!!! THIS ISN'T HATE TOWARDS THE GIRLS OR ANYONE !!! i tried to post this elsewhere but it didn't allow me so i'm posting it here As Jellyous promotions come to an end, i see loads of content showing the girls at the end of performances, how tired and worn out they are and things of the sort. i know this is common generally because every idol is singing and dancing and trying to look good while doing it, while also jumping between promos and just tight schedules that they have to face, but you have to admit the taxing choreography plays a big role in making this a bit problematic. I notice nowadays, and it was an especially big trend earlier in the 2020s (eg with NMIXX and PIXY and other girl groups debuted around that time) that how the choreo LOOKS and appeals is kind of overshadowing other aspects that go into a performance. i am not the best at wording things so this might not make sense but i hope you get what im trying to say. It was ALWAYS common for Kpop to have eyecatching moves and cool parts of the choreo like the wheel move (?) in that one SF9 song , lots of Gfriend intros to their choreos and stuff, but it mainly tended to remain restricted to a specific part, like in a dance break near the end of the song, at the end of the song or at the very beginning. The 'cool' or at least captivating moves like this that are coming nowadays seem to be present through the entirety of the song, in recurring areas such as pre choruses or the choruses, like the viral legwork in Jellyous currently, ***some of the moves in Plot Twist by AtHeart, the chrous move in O.O by NMIXX, that twist in Wings by PIXY and so on and so forth. Like i said earlier. These were things that you would probably have to do once in a choreo and a few times across various promotions, because even though, yes, you perform them a lot, it's not going to be a repetitive move unless you literally perform the same song back to back over and over again. F(x) had the part in Chu~ where Victoria does the walkover, and recently Billlie had the move in Ring X Ring that Tsuki does, only appearing once in the choreography at the peak moments or dance breaks. (Also since i mentioned Chu~, i wanna say i know they have the jumping arm swing move twice in the song but you can admit in comparison to some nowadays, it's not having the same effect as what i mean with Jellyous). Songs still do have dance breaks nowadays like Oops by ILLIT and Body, Hands up, Meow etc by MEOVV just to name a few, and these are fine and theyre really integral to how kpop performances have always been and i like them! The issue i am trying to convey here is generally the fact that the big moves are shifting to choruses and prechoruses that will have to be performed twice maybe three times in the same choreo, that they'll then be doing again and again and again and again. One major issue I am having with this happening is how i mentioned that it in some ways overshadows other parts of performances, most importantly the vocal abilities of the artists. I know it's a tale as old as time that recent kpop generations don't value vocals as much as they were valued in the past, but even at that, when you have a dance like Jellyous, where you are expected to sing prolonged continued notes ("back oooooooofff, back ooooooooofff") while jumping up and down, twisting, kicking, punching, so much, then it becomes impossible to keep stamina while trying to sing live as well. this could translate into them trying to lipsync, which will cause issues with people who take lipsyncing very seriously, or they could try keep the notes while doing the dance and struggle (i think illit are good vocalists, obviously not AS strong as other groups but i disagree with people who say they can't sing at all, sooo untrue), and then toxic fandoms can come along with their evidence to discredit a groups vocal talent because of it ... because their voices are tired from jumping and yelling into a mic !!!! ILLIT isn't the only group that this has and will apply for, they were just my prompt to making this post so they're my example, there are other examples from groups that you can probably also think of. I'd also want to say, this is in no way me saying that groups should simplify their choreographies to where theyre just standing in one place shifting feet and shoulders every now and again, of course kpop thrives off of the visual appeal of the singing AND the dancing in performances, and i really love that. Legwork /jumping/hairography isn't even the issue alone, once again very integral to kpop since all of history. NewJeans was always noted for their impressive footwork in their songs that still allow room to keep being able to sing well, Triple S has always had cool captivating moves that also allow them to sing well. This isnt said to compare groups negatively to one another, but rather to say that the choreography doesn't have to be so intense to the point that the idols are struggling to breathe or can not even get a proper note out to look good or look cool and be impressive. I think it should not be a priority for there to be this stand out part all throughout the entire choreography, to where theyre unable to properly even catch their breaths by the end of it. IYKYK by ILLIT is a b-side with a choreo, but unlike Jellyous which is a promotional b-side, theyre not performing it ALL the time at multiple stages, and while the choreography for IYKYK isnt a taxing as the one for Jellyous, it would be a bit better even if the IYKYK choreo was just as or even more taxing than Jellyous, because it's not the song they're adamant on promoting so they wouldnt have to be popping their backs out nearly as often as they are now. Sorry if this came off as rantish, obviously i know Jellyous isn't the hardest Kpop dance in the world, and some people are probably more able to keep stamina while doing harder dances, everyone has different abilities, and this is not just girl group but kpop wide thing that i've noticed and it can be a bit worrying to see, especially with groups that have super tight schedules, little rest, and strict diets. ***edit for sense submitted by /u/midnightdancing12 [link] [comments]
