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boysplanetrecaps · 3 months

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Build Up Episode 0: Getting to Know the Boys Part 1: Team AllRound

Hey, friends! I’m struggling with writing the recap for episode one of Build Up on MNET because I want to stop and give you the background on everyone, which makes the recap really hard to follow. So I figure I’ll spend some time giving you their backgrounds in four separate posts, to help you get to know the guys. I mention things like where else you may have seen them, if they're in an idol group, who knows who, etc, as well as my opinion of their voice based on their teaser performance. I think it’ll make the recaps easier, both to read and to write. In this first post of four, I’ll be talking about the twelve contestants who chose to join the “Allround” category, as opposed to “Soul”, “Power”, or “Unique.” Let’s go!

Before we go on, I just want to let you know that I’ll sharing my informed opinion on their singing voices. I am going to be a little bit harder on them than I am on singers on Boys Planet, with the understanding that these are all great vocalists. We’re looking for the S+ tier guys amongst a group that is A tier at worst. So if I say anything a bit negative about a fave of yours, understand that I’m not saying that he’s a bad singer! Every guy here is an excellent singer. Cool? Cool!

I also have to apologize, but most of my screenshots are going to be pretty awkward. The video I'm watching makes it really hard to use because every time you pause it, it opens all sorts of porny popups. When it's paused, it has a huge pause symbol in the middle of the picture. So I have to try to take screen shots while it's in motion. It's not easy! Hope you understand.

Also, I have even less time than usual to proofread these posts, so please forgive me for my inevitable typos. <3 Thank you!

Choi Suhwan

Suhwan is currently a soloist. He’s released a few digital singles, none of which have really taken off, unfortunately. You might remember him from ProduceX 101, where he made it to episode 11, so the final cut before the finale, finishing in 28th place. Pretty good!

He was V17, doing a cover of Energetic by Wanna One. I wasn’t blown away by that performance -- it sounded a little processed, and I wasn’t completely sure it was live -- so I sought out another one. Here’s a live performance of his song Losing Sleep. Unfortunately, in this performance, I found his voice a little too nasal and affected to be to my taste, and he had serious issues with his upper mix. He’s not a terrible singer, but there are a lot of stronger singers on this show. Or maybe I’m wrong and he’ll do better next time. Fighting!

Bitsaeon

Bitsaeon is 28, and is the main vocalist from M.O.N.T. He seems to have a predilection for soft fuzzy sweaters. He was V36, singing Rose Blossom by H1-Key, and all I wrote down in my notes was “this is just a really nice voice.” I just really liked it. Clean, smooth, easy to listen to.

I think this performance of Creep by Radiohead shows both what I like and what I don’t like as much about his performances. He does a lot of this soft whisper singing in his covers, which seems like a waste of what he can do. I love his full belts -- they’re so good. I want to hear him sing full-on more often in songs, like he did with Rose Blossom.

M.O.N.T. has a whole complicated dealie that I just don’t have the energy to figure out -- the wikipedia page explains some of it. They’re mainly a three member group, with a leader, a rapper, and a main vocal. They haven’t put out any singles in a while, so I’m not sure what’s going on with them.

Incidentally, Bitsaeon almost certain knows Jay reasonably well. Jay was involved in this thing called MONT Arena that was supposed to collect more members for MONT, so along the way I’m sure they met. In fact, Jay is still signed to the same agency as them (along with a few other agencies).

Seunghun

Seunghun is 24 and a member of CIX. His teaser song was V01, Rain by Paul Kim, and his performance was kind of… not my favorite. He sounded at times almost like he had a cold, and at other times I’m pretty sure he went off key -- I don’t know the song so I can’t be sure but it sounded off. He showed a lack of agility on one of his vocal runs, which means that as he tried to sing a lot of different notes all in a row, he had trouble transitioning from note to note quickly and hitting them all neatly. He had to switch awkwardly to falsetto to hit a single high note in the middle of a line, which is kind of not the goal. I think he may just have been nervous or having an off day.

Seunghun also competed on YG Treasure Box, which I didn’t watch, but maybe you did.

Let’s talk about CIX, baby! (Ok, that joke relies on you pronouncing it “six” but it’s really pronounced “see-eye-ex,” if you read the hangul).

