« mga contestant overview #1 »
alright so this is way past due, and i should’ve posted this weeks ago when the first episode aired but guess who’s a useless netizen?! this guy. but finally i’ve managed to gather all my info and sort out a good review of each and every contestant (including those eliminated this week).
so, without further ado, i’m going to go over every contestant and my thoughts on them! this post will feature the first 5 contestants (i’ll be going over 5 in each post, otherwise my posts would be far too long).
so, let’s start from the first time we saw mister kim, shall we. our first glimpse was in EPISODE 1, when he was shown boasting about how he made the makeup artists giggle and blush, and how his extra skill was taking ‘the perfect selca’ - now, sure, for some this might be endearing and draw in fans, since this kind of confidence is hard to find, but for me he felt a little too full of himself. sure, he’s handsome, but 1) he’s not my type and 2) i’m sure he’s no more handsome than a lot of the other contestants, so tooting his horn too much and focusing on his looks in that episode was kinda... not for me to put it lightly.
but let’s move on to EPISODE 2, now, again, a large focus was put on his visuals with him saying “i’m the good-looking singer hopeful”. it’s tasteless if you ask me, and overshadowed his performance for me - he’d left a bad taste in my mouth already by that point, and though his singing was good, it wasn’t the best (and i’m not going to even mention how self-absorbed he seemed when checking himself out in his phones reflection after his performance).
onto EPISODE 3, junmyeon was placed into TEAM A, alongside contestants #4017, #4034, #4036 and #4037. clearly he’s gathered some fans for himself already as one of the first shots of episode 3 is a girl declaring her ‘heart only beats for kim junmyeon’, which didn’t surprise me - a lot of people pick biases purely for a looks, because let me tell you i’m almost certain he’d be nowhere near as popular if he didn’t have a relatively handsome face. placed in a group where he was the main vocalist seemed like a stroke of good luck for this guy - he had no other vocalists to overshadow him, but i must say i was surprised he wasn’t chosen as leader since he seems like he’d like the attention. at least he showed he had some weaknesses (despite his tasteless confidence), when it came to dancing; he didn’t look like a dancer to me at all, and i was proved right when he was seen creaking his way through the dance moves.
the actual performance shows him, once again, highlighting appearances (though thankfully not just his own this time) but i could comfortably agree that yes, the group was made up of attractive men, though i wasn’t sure what bearing that had on them skill wise. surprisingly junmyeon had fewer lines in the performance, which i personally felt was a bad choice, since so far the most i know about him is he has an averagely good voice, and being far too cocky. i’d have liked to see him show what he really has to offer vocal wise, but whether he was given less lines, or chose to have fewer lines wasn’t clear. he finished in centre position, which was, in a way, balancing the performance out, and with his charisma is did work. the performance was strong, but i’m still not too fond of the guy, and would like to see him place less importance on his looks and more on his singing.
as much as i dread to see more of his focus on his looks, i’m hoping he shows more vocal strengths in EPISODE 4, as he’s been placed in TEAM A, a group with 4 dancers (remember he can’t dance very well, yet i’m sure the next performance will have a heavy dance focus, meaning he’s going to have to rely on his singing). i’m really hoping the focus on looks will calm down and that he’ll show us more singing, as he does have a good voice, and with some improvement he could be a great main vocalist.
sadly, i don’t have a lot to say about doyeon considering she’s gotten about half the screen time kim junmyeon’s gotten. she’s a dancer, born in ‘97, and has great proportions (if being an idol doesn’t work out for her, she could definitely be a model, that’s for sure, though i’d put money on her having done modelling in the past). in EPISODE 1 we don’t see a lot of her, just a clip of her dancing, and that’s about it. it’s enough to see she’s talented, at least, and knows how to move those long limbs of hers.
EPISODE 2 shows her being the first female performance, which made her stick in my mind that was for sure. she mentions her height (an amazing 173cm) which definitely makes her stick out (in a good way!). her dance is sharp and fast, definitely showing off how well she manages to move long limbs (since usually taller individuals look a little awkward dancing). she definitely has talent, and i would say i’m rooting for her as she really has an idol vibe about her already.
so, in EPISODE 3 she’s in TEAM B with contestants #4010, #4012, #4039 and #4052, a group composed of dancers and singers. the start of the episode clearly shows someone with a banner for her (which made me smile), there’s something about the girl which makes you like her, i think - it could be her smile, but i have a feeling she’ll have a lot of fans. she’s shown in a very positive light in the clips from their practise room when she encourages her group members. of course, it could be for show - you never know with things like this, people want to look good, so they’re going to show the best them they can be, and leave out all their nasty habits (at least for some), though with doyeon i doubt it, she really seems genuinely nice.
her performance is strong, showing she not only can dance, but her vocals aren’t all that bad either, and she’s able to catch the camera like a true pro (which further makes me believe she has experience with cameras and being in front of the lens).
