#This reminded me of TOP individual mv teasers

[takitakidancetillthesunriseyea]

Ateez MV Teaser Thoughts

The preview starts and ends with the moon, the cromer, and all that important stuff but I’m not feeling big brain enough to deal with that just yet, so I’ll dive right in with Dreamy Day.

First off, seeing them back at the abandoned wearhouse in Universe A gave me so many emotions I thought I wouldn’t have. It’s just so nostalgic. When listening/watching in chronological order that’s always what comes first; the wearhouse. I very much wasn’t expecting it to come up again. Not now.

It (paired with my theory on Crescent 2 and the rest of the MV clips) really got me thinking. Ok, so Dreamy Day is a dream about the wearhouse days. Before their group fell apart, before Halajoong showed up with the cromer, before they lost Yeosang and then got him back, before they witnessed death, before they even entered Universe Z. It really makes sense. If you were lost, and having a hard time, you would dream of when things were good, right?

I ran a few other theories through my head, like maybe it’s Halateez wishing they had a past like that? Or maybe that Feverteez ran away and went back to world A? But it just seems improbable. (At least for Dreamy Day) The teaser is called “The World EP. Fin: Will ‘World A’ Preview” so it’s probably safe to assume it’s about Feverteez not Halateez, and while they could've gone back home at some point, the placement of Crescent 2 and the lyrics of Dreamy Day suggest otherwise. So I’m sticking with that option.

Dreamy Day is Feverteez dreaming of the past. But it’s still just a dream.

The rest of the MV’s could go a completely different direction. Assuming that their unit songs (which I had previously assumed to be lore unrelated) are lore related, there are a handful directions the latter half of the album could go.

1- It could be an anime level flashback explaining their individual pasts, how they met, their emotions, and emphasizing how the past is affecting what they do in Strictland. That would make sense from a story perspective, and a solid chunk of flashback could be justified timeline wise if they’re in a dreamscape.

Going with that theory Matz, iT’s You, and Youth would be about Matz, Woosangsan, and Yungi being/becoming friends. Whereas Everything would be about someone Jongho left behind due to either time travel or depression.

2- It could be them going off and doing their own things. Frankly MATZ, iT’s You, and Youth’s settings still feel fairly dystopian, and Everything’s teaser takes place almost entirely indoors. So it’s possible they’re in Strictland, or perhaps in the future of Universe A.

If they’re still dreaming it would make sense that they’re in different places. It would also explain the more introspective or otherwise nonsensical scenes like this vv

3- It’s more related to Halateez than I originally gave it credit for. Yea it’s “World A” but who says Halateez can’t go to world A? Halajoong did it before, and besides they would’ve had to have traveled there at least once on accident to know how to repeat it.

Actually, I’ve been thinking about that for a while. After learning how to time/universe travel did Halateez ever just drop into other worlds to take a break from their own shitty one? Is that where they learned so much about music and art in a world that outlaws it? On top of that, other than the Real we know almost nothing about Halateez other than that they know how to Time/Universe travel, are fighting the government, and look just like Feverteez.

I only suggest this theory because the setting and characterization in the Youth teaser make me think that it’s Halateez. Yunho is dancing in a room that is reminiscent of his brother’s old room, but at the same time, it’s not that room. The roughness, and desperation really shines through. It reminds me how much those two really had going on in their lives in the lore. Canonically Yunho has lost his brother twice. Like, think about that. Perhaps it’s Feverteez Yungi finally letting loose. Or maybe that whole Fever/Halateez merging into one theory is onto something…

4- It could be Feverteez going home and dealing with their own problems. Learning how things have changed, grieving the past, or perhaps embracing the present.

I mean, what happens if Feverteez really does go home? Everything will be different. They will be different. Even if they return to the same place in the future it will never be the same as it was in the past. Even if Halateez and Feverteez are separate people, their time together will have influenced them. That and the threat of death they faced everyday. Seeing the suffering of others. Feeling their own power and helplessness. Witnessing death. (The Will diaries really held nothing back.)

There’s something beautiful and horrible about coming home a changed person. On one hand, life is good. Home is good. But on the other hand….Somehow coming home after a long time makes you realize all the messed up things about your everyday life you never noticed before. You have a lower tolerance for people’s bullshit when you’ve looked death in the eyes.

At some point in their journey they crossed the point of no return. (*cough* Wonderland *cough*) They will really never be the same people again. There was a point where the people they once were died.

I don’t know unit MV’s will be them going back home, but even still it’s an interesting point to consider…

Do they even have a home? In reality? Outside of their dreamy day?

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧//✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

Anyway, as always feel free to add your opinions. (*^v^*)b I’m just so excited!!! Like, not only are they feeding us good music & good content, but it’s lore heavy too? Ateez never disappoints fr T^T

[kwangyadetective]

🗄️ Mystery in Seoul Teaser Thoughts Part 1

Part 1 of my initial thoughts of what happened in NCT 127's Mystery in Seoul teaser series before the MV release. I divided this into two parts and two member units,

Reality (Nighttime)

Taeyong, Doyoung, and Haechan

In Between

Taeil

Dream (Daytime)

Johnny, Yuta, Mark, Jungwoo, and Jaehyun

Read the Dream (Daytime) unit here.

Explanation on why Dream is daytime and Reality is Nighttime etc.

Also!! Note that I will focus on some members more than the others because of their character significance and mostly on whom I have more ideas on. Hence, some would only have brief overviews or combined in one paragraph so that this note won’t be too long to read too.

Taeil

I wanna start off with Taeil, which I found the most interesting.

Initially I thought Taeil was in the Reality (as shown to be in the night in the very beginning). But then I realized that to indicate where he really is is by looking at the lighting color, which is actually the Reality to Dream Transformation Color Scale.

