SM Entertainment – Page 2

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Why REGULAR is wrong for NCT 127

Maybe this should be titled “Why ‘Regular’ rubs me the wrong way.” Something about it doesn’t sit right with me, like I’m watching my kids grow up and start hanging out with questionable friends.

To understand why, let’s go on a quick tour of NCT 127’s title tracks.

Firetruck

Rumor has it, Taeyong’s childhood dream was to become a firefighter. With “Firetruck,” SM Entertainment made that happen, in a sense. It’s a club-type dance song, with a fire fighter theme, but it’s difficult to believe that the theme was pure coincidence considering that Taeyong trained with SM for so long, and he’s one of the rappers that they’re actively encouraging to take an interest in crafting song lyrics.

Limitless

This is one of my favorite fashion eras, mostly because of Taeil’s shark jacket there on the far right.

To me, “Limitless” is the type of song that you would repeat to yourself like a mantra. It is the perfect type of song for a group that is just debuting, hungry (excuse me, thirsty) for acceptance, love, and fame. It’s disguised as a love song (“oh baby it’s you”), but the main theme is about working hard for your dreams and the limitless potential spread out in front of you.

They were all chasing dreams while being deceived
Most of them only consider themselves as the real deal
Or else they hide with their backs turned
The repeating days are so cruel

Lies stick, they are sticky
In this gray city, it ain’t got a chance
I wondered when the future was gonna come
But it’s in front of my eyes now

Cherry Bomb

“I’m the biggest hit / I’m the biggest hit on the stage.” This is another song that gathers momentum, that speaks into existence what NCT 127 wants to be. It carries multiple messages—that the boys are ready for their songs to hit the world like an explosion, that the haters can come at them and they’re ready. “Cherry Bomb” is intense and explosive, with words, music, and choreo all reflecting one central theme.

Touch

Touch doesn’t exist in my world. It’s a typical “imagine me as your boyfriend”song. More importantly, it was the overt signal that proved that SM decided to crash the NCT concept (although arguably it happened first with the Japanese version of “Limitless”), giving the soft theme to 127 instead of the group’s usual urban-inspired vibe. The song sounds really corporate to me, very much like the Coke ad they did predebut. I dislike it on multiple levels.

Moving on.

Chain

With their Japanese release, however, NCT 127 was back to their normal tricks.

A factor that’s yet to be born (it’s a factor)
The hearts resonating in symphony are a medium (by the medium)
Make a wish, change the reality (we want to)
Get me started, the chain begins now

Chain! Reaction
The chain spreads
Chain! Reaction
From here on, the world is connecting

World domination, creating a great future for themselves, growing as artists…this is the NCT I like. One of the things that I like most about following NCT as a fledgling group of k-pop acts is that their ambition mirrors mine. I find a lot of what I want to do reflected in their songs, in their chord progressions and intensity and even in the wtf-ery of their Limitless-era styling (like clickbait but for clothes).

Most of their songs seemed really authentic to me, coming from a place of wanting to grow as entertainers, to win over fans and haters alike. Even though 90% of k-pop songs are created through the Pop Machine—very few of them are “heartfelt” in the singer/songwriter use of the word—the songs resonated with the group and their goals.

It probably helps that Mark and Taeyong write most of their own rap lyrics.

On my part, perhaps it is too much to expect a young group to sing about their bright and glorious future for too much longer. Clearly at some point the lyrics would have to evolve, and to change.

What I was not expecting was “Regular.”

Disclaimer: this emotional whiplash (heh) is probably fueled by NCT Dream’s latest mini-album, which featured the track “Dear Dream.” This song is almost 100% written by the members, is super heartfelt, and legit makes me cry. It is genuine, real feelings.

“Regular” is not genuine, real feelings. “Regular” is a song that flexes just for the sake of it. Somehow I’m supposed to believe that NCT 127 has gone from “make a wish, we want to change reality” to “I just made a million and I’m still not satisfied”?

