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Welcome to my episode six 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.
We begin episode six with the "Why" team in a rehearsal. Daeyoung is especially stiff and nervous as this is his first performance in the show. Riku is still struggling with the timing of his shouting part in the beginning. Sion makes sure everybody is fine before the rehearsal starts.
Vocal trainer and artist director Jang Jin Young watches from the audience. Riku was moving a bit early after his shouting part. Daeyoung seems to have lost his voice in the second half of the dance. Minjae moving slower to the beat was also highlighted. He also couldn't quite stay in tune before he went for a shaky high note.
After the rehearsal, director Jang went to ask if the (in-ear) monitors are fine for everyone. He mentions to Haruta that he missed a note while rapping. He tells Minjae that he missed a beat. He heads to Riku to tell him his beginning part tempo was too fast. He couldn't hear Daeyoung's microphone well and Daeyoung starts to check his microphone to test it. Director Jang asked the staff to turn up Daeyoung's microphone volume. In general, Director Jang tells the group that he could not feel their energy. He wants to hear some exasperation in the lyrics.
During the pre-show, Artist Director Eunhyuk asked his fellow queen and goddess of the original K-wave, Artist Director BoA, to introduce the song. BoA happily demonstrated the "keep your head down" choreography with her hand and arm, smiling the whole time. Eunhyuk proceeds to joke "why" was the "Why?" song selected as it is a difficult song. BoA chimes in that even dancers avoid dancing to this song. Eunhyuk states that the new trainee is joining this performance. BoA then commented that despite having only trained at SM for three months, he must be talented. That is exactly my thought and I hope Daeyoung delivers his performance to my expectations. BoA wonders how the vocal lines will be reinforced with the addition of Daeyoung.
Backstage, Daeyoung is nervous and Sion commented that Daeyoung was stiff and started massaging his shoulders and arms. Riku is non-stop practicing his "yuko zo" (does it mean, "that's right"?) shouting part. The staff spray the bottom of the member's shoes and I am guessing it is to prevent them from slipping and falling on stage.
Why team: Sion, Yushi, Riku, Haruta, Heitetsu, Minjae, and Daeyoung
After their performance ended, the Artist Directors spent time to react. BoA thought their performance was solid. The Why team had good energy introducing their team.
Eunhyuk mentioned that this team were given a difficult and advance song that must have been difficult for the Korean team members. Minjae replied that the Japanese members helped the Korean members a lot with the lyrics.
BoA laughed while explaining that Sion had a lot of lyrics with the "tsu" word and he was not pronouncing it right. According to BoA, Korean people in general have a hard time pronouncing the "tsu" sound. In his personal interview, Sion admitted that he had a hard time differentiating the 츠 (chü) or 추 (chu) pronunciation. Yushi pronounces it like 츠 (chü) while Riku pronounces it like 추 (chu). This is why Sion was confused. However, my thought is why he didn't consult with other professionals like his Japanese teacher or resolve this problem before his performance? Sion concludes that he will study the Japanese pronunciation further, which he will have to as he is debuting in the Japanese unit of NCT. Because of this topic, Eunhyuk started pronouncing the word, tsukemen. The Electric Kiss team in the waiting room shows Sakuya helping Jungmin pronounce the differences of the tsu sounds as well. Jungmin announces that he will practice pronunciation and Anderson says he will do the same.
Eunhyuk asked, "what happened?" to Sion and Sion admitted that he cannot pronounce that character properly (with Yushi making a rare bubble face in the background). In Sion's defense, Vocal Coach Jang says that Sion has been diligently practicing the pronunciation and even though Vocal Coach Jang tried to demonstrate the pronunciation, Vocal Coach Jang had a hard time pronouncing it himself. Special Artist director Hyoyeon mentioned that BoA caught such a detail and BoA claimed her title as Ear Goddess again.
BoA continued her thoughts on the performance and confirms that Yushi is her favorite performer. Yushi knew how to show certain sides of him to fit each performance. That was a mega compliment. Since Sion and Yushi had to perform twice each week for the second and third missions, BoA wanted to recognize their hard work. In his personal interview, Sion admitted that it was physically exhausting to perform twice a week, but if he didn't work hard, he might lower the quality of the performance. I can see so many ways how the performances could be messed up due to lack of practice or preparation. Sion thought that the performance would look cooler if he put in more effort. In his personal interview, Yushi also wanted to help the other trainees as much as possible. He then named BoA as his number one too. A part of me feels jealous.
