EXO Comeback - Wolf

This morning, I was scrolling through the "exo" tag on Tumblr and I came across this post and it really just irked me. Actually irking me so much that I would decide to write a blog post about it.

So basically, if you don't know who EXO is: They're this K-pop band that debuted last year under one of the biggest (maybe even the biggest) entertainment companies in South Korea, SM Entertainment. Basically, there's 12 boys in the group and they're split into EXO-M (Mandarin) and EXO-K (Korean). Last year, when they debuted, EXO-M spent much of their time in China promoting their title song, MAMA, while EXO-K were in Korea promoting the song as well. Their mini-album last year had 6 songs, I believe, and all of the songs were done once in Mandarin, and once in Korean.

Then, unlike most rookie Korean groups, EXO took over one year to come back with a new song and album. Usually, with rookie groups, companies tend to over-promote them to get the band name out there. However, SM Entertainment, being one of the biggest entertainment companies, probably didn't feel the need to do that since they're all, "Screw you, we don't need a lot of promotions to get our boy band known. They just need to debut under SM, and they'll be good."

Oh, before I go on, here's a picture of them:

EXO
Their names match the order in which they appear.
Chen, Xiumin, Kris, Lay, Luhan, Tao = EXO-M
Xiumin, D.O, Kai, Chanyeol, Baekhyun, Sehun, Suho = EXO-K

So anyways, when EXO debuted, another K-pop group had debuted around the same time. B.A.P. This group, on the other hand, debuted under TS Entertainment, a much smaller company. Unlike EXO, their group is more hip-hop based. The main difference between them though, is the amount of promotions they underwent. There were singles, and albums, and many appearances on different shows, etc.

The one year since these two groups debuted, there's been soooo much damn jokes. A popular one being: "EXO is coming bac - no wait, they misspelled BAP" or something along those lines.

Then, just as a petition went around for the term "when hell freezes over" to be replaced with "when EXO comes back", EXO finally announced their comeback! Allkpop pretty much died when the news came out and within less than an hour, EXO's comeback article was the #1 most viewed article on allkpop. Pretty sure Twitter might have even trended it, but I'm not totally sure on that one.

So then, a bunch of promotional pictures started coming out and teasers for the upcoming comeback stage and MV.

Being an avid fan of EXO (mainly EXO-M, but point aside), I was so excited. For once, SM finally had a music video with what seemed like .... wait for it - A PLOT. So, you can say that I was pretty damn pleased.

Then, this morning, when I woke up, the MV was released. Here's the EXO-M version:

So... I was disappointed. I mean, the song is fine, the music video was fine, and the concept was fine. I have nothing against any of it. I just don't like the fact that there's so much EXO-K in EXO-M's version of the song, and there's so much EXO-M in EXO-K's version of the song. It was tough to debut a single group, EXO, and then split them up into M and K and then go through the whole "WE ARE ONE" thing. I don't know. I like the idea of them bring brother-groups and I love them together, but when it comes to MVs or promotions, I love to keep them apart. What makes them special is their language, no?

It's so hard watching the MV and having an EXO-K member's face there when they're singing in Mandarin. It gets me so confused? I mean... is it Baekhyun singing in Mandarin or is he lipsyncing as Luhan sings? Then Chanyeol's face is there as a Chinese rap is playing. So is that Chanyeol rapping in Chinese or was that Kris? I just find it kind of pointless. I don't mind all 12 of them being together for a dance break but when it's an individual, why do we have to have EXO-K there when it's in Chinese, and EXO-M there when it's in Korean? Then, in the EXO-K version of the MV, Tao is the one scratching the screen, and in the EXO-M version of the MV, Kai is the one scratching the screen. Wtf.

Putting THAT aside, I hate that Kai is so overexposed. Before their debut, EXO was releasing a bunch of short teaser clips introducing the world to each member. There were 23 teasers in total, and I didn't count, but I swear, there has to be a minimum of 10 that had Kai in it. WAS THAT NECESSARY?

Who cares if he's the face of EXO-K? Isn't Luhan the face of EXO-M? Why doesn't he get more teasers with him in it? But that's a year ago, so let's move onto today. Why the hell was Kai's face everywhere in the two "Wolf" MVs? I can't remember a single scene where I don't see his face. I can't even remember if my bias, Lay, even had camera time. Did Xiumin even show his face at all? I don't care if Kai is the face of the group. It does not mean that you are literally the center of everything. During their first live performance today, they started the performance with a dance and Kai was the one standing, as if controlling the branches that are EXO.

I know I can't hate Kai for this. I doubt he asked for it. It's probably the way things were set-up. Which is why I have such an issue with SM for doing this. Or the choreographer. Or whoever thought this was a good idea.