He was in a nightclub but in his own world. Contrasting to the club music, he appears to be surrounded by classical music. Plus he is on his own, sitting down with tea, as if no one notices him. Whenever he is shown in individual shots, the lighting is Green, hence he is in between Dream and Reality. Then he moves on to the Dream stage by entering another room (Red lighting). There, he was greeted by a bald man who then offered him a cup of tea. The bald man seemed to be expecting him already and offered him a handful of sugar and a green folded note on top of it. I have my suspicions about this bald man because FIRST OF ALL there is a SNAKE tattoo on his head.

It may not be Black Mamba since aespa defeated them but Taemin’s Criminal did hint at the existence of 3 snakes, this may be one of them. Plus the presence of a snake in the Neo’s Universe had been around since Favorite.

The tattoo ‘Real Eyes, Realize, Real Lies’ was also on the man’s head; considering that Taeil had been in his own world this whole time, does he actually know where he is? What if the dream he was in is actually a corrupted dream (a lie?)? Did the snake set him in a trap or is it setting all the members in a trap through the message given to Taeil? Well, I hope the MV will reveal something about this. Honestly, it is weird too that Taeil was grinning along with the man..

Nighttime (Reality) Members

Starting with Doyoung, he appears to be working in an aquarium shop. This is HIGHLY fitting for the lore because recently Doyoung has always been associated with water, which is supposed to represent Ether. This goes way back from NCT2021 in YearDream: Stage 1 - Seeing Myself in a Dream and even in Golden Age MV (water falling out of a glass in between DY's piano scenes). He closed his eyes for a moment then there were flashes of scenes of buildings and a passing train, the fishes, and more(?). As if he was given glimpses of the future? But note that this scene is pretty similar to the YearDream video. In a theory post I wrote of the YearDream, I speculated that someone was contacting him because Ether is a medium that connects people. So is this a similar situation?

As for Taeyong and Haechan, there isn't much that I want to talk about. Taeyong's situation was confusing because I still don't know why he appears to be working as a money changer and is seen slacking off. But one important thing to note in his teaser was the part when he was given a key, reminding me of Golden Age MV. The person that gave it to him was apparently one of the queueing customers and wasn't shown anything significant? Though the key got me thinking that perhaps it is used to open a room to this?

This is a mobile filing cabinet that has wheels on the side to lock it. We have an Exhibit & Storage ver. pictures, so perhaps it has something to do with that?

Haechan seemed to be constructing a device similar to a laptop.

Looking at the screen, especially the Ouija and the Validation screen, the device is like a computer but specifically to look up answers and check the validity or accuracy of something? Literally 'Factchecking'. Perhaps what makes it different than regular computers is its ability to look from deeper sources?? In the end, he received an email from a still unknown source (probably from the others for a meeting?) and he left like Taeyong. Now that I think of it; Haechan also received a message like Taeil, but unlike him, Taeil's source is questionable.

That's all that I have for this unit! I will wrap up this teaser series' thoughts in the next post. The final conclusion of the theory will of course come after the release of the MV.. and that also depends on whether it has a plot or not...

(Part 2) Read the Dream (Daytime) unit here.

[xxnothingbutstrangerxx]

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𝙼𝚊𝚡𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝙸𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚍𝚞𝚊𝚕 𝚃𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚛

[iamacolor]

fashion queen! which nct era has the best fashun in ur opinion?? and if u were a designer which neos would u pick as ur models?

I was so excited to answer this that I wrote several pages and it basically turned into a style analysis for each unit so I sure hope you have some time on your hands to read everything I’ve just written! (I did not reread so sorry for any typing mistake)

NCT is known to be experimental in their music and that’s also the case in their styling so there’s a lot for me to get into even though sometimes it’s a miss. One thing I will say though is that when it comes to the styling in mv/teasers, what’s around the clothes is super important because if you have a very specific styling concept, your set design or graphic design needs to complement that and give the audience more clues on how to read all these elements together (the cherry bomb era is a great example of that with all the added graphic elements and the predominance of the colour pink) and recently I’ve found that the creative team has not really gone further than just putting nct in an outfit in front of a basic background so it makes for a pretty underwhelming result

But let’s move on to my favourite styling eras. I’m going to do this per unit (I’ll finish with NCT U) and define an era by its teaser pictures and the mv (and not go through all the performance looks during the promotion period)

I’m putting this under a read more because it’s reaaally long (I put pictures so that it’s not just one big chunk of text)

NCT 127

Easily the most experimental unit when it comes to fashion, especially in their first years where they would wear mix of sportswear, grunge references, avant-garde fashion and a lot of layers. When it comes to their debut “Firetruck”, I think it fitted the song really well but that it didn’t fit all the members equally (especially the younger ones, for me Taeyong and Taeil pulled it off the best – it’s expected of Taeyong but I also think that Taeil always stand out when they go for edgy/unconventional look, I think it really suits him).

Anyway, just to say that they were off to a very strong start and then I’m just going to kindly ignore the Limitless styling and move on to Cherry Bomb!

One thing nicely done for CB is how when you look at a group picture they’re clearly all following the same concept but they’re not necessarily matching or giving off the same vibes if you take them individually. I love the use of the colour pink which brings a) a great visual impact (you don’t ever see that much pink at once – especially on men) and b) an harmony despite the shapes and styles of their outfits being so vastly different, you’ve got ties, tousled, shirts, little frilled collars, stripes and all-over prints, sportswear and formal wear… (ex: taeyong’s short jacket is reminiscent of something a little luxurious, even maybe historical/noble with the little added embroidery-like details, it reminds me of these boleros jackets worn by toreros that are often red/gold VS doyoung’s overalls is an outfit that has a much more recent origin as it was first worn by factories workers, it’s usually blue or grey and is meant to be practical rather than pleasing to the eye -> here it fits very well with the general setting of the mv in what looks like an empty industrial storage space)

