uglymacaron

opinionated creature who ironically loves badly made macarons

[uglymacaron]

Favorite Entertainment is now on its 8th episode, and the tracks of the group, 다섯장 / Super Five, have been receiving a good amount of streams on music sites. They have released Hello and All Eyes on me as of this writing, and I'm pretty sure they're planning on releasing more. Here's my two cents about the show:

Audition shows have been ubiquitous in South Korea, and having a one for trot (just like Mr. Trot) seems like a good idea. I love the fact that all are encouraged to join. There are experienced singers, idols, and non-celebrity people who participated. I love its concept of forming a trot idol group, having trot highlighted to different ages and different nationalities.

The thing is, the audition process is not how I expected it to be. Participants were given thumbs-up as their score for both the singing ability and charm - one can get a maximum of 12 thumbs-up. Things went well and those with the highest scores proceed to the next level: the interview. They all are interviewed and that's where the head will pick the group's members. What I got confused about the formation of the group is the addition of two more members who didn't go through the audition process. I have nothing against these two artists - they're both great performers and I love their personality so, so much. It's just that, for me, they could've gone through the same audition process as everyone so some people won't find it unfair for those who auditioned. Saying that it's literally called Favorite Entertainment so they can just pick their favorites isn't that acceptable for me.

Now we have a 5-member group, two of them are idols I adore even before the show, and the other three are people I've grown to love because of their talent and personality. The show claims it to be the first trot idol group though, and it confuses me because I thought Super Junior-Trot is the first one. Yep it's just a sub-unit and all but they did release trot tracks and as an international fan, I've known that genre because of them.

I love the idea of training and retraining these artists, it really feels like having them as idol trainees. I love the show's outcome, but I probably won't rewatch it. I'll probably shove its memory on a file cabinet on my brain and won't pull it out the longest time I can. The reason is that I don't like the way one member is being treated. Episode per episode, some people from the show constantly mock him for his physical appearance and lack of self-esteem. Some may be said indirectly, some may be said straight to his face, but those words are like knives and it can literally kill one's self-esteem. I hate how he is being treated and how clips are being edited. The show makes it seem like he's the weakest link. How he gets special dance tutorials on the side was highlighted, how he needs constant reassurance that he can do something was highlighted too, and etc. FYI, that member isn't experienced like the others, plus he does have a completely different job from it, so they shouldn't expect for him to be of the same level or even close to the others. I hate the fact that they give nothing but compliments to the other members but he gets more mocking than compliments. I love the boys, I swear, and I'll most likely be supporting them even when the show ends, but I think watching a show just cos you love the people in it and not because you love the show itself goes to show how shitty one program can get.

[uglymacaron]

A lot of listeners (like me) have no idea about the technicalities of music, so picking a title track is one of the most crucial thing to do during comeback. This track must be able to catch the general public's attention. A good title track can bring more fans and make them curious about that artist. A perfect example for this case is Lucy. Lucy's Jogging is the perfect song for summer. It feels light and bright and it gives you the urge to just dance around. The song makes you want to run and care nothing about the world. It's just perfect.

Wonsang is one musical genius. What would you expect from someone who got praised by Coldplay for his amazing arrangement of Adventure of a Lifetime? He have produced Lucy's songs and he never failed to surprise us. Every single song feels similar yet so different. You know they have a full grasp of genre they excel on but they keep on experimenting on it to make various interesting sounds which soon gets turned into interesting music.

Let's be honest, the use of violin gives a feeling of elitism and class, up to point where it feels like it isn't for the general public. But Yechan is changing the game. The use of violin is the "killing part" of every single Lucy song. Yechan's passionate performance combined with the lovely sound made by the violin is not just for eargasm but also food for the eyes. He makes the performance enjoyable to watch.

Gwangil. Gwangil. What can I say? When you first see him perform, you will immediately notice how he sings and plays drums like a pro. Who would've thought he isn't really a drummer in the first place? I've seen his progress from Superband to their debut and now on their comeback, and I was surprised when he sang an entire verse while playing his drums! More than it being an unusual thing to do, playing drums while singing is the hardest. It can get messed up, I swear. I've seen a lot of people attempting to do it and only geniuses can pull it off.

Sangyeob's already known as a singer of OSTs and he is with no doubt one of the best band vocalists out there. His voice feels like Maltesers, it's smooth on the outside but there's a certain crisp that you'll keep on craving on the inside. Plus his high notes are to die for!

They have revealed in a radio guesting that Jogging was made about two to three weeks before its release. It speaks so much about their talent and hardwork - how they can easily execute all ideas into a song.

The world should stop sleeping on Lucy. They're out there giving us some God-tier songs, all you need to do is to listen to them. Falling in love to music has never been this easy.