#t01

Attention

The performers: 

Seo Won is 22 years old and currently ranked 18.

Jang Ji Ho is 18 and currently ranked 72.

Both are in the nugu group NINE.i, which debuted in March 2022. Winnie, the Thai idol who performed in Kokobop with Nice, is also in NINE.i. 

Seo Won -- that’s his full name -- is a dancer, per kprofiles dot com, and is apparently really into makeup, so there’s that.  Jiho is a rapper and is the younger brother of Go_U from Blitzers, if you follow them. If you’re wondering, Winnie is listed as a rapper. So none of them is known as a vocalist. 

The Song: 

Attention by New Jeans, which was the song of the summer for me in 2022. Fucking love this song. I actually am not wild about most New Jeans songs but I could listen to this every day and never get sick of it. 

My take:

I love the song, and I respect what they were going for, but this performance didn’t work out. I’m evaluating them as much for the practice video as for the actual Star Level Test (SLT), because they did much better in the practice video, and we know they may have been completely exhausted during the filming of the SLT. 

One big problem in the official SLT is that they transposed it to a new key and then the boys couldn’t find the note to start with. It was all wavery and wonky. I don’t even know what note they should have started with, but not that note. I’m not even sure whose fault it is. Considering, however, that neither of them has a vocalist position in their group, I actually think they have vocal potential. 

It’s especially a bummer because I think they could have killed it if they had just started on that right note, and it looks like they were maybe doing something interesting musically. I actually really like how it sounds in the practice video -- it’s kind of cool. 

As for the dancing, Seo Won was noticeably better than Jiho. He does that body bend to “Attentionnnnnnnn” much better. His angles are sharper, he has more power and looks more comfortable on stage. 

Side note: I am super over what I guess I’ll call “Blood Sweat and Tears” style choreography in Kpop. A great example of what I’m talking about is the choreo for “Sugar Rush Ride” by TXT. Love the song, love the guys, hate most of the choreo. It’s all that shoving your arm forward, touching your body, touching each other, putting your hands over each other’s eyes, making it seem like you’re using magic to move each other’s bodies, all that shit. It was perfect in “Blood Sweat and Tears” and now I wish it would cease. More importantly, whatever they were trying to do didn’t fit the spirit of the song. It reminds me of when Lovelyz did a weird “sexy” version of Achoo for Queendom. It was a big mistake. You have to honor the lyrics of a song -- if you do a different version, there has to be a reason. 

That’s not exactly their fault, though. I bet they prepared this themselves, without any help from an agency or choreographer, and while it interfered with my enjoyment of the performance, I’m not going to ding them too hard for it. 

The judges said:

Seo Won 3 stars ⭐⭐⭐ 

Jang Ji Ho 2 stars ⭐⭐

It seems fair to me, actually.  

It’s weird because this was presented in the show’s editing as if it were terrible -- we in the audience saw Jiho getting his 2 stars, not Seo Won getting his 3 stars. MNET!!! :: shakes fist:: 

Should you watch it?  

I’d watch the practice video instead, in which they both sing so much better. If you watch it, Seo Won is in the purple and Jiho is in the gray. 

Bloom Bloom 

The performers: 

Cha Woong Ki age 20, currently ranked 10. He used to be in T01 under the name Woongi, where he held the position of “vocalist.” 

Oh Sung Min age 21, currently ranked 17. He used to be in T01 under the name Jerome, wher he held the position of “vocalist/visual”. 

They’re both signed under WakeOne, just like the team that did ATEEZ’s The Real, and the Global Team with Min, Hikaru, and Anthonny, who did Glitch Mode. They’re actually the same age as or older than all the members of The Real, but are dressed to look cuter and younger. I don’t know why. Sung Min in particular looks much better when he’s styled to look his age. 

I mean.

Quick note on T01: 

This group was the result of a survival show called World Klass and was originally known as TOO. They had some rough times and were treated really poorly by their agency, there was an agency dispute, they changed their name, etc. You just get a bad vibe from the whole thing. But TOO had potential. I think their cover of TVXQ’s Rising Sun for Road to Kingdom might be one of their finest moments. If you want to look for our two trainees, watch the bottom left corner where the singer and lyrics are shown. Sung Min’s stage name Jerome looks like this in Korean: 제롬  and Woonggi looks like this in Korean : 웅기 

Oh, and Pentagon went on Road to Kingdom, as well, which means that Hui has likely met both Woong Ki and Sung Min before, if only briefly. 

The Song: 

Aww, Bloom Bloom pow! It’s a cute song and I’ve always liked it. But like most songs by The Boyz, it’s a bit too high pitched for most boys to sing comfortably. Spoiler alert, I guess. 