This second look is more of a game on how to deconstruct formal wear (there are less prints and no bold colours, their hair is less messy…) but they don’t just add sportswear like the bomber jacket, you can find rock or more “modern” elements with the leather jackets or the jean jackets. All in black and white so great contrast with the previous looks, although that mix and match concept is still there. My favourite elements are the checkered ones (worn by taeyong, taeil and haechan) as it reminds me of the strategy element of the chess game which fits pretty well with all the weapons and other arms visible in the mv (a bit like a nod to the game battleship)

This one I love that they developed their own print, especially since it’s another graphic element used elsewhere (see their album cover), because it’s a great way to really introduce their identity as a group, through the different visual elements they put out in a comeback, it’s like a logo but as a print. And all the teasers and the mv did a great job at mixing 2D/3D contents so that’s another nice way to be cohesive. It’s not my fave look out of the 3 (especially because I do not approve of that belt-suspenders-bag they gave Johnny, it’s like everything you don’t want to put a dancer in and it’s ugly as well) but I still like the fact that’s it’s another nod to the battle/strategy aspect of this comeback, like they’re on a mission to hit the stage and conquer it

Then fast forward to my other favourite one, Simon Says! (No teaser pictures here because they don’t show anything or they show not enough lol)

First of all THE MASKS

Oh how I wish they could’ve been shown more (imagine teasers with the members wearing them!!! I would’ve loved individual teasers based on each of the masks concepts) Once again, a great to have group concept without making everyone wear the same thing. They’re all super different and full of details. Haechan’s is the only one from what I could who’s mask is actually a mask and not a fully covering hood. The materials and techniques used on these are either evocative of “fragile” things like glass and flowers but theses elements have their own hidden strength. Some others are covered in lace, pearls, fringes or fur…all these things are usually considered to be precious or even luxurious but it covers their faces and their identity and they throw it away in rebellion (and I think it’s also super interesting how Taeyong who takes off his mask first has the least ornamented one)

Then the outfits themselves. Simon Says in an interesting MV because unlike most others they wear one outfit for most of the MV (the second one appears quite late in the mv and is lit and staged in a way that makes it less visible). It’s a mostly grey/white set of outfits which is usually a colour combo for office wear or maybe factory workers, it’s not something that can seem very exciting or edgy. The styling in these outfits reminds me of the works of Japanese designers who came to Paris in the 80’s and kind of shook the whole high fashion system by bringing a different type of shapes, aesthetic and purpose to fashion (Rei Kawakubo, Yohji Yamamoto…). These designers  went on to become super successful and inspired another wave of “avant-garde” designers nicknamed “the 6 of Anvers” (Anvers is a city in Belgium), this group includes Martin Margiella, Dries Van Noten…And to me the outfits in Simon Says really fit into this aesthetic. Unconventional fits, various layers, it’s not so much mix and match than a work on contrast between structure and fluidity (Yuta’s half skirt with un-trimed edges, Haechan’s long shirt with the long bow and the fitted jacket, Mark’s top with the various see-through layers of different lengths…).

An other interesting details (which to me calls back to the mask and that tension in the song/concept of letting go/being free of expectations), is the way they all have thick strings tied on their feet/ankles. Not holding them back because their feet aren’t tied together but there’s still this clear restriction of the garment itself, a reminder that there are tied to something and not completely free (also an interesting choice when dressing dancers who would need to have no added weight or discomfort in their outfit to dance but visually something is holding their ankles)

Honorable mentions:

Kick It– they managed to create very memorable outfits while taking inspirations from already well known elements (both for the fighting/training outfits and the bomber jackets). The black and white outfits especially are very original as performance outfits/dancing clothes since the og garment they’re inspired by has already such a strong identity outside of the performing arts and I don’t think I’ve ever seen it be used as a stage outfit? Or concept? It’s a nice exemple of how you can take inspiration for something designed to be useful and to be efficient (in fighting) and turn it into an aesthetic.

Truthfully, martial art training outfit was already an “aesthetic” on its own but they made it a performance costume and now I do feel like it’s one of these looks that everyone will remember (like if there was a “most memorable kpop outfits” list it could easily have kick it’s black/white fits). The rest of the outfits for that concept weren’t as memorable/original to me although I feel like it showed a new approach to the styling of nct 127 as a group since they all had very similar outfits this time (especially when wearing the jackets).

Also, interestingly,  that shot of Jaehyun that had everyone go “wow” ? Well it’s impactful because it’s him and he looks like that and it’s shot in a very specific way, but it’s also even more impactful because he’s the only one who gets to wear that kind of outfit in the mv. Everyone else has 3 sets of outfits (black and white, shiny black, red jacket and black pants) but he has 4 and that suit is only used in that shot which makes for a greater impact!

And I feel like Kick It in terms of styling opened a new era for NCT 127 has it kind of broke their usual mix and match/edgy concept. This time they were clearly referencing something already well known (either martial arts, the 90s…), and the members were all matching and they kept on doing that with the military jackets in punch, the other 90s concept in nct 2020…

Touch – for the way the outfits match the sets (in all their individual sets their outfits have a detail in a matching colour), the focus on colours !!! You can see that this whole concept was designed with this colour game/colour progression between the outfits and the set in mind. It’s just very pleasing to the eyes and a great contrast to their usual stuffs (also I wrote my graduation paper on colours so I am really into creative use of colours like this)

OK now moving on to Dream!!

The interesting thing about Dream compared to NCT 127 is that from the beginning although their outfits had to match the song an the concept of the comeback it also had to match their age. Dream’s a group that had to look young when debuting (to the point where they wore outfits that made them look even younger than they were which is rarely done for boy groups) and then they had to transition into adulthood, and all of that had to be made visible. In that aspect, I really like the styling for We Young and Boom (especially when you look at them at the same time).