These are not the boys that I know. Even if NCT 127 is super-successful now and they’re rolling in money, this doesn’t feel genuine to them. It feels like they’re playing parts. Even the bits that I want to like, such as Mark walking his pet tiger in the MV, make me cringe instead.

These are boys I want to root for, and the fake swag makes it really hard to do that.

I’m still holding out hope. “Regular” is the English-language version of the title track for their upcoming full album, and there will also be a Korean-language version. Apparently the Korean version is on the “regular” section of the album, and the English version is on the “irregular” section of the album—the dreamlike part.

Because all the teasers have been wrapped around a dualistic office drone/after hours type of theme, perhaps this is just in keeping with the extravagant dreams of an office worker.

Maybe the concept will make it work. Until the full album comes out, I cringe.

Update: After a few more listens and watching some reaction videos—specifically this one from PD at Form of Therapy—I’m becoming more comfortable with “Regular” as a concept for NCT 127. There are some execution-related points that I didn’t take into account that change the context of all this:

The English-language version isn’t cringey at allll. The boy’s pronunciation is pretty spot-on. The lyrics are mostly good, and bits that are a little rougher aren’t any worse than comparable American lyrics. (Which is not great—this is why I listen to k-pop, people.)
The concept is the dream of success, from a group that is starting to get some. I really can’t hate that.
The video makes the boys look really, really good.

Overall, it’s a decent American debut.

Personally, though, I can’t get into it. Back when “Boss” came out, I didn’t love it at first either, but it grew on me—the sound engineering is so interesting to listen to. With “Regular,” something about the engineering sounds compressed to me, like their normal range of dynamics is limited (much like circa 2012 pop music) and I’m listening in a fishbowl. It also feels to me like the musical arrangement is monotonous, even though there are different sections that switch up the rhythms and orchestration. I don’t know enough about music theory to tell you why exactly, but that’s how I feel right now.

Also, the instrumentation sounds like Latin-inspired elevator music. I expect so much more from SM Entertainment, honestly. SMH.

Jaehyun is the face of NCT 127 in America

2018-10-05 / childlike empress / 0 Comments

I regret now that I didn’t post this online somewhere.

Long ago, when I was first getting into NCT (My First and Last/Limitless era), I thought to myself, “Self, if NCT ever gets big in America, Jaehyun will be really popular because he looks like an all-American Korean.”

Don’t ask me to break down what that means exactly, but to my eyes, Jaehyun resembles a typical all-American type of guy. Some of it’s his body structure and how he carries himself, but it’s also in the balance of his facial features and how his hair is styled. Like if he weren’t from Korea he would be from Nebraska, and on the Olympic gymnastics team.

Speaking English certainly helps.

ANYWAY.

Cut to NCT’s debut in America, and what do you know, Jaehyun is the first member you see in each of the video teasers.

Not Taeyong—he’s for Korea.

Not Yuta—he’s for Japan.

Jaehyun.

In terms of the concept and music, I’m not really sure what to make of this. Office culture isn’t as much a part of the culture as it seems to be in Korea. Although, the cubicle is the easiest thing to message conformity—which was necessary to contrast with the Irregular teaser.

I’m also not entirely convinced that the music goes with the tone of the visuals. SM has been going for a “dreamlike” concept as of late, especially with NCT, so I’ll trust for now. After “Touch,” though, I’m a little…touchy.

Thinking twice, perhaps I’m not as enthusiastic about this teaser because I’m hoping for more 80s romantic goth vampire wannabe vibes. Fingers crossed.

Dark 80s (in which I discover Taemin’s MOVE)

2018-10-02 / childlike empress / 0 Comments

Drift happens. As a project matures, it tends to gather momentum and move in its own direction. Most of the time this is a good thing, as it’s difficult to visualize the fullest extent of a project before it’s underway.

