#without dance vocal or rap basics

[xian]

the fact that this is my dream lineup aside, they decided on the RIGHT lineup

[smellslikechahnspirit]

Introduction to Stray Kids, SKZ

[for my baby-STAY bestie, Nyll]

From what I know personally. Don´t hate me for knowing more about some than others lol. Feel free to comment fun facts about YOUR bias, maybe I´ll add them here!

DISCLAIMER: For anyone reading this, this article is how I preceive the skz members, some of it might be a personal opinion, so might NOT be factual!

STRAY KIDS

Entertainment company: JYP Entertainment. Their debut was on March 25, 2018. They had a survival show a year prior to that. Chris (Bang Chan) is the one who formed the group by himself, which was unusual, since normally the company does that. So if it wasn´t for Chris, the group may have contained completely different people. The company trusted him enough to do so. The group debuted as a group of 9 members but one member had left in 2019 due to personal reasons. (If you want tea about that, text me.)

Fandom name: STAY (August 1st is our bday.)

Members: 8

Hyung line (eldests): Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin.

Maknae line (youngests): Han, Felix, Seungmin, I.N.

Units: 3.

First Unit: 3RACHA: Consists Bang Chan, Changbin and Han. ( The OG unit. This is the unit who creates all their music. Without them the group basically wouldn´t exist. They write, produce, arange and more.) Before making music for SKZ they made music for themselves. You can still listen to those songs on Youtube. That was more rap based.

Second Unit: Dance Racha: Consists Lee Know, Felix and Hyunjin (Since there are 3 members leading in dance. They made a joke to call it a unit, but I feel like it´s a real thing now.)

Third Unit: Vocal Racha: Consists Seungmin and I.N (Same thing here, they are main vocals, that´s why.)

It´s called Racha, because of the sauce, sriracha. Cuz they´re hot.

Current Dorm Arrangement: Dorm 1: Bang Chan & I.N Dorm 2: Lee Know & Han Dorm 3: Changbin & Hyunjin Dorm 4: Seungmin & Felix The 4 dorms are located within 5 minutes walk from each other. 

Mascotte: SKZOO (Let´s see if you can match them to the right member)

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I will introduce the members in age sequence from eldest to youngest. I picked the photos from the ATE album photoshoot. I will type anything that comes to mind. I amazed myself of how much info I know about them. It´s kinda disturbing if you think about it...I need to get a life UWU.

방찬 Bang Chan:

Stage Name: Bang Chan (방찬) Birth Name: Christopher Chahn Bahng Korean Name: Bahng Chan (방찬)

Age: 27 [ October 3rd, 1997 ]

Zodiac Sign: Libra

Height: 171 cm

MBTI Type: ENFJ-T

Nationality: Korean-Australian

Representative Animal: Wolf

Position: Leader, Producer, Vocalist, Dancer, Rapper

Unit: 3RACHA

Instagram: @ gnabnahc

A bit about Chrissy:

As you know, this man is my bias. A bias is what you call a member who is your favorite. So for you that currently is Changbin Chrissy is also my Ult. Ult means Ultimate, as in your fav member, amoungst all the kpop groups you stan.

Chris likes sports and is very athletic. He can do it all.

Strong, fast, smart, sweet, truely kind, determent, ambitious, hard working, shy, empathic, loyal.

If there is one thing that he loves, it´s the ocean. This man is a true aussie and misses his home alot. But he knows what he gave it all up for. Stray kids.

The group he basically created. He was very young when he moved from Australia to Korea to become a trainee at JYP. He trained for 7 years. He had a hard time seeing his other trainee friends come and go, and became a very cold person. Because he bascially protected himself from being hurt like that again. Towards his members he was also very strict and cold in the beginning, since he loved them too much and wanted them all to succeed. He never wanted one of his friends to leave again, so he worked so hard, day and night to make the group as big as it has become today. I personally stanned them since 2017 and I remember him being that way. Everyone was a bit scared of him lol. But he also tried showing lots of love too. Nowadays that coldness is pretty much gone and nothing but love comes from this man. Although he doens´t forget his position as leader.

He takes care of everything regarding the group and is the first one responsable. There is an insane amount of pressure on him, but he always tells us, that he can handle it. He knows himself better then we do, and we have to take his word for it.

Chris loves Pokemon and One Piece a lot. He watches a lot of Anime. He isn´t that good in gaming, from what I´ve heard from the other members. He says otherwise. TFT is his current fav mobile game. He also has been playing Genshin and he said the new character Xilonen is hot. Besides playing games, Chris usually is just working.

He is a very flirty person on Bubble, but he claims he doesn´t know what flirting is.

He can play the guitar and the piano.

He is double jointed.

Favorite song is Rewrite the stars by Zendaya and Zac Efron.

He hates his thin curly hair. He hates his height. He hates his face card. Basically he doesn´t love himself. Which I don´t get, but us stays cannot change his mind.

He used to do Live streams every Sunday. Called Channie´s Room. I have watched them all since 2019 until it ended last year. He quit those AMAZING lives due to unclear reasons, but I have a feeling it had something to do with- (ask me in real life, it´s too controversial to say on here lol.)

His favorite color is blue. Blue, like the ocean.

He has a little brother and sister. He really looks up to his dad. He wants to be like him one day. He has a dog named Berry.

Chris used to swim. And he is still pretty good at it. But he rarely gets the chance to do it anymore. Nowadays he likes to play soccer or as he likes to say, footy.

He is addicted to his phone.

He doesn´t have a favorite food but he likes anything with meat. Especially the lamb ribs his dad makes for him on the bbq. He had a phase that he only ate Vietnamese Pho. He likes gelatto and he likes the flavour pistachio. Does not drink alcohol or coffee.

He barely sleeps, like ever.

He is friends with a lot of famous people, including Ryan Reynolds. He loves the Deadpool movies. But he took note, to never watch it together with STAY again. He did it once, on Christmas...and got shy when the explicit scene came on. Dork.

He is very rich lmao and currently wears a lot of clothes by Fendi. He used to only wear black clothes from head to toe. But this year he has really improved on his style and figuering out what looks good on him.

Thinks it´s funny to eat spicy noodles even though he can´t take the spiciness. Idiot.

He has a candle warmer with the candle Vanilla Creme brulee underneath it from Yankee.

His favorite season is Autumn.

When he was young he had issues with anxiety. He couldn´t even leave his house. He was affraid to talk to people. But he took his mom as an example and started acting the way she did and overcame his fears.

Also in his trainee years, he dealt with depression (Insert the song 42 by 3RACHA.) He sometimes still feels depressed, and overthinks a lot during the night. But he said, he can take it.

His motto: Just enjoy.

I could keep going for like 44482779837383843 more pages about stupid little things I know about this man, but let´s not lmao. I´ll spare you.

Click here to see random Chris moments!

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리노 Lee Know

Stage Name: Lee Know (리노) Birth Name: Lee Min Ho (이민호)

Age: 25 [ October 25th, 1998 ]

Zodiac Sign: Scorpio

Height: 172 cm

MBTI Type: ISFP

Nationality: Korean

Representative Animal: Rabbit

Position: Dance leader, Dancer, Vocalist, Rapper

Unit: DanceRacha

Instagram: @ t.leeknowsaurus

A bit about Lino:

He used to be a back-up dancer for BTS.

He has 3 cats and is obsessed with them. Sooni, Doongi, and Dori.

He often comes off as a mean person, cause he likes teasing the other members. But he has a heart of gold and would take care of you the best.

He is hubbie material frfr. He can cook really good too!

Afraid of heights.

Has weird dreams.

Doesn´t speak English very well, but he is learning! In English interviews he often seems lost, because he simply is.

In the survival show, he got elleminated. In the end JYP gave him one last chance and he made the final cut.

He can´t actually swim, so in variety shows where they go into the water, he always has a floaty.

His motto: Let’s eat well and live well.

I do know more things, but none that are really important right now.

Click here to see random Lino moments!

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창빈 Changbin

Stage Name: Changbin (창빈) Birth Name: Seo Chang Bin (서창빈)

Age: 25 [ August 11th, 1999 ]

Zodiac Sign: Leo

Height: 167 cm

MBTI Type: ESTP

Nationality: Korean

Representative Animal: Pabbit (Pig & Rabbit)

Position: Rapper, Vocalist, Producer

Unit: 3RACHA

Instagram: @ jutdwae

A bit about Binnie:

Okay so I don´t know a lot about this man.

He loves the gym! He has been working out for years and loves being strong. But he doenst have abs, or so he claims. That´s why he never shows skin on stage. But he said he was working on it!

He is actually really kawaii. He likes pink and such. But in the beginning he was all dark and bad boy vibes. He still claims black is his favorite color.

He likes horror movies.

Girl group dances are his specialty.

Sassy.

His motto: Let’s live with a positive mind, enjoy the life.

Cries on rollarcoasters.

Click here to see random Binnie moments!

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현진 Hyunjin

Stage Name: Hyunjin (현진) Birth Name: Hwang Hyun Jin (황현진) English Name: Sam Hwang

Age: 24 [ March 20th, 2000 ]

Zodiac Sign: Pisces

Height: 179 cm

MBTI Type: ESTP

Nationality: Korean

Representative Animal: Ferret

Position: Dancer, Rapper, Vocalist, Visual

Unit: Dance Racha

Instagram: @ hynjinnnn

A bit about Jinnie:

Hyunjin is a great dancer, but also a great painter! He makes amazing paintings and shares them on Bubble and Instagram.

A walking meme.

Dramaqueen.

He lived in Las Vegas for a while as a kid.

Allergic to cat furr.

Almost joined a cult by accident when he first moved to Korea.

He hates onions and eggplant.

Screams loudly and is overall chaotic.

Sleeptalker.

His motto: Let’s try even when you regret it later.

Click here to see random Jinnie moments!

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한 Han

Stage Name: Han (한) Birth Name: Han Ji Sung (한지성) English Name: Peter Han

Age: 24 [ September 14th, 2000 ]

Zodiac Sign: Virgo

Height: 169 cm

MBTI Type: ISTP

Nationality: Korean

Representative Animal: Quokka

Position: Rapper, Vocalist, Producer

Unit: 3RACHA

Instagram: @ _doolsetnet

A bit about Hannie:

A complete rockstar.

The first member to be chosen by Chris.

Writes beautiful lyrics.

Likes the color red.

Plays electric guitar live on stage.

He stayed in Malaysia for a while as a teen. That´s why his english is pretty good, but he has a british accent, since that´s how they teach it there.