BoA thought Riku's rap performance was solid and has charms. Daeyoung's rap was also powerful and BoA liked Daeyoung better when he rapped. However, Daeyoung looked like an amateur when he danced. When he becomes a professional, having bad dance skills is not cute, but he will become a bad performer. BoA advised Daeyoung to spend more time practicing his dance skills.
For Haruta and Heitetsu, BoA would like them to have more confidence while dancing, which could help improve their performance.
Eunhyuk said that Hartua looked physically strong and that should be an advantage for Haruta. Haruta controlled his arms and legs well for this performance. In mission two, Riku had full control of his performance, but in this mission where the song was strong and powerful, Eunhyuk thought Riku might have tried too hard. Riku seemed to barely manage his parts. Eunhyuk advised Riku to think about how he can appeal to the audience with a powerful song such as "Why." Minjae's performance was solid during the live performance. On the other hand, since Minjae had difficult singing parts, he barely made any gestures during his performance. His vocal performance was great, but dance performance was not outstanding. Eunhyuk asked Daeyoung how his performance went and Daeyoung replied that he joined the program suddenly and he was flustered, having had a hard time adjusting to the show. He relied a lot on his team for help. Eunhyuk thought the addition of Daeyoung strengthened the team. Daeyoung's rapping had the abilities to smack Eunhyuk's ears. Daeyoung responded that Chang Min helped him with his rap, which surprised BoA as Chang Min is a vocalist. In my opinion, Chang Min also raps because, well, there are only two members of TVXQ left so being an all-rounder is necessary.
Hyoyeon mentioned that Heitetsu had the same tall and strong physique as Haruta, but unlike Haruta, when Heitetsu danced, he looked stiff while he was standing. In dancing, there are times when the body moves up and down, but Heitetsu was mostly standing upright. It makes Hyoyeon wonder if he was a bad dancer and had a hard time dancing. Hyoyeon recommended to Heitetsu to dance while looking at the mirror. In his personal interview, Heitetsu says that he looks into the mirror while dancing, but he still has a long way to go so he thinks he let himself down. For Haruta, in his interview, he said that having no feedback in mission two motivated him to work harder to improve himself for mission three. He will continue to work on improving himself. Hyoyeon thought Daeyoung's performance was good considering it was his first stage. Daeyoung's powerful vocals got Hyoyeon's attention. Hyoyeon found Daeyoung's facial expressions, vocals, and dancing cute.
Artist Director Jang mentioned that when Riku first received the rap part, he had to rap in a high-pitched voice, which he did to Artist Director Jang's surprise. Because this was a live performance, Riku might have struggled a bit. Just like the last and current performance, Riku showed his talent as a rapper and is finding his place as the rapper on the team. In his personal interview, Riku mentioned that he took TVXQ's Chang Min's advice and practice his rhythm while rapping his part. He seems to have remembered this point during his performance. Riku will work on his overall performance based on the feedback. Artist Director Jang stated that without Minjae, they could not have pulled off this performance, but unfortunately, Minjae did not stand out in any other parts. Minjae should challenge himself to take on dance and not only settle for exceptional singing skills. In Minjae's personal interview, he admits that he didn't know how to dance and his goal was not to stand out in the crowd.
Eunhyuk mentioned to Daeyoung that he would like to hear him sing some more. Daeyoung performed "Wild Flower" by Park Hyo Shin.
Daeyoung also stood in place while singing so I wonder why the judges were so harsh on Jungmin and Minjae during mission one. However, this song was not made to rile up the crowd. Daeyoung must have been so nervous, but I have to give him props for having the courage to proceed with the program. When the camera pans out and we see most of his body, I realized that his stage outfit didn't look appealing at all. It made him look heavy in the middle. Daeyoung is a good looking man so he has charm. Cheers erupt from all places: waiting room, side stage, and in the audience.