CIX is a five-member group under C9 entertainment, which is also the home to Cignature and Epex. CIX features Wanna One’s Bae Jinyoung, who is the center and face of the group. As sometimes happens in cases like this, the member who was in the big Produce group is famous and attracts stans, while sometimes the rest of the group just doesn’t get as much love, and the group as a whole suffers. See also: Gugudan, Weki Meki. However, CIX does ok. Per genius.com, “The group has released several Top 10 albums in South Korea, including Hello Chapter Ø: Hello, Strange Dream which gave them their first chart-topper in the country. The group’s singles have also consistently landed in the Circle Music chart.” So CIX is a little bit closer to say, IVE than it is to, say, Weki Meki.

Personally, I like CIX -- I think the members are talented -- but I don’t love all their songs. However, their song Cinema is so smooth and lovely, it’s like a glass of orange-peach juice for your soul, and that’s in great measure because of their smooth vocals. (Seunghun is the one with the blue hair in that clip, if you want to watch it.) In fact, this is the song I wanted to listen to in the car on the way to the hospital to have surgery a year or two ago when I was feeling pretty scared. My fella said, “This is nice. I like this.” So if you never heard it, give it a chance. I’m looking forward to getting to know Seunghun a bit better and seeing him on a better day.

Yeo One

Yeo One is 28, and is a lead vocalist for Pentagon. I don’t have to tell you about Pentagon, right? Another excellent group who lost a member and whose popularity has ebbed and flowed. If you watched Boys Planet, you know about Hui, and you know that I like Pentagon a lot!

Yeo One left Cube Entertainment just a few months ago, in October of 2023, along with several other members of Pentagon, so though Pentagon hasn’t disbanded, their further activities will be a bit tricky. He had a sold-out solo concert recently, and was profiled in Rolling Stone Korea, so he’s doing ok for a recently solo artist. Yeo One is a lead vocalist of Pentagon, not one of their two main vocalist, and on kprofiles, he actually ranks in last place in the popularity poll. He often would be given pretty brief lines in most Pentagon songs. But we will get to know him and get to love him on this show, right, team?

He performed a ballad for his teaser (V40) and all I wrote in my note to myself is “I hate songs like this so much I almost can’t think straight.” So, instead, I found this little song that apparently he wrote and performed himself -- it’s light and charming. It sounds like a guy sitting by the fire making up a song on guitar and singing it to himself. He’s not a super skilled vocalist from what I’ve heard thus far, not a powerhouse like Hui, but he has a charming vocal color and is just sort of a generally a lovable dude.

Hwang Inhyuk

Inhyeock / Inhyuk (I’ve seen it transliterated both ways -- both would be 인혁 in Hangul) is 26 and is apparently both a soloist and a member of a vocal group called Unison. Unfortunately, I can’t find anything about them since there’s also a Japanese group called “Unison Square Garden” and when you search “Korean vocal group unison” all you get is information about K-pop songs sung in unison, so…. Yeah. Inhyuk is also a composer and lyricist, and has competed on I Can See Your Voice (I’m not sure which season) and Sing for Gold.

He was V29 and performed a song called The First Day. Again, my perspective is skewed because it’s another feckin’ ballad and no thank you. The opening section when he’s singing in a soft, almost gruff voice is really charming, though. It’s so different from what you’d expect from his appearance and general demeanor. He has a really distinct vocal color, and I think he should have chosen “unique” rather than “allround.” Once he heads into the chorus, which requires belting some higher notes, his voice falters a bit. I just get that feeling that maybe he can do better than what he showed in this teaser. Maybe he wasn’t warmed up properly, or maybe he had a bit of a cold, something like that. The potential is there and I sense training was involved. I’m going to keep an open mind about him.

Geonu

Geonu is from Just B and is 22. In addition to going on I-land, he also went on a show called Dancing High, which also featured Seo Won who you may remember from Boys Planet. God, there are so many of these shows. I kind of remember Geonu from I-land, where he did pretty well, making it close to the end. It’s kind of a shame that he didn’t make it into Enhypen since Enhypen is definitely short on vocalists.

If you want to check out one of Geonu’s previous performances, here he is doing a duet performance of BTS’s Butterfly on I-land with Heesung (who did go on to debut in Enhypen).