For We Young, the styling is meant to be reminiscent of school/boy scout uniforms but with a marine vibe. It makes for playful outfits that aren’t too childish but that also aren’t grown up. I prefer the “seaside” outfits as I don’t really like school uniforms as a concept for styling and I think it’s really a choice that suited them and the song so well, it really fitted their energy. It’s playful but it also has a vintage touch to it as these outfits with their stripes and their squared flap at the back date back to the XIXth century (I just found out that it all started with the queen Victoria dressing up her kid in an outfit inspired by the royal navy uniforms for a painting after a cruise ).

Boom on the other side is their first proper “grown-up” concept. We go up was already more grown up but still very “teenager-ish” and although they were mostly teenagers when they did Boom it was clear that this was supposed to be their first entry into “adulthood” as a group at least. And although they did wear a sportswear/casual outfits which is something that isn’t related to age (and I really like the black and white “skeleton” set which already feels more grown-up and more “stylish” than the other casual outfit) , they wore two other “grown-up” elements: suits and all-jean outfits.

And yeah teenagers, and kids wear jeans too but a full jean-on-jean outfit is more of a “grown-up” fashion choice and it makes them look like young men rather than boys. As for the suits, I just really love when stylists play with the codes of that garment (length of the jacket, tightness of the pants, the way the shirt is tucked in…).

Notice how Renjun has a really short jacket, Chenle’s pants are wide, Jeno has a tail…Once again, a really interesting aspect of Kpop is the variations of the same concept based on the members. In the mv, there is a tension between their more grown up selves (the one in suits, the one with a craft/a path) and their young selves (the one running around in the field, the one laying down in the flowers and eating a cake). And there is also in these outfits and the contrast between them this tension, this contrast…which path should they go? The jeans are the more laide back, innocent outfits, whereas the suits come with responsibilities and status (and you’ll notice that in the scene where jisung is left alone to blow his candle it’s when he’s wearing jeans not when he’s in the suits).

Now on to WayV!!

WayV are different from the two in the sense than when they debuted they couldn’t have an “age” concept or an edgy concept because 127 and dream had already taken those and I feel like for that reason they’re still looking for what makes them stand out visually from the others (and in my opinion it’s not in whatever they were wearing for turn back time!). WayV’s concept is space and time travel, it’s building a new life, a new worl, going beyond anything! In my mind, they’re either supposed to feel a bit “otherworldly” (either spectacular or literally like they’re from another world/another universe, a little bit futuristic maybe?) or to look like explorers/travellers (they have a lot of travel/transportation “gears” references in their outfits). Their MVs also have a very different production than the other nct mvs (the scale and the way it’s filmed, the sets…it’s a different approach and it’s usually much more “grand” for their title tracks). The great thing about WayvV styling is usually that they match the outfits well with the world that the mv is set in (like in Moonwalk for example you get a sense of the world they’re in and the fact that it’s not ours or at least not as we know it now through the way they dress – you can’t really say oh it’s inspired by this era or by this or that because -at least- to me it immediately gives me a vibe of something that could be worn in a sci-fi movie, almost like a costume) or that they allude to travel in their styling.

When they debuted with Regular they went for a very sleek and high fashion look which worked really well for them! Even their more “casual” looks were a bit striking and I think that’s very “wayv-like” to me.

Same goes for Take Off where they mix the individual styles (and I don’t like ten’s leopard fur sleeveless jacket at all) and the group concepts – the “flying” outfits and the “racing” outfits (that last one is my favourite! I love the silhouette it creates with the tight pants and the larger tops with an emphasis on the waist).

There’s something a bit extra to WayV - which is why some of their outfits remind me of costumes more than fashion while at the same time they’re the most “high fashion” unit– like the “flying” outfit in Take Off are recognizable as “flying gear” but you can’t really tell what they’re flying, it feels once again like something that they could wear in like star wars or a similar kind of story.

Imagine a movie about 7 men on another planet trying to come together to overcome the dark forces or whatever’s bad on their planet in a futuristic society with a mix of “traditional” and “trendy” outfits? That’s WayV. The movie the 5th Sense? That’s WayV but on steroids. They’re also the only group with actual characters in their mvs, they’re all supposed to have a backstory or an individual setting and find a way to get together in their mvs.

Anyway all that to say that it’s hard for me to pick an era for them because they’ve only had a few and they still feel like they’re looking to solidify their concept, and since moonwalk and turn back time really set the styling in different worlds than ours, you have to look at how they fit in that world rather than ours and I think Moonwalk does it best since it’s the most cohesive one visually. But then I think Regular had the best individual styling!

Okay this is super long but we’re finally getting to NCT U!!!!

Number one favourite:

The Year Party outfits!!!! I’ve already talked about this but I love when they say we’ll put them in suits and then since they have to make a different one for each of them they cut bits an dpieces of the suits here and there, play with lengths. It’s not a revolutionary concept but in terms of searching for a shape, searching for variations of an already so famous, so well-known garment (everyone has seen a suit, and so many designers have already deconstructed it and then put it back together and so on) it’s so nice, it’s almost like a full collection given how many members there are and it’s just a good tailoring work.It almost feel like an exercise of how many variations of an outfit can you think of? And it looks fun to do! It’s all about the details and the way the layers are set together.

The accessories add to the “formal attire” aspect of it. It almost has a ceremonial look to it. A bit of royalty with the futuristic vibe usually associated with WayV. The dark blue suits were pretty classic, the most interesting details (for me at least) were on the light blue ones. Especially since it’s a rare colour to find in formal wear or in ceremonial wear. In general, I feel like it’s a pretty rare colour in fashion outside of like shirts and baby clothes? I think it was a great styling choice for a content like the year party although I do wish they (either NCT or WayV who’ve touched upon this kind of outfit a bit already) would do a full comeback with this kind of styling (like the lighter version of the black and green outfits in SuperM’s One). It’s not revolutionary but it was something new for NCT and I really hope they use that elegant/futuristic concept once again.

