-gasp- Not an MV review? No, because I didn't put a colon in. Ha! Instead, it'll just be me rambling on and on about this damn show.
I told myself I wouldn't, but I started watching this show anyway. More than anything, I was pretty scared of crushing my own heart. I'd probably end up loving all eleven of them, and be so hurt no matter which team didn't get to debut.
Some backstory, I guess, on this show. This is YG's way of deciding which of his two teams of rookies (Teams A and B) would debut. We get to look into their training and their skills and stuff, and at the end the viewers vote for who they want to debut. Killer way of hyping up a group's debut, eh? Also kind of brutal, since you're pretty much airing one team's failure, humiliation and the crushing of their dreams to anyone who wants to tune in.
Team A consists of most of the older trainees, who are vocalist Kim Jinwoo, leader and main rapper Song Minho, main dancer and lead rapper Lee Seunghoon, lead vocalist Kang Seungyoon and maknae and main vocalist Nam Taehyun. Most of these guys are actually known from before-- Minho is that friend of Zico and most of the other Block B members, who almost debuted in Block B but then debuted in BoM later (BBCs, remember Match Up season 1, when we saw our manly Zico cry like a baby? It's
that Mino). Lee Seunghoon was on a talent show for his dancing. Kang Seungyoon, well, apart from that he was on Superstar K, he already has a solo career-- he came out with
Wild and Young earlier this year.
Team B is younger and their members are less well-known. There's B.I., probably the most famous of them all, who's been hyped as the next G-Dragon. There's also lead rapper Bobby, and oldest hyung Jinhwan, vocalist Joonhwe, main dancer Yoonhyung and maknae Donghyuk.
Yeah, the Team B paragraph is quite a bit shorter than the Team A one. It's not really my fault. Yes, I might be a tiny bit Team A biased, but I think this is one area where Team B kind of lack-- I don't notice half the members. It just feels like there's only B.I, Bobby and Jinhwan-- and maybe I only notice Jinhwan because he's my Team B bias and I like him so much (and he looks like Block B's U-Kwon!). (Also, Bobby really reminds me of B.A.P's Himchan sometimes, with his eyes and his rabbit teeth... very cute). And how can you not know B.I? They talk about him quite a bit, and he's really involved. But Donghyuk is just the good-looking maknae, Yoonhyung the Indian-looking guy and Joonhwe is well and truly the other guy. Joonhwe's voice is really good (all their voices are, to some extent) but it feels like they're just continually pushing him to the background, and it sucks. Team B is really team B-- it's a B.I show, and you'll always know it.
For Team A, the problem with their members is completely different. While Team B is so tight, Team A are not very close at all, and their teamwork has been criticised. Every WIN viewer knows Kim Jinwoo, even if for the wrong reasons. His voice is very pretty indeed, but he's a rather soft and sensitive guy. He can't take pressure and harsh critique very well, and he has a tendency to break down and cry. He's forgotten lines and messed up. He just seems to think that he's always going to fail, and let the team down, which is why he usually ends up failing. It's so sad to see because he's actually very talented.
There's also Team A's resident diva, maknae Taehyun. To be fair, his concerns are pretty real, but sometimes he just comes across so diva-ish, and caring only about himself.
Skills-wise between the teams, it's tough to choose. I'm not much into rap, but I can tell you the one rap that struck me in the show so far (only 5 episodes so far, and I skipped episode 4) has been Minho's. He seems pretty damn good, and he has stage experience and all that. He's the newest trainee in Team A, but he was picked leader for a reason.
Vocally, both teams are pretty good, but I gotta give it to Team A. Seungyoon's vocal colour is really nice-- strong, husky, and when he did that adlib in the first evaluation... wow. Jinwoo and Taehyun are damn good too. They've been given good opportunities to show off, and when they have, they've stuck in my mind.
Team B owns the dance title. They are
tight. Team A are good (my Seungyoon's improved
a lot!) but Team B really take this one. Choreography-wise, B.I versus Seunghoon... they're both good, but I saw that a lot of the choreo Team B did wasn't actually made by them, so...
Variety skills, it's well and truly just Bobby. Seriously, the other boys are cute, and thus cutely funny, but the only one I think might actually make your stomach hurt is Bobby. The others do have potential (I think Seungyoon and Seunghoon especially. Love those two. I shall call them 2Seung.) but Bobby is just bursting with charms.
Visuals... Team B has Donghyuk and Jinhwan-- I find those two very cute. But Team A's Jinwoo is perfection. Cute, innocent, fresh face, and a personality that will win him a lot of fangirls, Jinwoo is the top visual. Easily.
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| He's kind of scary-looking here. Hmm. |
The next episode will present the viewers with the first opportunity to vote. It's Team A with Taeyang versus Team B with G-Dragon. Team A have not won a single evaluation yet, so this one is double important for them. Hopefully it'll be a close battle. Most viewers are hoping for an 11-member band to come out of this, so a close ranking of votes should help that. I'm pretty sure we're gonna get 11 members. YG's so smart, we're just eating out of his hand.
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| Getting hand-fed by this guy. My skin just crawled. |
And now... my own crazy thoughts. I'd really like to jump into the screen sometimes. First thing I'd do: give Jinwoo an ice-cream and a hug. Tell him he's perfect like he is, and he shouldn't pressure himself too much. Secondly: slap that damn hairstyle off Taehyun's head. You're a good-looking guy. Stop giving yourself a middle-parting. Seungyoon keep doing your thing, you're awesome. Bobby, stop being so cute. It hurts my teeth. And just freaking show the other Team B members more.
Well, I'm out. More ranting and blabbering later.
