Pop Off: NMIXX vs ATEEZ vs NCT 127 (December 2023 Comebacks)

[00:00:00] viewer discretion is advised. Your fave will be criticized.

[00:00:04] That's good. That's

[00:00:05] and this is CCTV that not stop pop show. And it's time for the

[00:00:10] December 2023 K pop pop pop pop.

[00:00:16] Here on CTV, Chris and I have the inside scoop with the extensive

[00:00:19] experience performing on stage and working at record labels. And

[00:00:23] you can join us in our in depth conversations about global pop and make up. Me got a hit to the polls, honey, head to the polls and make sure that your favorite makes it to our next month. Pop waffle. Okay. All right. So this I'll say is the song terrible. Crazy pong. Crazy. Meach and foam. Meach and foam. So it sounds like meach and foam of if you're not an 18, you didn't watch some other videos. Even I heard it, but they've been saying

[00:03:02] meach and foam a lot and some of like the fun little games they've

[00:03:06] been playing. Shout out to the engineers on this track. But I think the balance is good. Um, I think you've commented about them being kind of like bombastic and like, like a cacophony of sounds I say cacophony, but that's what they kind of sound like. Um, but yeah, I think overall the song, if this is the end of the world, and it's a terrible title,

[00:04:21] if this is the end of the world saga, whatever the just rock. Anyway, thank you, Chris. But yes, the timbre of his voice is a lot more clear, although nasally, not in a bad way. It's clear that everyone else is saying more to throat each chestier kind of way. I appreciate his tone because it definitely stands out amongst all that.

[00:05:44] I don't come from you or do whatever, but it sounds like that. That is what they do.

[00:05:45] That is their sound.

[00:05:46] Yeah, that's part of their sound.

[00:05:47] Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, it's just like it's not my favorite type of song to. Like he's done it so much now. And I don't know their besides the stuff well enough to know if he does it literally for every single song, but I just find it very interesting. Like it's kind of just become his thing to do that. But I just don't him to get like completely stuck. Oh, that's really. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:08:20] Right.

[00:08:21] Oh, yeah.

[00:08:22] I this isn't my favorite 80s song, but it's not terrible. This is a pre-release single from Enmix 2 EP FE 3.4 break. Oh Lord, you have another one. These albums slash EP names are too much. It's okay guys, you can just choose like the word break. The word break would have been fine. Anyway, Enmix.

[00:09:40] So I have not been very kind to Enmix, it wasn't just a total stop and start. It wasn't a total change in, in

[00:11:02] BPM, like it was actually very, very smooth.'s been better. You know, I'm saying like it is better. Yes. Honestly, they should have a B tested. They should have a B tested. Like, Hey, y'all, we don't think about this one. That came after the fact that they heard the reviews, I think. That's a say. Any good old noodle. Um, yeah, this one feels like more of a continuation of all than dice. Or maybe it's a continuation of either way.

[00:12:23] Dices just it was it was a lot as well. You know, it's just like, come on, son, yeah, that's not what the drums are doing. But my point is it feels very tribal. It does have a lot in flair to it, but you don't know what part of that, Maraca,

[00:13:41] you don't know what part of Africa,

[00:13:42] maybe it's from all the continents and countries

[00:13:44] and that, and if I'm joking.

[00:13:46] But the point is, I dreaminess. I was like, Oh, is it coming back and it never did? I was like, not all too easy. You know, I wanted to come back in this weird way. Like you did in the other songs. I do appreciate how the lyrics tie into the dream and imagination situation.

[00:15:02] So it definitely helps with that one little part. That's the, um, I will say vocally though, um, there, I be at this whole, like.

[00:16:22] Emotionless kind of like JYP thing.

[00:16:26] And we've talked about this before and we got in a lot of trouble for it.

[00:17:26] N. C. T. One two seven with be there for me. And this one was done by Kenzie manifest, Bozzy, Jackson Morgan, Land and Sears, Rice and Peas, Styles, Fuego, Rudy, Sandapah and

[00:17:33] MZMC. And this is the title track from N. C. T. One two sevens, winter special single.