My take: 

Quick reminder: Sung Min is in the suit, Woonggi is in the hat. 

They really throw themselves into it, bless ‘em, but at times I see fear in their eyes. For the first minute or so, Woonggi actually has better vocals, and then as he tires it gets worse and worse until it’s really sad. Sung Min, to his credit, executes a difficult vocal run at about 1:09 in. As for the dancing, it’s not bad, but doesn’t seem like the world’s most difficult choreo, and Woonggi gets really out of breath even though it’s only 90 seconds long. 

The judges said:

Cha Woong Ki 1 star ⭐

Oh Sung Min 2 stars ⭐⭐

Again, it seems fair to me, but pretty depressing for debuted idols who already won a reality show.

Should you watch it?

I’d say no. It made me sad. The practice video is moderately better, if you have the urge -- not nearly as cracky. If you watch the practice video, Woonggi is in pink. 

Freak

The performers: 

Han Seo Bin is ranked 70th.

Park Ji Hoo is ranked 47th. He’s the one who told Hui “I just got here!” in episode 1. He looks different here than he did there -- I guess he did his hair differently. 

Both are only 16 years old, and both are signed to H1GHR MUSIC, which is known for being focused more on rap. It’s home to Code Kunst, who basically never makes a bad song. So it makes sense that they’d rap for their audition. And it makes even more sense that JiHoo wouldn’t want to sing to Hui. 

The Song: 

I hadn’t been familiar with this song before, and it didn’t exactly catch my fancy. Sorry, Zico fans! I guess I’m more of a Loco fan. 

My take:

They’re not bad rappers, gotta say. I don’t know Korean nearly well enough to tell how good their pronunciation is, but their tone sounds ok to me. They also really threw themselves into their performance, acting out the lyrics, really going for it. 

The choreography isn’t necessarily super difficult but they make big movements and their balance is good. Seo Bin gives it more in the dance department, lifting up his legs much higher, making bigger reaches. 

The few lines they sing don’t sound great, but they’re here to rap. 

The judges said:

Han Seo Bin 4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐! 

Park Ji Hoo  4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐! 

I think I would have gone more 2-3 stars -- I’m not convinced they can sing on key, or do more difficult choreo. Maybe 2 for JiHoo and 3 for SeoBin. 

Should you watch it?  

Considering that the judges gave this 4 stars, maybe you should!

Gambler

The performer: 

Lee Ye Dam is 20 years old and is currently ranked 45. He went on the show LOUD, in which JYP and Psy both judged and picked their favorite trainees… and both of them picked him! He ended up picking Psy, and then getting eliminated in Round 7, so he did pretty well. 

He’s signed with LM entertainment, which was founded to manage former Wanna One members Yoon Jisung and Kang Daniel -- they seem interested in soloists, not boy groups, so it makes sense they’d want an all ‘rounder and that he’d audition on his own.  

The Song: 

This is the song that made me a Monbebe and was my most-played song of 2021, so…. yeah. Think it’s fair to say I love this song. If you’re not familiar with it, watch the dance practice for it -- it’s much better than live versions because one member got injured and didn’t perform live and blah blah just trust me. 

My take:

Jesus H Christ. YeDam goes out there and raps like Joohoney and then sings and dances like Shownu, all by himself. This isn’t an easy passage to rap, and this isn’t easy choreo to pull off, but he does it. Yeah, he started to run out of air here and there, he needs to work on his breath control, some notes were too high for him, but this was tough and he did amazing. Listen to the Space Council roaring with approval in the video. This was a really impressive audition. I think I would have given him 4 stars. 

The judges said:

4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐! Sanity reins!!! 

Should you watch it?  

Fuck yeah. 

Love Scenario

The performers: 

Choi Seung Hun is ranked 46, and at 14 years old, is the youngest in the competition. His slogan, per his intake form, is “I’m not good enough, but I’ll do my best.” He has been an actor since he was 6 years old, and has acted in around 30 drama series and 3 movies between then and now, working steadily, usually playing the young version of other characters in flashbacks.

Jeon Ho Young is ranked 81, and is 18 years old. He’s also an actor, having appeared in 4 or 5 dramas and a movie. 

The Song: 

A classic, and for a good reason. One of those songs that after you’ve heard it a few times, you almost can’t imagine a world in which this song doesn’t exist -- as if it’s always existed. 

My take:

Oh, this is really bad. Ho Young in particular looks terrified, and little Seung Hun sort of executes dance moves without actually dancing. Ho Young’s vocals are actually pretty ok, if you listen past the terror. Seung Hun’s vocals were within range of the key, which is better than some of the other auditions.

I checked out their practice video and Ho Young’s vocals are much better there, enough for me to feel like 3 stars wouldn’t have been insane. But their dancing and performance is still quite stilted, especially for little Seung Hun. 

