We got a name! The group is officially called Treasure. Which make sense.
I spent some time watching that special VLive yesterday, the show is almost 2 hours long, phew. Despite the fact that I did not fully agree with YG's final decision, I still love the boys and I'm interested to see how they'll grow and progress. At the beginning of the show, I was just completely smitten by them and I have already adopted them all as 'my babies'. They're my new babies and I love them.
However, as I continue watching it, turns out I still have some strong opinions lol. Here's my opinions about each member :
1. Hyunsuk : I think debuting Hyunsuk along with this group is the BEST decision. He's trained for a long time, he's older than these guys, he's funny, he's a good personality which is perfect for a leader. YG might have crushed his confidence over the course of this show, but now that he's debuting, I'm sure he can fulfill his role well.
2. Junghwan : He is still awkward and isn't the maknae that I wished for this group, but he's extremely young so I can only hope he'll grow out of his awkward phase soon. Still don't like him that much. But he's a baby and you should not hate a baby.
3. Yedam : He is the most articulate, clever, smart, talented person in this group, no questions asked. I was amazed by how smart he is! He was shown busy with school and exams during the show he had to skip practice, but there were a bunch of other kids younger than him, do they not go to school??? Don't drop out of school, kids! Anyway, excited for Yedam and he's also clearly the most popular contestant during the show and probably after. Lezgeddit.
4. Junkyu : I swear this kid is the most idolest idol if I've ever seen one. He's cute, smiley, funny, laugh a lot which is an easily enjoyable personality to watch. He's also tall which makes him good for modeling, and he's REALLY GOOD at singing. His voice is engraved in my head after I hear it. He is crucial for this group, personality AND talent wise.
5. Jeongwoo : Jeongwoo is awkward. He's very young so he has a lot of room to grow. He's got a great singing voice so I really wish they'll get songs in which he'll be able to showcase his strength. Hoping for the best for him.
6. Haruto : Haruto is a STAR. I agree with YG that he has a strong star quality to him. He's super young and also awkward, especially adding the language barrier factor, but he's confident and he's very proud of himself, which is cute. YG loves him so I hope they'll give him good rap verses that fit his voice color. He's tall, good looking, and funny. He's a good performer. His hyungs also seems to like him a lot so that's good.
7. Jaehyuk : Oh man, this is hard. I'm happy for him that he is picked. I love me my underdog stories and I want nothing but the best for him but it is really hard not to notice how awkward he is in there. The group doesn't seem to be close to him or like him that much. He doesn't fit in and it's ruining the group dynamic. But they're just formed, they're one day old on that day of the broadcast so they have a lot of time to get to know each other. No group is formed based on personal relationship of the members, there will be conflicts, there will be disagreements, awkwardness etc but they'll have to go through it and grow together. I hope these kids will be able to overcome this.
Okay, let's give them the benefit of the doubt. Most if not all rookie groups are awkward in front of the camera, even the biggest names when they were just debuted. This is Treasure's first appearance together as a group, they might not know each other that well yet, they don't know what to say in front of the camera, let's give them a chance. We'll see.
I can't help but keep comparing them to BTS because of the 7 members situation, and I always think that BTS is super lucky that they got RM as their leader, Bang Sihyuk is correct to follow his intuition building the group around RM with him as the first confirmed member. RM is mature beyond his age, and he leads the group well. I remember how ex-BigHit trainees talk about him, too. The dynamic and chemistry between BTS members is something no formula can ever replicate, and it's a big part of their appeal to a lot of people. We can tell that they just genuinely have each other's back. I don't know what YG is planning with Treasure, but according to that one industry financial forecast report, he intended this group to be fandom driven.
It seems like he is just trying his luck with a simple formula; get some good looking boys, put them together in a group, give them catchy songs = success! Debut them through a filler TV show that gives the viewer a sense of ownership so that they're attached before the group even debuted. I'm still interested to see where this is going, and I hope for the best for this group.
Also, justice for Mashiho.