Batfort has experienced drift. Mostly this is a good thing—there’s now less of me talking about politics, which I have no business talking about. But one of the things that has lagged over the past year is the focus on aesthetics.

I had originally envisioned Batfort with a “dark 80s” theme, kind of a neo-noir-Victorian aesthetic heavily influenced by Blade Runner and Awake in the Night Land. Something that would stand in heavy contrast to the bright color blocking and pastels that dominate the aesthetic scene right now.

As I got caught up in the day-to-day of blog posts and the excitement of analytics, I forgot about the aesthetic experience.

Until now.

For whatever reason I decided it was time to check out “Move” by Taemin.

Boy was that a mistake.

I slept on this release last year. For all I admire SM Entertainment, I haven’t checked out every single one of their groups. First on the list is SHINee—except I couldn’t bear to after Jonghyun killed himself last year.

But let’s not talk about that. Let’s talk about “Move.”

This is the first k-pop song I’ve heard that’s actually sexy. The bassline is addictive. The distortion of the synths is the kind that makes me want to weave the sound into a magic carpet and float off into the night. Taemin’ voice is silky smooth. Of course, it could be…
The choreography. It’s perfect—for Taemin, for the song. Subtle and sensual. Normally the unfinished-ness and lack of energy through his arms of would bother me, but it’s such a part of Taemin’s style and it suits the song so well that I can deal with it.
The aesthetic of the music video is like…dystopian 80s-inflected perfection.
There are some k-pop singles that are so good that I wish an album had been written around them. “Move” is one of those. K-pop albums are mostly random grab bags with no cohesion. I feel like making this a single and not one in a series of related songs missed a chance to explore this musical idea and feeling to its fullest.

If Taemin and his A&R reps at SM Entertainment didn’t fully explore this idea, perhaps it’s up to me. Not that I’ll be making music videos anytime soon.

But I do want to be more deliberate about what I focus on in this blog, and Taemin has reminded me of the original intent. Well, and the pitchfork mob that is currently chasing after Brett Kavanaugh.

The future is coming, and it’s going to be dark.

Waiting for the EXO comeback like

2018-09-28 / childlike empress / 0 Comments

Recently W Korea released a photo spread featuring members of EXO, and it’s basically a visual representation of EXO-L waiting for the next album.

I feel you, Chanyeol.

Exo has released a full-length album, a repackaged album, and a winter mini-album each year since debut.

Last year’s album, The War was released in August 2017.

It’s now nearly October 2018.

No new music.

Over the years, the members have been getting busier with external activities. Kai, Sehun, and Chanyeol go to fashion events. Suho is starring in a musical. DO is starting a serious acting career, and is currently the male lead in a drama. CBX exists. There are variety shows. Collaborations happen.

Still, no new music.

Members are starting to stare down Korea’s mandatory military enlistment.

(I believe Xiumin is required to enlist this year.)

Military service time is 18 months.

There is a deadline.

Here’s what I think is going down:

SM is “testing” the fans, to see if they’ll wait patiently for more than a year between albums. (It’s been 14 months and so far nobody has gone crazy yet.)

Sometime this fall, maybe in November at this point (after NCT 127 and Lay), EXO will finally release new music.

The repackaged album will take the place of the winter album, to be released in December.

After that, all the members will enlist at the same time. During that time, SM slow-drips content. They are getting the hang of YouTube, and fans would 100% love another dedicated EXO variety show, especially when the members are in the military.

Or perhaps they stagger into 2 groups separated by 6-8 months, and we are treated to a new subunit or two.

When they are discharged and back together full strength, EXO head directly into the recording studio an through the magic of the SM production machine, have new music ready to release in a ridiculously short amount of time.

One of the many things that SM Entertainment does well is learn from its mistakes. Super Junior has been taking a long time to get back on its feet now that its members are trickling out of the military. I doubt that SM wants to inflict that on EXO.

Anyway, I really hope we get new EXO music soon. The end.

