IT'S TIME FOR ANOTHER EXO-CENTRIC POST, Y'ALL.
This post is image heavy and really long-winded, so I would probably avoid this post if you're not into them or tl;dr material.
Okay. For the past 2 weeks or so since my last post on them, these 12 boys have successfully re-invaded my life. Like...it's no fucking joke. Not only have I kept up with their performances, but I've also successfully read through pages worth of pimp posts, sat through hours worth of radio interviews, and watched hours worth of ridiculous variety show shenanigans that ranged from cringeworthy to oh-my-god-I'm-going-to-die-on-the-floor-laughing funny. I've contemplated buying their albums time and time again, I've scrolled through their tags on tumblr endlessly, and I've found myself crying over a single fucking edit. And don't even get me started on candid photos.
To put it bluntly, these boys have completely stolen my heart. I don't know exactly what it is, but I think I might have a mother complex of sorts. I feel the same way for Shingeki no Kyojin characters as I do for them -- I want to hold all of them in my arms, wrap them in blankets, give them a cup of tea, and just care for them and make them happy.
Anyways, in between all of the tears and feelings, I learned a lot about these boys as a group and individually, and all of them have grown on me in their own ways. So I just want to clear up some of the assumptions that I made in my last post about them and further reflect on my opinions of them individually. Impressions are important in determining success and these boys have so much potential, but there are so many things that they need to continue working on.
I kind of want to do this in order by playing favorites, but I don't think that would be fair. I'll do K first, followed by M.
EXO-K
baekhyun | d.o | kai | chanyeol | suho | sehun
I think his downfall is that he's not as invested in the group as some of the others are. He's the one that carries the vocals, and I think that he's constantly stuck in this mindset of wanting to be in the forefront of the stage leading the others. It's almost as if he's unwilling to share the spotlight. He can be a little bit selfish when it comes to sharing the spotlight with the other members, and that's not good in the long run if he wants the group to be successful. Baekhyun can be popular as an individual, and I think that he understands this because he's always being praised for his natural talent as an idol and an overall entertainer. But feeding his ego does nothing for the group's success. I think that he needs to ease up on his craving for the spotlight and focus more on what he needs to do to make the group successful as a whole first. Other than that, I think that he's the best all-arounder in K and has the greatest potential to become even better.
But then there's his voice. God, his VOICE. IT'S THE VOICE OF AN ANGEL DESCENDED FROM HEAVEN ABOVE. I'm just going to casually slip in clips of him singing because I can. His speaking voice is also really fucking perfect, so, like, wow, just go away.2
His interactions with Baekhyun are the ones that I look forward to the most. I really like the way that Byunbaek tries to push all of his buttons, testing the limits of his patience. D.O's downfall is that he isn't a very passionate or expressive person in his speech. For example, the majority of his answers to questions lack complexity because it seems that to him, it's more convenient to answer one way or another without thinking too much about it. I don't think he likes to stress over things so he makes every thing he says very straightforward and concrete, making it hard to really understand what he feels and the way that he sees things. So I think that by poking fun at him and pushing his limits, Baek is subconsciously(?) trying to draw out a side of him that he normally wouldn't show, and I really appreciate him for doing that.3
I really like the way that his personality shifts on-stage and off-stage. He knows how to differentiate between being a performer and being himself, and there is no awkward middle ground between the two, making it very easy to explore the different sides of his personality. His on-stage self may be something created by the company, but he never fails to become what he was trained to be.4 He becomes Kai when he's under the spotlight.Then, off-stage, he goes back to being plain old Jongin that likes to sit quietly off to the side, either sleeping or reading manga. He's a lot like Kyungsoo in that he's reserved and doesn't try to hide who he is or flaunt what he isn't. He's just very honest with himself in so many different and entertaining ways and that's why I really like him.
I also love the way that he is inept at making a heart with his hands. It's hilariously endearing. His general awkwardness is a plus in my book.
As of now, I can't see anything that is holding him back. He's slowly warming up to variety shows, opening himself up more, his singing is improving, and he's a talented, emotional, and overall respectable dancer. His potential keeps growing, so he just needs to keep moving forward. What a great kid.