I don´t remember the story completly correctly, but I feel like I remember him saying that he almost got eaten by a crocodile in Malaysia once. I could be wrong lmao.

Had some issues with anger and anxiety, but is doing well nowadays!

When he lays down he usually falls asleep.

I feel like he is a very emotional person. I feel a strong connection with him since he has been through a lot of the same things as I have. Latety he has been doing well though.

Struggled with panic attacks as well. (Insert my connection to him.)

His motto: This too, shall pass.

Click here to see random Hannie moments!

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필릭스 Felix

Stage Name: Felix (필릭스) Birth Name: Felix Lee (이 필릭스) Korean Name: Lee Yong Bok (이용복)

Age: 24 [ September 15th, 2000 ]

Zodiac Sign: Virgo

Height: 171 cm

MBTI Type: ENFJ

Nationality: Korean-Australian

Representative Animal: Chick

Position: Dancer, Rapper, Vocalist

Unit: Dance Racha

Instagram: @ yong.lixx

A bit about Lixxie:

Our second aussie man.

Just like Chris, from Sydney. He must miss his home as well, but talks about it less.

That´s also why Chris and him are so close. Chris said he feels like a brother to him. And he loves talking English with him, so he doesn´t lose his aussie accent. Even though Felix his accent is already much thicker than Chris´s.

An actual nugget. He is so tiny asdfghjkl.

FRECKLES!!!

Fun fact, he was my first bias back in 2017.

He is ambassador for Louis Vuiton.

He is Catholic.

Very flexable.

Felix is a 3rd degree black belt at taekwondo, he won a lot of medals when he was young.

He can make a spot on Mosquito sound.

Blue is his favorite color.

He had to learn Korean within a couple of months, and did it.

He HATES scary stuff.

Chocolate abs.

His hands are very tiny.

He loves doing ASMR.

Baking! He loves baking but especially brownies and cookies.

Build his own PC and Keyboard.

Loves gaming. Obsessed with Genshin these days.

He always gives the other members massages.

He always cheats in every game.

Obsessed with Changbin.

Just like Minho, he got ellimenated in their survival show. In the end he also got a second chance and made the final cut as well.

His motto: Just a little braver.

Click here to see random Lix moments!

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승민 Seungmin

Stage Name: Seungmin (승민) Birth Name: Kim Seung Min (김승민)

Age: 24 [ September 22nd, 2000 ]

Zodiac Sign: Virgo

Height: 178 cm

MBTI Type: ISFJ

Nationality: Korean

Representative Animal: Dog

Position: Vocalist

Unit: Vocal Racha

Instagram: @ miniverse.___

A bit about Minnie:

Okay so don´t come at me, but I simply don´t know much about him besides that he is realy sweet and feels betrayed fast is the members prank him. But he will return the favour. He is a menace.

He went to the same high school as Chris.

He loves singing covers.

I also remember something between him and baseball, he liked playing.

His motto: Today you spent in vain is the day as tomorrow someone who passed away really wants to live through.

Click here to see random Min moments!

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아이엔 I.N

Stage Name: I.N (아이엔) Birth Name: Yang Jeong In (양정인)

Age: 23 [ February 8th, 2001 ]

Zodiac Sign: Aquarius

Height: 172 cm

MBTI Type: INFJ

Nationality: Korean

Representative Animal: Fennec Fox

Position: Vocalist, Maknae (Maknae means youngest)

Unit: Vocal Racha

Instagram: @ i.2.n.8

A bit about Innie:

Same here, I don´t know too much about our little Maknae. And when I say little, I mean not at all little, actually. This tiny nugget really grew up in front of our eyes, and is now a man.

Huge hands.

Litterly has one of the purest hearts.

Has the sweetest softest smile and voice.

During the survival show he got really insecure and was worried he would be ´´poison´´ to the group.

I.N is a Catholic.

He is known to be one of the cleanest members.

His motto: Let’s have a good time!

Click here to see random Ayen moments!

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Sorry if I didn´t write as much for all of them. I love ALL members equally. But I just know my biasses better than others. Hope you enjoyed babes! I want you to know that I appreciate it a lot that you listen and watch the content they make, because you know how much I love and care about these men. For any other people who might be reading this...hi :)

Credits of videos and photos go to the op

[randomvarious]

Today's mix:

Pure Garage Presents: Bass, Breaks & Beats by EZ 2001 UK Garage

There are *plenty* of times where you might find me lamenting over the unfortunate repeated failures of most British electronic and dance music to make significant impacts in the US, but when it comes to the genre of UK garage, know that I am super grateful that almost none of this shit managed to succeed Stateside, because the vast majority of this stuff is dumber than your own kitchen table 😵.

Cultivated in a country that's known for its own melting pot approach to music, UK garage naturally culminated in a confluence of things from a whole bunch of different genres, including drum n bass/jungle, breakbeat, dancehall, and house. Its own name had been derived from garage house, one of the earliest forms of house music as we know it, which is more rooted in elements of disco, R&B, gospel, and soul. And garage house itself was named after the venue where it was originally most famously spun at: New York's Paradise Garage, by the legendary DJ Larry Levan, which operated from the late 70s to late 80s.

But between garage house and UK garage was the indispensable link of speed garage. This music took the shuffled-snare house rhythms that'd been a hallmark of garage house, paired them with breakbeats, and then sped the whole thing up. A very inventive guy from New Jersey named Todd Edwards was a pioneer of this music, and became especially known for creating nicely textured melodies that were made of patched together strings of millisecond-long samples too. One of the only good tracks that happens to appear on this 2001 double-disc mix from UK garage stalwart DJ EZ (pronounced E-Zed) is Edwards' own "Show Me a Sign," which itself is, again, not a UK garage track, but speed garage instead—a sonic predecessor.

But what then followed speed garage was a British dance phenomenon of utter mindlessness 🚫🧠. UK garage took the speed garage idea of using those breakbeats and snares and then the only other additional things that people did with them was seep or ladle in fat and squelchy basslines—which were reminiscent of how the famous Reese bass had proved a worthy addition to drum n bass—and then peppered in vocal samples too. The music's only real unique versatility was that it could sound more akin to either house or breakbeat depending on the drum patterns that were chosen, but other than that, every track that leaned towards one or the other genre sounded very similar, because there's only so much that a person can do with a strictly percussive breakbeat and a bassline that seems to require a specifically fat and squelchy quality to it. People liked rapping over these beats too, which contributed a good level of energy to them, but to contrast it with hip hop—imagine that genre's beats being limited to only those specific combinations of breakbeat-and-bassline? I really don't think that it'd be the world's single-most popular genre of music right now if that'd ever been the case!

So, basically, UK garage sucked so much because of how overly simple its formula was, and because of that, how limited its sonic possibilities were too. You can scrub to pretty much any point on either of the discs for this mix here on YouTube and get a good idea of what both of them are entirely made of, because almost every single song utilizes a similar recipe of breakbeat-and-specific-bassline.

Not all UK garage turned out to be totally awful, though. When filtered through a contemporary R&B/pop kind of lens, it gave us essential early 2000s hits like Craig David's "Fill Me In" and Daniel Bedingfield's "Gotta Get Thru This"—two of the only UK garage tunes to achieve major success in the US.

But without any sort of pop sensibility lent to it, UK garage mostly just languishes in obscenely boring levels of formulaic unoriginality, as can be heard throughout the near entirety of this mix. I really don't understand how anyone could've ever enjoyed listening to this music for more than five minutes, but somehow, despite how totally reductive, devolutionary, and lobotomized it all felt, it still managed to flourish majorly on a commercial level in its home country, defining a piece of the UK's late 90s-to-early 2000s dance music landscape.

The only other track on here that I dig is "Firin' Times" by Swoopes (aka DJ Zinc), which isn't even a garage track of any sort—it's pure breakbeat! And it happens to make for a nice and unexpected spell from all the other gar(b)age that lines the rest of this whole mix.

So, ultimately, as an American, I'm really glad that 99.9% of this stuff didn't end up hitting our own airwaves. Besides those couple hits that I mentioned above, I've only ever really been exposed to UK garage in a similar way to how every year I'm made aware of the current fall season lineup of bad network TV shows—through all those ridiculous promo ad reads during football games 😂. In a sense, UK garage is like the BOB❤️ABISHOLA of dance music; you can just tell from the outset that it's gonna be dreadful, but the fact that it's managed to stick around for as long as it has indicates how popular it's been too, which then inevitably leads you to wonder, who on earth actually genuinely enjoys all of this terrible, terrible shit?!?

Listen to CD1 here. Listen to CD2 here.

Highlights:

CD1:

Swoopes - "Firin' Times"

CD2:

Todd Edwards - "Show Me a Sign"

[neptunemooon]

RUBY'S PROFILE !

BASICS !

Full Name: Ruby Kim

Stage Name: Ruby

Nicknames: Ruru and Black Swan

Date of birth: July 31st, 2001

Zodiac sign: Leo

Place of birth:Los Angeles, California

Nationality: Korean-American

Height: 5'7ft (170 cm)

MBTI: ENFJ-A

Languages: English (100%) , Korean (100%) , Spanish (80%) , Chinese (50%)

Japanese (50%), Portuguese (30%)

CAREER !

Solo Artist

Company: SM Entertainment (formerly YG)

Occupations: Idol, vocalist, dancer, rapper, composer, producer, and actress

Years Active: 2018 - present

Fandom Name: Royals

Lightstick:

CLAIMS !

face claim: jiu (dreamcatcher)

vocal/rap claim: jiu & siyeon (dreamcatcher) vocals & dami (dreamcatcher) rap style

dance claim: jiu (dreamcatcher)

TRIVIA !

Ruby can speak many languages. Her native languages are Korean and English. She was raised in a Korean, English, and Spanish-speaking household; her parents raised her to speak Korean and English, and she lived in a Hispanic neighborhood where she picked up Spanish. She took Mandarin for four years in school, and she is learning Japanese and Portuguese.

Ruby joined YG in early 2015 but later returned to California to continue her schooling. She felt unprepared for a debut at such a young age. She returned to South Korea in August 2016 and transferred to SM Entertainment to complete her training.

Ruby has three siblings: Andrew, Liam, and Leo. Andrew is her older brother, seven years older than her. Liam and Leo are her older twin brothers, five years older than her. Ruby's father was a rock musician in the 1980s and 1990s but stopped after getting married and became a firefighter. Her mother is a fashion designer who has worked for Tom Ford and Dior and recently started working for Givenchy.

