As a self-proclaimed YG
Let me start off by saying that both teams are incredibly talented. To be honest, they may already be at par with the Big Bang members when this sunbae group first debuted. Both teams are mind-blowingly good and to have only one of them debut and the other disbanded will emotionally kill me. But these are the rules YG has put into place and one can only wish that they're just trolling us.
Team A killing it and still losing during their first battle
Now, while I think both groups could debut right now and make it big in the k-pop industry, I have a clear bias for Team A. And, honestly, I think the show was made in a way that Team A would be announced the "Winner" after the 3-month period.
Both teams, as I've already mentioned, are plenty talented - but while Team A has stronger vocalists, Team B has aggressive rappers and are better dancers. Team B may also have better teamwork. Which is not to say that Team A lacks in the dancing and rapping departments, because they don't - and I adore Team A leader and rapper Song Min-ho... It's just that, well, Team B rappers B.I and Bobby are just insanely good. Vocally, though, Team A's Kang Seung-yoon and Nam Tae-hyun just slay it all the time.
It now really all boils down to audience votes. So it's curious then that while Team B has been winning all the challenges and battles (according to the judges on the show), Team A just won the first round of audience voting. Why? Maybe because the show was edited in a way where we just feel more for Team A.
The guys on the first team are generally older than the members of the second team. And there's that sense of "if they don't debut now, it might be too late for them later." And half of the Team A members are already semi-famous. Kang Seung-yoon via talent survival show Superstar K2 and his already established solo career, Lee Seung-hoon who brought YG himself to tears on talent survival program K-Pop Star, and Song Min-ho via the Channel A drama series K-Pop: The Ultimate Audition (2012).
It also doesn't help that we find the boys of Team A struggling every single week to keep up with the young'uns. This makes them more human in our eyes and not mere characters on a show. We all know that nothing captivates an audience faster than an underdog story, especially when the underdogs are a fiery group of adorable Asian boys with more than enough talent to make it big in the entertainment industry. They have everything to lose and we just want them to win.
It's also very telling that while I can name each and every Team A member, and give you their designated role in the group, I can only name 2 out of the 6 members of Team B: B.I and Bobby. Why is that? Again, I'd blame the show's production and editing. We're made to feel for Team A, and it works like magic. I care so much about those boys that I'm actually sad when Team B performs so well.
However, in this recent episode, where the teams were given the mission to cover Tamia's "Officially Missing You" (Team A) and Justin Bieber's "Baby" (Team B), I had to disagree with the judges' scoring. Again, they gave Team B a higher score. Team A was off by 6 points. BUT! As opposed to previous weeks where I honestly found Team B repeatedly outperforming Team A, this last battle, I thought, belonged to Team A.
Team A's cover of "Officially Missing You"
I dozed off halfway through Team B’s performance, but Team A’s cover of “Officially Missing You” was captivating. They played to their strengths and it was awesome. I was honestly surprised by how the judges scored them.
Team B's cover of "Baby"
Oh, you're back! It's good to hear from you again. Haha.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree. The vocalists of Team B do need more training. Honestly, I won't be complaining if YG decides to debut Bobby and B.I as a hip-hop duo instead, ala GD&TOP. They may be young, but those two are ready for this. Their the only reasons I'll be sad if Team B loses.