NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 4

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org

Welcome to my episode four 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.

For what seems to be a disastrous rehearsal, Team U is now about to take the stage. 

Team U: Yushi, Sion, Sakuya, Haruta, Minjae, Ryu, and Riku singing and performing "U" originally sung and performed  by Super Junior

Artist Director BoA thought that the true title of the song was "Because I Can't Stop." Her fellow Artist Director Eunhyuk confirmed that "Because I Can't Stop" was the demo title, but it was eventually changed to "U." Eunhyuk also mentioned that this song also has nickname: Mustard Ketchup Chicken Spatula. Vocal Trainer and Artist Director Jang Jin Young thought that these stories would inspire the trainees if they knew about it. Super Junior members Eunhyuk and Ryeowook, who is the guest Artist Director for mission two, reminisce about how they tried to leave an impression on the audience by attempting to play with the lyrics and wink at the audience. BoA remembered that when she promoted her song, "MOTO," she had to think of ending poses for her songs as her fans were anticipating it. Back then, artists promoted their songs for four weeks, which meant BoA had to become more and more inventive. Super Junior member Heechul was also memorable for bringing a prop fan and throwing it at the end of the performance. In the end, the artist directors mention that this trainee group "U" has members who rank high and low so they are interested in seeing how well they will do.

After the performance, the Artist Directors allowed Team U to introduce themselves and Eunhyuk asked them what type of advice Super Junior member Donghae gave them during practice. 

Sion answered that Donghae gave the advice to win the artist directors over whenever they danced in the center. Therefore, they practiced poses to front of the mirror. BoA caught on that they had turned their attention to her and were pointing specifically at her when they were dancing.

Since Eunhyuk is the original performer of this song, he observed more carefully and mentioned that this group made their own version of this song and he was happy to see that. Ryeowook talked about how hard the Super Junior members practiced including how to hold a microphone while dancing back then. Team "U" had to make use of both hands for the dance performance, which must be more difficult.

Director Jang gave his high praise to Yushi, who was able to sing live as he was given vocal parts. I assume that comment meant that he doesn't normal take the singing role. Director Jang thought Yushi hard carried the team in his role. All artist directors agreed and acknowledged his vocal talents. Sakuya's voice was loud and had a punch to it.

BoA gave advice to Yushi to open his mouth more while singing to improve as a artist. BoA also thought Ryu's end notes and vibrato were sung like an amateur. Director Jang reminded everybody that BoA is the "Ear Goddess." BoA was also alerted to Minjae's note improvisations while everyone was dancing and found out that it was Minjae. She wanted to know how Minjae practiced it. Minjae answered that vocal coach Jang advised him always to match his voice to the song and he also needed to raised his pitch in this case. BoA liked Riku's dance gestures. She liked seeing Sakuya's confidence in gestures and rapping. Sakuya confessed that he thought a lot about how to gesture, but in the end, he was so nervous that he ended up freestyling the gestures. Sometimes, being in the moment will bring unexpectedly good results. Lastly, BoA thought that Haruta didn't stand out in this performance so she could not give any feedback. Haruta needs to find his own style when he is in the spotlight. Haruta admitted that he was not good at making facial expressions or gestures.

Ryeowook thought that when Ryu sang the "Don't leave" part, it convinced Ryeowook to not let him go. Minjae's high notes and voice control was done well. However, at the beginning, he could have squatted lower to match the level of his teammates. Overall, Sion and Yushi definitely stood out, but the overall performance of the group was good and well-balanced.

Eunhyuk thought Minjae had some parts that he could have improved. Riku's facial expressions on stage were really good. Eunhyuk actually didn't have any negative feedback for Riku. Director Jang then commented that it was because Riku's voice sounded much like Eunhyuk's voice so Eunhyuk  confirmed that was probably why he liked Riku's voice. Eunhyuk continued to ask Riku to perform a dance. 

Riku decided to do a popping dance. Everyone was impressed, though somehow I wasn't too impressed. I was expecting something like what NCT Jisung would do with popping that makes the body look like it explodes with passion.

Backstage, Sion thanked Riku as Riku was the person who was the most detailed and remembered most of the choreography in Sion's absence as Sion and Yushi had to split their time between the two groups.

Riku ended up helping out to lead the practice sessions. I can see Riku's worth in the debut team.

I thought the "U" team's performance was tight. I was worried about them because of the disastrous rehearsal, but very excited that they pulled through for the actual performance. Their dance began with sharp and synced movements, which led me to appreciate the song more. I felt that Ryu's overall body position looked stiff and when he put his hands on his pelvis area, he looked uncomfortable. However, his voice is not bad and has potential for growth with his end notes being shaky on two occasions so there is some inconsistency in his execution. When Yushi sang, I thought his voice was very clear and I wanted to hear him sing more. I find it odd that he has this hidden talent that he does not show by default since I think he mainly wanted to be a dancer. I thought his vocal performance was better than his "Lucifer" performance where in the "Lucifer" performance, I heard his notes being cut too short. Could it be that he took BoA's advice and improved himself in the next performance? Minjae's voice was very nice and I liked his improvisations. Unfortunately, I also didn't see anything special with his dancing or facial expressions, but I wouldn't say that would be a reason to reject him, though he is not exactly high on my list in terms of impression. I love how fluid Sion's dance movements were when he raised his leg to dance to the side. He has the best individual dancing style and interpretation. I think he tried a little bit too hard to crane his neck while he was singing "Wooah" in his individual part, but overall still a great job. I thought Haruta's look with a slighty messy look, tank top with chains around his neck didn't suit him or match the group. Perhaps giving him a different outfit might help his overall impression. It seems like his overall effort was less than all the other members. I was surprised to hear Sakuya's strong rapping as opposed to his cute rapping in the "Chewing Gum" song. He has definitely entered my radar of attention and the fact that he winged it shows that he does have talent and potential to make a great stage. Riku is so stable in his performance that I really think he should debut right away. He looks like he is born to be on stage with amazing confidence to perform. Riku is on his own level. His last hand fling move during his solo part was memorable and natural. What I love about the group performance the most was the razor sharp arm movements at the beginning and end of the song from the entire group. It really solidifies their appearance as a strong group. Overall, I am proud that both groups ended up giving us a great performance.

For the top ranking positions, I am selecting Riku and Sakuya as the strongest contenders in this team.

It is time for the new IP TF team to provide their half of the scores. The benefit from being in the top four ranks is another photo shoot with the SM Rookies Sion and Yushi.

Some of the comments from the IP TF team were:

Sion and Yushi were very impressive compared to the others.

Jungmin is the MVP for the Lucifer performance, covering parts of two to three singers and good at covering crucial parts.