She made her acting debut in the Korean drama, "Vincenzo."

She has a podcast channel called “Sip & Spill,” where she has guests and does videos with them. Special guests who have appeared include Momo and Mina (Twice), CL and Dara (2NE1), Tiffany, Sunny, and Yuri (SNSD), Jennie (Blackpink), G-Dragon (Big Bang), Joy and Irene (Red Velvet), Suho, Kai, and Sehun (EXO), Jackson and Bambam (GOT7), Junho and Jun. K (2PM), Taeyong, Johnny, Mark, and Jaemin (NCT), etc.

She has composed and produced songs for ITZY, Red Velvet, and Aespa.

Big fan of BABYMETAL.

She enjoys drawing and painting; she often posts pictures of her work on Twitter, and she hangs her paintings up on the wall next to her bed.

Since she was 10 years old, Ruby decided to become a vegan and an advocate for animal rights.

Her close friends in the industry include NCT's Taeyong, Mark, Johnny, Chenle, Jeno, and Jaemin; ITZY's Yeji and Chaeryeong; Blackpink's Jennie and Jisoo; and all the members of Aespa.

Is a member of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)

She has a male Pomeranian named Hatchi, whom she rescued from a dog shelter when she volunteered in New Orleans.

Her best friend is NCT's Taeyong; they even have friendship rings, and they love to share clothes and go on vacation together often.

Ruby is Catholic and attended Catholic schools from elementary through middle school, but her parents later enrolled her in public high school.

She's an LGBTQIA+ ally.

IDEAL TYPE: Someone who's a gentleman, can communicate with her well, and is trustworthy, honest, cute, and funny. When asked which celebrity fits her ideal type she always mentions Lee Taemin.

My works are not allowed for translation or reposting as your own without my permission.

[dustedmagazine]

Oklou — choke enough (True Panther Sounds)

Photo by by Florian Solin

Listeners already familiar with Marylou Mayniel’s work as Oklou (pronounced “okay lou”) may be a bit surprised to see choke enough described as her debut album. The French singer and producer has been active for over a decade and put out the promising Galore back in 2020; but in current parlance that collection is considered a “mixtape” as opposed to an LP. If you look around online, you can find confusion about the distinction, with the former seeming to refer to anything from a release the artist and/or label doesn’t want to heavily focus on, to a collection that just wasn’t originally intended as a singular statement. Niceties of classification aside, though, those listeners will also notice that choke enough does feel like it’s on a different level than her previous work; it’s confident, focused, and consistently strong enough that it feels like the right place for newcomers to start paying attention. In the old days we’d probably just call it beating the sophomore slump but choke enough is special enough it’s hard to begrudge it its chosen status.

The record’s sound and tone, adroitly crafted and specific, took an international crew to put it together. Along with Oklou herself, writing and production is split between Canadians Casey MC and Cecile Believe (the former long her main creative partner) and the UK’s Danny L Harle and AG Cook (both associated with seminal hyperpop label PC Music). Meanwhile Swedish underground cloud rap star Bladee (the second e is also silent) and American hyperpop ARG auteur underscores both guests, on “take me by the hand” and “harvest sky” respectively. Some of the pedigrees here, and Oklou’s past work with Caroline Polachek, might suggest her own work falls under hyperpop (and given the relative looseness of the genre, that might even be accurate) but there’s absolutely nothing “hyper” about these songs. Even the production on the relatively maximalist “harvest sky” sounds more like you’re hearing Eurodance from the next room over, and the brooding calm of opener “endless” is a much better indicator of choke enough’s general vibe.

The contemplative, ethereal atmosphere these songs float in is carefully managed; they are largely drumless (although not rhythmless), occasionally verge on an orchestral feel that draws on Oklou’s younger years playing classical cello and manage to successfully incorporate sounds that might seem disruptive to that mood (trumpet and birdsong like elements both appear on multiple tracks). There’s also an emotional and existential intensity to the lyrics and Oklou’s charmingly reticent vocal performance. Songs here are about using the internet to observe the world when confronting oneself is too difficult, about being less eloquent yourself than your work is, about the heedless joy of chasing an ice cream truck and of being so in the moment you almost crash your car. She wrestles with being lonely in the middle of a dancing crowd, and with the question of what we do with our lives. “plague dogs,” inspired by both the ending of the titular novel and a televised seaside police chase, ends with her musing “keep my dreams on the horizon / and I will never really know if I’m being chased.” And yet choke enough feels more like an artist forging her way towards self knowledge than one haunted by the vagaries of life.

To the extent that there’s a resolution, it’s more sonic than emotional. The lovely “blade bird” and its lilting, hooky chorus starts like it’s going to be a simple acoustic ballad (with the only noticeable guitar, and eventually the most prominent beat, on the record). Musically it’s absolutely a highlight, but as various elements swoop and slide in and out, it also becomes clear that it’s describing with clear-eyed despair a basic incompatibility in wants or needs: “you are what you are, and I feel like a cage.” The song ends without either a solution or a collapse, just two people in a tension that cannot be sustained. It’s a compelling end to an impressive debut; whether the next batch of Oklou material will be another album or a mixtape, it’ll be worth watching for.

Ian Mathers

[daniistopg]

hehe

Yes, this is what you think it is. Me, Dani Wilson is making a documentary about Choi Jongho from ATEEZ. Now don’t call me crazy because I will get into the basics of everything from top to bottom of this man. 

Choi Jongho was my first official bias in ATEEZ, although before I fully stanned ATEEZ, I thought Mingi was my bias due to his deep voice and amazing rapping, but Jongho proved it wrong. I remember just being at my best friend’s sister’s room and she was talking about ATEEZ. I just remember being so intrigued by this beautiful, scrumptious, breathtaking, ass-slapping, toe-sniffing man named Choi Jongho. And then when my sibling told me all the little things about him and showed his talents I couldn’t look away. He is the best singer I’ve ever seen, he can rap, and he can dance, and his visuals are just so yummy.

He might hate wearing stuff that shows his skin, and I respect his opinion, but could he please just once wear a crop top it would make me delighted. I mean once I saw him in shorts and the other day he was wearing SHORT SLEEVES RUFUFUFUF, I practically suffocated right there in that moment. I need to eat his pterodactyl ahh fingers and toes right now otherwise  I’ll commit a crime. I’ve never loved a man as much as Jongho other than Straykids and that’s a lot coming from a Straykids ult. 

People really only talk about how he’s buff or can sing really well, but lemme just talk about his rapping. That man can rap faster than the main rapper himself. Also, I know I just sided his singing to his rapping, but goddamn his singing/vocals make me ascend to the heavens. His high note in Kingdom for Wonderland has got me into a literal trance that whenever I hear the original version, I can’t help but sing the high note (but not without sounding like a wet hotdog my bbgs) And partly the same with Black Cat Nero, but he actually does the hight note in real life like the baddie he is. And goddamn just his strength, bro literally was singing his ass off but at the same time, breaking an apple straight in half, like can I have a piece, please.

Also, have you seen his eyes holy moly I would sell my soul for him just to look at me like how he looks at the seats/ATINY/cameras in stage performances. I just love his lips so much like omggggggrrrrrrguyfkfyff I’d literally transform into a furry right then and there if I met him. And his no makeup/eepy face???!!  RUFFFARDFFSNJTE. Can we just talk about his long, dark-red hair, I remember I almost cried over it, he’s so scrumptious and if anyone tries to take him or say that he’s bad then I’ll eat them.

So this is why/how(much) I love Choi Jongho. Tell me which ATEEZ member you like the most, and why you like him so much. Hehe.

[213matryoshka213]

Introduction: About Her

Welcome to the world of Hwayoung, the 9th member of Ateez. We will begin her journey with her details!

I hope you enjoy!

| Return to Masterlist |

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The Basics

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☾ Stage Name - Hwayoung

☾ Korean Name - Yoon Hwayoung (윤화영)

☾ Nicknames

Little Hwa: She is shorter than Seonghwa

Hwa: By members of Seventeen

Mom: Jokingly by Wooyoung

☾ Birthday -  04/13/1998 - April 13th 1998

☾ Zodiac -  Aries

☾ Birthplace - Hwaseung, South Korea

☾ Nationality - Korean

☾ Family

Older brother - Yoon Jeonghan (Seventeen)

Younger sister

☾ Blood type - B

☾ Height - 170 cm (5’6)

☾ Natural Hair color - Brown

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Career

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☾ Group(s) - Ateez

☾ Company - KQ Entertainment

☾ Debut - October 24, 2018

☾Training - 1y 8m

☾ Role(s) - Main Rapper, Dancer, Sub Vocalist

☾ Representative Emoji -  Swan

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Languages

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☾ Korean - native

☾ Japanese - 90%

☾ English - 75%

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Stats

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☾ Dance - 5/5

☾ Rap - 5/5

☾ Vocals - 3/5

☾ Acting - 1/5

☾ Modeling - 3/5

☾ Songwriting - 1/5

☾ Variety - 2/5

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Claims

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☾ Face Claim - Yeri (Red Velvet)

☾ Rap Claim - BIBI (Soloist)

☾ Dance Claim - Karina (Aespa)

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Personality

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MBTI 

INFJ 

The Advocate

☾ a personality type with the Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Judging traits. They tend to approach life with deep thoughtfulness and imagination. Their inner vision, personal values, and a quiet, principled version of humanism guide them in all things.

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The Positives

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☾ Charismatic & Playful

Just like her brother Jeonghan, Hwayoung has an infectious energy. She's witty, quick-thinking, and loves to tease her fellow members. She knows how to command attention on stage and off.

☾ Talented & Driven

Beyond the playful facade, Hwayoung is a dedicated artist. She's a talented rapper with strong stage presence and a genuine passion for her craft. She works hard to improve and contribute to Ateez's success.

☾ Responsible

Underneath her confidence and playful nature, Hwayoung has a warm heart. She cares deeply for the Ateez members and her loved ones, offering support and encouragement when they need it most. This softer side is carefully guarded, especially due to her secret relationship.

☾ Secretly Romantic

Behind her public persona, Hwayoung is deeply in love with Seungcheol. Navigating the pressures of the idol world and maintaining a secret relationship requires maturity, patience, and a genuine care for Seungcheol's well-being and career, as well as her own. Because she loves him, she can be a romantic, and can be very sweet.

☾ Empathetic & Supportive

Despite her competitive nature, Hwayoung is fiercely loyal to her Ateez members and cares deeply about their well-being. She's a good listener and offers practical advice, often acting as a confidante within the group. She understands the demands and pressures of being an idol and provides a supportive shoulder to lean on.