BoA thinks Daeyoung is in the process of making his own sound, but it is definite that he is a good vocalist. Eunhyuk thought his medium-low voice was good, but he can also hit the high notes as well. BoA recognized that Daeyoung can switch his voice between different notes. Next time, BoA, while looking at Artist Director Jang, would like Daeyoung to sing a trendier song. Director Jang thought that BoA's Ear Goddess talent has re-activated again and he now has a mission to teach Daeyoung more trendier songs. Daeyoung held his chest as he went side stage and even though he didn't show it, I knew he was nervous. He mentioned to Minjae that his legs went weak.
During his personal interview, Daeyoung thought that his mind went blank during his performance. He will try to meet the expectations of the artist directors to show a better performance and vocal skills. Even if he fails to debut, he wants to do his absolute best to give an excellent performance.
In the end, BoA mentioned how good Daeyoung was and awesome Yushi is again. Director Jang says that Yushi improved a lot and whenever he tries to do something, he nails it based on what he has learned.
I will also give my thoughts on the "Why" performance. I thought Riku was originally trying to shout something like "Yuko zo," but all I heard was "Zeeehhh!" and well, if "Yuko zo" was the original lyric, then he sort of failed to me to convey the right words. (Note: Somehow, looking at the Youtube video shows Riku clearly shouting "Yuko zo" so I wonder if the Youtube clip is different than the show version or whether there something wrong with my TV/) However, I am glad that he got his rhythm right for the performance. I am amazed at how Riku can make his voice sound so similar to Yunho of TVXQ. I feel like this is also a big reason why the group pulled off the performance so well. I didn't think Riku did too badly. There was only one part in the earlier verses where he looked weaker than usual, but his parts are still fine. Just like BoA, I am amazed by Yushi and his performances. He catches my eyes every single performance. Sion catches my eye too, but Yushi always end up holding my attention. Yushi belongs in SM Entertainment as he has all the star qualities of an SM artist. I thought Sion's dance was too fluid for this type of song. I wanted more knife-like movement that are rigid and powerful and danced by someone in strife. I know Chang Min told them to have a balance between dancing smoothly and strongly, but I didn't feel intimidated by Sion at all. Why is Sion the only team member to wear white? It gives me flashbacks to Sakuya and I focus on Sion because of that outfit while everybody else has a black theme in outfits. Furthermore, I didn't like his webby outfit and it looks out of place for this theme. Haruta is the trainee who has shown me tremendous growth. I feel like he really worked on his stage performance and I could feel some fire from him. His facial expressions alone are already much better than his past performances. He has got my attention. His voice was not bad in this performance too as it matched well with the song. Unfortunately, Minjae looked stiff when he sang. I think the point of his song is to act rebellious and he didn't have that type of quality in this performance. I was really happy to hear Minjae his his high note and he was overall stable in vocals. The first time I saw Daeyoung on screen, his dance seems a bit sloppy and he didn't dance powerful to me. Otherwise, he looked okay until he started his rap part. I didn't know he was going to rap too. He is going for all rounder status. Daeyoung's ability to rap makes him multi-talented and will be a great contribution to the overall final team. He didn't spit fire like Sungchan did when Sungchan joined NCT, but it was still impressive with a different type of fire. Heitetsu's voice still sounds underdeveloped and when he made a knife pose at the end of his first part, it gave me memories of all his knife poses and that is not a good thing. At least, he should have a fierce expression if he is going to do a knife pose. Overall, this can go down in history as a group who can actually cover TVXQ's legendary "Why" song. They came and they conquered. Despite all my criticisms, this performance deserves multiple views from each person. The power of SM is here.
We now move on to the IP TF team to give their conclusions and their half of the points.
Below are some of their comments:
Jungmin has been in charge of high notes and kept the live performance steady. He proved why his presence is important to the team. He did a good job supporting the team. He is the member closest to completion.
Anderson pulled off his overall performance. He doesn't know how to rap at all. But, because he did a fine job, we couldn't really see it (notice the bad rapping).
Sakuya and Ryo have their own distinctive colors, which are different from the vibe of this song.
Kassho lacks strength. He needs to show his confidence. He has to demonstrate his ability to pause and hold a pose. (This comment is deja vu from mission two where the IP TF team mentioned the same thing.)
Ryo has a distinctive vocal tone, but he is good at tailoring it to different songs. It's a double-edged sword. (I am not sure why that is a weakness.) His lack of skill is becoming noticeable in areas which require basic skills.