Geonu has gotten a bit better since then; here is his audition for this show, where he was V10.

His upper mixed register has gotten stronger and a lot less breathy compared to when he was on I-land, but he seems to have developed an unpleasant nasality. Maybe being on this show will spur him to adjust his methodology. He has a really pleasant vocal color and a lot of potential.

(I discuss Just B in Bain’s write up.)

Jang Intae

Per my online sleuthing, Intae, age 27, is a singer-songwriter and is one half of the duo 415. (Their group is named for the fact that both members were born on April 15th, 1997.) 415 has put out seven digital singles and performed a few OSTs, but their MVs generally get fewer than 10,000 views. I think his general style and vibe isn’t what I personally look for in a musician -- it’s a bit too “acoustic lite” -- but I bet a lot of people would like what he and his duo partner do, if people gave them a chance.

His teaser performance, V37, was Missing You by BTOB (a song performed on Girls Planet 999, if it sounds familiar to you -- a member of BTOB is on this show's judging panel). It started off really nasal, but got a bit better as it went along. He strained a bit on the high notes, unfortunately. It wasn’t the best performance, but I’m not going to condemn him for 90 seconds of imperfect singing. I hope that as I see more from him, he gets to show more of what he can do.

Jeong Yoonseo

Jeong Yoonseo is a trainee, and little info is available about him. He’s V32, performing Starlight by Taeil. There are a lot of background vocals -- I think there’s a guide track behind him the whole time! -- so it’s hard to pick out his pure voice. It sounds nice from what I can hear. That’s kind of all I got! (Side note -- I’ve seen his name listed as Jang, not Jeong, but if you read the hangul, it’s Jeong, so IDK.)

Hong Seongjun

Seongjun is 24 and is (was?) a member of a group called BDC, a three member group under Brandnew Music that debuted in the latter end of the pandemic, in September 2020. All three members had been on ProduceX 101. Seongun himself was eliminated in 51st place. They put out several comebacks but never really caught on.

On their kprofiles page, it says “On August 18, 2023, BRANDNEW MUSIC officially announced that BDC will end all official promotions as artists under the company on August 26, 2023, after they mutually decided to end their contracts. Thereafter, the group have been active in Japan and have a fan meeting planned in Korea on December 3, 2023.” I’m not sure what to make of that, but it doesn’t sound great obviously.

I went to check out their M/Vs and remembered that I had actually listened to Moon Rider for a few months there at some point. Pretty decent song, but it got only 3.6 million views. I think it’s just kind of tough for three member groups.

He was V27 and sang a chipper acoustic little song by 10cm. For me, him having such heavy backup vocals for so much of the song kind of makes me wonder, why would you do that? It’s the same thing as the situation with Yoonseo. Isn’t the point to show their vocals? That said, this was a pleasant enough performance -- clean and sweet, with decent agility in some of the runs -- but not something I’m dying to listen to over and over. I think he didn’t really understand the assignment and chose something that would be nice to perform with people watching you, instead of something to sing in the dark.

Jeong Inseong

Inseong is 29 and is main vocal of a group called KNK.

He was V06, performing a song called Letting Go by Day6. I looked it up and this song came out on March 28, 2016 -- just a few weeks after Lim Junhyeok had to leave that group. It being called “Letting Go” is a bit… pointed. Kind of like when f(x) did a song called Four Walls as their first comeback (and last) as a four-member group. Anyway… I really liked this. I just wrote in my notes, “ooh, likey.” This is just so good, I don’t even know how to pick it apart. It’s just a combination of stellar technique and smooth natural vocal color. He does have to go into falsetto to hit a super high note, but he transitions almost instantly. This is good stuff.

KNK debuted in 2016 as a 5 member group. They left their first agency in 2018 but continued as a group at a new agency, losing one member and gaining a new one. Over the last few years, two more members have quit and one more joined, leaving four in the group as of now.

Their most recent single, Ride, came out in September 2020 and currently has about 1.7 million views on Youtube. It’s so easy to tell when Inseong is singing -- it’s like when Kihyun sings in MonstaX and you’re just like YES, come THROUGH. I threw Ride on my playlist just so I can hear more Inseong.

