adevyish | No No Girls watch, pt 2

At this stage of the competition, being chosen for the group has as much to do with group fit as it has to do with work ethic and talent.

Chika said that she was signed to and dropped by multiple agencies because her body was a “turnoff”, and that eroding her confidence. Momoka cried about seeing her K-pop trainee peers, who each lost the mandated 6 kg, debut and her, unable to, not making the cut. Chanmina immediately made it clear that although she expected contestants to work out, she did not want them to lose wait, as she herself did not meet the industry’s strict look expectations when she debuted.

Vocal trainer RyonRyon made another speech about respecting the time of other people — teammates, crew, etc. Due to the editing it felt directed at Jisoo who’d had a cry and, after being comforted in the hallway Chanmina in Korean, decided she wanted to re-record her lines.

Certainly, seeing young girls do tryouts now, there is a little bit of like an, ‘oh, I hope he picks me,’ without any question of, ‘do I want to pick him?’

— Madison Hubbell, in Anything GOEs

All 30 competitors were invited to perform at K Arena, a 20k capacity venue. They were given 5 months to prepare, and some of them rented their own practice studios and hired their own vocal coaches to get ready. The show itself did provide coaching and rehearsals as well.

It was nice to see so many fans turn out for the concert, many of them citing how inspirational they found the show and talking about who they rooted for. Momoka being a former Produce contestant did help sell some tickets but it’s really impressive how well the show, as well as BMSG and Chanmina’s names, got that many tickets sold.

The ten finalists were also tasked with a solo performance. Chika performed the exact same song as Chanmina opened the concert with, which is an incredibly high bar to meet. However, Chika killed it. An absolute fucking rock star. I felt Jisoo got one of the easiest songs to perform, “I’m Not OK”, but she really worked that (fake?) guitar and the headbanging. Mahina, the only under-17 finalist left, had a cute performance celebrating youth but really struggled vocally.

Many opted for gown + ballad — Fumino, who started on the piano, and Koko in a gorgeous red dress. Kokona opted for pole dancing but I don’t think it was the right decision as it hampered her stage presence. Out of everyone, I think Koharu shone the most with her unique staging and choreography. She channeled her best Sheena Ringo, with cabaret-inspired choreography and a dance break of modern dance.

It was fun to see the other contestants again too. I missed Jewel and Momo! I also think Asha took Chanmina’s advice to heart and is rapping much better now. Sayaka looks so much like Aile the Shota with that perm lol.

Part of being a teen idol is being sort of shapeless as a person and not really having that strong an identity. There’s really a desire for the ‘hot guy’ to just be a non-person…. You represent a comfort and a perfect thing.

— Avan Jogia, on Q

I understand why Fumino did not make the final group. She got emotional and lost control of some of her notes, unlike Chika and Koko who also channeled their emotions but managed to control it. Chanmina’s reasoning was that Fumino was too talented for Chanmina to produce — I read that as Fumino is too much of a singer for Chanmina to produce. Fumino already livestreams herself singing with a guitar, and she was gorgeous up there in a gown on a piano. She reminded me so much of Onitsuka Chihiro in that moment.

However, Chanmina made similar excuses for Kokona and Koko. Even though Mahina, arguably the weakest solo performer, made the final group. I could see Chanmina wanting a new rapper she could nurture, rather than Kokona or Koko who are both vocalists. Evidently the public of Japan disagreed because Kokona trended after the member announcement.

The other thing is, I think Chanmina wanted a maknae. The other contestants always talked about how Mahina was off in her own world, and her ideas for her solo choreography showed a real naïvety that even Momo, the same age as Mahina but already working fulltime, did not. Even though No No Girls has generally gone for sexy choreography, Mahina still manages to come across as a maknae. Too many of the other contestants had the same image, and Chanmina said that artists who always delivered the same thing would bore and lose fans. It’s definitely true for female artists — Chanmina is constantly reinventing herself. However, the thing is the boy groups can absolutely get away with delivering the same thing over and over.

Anyway. I hope Kaede, Fumino, and Sayaka all get together form a band.