#voiceplay

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AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA that was so good!!!!!! I had high hopes and They! DELIVERED!

Honestly this feels like the Be Prepared release on Patreon all over again, both in terms of the timing of when it dropped (close to midnight for me, and even when I was in the middle of watching a random unrelated YouTube reaction video, both times!) and also in regards to the cover being so darn good that it sends me a little bit insane and making me unable to sit still on my bed when watching/listening to it. So we're in Top Tier territory, basically. But enough rambling, let's start breaking this down!

First off, for once I will actually let them off the hook regarding the video being a bit simpler than I first predicted, because there's so much to process audibly already, that I'm pretty sure a more "fleshed-out" video would've actually been too dang much for me to handle! 😅 (And besides, Grace and the guys all still really got into their performance of the songs, and I did really like the dynamic lighting throughout the video (done by Eli of course))

Second of all, I was of course wondering who they would get as a collaborator for this one, and/or if they'd get more than one like they did for the Wicked medley. I never really considered the idea of bringing in a brand new person (new as a collaborator, I mean), but Grace turned out to be a great choice, and of course it was a good idea to get someone who's confident singing in Korean (besides Eli and Cesar).

Anyway, analysis/review time!

How It's Done is such an absolute banger of an opening song, for like anything ever quite frankly (I still remember getting my mind blown by it the first time I watched the film, absolutely not expecting the movie to go so hard so quickly, and boy I loved it!). I wasn't sure if the song would translate well to acapella, but VoicePlay absolutely definitely made it work!!!

I was vibing so much already that Geoff taking over the lead for "beating you is what I do, do, do, yeah" took me by surprise a little (not in a bad way), and that was just the tip of the iceberg! A warning before the real attacks in this cover! 😂

This isn't the first time Eli's sung in Korean for a VoicePlay medley, having sung part of BTS' Fake Love for VP's Boy Bands In 5 Minutes medley back in 2019! And man, him pulling off the Korean lyrics just after "something about when you come for the crown..." is really impressive! It's so fast, and I haven't had a hope in hell of remembering any of the syllables for that part!

God I swear every time Geoff does a subharmonic in this one it's like a personal attack! Here I am just having a great time dancing along on my bed, and then I suddenly hear Geoff's dragon rumbles start in the backing vocals! /lh

Only on my second listen have I fully processed the transition between How Its Done to Soda Pop (including whatever that sound is that Geoff does, lol). Fascinating!

Return of Cesar's fan! (Honestly the shot of him holding the fan like that gives me big We're Good vibes. And now I kinda wanna do a "Cesar And His Fan" photo compilation post).

And a return of Layne rapping! Gosh it feels like it's been a while since that's happened! (And spinning a VoicePlay-branded soda can on his finger (through the power of post-production editing) while doing so!)

I once tried to learn the choreography to the chorus of Soda Pop, but honestly it's a workout, and not that easy!

(Also I've only just noticed that Cesar folds up his fan and uses it as a microphone - iconic, love that for him <3 )

And Layne with the water-drop sound effect for the start of Golden! So much classic Voiceplay stuff in such a new, fresh medley! 💜

Quite honestly, when VoicePlay released their Mino cover of Golden with Ashley Diane last year, I was like "yeah it's alright", but I wasn't super taken by it. It just felt a bit too slow and with not enough energy (they maybe should've picked a different section of the song to start on, I think), but in this medley, I have no complaints!

Golden is a very tough song to sing, but Grace definitely killed it!

Again, I was vibing, and then I heard Geoff suddenly start doing a low droning note (subharmonic?) at the end of the Golden chorus, and was like O.O and like "that's an Interesting choice for the end of the song," but then I suddenly tuned into the chanting from the rest of the guys and realized what song was being done next, and was simultaneously both excited and Scared(tm).

(Man if I had a nickel for every time a VoicePlay cover included Latin chanting...)

No lie, when my brain processed that Geoff was the one starting off with lead vocals for Your Idol (which took a few seconds or so), I actually had to pause and just walk around my room and take a moment. 😂 Like of course. Of freaking course it's him! This man! I swear! Anyway Very Rude and How Dare They /j

(But seriously, VoicePlay I love you, don't stop)

I rewound it and just realized how long Grace's riff actually lasts for throughout the chanting! Damn girl!

"Keeping you in check, keeping you obsessed, play me on repeat, keutteopsi in your head." Sir yes sir! 🫡🫡🫡

(On a Totally Completely Unrelated note, hey Geoff I don't suppose there are any bilingual songs you're interested in covering this year? 👀)

"Yeah you gave me your heart, now I'm here for your soul." You're damn right you have my heart! I thought you had my soul as well already, but here, take it, catch!

On a more serious note though, other Patrons are saying that Geoff hit a B0? And on text AGAIN? (Following Hunt The Sky). This man is truly insane!

Also Cesar is kill-ing it with his performance! Truly understood the assignment and we stan! 🙌

First of all, I love that Cesar got Zoey's lines for both Golden and What It Sounds Like (he really is so much like Zoey <3), and second of all, "why did I cover up the colours stuck inside my head?" I feel like could have a double meaning when applied to Cesar, and honestly I just love him so much! 💜

SO, in case you didn't read the description first and didn't have the subtitles on, the "audience vocals" part of What It Sounds Like (as in like the movie when the people in the crowd start singing) were provided by Patrons! Just! Like! Me! My voice is in this cover, y'all! We got notified with a callout for Patron participation back in late December, a few days after Christmas, and I was eagerly awaiting the medley ever since, until now! :D (According to Layne in the YouTube premiere chat, over 70 Patrons submitted vocal tracks for this)

Also I love how the walls of the room suddenly become lit with glowing coloured dots, to represent all the Patrons! (That was confirmed to be intentional by VoicePlay btw)

The bright streaks of light running across the light boxes in the background look very similar to the visuals in the corresponding movie scene, when Rumi, Mira, and Zoey are all floating up in the air as they keep singing. Probably deliberate?

I was totally fine with Free and Takedown being left out of the medley, but I still liked the way they were acknowledged during the mashup section at the end!

Very much giving "epic act 1 closer song from a stage musical" vibes ngl, and I love it

And that is VoicePlay's KPop Demon Hunters Medley! What a treat! (And I'm counting it as an early birthday gift, because the public release dropped just a couple days before my birthday!)