Inseong has been in a bunch of music shows, and also participated in Mixnine, so he may know the other Mixnine contestants, Ma Jaekhyung from Romeo and Donghun from A.C.E. However, he had to withdraw early from the show, so maybe not.

If you want more Inseong, here’s a fun duet he does with the “Korean Madonna,” Kim Wanseon.

Taehwan

Taehwan, 30, is the leader and main vocalist of Vanner, and was V13, singing Goodbye by Park Hyo Shin. You probably know by now that I’m not much of a ballad girl, but at least this is sung simply, with a really warm, textured voice. He does sound really pinched on the higher notes, like his throat is closing, and he gets a bit nasal at times, as well. In my opinion, he lacks technique, but has a lot of natural talent. He also has a great smile.

Vanner is a five member group that debuted in 2019. They had a lot of support as they debuted, and even got significant crowdfunding. They went on Peaktime, as did many other lesser known groups -- and they won! Good for Vanner. Their most recent EP charted very well overseas. Their song Performer, released five months ago, has 8.7 million views on Youtube, and their song Jackpot, released on Jan 30, 2024, already had almost 4 million views at the time of writing, an incredible performance for less than a week. So it looks like Vanner is really starting to take off.

Taehwan may have met Ma Jaekyung, Bitsaeon, and Hong Seongjun when they competed on Peak Time.

Ji Yeonwoo

Yeonwoo is another trainee I just don’t know much about. Apparently he went on a show called Wild Idol, which I haven’t seen. But I do know that his teaser song, V24, Suffer by Charlie Puth, was great. A great combination of a song I actually liked and a voice I really liked. He has great agility, leaping up into falsetto and back down again. He does get a bit pinched sometimes on higher notes, but for whatever reason, it doesn’t bother me. Maybe it’s just I’m so glad it’s not a ballad!

Ok, that’s enough for now. I’ll see you in the next one, when I tackle Team Soul, featuring everyone’s favorite. You know who I mean.

#bpr recaps build up #build up #mnet build up #jang intae #jeong yoonseo #vanner #m.o.n.t.#a.c.e.#cix #hong seongjun #BDC #jeong inseong #KNK #taehwan #ji yeonwoo #bitsaeon #suhwan #pentagon #yeo one

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boysplanetrecaps · 2 months

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Build Up Ep 1, Part 2

Hello! When we left off in my Build Up Recap adventure, we had just finished the first part of episode 1. In this post, we'll get through more of episode 1, and we'll learn why this man is making this face!

Let's do it!

A reminder on the color coding: blue is soul, orange is allround, green is unique, and purple is power.

We just saw Seongjeong the leaping lizard do his amazing intro.

Then of course it’s time for everyone to talk about who looks like who, as seems to happen at the beginning of every variety show like this, and as usual I don’t see most of them.

They say that Choi Suhwan looks like Onestar, and for this one, I guess maybe. (You may remember Onestar from his time as a vocal trainer on various Produce seasons.)

No one talks about how Hyukjin looks like Lee Yedam from Boys Planet/Onepact. (Or is it just me?)

Yedam, left, and Hyukjin, right.

Everyone says that Bitsaeon from M.O.N.T. looks exactly like Code Kunst. He doesn’t really, except that both of them have ears that stick out. Everyone seems to be talking about that, so he introduces himself as someone who wants to be as famous as Code Kunst.

Just then (at least in the edit), V36 starts to play -- it’s Rose Blossom by H1-Key, as performed by Bitsaeon. (I’d have to assume that the song played first, then he introduced himself by name afterward…?)

Seunghun from CIX starts dancing along as his new friend Hwanhee tries to place the song.

Everyone seems to like the performance, including me! He sounds great, and Sunghun from CIX interviews that their voices would harmonize well. Jay says, “aju nice!” when it’s done -- I wonder if he recognized it as Bitseon, since they probably know each other.

Bitseon gets 21 votes, and says he’ll prove himself to those who didn’t pick him.

Seongjeong the leaping musical actor says to his neighbor Joohee that there are a lot of idols here. That leads into a montage of performances from idol singers, all of whom are wondering, will anyone like my voice? (At least, the caption says they are.)

Seokhwa from WEi, V37

Hwanhee from Up10tion, V38 (Tomboy)

Geonu from Just B, V10

Donghun from ACE, V20 (Miracles in December)

Donghun interviews that he’s here as a main vocal, and he’s expecting to see many other main vocalists.