The judges say: 

Little Choi Seung Hun gets 1 star ⭐, and I agree completely. Like obviously not ready to debut, but not 100% hopeless.  

Jeon Ho Young gets 2 stars ⭐⭐, and again, fair. Someone who has displayed some skill acquisition in progress, though they are equally not ready to debut. 

Should you watch it?  

No, don’t bother, unless maybe you know them from their dramas. 

Lullaby

The performers: 

Jung Ho Jin turned 20 on Feb 27 of 2023, and is ranked 48th. His hobbies include eating and talking, and he used a ton of exclamation points on his intake form.

Kim Min Hyuk is 23, and ranked a sad 90th out of 93. He likes learning new things. 

Park Gwan Young is 22 years old and ranked 61st. He was on another survival show called Stars Awakening, and made it close to the end. His motto is, in English, “4 Seasons Boy 4 You!” 

*Jo Eun Woo* is 18 and has already left the show. I think he left really early in the process, so we don’t even have info on his initial star ranking. 

The Song: 

Possibly my favorite GOT7 song, or at least, quite high on the list. Check it out if you’re not familiar. There is actually a decently non cringey English version, too. 

My take:

Jung Ho Jin in the blue shirt was, to my eyes, a pretty good dancer. Decent footwork, good angles, I don’t know, it looked good to me. He had a maniacal grin the whole time, and I think he’d do well to dial that back, but I’ll take that over stone face. He also mouthed along when he wasn’t singing, which I guess isn’t unheard of in Kpop but I disapprove of it. His singing was very weak. I’d give him maybe 2 stars, mainly for the dancing. 

Kim Min Hyuk did ok, I think. He hit that first note perfectly, and a lot of the time he sounded ok, though fell a bit flat when he was dancing harder. He also took the term “ad lib” seriously and didn’t hit exactly the same ad libs as the original song had, which I don’t hate, but maybe the judges did, no way to know. His dancing seemed good to me. His biggest problem is I don’t think he smiled once -- he looked miserable. 

Park Gwan Young has the most stage presence, and looked like he was actually having fun performing. His singing was in the vicinity of the key most of the time and sometimes actually on it. His dancing and footwork looked good to me, though again I’m not the best judge of that. Arguably the best in the group. Maybe his experience being on another survival show before helped him feel more comfortable than the others. 

The judges say 

Jung Ho Jin in the blue shirt earns 1 star ⭐. Enh, I see why. 

Kim Min Hyuk with the actual adlibs earns 2 stars ⭐⭐ , which seems basically fair. 

Park Gwan Young with the not terrible singing earns 2 stars ⭐⭐ . Yeah, fair. He needs to work on his pitch. 

Should you watch it?

I wouldn’t bother.   If you prefer, you can check out their practice video -- they’re more relaxed and rested in that and their vocals are much better. I mean, based on that video I might have given Park Gwan Young three stars (he’s wearing a tie in the practice video). He’s got a charm to him, actually. 

Maniac

The performers: 

Haru is 17 and is ranked 53rd. He’s not signed with any agency, and claims to be good at vocal mimicry. 

Riku is 18 and is ranked 93rd, aka, last. He’s also not signed with an agency, and his motto is “I will charm you with a lovely figure.” 

The Song: 

It’s not my favorite Stray Kids song, and I feel like it’s a tough choice for an audition song, because no one can do Felix’s deep parts but Felix (or maybe Wyatt from ONF?). But they probably didn’t choose it.

My take:

Neither of them hit the vocals quite right, though Haru was a lot closer. Both of them were better at rapping than singing. I actually think their dancing wasn’t bad, and they did seem to commit to the performance pretty well. I can see why this wasn’t aired -- it wasn’t nearly bad enough to be funny, but not good enough to be actually good. 

Judges say: 

Haru is given ⭐⭐2 stars.

Riku is given ⭐1 star.

That seems fair. I might have given them both 2 stars, but Riku’s pitch was a bit too shaky perhaps.  

Should you watch it?  

Enh, maybe, I don’t know, probably not. If you want to watch it, you may have to search for “스타 레벨 테스트 maniac” to find it. (that says “star level test.”) 

UN Village 

The performer: 

Wumuti is 23 years old and ranked 49th. He’s been on a ton of reality shows before this -- 3 Chinese ones and 1 Korean one (Under 19 -- one source says he withdrew early, but someone else says he made it to the end, I'll be honest and say I don't know).  Here’s a promo photo from one of his early appearances, and no, I have no idea what he’s wearing. 

The Song: 

I’m an EXO fan so of course I love Baekhyun, but this song was never my favorite. I don’t have a good reason why. It’s fine, just didn’t stay long on my playlist. 

