In 2018, NCT had a comeback run where they had a whole chain of comeback MV's and song that showed huge diversity in song styles: Boss, Baby Don't Stop, Yestoday, Touch, Go and Black on Black.
I was stunned. I was awed.
I thought such an extensive comeback offensive was a marvelous and powerful thing to do and experience, and I've always found it a shame and saddening that it was apparently a one-time thing, something they never did like that again.
Then I saw a youtube reference to NCT's 'Resonance'.
It got me curious, and I clicked it and HOT DAMN...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IpbvXVbBYA
It was phenomenal! And this was just a medley?!
So I went and saw '90s Love, Work It, Make A Wish, Misfit, and I saw their AAA and MAMA performances, and I feel like this is just the beginning of the rabbit hole I fell in.
Some early thoughts:
- I'm glad that this comeback chain gave other, previously underexposed and deserving members of NCT lots of opportunities to shine, especially Johnny and Ten who got the spotlight they deserve but also Jeno, Hendery and new guy Sungchan had their glorious moments and others as well.
- Johnny apparently has figured out his secret formula, and that's that he doesn't need a shirt anymore to perform, he does better without
- Taeyong shows once again that he's unequaled in stage presence and flexibility with it, his expressions in Misfit track video are priceless (and so's four eyes Taeyong)
- Resonance is Black on Black 3.0: the evolved, upgraded successor of Black on Black raised to higher level of excellence
- The pure-rap track Misfit with 7 NCT rappers going hard was a revelation. Many NCT members got their moment of glory in this one.
- NCT exists out of 23 members now?! Come on, this is getting insane. Any more members, and we can't talk about a boy group anymore, but about the 'NCT Collective'
What became clear to me is that NCT has a LOT of heavy hitters in terms of idol talents. I watched their '90s Love dance practice and it was something entirely else: a few years back when I saw their performances and dance practices they were already top tier and at the top of their trade, but '90s Love dance practice and other recent performances went beyond that and left it all in the dust.
Those clean moves, all those little details, that sync and easy swagger... at this point I'm starting to think that no other group can do it like NCT anymore at the level they're now at.
This was a revelation and a pleasant surprise :)
I haven't kept up-to-date with K-pop for 4-5 months, but if a casual glance at the tip of the iceberg of what I've missed already produces awe inspiring gems like GFriend's MAGO and NCT's recent comeback offensive, I'm eager to find out what else I've missed the past months. Time to deepdive