Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
‘Produce 101‘ episode seven with English subs is here and it got me thinking about a drinking game. Said drinking game would involve taking a shot whenever a contestant cries and/or Sohye looks confused. But considering that the game would be far too effective, and many would likely die, I decided against it and watched the entirety of this rap and dance performance episode sans alcohol.
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http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3ws9hp_eng-sub-160304-ep7-1_fun
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3wse82_eng-sub-160304-ep7-2_fun
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This episode begins with the first rap performance (which will be discussed at length below) and then transitions to mentor shenanigans. Kahi and Bae Yoon Jung decided to have the contestants choose which one of them they like more because, at this point, why the fuck not? I think that Kahi is secretly wishing that she could be a contestant, and I’m anticipating her dancing “Pick Me” with the Pledis Entertainment girls.
As if a popularity contest wasn’t enough, there was also a dance battle. Now, as with most things involving ‘Produce 101’, it’s not really the talent that made this segment interesting. In fact, it was Sohye’s lack of dancing skills that made it so glorious. Not only did she get all up on Mina, but she also did a confused rendition of the shuffle.
People bitch about her being over-exposed, but girl knows how to entertain.
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This episode, much like last week’s, was primarily performance based. Thus, I will once again discuss the performances at length.
As a whole, this rendition of iKON’s “Rhythm Ta” was passable. All of the contestants competing within the rap category wrote their raps themselves, and this group crafted enjoyably ‘diss’ heavy lyrics.
Performance-wise, the main verses and pre-chorus displayed Heehyun’s smooth rapping whether well. It makes sense that she has more lines considering her position as main rapper, but I did find that she overshadowed her group mates in reference to both skill and line distribution, making me almost forget that Sihyeon was there.
The biggest issue (or perhaps biggest success depending on how you see things) with this performance is what they decided to do with the chorus.
The usage of “swaggy” should be forever banned.
Once again, some of the lower ranking girls put on one hell of a show. Considering how iconic EXO’s original choreography for “Growl” is, many of the girls did not wish to choose the song. As daunting a task as creating new choreo for the song seemed, this group did an excellent job of interspersing original moves with new, impeccably synched formations.
This performance was really all about the lyrics. The group rapped about their rankings and, to further emphasize the topic, had their numbered chairs with them on stage. The performance was meant to be sad and, as she has been doing through much of her screen time, Ayoung began crying mid-performance. While I was not moved to tears by the apparent hurt displayed in both their actual rapping and lyrics, the performance did have an impact due to its apparent honesty.
A very by the numbers performance of Sunmi’s “Full Moon”, as Sohye still looks confused and Pinky looks a bit like Nana.
Also, Sohye’s sexy face is frightening.
This performance was not as outwardly dynamic as the other dance performances. The choreography was nothing special, but it did match the slowness of Destiny Child’s “Say My Name”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDtT8CI147o
By far the strongest performance as far as actual rapping goes, as Yebin and Soyeon successfully expressed the feel of the original song.
As many of you already know, this performance of “Bang Bang” has been hailed as iconic by Korean netizens and international netizens alike. Although, I personally find it equal to the the performance of “Growl” in terms of choreo strength and performance, it is impossible to deny the cumulative force of individually strong contestants like Somi, Chungah, and Yoojung. There’s enough hair wiping, voguing, and even lip synching to make RuPaul himself proud.
There is also some eye-patch realness.
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This round of the competition ended with a partial announcement of top three rankings with the remainder to be announced during the next episode. As always, please anticipate.