Also in these outfits, the jewelry is super important and adds to the “grand” aspect of these outfits. The concept is that these aren’t ordinary outfits for ordinary men, we’re witnessing something “special” and so they aren’t wearing their usual jewels either (of course the big chains are still there but differently look at that necklace jaehyun is wearing)

Honorable mention:

Boss & Baby Don’t Stop (they’re different but they go together in my mind lol). Look at them in their uniforms! And also they had doyoung wearing these sunglasses

Ok I think I’m done, if you’ve made it this far thank you so much and I hope it was a nice read!!

As for who would I chose as my models…it really depends on what I’d make them wear tbh for menswear the things I’d like to design would either be something like formal wear or knitwear – I’d pick Lucas, Taeyong and Doyoung (I think they’re the most model-like members and could pull off pretty much anything even my non-edgy concept because I can’t do that lol and they pose very well) and then depending on the concept I’d pick between Winwin, Jaehyun, Kun, Jungwoo, Taeil, Haechan and Shotaro (the way I struggled to remember all the members at once…there are too many really)

[slowlydiving]

ohhhkaaayyy so I might use a read more or even only publish this privately but I wanted to write out my first thoughts about Higher (I only just watched it)

to me the unconquered king of a.c.e mvs is favorite boys, so I was worried I would be disappointed by this one, but I'm really really not! it can't dethrone goblin for me, but it's amazing in its own right

MV

this is maybe an odd place to start but honestly, I think the CG elements are very well chosen and fit the whole aesthetic beautifully, same with the outfits of course, but what really carries the aesthetic of the mv is literally just the members' beauty... they knew they could go with a fairly minimalistic set and color scheme because a.c.e's faces are more than enough haha

I think it was a brilliant choice to cut from the softer start right to the bold red dance outfits & also just as great to cut to the open air dance scene near the end, it kept the mv fresh and super interesting to watch

on that note, I don't think I even have to point out what an impact donghun has in this mv both during the dance scenes as well as his solo close ups - I get why sehyoon called him the best fit for the concept

speaking of sehyoon (and the other members) I thought they did a brilliant job of giving each of them their own look (I particularly enjoyed how byeongkwan's set balanced out the others) and part but still blending them together (this is something that they actually did better here than in goblin!), and I absolutely adore sehyoon's moment with yuchan, they manage to create amazing tension in the air between them

every time I thought I'd seen it all the mv hit me with another visual jewel without it feeling out of place at all, I was amazed (also I loved that they actually kept many visual elements from the teaser pics)

junhee was a little bare-skin-heavy but his heavenly looks are a good excuse for that ^^

song

I really like it and I like it more every time I listen to it

at first it seemed like it turned the volume up and then just stayed up but no, I actually think there are beautiful ups and downs in terms of speed, volume, mood and intensity (I particularly like the moment where donghun's soft singing voice is contrasted by byeongkwan right after)

I really like that both Sehyoon and Byeongkwan get to sing as well and that their slightly more rap-y parts don't feel like something added just because every kpop song "needs" a rap part

I love love love how they distributed the parts of the song, it might seem boring to have the same members sing the same parts throughout but they just suit their individual voices so so well that I don't mind

I like that I have a really hard time describing the mood of the song, I think that's actually a strength of a.c.e's best title tracks (except darling tmh maybe)

I think it's the kind of song that gives you a lot of energy if you turn it up, which is what we I need

a.c.e have such amazing songs that I'm not sure it'll end up in my top 3 or 5 but I wanna emphasize that I nevertheless really really like it

choreography

when I first heard the chorus I was honestly worried, because it's so energetic, high-impact and fairly long that I wondered how they could do a choreo to match that but I think they (/whoever their choreographer was) did a bang up job of producing the necessary visual impact without immediately tiring them out and letting them actually have enough breath and smaller movements that let them sing live

I'm a fan of that move they do (I think with jun center) where they do a small jump down on the floor because that's exactly what I'm talking about: especially with the background dancers the visual impact is great but I feel like it wouldn't be too exhausting

also I feel like there are many elements borrowed from other choreographies of theirs; this can be seen as good or bad, I'm kinda undecided myself, but it was fun watching and trying to figure out what the moves reminded me of (for example parts of baby tonight or the similar ending pose as slow dive)

[goldstarnation]

OCTOBER 2020 GOLD STAR MEDIA SCHEDULES & REVIEW

Members may earn 3 points each (up to 6 points) for writing, by the end of November 7 KST:

A solo para of 400+ words based on their monthly schedule (does not count toward your monthly total).

A thread of six posts (three per participant, including the starter) based on their monthly schedule.

Threads do not have to take place directly during an important date listed on the schedule, but must be related to what the muse is mentioned to be doing in the paragraph explaining their schedule/the company’s schedule for the month and/or their thoughts on the mentioned activities or lack thereof.

These schedules may be updated throughout the month if new information needs to be added.

Reminder: September schedule posts are due by the end of October 7 KST. Please do not post schedule posts in the fmdschedule tag.

OVERALL COMPANY

Entering the fourth quarter of the year, the company is beginning to put the final touches on what they plan for their artists in 2021. Gold Star’s position as the current top company is viewed as more perilous to both company heads and investors than it may look from the outside, and they’re looking to solidify their status more before the end of the year. Media reports about the company’s performance so far this year steadily trickle out throughout the month and reflect both Gold Star executives’ and investors’ opinions of Origin, Femme Fatale, and their first soloist being the backbones of the company’s public image at the moment. This could lead to continued mismanagement, but internally, the company is trying to work out a way to keep everything from becoming a mess in the new year.

Important dates:

(September 30)-October 2: Chuseok vacation (no activities save for any individual schedules).

October 31: Gold Star Halloween Masquerade Ball.

