Remember that one time last year where I went off about myfeelings for EXO-K?
Welp, I finally got around to finish the second part because a) I was a shit during finals week and procrastinated on my three research papers that were due in a span of 2 days, and b) most of my summer vacation has been about 70% EXO. Ha. Haha. [sobbing intensifies] [깹송]
Anyways, here’s my little spiel on the M unit. Once again, this
is tl;dr material, so I’d avoid this post if you’re not a fan. But maybe you
should read it anyways. Let my procrastination and uselessness be worth it.
And yes, OT12.
And yes, OT12.
EXO-M
luhan | chen | lay | tao | xiumin | kris
- Luhan. Sweet Lulu. My Prince Charming. I think that Sehun described him in the most perfect
way – “You have such a manly personality, but you have a face that comes straight out of a romance comic.” He’s so
beautiful in every single way – his eyes, his legs, his voice, and his
personality are all truly reminiscent of a deer…except for the voice part
though, hah. But his voice is so pure and sweet that it leaves the listener
breathless. So maybe it is sort of deer-like in actuality.
I know that Chen is the “lead vocal”, but I think that’s a
title that Luhan deserves even more. Chen has power and range, but Luhan’s
voice is much more soothing and easy to listen to that I can’t help but be more
partial to him. Sometimes I think that Luhan would be better off as a solo
artist because then his talents would be given more justice. Don’t get me wrong
though—I love him as an EXO member, too, and I want him to get stronger with
them. But I truly hope that one day he releases some solo singles, because his
voice is, in my opinion, timeless.
Lu-ge is a sweetheart, but sometimes, he can be too sweet. To a fault. He practically spoils the younger members that know this and take advantage of it. You can tell when Luhan gets annoyed because the maknaes are being shits and disrespecting his authority as a hyung, but he doesn’t do a gotdang thing about it. Maybe it's because Chinese culture is different, but it also might be because he just doesn't have the heart. He's too soft to be taken seriously. Too soft for this world.
I don’t have a lot of criticisms for him as an idol, except
maybe in the actual entertaining aspect (in terms of variety). His personality
isn’t as strong as some of the other members (take the Beagle line, for
example), which is totally okay, but you don’t get a strong sense of who he is
on television. You get the sense that he’s the quiet, gentle type on TV, and
I’m fairly certain that there's more to him than just that. So I’d like to see him get
more comfortable on variety shows and watch him develop into an even stronger
overall entertainer.
When I first got into EXO, I couldn't help but think, here we go again. Another singing machine, brought to you by SM. I think that he's so much more than that, though. Not only is he talented, but he's also very passionate about what he does and he is more humble about his skills than most others in the business. He's always looking for ways to improve and grow, and I think that is more deserving of respect. He plays hard and works hard to be who he is.
I love watching
him on television. Loooove it. Especially when he gets to interact with the K
members that he doesn't get to see as much. His personality shines bright when he's with them and he’s definitely one of the top
mood-setters, along with the rest of the Beagle line. He’s witty and hilarious, but takes
things seriously when he needs to. I’d say he’s the best overall entertainer in
EXO, if not on equal standing with Baekhyun (who is the best IMO; don’t let me
go on about Chanyeol).
There’s really just nothing bad to say about him, except
maybe his dancing skills. He could definitely use some more work, but I enjoy
the fact that he’s so comfortable with himself that he doesn’t mind being
laughed at for his more or less comedic style of dancing. Never change, Jongdae.
- Yixing. Lay is so
special. He’s one of the best dancers, has great vocals, has amazing
composition & music-playing skills, and most importantly, he is an incredible
dork.
I love how he’s constantly in his own world and how his other members
constantly have to bring him back to reality. There are so many layers to him
and it makes him so interesting as well as multitalented.
I’d say that Yixing is the most versatile of both units and
the best overall idol. His performance skills are unparalleled and even though
he doesn’t get as much of the spotlight as he deserves, I think he has the most
talent to offer. I’d like to see more of him on the stage as a singer, as well
as more of a spotlight on his dancing skills.
My only concern with him is something that has to do with
him as a person – it's in his ability to cope and make the best of a situation. (This is
something that I’m basing purely off of what I saw on Showtime, though.) It just seemed
to me that he spent a lot of his time alone, closed off from the other members.
There was that one episode where he and Chanyeol were trying to write a song
for the show, but Lay continually dampened the spirit with the mood that he
expressed through his music. It's one thing to have brief passing moments of happiness and genuine joy, but it's also important to look at things in a positive way in this business. I just think that he needs to build up more inner
strength, and I think he can do that by interacting more with his other
members and forming close relationships with each of them.
- Zitao. I like
to refer to him as “this fukin kid omg”. He’s selfish, vain, and spoiled by his
hyungs—but I don’t hate it. I can’t.
It’s just like with Sehun and Kai, man. You can tell right off the bat that the
maknaes are shit eating brats but you can’t help but love them because they’re
so talented, so sweet, and so ridiculously
good-looking. But I digress.