for EPISODE 4 she’s been placed in TEAM C, a very well rounded group with some dancers, singers and rappers (very different from TEAM A for this week). i’m looking forward to seeing was 2018 release the team will pick, and if we’ll get to see even more of kim doyeon’s dancing, singing and charisma that we’ve only been given a few little tastes of so far (this weeks performance certainly wasn’t enough to satiate my hunger to see what this girls got to offer).
if anyone caught my eye during the past 3 episodes it was this guy! he’s definitely my type (as some of you may have already been able to tell), but i’m a little disheartened at how little screen time he seems to get. in EPISODE 1 he showed us his amazing singing voice with an original song; very good idea in my opinion, a risk worth taking. it shows he’s creative as well as having good vocal abilities.
EPISODE 2 showed us a very expressive, fun performance from longguo, who showed that not only can he sing, he plays the ukulele too. i find it funny that he seems basically stone-faced when he’s not performing, and though it could be taken the wrong way (which i know a lot of people do, thinking they’re only putting on an expressive performance to look good), i think it adds to his charm.
onto EPISODE 3, this one showing he certainly has garnered some fans, one of the first shots depicting a sign made for him, held up among the sea of audience members. thankfully, i’m not the only one who likes him, so maybe that means he’ll go far and get more screen time as he gets more popular, but i guess we’ll just have to wait and see! in this episode he was placed in TEAM C with contestants #4026, #4038, #4040 and #4050. the group mainly made up of singers and dancers chose one of my all time favourite songs, troublemaker! the performance was, in my opinion, very good and showed off each of their skills well (and i loved the flirty performance between chungha and the guys.
so, next week, in EPISODE 4 longguo will be in TEAM D, another group of singers and dancers. i’m hoping there will be more footage of longguo next week, so i can see more of what he has to offer, as i feel positively parched right now.
EPISODE 1 gave us our first look at choi yoojung, a very cute, small girl. she’s got a very pretty smile, but didn’t stand out to me all too much at first. she didn’t get a lot of screen time, so i’m not too sure what to think of her yet.
EPISODE 2 was much the same - not enough content to really have an opinion on much other than that she can dance well. at this point i knew she was a great dancer with a nice smile, and that was about it. i think she sort of seems like the exact opposite of doyeon in a way - doyeon seems to have a lot of confidence and seemed very comfortable and calm, while yoojung seemed to be kind of nervous, in a cute way. not to mention doyeon’s super tall and yoojung’s pretty short.
in EPISODE 3 yoojung was in TEAM E with contestants #4025, #4043, #4047 and #4049, a group with a mainly singers and dancers but one rapper (which in my opinion was a pretty good mix). i wasn’t too sure if i liked her rap part in the song, but she clearly tried hard.
next week, in EPISODE 4 she’ll be in TEAM E again, another group of singers and dancers and one rapper. seems to be a bit of a pattern here. i don’t have much to say about yoojung yet, so i’m hoping they’ll show more of her as time goes on and i can get more of an opinion.
what don’t i have to say about kim hyuna?! everyone will remember the fiery rapper from mga season 3. when i saw her in EPISODE 1 i was surprised to say the last - last i knew she was training under royal, but apparently that relationship ended. her song choice really showed she was coming back with a vengeance, but i did wonder whether it was going to be fair having a seasoned professional in the show among all the young’uns and inexperienced newbies.
then, EPISODE 2 really showed what she’s made of. performing a song written by herself i found myself genuinely captivated by how much stage presence she has. it’s almost as if, even if she didn’t have the voice and skills she’d still be able to hold the audience’s attention somehow. i wasn’t sure if i was going to be happy she was there or not, considering she’s got a big advantage over the other contestants, and it’s pretty clear to see in my opinion when she performs, but from her performance in EPISODE 3 it was clear that she didn’t want to use her advantage to get above the other contestants unfairly. she really could have easily let the others fall behind and just put herself first, but since she didn’t it really helped me have a lot of respect for the girl. obviously, she was chosen as the leader, and though it sort of put her in the limelight a little, it was the best option since she has the most experience. also, she took her group out for dinner, and since i love food, i’d love to be in her group, so she shot up my list of favourites pretty fast.
next week, in EPISODE 4 hyuna’s going to be in TEAM C with a good mix of rappers, dancers and a single singer. i’m excited to see if hyuna lets her experience bring her above others eventually, or if she’ll put effort into making things equal - it must be a hard balance to find, but she seems smart enough to manage it. i have high hopes for hyuna, though it could just be that i’m familiar with her from season 3, but we shall see where this goes, shan’t we.
so, that’s the first five contestants! a mix of opinions i suppose, but i’ve got a lot more to go, so keep an eye out for my next mga post where i’ll be going over the next five contestants, #4009, #4010, #4011, #4012 and #4014!
catch you later, beibeis!
