BRACE YOURSELF FOR A LENGTHY ONE

       Hey, there! It’s Seul again, here with another lengthy (and probably boring) performance review. So, these two performances were ones I anticipated a lot, and to make up for my lazy review yesterday, I will make this one as detailed as I can possibly can. I will not hold you up long in the intro, so let’s get started!

CRITERIA:

Vocals (includes singing and rapping, volume, stability and quality) – 40%

Choreography (team work, creativity, overall dancing performance) – 30%

Concept (how they portrayed the song, visual suitability, center) – 10%

Impact (how memorable the performance is, overall impact) – 20%

TOTAL: 100%

DISCLAIMER: I am not a professional in this field and some technical term usage may be wrong, so please forgive the errrors! This review is purely my objective preference and opinion, and I'd like to hear other's opinion, too! So don't be shy to comment down below what you think :)

BTS' Boy in Luv performances by Produce 101 trainees

TEAM A (Avengers)

Main Rapper - Lee Euiwoong
Sub-rapper 1 - Samuel Kim
Sub-rapper 2 - Joo Haknyeon
Vocal 1 - Ha Sungwoon
Vocal 2 - Lee Daehwi
Vocal 3 - Bae Jinyoung
Vocal 4 - Park Jihoon

VOCALS

     Rappers. Their rappers were good – they had different takes on how they presented their parts. For the main rapper (Lee Euiwoong), he had the voice (that stable raspy tone) and the confidence, but then sometimes he exudes it to a point where the raspy-ness becomes too much (probably using it to add appeal to the rap) that some of the lyrics cannot be heard clearly. The power in his rap slowly diminished towards the end and it was such a pity that his tongue twisted. As for sub-rapper 1 (Samuel), I liked his rhythmic take on his parts – the “ganada a mabasa a hakuna matata” was new and pleasing to the ears, and it worked well for him because his voice isn’t exactly raspy so props to him for not pushing it and giving his own take on it. Sub-rapper 2 (Joo Haknyeon) barely had lines so it’s a little difficult to have a detailed description of his performance, but for his small rap part, his voice fit well and was on beat—and precise.

     Choruses. Their voices were more on the high side (or should I say the tenors) so the overall sound of their choruses were high, which lacks a little bass or a deeper voice to even out the panning of the vocals and make it fuller. They did have a fuller sound for the last chorus where you could finally hear a bass (I feel like it was a low harmony), but the consequence of it was that it sounded a little messy.

     Vocals. Individually, the vocalists are really stable and good, they had enough power to propel the song without getting drowned in the backing track. As for the first solo vocalist (vocal 4 – Park Jihoon), how he ended each line lacked a little more depth – lacking a little raspy-ness to get me hooked on each ending syllable, but despite that he ended it well.

     The Bridge. First things first, the bridge part started out unstable and shaky. I think Vocal 1 (Ha Sungwoon) still has to work on his breathing technique (yes I can understand that the dance was needy of movements, but I feel like he could’ve done better). I like how the bridge had faint (but still audible) harmonies, which added more life to it, alongside the steady and smooth vocals that flowed. As I expected/anticipated, vocal 2 (Lee Daehwi) has really stable vocals.

    The High Note. So the high note for this song is sung by two people – one belts it out using chest voice (the lower blend) and one uses strong falsetto (for the higher blend). I can say that it was a clean note, stable and able to hit the right notes, but it lacked in terms of depth or the distinctive tone between the lower and higher blend which made it sound thin instead of powerful, which I often describe as “anticlimactic”.

     For the last chorus, I was waiting to hear some adlibs, but sadly there were none that followed the high note, only some harmonies.

SCORE: Vocal – 36.5

CHOREOGRAPHY

     The beginning formation and hand movements were a great improvisation in the choreo, as it not only have additional “anticipation” effect, but also automatically makes you notice them dancing (plus they had great lighting effects). Throughout the whole song, their sharp and precise moves highlighted the synchronization in this group (points for consistency!). Being an odd-numbered group, they had the advantage of having a distinct center, and they utilized it well in their formations. For the last chorus, the acrobatic tumblings and flips added more impact and power to the last part of the song (and they incorporated them at really good points).

SCORE: Choreography – 28.5

CONCEPT

     Visually, they fit the “school theme” especially because they all look especially young (and I think they all are?), but if they were in a school drama, I’d say they’d be more on the flower boy side *cues Almost Paradise*. I do feel like they went overboard with the extra “cool” hand gestures and movements such as the fixing of cuff links when they could’ve pulled it off with charisma and facial expressions. I do comment the center for doing a really good job at leading the group’s concept, especially in the beginning when he turned – it was actually really cool.