Ryo could have had voice breaks, but he pulled off his part well.

Kassho did not stand out in the performance and needs to work on when to pause and hold his positions

Heitetsu needs to work on his moves as he looked awkward given his tallness

Anderson gave a stable performance, but he didn't have enough charm.

Yushi covered many vocal parts in the "U" performance.

Sakuya was impressive and his part was impactful.

Riku's performance was most impressive after Sion and Yushi with his rap part being stable.

Haruta could perform better and his balance was off.

Ryu had potential.

Minjae's vocal parts were difficult while standing still, but his dance skills wasn't good enough.

The trainees enter the stage to receive their rank for mission two, the group mission with SM hits.

The ranking results of mission two are as follows:

1. Jungmin (previously ranked 3rd)

2. Riku (previously ranked 1st)

3. Sakuya (previously ranked 5th)

4. Minjae (previously ranked 6th)

5. Anderson (previously ranked 2nd)

6. Ryu (joint-rank, previously ranked 8th)

6. Ryo (joint-rank, previously ranked 4th)

8. Kassho (previously ranked 9th)

9. Haruta (previously ranked 6th)

10. Heitetsu (same rank as last time)

Members who secure their debut will participate in a showcase in Japan after the conclusion of the NCT Universe: LASTART show. In my mind, I thought the the finale would be live and that would be difficult to do. I would later come to find out that this show is pre-recorded back in April/May so that would make sense that they would be ready to debut after the show.

I'm happy that Jungmin was able to secure a high rank. So far, Jungmin and Riku are probably the two trainees that I feel comfortable with a debut. Sakuya is growing on me and if he continues to perform consistently, I will consider him in the debut line. This is a bit difficult because there are only four spots and would like Anderson to be in one of them. It was too bad that he didn't make the cut in this mission.

My personal top four trainees are as follows:

1. Jungmin (still a required trainee for debut and I think he is the true hard carrier of vocals)

2. Riku (there is basically no competition. He is THE rapper)

3. Anderson (this is where it gets tough as I am not completely sure and Anderson looks like a rookie with great dance expressions)

4. Sakuya (I see improvement from the first mission)

I had to sacrifice Ryo. It seems these half to one year trainees, Anderson, Sakuya, and Ryo are going to be difficult to rank.

Eunhyuk revealed the next mission being Japanese hit songs from SM Entertainment. SM Entertainment is always so good at promoting themselves. They will be assigned in groups again to perform with Sion and Yushi.

The mission two photo shoot was held in the rooftop of SM, known as Kwangya.

In the next part of the show, trainees are brought in with their respective mission one teams into a practice room with many random objects so that the audience can observe their MBTI. I am not sure why knowing their MBTI and behaviors are relevant, but I'm glad that they get to have some fun in between missions. I personally don't understand MBTIs too well. At the same time, I think the purpose of this part is to get to personally know each trainee a little bit better.

In team Lucifer, we have the following members with the following MBTIs:

Jungmin and Ryo - ENFP

Anderson - ENFJ

Heitetsu - ESTP

Sion - INTJ

Kassho - INTP

Ryo went straight for the exercise ball and endlessly bounced around.

Jungmin played with the wigs.

Heitetsu and Anderson played with the limbo pole.

Sion went straight for a book

Kassho sits on the couch to observe the setting

The extroverts start getting a bit chaotic with the exercise ball and the limbo. Sion, in a perfect leader fashion, warns them not to get physically hurt from the activities.

Jungmin ordered Kassho to do sit ups, quickly tiring Kassho out. Poor Kassho.

Next, team Lucifer enters another practice room where the staff revealed that they being observed. 

Jungmin had so much fun that he didn't observe what other trainees were doing. He was so busy playing with the exercise ball, wearing a wig, playing limbo, training Kassho, and giving a guitar performance. He didn't see Ryo playing with the exercise ball or Heitetsu playing limbo. I thought Heitetsu would like limbo for flexibility since he likes creating interesting dance moves like the jumping worm.

Team Lucifer gets the extra benefit of watching Team U from another room through the monitor.

In Team U, we have the following members with the following MBTIs:

Yushi - ISFJ

Riku and Ryu - ISFP (This is also my personality type)

Sakuya - ENFP (same as Jungmin and Ryo)

Minjae - ENFJ (same as Anderson)

Haruta - ESFP

The three introverts head over to the bean bag couch area and Ryu was asking if he could touch the guitar, but everyone ended up laughing as Sakuya wore the colorful clown wig on his head. Everyone thought Sakuya was cute. It turns out all the ENFPs, Jungmin, Ryo, and Sakuya, love the wigs. Sakuya ends up playing with the exercise ball alone.

Haruta and Yushi started looking at a Korean book together. Ryu continues his guitar play. 

Minjae notices a camera while holding a wig. Riku and Sakuya didn't seem to care. In the end, all six members started playing limbo. Ryu couldn't make it under the limbo poll and made some interesting high pitches, which seem to hurt Sion's ear as team Lucifer was listening with the earbuds.

Team U joined Team Lucifer in the other practice room where the truth of the observation room was revealed to check MBTIs and they discussed their activities in the observation room. Jungmin sort of bragged that he made Kassho work out. Again, poor Kassho.

We are back at the studio again where the Artistic Director team is getting ready for the performances of mission three. We are introduced to our dancing queen, Hyoyeon from Girls' Generation. BoA tried to correct Eunhyuk that she was the dancing queen, but Eunhyuk wittingly responded that BoA is the dancing goddess.

Hyoyeon revealed that she was a SM trainee for seven years, starting at the age of 12. Hyoyeon thought that she would become a soloist, but she went through a difficult period to train hard and ensure her debut towards the end of her trainee period to join Girls' Generation as the amount of members were not specifically set. Hyoyeon was also was a back dancer for BoA in the past. They are both in the GOT the Beat girl group together where Hyoyeon closely observed BoA's dance moves and how BoA would make those dance moves her own. BoA wasn't used to being in a girl group so she wasn't familiar with dance formations too well. BoA gave her thoughts on Hyoyeon that Hyoyeon practices haphazardly, but dances very well to show her charms in front of the cameras when it is time to dance. Eunhyuk realized that Hyoyeon has the position of rapper or dancer in her group, but she can actually sing very well. 

Eunhyuk asked Hyoyeon what type of criteria she will be looking for in this mission and unsurprisingly, Hyoyeon will concentrate on dance skills, showing charms, and dance details like lifting up one's chin. Eunhyuk joked that in the last mission, many trainees tried to seduce BoA and failed.

