Literally just saw this
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Oh wow, so many Easter egg SNSD signature moves incorporated in H2H's choreography 
Trip down memory lane! Was a nice touch to include
True! As if we needed more reminders that H2H feels closest to SNSD as a spiritual successor among all the SM groups 
Display MoreI think their raps are fine and suit their style and concepts.
I also appreciate that we don't have to have raps in every song because they don't have dedicated rappers that they need to give lines to.
Also, I'm not a big fan of that 'swag' vibe when it's often coming from wholesome young people, especially because most Asian cultures value humility.
It just doesn't feel genuine when you have a skinny 16yo kid street styled, scowling and calling themselves a beast in front of the camera.
Same here.
Much of the rap in K-pop feels overdone, too much of an imitation trick instead of someone's own personal style, too much trying to emulate US hiphop/rap culture, and that includes YG for me: while I get the strategy behind it, I never really liked that much their hyperfocus on 'swag' and badass rap.
I find Hyoyeon's flow great when she raps - but she isn't known for rapping, and she wasn't the designated 'rapper' in SNSD for many years. SNSD's songs don't even have real hardcore rapping parts, aside from maybe a few exceptions.
iirc the first time Hyoyeon got noted for rapping was in her collab with Henry and Yuri
That's when I noticed that Hyoyeon would've been the far better choice for SNSD's rap/fasttalk parts.
I think that only with NCT, SM started to get serious for real in selecting and training rappers instead of an afterthought, which is how Mark and Taeyong were known as actual, traditional rappers.
The 3rd gen era up to 4th gen was characterised by a lack of focus or maybe better said an indifference from K-pop companies regarding strong vocals and vocalists.
Aside from a few exceptions, there weren't many of the groups around that were praised or that were known for strong vocals and talented vocalists.
It just seems vocals were very low on the priority list of K-pop companies (bar a few like SM and RBW) when it came to selecting trainees and launching groups. And why would they, when the trend moved away from live performances to lipsync, backtrack and studio audiotune for performances and singing.
However, I noticed that there seems to be a break from that trend: to my surprise, among the more recent groups there seem to be more groups with strong vocals and talented singers, even with the most recent groups of companies where vocal technique and vocalists hadn't been a main priority in previous gens: JYP's NMIXX is known for having talented vocalists and the same applies to Babymonster.
My question: is this true, do we see an increased love and appreciation for strong vocalists and vocal lines, also from K-pop companies in the formation of their new groups?
Because if so, it runs counter to the development where as technology provides more ways to do less with more, as in not needing technically strong singers to still have superior vocals in songs.
For some reasons, SM groups (especially in contrast with YG/JYP/HYBE groups) have a notoriously hard time when they debut, either breaking through and becoming popular very slowly or being steeped in controversy and bad publicity and hate campaigns, or both.
I expect H2H to not be different in this aspect and also be a slow riser - although, luckily, I haven't seen them steeped in (manufactured) scandals, slander and hate bashing to far, so I guess that's a good sign.
Hesitating between MEOVV, H2H, Babymonster and Illit, for obvious reasons.
Kiikii was the 5th option, but after seeing their MV and their performance, I don't know... they had their charm, but I'd need to see more of them to be convinced they're the #1 hot trending group of 2025. I just didn't feel the It factor yet that I felt with IVE when they debuted.
Most of the other groups I hardly even know they existed.
I noticed that I tend to be for the underdog in any situation, the side that doesn't have the power dynamics and abundant resources/influence/connections/etc going for them since often they have a so much harder and tougher time to get their side of the story out - unless there are overwhelming arguments that speak against them.
So in this case I'd be for NJZ (I guess that's the new name for NewJeans now? Or has it always been in use? nvm)
But I do honestly admit that I pick NJZ while not knowing the full 100% details of the entire case.
I'm glad others feel and think like that too! I thought I was the only one.
I get that for rap and US-originated hiphop purists, the non-hardcore hiphop rap and fasttalk that SM (girl?)groups used from time to time is a no-go and even an abomination that is to be looked down upon.
But ever since I saw SNSD perform a soft and gentle variant of rapping that I really enjoyed and found pleasing, I thought 'why not? Why couldn't there be all kinds of alternative ways to rap or fasttalk or use words in a non-singing but still rhythmic way in songs?'
If it still sounds good, then why not?
Here's the cover that SNSD did of such a song
I noticed that Hearts2Hearts did something like that as well, talking and not rapping in The Chase, and it didn't feel out of place at all to me.
Great camerawork btw, good sense of timing and angle, making me notice details in the choreo I didn't before. I liked it!!
They also all look very tall, I guess this is the tallest SM girl group?
And lol, all these different fairy endings in their comebacks, has this become a common thing for all groups or is it just Hearts2Hearts.
They're surprisingly solid, smooth and confident on stage for a debut group. If that has become the norm for debuts, then it's very promising for 5th gen.
... oh, and Jiwoo is the leader? I guess they're sticking to the SM tradition of launching the eldest into leadership position, no matter who the eldest is.
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I really, really like their vocals!
Sp, I guess Carmen is their main vocalist? 
The Chase for me. It has some recalls to previous SM girl groups and SM gg song to me like Red Velvet b-sides that I really liked (probably no surprise, some of the people that were involved with previous SM girl group comebacks/debuts were probably also involved with H2H's).
Elements that jumped out that appeal to me are the dreamy chill vibe, clean and pleasant layered vocals and harmonizations, the talk-singing combined with the interesting background instrumentals and beat, and the r&b-ish adlibs.
It's simply a style of music that I really like and enjoy, rhythmic and catchy beat yet also laid back and chill listening, a combination that I've also enjoyed in songs like NewJeans' Ditto.
Well, since we're at it anyway
Sometimes, not even a full performance is enough
wsoet Look. bartkun is at it again.
Indeed he is. Of course, this is hardly the first time that bartkun has posted Chowon fancams. He even created two threads with same exact title of "Yet another Chowon fancam":
He does?
All I can say about it is, bartkun keep at it!! 
Well, I hope so, because I'm starting to fed up with SME. I get Music Shows, but not concerts.
Yeah, I don't get it either, but it's typically SM: vocals are and have always been 1 of their core strengths of their groups, one where they supremely dominate in in several ways, yet leave it to SM to decide not to highlight and build upon that strength and reputation but instead go for having their groups use lipsync even more unnecessarily than most other companies. I mean seriously, when will SM ever learn... 
They look great while performing. After watching this and their Choom performance and showcase, I've got to give props to their choreography and choreographer, its' a joy to watch: it has both sharp and fluid parts to it with iconic moves, while still looking clean and powerful due to their tight control and synchronisation.
They kinda remind me of SNSD in their ITNW era and GFriend in their performances, and being a group of 8 only highlights and emphasizes how iconic a sharp, well executed choreo and performance can look. Something that a group of 4-5 isn't able to make shine as much.
And I like their debut fashion&style statement, another throwback to early SNSD times but modernized to current tastes: not overtly cute, not excessively glamorous or edgy, confident but not girl crush. Common teen girls vibe but with a touch of elegance and style and r&b.
I'm not sure about 5th gen - not sure which groups belong to 5th gen - but 4th gen had some tight debuts when you list them like that together.
However, it also reminds me that the 4th gen comebacks were actually the real highlights for most of those groups: (G)Idle's Hann, Aespa's Next Level, NewJeans' Ditto, Ive's Love Dive, those were peak songs of those groups, at least to me.
) but the pieces shown here are very good, she has such a pleasant voice.