SCORE: Concept – 8

IMPACT

     The beginning really hooked me into the performance, and it was a great way to catch the audience’ attention in the first few seconds of the performance. What put me off so much was the abs-showing moment. I do appreciate times like these in some performances, especially when they come in unexpectedly and smoothly incorporated and transitioned that fits the choreo. However, this time, it was completely unnecessary to flaunt it out just like that – plainly raising the front of the button down shirt, for not purpose at all (well it could be for fan-service purposes, but still). I liked his confidence and guts to do so, but I repeat: I was totally unnecessary.

SCORE: Impact – 17.75

TEAM A’s TOTAL: 90.75

TEAM A (REAL 상남자)

Main Rapper - Kim Sangbin
Sub-rapper 1 - Lai Guanlin
Sub-rapper 2 - Lee Insoo
Vocal 1 - Kang Dongho
Vocal 2 - Kim Yongguk
Vocal 3 - Lee Gunmin

VOCALS

     From the very beginning of the performance, I seriously felt like they were already asking for a fight, and I really liked that appeal – they sounded full and manlier.

     Rappers. The main rapper (Kim Sangbin) had his own style of rapping – he kinda sounds like he’s spitting each word, and I find that unique and very much rapper-esque. It’s not really my cup of tea (nitpicking again), but I commend his confidence and how he brings himself while rapping, plus the change in lyrics. Subrapper 1 (Lai Guanlin) was another story. I liked how he changed the lyrics into English (which I think he’s more comfortable with), but I could say he could have delivered it better to have a little more clarity in diction and staying on beat. Considering he’s a foreigner and all, he can still improve. In contrast to Team A’s subrapper 2, Team B’s sub-rapper 2 (Lee Insoo) actually had lines especially as the starting soloist. The delivery was great, although I feel like he was exerting too much as he starts every line which later hanged the end a bit. But nonetheless, it was a strong start.

     Vocals and Choruses. Their voices evenly panned out – in a sense that they have a nice high+low combination especially in their choruses, which makes them sound really full and powerful (and as I have mentioned before, manlier). They were really consistent with the nice blend of their choruses. Individually, their vocals are incredibly stable and smooth, and they showcased their unique vocal colors as well.

     The Bridge. I don’t have a lot of words to say, but I absolutely love the bridge. In constrast to Team A’s, Vocal 1 (Kang Dongho) started the bridge really smoothly (I commend him for being really stable) and it was really pleasant to listen to. With that great start, they slowly added power, building up the to the song for the anticipated high note. All vocalists were very stable and had proper technique.

     The High Note + Adlibs. They pulled off the high note really well, it looked so effortless. There was adequate power on the lower belt (although I still need a little depth), enough to support the higher falsetto note. It was clean, stable and powerful that gave off the reverberation effect. Also, the adlibs after that were really good and still stable until the very end.

SCORE: Vocal – 38.5

CHOREOGRAPHY

      The way they executed the moves, especially for the choruses looked really powerful and manly, and I could say that it was a strong point. It is notable how they went for a less “robotically synch” choreo we usually see in kpop dances these days, and made it work for them – instead, showing a good amount of character. However, I still looked for some nicely synchronized snappy improvisations from them, but their choreo didn’t offer much of that (nitpicking once again-). Being an even-numbered group, there were at a disadvantage in terms of formations, but luckily they were able to organize it cleanly.

SCORE: Choreo – 28

CONCEPT

     Visually, this group looks really manly – their looks, builds and all. If they were in a kdrama, they could be those tough bad boys in school (not necessarily the typical bully, but you get the idea xD). They took the manly approach, which was really good in my opinion. In contrast to the previous group, they utilized their charisma and less on the extra movements. I especially liked how they started with close up shots which immediately screamed their manly bad boy concept. I’m not exactly sure if he’s the center, but sub-rapper2 (Lee Insoo) did a really good job with his facial expressions and all.

SCORE: Concept – 9.75

IMPACT

      First of all, they started out really strong, even without doing anything so grand – those neck movements looks really cool + their facial expressions were so good (no wonder mnet edited it to repeat so many times xD). Again, it was really cool. They were really consistent with the manly feel throughout the whole song, which gave out a huge impact to me. They also had this abs-showing moment, but the only difference between this and the previous one’s is that this doesn’t look out-of-place or unnecessary. It fit well with the choreo and seemed reasonable enough. Also, I stared at the screen intently to figure out who did the sole flip at the back during the last chorus and found out that it was Lee In Soo. I was amazed – a few seconds after a high note and an adlib, he flips (I give a standing ovation for his skills).

SCORE: Impact – 19.25

TEAM B’s TOTAL: 95.25

RECAP: Team A got 90.75, while Team B got 95.25.

SEUL’s JUDGMENT: TEAM B WINS!

     This is probably my longest and most detailed review by far and I am terribly sorry for making this too wordy- I just can’t help it! These performances were two of the most anticipated ones (especially because of the “avengers”), and I’m liking how they both exceeded my expectations (and I'm such a er for manly themes). They did a great job!

So, what do you think of the performances? Let's start some discussion :)