Eunhyuk had a sudden surprise announcement, which made me nervous. The executives at SM Entertainment, the IP TF team, decided to add one more trainee to the competition because they felt that there was too much reliance on Jungmin and Minjae to provide good vocals. The new contestant is an 18-year-old boy who only trained for three months at SM so far, but is rapidly improving his skills. This trainee's vocal tone is also different from Jungmin and Minjae. As it is the IP TF's goal to debut a high quality group, this trainee will join the competition show. This announcement is sure to shake up the trainees. I am not thrilled about this announcement, but I also understand this can happen in real life where a trainee can be easily replaced.

Back in a practice room at a different time, Sion and Yushi are sitting on the floor with the trainees. Sion and Yushi hold envelopes to announce which team the trainees will be in for their third mission. Sion will call out the names of the trainees in team "B" while Yushi will call out the names in team "A." The teams are then announced.

Team A:

Jungmin

Ryu

Anderson

Kassho

Ryo

Sakuya

Team B:

Riku

Haruta

Heitetsu

Minjae

Sakuya is the last trainee to be announced in the team and he thought he would be in the Team B by default, but everyone got a surprise when Sakuya is called into Team A. Anderson stood up and commented that the teams are "imbalanced." Sion suggested that the members sit with their corresponding teams. The trainees switch places and continue to ask why the teams were divided in such a way. Sakuya and Jungmin hold hands to brace for an announcement. Sion announced that a new trainee will be joining them from mission three onwards. 

Sion calls for the new trainee to enter the room and everybody's heads peaked in the direction of the door. The new trainee coolly enters the room with a bright personality and announces that he's here. All trainees smile as they all seem to know him.

The eleventh trainee is named Daeyoung, born in 2005, and from Daegu. I am shocked. Artists like Red Velvet's Irene and SHINee's Key are from Daegu. Most importantly, my husband's family is also from Daegu so I feel that I am already inclined to support this trainee. However, I will do my best to stay neutral and judge everybody based on their performance and skills. We see a scene of him playing the piano. As he is only a three-month trainee, I will need to check on whether he has potential to debut in this new group. Daeyoung mentions that his specialty is powerful high notes and delicate falsettos.

As a result of joining the competition show, Daeyoung has joined Team B. Minjae tries to convince himself that he is not nervous and he is the one who needs to put effort to win the competition. I think that is a good mindset, but naturally, he should feel a bit of pressure from this announcement. Jungmin admits he is nervous since they are both vocalists. It would be a miraculous for me to believe a three- month trainee can do better than Jungmin. However, I haven't heard Daeyoung sing yet, so I can't be too sure. Ryo was happy that Daeyoung joined and so was Sakuya who trained with Daeyoung in the past.

Daeyoung was asked which trainee he is close to and he answered Kassho. They go shopping together in Hongdae and go to the noraebang (singing room) together as well, but the trainees are surprised that Kassho would sing. Kassho clarified that it was Daeyoung who would sing and he would be the listener. I was disappointed to hear that because even though Yushi is a dancer, Yushi is also a good singer. Kassho should take some notes and become an all rounder at SM Entertainment. Who isn't an all rounder at SM Entertainment? If Kassho wants to take limited roles, then he is in the wrong company.

Sion leads the group into shouting the word, Fighting!, so that the trainees gain some motivation after the sudden announcement.

Yushi asks the trainees what SM Japanese songs they think will be part of their mission. Ryo mentioned BoA's "Merry Chri," but that is a ballad song. Sion guessed NCT 127's "Chain," which is a song that I love and also a Japanese song that impressed me a lot. Minjae guessed Taemin's "I'm Crying" song. Daeyoung guessed EXO's "Electric Kiss."

Yushi asks to reveal Team A's song: Exo's Electric Kiss (Daeyoung was right!)

As per the IP TF team, Jungmin can carry the main vocals while Ryu can support him. The song also has individual parts that show individual charms so Anderson was picked for this song. Sakuya and Ryo matches the energy of the song. Kassho can also contribute to the dance.

Team B ended up getting TVXQ's "Why?" How ambitious!

The IP TF team thinks this song requires a lot of energy and big movements. Riku was selected as well as tall trainees such as Haruto and Heitetsu. Minjae has long breaths so he should be able to sing the song along with Daeyoung. 

As usual, I appreciate the IP TF's professional input on why the trainees were assigned to certain songs and not have any randomness to the process. 

The burden seems to be put on Minjae to get those high notes secured. This will be a challenge. Daeyoung is a newbie so he will have to learn fairly quickly to provide a great performance.

At this point, our episode ends as the trainees need to work hard for another week to successfully succeed in mission three.

I kept telling my husband that a Daegu man joined the show and hence my nickname for Daeyoung is Daegu man. My curiosity kills me because I have to wait another week until I hear him possibly sing.

Please leave a comment if you would like about this episode and we shall continue to episode five of NCT Universe: LASTART.

Links:
NCT Universe: LASTART - Introduction

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 1

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 2

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 3

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 5

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 6

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 7

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 8

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 3

 

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org

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.

Links:
NCT Universe: LASTART - Introduction

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 1

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 2

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 4

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 5

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 6

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 7

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 8

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 2

 

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org

Welcome to my episode two 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.

In episode one, we left off with the second team ready to perform. I will re-paste some of the information from episode one:

Jungmin (정민)  and Minjae (민재), both Korean in decent, singing to "Running on the Sky," which is originally sung by singer Lee Juck

Perhaps, it was the upbeat guitar sounds that made Eunhyuk wanting the trainees to move around the stage and explore, but the trainees both stood in place. It also could be because Key mentioned that this is a popular song for Korean soldiers to sing in the military (since the soldiers are away from home and having a tough time) and also that this is a lively song.  Jungmin had an open smile at the beginning of the song so the show captions him with the term, "방긋" or bang geut (meaning an open, bright, silent smile 😃)

Interestingly, Jungmin and Minjae are the same ages as Yushi and Sion, 19 and 21. Both Jungmin and Minjae are of Korean descent.

BoA stated that Jungmin has a unique voice where high notes stood out. Minjae has a stable voice. Jungmin has a good recording voice while Minjae has a great live voice. However, she thought it did not sound like a song. She couldn't hear the story in the way they sang the lyrics.

Key added that singing too stably is not entertaining. They looked like their own profile photos while they were singing. There should be some climax in the song. Their tone is great though.

Eunhyuk asked if they only practiced in the vocal room, but Jungmin replied that they also jumped in place while singing, though their trainer previously told them not to do that. Jungmin demonstrated his jump and dance practice and Minjae looked embarrassed. Eunhyuk thought their performance could be better. They sang in such a boring way and there was so much room they could have used on the stage, Artists at SM not only perform great songs for the audience to listen to, but also perform their songs on stage. They could have done better in performance and showmanship.

