Evaluating Kingdom Introduction Performances

  • EVALUATING KINGDOM: LEGENDARY WAR INTRODUCTION PERFORMANCES

    I'll be evaluating the performances in alphabetical order.


    ATEEZ:

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    I have to say, ATEEZ was one of the groups I was anticipating the most out of all the participating groups - and they did not disappoint! First of all, ATEEZ's natural charisma is something that is unrivalled as demonstrated by their facials during their performances. For this particular performance, the highlight was most certainly the introduction of their performance. The floorwork was especially gripping and it really highlighted Hongjoong's performance capabilities. The trio dance section was also quite attention grabbing and putting Wooyoung at the centre of it really enhanced their performance as I believe he was one of the members that excellent immersion into their concept for the intro stage.


    I think my suggestions for ATEEZ's next round would be to firstly relax a little. With this performance, some members looked understandable tense - whilst it certainly didn't impact their overall performance, I think that at times, you could see that they were thinking too much and that slightly impacted their natural group synergy. Also, I'd advise ATEEZ to show more group formations because their strength lies in performance and teamwork. Whilst it's good to highlight individual member's strengths, ATEEZ looks best when they're fully immersed in their concept as a team e.g. HALA HALA dance break.


    For the outfits, which I understand have nothing to do with ATEEZ's performance abilities, I wish their stylists would have selected better clothing. ATEEZ are amazing performers, so putting them in black which blends with the darker hue of the background is not a good way to flatter their abilities. They were seriously done dirty. For this performance, I would have preferred something velvety purple or red, distressed and perhaps decorated with ribbons to highlight their dancing lines.


    Overall, good charisma, great performance skills and lots of potential for the future! Highly anticipate their next round performance!


    BTOB

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    Definitely the vocal standouts! The intro section for this performance was absolutely beautiful, the harmonies layering on top of each other was very attention grabbing and clever for separation purposes. BTOB's experience really showed with this performance. It was easy to notice that they were quite chilled and therefore, they were able to demonstrate their abilities! Since they didn't dance, I don't have much to say about physical movement on the stage however, I quite liked the travel to the mic stands!


    My personal suggestions for BTOB's next round would be to consider their song choice. Whilst this performance did demonstrate their vocals, I think that they in particular, could have chosen a more gripping track to perform. First impressions really matter and despite killing the performance of their chosen song, I think that they could have totally shown more of their skills than they did with their introduction. I think the arrangement of the track sounded quite jarring at the transition points, but that again, is my personal opinion since music is subjective.


    Outfit wise, I'll give credit where it's due - they really stood out! It's important to separate yourself from other acts and choosing white outfits really made then stick out. Although the actual fits of the outfit could be improved, I think their stylist made a great decision with their outfits!


    Overall, excellent vocals and a moving stage! I wonder what they'll perform for the next round.


    iKON

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    This was probably, if I were to be unbiased, one my favourites of the night. iKON have the energy. I think what made them truly stand out was their 'conceptless' concept. They didn't seem to have a particular theme or message apart from the fact that they were being themsevles. Bobby in particular stood out during this performance, with cute smiles and an unbothered charisma that was such a pleasure to watch. I was cheering along to their song throughout the whole performance. I have to say, their song choice was probably my favourite of the night alongside SF9's Good Guy.


    My suggestions for next round would be to not lose themselves by attempting to immerse themselves in a concept that doesn't suit them. They stand out with their playfulness on stage and restricting that with a concept would do them for harm than good. Another thing I'd suggest is to double check the arrangement of the track a little more. There was one point at where I personally felt there was an awkward transition but it really didn't matter too much in the end.


    For outfits, their stylists put out some solid clothes although I would have liked to see more pops of colour since the 'all white with red' looked too mechanically co-ordinated to match their playful performance.


    Overall excellent engagement, song choice and performance abilities!


    SF9

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    Now that performance was certainly an experience. I might have discovered my soft spot for men in suits. The intro where all the members walked towards the camera was certainly attention grabbing. Their dancing was solid - I liked the section where the camera whip panned into the side and Taeyang, as I think he is called, was in the centre. I think their strong point is definitely having a solid understanding of themsevles as a group. The members arrangements made it so that every member which specialized in a certain area was shown to the best of their ability.


    My suggestions for SF9 would be to 'up it up'. Their performance was solid, but it wasn't anything spectacular. They're good, but nothing in the performance what they're excellent at. I know their members are capable of more; Hwiyoung for example, is an excellent rapper and yet, he was never shown rapping. Taeyang who may as well be one of the best dancers on show was never properly highlighted to showcase his acrobatic skills.


    Their outfit choices matched their concept perfectly, I have nothing to add really.


    Overall, solid performance, solid skills and if they play their cards correctly, a solid chance at gaining popularity.


    Stray Kids

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    As Stray Kids are my bias group, note that I will be putting it upon myself to be extremely picky . don't hate me fam.