[00:17:40] Player three. This one doesn't have to be in a Christmas

[00:17:42] song. I appreciate it. Like, aside from like the little things on the shimmers. I don't hate it, but I'm also just like, bring the singers back. Like that's how much I enjoyed them singing. You know, no offense to Taeyong and Mark, but I enjoyed the vocalist and you two finally got a a biggest vocal big ish big ish y'all a big ish vocal moment that way so happy to have a line if y'all been watching the performances he's

[00:19:00] in there. Yeah, but he's so happy to be a lot of horns in it. It's very organic sounding and some nice little keyboard trills and stuff in there. Yeah, I think that song's fine. Like it's super memorable in their discography. I'm sure it could make a nice moment in the shows.

[00:20:22] It's one of those when they're on those trolley things

[00:20:26] where they're driving around the arena But at this point he should at least have gotten a little bit better in terms of vocals where he can actually take on a line if Jay can stop there You know I'm saying like that's just my opinion. I I think it's tone maybe just isn't as Nice Amber where it's like yeah, Amber got better

[00:21:42] Right she was with SM you're like now. It's like her vocals all about the video and we have 80s up again up to bat. Okay, yeah, this video is a lot. Not a lot. I mean, it's crazy. Like there is a lot going on. And I think a lot of that is because of just how quick the shots are and why and the camera is just shaking for like 95% of this video.

[00:23:04] And it's too much because it almost doesn't let you I think they're still in the entire freaking video. Other than that though, the actual members, they did perform the crap out of it. Like they are so good on camera. I love that they do still stay very true to their lore because they have the

[00:24:20] pirate ship still involved.

[00:24:22] You know, you still have this idea

[00:24:24] of them being pirates still kind of

[00:24:26] underlying everything without because the last video, there was a lot of like fun things to catch on to like, oh, they're a promoter. There's a fighter. There's a cop and that really cops. It's a cowboy there and they're in a bar. This one, you got like a scene on Royale. You have wanted, you have these cute little hackers and there's the engineering, you know, I got that and you have Hong Joon who's like, oh, he's a cracker. Oh, it's so funny. I listened and watched it with the headphones and like when the bass drops, that zooms in on one of the guys. So I think in terms of editing, the whole idea was like, to tell you where, when, how to look, no matter how fast it is section of this video. But yeah, I mean, the video is not bad. It's not as to me memorable in terms of scenes as chili peppers whereas as yeah, they have to maybe as, you know, yeah, uh,

[00:28:23] inception may have been, you know what I'm saying?

[00:28:24] So, uh, yeah, it's okay.

[00:28:26] It's not bad.

[00:28:26] It's just I get what they're trying to do. or lacerifum, or whomever, or even for a second gen, regardless, does it stand up? And I would like to say that it is a little bear in terms of like, homes, in terms of performance shots, and staging, and things like that. Although purposeful, I do get on credit for that,

[00:29:40] because even though there was some color,

[00:29:42] like the blue and the pinks,

[00:29:43] they were the muted versions of those colors.

[00:29:44] It wasn't anything super vibrant. The girls are the group is standing on later another scene. So I do appreciate that kind of play. And then also there's like in the toothgems scene that is that comes across as super random because it's B role that had nothing leading up into it, my point. Um, there are like F E three oh four on the tooth gems, which is the title of this.

[00:31:02] But yeah, I don't think it was a terrible video.

[00:31:04] It was it was decent.

[00:31:06] Um, but again, don't don't come from me. is all just very flat and boring. I'm like, give me something kind of crazy. What do you think of the hoodies? It's OK. Yes, I'm saying. My concept, my thing is this. You can tell someone's going to be a freaking star. Is if not even if they're going to be sorry, iconic. I want to hold is if you can repeat that outfit in a costume. You can do the pink look.

[00:32:20] Yeah, sure.

[00:32:22] But that's it.

