#newkidd

So, this song is originally by a woman named Park Hwayobi, whose is often known as just Hwayobi. She’s been called the Korean Queen of R&B and she’s credited as a singer songwriter, though I don’t know if she writes all of her songs or just some of them. She’s been putting out music pretty steadily since 2000, with her most recent song coming out in 2021. I think she’s currently mired in some sort of contract dispute with her former agency, and that might be why she hasn’t put out any songs in a few years. 

The song Something Like That is apparently also known as What’s Going on. I found a video for it on Youtube, which apparently was filmed on a potato and then recorded on a piece of Laffy Taffy for posterity, so watch it at your own risk. Musically, it sounds like a song Toni Braxton might have sung in the late 90s or early 2000s. Lyrically, t’s a breakup song, kind of akin to Don’t Speak  by No Doubt. Sample lyrics: 

After walking some distance/ You'll turn around to give me a glance won't you / With that, just like the old days / You'll come to me and hug me with a smile won't you?

You really liked me once, you had treasured me so much / No, I'm going to believe / that something like never seeing you again / will never happen

Though the song itself is pretty old, it’s been covered many times, as the editors of Build Up point out, including a 2023 version sung by Paul Blanco, who I know nothing about but appears to be male. In other words, this won’t be the first time that men sing this song. 

The judges joke a bit about how difficult the song is to sing, noticing as if for the first time that all the songs are hard. I mean, isn’t that the point? 

Flashback to the beginning of the mission. We see a little montage of all the groups meeting each other, shaking hands, being a little silly, getting to know each other. 

Then we see Team Something Like That and they’re just sitting there, looking kinda beige. 

Finally, Taehwan from Vanner, the most colorful of them, asks everyone about their ages, so they can establish their pecking order. 

Left to right: Ma Jae Kyung, Kwon Euibin, Taehwan, Lee Minwook

Turns out that Taehwan is the oldest, at 30 years old, and Minwook is the youngest, at 24. 

We didn’t see much of any of these four in the first episode, so here’s a brief recap of who they are. See my Episode 0 recaps for more info on everyone. 

Jaekyung used to be the main vocal of a group called Romeo, performing under the name of Kyle. He was V25 and I didn’t love his super nasal tone and wobbly vibrato, but maybe he’ll surprise me next time!

Euibin is a trainee who has been on other shows. He was V35, and I thought his voice was sweet and pretty, but he strained on some of the higher notes and occasionally got a little shouty. 

Taehwan was shown on camera a ton in episode 1, but we didn’t hear much from him. He’s from a group called Vanner that actually seems to be on the up and up. He was V13 and I thought he sounded a bit pinched and nasal, but he has a warm, textured voice -- a lot of talent, maybe less training. 

Minwook is from a group called Newkidd. He was V9, a ballad I actually kind of liked. He sang completely live with apparently just a guitar, and I liked how much warmth he put into his lower notes. I didn’t get to hear much belting or upper register, but I liked what he did already a lot.

It’s kind of interesting that Jaekyung and Taehwan are in this group together, since they were both in groups that competed on Peaktime last year. But they might not have met during that competition, since it was group based and they might not have mixed. 

Keeping with the theme of seeing very little of any of these four, we see almost nothing about them during their rehearsal period. They’re portrayed as boring and stiff and pale when they meet, and then we go almost immediately to the performance, with the on-screen caption, “What would the emotional ballad Something Like That be like interpreted by these four?” It’s dripping with sarcasm. Thanks, editors. Theditors. 

Taehwan, their leader, introduces the team as Four J, and they all make J shapes with their legs.

LTR: Kwon Euibin, Lee Minwook, Taehwan, Ma Jaekyung

They explain that the name is based off their MBTI -- they’re all “J”s. 

Backstage, Jay Chang says he’s also a J/Jay, and when Solar says “I love J,” Jay says, “Thank you!” making Geonu laugh. 

The members introduce themselves one by one, starting with Euibin. He speaks in a kind of monotone, saying, “If you hear it once, you’ll remember my voice”. His words appear as a caption on-screen with periods in between each syllable, and the editors add a pixelated noise, as if he’s a robot. 

Backstage, some of the guys are laughing, but I don’t think it’s mean spirited. They say, “he’s so nervous!” and shout that he’s cute. 

Next is Ma Jaekyung, who says he wants to serenade us. He says he’s a former member of Romeo. 