    Firstly, this performance was a feast to the eyes. The movements and consideration that went into the arrangement of the track and choreography are simply incredible. The highlight of Stray Kids' performance was definitely their group choreography with the green lights and the darkness. The manner in which the track was arranged perfectly highlighted the choreography e.g. going from whispering with slow movement and little background instrumentation to a fast paced instrumental break with sharp choreography.


    For suggests, I would want Stray Kids to take a step back and prioritize overall impact over intricacies. Their concept was great, and their ideas even more so, yet the choreography was so detailed and therefore not all of the points stood out individually. You would have to loop the performance over and over again to absorb every little detail when what you want is for the audience to immediately be hit by impact. If all the performance is focused on details which all are meant to have impact, the only point that stands out are the best ones and therefore, the small details won't matter to the grand audience. For what it's worth, taking out details to sharpen up choreography synchronisation could end up benefitting them. Another point I would like to stress is highlighting their live vocals. This performance was especially dance focused, but in the future, I would like it if they showcased their live vocals more since it's really one of their strong points alongside arrangement.


    I've said this over and over again, Stray Kids' stylists are gods upon the mortal word. Outdid themselves like always, wouldn't change a thing!


    Overall, excellent performance, excellent talent and hopefully, a chance at winning!


    The Boyz

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    Wow, their dancing. The highlight of their performance was definitely the orchestral ballet dance break. Their strength definitely lies in making the group shine. From using creative camera dances to sharp choreography, The Boyz seem to know the direction they want to go. I liked their song choice and most of their arrangement, again, the orchestral part was extremely satisfying to the point where I had to listen to it multiple times and show it off to my friends.


    My suggestion for The Boyz would be to consider the impact of their choices in arrangement and how that should impact the manner at which they sing the track. Whilst the instrumental was excellent, the intro section of their performance felt a little overdone. The whispering felt far sinister than the instrumental and personally, it lacked balance in the performative aspect. I understand that whispering has impact but if the whispering is sinister, then the arrangement should mirror that scale of sinister. Capturing certain moods is difficult but once perfected, The Boyz will truly have no evident weakness in the performance aspect.


    The outfits choices were pretty flattering and matched their performance. Perhaps additions of a rich pink or gold would have made it better but seriously, there's nothing to complain about with the outfits they were given.


    My personal rankings:

    1. Stray Kids/iKON

    2. Stray Kids/iKON

    3. The Boyz

    4. ATEEZ

    5. BTOB

    6. SF9

    Edited once, last by kidsgonestray ().

  • i liked your review

  • we have the same ranking :peperun:

    Couldn't pick between Stray Kids and iKON if I was being unbiased. Like literally, they were both outstanding, so uniquely different and incomparable.

  • I would also like them to explore vocal/rap more, I believe there will still be a stage where they will focus on that

  • Flawless review as usual!


    My ranking is different from what it was the first time I've seen these performances (in the Global Livestream on February).


    Current (same as yours):

    1. Stray Kids

    2. iKON

    3. The Boyz

    4. ATEEZ

    5. BTOB

    6. SF9


    I had BTOB on #2 and iKON on #3, but changed my mind after watching the performances again.


    About SKZ's performance, it was "Beast-ish" at best, they handled the Wolf concept amazingly, BUT sometimes I felt it was a bit over powered and "full of information". I also had to watch plenty of times to get the whole performance, which is good for their streaming points lol.

    The performance could be a bit more balanced, and maybe, as you mentioned, synchronization and group formations could have created this balance, tho I think that nervousness played a big role on it.


    About SKZ's outfit, I'd just change Chan's makeup. That makeup was a big NO imo. lol


    I agree with everything you said about the other groups. I couldn't have expressed myself better.

  • That was such a detailed review, I agree with most (actually all) parts. My personal ranking goes like this -


    1) TBZ/SK - I would have put SK as alone on the first but that ballet section of TBZ was too amazing that I rewatched it so many times.


    2) iKON - I have a soft spot for iKON in my heart so I think I watched their perf in nervousness hoping that they don't mess up and they didn't. Bobby was the cutest in this perf and they really stand out.


    3) BTOB - I picked BTOB bcoz they stand out too much as the only group who focused on singing live properly rather than showing a dance performance. And I agree, their song choice could have better as they have some really beautiful songs in their discography.


    4) ATEEZ - I have only watched their perf once and I wasn't that impressed. I feel they could have done a lot better. I'm slowly watching their content and their last perf before the Kingdom one I watched was their 2019 MAMA perf and it was too outstanding that I even watched everyone's reaction to it. I guess I expected way too much for their intro stage perf.


    5) SF9 - There's not much to say about them, they did well but it was nothing extraordinary, I think they put the least effort in preparing for the stage, probably bcoz of members' schedules but that's no excuse when you're in a competition.

  • Cool review! I just watched this last night when I couldn’t sleep. I know next to nothing about most of these groups except for SK, so wasn’t sure how much I’d get out of it all, but it was really enjoyable. Definitely SK and Ikon stood out the most. Ikon seemed so at home, especially Bobby, and just relaxed into the performance, which may have *just* given them the edge. They all did so well though - I genuinely don’t believe there was much separating them all at this point.

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