Upping the Instagram game for NCT 127’s regular/irregular

2018-09-21 / childlike empress / 0 Comments

Collages are popular to do on Instagram these days, when you take one large image and break it down into a series of smaller ones that–when posted in the right order–create a collage.

SM Entertainment has used this technique for quite some time, and they oftentimes do something fun with it. When Red Velvet was promoting “Rookie,” the promo pics were curated like a game of Where’s Waldo, with something fun in each of the pieces that added up to a really cool picture when you went to the profile page.

With NCT 127’s “regular irregular” promotion, SM has upped their game again.

Now, not only do the collages make a cohesive picture, they have individual member photos underneath. Looking at these is like a fun game of Memory or a comeback-specific Advent calendar. It’s like a 3D puzzle.

Also personal bonus points for a black-and-white photo with shots of chartreuse and teal, aka some of my faves.

Underneath, the member photos are also collaged. When you swipe, it’s like the image just shifts slightly–not like you are swiping to an entirely different photo.

When you post them vertically, you can see how much overlap there is between the two photos. Half of the collage is shared between the two. It makes for a very different experience, which I’m sure is the whole point.

Mark’s collage is simple and classic — like Mark himself.

Haechan’s, on the other hand, is much more busy. It’s great because his “close up” is oriented at a fresh angle. It suits his off-the-wall personality.

I really enjoy reverse engineering stuff like this. SM puts a lot of thought into how they conceptualize and promote each comeback for their idol groups. They’re industry leaders for a reason, and it shows through in everything they do.

When NCT 127 builds a comeback around Lee Taeyong

2018-09-17 / childlike empress / 0 Comments

Let’s not kid ourselves, Lee Taeyong is the centerpiece–the crown jewel, if you will–of NCT 127.

NCT is the group that SM Entertainment is using to prove that they can produce good rappers (and it’s working), so the rap is the king 85% of the time. This is why I’m pretty sure all NCT 127 concepts revolve around whatever Taeyong is into at the time.

Look at Doyoung and Haechan actually pulling it off, the 19th cent. poet vampire lewk

Next month, SM is blessing us with another NCT 127 comeback. This one is called regular-irregular.

Regular-irregular reminds me of Sartur Resartus–another 19th century piece by Thomas Carlyle. What are the odds that a Korean pop act is referencing fairly obscure piece of writing by an old British guy?

I’m also getting flashbacks to reading through the slush pile of the undergraduate literary magazine that I edited back in the day.

At that point in my life I was obsessed with 19th century psychological horror novels, the beginnings of my VAMPIRES phase.

This all feels vaguely synchronous.

And the visuals?

While keeping intact the NCT formal/urban mix, I have a hunch as to where this concept came from. Mostly because of Taeyong’s deliciously 80s hair.

I think Taeyong wanted to look like Kiefer Sutherland in The Lost Boys.

Prove me wrong.

If there’s a sax track in the new comeback I’ll consider that confirmation.

PS. Jungwoo got added to the group this comeback and he’s getting hazed. His turn to wear the dress.

The SM Stylist’s way of saying “get over yourself”

NCT Dream’s Formal Sweatsuits

2018-09-08 / childlike empress / 0 Comments

It’s been a while since NCT’s stylists made me go “…wut.”

I miss those days.

NCT’s signature WTF-meets-urban styling made a comeback with NCT Dream’s recent performance of “We Go Up” on KBS Music Bank.

It’s the kind of styling that’d delightfully weird and off-kilter: just deliberate enough that you know it was on purpose–but very rough around the edges.

(Kind of like the choreography for “We Go Up.”)

All the members wore some sort of sweat suit or loungewear, topped with a black blazer and a ID badge lanyard. It all seems mismatched, like something you or I would wear on our day off when we’re doing laundry, until you realize that each member has a color scheme. The continuity of the color gives a certain level of formality to the sub-casual sweatsuit style.