Kai of EXO-K

That is Kai's face. There is nothing particularly special about that face. I'm in no way insinuating he's ugly, but let's be honest... haven't we all seen better faces? There are people are are obsessed with his thick lips too? Are you serious? Thick lips is all you're basing his handsomeness off of? Ok, then there are people saying he's an amazing dancer. Yeah, he is. But I'm sorry, have you guys forgotten about the fact that Lay, EXO-M's main dancer, also exists? Luhan isn't half bad as well.

I mean, there's nothing wrong with "the face" getting slightly more screen-time, but this is just ridiculous. I mean, SNSD has Yoona, but with them, I feel like the other members still have a chance, and their level of popularity isn't as far below Yoona as EXO is with Kai. This is kind of like Hara of KARA and how over-exposed she is, but that's another rant for another time.

ANYWAYS, ONTO WHY I STARTED THIS POST...

So, there have been fans of EXO on Tumblr who expressed similar opinions as mines, and stated that they were mildly disappointed in the outcome of this MV/production/comeback. As a response to this, another Tumblr-user made a post stating these points:

- How dare fans be disappointed?
- We should be happy they even came back.
- If you don't appreciate this, get out of the fandom.

To that, I say:

- How dare you tell certain fans they can't be disappointed. Who are you to be telling us what we can or cannot feel? Since when has my disappointment needed approval for you before I can express it on a blog that I own? If someone doesn't like the MV/song, that's up to them to decide, and express. So maybe sometimes people express their disappointment in a manner that can come off as slightly rude, but who lets you decide whether it's appropriate or not?

- We should be happy they came back, but what does that have to do with the quality of the production?

- Excuse yourself. Why must I get out of a fandom because I'm not 100% satisfied with what I was presented with? Do you just leave the dinner table when the dishes in front of your aren't your favourite? Do you stop taking showers because the last shower you took wasn't as relaxing as usual? What is your logic?

EVERYTHING ASIDE...

I am excited for their comeback. It's been over a year, so at this point, almost anything they shit out is fine by me. Sure, I wish the MVs were done better and it didn't look like people were lipsyncing half the time, but what can I do about that? The EXO-K album has recently also been leaked. I'll admit, I listened to "Baby, don't cry" but it was on Tumblr and didn't really know about the whole situation. Otherwise, I'm as eagerly waiting for the full album as the rest of EXO fans!

Mini-rant in mini-text. I don't understand why people are shaming others so badly for listening to the leaked versions. If anything, shouldn't you have more of a problem with the people who leaked/uploaded the songs? Curiosity killed the cat. Temptations kill. Listening to the song when someone else uploaded it, and you've been waiting for over a year, isn't a crime. Or at least I don't think it is. Some fans who pre-ordered the CDs and still listened to the leaks were feeling so guilty about being a bad fan on Tumblr, and I really couldn't help but laugh. You realize that half the people shaming you didn't even have the balls to come off anon and tell you off? They probably didn't even buy the albums. They probably won't even support EXO in any way. They probably illegally download the music too. So back off. 

I'm currently waiting on the subs for EXO-M's MV to come out. Despite me being Chinese, I could barely understand anything that was sung in that song other than "NI SHI MEI NU, WO SHI LANG AWOOO". Plus, I'm not a Chinese-reader either so all I could see read was wo, ni, mei, nu, duo, bu, le, yi, yue, xin, huo, and those really basic words. Ohohoho. 

Oh .. oh wait..

It just came out.

 
God bless you, hardcore Exotics!

Anyways, I hope everyone's been having a great week! I'll see everyone soon.

AWOOOOOOO,

- Dee

Slightly longer update: Lazy days

Since my last post, I've been really stressed about getting my final marks. But since they've been all released, I've been feeling really relaxed and happy. My marks this semester weren't as good as they were last semester but I'm definitely not complaining, since they were a lot better than expected! Plus, I managed to miraculously pass both my accounting final and the ELPE. Woop woop!

Aside from checking my mark updates hourly, my time spent since school ended has been nothing but boring. My parents have recently developed an addiction to shopping at Sears. I've been going there every. single. day. I seriously think it's unhealthy the amount of money they've been spending at this damned store. But whatever, not like anything I say ever has any effect on them. At least I managed to get a couple pair of nice shoes from Sears and I got a cute jewellery tree too:

Other than constantly going out to Sears, I've spent the past week or two making a resume and looking online for jobs. Nothing has really appealed to me even though I'm really not in a place to be picky right now. I should also get my ass going on getting my driver's license but I've been in such a lazy rut recently and I have no motivation to do anything other than roll around in bed with my iPad.