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The Negatives

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☾ Sneaky

Hwayoung has a knack for getting what she wants without anyone noticing—sometimes for fun, sometimes for strategic reasons. She’s excellent at bending the truth or hiding her real intentions with a sweet smile. While it makes her great at keeping secrets (like her relationship), it can also lead to misunderstandings or trust issues when her intentions aren’t clear.

☾ Forgetful

Despite being organized on stage and in rehearsals, Hwayoung has a habit of forgetting personal plans, birthdays, or even what day it is. It’s not from carelessness—her mind is often occupied with lyrics, choreography, or emotional stress. Still, her forgetfulness can frustrate those close to her, especially when they expect her to remember something meaningful.

☾ Cunning

Don't let her playful exterior fool you. Hwayoung is fiercely competitive, especially when it comes to games. She isn't afraid to use her charm and wit to her advantage.

☾ Guarded and Anxious

The pressure of being an idol and the need to keep her relationship with Seungcheol secret takes a toll. She's constantly aware of the risk of being discovered and the potential consequences for both her career and the group. This leads to moments of anxiety and a tendency to overthink things.

☾ Sarcastic

Her wit is one of her charms, but it can sometimes cut a little too deep. Hwayoung often uses sarcasm as a defense mechanism, especially when she feels vulnerable or anxious. While her humor usually entertains, it can also be misunderstood or come off as insensitive, especially when others are being serious or seeking emotional support.

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Facts

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☾ Her favorite midnight snack is ice cream, but she hides it in the freezer behind frozen dumplings so no one else will eat it.

☾ She once beat San in Mario Kart and hasn’t let him live it down since.

☾ She's a surprisingly good cook, but only when she's in the mood. Otherwise, it's instant ramen or takeout.

☾ She has a small scar on her knee from a childhood adventure with Jeonghan.

☾ Her phone is filled with selfies, memes, and blurry photos of Seungcheol.

☾ She's obsessed with strawberry milk but always forgets to buy it.

☾��Her room is organized...until it’s not. Then it’s a complete disaster for a week.

☾ She has a secret playlist titled “For Him” with songs that remind her of Seungcheol

☾ Her favorite comfort food is tteokbokki, especially when she’s stressed.

☾ Hwayoung has an impressive collection of plushies—she names them all and keeps them on her bed.

☾ She secretly writes lyrics about Seungcheol and hides them in a locked notebook.

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Notes:  I was hoping for this all to be centered... but couldn't figure out how

[srslyscary]

┊┊. PROFILE !

⟿ BASIC ?!

STAGE NAME: kabi (카비)

BIRTH NAME: journee somun

KOREAN NAME: somun kyeong (소문경)

NICKNAMES: nee, smalls, kyeong-ah, juno, jurnie, kabiyah

BIRTHPLACE: vancouver, canada

NATIONALITY: canadian

ETHNICITY: korean-canadian

BIRTHDAY: august 13, 1996

ZODIAC: leo

LANGUAGES: english (native), korean (native), vietnamese (conversational), japanese (conversational)

FAMILY: younger brother, mom, dad

⟿ PHYSICAL ?!

FACE CLAIM: harvey (xg)

RAP CLAIM: harvey (xg)

VOICE CLAIM: natty (kiss of life)

DANCE CLAIM: yunjin (le sserafim)

HEIGHT: 165cm (5’5)

WEIGHT: 126.8 lbs

BLOOD TYPE: O

BODY MODIFICATIONS: venom tongue piercing, standard lobe piercing, upper lobe piercing, helix piercing, three tattoos

⟿ PERSONALITY ?!

MBTI: ISTJ

MBTI TYPE: The ISTJ personality type is introverted, sensing, thinking, and judging, which means they are energized by quiet, independent work; pragmatic and detail oriented; logical; and skilled in organization and time-management.

POSITIVE TRAITS: quiet, trustworthy, honest, organized, passionate, humorous

NEGATIVE TRAITS: short tempered, easily annoyed, overthinks, detached to the world at times, very judgy

⟿ CAREER ?!

OCCUPATION: singer, rapper, dancer, lyricist, producer

POSITIONS IN STRAY KIDS: main rapper, vocalist, dancer

UNIT IN STRAY KIDS: vocal racha

DEBUT: march 25th, 2018 (korea), march 18th, 2020 (japan)

ACTIVE: 2018 - present

AGENCY: sm (2009-2014) jyp (2015 - present)

INSTAGRAM: @_kaabiyahh

REPRESENTATIVE EMOJI: 🐮

SKZOO: a cow named kyee (word play of ‘ky’ from the beginning of her korean name and ‘ee’ from the end of her birth name)

⟿ EXTRAS ?!

> she’s the oldest out of all the stray kids members

> she has a younger brother (somun hajoon / kyle , born 2005).

> kabi’s birthday is two days after changbin’s birthday

> her nicknames given by her members: joona (journee noona), kyeong-ah, kabiyah, and moon

> she used to be an sm trainee before she left due to not liking the environment after a long while

> during the maniac tour, kabi had dislocated her shoulder after accidentally falling off the stage. she went on a 4 month hiatus while recovering

> she’s very silly during photo shoots

> she was worse than han during her predebut era

> she has three different tattoos. her first tattoo is the anniversary of stray kids debut (0325), located on the back of her neck. her second tattoo is a reference of a spinal cord, located on her back. her third tattoo is a black wisp, located on her left hand.

> she lives in the dorms with lee know, seungmin, felix, and i.n

> she swears without a care in the world. you will almost always hear a bleep in every skz code, etc

> her favorite singers are wave to earth, the weeknd, and lil wayne

> if she wasn’t in stray kids, she would be a florist

> a frequent vocal habit she has is saying “oddball” when she’s sincerely judging someone

> she takes a liking to crime and murder documentaries such as first 48 or criminal minds

> she goes to other idol group’s concerts often

> kabi is known to sleeptalk

> as said by her members, she is known to be very quiet even when everyone else is loud

> she gets annoyed easily

> fought a skz anti after they threw a drink in her face

> kabi has 2 cats named tazi and bada

> she has a very big habit of taking pictures of the members at random moments

> kabi owns a podcast show called “KVBI TALKS : The Podcast”

> her favorite 3racha songs are “carpe diem”, “complain”, and “peer pressure”.

[kbaemi]

✧✧✧ PROFILE as of 2025 ✧✧✧

✧✧✧ BASIC INFO ✧✧✧

✧ BIRTH NAME — noriel eulália reis ignácio

✧ KOREAN NAME — cheon hwa yong

✧ HANGUL — 천화용

✧ NAME MEANING —

・cheon - sino-korean 天  for "sky, heavens"

・hwa - sino-korean 花 meaning "flower", 和 meaning "harmony, peace", 火 meaning "fire, anger, rage"

・yong - sino-korean 龍 meaning "dragon"

・noriel - Portuguese version of Nuriel, meaning "light of God" in Arabic and "Fire of God" in Hebrew

・eulália - means "sweetly-speaking"

・reis - means "kings"

・ignácio - means "fire"

✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧

✧ NICKNAMES —

・by bts, family, and friends - noria | nori | nora | hwayongie | yongie | yongyong

・by army - king noria | noria mami | brazilian bombshell | beauty of bangtan | golden retriever | sunshine | siren of kpop

✧ BIRTH DATE — 01 september 1997

✧ ZODIAC - virgo | ox

✧ BIRTH PLACE — palermo, buenos aires, argentina

✧ ETHNICITY — ½ pardo brazilian (¼ brazilian, ¼ afro-brazilian) | ½ korean

✧ NATIONALITY — brazilian | korean | argentine

✧ LANGUAGES —

・spanish - 100%

・korean - 100%

・portuguese - 100%

・english - 93%

・japanese - 87%

・mandarin - 41%

✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧

✧ HEIGHT — 179 cm (5'10.4")

✧ WEIGHT — 50 kg (110lbs)

✧ BLOOD TYPE — AB

✧ MODIFICATIONS — "7" tattoo

✧ FACE CLAIM— bruna marquezine

✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧

✧ GENDER — female

✧ PRONOUNS — she/her

✧ SEXUAL ORIENTATION — demisexual

✧ RELATIONSHIP STATUS — in a relationship

✧✧✧ CAREER ✧✧✧

✧ STAGE NAME — noria

✧ HANGUL — 노리아

✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧

✧ COMPANY — Big Hit Music

✧ TRAINEE PERIOD — 09/16/2012 - 06/12/2013

✧ DEBUT AGE — 15

✧ GROUP — bts

✧ POSITIONS — main vocalist | main dancer | lead rapper | center | maknae

✧ REPRESENTATIVE EMOJI — 🐉

✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧

✧ RANKING —

・vocal : 10/10

・dance : 10/10

・rap : 10/10

・visual (korean standard) : 6/10

・producing : 9/10

・songwriting : 9/10

・choreography : 8/10

・stage presence : 10/10

・leadership : 2/10

・public speaking : 4/10

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✧✧✧ PERSONAL ✧✧✧

✧ MBTI TYPE — ESTP | entrepreneur

✧ ENNEAGRAM TYPE — 8 | the challenger

・accepting : noriel is open-minded and non-judgmental towards others, regardless of their differences or flaws. she embraces diversity and understands that everyone has their own unique qualities and experiences that shape who they are. she is not easily offended or defensive when faced with opposing viewpoints or criticism, and she is willing to listen and learn from others. as an accepting person, she values inclusivity.

・active : noriel is proactive, energetic, and tends to take charge of their lives. she are not afraid of taking risks and is always ready to face challenges. she is motivated by her own goals and is willing to work hard to achieve them. she is quick to take action and is not content to sit back and wait for things to happen. she is always seeking new opportunities and ways to improve herself.

・adventurous : noriel is willing to take risks and explore new or unfamiliar territory. is often motivated by a desire for excitement, novelty, and challenge. she has a strong sense of curiosity, a thirst for knowledge and experiences, and a willingness to push past their comfort zone.

・ambitious : noriel is driven and goal-oriented. she has a strong desire to achieve something significant and is willing to work hard to make it happen. she is not content with just getting by, but strives to excel and make a difference in her life and the lives of those around her. she is always striving for success in her career, achieving personal goals, and pursuing her passions and dreams.

・charitable : noriel shows kindness, generosity, and compassion towards others by giving or sharing something valuable, such as time, money, or resources, without expecting anything in return. being charitable is a selfless and noble quality that reflects a person's willingness to help those in need and make a positive difference in the world. she understands the importance of giving back to her community and society as a whole.