It’s almost like a mismatch of genres. The decor motifs of the sweats and tops are mismatched (casual), but the color scheme is monochromatic (formal). The blazers are rendered in black (formal) but cut in a loose style (casual). ID Badge lanyards scream both work (formal) and conventions/fun (casual). They also flop around a lot and make it impossible for an outfit to look completely pulled together.

Chenle wore an all-white outfit with a contrasting jacket in the “Go” video, and it looked out of place because the level of formality was higher than the rest of the styling for that video. Here, though, it works (thought it’s Renjun who’s wearing the all-white outfit) because of the contrast principle.

I love it when “official” things also have a sense of humor. Little details like this are why we all love NCT Dream a little bit more than all the other NCT units.

Update:

We got a live one. Matching white pants and jacket with a different colorful rugby shirt for each member. Similar concept as the sweatsuit/formal jacket combo, but a different execution.

SM Entertainment’s obsession with “Young”

2018-09-03 / childlike empress / 0 Comments

Is Lee Soo-Man afraid of getting old?

I’ve noticed a recurring pattern in many of SM’s releases over the past year or two. Most notable are two SM Station x 0 singles back-to-back with the word “young” in the title.

“We Young” – Chanyeol x Sehun – Sept 2018
“Young” – Baekhyun x Loco – Aug 2018
“We Young” – NCT Dream – Aug 2017
“Young and Free” – Xiumin x Mark – July 2017

I would say MAYBE this comes from NCT Dream being the youth unit, but NCT Dream only put out one of these songs. Most of these include members of EXO.

So maybe it’s not Lee Soo-Man who’s having the crisis, but EXO. They’re getting to the point where they can no longer push out military service (I believe Xiumin is required to enlist this year) and are staring down the results of what happens when a group is scattered through military enlistment. Super Junior has been doing a decent job of picking back up the pieces as the members end their service, but it’s still a somewhat scattershot approach.

Perhaps I’m trying to ascribe to much meaning behind why there are 4 songs with incredibly similar themes and titles. (I probably am.) But I’m curious as to why there are songs from two different groups that have the exact same title. Is this an SEO thing? Is the Chanyeol x Sehun version going to be a remix of the NCT Dream song? (We’ll find out.) (I’m hoping it’s a Chanyeol original, tbh.)

When you add NCT Dreams “Go” and “We Go Up” to the mix, it further muddies the SEO waters–let alone someone’s ability to remember the actual titles of the songs.

Part of me wonders if this is a byproduct of an overly refined system, in which the syntax “We ____” has tested well and in which concepts of youth and going places have also risen to the top. Watching how SM iterates on a theme, it almost looks to me like they’re putting out multiple variations, waiting for one to stick.

I don’t know anything, really, about the behind-the-scenes of the pop music industry so take that with a grain of salt.

I see patterns and can’t help but speculate on them.

NCT Dream We Go Up

2018-08-30 / childlike empress / 0 Comments

SM Entertainment’s love affair with minimalism continues.

Maybe it’s white space.

Whatever you want to call it, “We Go Up” is the latest in line of lighter songs that breathe between notes rather than being a 100% wall of noise all of the time.

Twice’s “Likey” also did this. I don’t follow all of k-pop enough to know if this is a legit trend, but I can trace it from Red Velvet’s “Peek-a-Boo” through to NCT 127’s “Boss” and now NCT Dream with “We Go Up.”

There are so many tropes that permeate this video. The IRL bubble sounds and other samples, which tie it directly to songs like “Boss” and even the clinking glass in EXO’s “Sweet Lies” and “Twenty Four” (I’m pretty sure it’s the same sample in both songs). There’s the pantheon of NCT dance moves, including the bicep flex, the elbow airplane, the knock-knees, the back-to-the-camera-ending-pose (previously seen in NCT 127 “Limitless” and EXO-CBX “Hey Mama”), and of course the obligatory NCT high five.