I had similar thoughts in that both Jungmin and Minjae can sing well and they both have contrasting styles of singing. Personally, I preferred Jungmin's voice and style because I can tell he tried to give his vocals a rock flair with a slightly scratchy voice, and his voice was dominant. He gave me main singer vibes and I heard his voice loud and clear. I much prefer Jungmin to be in the debut group as he already grabbed my attention with his quirky behaviors. I also appreciated how Jungmin bopped his head to the song when it was not his turn to sing. It's true that he could have given more to the audience performance-wise, but for a first impression, I already remember him in my head as the smiley boy who can sing loud and clear.

Minjae's voice did not vary that much. I would not say it is boring, but it did not catch my attention.

Because I have not heard of this song, I had to look up the original singer Lee Juck and also the lyrics to help me understand the meaning of this song. The song describes a person at the edge of a cliff, but longing, mentally, to run back to somebody who is important to him. Hence, the song is called, "Running on the Sky." 

Knowing what the song meant, I should feel a thrill when Jungmin and Minjae were singing, but the thrilling feelings are mild. I should probably expect something as thrilling as PRODUCE 101 season 2's "Playing with Fire" performance where each trainee had their own flair.

Kassho (캇쇼 in Korean, カッショウ in Japanese) and Heitetsu (헤이테츠 in Korean, ヘイテツ in Japanese) dancing to "Shawty Fishin' (Blame the Net) originally sung by Masengo

Both trainees are of Japanese descent. Kassho only trained for six months while Heitetsu trained for ten months. This is not a particularly good sign. SM seems to have selected a lot of starter trainees for this show so I am a little bit nervous unless they are super talented.

BoA thought this song is supposed to be groovy and quite sexy, but their performance was not sexy at all. She also received mixed flirting signals from Kassho. Because Kassho is shorter than Heitetsu, Kassho should concentrate on making his moves bigger. Heitetsu's moves were flustered and he couldn't finish his moves. BoA also caught him smiling, which was unfit for the song. Heitetsu thought for the later part of the song during the climax, he should feel happier, but it seems he misinterpreted the song.

Key demonstrated how to grunt to Kassho's moves. I thought that was hilarious. Using his Japanese, Key asked Kassho to be more expressive and confident. Key thought Heitetsu was awkward from his wrists to his fingertips with straight lines.

Eunhyuk thought that they don't have lots of time before possible debut, so he wants both trainees to get used to the stage and practice on it some more.

Heitetsu had a special talent in which he showed a jumping worm-type move on stage. I suppose this is his last attempt to appeal to the artist directors.

At first, I thought, Kassho was trying to go with a cool vibe. His facial expression never changed from a determined expression. I am immediately reminded of Yushi who previously did not show much expression on stage. This song sounded very mysterious to me so I thought he was trying to give me a mysterious man vibe. Once the main beat hit, Heitetsu, who was dancing behind Kassho, was clearly falling behind on the beat, making it obvious that he cannot keep up. Heitetsu looked like he had knives as hands and he was trying to pierce some fishes when he did piercing hand movements. I wonder if that is related to the song since they were fishing (though I know it's not literal), but it actually didn't match Kassho's moves and was distracting. Kassho is the better dancer here and my eyes mostly focused on him. They both could have accentuate some moves to highlight them with something as simple as an exaggerated neck roll and accent the two by two move, which I thought were highlights of the dance. I also caught Heitetsu smiling. Because of the mood of the song, it is not the same feeling as what Jungmin did at the beginning of his song. It felt out of place. I probably won't give either contestant high points or consider them in the debut group just yet.

Riku (리쿠 in Korean, リク in Japanese) and Ryu (류 in Korean, リュウ in Japanese) singing and rapping to "Fire" originally sung and rapped by Shota Shimizu.

Both trainees are of Japanese descent. Riku trained for one year while Ryu trained for two weeks. Oof. I am really doubting what is going on here as we can't possibly expect a two-week old trainee to debut, right? I better see something extraordinary.

After the performance, the show reveals that Riku throat was not in good condition.

Eunhyuk asked if Riku was satisfied with his own performance, but Riku admitted that he did not take care of his body well since a few days before the performance and therefore he is not fully satisfied with his performance.

Key mentioned that when Riku's throat condition is not good, he can still continue with the same intensity and tone. Riku can work on his balance and controlling his intensity. Key mentioned that he did not hear Ryu's (higher register?) above very well and needed practice to become a great vocalist.

Eunhyuk emphasized how to express one's self on stage, having one's own color, and he finally saw it in this performance. Riku had sharp rapping that matches his appearance, which contributed to his charm. Meanwhile, with a short trainee time, Ryu was able to express his vocals and talents.

BoA first checked on Ryu's determination to be in the show, which was clever and then asked if Riku could sing a song for them. Riku started rapping "Eyes" and BoA concluded that Riku was charming. He has a unique tone that is not discovered yet in SM Entertainment, which was refreshing. Ryu was also asked to sing another song and he sang "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys. BoA then concluded that Ryu could be a great singer if he continues to receive guidance.

Key mentioned he would faint on stage if he had to perform as a two-week trainee. BoA was curious about Ryu's dancing skills.

When their performance first started, I immediately was drawn into Riku's rap and interesting gestures. It is true that he has a good tone and I was curious about what else he could do. He seemed to rap stronger than what I heard in the original song. I looked up the song and lyrics so I could understand and compare it. As a one year trainee, I am impressed that he proved to be worthy of being in the debut team. Because he is the only rapper so far and that I do not find major flaws, I have to give him a spot on the debut team for now. I liked how they moved from their original position to more in front of the stage. This unit was working well. Ryu's vocal skills is not bad at all. I am just worried that he is only a two-week trainee so I can't say for sure if I want him on the debut team just yet. If the two trainees end up being all-rounders who can sing, rap, and dance, I can give them my blessing to be in the debut group.

I saw a lot of news that Ryu is special because he is the brother of celebrity Shirahama Alan. Personally, I do not think that is important, but I do think he might have some type of advantage because of it with exposures to the music business already.

Ryo (료 in Korean, リョウ in Japanese) and Sakuya (사쿠야 in Korean, サクヤ in Japanese) singing and dancing to "Chewing Gum" by NCT Dream.

Both trainees are of Japanese descent with Ryo and Sakuya both training for one year so far. They better be just as good as Riku who trained just as long. How bold of them to choose an NCT song, but somebody has to do it, right? I don't want to cringe yet because trainees from other survival competition shows can butcher the song. Ryo and Sakuya also came on stage with the hoverboards just like how NCT Dream would do it.