GOLD STAR SOLOIST 1

After preparing for so long, she embarks on the beginnings of her new tour this month. She’ll be around the country this month before she departs to other parts of Asia next month. She’s adored enough that there’s little doubt the audience will be packed and each night is fully expected by management and fans alike to go off without a hitch. She has a little more freedom in her concerts than some of Gold Star’s other artists do, allowing her to more room to decide her own ments between songs.

Important dates:

October 3: Love, Poem tour concert at Woman’s University Universiade Gymnasium in Gwangju.

October 4: Love, Poem tour concert at Woman’s University Universiade Gymnasium in Gwangju.

October 10: Love, Poem tour concert at Incheon Namdong Gymnasium in Incheon.

October 17: Love, Poem tour concert at Sajik Gymnasium in Busan.

October 24: Love, Poem tour concert at KSPO Dome in Seoul.

October 25: Love, Poem tour concert at KSPO Dome in Seoul.

GOLD STAR SOLOIST 2

She continues to gear up for the dual release of the Korean and English versions of her holiday single this month. She’ll have some more concept meetings about the overall feeling they’re going for as well as the final storyboard for the music video that is scheduled to be shot next month. In the meantime, this month, she’ll need to go in to get the teaser photos for the single successfully shot on the 16th.

Important dates:

October 16: Comeback teaser photo shoot.

GOLD STAR SOLOIST 3

After finishing music show promotions, he takes off to the United States to do a limited run of press in the country in the form of YouTube videos for the channels of American fashion magazines (Elle, Allure, and Glamour) and as well as a performance set at the YouTube Space in New York. This set of promotions is aimed toward earning him new English-speaking fans that aren’t yet familiar with him or his music, especially ones not already interested in Korean music artists. Next month, he’s set to begin preparing and rehearsing for his next world tour.

Important dates:

October 24: End of music show promotions.

October 26: Elle Song Association video, Allure video, and Glamour fan fact check video filming.

October 27: Performance [1, 2, 3, 4] at YouTube Space NY in New York, NY, USA.

SILHOUETTE

After shooting the teaser photos for their special edition repackage at the beginning of the month, the members are asked to focus on anything and everything to be able to give their best vocal performance during promotions since they’ll be singing with very little backing track and they have a reputation as strong live singers to live up to. As the comeback is mainly marketed as a special gift to fans, there won’t be much additional promotion besides music shows. The members are also informed this month that Gold Star has arranged for them to hold a 19+ only concert, a first for idols and an attempt by the company to help market them as a step beyond typical idols to help their longevity as artists, at the start of the new year which they’ll begin rehearsing for next month.

Important dates:

October 5: Comeback teaser photo shoot.

October 25: Release of “Cleansing Cream” & Sixth Sense Special Repackaged Edition repackaged album, music show promotions continue through November 25.

ARIA

For the final month of Queendom, the group must prepare and release a new original song. They’ll be recording “Moonlight” in the first week of the month. In the second and third week, they’ll learn the choreography and attend fittings for the outfits they’ll be wearing. Full details of Queendom filming for this month can be found here. The members are also informed they’ll begin real comeback preparations next month and their next album will not include their finale song from Queendom.

Important dates:

October 1: Episode six of Queendom airs.

October 8: Episode seven of Queendom airs.

October 15: Episode eight of Queendom airs.

October 19: Stage outfit fittings.

October 22: Episode nine of Queendom airs.

October 29: Queendom episode ten live filming. (original song: “Moonlight”)

ORIGIN

As everyone expected, “On” was a success, even if not matching the massive hit they had on their hands last year with “Boy with Luv”, and the end of music show promotions comes on a high note. They’re done with new music releases and promotions for the year, but that doesn’t mean time to rest, as they’ve been chosen to become new ambassadors of FILA and have a promotional photo shoot and video to film that will be used to announce their new partnership.

Important dates:

October 18: End of music show promotions.

October 20: FILA photo shoot.

IMPULSE

PULS2 continues working on their debut, but after returning from Chuseok, all of the members of Impulse are tasked with beginning to rehearse for the end of the year fan meeting they’ll be holding. The themes of the fan meeting will be looking back on their debut and their relationship with their fans. Accordingly, they’ll be shooting a teaser photo for the fan meeting this month that remakes their debut teaser photo. They’ll also be in the dance studio refreshing themselves on some old songs and will be pulled aside to film interviews talking about how they look back on Who’s Next?: Origin Story, their debut, and their journey so far at this point in their careers that will be used for the VCRs of the fan meeting.

Important dates:

October 8: Fan meeting debut photo recreation teaser photo shoot.

      ↳ PULS2

Their debut is fast approaching next month, so on top of continued practice for their first stages as a unit, they’ll be in front of the camera a lot this month. Not only do they have to film the music video for their title track , but they also have to film short track films for each of the songs on the album. Teaser photo [2, 3] and fittings have to be fit in this month as well before the potential chaos of a Gold Star Media’s first ever sub-unit debut comes next month.

Important dates:

October 11: MV and stage outfit fittings.

October 17: Track films shoot.

October 19: Teaser photo [2, 3] shoot.

October 20: “Focus On Me” MV filming.

FUSE

After their extended Chuseok break comes to an end, the members of Fuse return to group schedules without much on the books for this month. They’re still riding on the success of “Psycho”, as it’s too early to begin preparing another comeback and they won’t continue their tour for a couple more months. Instead, as the new year gets closer and closer, they’re tasked with shooting their Season’s Greetings for fans. For the upcoming year, the photo shoot is themed after each member posing with a stuffed animal representing them (admin note: muns may choose what animal is assigned to represent their muse, but there shouldn’t be any overlap between members!).

Important dates:

October 3-6: Extended Chuseok break.

October 19: Season’s Greetings shoot.