My take:

Wumuti says in his intake form that this is one of his favorite songs, and it was an ambitious choice. It’s a difficult song to sing, and he does a decent job with it, considering. His vocal color isn’t nearly as thick and distinct as Baekhyun’s is, so his performance will never compare favorably to the original. He also has trouble with some of the highest notes. However, I appreciate that he held a real microphone and tried to show his vocal abilities. There wasn’t enough dancing for me to evaluate, really, but I get the sense he at least has rhythm. 

Judges say:

2 stars ⭐⭐. I think they may have dinged him for his lack of dancing, because I think these vocals should have earned him 3 stars. He does a bit untrained -- I wonder how good he could be if he can work with Solji and the other vocal trainer and learn how to support his higher notes. He also needs to work on his vocal agility (ability to move through many different notes in a row). 

Should you watch it?  

I think so. He’s pretty good.

Veil 

The performer: 

Wang Zi Hao, from China. He’s 21 years old and ranked 29th. He claims his specialty is Krump.

The Song: 

Lay, as a sorta-member of EXO, has all my support. He’s charming and multi talented. This song doesn’t quite catch my fancy, I’m sorry to say, but I could see how someone else would like it. 

My take:

First off, can we put a hard pause on head to toe black shiny leather? Sigh. 

Zi Hao is a big fan of Lay, which makes sense, and you can see why he wanted to do this song. Still, it was an interesting choice of song for an audition, because it’s in a mixture of English and Chinese. I think it *should* be ok for a trainee to audition in a language other than Korean, but you very rarely see it. (It’s possible he sang in English the whole time -- I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure.) His vocals seemed pretty pitchy to me. I think the dancing was good --  his movements were big and sharp and confident.

Judges say: 

3 stars ⭐⭐⭐ That seems high to me because of his vocals, but he was on key some of the time, so I guess they were a little kind. 

Should you watch it? 

I’d say probably not, but I won’t warn you away from it or anything.

Who

The performers: 

Lee Dong Yeol is 24 and currently ranked 26th.

Lee Hwan Hee is also 24, and ranked 38th. 

Both are members of a relatively nugu group called Up10tion; Dongyeol goes by Xiao and is the lead dancer, while Hwanhee uses his real name and obviously is the main vocalist. You’ll hear his Baekhyun-eseque vocals all through their tracks -- in the way that some groups have a “face of the group,” he’s the voice of this group. You probably don’t know their fantastic song SpinOff, but you should, it’s good. 

UP10TION debuted in 2015, under T.O.P Media, home to TeenTop (check out “To You,” find a dance version) and MCND (Check out ‘Crush.’ I swear, it grows on you). UP10TION, as the name implies, was once a 10-member boy group. Several of their members have terminated their contracts with T.O.P., but a few of those stayed with the group anyway, so there are 7 members active now. However, apparently a bunch more will see their contracts expire in March of 2023, so the timing here is pretty obvious. 

(Side-note: When will K-Pop agencies learn not to put the number of members in the title of the group? Imagine if Exo had been called like, Exo-12. Sigh.) 

The Song: 

Enh? It's obviously trying for that quirky, stripped down sound, but it’s so stripped down as to be just that bit boring for me. I can see why they’d want to do a song originally performed by a duo, but with this song, there’s nowhere to hide, vocally. It doesn’t suit Hwanhee’s voice, either, for some reason. He sounds best when he belts. 

My take:

This made me really sad. I would like to believe that Hwanhee can do so much better, because I love his studio vocals, and I know how tired and stressed they’d have to be. But it sounds so strained and painful. And then Dong Yeol sounds like… well, it sounds like he better be a really, really good dancer. Luckily he is. Neither was very presentational -- it was like watching a dance practice, not a performance. It really seems obvious that that bit in the choreo where one sort of tickles the other one on the chin, that’s the “killing part.” And during that killing part, Dong Yeol doesn’t actually touch Hwanhee. Look, I don’t care about skinship or whatever, I care about committing to the performance. Either do that move all the way, or don’t do that move if you’re uncomfortable touching each other.

The Judges say: 

Lee Dong Yeol gets 2 stars ⭐⭐ 

Lee Hwan Hee gets 3 stars  ⭐⭐⭐

Yeah, I think that is actually pretty fair. 

Should you watch it?  

Probably not. If you do want to, it’s really hard to find when you search for it, so you can use this link. It’s not that it’s atrocious or anything, but I just have to believe they could have done better -- or maybe they can’t, and that’s sad too. 

And on that somber note, we draw this to a close! Hope you’ve been finding this all useful and/or fun so far. 

Click here to go to first half of the ep 2 recap.