I also recently went back and found some older TVB dramas that I haven't watched before and I started watching "Tiger Cubs" and OH. MY. GOD. IT'S SO GADDAMN GOOD. I CAN'T CONTROL MY FEELS.

I don't know what that video is? A trailer? A clip? Whatever it is, I hope it hooks you. If anyone has the time for an Asian drama, and you're thinking K-dramas are getting tiring, and you're interested in police-type dramas, watch this! It's so well done, and the cast is so damn hot. Seriously, nosebleed-worthy.

Since I've never really watched/finished a K-drama, I figured this would be the perfect time to do it. I've gotten recommendations before but I really wanted to watch "Wild Romance" mainly because Jessica Jung (of SNSD) was going to be in it. I watched the first two episodes and I wanted to just cry because the lead actress's acting was just........ I have no words.

The following is my opinion so please no hate, kthnx.

So the main girl in "Wild Romance" is Lee Si-Young. While she's beautiful and I'm sure she's an amazing model and boxer, I can't stand her acting in this drama. It's so over-dramatic and for lack of better terms... "scream-y". By Gods, my eardrums almost broke from the first two episodes. She spoke in such a way that was so loud that I swear the recording instruments can't even pick up her voice properly as they kind of... screeched? I don't know the tech terms so excuse my crappy explanations. Then, she keeps doing this thing where her eyes widen so damn much that I swear her eyeballs were going to fall out. Plus, she did this for no reason too... like gurl wutchu doin cuh i dun geh it??? That aside, her screaming-ness and eye-widening-issues lessened as the episodes went on and I kind of got used to her character and acting. I'm on episode 9 right now. If it starts up again, I wouldn't know.

Lee Dong-wook, on the other hand, the main dude of the drama, is awesome. I love his character and his acting, and everything about him is so charming and fun. I also love the guy who plays Manager Kim and Eun Jae's best friend, Dong Ah. Those two are so damn cute! I shipped them since the moment they laid eyes on each other.

At this point, I started the drama for Jessica, but I'm sticking around for Manager Kim and Dong Ah!

Dramas and Sears aside, I've also been pigging out since I got back to Toronto. I've been telling myself that I need to start getting fit once I'm back in Toronto, but that plan has gone to hell. Unless all the Sears trips count. But I have picked up taking walks after dinner whether it's to our local mall to just walk around, or to the nearby Price Choppers to buy some salad. Then, I'd take the long-way back home by walking through the park in my backyard.

So, without further ado, here's some pictures of food that I've had at uWaterloo and since I got back to Toronto:

Note: All photos are from my Instagram/taken from my phone.

Alikiya and I went to "sweet dreams tea shop" at Waterloo.

Alikiya and I went to Harvey's and the plaza's convenience store.

Alikiya and I went to Mr. Sushi.
A bit expensive but it tasted so sexy.

Parents and I went to First Markham Place.
HK Style breakfast?

First time having bibimbap. It was good, but not worth all the hype.
Maybe it's just the one I had. Any recommendations for a better place?

Is this a Vietnamese dish?
I just call it "Mei Wong" in Cantonese.

Went for sushi at "Oishi Sushi" with my friends.

Hmmm... what else do I have to say...

OH! I recently took up learning Korean. It's pretty crappy at the moment, but I learned the basic alphabet at least?

안녕하세요! 저는 디 입니다.

... I really don't know much phrases. So if you're Korean, tell me if I made any mistakes with those two lame little phrases? The bright side of all of this is I can read some Korean; I just have zero idea of what it actually means.

What else, what else...

Alikiya is currently in Florida right now! She'll be back in Toronto on the 10th, I believe. Her whole family decided to take a trip down to Disneyland? Girl better bring me back a wand from that Harry Potter Land place. I haven't seen her since April 20th? Since she left for Toronto after her exams. I've texted her a couple of times when I was bored at Sears so... pretty much everyday. We were supposed to go for sushi with the rest of our little group of friends but her parents didn't want her getting food poisoning two days before the trip?

Oh right! I've been putting my textbooks online for sale, so if anyone is interested in Politics, Business, etc... textbooks, check out my ads:
- Fundamentals of Financial and Managerial Accounting
- Introduction to Law in Canada
- Essentials of Comparative Politics
- Introduction to Business in North America
- THINK Sociology
I'm thinking of also putting my Psychology textbook up too...

k

i'm getting tired
creyy

bye

- Dee

p.s: i'll update when alikiya gets back and we can go on adventure mode with job hunting and visits to the park to see cherry blossoms :)