WIN: Who Is Next - Episode 8: Self-Composed Songs

& Finally, the last portion of Round 2's battle! YG asked the teams to create a song composed in its entirety solely by the groups.

How well did things go for them?

Team B:

With all of the complications during their preparation for the battle aside, they came off with a fairly strong stage. The beat & hushed, subtle comments from B.I in the very beginning of the song was a good start because you got a subtle introduction to the beat, letting you just bob your head like "Okay, okay. I'm feelin' it." B.I also has a lot of charm, a great start to their performance. Opening with Bobby was a great idea as well because he lays the foreground for the hip-hop feel of the song & gives off a lot of swagger &, as JYP would say, feeling. His rapping style is so strong, that even the judges have already mentioned it before, if he only knew it, he has a lot of power.

Team B, in their hip-hop element, has an undeniable stage presence. Their mannerisms & facial expressions show how confident they are on stage, giving them a very cool image. I have to point out Jinhwan's charisma, when he smirks, sticking his tongue out, doing this swagger-like swishing hand movement/dance. (Tried my best to describe it.. Haha)

I just had to make a gif to make up for my poor description Haha

He is so cute & charming! Definitely going to catch the hearts of the noonas! Haha & I have to applaud the costume designer for Donghyuk's outfit because I love the cowl neck, or rather turtleneck, sleeveless shirt he was wearing. It added to his badass appeal & the overall image of the group.

Onto the actual lyrics... (Just a quick tip: if you don't speak Korean, when you're looking for translations of a song, take a look at at least two sources because the direct translations may differ depending on the translator.) After taking a look at the lyrics a second time, I enjoyed the message a lot more than I originally had. It's nothing life changing or a moral that you should learn from, but simply about how freakin' awesome they are & that others' opinions don't really matter. I immediately thought of GD as I was reading because it is such a typical cocky, yeah I'm cool, I'm swagged out, I'm winnin all day, GD style of song. Haha Not saying that's a bad thing either. One thing that took me FOREVER to understand was the line "I'm killin' these hooks like Peter Pan." How much slower can I get?! Peter Pan's enemy is Hook!! ( T - T ) After I realized this, I found this specific line to be quite clever. Haha

As for the judges:

• JYP pointed out two points of judging that I completely agree with: one, how well did they did, & two, how different were they. Discussing solely how well they executed the overall hip-hop feel, sound, & style, they were on point one-hundred percent. The only problem is that they weren't that different from any other hip-hop artist or song. The one thing I hate about certain rap or hip-hop songs is that at first they'll be cool & catchy, but then you'd get tired of it because it sounds like every other song on the radio. 
• Judge Lee Hyundo was kind in his comments, saying that they represented their generation very well. They kept up a good energy & even when they were doing their individual parts, the members in the background were enjoying as well. Bobby was called out again on how charming he is, but he needs to work on being short of breath when he raps. I didn't notice it before because it seemed to be a part of his style, but you can hear it once you start paying attention to it.
• Yoon Jongshin was impressed by the fact that they went with a similar beat & bounce during the melody & rap. How difficult is that? I have no idea, but he knows his stuff. Haha Just like him, I found myself repeating the melody/chorus the second time around. I personally found that to be another smart move because it's something that could easily get stuck in someone's head. He was disappointed in the fact that it seemed as though they had just finished producing the song, which was not necessarily their fault. *Ahem* YG..  -.-" *Ahem* 
• & Just because YG had commented this time, I both agree & disagree with his preference for more Korean lyrics in their song. I am very impressed with how well this group has done with English lyrics, specifically their pronunciation. I think this would be a great asset in getting attention overseas. I also think that they should focus a little more on Korean lyrics because they need to make it big at home first, & don't think k-fans would be able to appreciate the songs as much if it wasn't in their native tongue.

& Then we have...

Team A:

I found out before watching this episode that Team A had won this battle, & after seeing their performance, compared to Team B's, I completely understood why they had won. 

Off the bat, their sound was different compared to a lot of other songs out there. It has a very chill rock sound at first & then the beat picks up a little & gets into a pop feel. Their stage presence was astounding in my opinion, but I think the song itself & the production design had a big influence as well. The cloudy, night sky-like background added to the ethereal feel of the song.

In terms of performance, Seunghoon & Seungyoon stood out to me the most. Seunghoon always seems like he's having the most fun & the most relaxed. Seungyoon has a certain aura that you can just tell he's the most experienced out of all of them, from his eye contact, singing, & body language. Jinwoo also stood out to me, just a bit, because of the eye contact he made during his solo during the second half of the song. He has such a deep gaze; I hope one day he'll learn to hone that. Oh! & I also have to mention Minho's smile in the very beginning because who wouldn't fall for that?!

Source Here

The beat of the song had a pop rock feel to me, & definitely seemed like Kang Seungyoon's style. I also really liked how the composition highlighted each of the members' talents. I think I've mentioned it before, but I really like Taehyun's voice! The overall message of the song is about being able to smile again after being down in the dumps & how they'll be with you & help you until you can smile again. This is the kind of song that one would listen to when they're upset to feel better. By the end of the performance, I found myself dancing along with them. 

The confetti at the end was the icing on the cake! It was what signaled their victory, in this round at least.

The judges seemed to feel the same way:

• Lee Hyundo always seems to have compliments. This was his favorite stage. He appreciated how Jinwoo looked like he was having fun & how clear Mino & Seunghoon's raps were. Taehyun had some tense notes in his opinion, but his high note, which was amazing to me, fit the song very well. Even though he mentioned that their were things he could point out to improve upon, this performance was a great advantage to Team A. 
• Yoon Jongshin, being as musically inclined as he is, pointed out the plot behind the back notes, how they gradually build to the climax. Listening for it the second, well third, time around, I found that to be very smart & skilled decision. He mentioned that it was a common song that had its own charm, which I concur. The way they organized the lyrics, as he said, was very entertaining. 
• JYP, again with his two points, surprised me when he said that Team B's composition was more refined, but he did feel that Team A's song was more unique. Then he went on about something that had to do with chord progressions that neither YG or I understood... Hahaha
• YG was so impressed that he said he may even feel like promoting the song. & Just as I said before, the composition really suited all five members.

Overall, this round took a turn that I don't think anybody expected, even Team A. I was very impressed with & found it humbling at how strong the camaraderie between the two groups is. Team A had expressed at the end of the battle how they felt a bit guilty for winning over their dongsaengs because of all the trouble they had gone through in their preparations. Team B, in turn, only had one comment: that they would win in the final round. Even though Team A feels guilty, I think it was a fair win & the close scores reflect that. As for what I think will become of the next round or who will be the overall winner calls for an entirely separate post on its own. Haha

I apologize that it took me so long to get this up, but as always, I thank you for reading! Until next time. :)