wild idol, episode 12

[yestoday]

complete rundown of wild idol episode 12 ending roast battle:

‪0:00 the beginning.
0:31 taehoon our first victim
2:03 changsun is a leader he leads
2:45 sunghyuk boomer allegations
3:41 jooan fighting for his life
↳ segment 1. short men alliance union
↳ segment 2. team a drama resolution
6:23 jaeeok v sunghyuk showdown
7:58 jiseong never shuts up he just like me fr
9:07 geonwook gets humbled
9:38 hyunyeop fights back against junhyeop
10:10 kijung crybaby exposure
11:23 jaejun prepares to have it with both barrels
11:40 jagiyaz line relationship therapy session
11:53 jagiyaz dating show recap cut

And, perhaps, one day I will write a full review/rant/opinion-anthology of this show or at least of some other episodes. Because I certainly have a shit load of thoughts stacking up across these four months. The freshest one in mind being that Jooan was absolutely robbed in the Sherlock stage.

Listen, Jaeeok is my buddy, but by all means, he did not have any 'wow' moments that stood out to me like Jooan did at all. Sure, Jaeeok had the more impressive high notes, but Jooan and Hyunyeop also did? Even the judges agreed that Jooan's overall performance and vocal stability was better... so I don't understand. But anyway, in the end, I suppose it won't make much of a difference to me since Jooan is still 3rd place; I won't get hung up over it. And, okay, despite everything I just spit out, I'm happy for Jaeeok too! I really am! I am just unhappy for Jooan.

While we're on the topic of the Sherlock vocal stage, I want to discuss Kijung. (Of course I do; this show has metamorphosed me from "i need to let you guys know that i actually do not know what kijung looks like." into #1 Kijung Defender within the span of a month.) Now, Mr. Kim Kijung can fucking sing, okay. I swear to god, MBC edited the interim check evaluation and stressed his under-confidence in the interview to make it seem like he sucked‪—‬and it worked; I believed it and was as nervous as he was when the performance started‪—‬but then he opened his mouth and BOOM I was blown all the fucking way to the moon; he sounded good, he sounded damn great.

Kijung sounded like Jonghyun. You know how Jonghyun's voice sounds lustrous, sharp but in the way of the edge of a blade rather than a pointy tip, and like it's carving you out. Kijung had undertones of that here; I heard a touch of that signature Jonghyun timbre of it and was a quite thrown back (not in a bad way, of course). I've never noticed that before, so I'm fairly sure Kijung changed his tone on purpose for this performance to mimic Jjong. This isn't a bad thing because he slayed while doing it (clearly, considering how shocked I was).

Anyway to close this off and prevent me from getting to carried away because it's late again and I need to fucking sleep, let me prevent my order ranking of the constants in each team (rap, dance, vocal‪—‬in that order):

*This will all be decided with my personal attachment to these men pushed aside as much as I can. I will try to objectively assess these people solely in terms of how well they did in their respective category. Obviously, I'm not a professional in any of these, but out of the three, I have the most understanding of dance, so that section may be a tad longer than the rest.

RAP

1. Jiseong. My guy made himself stand out through the whole thing somehow despite his‪—‬in my opinion‪—‬most generic-sounding voice out of these four. From my perspective, he also visibly appeared more professional than the others. I agree with the judges on him.

2. Hyunwoo. He has a really strong, unique tone and nice flow. He's going to be YG's next Kwon Hyunbin if he ever goes solo. I think placing him last in this cypher was a smart move; he was like the final boss, a binding force that tied the whole performance together. Also, he is sexy. (Not that that sways my judgement here, in this particular ranking, of course.)

3. Yoonho. While he was performing, I remember someone commentated that he's really good at creating an atmosphere; it's true, it's true! Though, I think it was the way he moved that contributed to most of that, which may have more roots in his dancer background, and this is a rap contest, so that aspect can't dominate the scoring for this one. I did like his ad libs; they sounded natural.

4. Geonwook. I do think he has a fantastic voice for rapping. He is also my baby, so I feel guilty saying anything bad about him, but his actual lines sounded awkward to me, which wouldn't be his fault if he didn't write his own lines... oops. Should've listened when Lil Boi told him to take out some of the excessive English.

DANCE

1. Changsun. It was a close tie between him and Jaejun for me, but inevitably decided Changsun. Because perhaps he suited this dance better? (Or perhaps he had an advantage since he choreographed it. Even then, it's not unfair. Since he was the one who put the effort into making it, he should take all the advantages that come along with it. That logic checks out for me, so I fully think he deserves this first place. Don't feel bad about it, my Changsunny... you're too good for this world.) On hindsight, the dance suited him... maybe only because there's no dance that doesn't suit him. He is a real, real talent. Changsun is an ace in the dancing department: top notch in all the nooks and crannies of that field‪—‬from the very fundamentals in way he moves, to the more intricate details like his capability of grabbing the right atmosphere for the performance. I will be stopping myself here before I turn the rest of this into a Changsun Appreciation Rant. (It baffles me that Choeun Ent. had this whole gem debuted under their belts for five years and, what did they do? Give 24K mere total of four comebacks in that entire span of time? I can't breathe, y'all... it's so fucked up... the walls are closing in. Changsun, you will reach fame, I promise. And you will bring the rest of 24K up to stardom with you. 24K unflop redemption arc is nigh. I feel it in my Bingo-rattled bones.) Okay, back to the topic at hand.