Taehwan introduces himself as the main vocal of Vanner and says he’s a human cider. Ok, let me explain. In Korea, a “cider” is a soda like 7up or Sprite, not the alcoholic apple juice. In slang terms, the feeling of the word cider is of refreshment in general, especially if someone says something that perfectly expresses what you’re feeling. Here’s more on that, if you’re interested. 

Baekho asks Taehwan if he went on a survival program recently, and Taehwan confirms that he did, with a smile. Baekho says that Taehwan’s grades on that show were good, and yes, they were! Vanner actually won Peak Time. We see a clip of other contestants approaching Taehwan during the first episode to congratulate him on Vanner’s win. 

Baekho says, Your team already has a reputation for good singing…? And Taehwan says that he wants to be known personally for his singing. He’s a cutey, isn’t he? 

Lee Minwook introduces himself as “Sweet but full of ambition -- Lee Minwook of Newkidd.” The judges ask him why he came on the show, and he says that his group debuted during Covid-19 and have never really done any proper team activities. Everyone says “waaa… aigoohh” 

It’s almost as if these guys have really interesting backstories, MNET? And maybe we could have spent some time getting to know them? 

Oh, but we’re not going to do that? Just going to briefly show a few still images of Newkidd and then go straight into the … oh, no time, here we go!

Here’s the link without all the reactions. 

My thoughts:

Oof, what a cheesy arrangement, with bad sound mixing that was actively fighting the vocals. But the vocals themselves were mostly pretty fantastic. Lot of good stuff here. 

Minwook was occasionally slightly pitchy at the start, but he warmed up and got better as he went. He had a lovely vocal color, with sweet high notes. His belts later on in the song were fantastic. Really, really great stuff. 

Jaekyung was a lot less nasal than he was in his teaser performance, and none of that ultra-wobbly vibrato. Just a really great performance.

Euibin may well have been quite nervous, because he was pitchy and nasal for his first two sections of singing. His vocals got cleaner and cleaner as he went, and we could hear some of the excellent technique and lovely vocal color that must have earned him a spot on the show. That one belt toward the end, during the key change, was amazing. His last line was a tiny bit pitchy again, though. Also, he never varied his facial expression. 

Here’s Taehwan. Uh oh, guys, I think I have another bias. Slightly older with an appealing smile? Check. Voice that gives me shivers? Check and check. Ok, his first line or two were maybe slightly pitchy but then he got into it and it was amazing. I’ve listened to this a few times, not looking at the screen so I’m just hearing the voices, and every time it’s Taehwan’s turn I’m like ahhhh. Like when you stick your cold feet into the warm water of a jacuzzi. Ahhh. I know I said in my initial write up that I didn’t think he had as much training as some of the others, but I take that back. This guy knows how to sing. I know I’m not saying anything of substance but I just like his vocal color so much.

All four of them are great, and Jaekyung and Minwook are excellent, but Taehwan is superb. 

Side note: what is this weird liminal place they’re performing in front of? Just this mostly empty room with egg-sized raindrops beating down on the garage door sized windows.

The MNET edit lets us know that all this singing is good.

Soomin likes the singing. I think. I guess?

Solar likes the singing. I think. I guess?

We hear some instant replays of Euibin’s big note during the key change, but otherwise they’re pretty restrained. 

When they’re done, the judges applaud, and backstage, the boys wonder who could even be chosen as top tier in a group where all of them were so good. 

Jaehwan leads things off by praising how smooth and effortless Minwook’s singing was as he went through the song.

Baekho tells Taehwan that this is the first time he’s really heard Taehwan sing, like really sing, and he was so happy to hear his real real voice. VCG agrees. 

Eunkwang points out that Euibin did a great job with those high notes in the middle, but that the first two sections he sang were a bit disappointing. Ok, for once I agree with Eunkwang.  Mark your calendars. 

We don’t hear anything about Jaekyung, good or bad. 

So who will the top tier be?

Baekho votes for Euibin. VCG votes for Taehwan. Solar, Eunkwang, and Jaehwan vote for Minwook. 

I can’t be mad at it -- he did an excellent job. Congratulations, Minwook! You deserve it.

See, Taehwan says congratulations, too!

Minwook says he really didn’t expect to win. He’s stunned. He says it’s his first time winning first place and that it’ll probably be one of the most important events of his life. 

Then we have a preview of awfulness to come. Sigh.