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Welcome to my episode three review of NCT Universe: LASTART.
If you have not read my introduction post yet to this competition reality show, please go back and read it to get a great idea of what to expect from this show.
If you do not want spoilers, please do not continue reading because I will not hide anything in my review. Besides, these episodes already aired a while ago.
Starting in episode three, we are joined by SM's vocal trainer, Jang Jin Young, who will now act as one of the Artist Directors. Another guest Artist Director, Ryeowook from Super Junior, joins the show for this mission.
After one week of practice, the trainees will perform in group missions on stage with SM hit songs.
The groups are divided as follows:
Team A
Ryo
Jungmin
Anderson
Heitetsu
Kassho
Team B
Sakuya
Haruta
Minjae
Ryu
Riku
As such, two teams have been formed. In general, most groups from mission one have been split into two groups with the exception of the Heitetsu/Kassho and Ryu/Riku team.
Team A will perform "Lucifer" originally sung and performed by SHINee.
Team B will perform "U" originally sung and performed by Super Junior.
It turns out that the groups were not selected at random, but carefully organized by the IP TF group.
Vocalists were split up with Jungmin selected to sing, "Lucifer" while Minjae was selected to sing, "U."
Ryu and Ryo can both sing well. Ryu was placed to sing with Minjae while Ryo was placed to sing with Jungmin. Rappers Riku and Sakuya were placed in the "U" team due to rap parts. Haruta was then added to the "U" team. Next, Anderson was added to the "Lucifer" team and the IP TF group thought Heitetsu was suitable for the this song. Lastly, Kassho was added to the Lucifer team.
I really appreciate that they didn't select the trainees randomly and actually discussed the best group combination for the highest success. Picking songs for trainees randomly could be careless. It's awkward for me to see an imbalanced group with an imbalanced performance. We also do not have the luxury of seeing more performances from the trainees as there are only two more missions left after this mission. I agree with the team choices so far.
I was wondering why Ryo kept asking for Kassho and then realized it was because of their similar heights since Ryo has been put into a group with many tall trainees. Team A were doing what I call the "mounting horse" move, but ironically, this move is needed for the Team B/"U" song.
We first check on how the Lucifer team is handling the practice. I noticed that perfect scenes of practicing are shown so we don't get to see the trainees struggle that much. Even in the D-7 scenes, we see them already very coordinated and synced in dance. Is SM trainees really on another level or are we only shown acceptable practice scenes? Or have the trainees learned this dance in the past since this is a song from SM Entertainment? There is a little bit of tutting moves in the dance. Finally, I see Kassho struggling a little bit with the tutting moves. I remind myself that he has only trained for six months, but so has Anderson.
On the D-4 practice day, a guest artist comes to visit them: Taemin from SHINee. The trainees are enamored to meet Taemin. Taemin asks if he can see them practice with the assumption of giving them professional advice. The trainees perform the song in front of Taemin.
Taemin thought that the trainees were very in sync and have great teamwork. He even stated that the trainees do not have to practice anymore. I have never heard of this type of comment in a survival competition show where trainees performed exceedingly well during the mid-point assessment. However Taemin quickly thought of an area of improvement, which was because they already knew the moves and were very in sync, they should think more about how to own their performance and to interpret and tailor the performance in their own style.
Taemin asked Jungmin to sing his part and advised him on how to lock in his breath in the middle of his lungs so that he would have a easier time singing and dancing. For Ryo, Taemin advised to give more energy when he sings his parts, which are mostly Taemin's original parts as well.
For Anderson, Kassho, and Heitetsu, Taemin advised them to look like a pro on stage so they can show their charms more.
Taemin didn't leave out Yushi and Sion and since they are already good enough with their performance, they should help lead other trainees more to raise their energy level. Taemin talks about the infectious chain reaction of working hard. When his other members dance energetically on stage, it makes him also want to dance energetically on stage and in the end, nobody wanted to work less than any other team member.
Taemin proceeded to give the trainees a gift of macaroons. How sweet of him.