Every time I see Donghun in this episode, between his loosened tie and ill-fitting blazer and tired demeanor, all I can see is a beat cop in a police procedural who's ready to interrogate a subject.

Is it just me?

So, in honor of that, I'm going to call him "Detective Donghun" to remember him. As with all my nicknames, they're done to help us remember who is who and they're laced with love.

Kim Seoyhung says that he can’t sing stylish trendy songs, like the way idols sing. Yoon Inhwan interviews that all the idols sound the same, which is I think is unfair. Hwanhee, in particular, doesn’t sound like the others at all. Inhwan is mostly worried that their voices wouldn’t mix well, and I could say something like “I wonder if anyone’s voice would mix with yours, after you drank that gallon of milk before you sang?” But that would be mean. I try not to be mean, you guys.

All the idol main vocalists get relatively low scores.

Hwanhee gets 14, Seokhwa gets 15, Donghun gets 18, and Geonu gets 11. I wonder if Hwanhee’s low vote tally is as much to do with his sort of sharp vocal color? I love the way it comes through in Up10tion songs but I could imagine people worrying about his harmonizing. Or maybe they didn’t think he showed enough in his teaser, since he sang a pop song and had backup vocals.

Meanwhile, Seunghun from CIX is super nervous.

It seems like he and Hwanhee have struck up a bit of a friendship. Hwanhee asks him if he often gets nervous, and Seunghun is like, I really, really do. Even at the pre-tape meeting, he was shaking. Hwanhee is like, there’s nothing to be nervous about -- you already recorded your teaser, so you can relax, right? (“Plus, we don’t have to dance!” -- Hwanhee, probably) But Seunghun is just a bag of anxiety wearing a brown jacket.

When the voice says V1 will play, he reacts so strongly that it must be obvious that he is V1. As I said in my intro posts, I don’t think he was super successful in this performance, so I can understand why he’d be nervous. Like, you know you screwed up, and now everyone else is going to know, too. Aww, poor guy. When the song finishes playing, everyone applauds, but few had voted for him -- only 7. At the reveal of this low number, a bunch of the guys cover their mouth in shock.

Park Jeup, he of the powerful pussy bow, said he didn’t understand the low result -- in his opinion, this is a voice that would match with anyone’s. But Hong Seongjun from BDC, he of the white jacket with the mandarin collar, said it was “lacking.” Jay interviews that he didn’t vote for it or even really listen because it was in the ballad style, which wouldn’t match with his style.

Seunghun says, “I haven’t shown 20% of my voice. I will be the vocalist that could match anyone’s voice.” Everyone applauds. Fighting! Taehwan from Vanner says to Bitseon, “It’s a voice that could match with anything,” and Bitseon agrees. That’s sweet.

Kindly hyung Hwanhee reaches out to touch Seunghun’s shoulder. “Do you feel better now that it’s over?” Seunghun says, “I feel better, but it’s a bummer.” He says he knew that the competition would be tough, but he’s still ashamed of the result. I think he might be fighting back tears. Oh no! Poor guy. I think we’ve all been there -- it’s too late to fix it so you just have to ride it out.

After that, we jump straight to V07.

If you’re just reading the recaps and didn’t necessarily listen to all the teasers, be sure to check this one out. Just try to picture someone who’d be singing it.

The guys all react the moment it begins to play.

Inhwan likes it. I think. I guess? Not sure.

Seunghun likes it. I think. I guess? Not sure.

Ma Jaekyung (former Romeo) says, “oh, what a nice voice.” Bitsaeon (M.O.N.T.) says, “Wow, this is truly unique.” The vote tally immediately begins to climb. Basically, everyone loves it, even Dahee. Kim Seongjeong, our leaping lizard, says that this person has a monster talent. Jay says, “He was the one I wanted to work with the most out of all 40 people.” Sunyoul from Up10tion is like, just tell us who it is already!!

Park Jeup (former IMFACT), with his puissant pussy bow, leans over the red-suited Hyukjin (100%/Fave1) to point out Neon, wearing green. They think it’s him singing.