Riku's dance and rap are steady. He's a member you can count on. He made it his own and expressed himself in a way that suits him.
Daeyoung demonstrated his potential as soon as he sang the first note. He sounded stable when rapping. He can be a member who can nail different positions.
Minjae nailed his singing but his ability to express himself seems limited. He seems to have a lot going on in his mind while dancing (thinking what is the next step).
Haruta and Heitetsu do their parts, but they don't stand out well. Their heights are helpful and come in handy when it comes to choreography with big movements.
I feel so torn. The problem with these survival reality shows is that I really end up not wanting to see good potential talent eliminated, but that is the fact of life that only the chosen ones move forward in this path while the others have to find their own path.
By mission three, we can already see trends with each trainee. Having a trend is a good predictor of the final outcome for each trainee after mission four. There is still room for miracles, but by now, it could be that my thoughts are already almost solidified.
The ranking results of mission three are as follows:
1. Jungmin (Mission one ranked 3rd, Mission two ranked 1st)
2. Riku (Mission one ranked 1st, Mission two ranked 2nd)
3. Anderson (Mission one ranked 2nd, Mission two ranked 5th)
4. Daeyoung
5. Sakuya (Mission one rank 5th, Mission two rank 3rd)
6. Ryu (No change in rank. Mission one ranked 8th, Mission two ranked 6th)
7. Ryo (No change in rank. Mission one ranked 4th, Mission two ranked 7th)
8. Haruta (Mission one rank 6th, Mission two ranked 9th)
9. Kassho (Mission one rank 9th, Mission two ranked 8th)
10. Minjae (Mission one rank 6th, Mission two ranked 4th)
11. Heitetsu (Mission one and two rank 10th)
My personal top four ranking results are:
1) Jungmin
2) Riku
3) Daeyoung
4) Anderson
As I previously stated, Jungmin must be on the team. Mission three confirms that he needs to be on the team because I can already visualize him on the team. I have the same feelings for Riku, who is the main rapper. I can't see it any other way. Daeyoung creeped in during mission three and showed me that he can sing and rap and well, with that kind of combo, I see him on the team as well. He just needs more experience, but the potential is there. I have not seen any major weakness and I am confident that based on what I see in this mission that he can improve on his dance skills. I trust that Anderson will do well as I can see he has debut potential. I still see Anderson on the team. All the rankings makes me conflicted because there are only four spots left and I am still thinking about Sakuya and Ryo. I think mission four will make a huge difference in the outcome. Unfortunately, other trainees are not on my debut radar, but it doesn't mean that I don't want them to debut. I am especially impressed with Haruta's growth and I can see him rising up in the ranks.
BoA explained that mission four will determine the next ten years of the trainee's lives. She wants the trainees to put in their best effort so that they do not have any regrets.
Hyoyeon stated that there are people who can only sing and dance. She doesn't want them to be like any other trainee and show their charms. To me, being an all-rounder is the definition of SM. With all these trainees with such a short training time, it makes me wonder where all the senior trainees went. If this is the best SM has, that would mean SM doesn't have a lot of debut-ready talent hidden in the basement. My initial thought was that there would be a desperate fight for debut and I would have a hard time deciding who is the best trainee, but the rankings are more or less clear from mission one who are the better trainees and who still need major improvements.
The top four trainees and the SM rookies have their third photoshoot, which is a semi-formal black and white concept. This line-up is not bad, but I am missing Sakuya. Not having Sakuya on the team makes me nervous. I really want a seven-member team.
The trainees and SM Rookies are treated to a Korean BBQ restaurant as a reward. They are basically separated into three groups from left to right:
Table 1:
Anderson
Haruta
Kassho
Riku
Sion
Table 2:
Yushi
Jungmin
Sakuya
Table 3:
Ryo
Daeyoung
Heitetsu
Minjae
Table two is already looking like my favorite and it is the middle table. Jungmin offers to grill the meat. Yushi looks thankful and Sakuya looks like the baby.