He's good at what he's been pinned down by the company to do (rap), but he also stands strong as a singer (seriously, dat bass). As a singer, I give him top marks.
I'll also give him top marks for his legs and his ears. His guitar skills ain't too shabby, either. But obviously I can't give him any marks as a dancer, hahaha. We'll see if that improves over time.
The only thing that rubs me the wrong way is his over-confidence. I think that he builds up a wall around himself through this and when it shatters and the wall is breached, he breaks down. He's not a good sport when he's criticized and he lets his disappointment and bitterness show on his face. (Really, none of these boys are good at masking how they feel.) But it's not good to break down in the face of constructive criticism. You have to learn from your faults and your mistakes. I think he needs to stop putting himself on a pedestal, whether it's an act or something he really believes in, and focus on what he needs to do to improve for the sake of the group.5 But overall, I have a good impression of him. I think that he's a natural born charmer blessed with good looks, a nice voice, and a knack for instilling smiles into everyone that he talks to.
He really knows how to take care of the other members. Countless stories of the times that he had treated trainees to food and bubble tea, trying to make them feel more comfortable within the company, all the while magnificently swiping his card, thereby instilling awe and admiration into the other members...haha.
I also appreciate the fact that he doesn't mind being the butt of most of the members' jokes. The key to binding a group together is to bring about a sense of closeness and intimacy between the members, and he does that by putting himself out there and letting the others poke fun at him. He treats everyone equally well, he lets himself become the center of everyone's affections, and by doing so, he pulls them together. Putting all of that together makes him a very respectable person and certainly worthy of the title of leader. His 7 years of training isn't the only thing that makes him the senior; it's his bright personality and his knack for bringing everyone together that makes everyone want to follow him.
However, as an artist, I'm not entirely sure where I stand. He has the looks, the voice, and the moves to be great, but I also feel like no matter how much he trains, he just doesn't have the same potential as the other members. In every skill and/or talent, I feel like he can only come second to everyone else. I'm not trying to be mean about it; it's just what I see as an inevitable truth. But that doesn't make him an unnecessary idol. There needs to be someone that has the power to unite everyone as a group, and he's the only one that has the ability to do so. He needs to be a little harsher on Sehun, though. Everyone does. Which conveniently leads me into...
But he's also a goddamn shit eating brat.
He's been spoiled because of fame, because his hyungs are too nice to him and because he's endowed with a really fine-ass mug, and it's taken a toll on the quality of his mannerisms. I think that the way he's treated makes him feel a sense of entitlement to his disrespectful attitude. And the really bad thing about that is that it shows.
Acting condescendingly to someone four years older than you, saying that it's supposed to be out of "love"? NO. Kicking your hyung on national television for no good apparent reason other than for your own entertainment? STOP.
Sehun is good at dancing, but his personality and his mindset need to be fixed. His singing needs to improve, too, but I don't actually know the full extent of his skills because he never gets any singing parts. But because of that, I can only assume that it's something that needs to be worked on. All good things come in due time, I suppose. It's just a matter of practice and perfecting a skill. He's still young, so he has plenty of time to improve. But as it stands, most of the things that I dislike about Sehun make for such a strong negative impression that I can't judge him properly as an idol.
edit: Okay, I just read through his letter to the other members from Tuesday's Sukira. My stance on him hasn't changed but he's such a sweetheart ugh ugh ugh. You can read a translation here. Try to ignore the floating chicken nugget to the best of your ability.
Alright it's 3AM and my brain is basically fried. I'll talk about my thoughts on M in another post later.
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Notes:
1 I feel the need to put out there that I think that Byunbaek is a real fucking cutie. He is 100% the type of guy that I would date, uGH.
2 I've expended most of my tears over Kyungsoo. He is just so small and so cute and perf ;___; he reminds me of Levi from Shingeki no Kyojin in a lot of ways.
3 Take a wild guess at who I ship.
4 For the most part it works, but it looks like he's sexually frustrated 80% of the time.
5 The same goes for Baekhyun, too. I only realized how similar they are in all of these respects while writing up Chanyeol's section.
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