After the performance, Sakuya cutely declared that he loves the smell of bakery. That is a star-quality move to say something outrageous to make the audience remember him.

Key loved how Sakuya supported Ryo by rapping and also how well Ryo sang in Korean. The studio became brighter because of this type of bright performance.

BoA noted that this team was the first team who fully enjoyed their performance which meant that they understood the concept of the song well, which made the performance fun and refreshing to watch. 

Eunhyuk spotted some weakness in singing and dancing, which could be remedied. Ryo and Sakuya's unique colors and charms are memorable. Harmonizing with the debut team is important so he wants to see them perform with a different concept. It was an overall good performance.

I was immediately captivated by the charms of Ryo and Sakuya. As I am not familiar with the trainees' names yet, Ryo and Ryu's names are too similar so I needed to make a mental note not to mess it up.

There were good and bad sides to each performer. Ryo wore green, my favorite color, so I should be focusing more on him, but I ended up focusing on Sakuya the most when checking on their dance as Sakuya's facial expressions and wider moves are more distinct. I notice a weakness in Sakuya's arm movements that shows he doesn't have too much power in his upper body so his energy levels rose and fell throughout the performance. However, when it came to vocals, Ryu stood out and was a main vocal throughout the song so I heard him loud and clear. Unfortunately, I saw that this was Sakuya's weakness as I sometimes heard him sing, but I sometimes heard him cut off. I am not sure if that was on purpose or not. His strength and confidence is clearly in rapping, but showing weakness in vocals is concerning. He is not yet at the rapping level of Riku.  In many ways, both are outstanding and both have room for improvements. Overall, I have to go with the trainee who caught my eye the most and that is Sakuya.

Next, we still have the evaluation of the new IP TF, which consists of:

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

Some of the comments were:

Haruta has precise movements.

Anderson has his own dance vibe, natural acting, and lip-syncing.

The song matched Minjae's strengths, but not Jungmin's strengths. Minjae's rhythem was off in some parts.

Jungmin had stable low notes in the second verse.

Kassho hasn't trained for a long time.

Heitetsu doesn't have basic skills in dance yet.

Riku has basic rapping skills.

Ryu did well with his hands in his pocket when the song started. He is capable of growing quickly.

Ryo's voice didn't waver and gave a clean performance.

Sakuya can pass for a Korean with his rap skills.

The top four ranking  trainees will be rewarded with a photo shoot of the confirmed members of the debut group. It is a part of SM's practice to check on which combination of trainees look good together to debut.

All the trainees stepped onto the stage and I thought it was funny how Ryo and Sakuya were the only members wearing colors other than white and black. They really stood out.

The ranking results of mission one are as follows:

1. Riku

2. Anderson

3.Jungmin

4. Ryo

5. Sakuya

6. Haruta (joint-rank)

6. Minjae (joint-rank)

8. Ryu

9. Kassho

10. Heitetsu

Whenever Yushi came on the screen, he has this determined look on his face all the time. It is actually heart-stopping for me that he acts so cool. I could be intimidated by this man.

My conclusion so far in my personal ranking for mission one is below and I won't do a full ranking because I am only concerned about the top 4 where it counts:

1. Anderson

2. Jungmin (smiley man)

3. Riku

4. Sakuya

It was tough to name the fourth place because I have Ryu and Ryo both on my radar. The reason that I chose Sakuya is because I believe in his potential. This is only mission one so I expect to possibly have different opinions later on. I was very closely leaning on having both Ryo and Sakuya together, but I am also concerned that maybe they may be too young looking for the debut group and I am again reminded of Yushi's stare. I am mindful of  Yushi.

As such, our episode two has come to an end with mission two on the way.

This was my review up to this point. I now have to join the masses to wait for one episode a week. How painful.

Please leave a comment if you would like and we shall continue to episode three of NCT Universe: LASTART.

Links:
NCT Universe: LASTART - Introduction

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 1

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 3

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 4

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 5

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 6

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 7

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 8

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 1

 

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org

Welcome to my episode one 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.

When the first episode aired in Korea, I had no idea how to watch it even though I was in Korea. Sadly, I waited until I came back to the United States so that I could catch episodes one and two on Viki, an Asian entertainment streaming platform.

In this show, they let the contestant speak their native language so they are not necessarily forcing contestants to speak Korean as the mother company is Korean. For this show, I find that pleasant and also less pressuring for the contestants and we get to see who they are in their natural state.

This episode's guest Artist Director is KEY from the group SHINee. With his already impressive dancing and performance skills, he is sure to give some good feedback in this show. He stated in the show that he auditioned three times before being accepted by SM, which is amazing that he persevered. I also remembered that he is from Daegu (shoutout to Daegu!) and in his trainee days he said he didn't live in a nearby dorm, so he actually commuted to Seoul, back and forth. Daegu is practically on the other side of the country from Seoul. Even my Chinese-American family didn't understand and thought that my in-laws from Daegu can simply meet my family at the airport in Seoul. Luckily, there is the KTX train in which we can travel back and forth in more than two hours. We have the KTX bullet train in Korea that connects both cities. We have to admire Key's dedication and I am a firm believer of if I want something badly, I must do what I must do to make it happen. 

For this episode, Key is already taking the role of motivator and the artist director most likely to give compliments. Perhaps this is who he is in real life and a real motivator (except to his fellow SHINee member, Minho who he playfully bickers with a lot?). Seeing how Key treats Enhypen's Niki, who is a big SHINee fan, is already inspirational to see the way he treats his hoobaes (juniors in the same industry) very well.

Eunhyuk from the Super Junior group and BoA are the main Artist Directors who will be present to judge the trainees for each round of the competition. Eunhyuk was smart to say that he prepared both a song and a rap for his audition, but merged the two when he went into the audition where Kangta from the H.O.T. group was supposedly present. To me, that is a clever way to stand out as a trainee, but also a double-edged sword if you either can't do one or both well. He must of had a lot of confidence to audition that way. From past knowledge, the Super Junior audition process was brutal from some 90 trainees starting and eventually, they were eliminated down to the 12 members who debut as Super Junior and even then, it was considered a temporary group as there was no long-term plan in place. As per Super Junior member Yesung in another survival show, he explained that he spoke to none of the trainees during the training period until after the debut announcement because he is too busy ensuring his debut.

We can already see that it wasn't easy back then, though BoA luckily mentioned that she did not have a hard time debuting as she was one of the early trainees and I assume she passed auditions with flying colors. I am amazed at how SM entertainment recognizes a person's talent early on in the trainee's life, but I also believe their training system is probably one of the best as many artists from SM claimed that they knew nothing of how to dance before they joined the company. SM trainees that went to other companies have skills that are higher than average when compared to trainees from other companies or just starting out.