・cheerful : noriel has the ability to think imaginatively and generate original ideas. she is able to see things from a fresh perspective, think outside the box, and come up with unique solutions to problems. she has a natural inclination towards artistic expression, innovation, and experimentation.

・competitive : noriel sees competition as a welcome challenge. as somebody who grew up in sports, she thrives with challenges and always wants to come out on top. she is highly motivated to work harder when others achieve great success. when she fails at something, this motivates her to rebound from the failure and come back at the challenge with a new strategy to succeed.

・creative : noriel has the ability to think imaginatively and generate original ideas. she is able to see things from a fresh perspective, think outside the box, and come up with unique solutions to problems.she has a natural inclination towards artistic expression, innovation, and experimentation.

・daring : noriel is willing to take risks or face challenges with courage and boldness. she often displays a sense of adventure, creativity, and independence, and is willing to push boundaries or challenge authority in pursuit of her goals.

・determined : noriel is somebody who has unwavering focus on achieving a goal or objective, despite any obstacles or challenges that may arise. she stays committed to her aspirations, no matter howdifficult the path is.

・diligent : noriel is very hardworking, thorough, and persistent in her efforts to achieve a goal. She is dedicated to her work and takes great care to ensure that she completes it to the best of her abilities. She is organized, disciplined, and focused, and is willing to put in the time and effort required to achieve success.

・direct : noriel is a very straightforward and honest individual. she never beats around the bush nor hides her intentions. she expresses herself clearly and assertively. this quality helps noriel in appearing confident and decisive.

・eager : noriel is always enthusiastic and excited about things. she is always eager to learn, succeed, and try new experiences. she is motivated and driven, and approaches tasks with apositive attitude and a strong desire to achieve her goals. this trait helps her overcome obstacles and succeed in her endeavors. however, the trait can also lead to impatience and recklessness if not tempered with caution and consideration.

・easily bored : noriel enjoys novelty, which makes her an excellent tinkerer, but also much less reliable when it comes to focusing on things as novelty wanes. once she understands something, she tends to simply move on to something new and more interesting.

・energetic : noriel has a lot of physical, mental, or emotional vigor and activity. she is lively, enthusiastic, and active. she is full of life and always seems to have a lot of energy to spare. she has a can-do attitude towards life. she is usually very productive, driven, and passionate about what they do. she is always looking for new challenges, and she thrives on the excitement and adrenaline of takingrisks and pushing herself to the limit.

・enthusiastic : noriel is somebody who highly interested and passionate about things, often exhibiting great excitement and energy towards them. she always displays eagerness and zest, demonstrating a genuine love for what she is doing or what she believes in. she is usually optimistic, positive, and motivated to pursue her goals and dreams.

・excitable : noriel is easily inspired or stimulated by external factors and tends to react with enthusiasm, energy, or impulsive behavior. she can become overly excited or agitated in response to positive or negative stimuli and may find it difficult to control her emotions or impulses. this leads to her being easily distracted, having a short attention span, or being prone to outbursts of enthusiasm or anger.

・extrovert : noriel is a person who is very warm, sociable, and outgoing. she is somebody who becomes energized by interacting with the outside world. she seeks out social interaction with her friends and is always her happiest when surrounded by her friends and loved ones. it is easy for her to make friends, but she is very picky about who is truly her friend and who are just acquaintances.

・fun-loving : noriel is a person who enjoys having fun, is playful, and has a lighthearted attitude towards life. she tends to be spontaneous, adventurous, and often seeks out new experiences. however, this trait can also indicate a lack of seriousness, so it's important for her to balance it with other traits to create a well-rounded and believable person.

・grounded : noriel exhibits a sense of calm, stability, and authenticity, fostering well-grounded hope for her future. she possesses self-awareness, emotional resilience, and a balanced perspective on life. she approaches life with a sense of purpose, acts in alignment with her values, and maintains healthy boundaries. she is open to different perspectives and seeks truth and understanding rather than clinging to ay rigid beliefs.

・happy : noriel is normally in a state of joy, contentment, and satisfaction. she is generally optimistic, cheerful, and sees the good in the world around her. she tries to always have a positive outlook on life and tends to be resilient in the face of adversity. she is usually social creatures, enjoying the company of others and spreading their joy to those around them.

・hardworking : noriel is diligent, dedicated, and persistent in her efforts to achieve goals. she is always willing to put in the necessary time and effort to accomplish something despite obstacles or challenges that may arise along the way. she is seen as being reliable, responsible, and committed to achieving success through their own efforts.

・impatient : noriel is always ready to get things done. she is always ready for projects to constantly be moving forward and struggles when plans and ideas remain stagnant. she wants things done fast and becomes frustrated when things are not already done.

・impulsive : noriel is highly confident in her 'gut feelings' and her ability to feel her way through problems and situations. she acts without thinking sometimes and it can cause regret later.

・independent : noriel is all about self-reliance and autonomy. she has the ability to rely on herself for guidance, decision-making, and problem-solving. she has a deep sense of self-trust, knowing that she possesses the skills and resources to overcome any obstacles. she embraces challenges as opportunities for growth, refusing to be paralyzed by self-doubt or dependent on others for her success. noriel has a strong desire for personal freedom, both in thought and action. she resists societal pressures to conform and instead forges her own path, guided by her values and aspirations. this autonomy allows her to explore her true passions, make bold choices, and live a life aligned with her authentic self. independence can be a challenge in her social relationships, including in romance. when she has someone else’s schedule – especially a social calendar – imposed on her, she is unlikely to sit well for long. her tolerance can be quite low for having others take her time away from what she'd prefer to be doing.

・insensitive : noriel is somebody who relies on logic. even when she tries to meet others halfway with empathy and emotional sensitivity, it rarely seems to come out quite right, if anything is even said at all. noriel struggles with empathy and sensitivity towards the feelings and the needs of others.

・loyal : noriel is very faithful, dedicated, trusting in any type of relationships. she is steadfast in her support for her loved ones and is always accepting and loving towards them. she will weather storms for her friends and family.

・open-minded : noriel is receptive to a wide varieties of ideas, arguments, and information. she is non-prejudiced and tolerant of most people. she is always asking questions and searching for information if she is introduced to challenges of her life beliefs.

・observant : noriel has the ability to pay close attention to details and to be aware of her surroundings. She notices things that others might miss and is able to draw conclusions from small hints and clues. She is often able to anticipate the actions of others and are quick to adapt to changing situations.

・passionate : noriel is a self-motivated individual who will never run from hardships. she is growth-oriented and is always looking for ways to grow as a person and as an artist. she is full of determination and perseverance to see her goals and dreams come true.

・reckless : noriel is somebody who will engage in an activity without concern for it's after effects. she disregards the dangers of a situation and it's consequences. she is not one who stops and thinks before acting.

・spontaneous : noriel is always able to go with the flow and think on her feet. This flexibility comes with some unpredictability, but she is able to store her spontaneity for a rainy day, releasing her energy just when it’s needed most.

・unapologetic : noriel is all about self-validation and accepting herself for all that she is. she has no need to seek any outside validation or approval in order to feel good enough or worthy. as easily as noriel is able to go with the flow, she also has moments where she ignore it entirely and move in another direction with little consideration for others’ preferences. If someone tries to propose a different direction, she can become quite blunt in her irritation.

✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧

✧ FAMILY —

・THIAGO NORIEL IGNÁCIO — FATHER

—— birthdate : 02.13.1965

—— birthplace : rocinha, rio de janeiro, brazil

—— ethnicity : pardo brazilian (½ brazilian, ½ afro-brazilian)

—— occupation : professional futebol player (retired) | ceo of ignácio cachaça | coach

—— status : alive

・CHEON DAN BI — MOTHER

—— birthdate : 01.12.1968

—— birthplace : saekdal-dong, seogwipo-si, jeju-do, south korea

—— ethnicity : korean

—— occupation : sports nutritionalist | restaurant owner

—— status : alive

✧✧✧ TRIVIA ✧✧✧

✧ HABITS — humming and dancing when eating delicious foods | always moving around in her seat | fidgeting

✧ PHOBIAS — anatidaephobia (fear of ducks or geese) | ornithophobia (fear of birds)

✧ MEDICAL CONDITIONS — adhd | vasovagal syncope | anemia | alpha-gal syndrome

✧ ALLERGIES — hazelnuts | beef | veal | pork | lamb | venison | dairy | gelatin | seafood | shellfish | chicken | turkey | duck | pheasant | partridge | egg

✧ TALENTS — accents | impersonations

✧ HOBBIES —

・instruments : guitar | piano

・dance : ballet | modern | tango | samba | hip hop

・sports : football (soccer) | swimming | surfing | kayaking | rock climbing | taekwondo | brazilian jiu-jitsu | mma

✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧

✧ FAVORITES —

・food : sweet potatoes | carrots | cucumbers | mushrooms | peaches | tofu | girgopan (choripan vegano)| | empanada vegano | bibimbap | japchae | oi muchim (spicy cucumber salad) | kimchi | beoseot gangjeong (sweet crispy mushrooms) | doenjang-jjigae (soybean paste stew)

・sweets : alfajores vegano | dulce de leche vegano | brigadeiro vegano | beijinho vegana | paçoquita | hotteok | bingsu | bungeoppang

・drinks : water | lemonade | minute maid joy apple lychee

・genres : reggaeton | bachata | cumbia | urban | latin pop | latin trap | r&b | rock | pop | rap

・artists : queen | eminem | kendrick lamar | shakira | daddy yankee | bad bunny | rm | jin | agustd | j-hope | jimin | v | jungkook | tiago pzk | twice | btob | 2pm | shinee | stray kids | ateez

・books : harry potter series | dungeon crawler carl series | red rising series | mistborn trilogy | poppy war trilogy | babel | the will of the many

・video games : assassin's creed | skyrim | lego harry potter | hogwarts legacy

✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧

✧ LIKES — beaches and the ocean | aquatic animals | cats | cows | elephants | going to aquariums | going to zoos | going to amusement parks | extreme sports | listening to audio books | reading | harry potter | playing sports | working out | playing video games | legos | dark colors (black, gray, green, etc) | fruit scented perfumes | spicy foods | sweet foods

✧ DISLIKES — allergies | school | orange juice | beer | bananas | alcohol | carbonation | sodas | bullies | sitting still | cigarette smoke | people touching her without permission | strong smells | loud chewers | sour candies | doing nothing | quiet | ducks | geese | birds

✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧

[reyaint]

ari.gen members | kailani likeke lee

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

date: january 31, 2025. chatgbt was being a piece of shit so yeah. whatever. (yes i use it to flesh out character, fuck off)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"𝑰'𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆"

✧˖*°࿐background

ky was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, where she spent her early years deeply connected to her Hawaiian heritage. Growing up in a culturally rich environment, she was surrounded by the soothing sounds of traditional Hawaiian music and the vibrant, laid-back lifestyle of the islands. her mother, who hails from Korea, moved to Hawaii before Ky was born, and it was in this blend of cultures that Ky’s love for music, dance, and language began to grow. her father was a traditional Hawaiian musician who taught her to appreciate the rhythms and melodies of their island music. ky’s strong sense of justice and natural empathy stemmed from both her Hawaiian upbringing, which emphasizes community and respect, and her Korean heritage, which is rooted in values of discipline, respect, and family honor.

ky’s musical journey started at a young age, influenced by the rich cultural diversity around her. she started dancing at age five, blending traditional Hawaiian dances with modern styles like hip hop and jazz.

at age 10, she began singing, showcasing an impressive vocal range that set her apart from her peers. She quickly became known as a local talent, performing in community events and talent shows.

her desire to pursue music on a global scale led her to audition for JYP Entertainment in 2013, where she began her training as a dancer, vocalist, and rapper. Ky’s natural ability to understand rhythms, lyrics, and languages made her a standout trainee, though she found herself craving more creative freedom.

ky’s time as a trainee under JYP was filled with intense training in vocals, rap, and performance. She also focused on songwriting and began composing tracks that blended her Hawaiian roots with her love for modern genres. Though JYP provided her with solid training, Ky felt limited by the company’s structure and decided to leave after a few years. She joined the other members of The Genesis Crew at DeadSound Entertainment, where she felt free to develop her creative voice without restrictions.

"𝑪𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔"

✧˖*°࿐basics

დ. stage name. ky დ. full name. kailani likeke lee დ. korean name. lee ka ri დ. english name. kat likeke

დ. date of birth. november 25, 2001 დ. place of birth. honolulu, hawai'i დ. nationality. hawai'ian-korean დ. ethnicity. hawai'ian-korean დ. race. asian დ. languages. — hawai'ian (100%) — korean (99%) — english (97%) — japanese (84%) — chinese (68%) — spanish (53%) — haiqinian (45%)

დ. height. 178 cm (5’10″) დ. weight. 57kg (126 lbs) დ. zodiac sign. sagittarius დ. blood type. B- დ. gender. female დ. pronouns. she/they დ. sexuality. lesbian დ. s/o. n/a

დ. personality. —Ky is the nurturer of the group, often taking on the role of caretaker for the other members. she’s calm and patient, and her ISFJ personality shines through in her relationships. Her protective nature comes from a deep sense of loyalty to her members, and she often checks in on them emotionally, offering guidance and emotional support when needed. —despite her soft-spoken nature, Ky is extremely determined, especially when it comes to group activities. she’s the first to show up for rehearsals and the last to leave, always pushing herself and the group to do better. —while she is typically calm and patient, she is also fiercely protective of those she cares about. —Ky is also known for being reliable and disciplined. her leadership shines in group settings, especially when planning performances or composing music, where she takes on a guiding role. —while she can come off as reserved, her true warmth and caring side are most evident in her interactions with her groupmates and those she holds dear.

mbti. ISFJ (the nurturer) enneagram. 1w9

"𝑩𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒍𝒎 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒆𝒔"

✧˖*°࿐career

დ. training period. 2013 to 2017 დ. company. jyp entertainment ( 2013 - 2015 ), deadsound ( 2015 - present ) დ. group. arisen genesis (2018 - present)

დ. rep color. blue დ. rep emoji. 🐬 დ. positions. vocalist, rapper, dancer, composer, visual

დ. ky's performance style is a mix of elegance and raw power. She often takes center stage with her strong, confident dance moves and captivating vocals, balancing her serene, calming presence with moments of intensity. as a rapper, her flow is smooth and powerful, often switching between melodic and rhythmic rap styles. In group performances, Ky is known for her impeccable synchronization with the others while maintaining an individual flair.

დ. ky’s role focuses heavily on fusion: her vocals are a mix of traditional Hawaiian and K-pop influences, her rap is deeply rhythmic and punchy, and her dance is a combination of smooth movements and sharp staccato choreography.

დ. her performances often have a deep emotional connection, especially when she’s performing more heartfelt ballads. as a rapper, Ky adds a strong punch to the rhythm of the group’s tracks, delivering verses that flow with energy and conviction. she often balances out the high-energy performances with softer, more melodic moments, highlighting her vocal range.

დ. her unique blend of Hawaiian traditions and K-pop influences shines through her performances, where she often mixes traditional chants with modern beats, creating a memorable fusion that defines her stage persona. Her versatility as a performer—shifting from vocal-driven sections to hard-hitting rap verses and intricate dance breaks—makes her an integral member of the group.

"𝑭𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔"

✧˖*°࿐facts

დ. she’s a huge fan of surfing, and often spends her downtime riding the waves.

დ. ky loves cooking and often shares traditional Hawaiian recipes with the group, teaching them how to make native dishes like poke and haupia.

დ. favorite food: haupia, kimchi

დ. she collects seashells and small trinkets from places she visits.

დ. ky’s dream collaboration would be with AURORA, DPR LIVE, or The Weeknd.

დ. favorite artists: bibi, h.e.r, the weekend, shinee, joji

დ. she has a habit of biting her lip when she’s deep in thought.

დ. ky’s fashion style is a mix of casual cool, modern minimalism, hawai'ian and surf-inspired aesthetics, reflecting her laid-back but stylish personality.

დ. she loves horror movies but gets startled easily by jump scares.

დ. personal motto: "Stay true to yourself and honor where you come from."

[trickerys-domain]

Y'all ready for my hilariously candid unpopular UMK ranking!

Obligatory preferace that I'm just an opinionated bitch. This selection is overall really strong and I'm very much excited for the live show. I think a lot of these songs will make or break during the live. I also think there is an odd disparity in the obvious budget and set quiality for the 7 music videos. Almost like they had a different line-up and some songs were last minute replacements.

I also did not factor in whether a song would do well in eurovision at all because frankly rn I do not care.

This ranking will also probably change so like who cares, I'm ready to enjoy a great liveshow full of people who give a shit about their art.

Ok, here we go!

7. Vox Populi - Mikael Gabriel

The general sound of this one is fun and easy. Good filler or backgroud music. Like if it came on in shuffle I probably wouldn't skip it. However, the lyrics are like really bad. Especially in context of the seeming general opinion of this man I am seeing. Also, this man is strategically pandering and a. Its not working, b. No on seems to have noticed. The use of Matti and that obviously käärijä influenced face in the music video smacked me on first watch. He is capitalizing and I'm very curious to see what he does with the live. Not excited, just curious.

6. Dancing with Demons - Cyan Kicks

I liked Hurricane better. There its been said. I do enjoy listening to this but I forget about it a lot. It also took me until basically now to kinda remember what it sounds like. Meanwhile I can still think of the Hurricane chorus 2 years later having not listened to it since UMK 2022. I do think Cyan Kicks has a really good fun sound, I just don't vibe with this song all that much.

Also, this bears no weight on my opinion of either song. But I need to call out the hypocrisy I've been seeing online. I've seen so many people comment that they don't like the amount of autotune Sexmane uses in Mania and then go on to say how much Dancing with Demons showcases Susanna's voice. Like...... there is so much autotune on Dancing with Demons. It will not sound like that live. And that's fine, its clearly an artistic choice that fits with their musical style, like Sexmane. But pls just sit with that for a bit before complaining about the, frankly much less, autotune in a rap song. Tangent rant over.

5. Kuori Moi - Sini Sabotage

This is where my ranking will probably swap a lot. This song is really catchy and I ingeneral like this type of music. I call it chill sex. This is also a very fun unserious song and video played straight, and I appreciate that. I am worried about something with vocals this chill live. They're good vocals, but very intentionally monotone and if the staging isn't engaging it might fall flat. This song is mostly at 5th place because I dont have anything bad to say about it, but it doesn't stand out quite as much as some of the others. I adored her interview tho.

4. Paskana - Sara Siipola

This is a great power ballad while still being upbeat. It doesn't drag. The vocals are great. The music video is great even while being very simple. The lyrics and message are really really good too. This song gets stuck in my head a lot and I think it is, on a technical level, the stongest song this year. I really hope the staging supports the song but with how raw and peeled back the vibe of the song is it will be difficult to make staging that is engaging without being distracting.

3. No Rules! - Windows95Man

Pure unashamed 90s nostalgia schlock. This is very much the type of trashy eurodance I enjoy, so home run for me. I think the staging will be very fun, but maybe too much. Or it will be organized chaos like Portion Boys last year. Speaking of, this is definitely this years silly fan fave that will be well received but probably not win, a la Portion Boys and Teflon Brothers. For being trashy eurodance, I do think it is construced very well. It flows and it actually written well, its bad on purpose and it is successful. Is it the most original or masterful, no. It is very enjoyable and fun and low pressure, yes.

2. MANIA - Sexmane

This one gets stuck in my head the most. Good beat, good flow. I really like the sound of the chorus, including the auto tune. The lyrics hold more than I think comes across initially and you can tell Sexmane really connects with this song the way his voice delivers even in the studio version. This is the song that I'm most excited to see live because I wanna know what kind of staging he pulls out. Side note: I think it's really funny that the brother called Sexmane is less sexual musically than the one just called Isaac.

1. Glow - Jesse Markin

This is just a really phenomenally written and positive song. It is really nice to have some good classic rap at a competition like UMK. The flow is impeccable with his rapping too. There's a lot of American artists who can't write that well in english. The message of this song is really uplifting without feeling hollow because it recognizes you gotta actually work at being in a good place. Jessie is someone who knows exactly who he is as an artist and person and that translates into the song. Also Alpaca!

I think the the songs that have the biggest chance of winning are Paskana, Dancing with Demons, and No Rules!

But truly I have no clue how this will go. This is a very evenly matched line-up both in quality and fan reception. The live perfomances will 100% decide the outcome.