It is now D-day and the trainees arrive to a studio stage in Ilsan, Korea. Their rehearsal is shown. Vocal trainer and director Jang Jin Young is present to guide the trainees. They first rehearse without the music. Jungmin seems to have sang his part a little too late and needed more accuracy in hitting the right notes. Ryo's voice broke during rehearsal and he went off key, so that made him more nervous. Heitetsu sang the latter of his part off key. Since it is their first rehearsal on the stage, it seems every trainee is more nervous than usual. Luckily, director Jang Jin Young was there to monitor them and point out anything that needs corrections. He also tried to comfort them not to be nervous.
Team Lucifer: Yushi, Sion, Ryo, Jungmin, Anderson, Heitetsu, and Kassho performing "Lucifer" original song by SHINee
BoA pointed out how the group sang this without any back vocals or pre-recorded parts, which is impressive. Sion impressed BoA with stable vocals. She thought the song suited Yushi well. Therefore the two captured BoA's attention today. However, Heitetsu fell off BoA's radar and did not draw attention at all. She also had the feeling Anderson wasn't using his full body effectively. Once again, Kassho failed to capture BoA with his charm. Overall, she told the trainees to observe Sion and Yushi to learn more from them and incorporate what they learned and tailor it into their performance.
Eunhyuk mentioned that they pulled off a difficult performance. He felt that Heitetsu looked like he was handing over his homework and was too focused in how to perform instead of being in the moment, capturing the audience. Eunhyuk recommended Heitetsu to practice more. He was also disappointed that Anderson's performance level was not as great as the previous week. He should have more confidence and charm next time. Anderson claimed that he didn't want to make any excuses, but his jacket was bothering him during the performance and it even flew over his head at one point, covering his vision. I didn't know how Eunhyuk knew this fact, but he gave advice to Ryo to take care of his voice when he is going through a voice break (Ryo is at the age of 16 with potential for voice breaks).
Ryeowook was listening to the vocals through his earbud and he could hear the trainee's heavy breaths, but he was amazed at how they were able to keep dancing in that state. Ryeowook was curious about how Jungmin practiced his high notes and Junmin responded that he practiced under the guidance of Director Jang Jin Young. Jungmin was aware that because he had to sing and dance, certain parts of his vocals sounded weak, so he struggled with it.
Director Jang Jin Young mentioned that as Ryo and Jungmin were in charge of the high notes in the song, he thought they were already stable during rehearsal and he applauded and thanked them for their hard work. This performance will help them grow. He wished them a cooler performance next time. Director Jang's comments made Jungmin tear up and tears rolled down his face. Ryeowook caught it, but Jungmin tried to deny it. Unknown to the audience, Jungmin also cried during lessons because he had trouble with the "You are the only one I have" line. He was stressed out.
It was time for Heitetsu to show another talent, which is a synthesizer sound, except it sounded like a mosquito according to BoA. Heitetsu showed a split as a flexible move. As it wasn't special enough, Eunhyuk asked Heitetsu to combine the two talents to make it special. Heitetsu did not disappoint and tried to do both at the same time.
Ryeowook left the team with a last advice that he was shorter than other Super Junior members so he thought of ways such as smiling and confident singing to stand out in the group. He hopes the members will also find their way to stand out in the group.
Backstage, Kassho admitted that his microphone dropped and he was flustered and couldn't move in sync with the group. Jungmin teared up again after hearing from Sion that Jungmin did well. They ended up in a group huddle.
This is my first time hearing Sion and Yushi sing. Sion was very stable and Yushi's voice had a high tone, which surprised me and also very unique. I only wished that he held some of his notes when he sang as he tended to cut his notes short. It was very easy to tell when Yushi was singing. Yushi also looked great as the center of the group. Overall, my eyes naturally fall on the more proficient performers like Sion and Yushi. Jungmin was made to be in the Lucifer team. I cannot imagine him in the "U" team. He is the main team member who can carry and belt out the "Lucifer" song. He only needed more confidence as I caught him looking at the floor a few times when he was singing. The editors made that scary sound when Ryo was about to sing his first line and that was drama created out of nothing as they show Director Jang's stern reaction. Ryo thankfully pulled off his part without problems. Overall, he sang stably and gave a good performance. Sadly, Kassho didn't accentuate his part when it was his turn to dance and there were no distinctions in his movements. I naturally lost sight of Anderson as well, knowing he was one of the top trainees. He barely had any camera time. Heitetsu's biggest mistake was to sing his main part as he turned backwards from the audience. That was a huge missed opportunity for him to shine. He also did not show any special movements or facial expressions that draw positive attention.
