YES I’M A NOONA-

          I’m not even that old yet, but I sometimes like to be called noona because it reminds me of “Noona Neomu Yeppeo” and the nostalgia just kicks in (I can’t believe it’s been years since they debuted and I feel old-). Anyway, hello guys! Seul is here to annoy you again with a lengthy review and the performances we’re gonna review today are, of course, the Replay performances!

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 :)

WARNING: Review has not been proofread xD

SHINee’s Noona Neomu Yeppeo (Replay) performances by the Produce 101 trainees

TEAM A

Main Vocal – Lee Geonhee
Sub-vocal 1 – Choi Minki
Sub-vocal 2 – Lee Kwanghyun
Sub-vocal 3 – Yeo Hwanwoong
Sub-vocal 4 – Jung Jung
Sub-vocal 5 – Justin

VOCALS

     Sub-vocal 1 (Choi Minki) gave a really stable start to the performance and the harmonies during his part were really nice to listen to, and he was able to maintain that stability through the end. The following parts until the end of the song was stable, but there were some points which were weakly delivered (in terms of vocal power) and needed a pinch of power. By the start of the second verse, sub-vocal 4 (Justin)’s voice sounded weaker and I could hear his short breaths between the words (improper breathing) which may have caused the difficulty.  

     I commend sub-vocal 2 (Lee Kwanghyun)’s vocal technique, especially that he had this distinct raspy and powerful tone, and because of his stability, he was a good vocal pillar during the choruses. As for the main vocal (Lee Geonhee), he did a good job as main vocal – delivering every part well, as highlighted by the repetitive editing Mnet did on his high note, but I do feel like he could’ve given some more power.

     Individually, their voices have different vocal colors, ranging from thin clear voices to raspy powerful ones, and because of this distinction, there was this nice variation from part to part. Also, in addition to the variation, their choruses sounded full and neat, even with minimal harmonies because some voices were naturally high-pitched that they can be mistaken as harmonies.

SCORE: Vocals – 36

CHOREOGRAPHY

     Their dance had this chill, laid-back yet playful feel in it. I like how they executed the smooth snappy movements in the choruses, without looking out of character or robotic. I don’t really have a lot to say here, but I commend them for maintaining the playful energy until the end – and that unexpected flip towards the end was a good addition to create an impact to a chill performance.

SCORE: Choreography – 28

CONCEPT

     Visually, they all looked young and cute – very fitting to say “noona neomu yeppeo”. Their concept was obvious with the pink outfits and all, and it was effortless – without even doing anything, they already give off the young and fresh vibe. The center was doing a great job at being center, although I feel like his facial expressions were too rehearsed at some point, it’s a tiny detail.

SCORE: Concept – 9.5

IMPACT

     I would say that their impact would rely so much on their concept, and indeed, it was a very cute performance. I even thought of cotton candy while watching them (very random and irrelevant, but yeah hahaha). Also, as a noona, they were able to deliver the message well.

SCORE: Impact - 18.5

TEAM A’s TOTAL: 92.0

TEAM B

Main vocal - Kim Jaehan
Sub-vocal 1 - Yoo Jinwon
Sub-vocal 2 -- Kim Sanggyun
Sub-vocal 3 - Choi Taewoong
Sub-vocal 4 - Yoo Hoyeon
Sub-vocal 5 - Lee Junwoo

VOCALS

     Before anything else, I seriously feel like they have a rapper within them, and I would’ve appreciate a twist wherein they change the lyrics to some rap part xD

     All of the members have strong voices – I don’t even have to individually describe them because it could be unanimously called “strong”. When they all sing together, their choruses sound really full and powerful (almost like one strong voice layered one after another), but because of its strength, you would also notice the lack of harmonies in it. The original song was harmony-heavy and some harmonies would’ve enhanced the overall sound of their chorus – the power was already there.

     There are some points were some of the voices sound weak and/or strained (I could tell it was a breathing technique problem), but they were sparse so you wouldn’t really notice them at first. Nonetheless, in comparison to the first group, this group is vocally stronger especially the main vocal. I especially like the main vocal’s stability and how he smoothly hit that high note. He had his own singing style which was really fitting for the song.

SCORE: Vocals - 38

CHOREOGRAPHY

     When they started, they gave a completely different feel to the song – a stronger one (maybe a little too strong for the song itself, but it was a nice change). The way they executed the moves was strong and powerful – it was good for some parts, but at some parts I feel like they needed to tone it down a little because it would seem like they were forcefully asking noona. Other than that, their overall group synchronization looked good – snappy and precise.

SCORE: Choreography – 28

CONCEPT

     Visually, this group gives off an older and more mature vibe than the previous one, so I think that was a bit of a disadvantage for them.  They went more on cool than cute, but I do appreciate their effort to really incorporate the “cute” in their performance because of the nature of the song. I like how they made the performance fit their own style rather than doing the “cute” outright, which would have looked forced, and props to them for doing that!

SCORE: Concept – 8.5

IMPACT

     They had a strong appeal – an older one, but they were creative enough to have something “cute” that was not forced or fake at all. However, like in the review I wrote yesterday, I don’t see the need of the abs-showing moment, especially for a cute-themed song. It looks so out of place, and it was unnecessary because they were already pulling it off really well.

SCORE: Impact – 18

TEAM B’s TOTAL: 92.5

RECAP: Team A has a total of 92.0 points, while Team B got a total of 92.5 points! This is the closest fight yet!

SEUL’s JUDGMENT: TEAM B WINS by 0.5!

I did not expect this result at all, plus that amazing point difference hahahah. The two performances were so different that it was really hard to judge them with equal scales. I’m not even sure if what I noticed and reviewed here is correct at all, but I promise I tried my best!

Anyway, there are still more reviews to come, so thank you for taking your time to read this nonsensical blabber of a bored fan <3

What do you guys think of the performances?