SM Entertainment's casting team probably does mass recruiting before the training team starts weeding out the trainees who don't qualify. I am not a fan of SM entertainment recommending plastic surgery in general, but ultimately, I want that decision to be with the artist because this is their personal life and if they want plastic surgery, it is none of our business.

The show already warns the audience that BoA is a harsh critique, but that is fine for me. She is a veteran artist. If she can't spot rookie mistakes, who can? Ideally, we want artist directors who have a lot of experience to be in the artist director position. Artist Directors will be the live judges, watching the trainees perform and will provide half of the scores to the trainees with the other half of the scores given by the new "IP TF" team, which I will assume from my introduction, is the Intellectual Property Task Force team because they did not specifically define what that term meant. For a good balance, we should have a mix of compliments and constructive criticisms for the trainee's growth. It is also great that all judges have the ability to speak Korean, Japanese and English so that there are no major communication problems. I can tell all artists spent a lot of effort and time to learn languages to capture audiences overseas.

As Eunhyuk mentions, this is SM's first official competition program and I can't wait for it to start. Before I even view any performance, my opinion about SM trainees, where they are normally kept in secret from the public (the SM basement, haha), is that they must be unusually talented. In the past early 2000s, I could see more flaws, but nowadays, SM performances are close to perfect. As a fan, I barely see major mistakes from SM performances and even when I see a mistake, it could be cute or deserving of praise of how they handle it like a professional. With SM entertainment, there is a high standard of quality. SM Entertainment's slogan is "Asia's number one entertainment group" and I consider SM artists as one of the best there is in the K-pop industry where all of them have the potential to have lasting careers.

We are introduced to two confirmed NCT members, Sion (시온 in Korean) and Yushi (유우시 in Korean or 勇志 in Japanese) who are already announced as SM Rookies prior to the start of the show. I know who they are, but I have not seen them officially perform yet so I am very curious about them. Going forward, I will refer to them and any other trainee by using the English pronunciation of their names. If you have seen my other blogs, you will know that I love language and culture so I immediately search the meaning of Yushi's name and found that it means bravery and determination. I like that name for a male name. The fact that he is officially debuting is enough proof that he embodies his name.

Yushi states his strength is dance and from the introduction scenes, Sion seems to concentrate more on vocals. Sion's looks remind me of NCT Jaehyun. They are both a little bit shy and reserved, but I can see that Sion is more of a leader of the trainees and the person making sure everybody is fine. He already has leadership qualities in my mind with careful and deep thoughts. Later scenes of this show specifically shows him helping other trainees and he is a number one supporter of Yushi, which is cute. When I look up the age of Sion, he is the oldest age group of 21 so he can potentially be the leader of the group. We will have to see later on who becomes the leader. Because this is a Japanese-focused group, Yushi might become the leader instead. In SM's Exo group, Chinese-Canadian ex-Exo member, Kris Wu was the leader of the Exo-M group that was focused on the Chinese market. I think the new group will be a strong group if one of them becomes a leader and the other person becoming a sub-leader. I might be thinking ahead of myself because I haven't evaluated any other trainees yet. 

Lastly, because these trainees are announced around the same time when Riize, SM's newest group, was born to the public, it makes me think that the two did not make the cut for Riize or the two decided that instead of joining Riize, they rather be part of NCT or there is also the possibility that the two trainees didn't have a choice and the company practically needed strong members for what was known as "NCT Tokyo" at the time. Given that Riize's maknae (the youngest member of a goup) is Anton at age 19, both Yushi, being 19, and Sion, being 21 in age, could have joined Riize. Either way, I'm excited to see more of them.

It's also important to know that Yushi was previously a member of a Japanese group called Edamame Beans. Edamame Beans officially debut in 2020 with pre-songs as far back as 2018, so I think Yushi left the group before the official debut in 2018. I'm glad he decided to join SM Entertainment and I would like to know his story and what made him decide to join SM. Seeing the word "NCT" next to Yushi's name brings him to another level of cool.

Originally, I was looking forward to Yuta (NCT 127), Shotaro (formerly in NCT, but now in Riize), and SM Rookie Shohei to be in the NCT Tokyo (unofficial name) group. With the debut of this show, I threw that thought out the window. Shotaro is obviously out of NCT since joining Riize. Yuta could be in NCT Tokyo, but fans are already worried about the health of Mark and Haechan, who are in duel groups, NCT 127 and NCT Dream. Also, it is possible that Yuta wants to go more into acting with his latest movie, High&Low: The Worst X (available on Netflix USA) or other opportunities since he is no longer a rookie in this business. Lastly, there is no news about SM Rookie Shohei whom I read was injured so he needs time to recover. I am sad that Shohei was not a part of Riize to join his SM Rookie buddies Seunghan and Eunseok. Shohei is also born in 1996, which makes him 27 years old and he would have a big age gap with Yushi and Sion, which is not a big problem, but not preferred. Ultimately, life is about timing and we are starting completely fresh to create a new group.

Since there are two members already set to debut, I have deja vu flashbacks of  Hybe Labels Japan's reality survival show, "&Audition – The Howling where members K, Nicholas, EJ, and Taki were already set to debut and they needed five more members to make a nine member group. I didn't not like the way the competition show was filmed and possibly the end result so unfortunately, I lost interest in the group afterwards despite being a fan of K and Harua. That show looked like a rush job with huge cuts in scenes, which are hard to follow.

I am going back to Yushi who is learning the Korean language. He says his fluency is about 70-80%, which is impressive. He said he started with zero knowledge about Korean language when he arrived in Korea and since he trained for five years, which they later reveal in the episode, he probably can debut with his current set of skills. 

As for Sion, who started learning Japanese, his teacher mentioned that he is ready to use his Japanese skill in Japan. This means, the two should be debut-ready. If there are more members who are Japanese in the group, Sion might be the minority in the group who speaks native Korean.

"Afrolex" dance by Yushi and Sion

Eunhyuk thought Sion and Yushi were very relaxed and liked the multiple dance styles incorporated into the dance such as house and dub steps. He wanted them to focus more on showing charisma on the stage.

BoA thought Yushi was relaxed and did not skip a beat. However, Sion was rushed a little.

Key agreed with BoA that Yushi had good composure and wish that Yushi showed more facial expressions.