In table three, Ryo does not appear to know what is going on. Daeyoung asks Ryo if he has ever had pork belly before and Ryo never had it in Korea. That is sad that these trainees train so hard, but never get to have Korean meat/beef. This is why in variety shows why K-pop idols get so excited over hanwoo (Korean beef). If I wanted to have Korean beef, I just go out to a restaurant nearby, but K-pop idols seem like they do not have this luxury. I guess they spend their time eating ramyeon and triangle kimbaps. At least in table three, we have Daeyoung and Minjae who can host and grill the meat.
In table one, full of foreign trainees, everyone looked lost. Sion could have been in table two, but he decides to help his friends at table one instead. The problem is that he should have sat in the middle of table one so that he didn't have to over-extend his arm to grill the meat. Or maybe he did not want to leave Yushi's side. The two SM Rookies are like two peas in a pod. Wherever Yushi is, Sion will be around him. I feel the same between Jungmin and Sakuya. I originally thought Sakuya and Ryo are best buddies as they are similar in age, but I find so many interactions between Sakuya and Jungmin. Many netizens call this couple the Tom and Jerry couple as Sakuya tried to intimidate Jungmin in a special video in which they did the rock, paper, and scissors game, representing their respective groups, to see who will perform first in mission one.
Back at table one, Ryo is lost and Daeyoung tries to demonstrate how to eat samgyeopsal, three-layered pork. He shows Ryo how to dip it in ssamjang sauce and wrap it in geoteori kimchi lettuce. Minjae keeps the grill running with more meat and fried kimchi. As a first timer, Ryo is enjoying the food a lot. I hope he gets to eat a lot of it in Korea. I appears that he can handle spicy food as he ate a wrapped kimchi with no problems.
In table two, Sakuya looks worried as he probably also does not know what to do. Yushi gives Sakuya the signal to eat. Sakuya bites into his first piece of meat for the first time and is pleased. From that point on, he munches like there is no tomorrow. Jungmin notices that Sakuya doesn't like beef with fat parts on it. Jungmin takes care of Sakuya by setting aside any meats without fat parts to the side of the grill. Yushi gets worried and eventually tells Jungmin that he does not like fat pieces either. Jungmin sheepishly accommodates both tablemates and share the meat among them fairly.
In table three, Daeyoung demonstrates dipping the pork belly piece into the "감칠맛 높이는 멜젓" (delicious fermented soybean paste), encouraging Ryo to try and Ryo loved it. Daeyoung raises his hand to ask for more kimchi and jaeraegi. Unfortunately, the staff did not understand what jaeraegi means. Daeyoung asks Heitetsu if jaeraegi is a satoori, a dialect, word. Heitetsu gave Daeyoung a confused expression as he is Japanese in descent. However, Daeyoung really was talking to the other side of the table where Minjae and Heitetsu sat, so Minjae casually replied that he is never heard of that word. Ryo looked on in amusement. Daeyoung ended up ordering 파절이 (pachuli) seasoned green onion stripes, which his order is the equivalent of 걸절이 (gulcholi, non-fermented kimchi) and 파절이 (pachuli, seasoned scallion side dish). Minjae casually asked where Daeyoung is from and Daeyoung replied that he is from Daegu. Interesting that we get a Daegu dialect lesson, which can be useful for me, who has family in Daegu. I am already envisioning Daeyoung to be on a variety show where he goes on a trip back to Daegu to introduce his hometown. As a person who grew up with different languages, it is also hard for me to know if I am speaking the right language sometimes, but in today's world where we are more and more connected universally, having a distinct language or slang words are getting rarer. Just today, I learned what is IJBOL (I just burst out laughing) instead of LOL (laughing out loud).
In table one, Haruta is shown as a food fighter of rice, eating rice as if there is no tomorrow. As he finished his bowl of rice in a flash, Haruta asked Riku if he knew how to say rice in Korean. Sion understood Haruta's Japanese question and ordered another bowl of rice for him. It is interesting how foreign trainees didn't know basic words like rice. I guess they concentrated more on translating music lyrics more than survival words in Korean. I would think the word, rice, is important enough to know like the word, bathroom, in Korean. Haruta trained for eight months so if he likes rice so much, it would make sense that he learns this Korean word, bap, quickly.