Tao is adorable. Just like with Lay, I love how he has a
multitude of levels to his personality. He can be a serious martial artist at
times and a cutie skipping around while taking selfies the next. He’s a rather
good dancer and I’d like to see him doing more than just 360-butterfly twists
and all of those other neat tricks on stage.
Going off of that, his wushu skills are mostly unimpressive
to me, just because I know, have seen, and am constantly around people who are
so far beyond his level in terms of skill and just being able to enrapture the audience.
The show-off factor and less than traditional method that he shows on
television programs are also really off-putting to me as an active practitioner
of wushu. Martial arts in general should be humbling but he takes it so far beyond that and that's why I can't completely respect him as a martial artist. But I can definitely see why audiences would sweat over his skills?
And I can see why SM is so intent on promoting him in this light. He just
looks cool 24/7 and when you make a cool guy do cool things that he’s good at,
you get good responses.
Music-wise, though? Not going to go there. (Just kidding,
I’m going there.) I loathe him as a
rapper. It’s like he has all the swag but none of the talent. And he just
sounds cocky. Personally, cocky rap =
gangsta rap = bad rap. A good rapper should be humble and confident; something
like a quiet rage. It should be about more than just your attitude. It should
be (or even just sound) clever,
contemplative, and soulful. And Tao sounds like a loud brat with a bad attitude
begging to be heard by his mother. I can’t appreciate or respect it.
I blame that on the company though, because honestly, there
are times that I’ve genuinely enjoyed his displays of his talents (like that
one time on Happy Camp where he rapped with Kris? Awesome). He generally sounds
amazing on radio shows and television programs; his voice sounds so much
smoother in those instances. I just hate the way he sounds in all of their
singles…all of them. Thanks for
exploiting his skills in a less-than-desirable light, SM.
REGARDLESS OF EVERYTHING, THOUGH. He's a baby. And I love it.
- Minseok. I
don’t know, I don’t know!! I know that he’s sweet and quiet and well-respected
in the group, but he’s the member that I know the least about and the member
that I’m not particularly interested
in getting to know (shamefully so, I know). Like…what can I say? He lets the
other members take most of the spotlight, so it’s hard to see and judge what
he’s like as a musician, performer and entertainer.
REGARDLESS OF EVERYTHING, THOUGH. He's a baby. And I love it.
- Minseok. I
don’t know, I don’t know!! I know that he’s sweet and quiet and well-respected
in the group, but he’s the member that I know the least about and the member
that I’m not particularly interested
in getting to know (shamefully so, I know). Like…what can I say? He lets the
other members take most of the spotlight, so it’s hard to see and judge what
he’s like as a musician, performer and entertainer.
I know for sure that he’s an amazing dancer and that he
needs to be given much more attention. I also know that he’s hella cute and has
a really good sense for fashion. And I also
know that he’s not getting the credibility he deserves when it comes to his
singing skills—remember when he totally showed up Chen in terms of range? Yeah.
SM, what the fuck. I want more of this guy.
I also want to see more of his personality. I want him to
get more comfortable with the camera so we can see more of what he’s really
like. I want to understand what it is about him that his dongsaengs respect so
much aside from the fact that he’s the eldest. With these disrespectful
maknaes, you can deduce that there’s something more than that that earns him
the respect he gets. Xiumin, give me more to work with!!
- Wufan. Kris.
Kreezy. My main Canadian man. My man…who went and broke my heart. :’(
I actually wrote another EXO-M post back when I first posted
the EXO-K post, but never got around to finishing it. Let me quote some of the
highlights from that post regarding Fanfan:
“He doesn’t even look
Chinese. He looks like a god.”
“He understands the
strengths and weaknesses that both the individuals and the group as a whole
have. By understanding that, he always knows what to say, when to say it, and
what to do to bring the members together.”
“With a mug like that,
I sweat he could have been in a gang at some point in his life. Or an assassin.
Or a spy. Or a Greek god? Maybe even Jesus Christ himself.”
“He works hard at what
he does and he’s good at doing what he needs to do in order to carry the group.
That’s what I love about him, and that’s why the others need someone like him
to follow.”
Literally? Literally. There will be no other leader for M
that can do what he did for them. He might not have been the best dancer or
singer, but he saved their asses in interviews time after time. He knew how to
control the stage and the audience and he played his charms well to make
everybody happy. He’s like a more responsible version of Baekhyun1 that is comfortable
in himself and his abilities compared to that of the rest of the group. Someone
that doesn’t lose track of who they are and what they need to do, no matter
what happens. Someone that stays true to their ideals, regardless of the consequences. Someone that I can admire.
I want to believe that that’s why he left the group. I want
to believe that he left because of something truly unjust, and I want to
believe that he did it for the sake of his members and not just himself. I don’t
know, though. I don’t know the truth, and we may never know the reality of what
happened, regardless of what we are told to believe. All I know is that I’m
going to keep on believing in him and his decisions until he gives me a
legitimate reason not to, however that may come about.
---
Notes:
1 I seriously don't know how to compare anyone to anybody else except for the bae.
---