My conclusion is that I need Jungmin on the team. He looks to be crucial for the team. I thought Anderson's performance was still fine and I would keep him in the top ranks. I had re-watched the performance many times to check on Anderson's performance. Ryo was also stable so I will also keep him in mind for the final mission rank.
Now, we move on to the "U" team in which they show stable practices where there are not many mistakes happening. This is probably the dullest part of the show. During the D-4 morning practice under Sion's lead, Donghae of Super Junior comes into the room. They dance together a little bit and Donghae proceed to give the gift of donuts. Sion was especially happy to see Donghae because Donghae is from his hometown of Mokpo. Donghae was speaking in Korean to the group about supporting them, but then wondered if Sakuya was following what he was saying and asked if he was speaking too fast. Sakuya quickly said "No, Hyung (older brother)."
This was the second time Donghae acted michevious when he first almost didn't give his bag of donuts to Yushi and now he began to playfully ask Sakuya in Japanese who is the coolest member in Super Junior. Sakuya obviously said it was this Sunbaenim (Donghae). Donghae then told him that he was successful (passed the test).
After the team's performance, Donghae mentioned that they did well. Nobody avoided eye contact with him while they danced. However, when Sion was dancing in the middle, the hand gestures of the other members were messy. In formation, the right side was more spread out than the left side despite having number guides on the floor. The formation should be symmetrical. He also said that during individual parts, they should think of ways to capture the audience's heart. This is a re-occuring theme in this show and also what makes SM artists special. In a way, Donghae was saying that they should capture BoA's heart and the trainees took that advice to heart. For example, Donghae says that if his Super Junior group is moving to the right, then he will move to the left to differentiate and highlight his part.
It is now D-Day for team "U" and they move in for rehearsals. Once again, Director Jang Jin Young is there to oversee their rehearsal. The stage conditions are the same as the actual performance. However, it was very concerning as the in-ear monitor fell of of Yushi in his early steps. Later, microphones were falling off Riku and Sion. The microphone pack wires were flying out of Sakuya's pocket. It fell again as Sakuya was changing formation and eventually, he ended up dancing with one hand holding his microphone pack. Ryu's high notes were shaky. Later on, Riku's ring fell off as they all made a point finger move and it probably fell somewhere next to Sion. Minjae was probably distracted and sang his adlib way too late. After seeing all these mistakes, I am feeling worried for the group.
Director Jang looked less worried and asked everybody to check their in-ear monitors and microphones to secure them before the performance. He goes quickly to Ryu to fix his shaky vocal part. He also noticed Minjae's note was also off too and told him not to be nervous as this is not something he made mistakes with before.
Team U: Yushi, Sion, Sakuya, Haruta, Minjae, Ryu, and Riku singing and performing "U" originally sung and performed by Super Junior
Eunhyuk said that he hasn't seen that mounting horse starting position in a long time. He also stated that he has never seen a cover of "U" before, but when I was searching Youtube, Eunhyuk actually did see it and performed it before with other trainees, but maybe he forgot or did he mean that he never saw a cover of "U" before at SM?
This is the Under 19 show in which he mentored and performed with the group:
Will the "U" team be able to perform in front of two of the original Super Junior members? We are met with frowns of all the Artistic Directors, which could be very misleading, but our episode ends at this point.
Most importantly, the show teases another trainee joining the competition as SM decides that stronger vocals are needed for the debut group.
After the NCT Universe: LASTART final show ends, the trainees who debut are expected to directly have a showcase afterwards. I have no idea how that is going to work.
My ranking conclusions so far for mission two:
1. Jungmin (necessary)
2. Anderson (I am still giving him a chance)
3. Ryo (not bad)
4. ? (Unfortunately, that is it so far.)
The above ranking can change after I review the "U" team's performance.
It will be another painful week for me to wait for the fourth episode. In the meantime, at least we have the Youtube videos or SNS-related content (social networking service) to sooth our hearts. Too bad SM doesn't release individual fan cams so that I can look at each trainee's performance in detail.
Please leave a comment if you would like about this episode and we shall continue to episode four of NCT Universe: LASTART.
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