I am not sure when the staff gave the trainees flat, tin boxes, but Yushi picks one up in table two and passes it to Sakuya without any explanation, which I thought was funny. So far, there are barely any words exchanged on screen between Yushi and Sakuya. Sakuya opens it with curiosity, showing a sunny-side-up egg, mushrooms, kimchi, and black beans with rice. They are supposed to shake the box before eating it. Jungmin guides Sakuya to shake it more and Sakuya wildly shakes his box like a crazy teenager. The outcome looks yummy as the rice turned an orange color due to the sauce. This scene makes me hungry. They didn't really show Haruta eating it, which is too bad as I wonder what he thinks of this type of bibimbap versus his white rice. Again, there doesn't seem to be anybody who cannot eat spicy food.
Now, we are ready for the final mission. I am nervous.
In mission four, debut members will be determined. Eunhyuk introduces the high-profile directors and special artist directors for this day. For special artist directors, we have H.O.T.'s Kangta, Super Junior's Leeteuk, who hilarious gave a long introduction, NCT's Haechan, and NCT's Johnny.
BoA was curious to know whether Haechan and Johnny were very good as trainees from the start or if they had to work hard to become professionals. Haechan undoubtedly responds that he was not good from the start and needed help and guidance to make his debut. BoA praises Haechan that she loves his voice and that there is also another trainee who has a similar type of unique voice like Haechan's voice. Haechan is surprised, but he will find out soon. Johnny replies that he is lacking skills and he lacked even more skills back then as a trainee. He was a trainee for many years so he is looking forward to seeing the trainees perform. I would think that both NCT members are being very humble. I have seen Johnny in SM trainee dance videos, which are no joke, but then again, we are looking at a finished or final version of the performance.
Leeteuk mentioned that Haechan's team, NCT Dream, covered H.O.T.'s "Candy" song earlier in the year as a remake song. One of the original singers, Kangta, is present on the panel. Kangta thought the remake was refreshing. Kangta mentioned that he also hosted NCT Dream's fan meeting and got to see NCT Dream perform up close, which motivated him not to lose his energy. Leeteuk and BoA mentioned that SM's multi-generations are present and Kangta is very proud of SM's 30 years of history and he is proud of their past.
Sitting in the lower level section of panelists, Eunhyuk introduces the new IP TF team. Their names are not mentioned, since episode two, but I will list them here again:
CEO - Tak Young-Jun
CAO (Chief A&R Officer) - Lee Sung-Soo
Production Center 4 Chief - Chae Jung Hee
Artist Development Center Chief - Yoon Hee Joon (I am not sure of the official spelling)
Training Unit (Lead?)- Lee Seung Hwan
Production Center 4 Responsible - Yoo Jae Yong
Haechan introduces the first song for the NCT mission four: 90's Love
The trainees chosen for this song are:
Minjae
Minjae
Daeyoung
Anderson
Kassho
Ryo
Sakuya
Johnny introduces the second song for the NCT mission four: Boss
The trainees chosen for this song are:
Heitetsu
Riku
Ryu
Jungmin
Haruta
This time, there is no explanation why the trainees were selected for their respective song, but I feel it's self-explanatory. Ryo and Sakuya need to be in the upbeat songs. Anderson has the flavor of 90's Love. We need our high note vocalists Dayoung and Minjae to perform the climax of 90's Love. Kassho doesn't look like a boss, but maybe he could have been. Kassho seems have a nostalgic image.
As for Boss, tall guys like Heitetsu and Haruta match. After all, Haruta did take on gang-like style in a previous mission. A rapper like Riku is necessary to do the main rap parts. Jungmin looks like a boss and he needs to take care of the main vocals. Ryu is better off in Boss than a happy song like 90's Love.
Back at the practice room for the 90's Love team, everyone is getting ready. Yushi mentioned that this is a type of song he has never done before so he will get to show a new side of him. The trainees sit around in a circle and cannot believe mission four is coming and that the competition is ending soon. NCT's Ten walks straight into the practice room and gives his greetings. Trainees are surprised (but should they be surprised as this is a pattern in mission two and three?) to see Ten in the flesh. Or maybe it is the idea of seeing a K-pop idol in front of them is overwhelming. I feel sad that Kassho cannot communicate that he is a NCT fan.