My thoughts when I first watched their performance was that they already had the SM style of fluid dancing skills to music that is trendy. I have never heard of Afrolex before and couldn't find this song, but I already wanted to hear this song on repeat. My first thought was similar to the artist directors in that while Yushi had great, fluid dancing skills, he looked like he had deep concentration on his face and SM artists almost always look at the camera with expressions while they are dancing. Sion looked like he was having more fun on stage. However, I did not catch what BoA was saying that he rushed his dance moves so I put the dance on replay multiple times. It was really hard to catch him "rushing," but to me, that is a minor problem because in the end, I thought they set the tone of what we should expect from this group. I don't get to see this live, but through camera cuts, so it is harder to tell what is going on during the performance. 

Yushi said after the performance that he also messed up some dance moves in the beginning due to nervousness. If I can't tell or notice anything wrong, then they are professionals to me. For so many of my early years of public piano performances where I messed up certain notes while playing the piano, but because I kept going, nobody genuinely ever noticed the notes were wrong. The listeners were shocked when I told them I messed up some parts. Yushi might have messed up, but he received comments from all three judges that he was very relaxed on stage.

I found it amazing that the SM casting team went to Mokpo where Sion lived to do a camera test on him. This is dedication. I'm sure they found something special about Sion other than his picture.

Mokpo is almost at the south-western tip of Korea compared to Seoul in the north

I also felt surprised that Yushi seemed very nervous and his mind went blank when he was asked the question of how he sees his group debut. I hope to see a more confident Yushi in the future. I know this is part of Japanese culture not to show external emotions, but if Yushi can show me that he is happy to debut with just his facial expression, then I will know deep down in his heart how he feels.

It is also in this part where Sion gave a wise answer such as setting the goal for the group to bring happiness to the public, who can also bring happiness back to them. I am starting to feel leadership vibes.

At this point of the show, we are reminded that we should pick members to match the style of Sion and Yushi. We are not here to pick random trainees to join a group. We are here to pick random trainees to create a group that will fit well with Sion and Yushi. There is a difference as we need to tailor the group now as opposed to starting fresh to see which trainees fit well together and have unique skills that will make the group stronger overall.

For the non-debut trainees evaluation, they have to shoot mission videos for the new IP TF team for review while the artist directors will watch the live performances. This means I will also watch the live performances as opposed to the mission videos. The new IP TF and the artist director groups each contribute to 50% of the trainee's score. 

There are a total of four missions in this show and there will be a ranking announcement after the end of each mission with the fourth mission scores announced as the final debut lineup. Only four unofficial trainees can debut with Sion and Yushi.

Five teams of two trainees each will perform for the first mission with the aim to become the top four trainees.

Haruta (하루타 in Korean, ハルタ in Japanese) and Anderson (Canadian descent) dancing to "Believer" by Imagine Dragons

Haruta trained for 8 months while Anderson trained for 6 months. This is considered a very short training time before debut. They would have to be super talented to pass the mission in my opinion.

This is a dance performance so we also do not see how well they can sing. At SM where every artist is an all-rounder, I do not expect less than all-rounder status so all trainees need to be able to sing, rap, and dance well.

Key loved the performance and thought this was a moment teenagers turn into adults. Anderson had great expression and mouthed the lyrics as well to indicate he understood the lyrics. Key liked the contrasting outfits and called Haruta a back-up dancer.

BoA stepped in provide a different opinion on their outfits, which wasn't very compatible. Her eyes naturally went to Anderson's brighter colors and pant patterns, but Anderson also had impressive dance skills.

Enhyuk did not want to comment too much on dance because they both did well. He focused more on expressiveness on stage and Anderson did better.

I already see a minus point/worry for Anderson when he said he cannot speak Korean well. He might then have a tough time working in Korea and also needing to study Japanese to debut in this group. He doesn't have five years like Yushi to study languages if debut is around the corner, but having Anderson in the group will help the group where English speaking skills are needed. We have to think globally, but we also need to know if he is qualified to be in the debut group. 

I start thinking about Winwin from WayV and I think his Korean language skills were mediocre at the start of his career (and so was NCT Dream's Chenle for a brief period of time), but he still was able to overcome it, so if Anderson has the willpower, Anderson can push himself to learn Korean and Japanese at the same time and hope that he doesn't confuse the two languages. 

There were Chinese staff members at a Chinese school criticizing me for attempting to place my daughter in both a Mandarin and a Cantonese class at five years old. They kept saying my daughter will be confused. In my opinion, this can happen for people who are multilingual, but if the situation is avoided, the person, or my daughter in this case, will never learn. This is also the reason why none of my family can speak Mandarin well as opposed to our native Cantonese.

Amazingly, Haruta and Anderson cannot communicate well to each other in their native languages, so I guess Anderson and Haruta used body language to work with each other. I'm sure that they also had help from the staff, but language is already a challenge by itself. We shall skip any possibility of evil editing in this case because something like this type of situation can easily cause a misunderstanding.

I agreed very much with BoA. The color combinations was the first thing I saw that unlike Yushi and Sion, who had very nicely-coordinated matching outfits, I felt like Haruta was a back-up dancer and Anderson was the main dancer just by outfits alone. I also could not concentrate on Haruta well. I actually re-watched the performance many times to be fair to Haruta. In the end, my conclusion was that Anderson's expressions and dance skills is what I wanted to see in Yushi. With this expressive talent that Anderson has, he is already on my top four list for debut. I have yet to hear him sing so I won't be so sure yet. Being westernized helps because as westerners, we are taught and encouraged to bring our emotions outward for all to see. Seeing emotions on stage is a treat for the audience. I am also impressed at the articulate way that Anderson speaks. He looks to be someone who would be class president in his school and someone who aims to impress others and become excellent at what he wants to do. He responds with the right words without hesitation. I compare him to Mark in NCT in which it took me a long time to appreciate Mark because Mark couldn't normally get out a proper thought in English with lots of "ums" (filler words) in his speech. I took a long time, but I eventually became a Mark fan and accepted him for his charms. I am naturally attracted to men who can articulate their thoughts well.

Unfortunately, Haruta did not stand out to me so I can't give him any extra points or minus points. He is in the unknown section of my list. In a true SM fashion, Haruta should have thought of a way for him to stand out. There are ways to still get attention even though he is wearing all black. Hartuta said after his performance that he does not regret wearing the black outfit and that it looked nice on him. Upon hearing this, I was a bit disappointed that he missed the point because this was not a solo stage, but the two performers should match each other so that there is balance between the two performers. I am about to play Studio Choom's Mix and Match series for him.

Below is a recent Mix and Match video from NCT Dream's Jisung and Mark.

I like how my opinions are almost the same as the Artist Directors so far. I really have the pink blood (the official fan name of SM entertainment artists) in my veins.

This time, we have a vocal performance for a good variety. In SM Entertainment, there are four groups of trainees: vocal, rap, dance, and modeling.