Side note: Google translate swears up and down that Park Jeup’s name is “Taxidermy”. Taxidermy is apparently 박제술, andJeup’s name is 박제업. So the first two syllables are the same. That’s unfortunate!

So, who could it be? Who could be the owner of this interesting voice that won 27 votes, taking over first place…? They expected someone with that voice to be kind of old, but it’s youthful, soft-voiced (when speaking) Kang Hayoon.

LTR: Lim Jun-hyuk, Woong, Sunyoul (in pink), Kang Hayoon in beige and light blue

He introduces himself with an anacrotic poem with the syllables of his name. “I’ll appeal strongly/ dear god, for me to debut/ please allow me.” Everyone says, “cyooo!”

Up next is V33, sung by Neon (the one wearing green). It’s Rush Hour. Did he get permission from Jay to sing this? And did he get permission to do what he does next, which is get out of his chair and say things like “make some fucking noise!” making it really clear that he’s the one singing...? It seems at least against the spirit of the rules, if not actually against the letter, but no one is stopping him, so he’s just going to do that.

A bunch of them get up to dance, including Woong and Sunyoul, both of whom seem ready to have fun here. I enjoy a joiner.

Choi Haram, in his houndstooth gray and white blazer thing, interviews, “I’m a big introvert, He looked so cool. I was jealous.” I’ll call him introverted Haram.

Neon introduces himself as an R&B/Soul singer-songwriter. He says he ran around to give them all energy. The running around thing was maybe a mistake, because a few of them say, “oh no, I was too busy dancing to vote!” He only gets 13 votes. Donghun from ACE would have voted for him, and I think Seokhwa would have too. Neon interviews, “Considering those who forgot to vote out of surprise, I guess I did ok.”

We find out that Woong from AB6IX has forgotten to vote more than once -- including during Pixar character Jo Hwanji’s audition with Swing My Baby. We see a bit of Woong’s pre-show taping interview, where he is wearing a denim jacket on top of another denim jacket on top of a hoodie. Do they not heat these studios at all or what?

He says, “It’s really hard to be the son of MNET. Right now, I’m the son of Rhymer from Brand New Music.” (AB6IX is under Brand New Music, and Rhymer is the founder.) “But I’m open to anything. I love you, boss MNET!”

So, how did Woong do with his singing? Let’s find out!

He’s V11. The on screen caption says “Unique and captivating voice,” and as you know if you read my episode 0 guides, I like his singing, though I’m not quite sure how trained he is. It just sounds good. Bitsaeon points out that V11 (Woong) does well with the rhythm, and that’s true, he definitely does. As Woong dances along to his own singing, everyone is voting for him. Lee Gwangseok says, “That was outstanding.” And getting a bit of Woong’s personality along with the voice definitely makes the performance… well… sing.

Even though everyone seemed to enjoy the performance, Woong only gets 14 votes, but he stays cheerful. Woong says, “the result is different form the response. I’m still happy with the result. I’ll seize my chance and become the son of MNET. Fighting!”

Woong center, in blue. In the foreground you can see the back of Hyukin’s head, Park Jeup’s head, and Kim Minseo’s head. In the suit to the left of Hyukjin, that’s Yoon Inhwan, then I think that’s Jo Hwanji the Pixar character, and Lim Junhyeok in white. Behind Woong is Sunyoul from Up10tion in Pink, Kang Hayoon in the cravat, Wumuti in the hat, and Lee Gwangseok/Kwangseok in the leather jacket.

Fighting! Also here is a picture of Inseok from KNK for my readers who love him. Also, why does Yeo One clap that way? That’s a weird way to clap. LTR: Yeo One, Inseok, and Ma Jaekyoung from Romeo.

Most of the guys laugh and clap for Woong’s enthusiasm, but Hong Seungjun is a bit more serious.

His group, BDC, was also from Brand New Music, but basically disbanded in August of 2023. BDC even went on Peak Time to try to stir up some interest first, but the group was eliminated in the first round. Basically, Seungjun has had a tough road and it makes sense that he might be a little, I don’t know... maybe "bitter" is too harsh a word, but I think you know what I mean. Like, he’s been through it. And it must be extra galling that AB6IX is doing comparatively well, being from the same agency and all that.