[whatiwillsay]

I'm both a longtime Beyhive and a longtime Swiftie, so I'll chime in about the Billboard list

*very long*

Honestly, comparing Beyoncé to Taylor is a disservice to Bey. This woman has not only been highly relevant but has been thriving in the vinyl, CD, and digital eras, and she is still highly relevant in the streaming era. Sure, Bey doesn't pull as many streaming numbers as Taylor does, but she still is a streaming force. Chart positions and sales aren't even the metrics by which Billboard compiled this list. Here's what they've said in their article:

And we must also issue our obligatory reminder that unlike with our Year-End Charts, these Greatest Pop Stars are NOT mathematically determined by stats like chart position, streams or sales numbers. Those play a big part in our final rankings, of course — you can’t be one of the greatest pop stars of the century without great pop hits and great pop albums — but so do things like music videos, live performances and social media presence, and more intangible factors like cultural importance, industry influence and overall omnipresence. (And we’re measuring this over all 25 years of this century so far, so if you were only heard from at the beginning or the end of that period — or only had one or two big songs, albums or eras — that’s gonna significantly hinder your ranking here as well.)

She is the blueprint for most, if not all, pop stars of the mid- to late 00s, '10s, and '20s, and they've said so themselves. Not only that, several athletes, business owners, fashion designers, architects, producers, and even professional chefs have said that her work ethic, artistry, drive, and attention to details inspire them to do better. She's transformed the industry forever. She's the first artist (correct me if I'm wrong) who's done a visual album in the form of a music video for each song (B'Day in 2006) and one of the few artists who's done a concept film for an album (Lemonade in 2016 and Black Is King in 2020). In terms of music videos, Beyoncé is far ahead of Taylor, and since it's a criteria for Billboard's list, she's got an advantage. 

Beyoncé's the real trendsetter in music, while Taylor chases what's popular at the moment and makes it a theme for each album both in terms of music and visuals. Beyoncé's also THE most versatile music artist in the industry: her range goes from gospel to rap, from disco to rock, from pop to bluegrass, from R&B to Americana, from opera to reggae. She is an exceptional artist with a unique™ vocal talent that continues to improve with age. There are such things as prime Whitney, prime Celine, and prime Mariah, but there are no such things as prime Beyoncé. Besides that, Beyoncé's also credited as the inventor of "talk-singing," which all of the modern singers and rappers use as their primary technique in music. Even Kanye has said so.

Live performances are also a criteria, and I think it doesn't even need to be discussed. Beyoncé's regarded as one of the best performers of all time. I personally would even say that she is THE best performer of all time, but it's irrelevant to this discussion. She's the first female performer to ever do an all-stadium tour (Formation Tour in 2016); her Super Bowl HT show is widely regarded as the Top-3 of all time, along with Prince and MJ. She's popularized feminine dancing in the industry; before that, the girls were basically cheerleading and jumping around the stage.

In terms of social media presence, I think it could be quite debatable. There are several viral Tik Tok Beyoncé trends going on at the moment. There's a "Lose My Breath" trend (the song came out 20 years ago), there's a "Diva" trend (the song came out 16 years ago), there's a "16 Carriages" trend, and a trend for Trump's "Dance Party with Beyoncé," to name a few. Also, everything she does or doesn't do makes headlines or is heavily discussed in online spaces. For example, her wearing a silver dress with 613 color hair, making her "look white," made rounds for weeks online. Her playing her film in Is**** made a ton of online discussion, while Taylor has also played hers there, and I've barely seen mentions of it online (both of them had nothing to do with it and couldn't stop it, imo; they signed their contract with the distributor months before Oct. 7 happened). People called Beyoncé "genocide Barbie" for being present at the Kamala rally and said that she "made" Kelly Rowland wear an oversized suit so she'd look better even though Kelly has worn those suits for a long time AND she always looks incredible in them. Don't get me started on the whole Tik Tok conspiracies and "she knows" thing. Even the false rumors of her making an appearance at the DNC have made it to mainstream news channels. There's also a phrase "The Beyoncé of..." that exists. Undoubtedly, Taylor has an immense media presence, but unfortunately, it's mostly her being at Trav's games, pap walks, or someone making up baseless rumors about her that no one outside of the Swiftie circles and pop culture nerds care about. I don't think anything outside of her excessive jet usage or new album variants makes noise outside of those circles except when the new material comes out and then it's 2 weeks of deciphering the songs. I think Taylor needs this kind of media presence to thrive, while Beyoncé does not. Taylor is a very talented writer, which has gotten her such a big following, but at the same time, it's her marketing that has gotten us to this Taylormania point. She's actively cultivated a quite parasocial relationship between herself and the Swifties by inviting them to her house, saying that she needs them to feel good about herself (I'm paraphrasing), and leaving easter eggs about her relationships and personal life in her music and music videos. She hasn't established any boundaries with her own fanbase, and that's why it's starting to feel cult-like at times. While Beyhives were and still can be quite insufferable at times, she knew when to pull back and cut the majority of the toxicity from her fandom so it doesn't impact her own life. Also, it's worth noting that the main drive of Taylor's popularity is her relatability. Beyoncé's brand has never been about relatability; in fact, it's always been the opposite, and I don't know why people are complaining about it: she's always said that she comes from an affluent family and went to private school. Because of the current state of Taylor's fame, I'm going 50/50 on this one.

Then there's the cultural importance part. I think Beyoncé's also ahead of Taylor here. Beyoncé's music has always been political, and she's made a pivot into teaching her listeners about Black history. There are multiple college courses about her artistry and image. She's also the reason why music is now being released on Fridays. She's created that silver craze last year with her tour; this year it has been cowboy attire. Black country artists are finally getting a platform: Shaboozey's song is now the longest-running Billboard Hot 100 solo #1 song of all time, and Linda Martell (a Black country artist from the 60s) just got her first Grammy nomination, and it's in a rap category (I mean, c'mon). She's at a point in her career where she is honoring her heritage and giving platforms to Black artists in predominantly white spaces (house, country, and I'm assuming Act III is going to be some sort of rock fusion). Also, to put things into perspective, at 34 years old, Beyoncé gave us Lemonade while Taylor gave us TTPD. Both of them have been recording artists since they were 15-16, so I think this comparison is valid. Bey also has way more universally recognized hits than Taylor does. Although Beyoncé doesn't write her songs alone as Taylor sometimes does, she is a prolific songwriter in her own right (the topics of discussion in their music are also incredibly different). She's also an incredible producer. I've seen multiple songwriters and producers talk about her process and praise her for having an incredible ear. Listen to the instrumental version of some of her songs (I'd say that Single Ladies is one of the best and clearest examples) and compare it to the album version. Not only does she have an incredible ear for melodies, she's also been the vocal producer for every single one of her albums, including the first Destiny's Child album. Her music, music videos, live performances, presentation, vocals, musical production, fashion, incorporation of Black culture, hair and make-up choices, and live performance arrangements (Homecoming had like 20-30 samples) are what her cultural importance is. There are generations of pop stars that took notes from her, and there will be generations of pop stars that will reference those who were inspired by Beyoncé after she retires, and that's what makes her a truly important and impactful icon that she already is.

If Billboard has any integrity left, Beyoncé should be an indisputable #1 pick. Taylor being at #2 is also higher than I would expect. I'd place her in the Top 5 for sure, but #2 seems very generous.

thank you for writing this up!

[studiodelta]

MAKE A GOOD IMPRESSION

+10 PROFESSIONAL NETWORKING | -7 SINGING OR -7 RAPPING what better way to kick off the quarterly workshops than with a workshop on workshops? pr professionals from all companies will be hosting special talks with trainees to showcase their own trajectories in the industry and teach them how they can grow and foster their professional connections so they’re remembered next time an event organizer needs someone to sit on a stage and give their opinion on something. and of course, there will be a q&a after each talk! since you’ll be spending a lot of time listening to other people talk you might lose a bit of practice with your own vocal skills, but hey, no one can get very far without others to back them up.

RAP INTENSIVE

+15 RAPPING | -10 ANY ANCILLARY SKILL the rap coaches you all know so well from all three companies under the axis labels have gotten together to provide a unique opportunity for trainees this quarter! sign up to the rapping workshop to be immersed in the history of big shot influences over the styles currently present in the charts, and of course, to improve your wpm! just keep in mind that this isn’t a class on how to look good while rapping - in fact, you’ll probably be making some very silly faces - and you won’t be writing your own bars for this class either.

LANGUAGE 101

+10 FOREIGN LANGUAGE | -7 ANY PERFORMANCE SKILL as the eyes of the world fall on the korean entertainment industry, the need to communicate in a different language becomes more prevalent each day. in order to jumpstart your journey in learning a new language, axis is inviting you to join the foreign language workshops this quarter! trainees can sign up for one of the following month-long intensive classes, that will cover the basics of grammar and sentence structures: english, mandarin or japanese. if there is a particular language you are really keen on learning and it’s not listed here, feel free to make your case with a coach and your request might just be granted! naturally, sitting in a room repeating after a teacher for hours might even make you forget a little about what it’s like to perform in our own language. [ muns may submit an in-character piece to their company blog about their muses asking to be taught a different language. if granted, it is understood that axis will provide a special instructor for that language to go along the other workshops as well. ]

SINGING ON STAGE

+10 LIVE PERFORMANCE | -7 AESTHETIC hey kid, do you dream of making it in this industry? do you want to perform at coachella one day? well, you better ensure you can deliver a solid performance live, or the public backlash of your lacking skills will haunt your career for years. what’s the point in writing your own songs and choreographing your own dances if you can’t deliver stable vocals on stage, anyway? and don’t worry about how you’ll look in future fancams - you got a long way to go before you should be concerned with that.

hello and welcome to the start of trainee workshops, everyone! 

these events are for trainees only, and new workshops will be posted every quarter. for this quarter’s event, workshops will run until 9:00pm est on wednesday, october 30th. 

trainees can select up to two workshops to participate in during this period; one per month. those who choose to opt in for one or more workshops will participate in them during their free training periods. as no additional training time is being asked of your muse, no additional writing requirements will be added either. 

if your muse participates in a workshop, you must use two of your usual monthly trainee replies for workshop content and collect the same amount of trainee points for the month along with the workshop results at the end of the period. only two trainee replies per month maximum can be workshop content to count for trainee points; if you’re aiming for four replies that month, the other two must be unrelated to the workshops.

when submitting your trainee points at the start of a new month, please add the following to your trainee points:

[ WORKSHOP NAME ]: [ points gained and/or lost listed here ] 

please specify which trainee posts in your verification should count toward the workshop.