Jungmin (정민)  and Minjae (민재), both Korean in decent, singing to "Running on the Sky," which is originally sung by singer Lee Juck

Perhaps, it was the upbeat guitar sounds that made Eunhyuk wanting the trainees to move around the stage and explore, but the trainees both stood in place. It also could be because Key mentioned that this is a popular song for Korean soldiers to sing in the military (since the soldiers are away from home and having a tough time) and also that this is a lively song.  Jungmin had an open smile at the beginning of the song so the show captions him with the term, "방긋" or bang geut (meaning an open, bright, silent smile 😃)

It is at this point, episode one ends with the question if we can continue smiling after the song is over.

Yikes. I had to laugh.

My Conclusion so far in ranking for mission one:

1. Anderson

2. Haruta

This was my review up to this point. Because I already missed two episodes, I am able to keep watching in the United States through Viki. What are your thoughts on the first episode?

Please leave a comment if you would like and you are welcome to continue to episode two of NCT Universe: LASTART.

Links:
NCT Universe: LASTART - Introduction

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 2

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 3

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 4

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 5

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 6

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 7

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 8

NCT Universe: LASTART - Introduction

 

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org

It's happening, folks! I am going to review SM Entertainment's first reality competition trainee debut show, NCT Universe: LASTART.

As a big fan of SM Entertainment's artists and music, I must be involved in this show in one way or another. I may not be a member of the "IP TF" team, but I still have my own thoughts and opinions about the contestants and the show itself.

Ever since I started watching Korean variety "survival" shows, SM Entertainment is known for declining to send any of their trainees to participate in these survival shows. If I were them, I totally agree and respect that decision. These survival shows are brutal where there tends to be lots of drama (real or not real), potential evil editing where they might accentuate a certain story angle that may or may not exist and may damage a trainee's reputation, ranking based on public vote, which is actually just a popularity vote not actually based on the trainee's talent and their survivability in the long-run, and lastly, if the trainee is selected in the end, the reward is a short contract to be in a temporary group where there is high risk negotiations can turn sour. Reaching success after the survival show is over is harder. The idol group, Wanna One, is one reality show debut group in my mind that achieved significant popularity and success after their survival shows was over, but so far this is an exception. To their credit, Wanna One had great songs such as "Energetic" among others. I am not particularly fond of the songs of other reality show groups, post show.

SM Entertainment and I think alike. We are in it for long-term survival. It is not a secret that SM Entertainment is a long-standing company with artists from the first generation of K-pop and beyond.

If you are unfamiliar with the SM Entertainment company, they are a major K-pop entertainment company in South Korea with contracted K-pop artists such as Kangta, BoA, TVXQ!, Super Junior, Girls' Generation, SHINee, Exo, Red Velvet, NCT, NCT U, NCT 127, NCT Dream, 威神V(WayV), SuperM, Aespa, GOT the Beat, Zhoumi, J-Min, Lee Dong Woo, Ginjo, Lucas, Imlay, Raiden, Riize, and more. SM Entertainment has all the professionals and staff members who guide the trainees to success. In this show, there are no particular evil edits of any trainees other than honest feedback and constructive criticism to motivate the trainees to do better as individual artists. Each trainee grows at their own speed, but for the sake of debuting, they don't have the luxury to come on this show and not show growth. What I really like is that there is no public vote because the voters are all professionals who have a stake in the success of this group. There is no time for popularity games and the constant anxiety about whether I voted X times every day to try to ensure that my favorite trainee survives. There is no payment to vote, qualifications, or ridiculous procedures to go through before my vote is considered counted. I thought elections in the USA are hard enough. Also, I like that there aren't a lot of trainees in this competition show so I can focus on all of them better. In other shows where I see dozens of members, it is hard for me to know for sure who I should vote for in the end because we only see what is shown to us and it is sad for those contestants who barely had any screen time. The final end result usually ends with me being disappointed in the final lineup because there will be some leftover trainees who didn't make the final cut, but could have made the final cut. I hope, to a minimum, that SM Entertainment will disappointment me with this show.

I find it interesting how the show is named. NCT Universe: LASTART is a play on words where the debut group would be the "last" team to debut under the NCT umbrella group, but is also going to be the "start" of their NCT career. There will only be six members in this group, but I am really hoping for seven members. WayV has seven members. NCT Dream or 7Dream, as they are affectionately called, has a perfect group of seven,  and NCT 127 used to have seven members before they officially expanded to nine members (sorry, WinWin).

Two SM Rookies, SM's official trainees, are already guaranteed a spot in the new group whose group name will be revealed probably at the final episode/show: Sion and Yushi. I will mention more about them later when I review the show. 

The grading system for the trainees is as follows: 50% of the grade will come from the artist directors and the other 50% of the grade will come from the IP TF, who are seemingly upper or executive management of SM Entertainment. I am still scratching my head on what the IP TF means. I know IP stands for Intellectual Property from the SM 3.0 business strategy and development plan videos. I find it very weird to refer to idol groups as intellectual property, but that is the reality of the situation. Everything is business. Music is business. Therefore, I only needed to figure out what TF means, and I think it does not mean a curse word. Ultimately, I am settling for the term "task force" as that sound intimidating and that is exactly who I think the IP TF are in real life or else founder Lee Soo Man, from where the initials S.M. originates, would still be in charge.

Along the way, there will also be relevant guest artists on the show who will provide the trainees feedback during their practice and also provide the trainees a gift afterwards to motivate them to do well. When I see SM artists supporting each other, I always feel fuzzy inside because SMTOWN is a family.

In this show, I will also be an acting special judge or evaluator. I won't necessarily have Artistic Director BoA's vocal goddess talents to discover details in the singing, but I will do my best to also offer my opinion and what I think so far in the show. What qualifications do I have? I have been a piano and violin player all through my school life. I have been in music or talent competitions. I have also joined the chorus for several years in school. I have been in a high school music in high school, both as an actor and a pit musician. I have studied and have a degree in music industry with a minor in music theory. I have interned at a music publishing company in the A&R department, interned at a Chinese television company, and also interned at an internet radio company. While I work in a different industry now, my forever love is the music, the performance art, and language arts. I have joined flash mobs in the past and have danced ballet and jazz when I was younger as well as being a gymnast. I have ice skated and roller skated. Again, none of these qualifies me for the real thing, but it's a good perspective, I think. Best of all, I'm a K-pop fan since 2009 and potentially a J-Pop fan.

If you like what you read so far, please look forward to my next post about episode one. I can't wait to start or LASTART.

Please leave a comment if you would like and you are welcome to continue to episode one of NCT Universe: LASTART.

Links:

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 1

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 2

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 3

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 4

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 5

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 6

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 7

NCT Universe: LASTART - Episode 8