Seungjun voiceovers, “I thought it was odd. They’re still performing and doing pretty well. I’m wondering, what are they doing here? Especially Yeo One-sunbaenim from Pentagon.”

As if in response, Yeo One interviews, “I’ve been in this filed for a long time. I got 10 seconds, max 20 seconds in each song. I always had the third to sing for 10 years that can never be quenched. I’m here because I want to sing. I’m here to sing. I want people to watch me singing. That’s all I want.”

Then V40 plays -- it’s Yeo One. People seem to be enjoying it, and the vote tally creeps up. They like his expressiveness, which I can understand. Bitsaeon from MONT says, “I want to listen to that before I go to bed.” Personally, I put on a Jenny Nicholson video. Is that weird? Probably. Anyway, Yeo One gets 22 votes, which is pretty good. “I’m happy that people listened to me singing,” he interviews. Ok, Yeo One, we get it, sweetie.

Little Kang Hayoon is still in first place, and Seunghun from CIX is in last. Dahee asks Hayoon if he thinks he’ll stay in first place, and Hayoon is like, “Didn’t even cross my mind.”

But now it’s time for… V19. Will Hayoon be deposed? A rough, sweet, textured voice fills the studio. Everyone interviews things like “How can anyone even sing that well?” “It was such a deep voice. I was so surprised by it.” The vote tally is over the top -- it’s 32, leaving Hayoon in the dust. “It kind of poked my heart,” Hayoon says, of falling to second place. And whose voice is it? It’s Lee Gwangseok, the guy in the leather jacket.

It seems unfair to everyone that such a tall, good looking guy (his normal job is to be a model!) with no training at all can just sing like that.Well, that’s how it be, sometimes, I guess! Sunyoul from Up10tion interviews, “The world is messed up!” and laughs.

“I never majored in singing or learned it before,” Gwangseok says. I just was hoping I’d get more than 5 votes. I’m grateful they liked my voice. As someone who dreamed of becoming a singer, I’m glad.”

No one wants to follow that, but Jeup feels like it’s going to be him. We hear from a few of the contestants, including Hwanhee from Up10tion, that the “guy in red” (Hyukjin) and “the guy in the ribbon” (Jeup) are ones to watch. Sunyoul says that Jeup is a “monstrous vocalist”, that he’s so good that it’s like he’s cheating.

We get to hear some of V34, ie, Jeup. It is some serious technique on display. Everyone seems to respect what they heard, saying that it deserves a standing ovation and stuff like that. But the vote tally doesn’t quite reflect that. He gets only 28 votes, putting him in second place. Some of them find if very strange, including Jay and Hwang Inhyuk.

Geonu from Just B and Sunyoul from Up10tion both interview that they’re hesitant to team up with someone so good. “Because he’s so good, I want to work with him,” Sunyoul says, laughing, “but at the same time, because he’s so good, I don’t want to work with him.”

And that’s all we see of the Voice Check! Again, if you want to hear what I think of all 40 performances, be sure to check out my “episode zero” write ups for each grouping of voices.

Unique Power Allround Soul

Here’s the ranking, with the number of votes received, a brief phrase to hopefully help you remember them (what they were wearing, what they sang, their group, etc) and what category they were in (Unique, Power, Soul, Allround.) If their name is in italics, we didn’t see much of them so far, not even as reaction shots or interviews. Some of my notes to jog your memory may refer to my other write ups.

1. Lee Gwangseok 32 leather jacket U 2. Park Jeup 28 pussy bow P 3. Kang Hayoon 27 cravat cutie U 4. Lim Sanghyun 25 purple cardigan S Kim Seongjeong 25 leaping lizard S Taewoo 25 black shirt U Jung Soomin 25 Chicago S 8. Sunyoul 24 Up10tion U 9. Kwon Euibin 24 beige cardigan U 10. Jay Chang 23 Boys Planet S 11. Jeong Inseong 22 from KNK A Hwang Inhyuk 22 light red sweater A Yeo One 22 Pentagon A 14. Hong Sungwon 21 Desperado U Bitsaeon 21 M.O.N.T A 16. Kim Seohyung 18 light blue shirt U Donghun 18 A.C.E. (Detective) S Jo Hwan-ji 18 uniform/Pixar P 19. Ji Yeon-woo 17 suspenders A 20. Seokhwa 15 WEi S 21. Choi Haram 14 introverted Haram P Jeon Woong 14 AB6IX U Lee Hwanhee 14 Boys Planet/UP10tion U 24. Jeong Yunseo 13 red and black leather A Wumuti 13 Boys Planet U Park Joohee 13 white jacket S Yoon Inhwan 13 drank all that milk P Hong Seongjun 13 white jacket / BDC A Neon 13 green sweater U Kim Minseo 13 Rolling in the Deep P 31. Taehwan 12 Vanner A Ma Jaekyung 12 Romeo S 33. Lee Minwook 11 Newkidd/ vest lover S Geonu 11 Just B /pink hair A Choi Suhwan 11 Energetic A 36. Hyukjin 10 red suit P 37. Bain 9 orange-red hair S 38. Seunghun 7 anxious from CIX A Lim Junhyuk 7 former Day 6 P 40. Jang Intae 5 Missing You A