[twistifiedz]

/ BASICS + HYERIM

BIRTH NAME / park hyerim

STAGE NAME / hyerim + hyeri

BIRTHDAY / september 11, 1997

NATIONALITY / korean

ZODIAC / virgo

LANGUAGES / korean + english + japanese

FACE CLAIM / jennie kim (blackpink)

VOCAL + RAP CLAIM / hyolyn (sistar) (vocal) + cl (2ne1) (rap)

POSITION / main dancer, lead vocalist, main rapper, face of the group, center

DEBUT / september 1, 2016 in TWIST

LABEL / jyl records (2015-PRESENT)

HISTORY

Park Hyerim was born on September 11, 1997, in Busan, South Korea to Park Hyoyeon, a fashion designer and salon owner, whereas her father is a retired Marine Corps officer. Hyerim is an only child and has loved singing, dancing, and taken interest in various forms of art such as painting, poetry, and writing since her childhood. With Hyoyeon working as a salon owner and having a hobby in fashion design, Hyerim spent tons of quality time with her mother in the salon. Hyerim would often sing and dance for the customers just for time to pass until it was time to go home. Spending time in a hair salon for quite some time had also made Hyerim take an interest in fashion, particularly when it comes to costume design, and creative direction. What prompted the aspiration to become an idol was witnessing Janet Jackson on tour at the age of four, leaving Hyerim in awe.

Not too long after, Hyerim began formal private dance training in elementary school and taking various classes to learn hip hop, jazz, ballet, and latin dancing. By the time Hyerim became a teen, Hyerim was a top student in both modern dance and hip hop choreography. Hyerim’s father often suggested she join an entertainment company, leading Hyoyeon to enroll Hyerim in further vocal lessons at the age of 14. Hyerim was a profound vocal student whose only goal was to evolve and push her limits.

In 2015, at age 17, Hyerim attended an audition in Busan, South Korea for YG Entertainment at her parents’ approval, where she would finish first among the 500 participants. However, amongst the crowd were both a JYL Representative and Jiyeon Lee, who saw a rich star quality in Hyerim. Although Hyerim wasn’t auditioning for JYL Records at the time, Jiyeon Lee still saw a chance to offer Hyerim a spot at her label without the hassle of another audition. In a rush to sign Hyerim to the label and not taking the risk of YG Entertainment taking Hyerim, Jiyeon Lee proclaimed to Hyerim that she would be the future of music and can make history in JYL Records’ first group instead of being promised false debuts from Yang Hyungsuk, as well as promising Hyerim a tour of the label and the trainees associated with the group now known as TWIST. 

During the tour and showcase of the label, Hyerim got a glimpse of the potential lineup of TWIST, consisting of Mina, Sohye, and Chaeyoung at the time, who were all trainees very far into their training. Knowing the expectations of the group debuting within the next year, Hyerim was quite nervous, however, she was put at ease as she witnessed the chemistry of the trainees performing and wanting to join them. Hyerim signed with JYL Records in 2015 and debuted in 2016, giving her the shortest training time.

Hyerim debuted with TWIST on September 1, 2016 as the main dancer, main rapper, lead vocalist, face and center of the group. She is known for being a ‘monster trainee’, as she excels in various talents and isn’t just limited to one position. Aside from her short training history, Hyerim is known for her lyricism, production, creative direction, and artistic views in TWIST. She has helped plan and discuss the concept of TWIST, being a huge contributor to the group’s image.

[kpodcast]

When the three of us did our Stray Kids bracket "God's Menu" was the winner. Combine that with "God's Menu" being one of the most prolific Stray Kids song, it only makes sense for this to be the first song for our weekly Song Breakdown.

On the surface, "God's Menu" is loud. There are sirens, gunshots, percussion, shouting. But in digging deeper, the song is traditionally constructed with tight harmonies and the instrumentation helps to reinforce the message of the lyrics.

So let's break it down.

First, the basics.

Your average pop song follows a pretty standard format. Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Chorus. "God's Menu" is no exception to this build, but it's a little trickier to catch. These verses don't line up in terms of vocal lines, but in terms of the underlying instrumentals.

Obviously, we start with Changbin's intro which leads directly into Han's rap. That's Verse 1. It's important to note that Han's rap has 2 different backings: the sirens and quick percussion until 0:24, then the bass hits afterwards. (0:00 - 0:29)

Rolling into 0:30 we have the Pre Chorus with Bang Chan and Seungmin which slowly builds into the chorus. (0:30 - 0:53)

The chorus is split into two parts; the iconic "DU DU DU DU DU DU" (0:54) with an incredible dance break followed by the melodic chorus (1:08) "I just wanna taste it make it hot".

That "DU DU DU DU" also makes way for Verse 2.

"Cooking like a chef" is that second verse. It introduces the verse the same way Changbin did back at the beginning. This verse is easier to break into the instrumentals. It starts with Felix (which has the same backing as the Bintro, but muted and without the percussion), then the sirens and quick percussion for Chan's rap ("Idea Bank") and finally switches to the bass hits for Hyunjin. (1:20 -- 1:43)

By 1:44 we're back at the Pre Chorus and the build up, which is expected to lead into the chorus once again, but instead, 2:09, we're faked into a lower-energy bridge before culminating for one final chorus and the outro, which is the exact same as Changbin's intro! (2:33).

Second, traditional vs non-traditional elements in music.

For our breakdown, traditional musical elements include: melody, harmony, bassline, percussion, strings, horns, etc. and how they work together to create music. Non traditional elements are just noises (ex. gunshots).

For being "noise music", the only noise in this song are the gunshots and the sirens. The rest of the sound comes from traditional instruments - bass, percussion, synths and strings. It's loud, to be sure, but not simply noise. Go ahead and listen to the instrumental of "God's Menu" as well, which will help make sense of this section of the post!

Let's start with the verses. The music starts with low brass and percussion, which is heard through the rest of the song. Then it all cuts out and we're left with sirens and quick snare lines backing the lyrics (Han and Bang Chan's raps, respectively) before the brass and heavier instrumentals come back, leading us into the pre-chorus.

The continuous siren during the middle part of the verse is pushing us forward. The sound itself is like an alarm - designed to give a feeling of urgency. It's coupled with a really tight drum line, the snare punctuating off beats with a consistent hi-hat line behind it. It's short, like 14 seconds total in the entire song, but without the bass or brass layered underneath, the sirens really stand out. The two parts are very different, but pair really well.

The pre-chorus is melodic and harmonious and, after such a heavy verse, it's light and feels acoustic. The only music in the backing is this synth-y piano which slowly builds, adding the a snare drum that slowly starts speeding up, from quarter notes to eighth notes and ending on sixteenths before cutting out. This builds momentum and prepares us for the drop into the chorus.

The chorus has the gunshots under the second trio of "DU DU DU" as an emphasis. It doesn't occur out of rhythm, it's there to hammer in that specific lyric. (like, DU DU DU DU DU DU). The only other gunshots hit after the drop, with Hyunjin's "Ne Sonim" to usher in the final chorus and Changbin's outro. It's a very deliberate choice when those gunshots are placed.

When we come to the fake out drop, after the 2nd pre-chorus, it's the same backing as the last time Felix sang. The quiet, understated bass and horns allow for Felix's voice to shine through. The percussion layers in, quietly building to the final chorus to take us home.

Third, lyrics/meanings

Anyone can recognize that this song is about Stray Kids unapologetically being themselves in their music. This was their answer to being labeled as 'noise music'.

So let's talk about some lyrics that popped out to us especially.

"We just keep on making new things Because we're one of a kind" "No one can copy us, our own game" "Idea bank, empty your head" "What's our secret ingredient, we don't use such a thing"

All of these convey the same message. "We did it on our own. Our heads are a bank of ideas and no one can copy it. We're unique. We're iconic. We'll keep on creating in our own way."

This can almost come across conceited, but instead it comes off confident. This isn't "we're better than you" but "we know what we're worth".

Just to emphasize that confidence, the song is literally called "God's Menu" as if the menu of Stray Kids music is worthy of godhood. And even magpies, the National Bird of Korea, will come to enjoy SKZ music.

[rowonlgc]

⠀SOLO⠀›⠀WORKSHOP 001⠀›⠀WC: 453

⠀⠀⠀“am i the last one you’re seeing today?” rowon leans back against the seat, comfortable and quite casual. he’d gathered from the other trainees that this is just a progress check, so no need to get worked up. “must be tiring talking to everyone. i’ll make it quick for you.”

⠀›⠀WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE YOUR STRENGTHS?

⠀⠀⠀“mm, maybe ..” he doesn’t answer this quickly, even though he has a pretty solid idea of his strengths. “i would say ACTING, which goes with PERFORMANCE. i think i have decent stage presence because of that. it’s what makes me stand out, especially since i’m not where i should be in terms of vocality.” humility. humbleness. there’s a certain image he has crafted for the coaches; he wants to be confident, not conceited. “i wasn’t born here, so my KOREAN wasn’t as good at first, but i’ve gotten better and more articulate over time. does that count as a strength?”

⠀›⠀WHAT SKILLS WOULD YOU LIKE TO WORK ON?

⠀⠀⠀this, he answers immediately. “DANCING. i’ve got the basics down. i can do the choreography. it’s just a matter of refining it for the stage. MODELING, too. i saw the pictures that came out of the family concert. my angles need some working on. that should be my priority, since people are typically drawn in by visuals first, no?” he considers mentioning singing and rapping - skills that he actually needs to focus on, but instead, he goes with what’s more interesting. “i would also like to work more on my ACTING. there’s always room for improvement.”

⠀›⠀WHAT TYPE OF GIGS ARE YOU INTERESTED IN?

⠀⠀⠀“i can see myself ACTING IN DRAMAS, preferably as the lead, but i’ve got a long way to go before i can land one of those roles.” in truth, he thinks he can do a lot better but without the experience to back it up, it’s just words. “people have told me i’m really convincing, so i could do well in MODELING FOR COMMERCIAL FILMS.”

⠀›⠀WHAT ARE SOME LESSONS YOU’VE LEARNED?

⠀⠀⠀he’s surrounded by passion and desperation. everyone is so focused on their careers, while he caters more to the crowd. but of course, this isn’t what he tells the coach. “i’m flexible,” he says. “i pick up skills fairly quickly, and i’m confident in my ability to shine where i’m needed.” he pauses, tilts his head as if he’s considering what else to relay. after some thought, he leans forward in his seat. “i’m most useful when i’m helping others, whether it’s calming them down, encouraging them, or just being someone they look up to. i think i would do well in a leadership position.”