ELEMENT

Element’s schedules slow down again as the weather begins to turn cold with no promise of when their next comeback will happen. While the company is fielding any songs submitted with creative involvement by the members, they also do continue to look to outside and in-house producers despite the rarity of existing songs written for co-ed groups. In the meantime, the company has arranged for them to collaborate with a popular dance cover group in videos for both Element’s Youtube channel as well as the dance cover team’s Youtube channel for a joint dance performance of “Dumb Litty”.

Important dates:

October 12: “Dumb Litty” dance cover crew collab [2] [3] filming.

FEMME FATALE

The time has come for the members to hold their first ever fan meeting (where they’ll be performing their assigned solo stages they’ve been rehearsing)..Compared to other months this year, October is more relaxed outside of the practice they have to keep up with ahead of the fan meeting.

Important dates:

October 24: Private Stage fan meeting at Olympic Hall in Seoul.

[bccity]

SEPTEMBER 2019 BC ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULES & REVIEW

Members may earn 3 points each (up to 6 points) for writing, by the end of October 7 KST:

A solo para of 400+ words based on their monthly schedule (does not count toward your monthly limit).

A thread of six posts (three per participant, including the starter) based on the monthly schedule.

Threads and solos do not have to take place directly during an important date listed on the schedule, but must be related to what the muse is mentioned to be doing in the paragraph explaining their schedule/the company’s schedule for the month and/or their thoughts on the mentioned activities or lack thereof.

These schedules may be updated throughout the month if new information needs to be added.

Reminder: August schedule posts are due by the end of September 7 KST.

Overall Company

Chuseok this month means a three day break for any idols that don’t have other individual schedules to take care of. BC hasn’t chosen to grant an extended break beyond that for any of their idols this year as they no longer have the luxury of being an indisputable top in the industry and need to keep their idols working hard to reclaim their top ranking.

Important dates:

September 12-14: Chuseok break (no activities save for specific voluntary individual schedules).

BC Soloist 1

Now that her debut promotions are over, this month is mostly spent doing performances to continue to get her name out to a wider audience, including two overseas events in Indonesia and Thailand. She’s been told BC is already working on organizing a track list for a January comeback, but in the meantime, “Why Don’t You Know” is still charting well, so she’ll film a dance practice for it and for “Hands on Me” that will be released this month as a special gift to the fans that are already supporting her from her first round of promotions.

Important dates:

September 3: SBS Broadcasting Awards at SBS Prism Tower in Seoul.

September 7: Chuseok Greeting video filming.

September 18: Performance at Suwon Women’s University Festival in Gyeonggi.

September 20: Performance at Smartfren WOW Concert in Jakarta, Indonesia.

September 29: Performance at KCON Thailand at Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand (also performing: 7ROPHY)

Decipher

While Decipher V is promoting, the marketing and management teams’ attention is diverted away from the full group. They’ve still been scheduled to perform in a festival in Indonesia at the end of the month, but most of their scheduled time together for September is in the studio recording for their upcoming comeback.

Important dates:

September 28: Performance at Super K-Pop Festival Indonesia 2019 at Indonesia Convention Exhibition in Bangkok, Thailand (also performing: Aria and Fuse).

              ↳ Decipher R & V

Decipher V releases their comeback single mid-month and they’ll be promoting on music shows, but promotions will be relaxed from a normal group promotion schedule without any fan signs thanks to their release being a digital single. They will record for an appearance on Immortal Songs, performing “To My Love” as a unit and winning the episode, something they’ll have scheduled rehearsals for alongside comeback rehearsals at the beginning of the month.

Important dates:

September 11: Filming of Immortal Songs 2 (to air: September 21).

September 16: Release of “Stand By Me” digital single, promotions continue until October 16. 

September 20: Guesting on KBS Cool FM.

BEE

This month, the members film the music video for “Hello Bubble”. On the day of the filming, the members will be expected to go to the salon and get a new hair color from what they had for their “I Swear” promotions for the video filming since they’re advertising a hair dye. This can be a temporary coloring for the music video shoot, but if a member is truly unable to dye their hair, they will be provided with a wig.

Important dates:

September 7: “Hello Bubble” MV filming.

September 23: Release of “Hello Bubble” CF MV and digital single.

Knight

They begin their tour this month with a trying schedule of a series of six concerts in Seoul over two weekends. Rehearsals are the name of the game for the beginning of the month leading up to the concerts, which includes rehearsals for their respective special stages (please see August’s schedule for the assigned special stages). In addition to the beginning of their tour, they’ve signed a contract to endorse Skechers and will be filming their first CF for the shoe brand this month.

Important dates:

September 8: Skechers D’LITES 2 CF filming.

September 20: UNLIMITED tour concert at KSPO Dome in Seoul, South Korea.

September 22: UNLIMITED tour concert at KSPO Dome in Seoul, South Korea.

September 26: UNLIMITED tour concert at KSPO Dome in Seoul, South Korea.

September 27: UNLIMITED tour concert at KSPO Dome in Seoul, South Korea.

September 28: UNLIMITED tour concert at KSPO Dome in Seoul, South Korea.

September 29: UNLIMITED tour concert at KSPO Dome in Seoul, South Korea.

              ↳ White Knight

No schedules for the month.

Important dates:

N/A

Lipstick

September will be one of Lipstick’s busiest months this year. Not only do they have concerts in Japan and Singapore, but they’ll also be learning the choreography for their upcoming Japanese single and filming its MV (line distribution). On top of that, they’ve been chosen as new ambassadors for Yakult, meaning a CF filming, and they’ll start studio recording for their next Korean comeback, a digital single, at the end of the month.

Important dates:

September 6: Prima Donna tour concert at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

September 7: Prima Donna tour concert at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

September 8: Prima Donna tour concert at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

September 18: “Heaven” MV filming day one.

September 19: “Heaven” MV filming day two.

September 21: Prima Donna tour concert at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.

September 24: Yakult CF filming and promotional photoshoot.