2. Jaejun. Again, it was close for me, and the judges apparently agree (which boosted my ego a lot because I concluded my observations before it showed the judges' statements, and when they had the same choices as me, I felt like a whole professional). I think he's really good with facial expressions, which is always the cherry on top in dance performances. The krumping part during the Believer section was what made it so tough for me to decide. His control is very pleasing to me. He was a force to be reckoned with, and despite his long ass limbs, he was hitting every beat spot on and that made an even bigger influx of power fall into his moves. That was his moment.

3. Jueon. Though he didn't have any particular stand-out moments, I remember he was just overall really smooth and graceful. Not exactly eye-catching during the actual stage, but I had a really good impression of him when they gave the first preview of this group's performance during the interim check with Choi Youngjun. Which is saying something, because he messed up twice in a row afterwards, yet the good impression still preserved. I was surprised when he joined the dance team because what happened to my confident little rapper man? But, he devoured this field anyway; I'm proud.

4. Taehoon. I'm sorry he's so low, oh god, I feel bad. Everyone kept complimenting him and the judges had him as a contender for the chosen winner and I would've been hella mad if he won. (SORRY. I LOVE YOU TAEHOON.) Although he did amazing, I really didn't think he was phenomenal like that. He just has crazy superb proportions‪—‬nice long legs that make him look really good in this type of dance especially.

5. Sunghyuk. His little beginning part was cute! He did really well, especially for a vocalist. It's nice that he's pushing his limits by joining dance team; I'm happy for him! He was fantastic, and he's so pretty! I can let a little bit of subjective opinions slip into this one since he's last already, anyway. (Okay but genuinely, he did great. I hope it doesn't sound like I'm making fun of him BECAUSE HE WAS ACTUALLY REMARKABLE. He just has nothing on the dancers obviously, and we can safely admit that.)

VOCAL

1. Jooan. Vocal is the only category where I didn't end up agreeing with the judges' final decision. I stated most of my ordeal on this above, so I won't make this redundant. I'll elaborate on how much I adore his voice, though. It's so full and sensibly sweet... like dark chocolate. Not milk chocolate. But the kind of dark chocolate I like‪—‬cacao percentage in the nineties‪—‬grounded and healthy. This made a lot more sense in my head.

 

2. KIJUNG BRO. MOTHERFUCKING KIJUNG... I'M SAYING! HE SOUNDED SO GOOD HERE. HE SOUNDED LIKE KIM JONGHYUN‪. HE LITERALLY SOUNDED LIKE JONGHYUN. I DON'T GIVE A FUCK.

 

3. Hyunyeop. Get those high notes, sweetie! His voice fits this song really well and his harmonization was magnificent. He could honestly be interchangeable with Jaeeok in these places, if based purely on terms of vocals, but I feel like he had more of a stage presence than Jaeeok. Bonus points for the fruity moment that made Choi Youngjun become homophobic. (I'm joking, by the way, no bonus points were given. Once again, this is a pure evaluation considering their talents alone. God bless. Though I think Choi Youngjun may have actually become homophobic.)

 

4. Jaeeok. Again, I've already gotten out most of my thoughts on him. However, his placing could be interchangeable with Hyunyeop (minus his gay points). He is a splendid singer; no one can deny that. Maybe I'm just petty still. Maybe these rankings aren't completely bias free. I STILL LOVE YOU, JAEEOK.

 

5. Junhyeop. I wish he got more lines and screentime. Then again, I remember Jooan said that the parts were evenly split at first, but then Sunggyu and Jongwan told them to distribute it so that the members got the parts they were most comfortable with, note range- or ability-wise. So, perhaps, this just wasn't the song for him. And I might have to agree on that. His voice is a little off on the Sherlock vocal timbre vibe check. I LOVE YOU, JUNHYEOP. MAYBE YOU WOULD'VE SOUNDED BETTER ON TIGER INSIDE; WHO KNOWS! Still my first non-previously-debuted pick on this show. <3

Yeah, this clearly did not prevent me from getting carried away. I am still not asleep. It has been two(???) hours since I typed that I would "close this off" because I "need to fucking sleep". Now it is time for me to proceed "to fucking sleep".

(Off topic, but does anyone else think Choi Youngjun has the visuals of a K-Drama antagonist? In, like, any setting or genre.)