stage. As always, the orchestra wasn't heard at all on the recording. The wind section could have faked it and just swing from side to side, and noone would be the wiser. Flutes? Contrabasses? Where? Honestly, I always crave orchestra renditions from SM, but this one didn't sound in anyway different from the original song for the band. Koreans like to put out "money" with little sense in it (like extra backdancers in black clothes for two minutes). I mean, yes, there was the new adlib long note, but that's it. All that budget, all that time for the orchestra members to prepare, come and play, and the screaming fangirls during Do's ment did a better job at showing how big of a star he is. Well, maybe at least the chosen fans who were present at the recording had a magic time.

In short. The performance will work on socmed as a cut out, work as a gift for the fans, but it wasn't impactful in the context of the concert. I don't think many non-fans were moved.

On the other hand, there was a spotlight on him during his second song, he talked a lot, engaged the public, there was a palpable connection with the audience, all the neobongs at the background.

Doyoung sang well, but it wasn't his best and memorable solo stage. Still, he was the only performer who got a ment section as a soloist. The whole arena and the screen all to himself for a few minutes. It connected well with 127 highlighting him at the end, and him having a sing-along with fans.

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Doyoung's resting face, lol. (the MCs were on standby during the Xikers' performance, and the camera suddenly showed them, Do didn't even care to properly tune in (the other two started to dance)).

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Oh, stylists of South Korea and Japan, I beg you, forget the existence of black colour. When, when will you come to the realisation?..

I get why IVE's Yujin is popular as an MC. Yes, she is one of the current IT girls in SK, and she is tall, so looks good inbetween male co-hosts, but, importantly, she remembers her script, and doesn't read from que-cards non-stop. TXT's Yeunjin, on the other hand, not just reads without a break, he also covers his face with the cards... is he always like that? Doyoung looks at the cards often, but not to the extent of most idol MCs I happen to see on music shows. He remembers to have eye-contact with the camera on a regular basis. Plus he holds the cards to the side, showing his "right face", heh.

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Remember we didn't want to include Ryo and Sakuya in the final new NCT group because they were small, and we were considering how it will negatively impact the range of concepts?

Well, we weren't wrong per ser, but seems like the teen and cute is exactly what SM was aiming for (Ryo was added as a 7th member even, breaking the initial rule).

[dojae-huh]

The choice of clothes for WayV's "Bad bands" is so off the mark. When will stylists learn? I get the style fits the new rebranded image of the unit, but it doesn't go well with the choreo and diminishes the overall impression from a performance. The choreo is pretty shapeless, so the movements get lost in soft mismatched outfits. Mashed potatoes. Compare with suits. They should have ran with the idea of the members dressed up very formally and glamourously with the background dancers clad in simple T-s and street fashion.

I don't make the rules. Was it Wang Yibo in the role of a dance show judge who told a contestant to change his clothes to be able to make an impression with his moves? Dance is about the form and the mood, clothes matter.

The dark turtleneck hides the neck, the pants don't give V shape. Sharp angles are lost.

However, a few alterations, and the "street hooligan" look can work as well. X-silluete, edgy elements (a harness, chains, cool glasses), light colour for the neck of a turtleneck.

[dojae-huh]

The simple is seductive.

I used to think that the popularity of cute fanservice is like emotional comfort in the midst of stressful or boring life, the way videos with kittens are. However, there is ought to be the element of dumbing the entertainment and the interaction (with an artist here) down as well.

The way choruses in k-pop songs consist of one word on repeat (0:58), or short dance reels replace lengthy content with games.

The task then is to lure with simple and then still serve quality and complexity. You know, like bunny and clover dolls paired with a song written during the struggle of going through and fighting cancer (Still).

[dojae-huh]

What is this image sabotaging?

[dojae-huh]

So I'm not the only one who is confused about decline of YT views. Here is a comparison across years for many popular k-pop groups.

Seems like the causes are not just changes in how YT's algorythm works, or how streams are counted, or agencies stopping paying for ads once they properly launched their groups. 1) Fandoms shifted to streaming on auido-platforms, 2) lots of new groups (and solos, everyone is releasing a solo nowadays), 3) but, I guess most importantly, younger fans shifting to TikTok for good. People are discovering music on TT and don't even subscribe to group official channels, not knowing they exist on YT.

However, Twitter and YT are still the platforms used for promotion. No wonder many don't know when an artist makes a comeback 2 years after a break.

The weirdest idea to me is that an MV is "too long" for the newer gen, lols. Frankly, YT was never a good platform for discovering MVs. The barrier to click on an unknown singer is high. People gravitate towards what they know, and the YT algorythm doesn't help with its offers based on previous activity. Music channels of old did it - ran MVs on background non-stop and introduced new releases, keep the viewer updated.

Eh, but how to re-calibrate the scale to understand what number of YT views indicates the song did well? 5mln for a soloist?

[dojae-huh]

Puppy on a leash.

[dojae-huh]

White-haired Doyoung was a dream in all 3 meanings of the word.