I can’t understand how on earth Kim Minseo was rated so low. I also think that Lee Minwook and Bain were much lower than they should have been. The fact that Yoon Inhwan ranked as high as he did is surprising to me -- for me, it was one of the worst performances of the teasers. I guess the guys and I have different taste in singers.

After the reveal of the rankings, we hear from a few of the guys about how they felt. We hear from Lim Junhyuk and Seunghun about how they feel about being ranked so low, but we don't hear from Intae, despite him coming in last. Ah, MNET. I didn't even have time to miss you.

Dahee announces the next mission: The “Prefour” mission. Bain says, in English, “What’s that?” (He’s sitting next to Jay and using it as an opportunity to practice his English.) It’s where they make groups of four and perform one of these songs.

And you’re sitting there saying to yourself “TOMBOY AGAIN?!” but no, it’s a different Tomboy.

The songs are:

Breath by Park Hyo Shin

Something Like That by Park Hwayobi

Beautiful by Crush

Delcalcomanie by Mamamoo

다시 사랑한다 말할까 (Shall I Love You Again?) by Kim Dong Ryul

Ditto by New Jeans

Don't Go, Don't Go by Brown Eyes

If You by Big Bang

Tomboy by Hyukoh, a huge hit from 2017

Every Moment of You by Sung Sikyung

It’s is a good reminder that for Koreans living in Korea, kpop is just part of their musical sphere of influence, along with ballads, trot, and other genres. Often enough on Korean top 40s you’ll see very popular ballads, mixed in with the kpop. I think some Western listeners also like some ballads, but I think most of us aren't as interested in them, so we can easily forget how important they are in Korea.

To be clear, I differentiate between a song that is slow and an actual k-ballad. I just don't like 99% of k-ballads. The arrangements are usually straightforward and they’re played on vibraphones with cheesy percussion. Also, the style of singing is just not my favorite. and are always delivered in the most overwrought singing style ever, with way too much vibrato. It can border on operettic but a lot more nasal. I am not saying, for example, that the singing in the original of “Shall I Love You Again?” linked above is bad. I just saying that it’s really not to my taste. But meanwhile, if you watch the clip, the audience is so into it. They’re like, in tears. So who am I to say that it's bad? This is a genre of music that just isn't for me. I will have to do my best going through this show.

Anyway, everyone’s a bit intimidated by the songs, many of which seme to be well respected classics. Detective Donghun from A.C.E. wonders out loud who would be able to sing Ditto because it has so much English in it. That must be a real issue for idols these days. Ditto is at least 50%, maybe 60%, English.

Speaking of English, my love Bain is speaking it still. When the guys find out that they get to pick the songs they want to do based on the ranking they got in the first round, Bain says, in English: “I wanna go home!”.

Dahee explains that though the song is a group challenge, they’ll be evaluated individually. A “top tier” contestant will be chosen from each group and will get a benefit. The lower ranked trainees are spurred to promise to try even harder.

We see a super brief clip of the guys running in all directions to choose the song they want -- I’m assuming we’ll see more of this later -- before we jump to… some time later.

And we'll pick up there in the next post, when we'll actually cover some of the performances! Thanks for your patience and I'll see you soon.

XOXO BPR Noona

#build up #mnet build up #bpr recaps build up #up10tion #a.c.e.#m.o.n.t.#vanner

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