Mark is aging out of NCT Dream after this comeback. Because of this, the Dreamies have been working to bolster their rap line. I’m pretty impressed with Jaemin and Jisung’s raps. Somebody’s got to hold down the fort when Mark is gone, but nobody could replace him. Mark’s raps have gotten better with age (and he’s barely an adult). Compare his rap in “We Go Up” or “Go” to something like “Mad City” (which was still good) and you’ll hear how much he’s grown.

I really hope that Renjun drew the wolf that’s on their flag. He’s the artist of the group, in that the members have forced him to show off his drawing skills on variety shows.

Like “Boss,” Dreams’ “We Go Up” is a lot more interesting with headphones. There’s a lot of subtle layering that gets revealed when you pay more attention. The bass line is addicting–just enough space between the notes to keep you hanging on–and I love the use of the minor key.

Sometimes I think about how much SM does A/B testing and releases new-and-improved versions of their own content. Red Velvet’s “Mr. E” is a more refined version of “Zoo.” EXO tested the reggae concept with “Twenty Four” before they came out with a reggae-influenced title track. In that vein, this song feels like a refined melody of “We Young” from last summer combined with a bigger version of the beat from “Boss.” Not everything is an evolution, but it’s interesting to tease out the similarities and watch ideas develop.

Kind of like when every group in SM worse gold and silver lame sometime circa 2012.

Anyway, that has nothing to do with NCT Dream. “We Go Up” is not the sound I was expecting from them, but I’m loving it. It’s relaxed and loose and yet interesting and fun. I’m looking forward to their album release–this should be good.

PS. SM Entertainment, this is another official request for a Mark/Haechan subunit.

Red Velvet conquers the summer mini-album with Summer Magic

2018-08-06 / childlike empress / 0 Comments

Gosh, you guys. I was already a Red Velvet fan but this mini-album takes the cake.

“Power Up” is the best iteration of the Red Velvet summer sound so far.

With the exception of “Ice Cream Cake” and “Dumb Dumb,” I’ve never been overly fond of Red Velvet’s red tracks (the pop-influenced ones typically released in the summer). I find “Red Flavor” to be a cringey, “Rookie” is unfinished (but somewhat redeemed in “Cookie Jar“), “Happiness” is meh, and “Russian Roulette” doesn’t do their vocals justice.

That stops with “Power Up.” The video features their typical bright, pop-art aesthetic mixed with weird, disquieting effects (another reason I love RV). It’s supposed to be a video game, but I’m intrigued by the decision to go with claymation-style augmentation instead of 8-bit.

I like how RV often builds and expands on their own concepts, especially with the continuation of weird fruits from the “Red Flavor” video last summer.

But what I really appreciate about “Power Up” is the chord progression and the harmonies. Red Velvet always brings it with the vocals, but the chord progression on this one goes to such unexpected places that I can’t help but love it. A little bit frantic and melancholic, yet with great energy and optimism. My kind of girls.

The rest of the mini-album is also quite lovely.

“Mr. E” is an expanded version of “Zoo” that I like much better. It’s a more complex, subtle song. (Which, when I put it like that, OF COURSE I like it better. I’m not a huge fan of blatant and bold.)

“Mosquito” is really fun, and the vocals on “Blue Lemonade” are fantastic.

I’m not a huge fan of the English version of “Bad Boy,” although I can appreciate why they recorded one. The rhythm of the lyrics worked so well in Korean that I hate to see that change. But so it goes, and SM is feeling out the American market.

Overall it’s a fun album to listen to. It’s upbeat without being overly peppy. Red Velvet’s creepy and/or dangerous side prevents the summer pop from listing over into anything to saccharine. That’s where last summer’s release failed, in my ears, so I’m glad that they’ve corrected to a happy balance this summer.

Edit: I listened to the English version of “Bad Boy” a few more times today, and I’ve revised my opinion. What the English version lacks in rhythm, it makes up for in wordplay.

Batfort

Style reveals substance