              ↳ Lip Gloss

No schedules for the month.

Important dates:

N/A

CHARM

September is the calm before the storm for CHARM, at least publicly. They aren’t on a break at all as they begin meetings, studio recordings, and choreography lessons for their comeback with a digital single. Like their sister group WISH, this is their first ever comeback with a digital single since their debut. It’s an odd choice to be sure to resign their second and third best selling groups physically to digital singles, but at least CHARM has to promise of this comeback being a teaser to a new album in 2020. They’re also making an appearance on Immortal Songs 2 at the end of the month, so members will be rehearsing for that performance leading up to it.

Important dates:

September 18: “Happy Ending” Japanese single release.

September 20: Filming of Immortal Songs 2 (to air: September 28). 

September 30: Release of A-Teen OST “A-Teen”.

WISH

Their month begins with their North America tour before they make their return to Seoul the day before their Chuseok break. They’ll begin learning the Whatta Man choreography in hotel conference rooms while they’re on tour in order to be prepared for music video filming on the 17th of the month. Additional promo photo shoots and behind the scenes content will be shot around this time as well before they tackle two of their four hi-touchs for their latest Japanese comeback and an end of the month tour date in Malaysia.

Important dates:

September 4: WISHlights Tour concert at The Forum in Los Angeles, CA, USA.

September 6: WISHlights Tour concert at Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City, Mexico. 

September 8: WISHlights Tour concert at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, USA. 

September 10: WISHlights Tour concert at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, IL, USA.

September 17: Whatta Man MV filming.

September 23: Happy Happy Hi-Touch at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan.

September 25: Happy Happy Hi-Touch at Intex Osaka in Osaka, Japan.

September 28: WISHlights Tour concert at Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

[peachysuho]

ok, so im new to the exo-l's. I feel I need a place to start. I've listened to most the music and most music videos... but you seem so knowledgeable I decided to ask. (any suggestions would be welcomed on what to watch/listen/whatever) I'm new to k-pop in general ;-; but im in love with EXO so much. (I hope this ask is ok!) (bias is chanyeol in case anyone was wondering)

hmmm okay well i’ll probably forget quite a bit since exo is 5 years old so that’s a lot of time and a lot of things to watch but i’ll try 😅

• first things first you have to watch “showtime"….aside from music + mvs that’s the number one place to start it’s like an unspoken (but very spoken) rule you have to start off with showtime• you also need to watch “first box” and “second box” - they’re both dvds that were put out that include cute segments with all the members then follows them around various places in each dvd (first box follows them around hong king during wolf era and the other one follows them around for when they were shooting pathcode - which reminds me DEFINITELY, DEFINITELY, DEFINITELY watch all of their “pathcode” teasers they were the teasers for exodus era/call me baby and not to sound dramatic but they genuinely were a total game changer for exo at the time, they’re insanely good and cool teaser videos!)• EXO. NEXT. DOOR. it was a webdrama they did that’s really cute!!! everyone says it’s really corny and tries to downplay it and make it seem like it’s worse than it really is but don’t listen to them they’re boring and have no taste. but anyway it’s 16 episodes and all the episodes are ~12 or so minutes long (and stars chanyeol for the most part ☺️)• then they’ve got various concert dvds you can find floating around online, and you can find lists of which ones those include like TLP in seoul, TLP in japan, exoluxion in seoul, exoluxion in japan (more specifically at the tokyo dome), etc. etc. • i’m sure you know by now that all of the members (for the most part) have been in movies and dramas right?? and chanyeol was in “so i married an anti fan” which i’m sure you know….. mostly all of the members have done acting things which you can also look up because that’s too long of a list for me to write down and also because i know i’ll forget a lot lol• they’ve got various variety shows they’ve been on as well! like weekly idol, running man, starshow 360, infinity challenge, happy camp, etc. also a list of shows you can find online but those are some of the big ones (sorry if i’m forgetting some big ones it’s information overload here lol)• download V App on your phone and watch all of their live streams! they did a whole big series of live streams right around monster called “exomentary” and those are the absolute BEST things to watch! they’re all individual live streams too, so you can see the boys interacting with the camera on their own which is suuuuper nice for getting to know their personalities better ☺️ (plus suho’s live streams were the cutest sorry @ everyone else!!!!!!)• watch their performance of “with you” on immortal song….. trust me• as well as “alright alright / i like you” from their overdose comeback showcase• AS WELL AS their performance of “why so serious” by shinee…. that’s one of my favorites lol• AND SABOR A MI OOOOOOH MY GOD YOU HAVE TO WATCH THEM SINGING SABOR A MI FROM MUSIC BANK IN MEXICO!!!!! A TRUE LIFE CHANGER!!!!!!• so because that’s enough of a starter for you (and you’ll find lots more along the way trust me lol) your other job is really just to finish and listen to all of the rest of their music, watch all of the music videos, watch all of their live stages from music show performances from all their comebacks (which is a pain since there’s so many but very fun!), listen to all of the boys’ OST songs from dramas they’ve sang for, yadda yadda yadda……. you’ll learn more about exo/kpop in general along the way so if all of this seems confusing because you don’t know terminology and stuff you can ask me or just look it up! it’s overwhelming now but gets really easy once you get the hang of things • ok my mind is in overload right now and i feel dumb because i probably forgot some super major things but if anyone wants to comment that would be really helpful + nice!!!!• and because you asked me for this list it’s my job to shamelessly promote MY MAN MY BOY MY LOVE SUHO!!!!! so please read this very long and detailed list of things i compiled about him for another anon before here! ☺️💕

sorry if i forgot anything i was trying to think of everything off the top of my head but regardless you’ve got TONS to go off just based on this list alone so have fun!!!! they’re all such sweet, amazing, talented and loving boys i hope you have even more fun learning about all of them and getting to know each of them even more 😭💕‼️🌸