Ten immediately recognized Yushi from his younger days as a trainee when he was a short kid. Yushi said in his personal interview that he saw Ten when he was in elementary school (how old was Yushi?) I try to do the math. If he is 19 years old and started training when he was 14 years old, then that isn't elementary school. Or has Yushi been in SM Entertainment before? Or some schools have elementary and middle school combined and maybe that is why Yushi mentioned it was an elementary school. My thought process is the American style.
Ten mentioned that "90's Love" is a simple, yet hard dance to pull off. They begin by viewing a video of the dance on a tablet. This song has big movements and room to show individuality. Ten explains that when it is a certain trainee's part, that trainee needs to do a good job by showing facial expressions, gestures, and unique charms. Again, this is the highlight of SM Entertainment. If all of those are not shown, then they cannot pull off this song. Ten goes over more specific points at certain parts of the choreography.
Ten faces the group and ask if they have any ideas for this song. Everybody is silent and avoiding eye contact. Ten decides to teach them a few moves. They go over the chorus part of the song. I love how they all do the chest side roll instead of moving their shoulders. Ten also recommends doing light bounces to get into the mood of the song.
After the lesson, Ten tells the group that individual expressions are important so he invites any trainee confident enough to dance for him. All team members look at each other shyly. Ten clarifies that it doesn't matter if they don't dance right, but the confidence, gestures and facial expressions are the most important. Yushi volunteers by default as I'm sure nobody has the confidence yet to dance in front of Ten.
Yushi appears shy until he quickly transforms himself into dance mode. Not only has Yushi danced with powerful moves to the chorus of 90's Love, he has also nailed down the facial expressions. In doing so, he appears confident so he met all of Ten's criteria.
Anderson danced next and I knew he would as he has previously shown during the dance practice that he can learn the dance fairly quickly and enthusiastically. I love how Anderson flipped his hair while he was doing a side ways crab hop. However, Ten advised that Anderson focus on body control and keeping his hands to himself. If he swings his hands around, it looks a little floppy.
Ryo is next and Ryo reminds Ten of NCT's Renjun, which I can totally see the similarity. Ten tells Ryo that he is good at rhythm. I think Ryo dances to 90's Love so happily. The brighter songs are definitely Ryo's specialty.
Minjae and Daeyoung are especially worried. Ten tries to cheer them up by saying NCT should be the first to show that vocalists can also dance. Ten advises that when they can't do the choreography, cover it up with gestures and confidence and the audience will love them. (Isn't that the YG Entertainment style?)
Kassho is pressured by Sion to go up and dance and Kassho does a good job on the chorus part. I think Kassho has hidden talents that he is somehow not unleashing yet. I guess he will unleash them when he finally debuts. Ten thought Kassho is good at body rolls. He shows Kassho how to stop after his waves and look straight out before he continues the other wave. Kassho is having a mental fan moment.
Sakuya wanted to be special and asks the staff to play the rap part (Sungchan's original part) of the dance. Ten was hit with Sakuya's facial expressions and gestures. Ten mentioned that is is not easy to hold eye contact while dancing without getting embarrassed, but Sakuya looked at Ten with the perfect facial expression.
As the lessons are over, Ten tells the group that he will order any food that they want to eat. Everyone looks around and ultimately to Sakuya. Sakuya mentions sushi, pizza, and cake. They take a picture with the signature NCT pose before Ten leaves. Ten is a kind instructor and mentor with a passion and patience to help others.
The 90's Love team ends up eating pizza and cake. Sakuya especially enjoys the sweet cake treat.
They do some intense practice over the days with big movements and live singing. Sion carefully checks the formation and each member's individual parts to improve the dance. Yushi focuses on the vocalist parts for Daeyoung and Minjae.
At night, the trainees surprised Sion with a birthday cake. Sion was embarrassed and I think he shed some tears as well. Sakuya prepared the cake. Sion had a lot of memories and fun from the beginning of this program, so he will give it his best at the final mission without regrets. The team is getting ready to give it their best.
As we end this episode, I am very nervous to see the final conclusion and whether it will meet my expectations. I will try my best to stay calm until then. This episode was so much fun as we get to see a performance, trainee down time, SM special directors, and a practice session.
Please leave a comment if you would like about this episode and we shall continue to episode seven for the epic conclusion of NCT Universe: LASTART.
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