[00:32:22] Everything else would just look like you're wearing cargo pants

[00:32:25] and designer shirts with with shoulder pads on it. a little more lenient in that way, because it does still feel very transitional right now. Yeah, yeah. Like I said, I think the beginning of their career was messy, both musonically and also like the member changes and like out on their stuff. Oh my god, very rare. There's like a lot of drama. Yeah. So yeah, I think I'm a little more lenient on all of that

[00:33:42] because it's kind of just like,

[00:33:44] this is just an improvement overall.

[00:33:46] So I'm kind of okay with like something a little simpler. You're right. Love me like this was also very, very simple. But this one, like I think the way they did the changeups, like just as you kind of start getting really bored of the blank white room, then they're outside like in front of the cliffs. Or yeah,

[00:35:02] then you get the pink, but then you then you get the cliffs outside with the you know, I don't know. It's too much to know. So I was just like, I was like, that minute was a waste of my life. That's like that was the most boring intro video. I don't know. Yeah, acting was terrible. Like the ping pong ball, like animation was terrible.

[00:36:21] Like I don't understand what's going on.

[00:36:24] Chris, you want to play some ping pong?

[00:36:26] No, you want to play some ping?

[00:36:28] Like, you know, my theory is this was the video. This is the wear health they use for the limit list video. I've seen the limit list video. Like where I was like kind of like bare and this is the I this is my thing. I'm joking. I'm like it looks like they reused the limit list set where this Christmas dinner and they're just auctioning off things because of NCT.

[00:37:41] I don't know.

[00:37:42] I'm totally joking.

[00:37:43] But the way that basement closet addict thing, I still I don't get it. I don't get it. I know. I know. I don't know. I don't know. I feel like at least with the auction, they could have had the opportunity to like have some fun like SM cameos like be the people that are like participating in the auction or I don't know. What a waste.

[00:39:00] Yeah, I think I would have just preferred. I'm not going. Don't project. I'm just saying he wasn't there. And then like you have all the stuff going on. You have end of the year crap going on. You have all this. I don't blame them. They're kind of just like, bro, can we just want to step this and go? Like I don't blame him that that was the case because they really.

[00:40:22] But I don't think that was the case.

[00:40:24] I think this video was supposed to be like really cute and fun. performance and choreography. First step we have crazy form. What do you think it is? Performances. I try not to watch the end of the year performances. They weren't really that many words that different from the performance except like that. For a night, either way, when they do like the runway stuff.

[00:41:40] But yes, pretty much standard issue choreography.

[00:41:44] Boy, it is a lot.

[00:41:47] Spot looks fine. the kitchen sink and the wooden chairs for the tree in this choreography. You know what I'm saying? But with this one, it was more like, oh, that's a moment. Oh, that's a moment. And every time those moments popped up, I was like, oh my God, why the hell are these so hard? Because the footwork for some of it, I was like, I don't know if I can do that. So did I drive? And I appreciate that. I think chorus wise, they didn't go, they didn't do anything too crazy with the hands.

[00:43:03] I think there's some like Afrobeat movements, him in pretty well, putting him in the back so he doesn't have to go as hard, but at the end with the dance break with, you know, and in the front, he is on the side and he's in the front like first three and he actually holds it down pretty well

[00:44:20] for all that footwork.

[00:44:21] So who doesn't him, shout out,

[00:44:23] just be careful because the injuries aren't new Joe.

[00:44:25] And yeah, go at you.

[00:44:27] How do you feel about this whole and they're all just standing there just kind of singing chant. And then it, that's what then makes that outro dance even more impressive and kind of yeah, just gives it a nice dynamic, our favorite word. So yeah, it's good. I think they did a really good job doing that. And you never really get lost trying to figure out who the members are.

[00:45:41] That we're sometimes going to happen when you get a lot of background dancers,

[00:45:44] but they do a good job highlighting each member and the members themselves.

[00:45:49] Yeah. was always had some crazy choreography. And I will say have always pretty much done a pretty damn good job of doing it is in mixed with it. So yeah. Um, now I'm going to just get this out the way. If you hate them, I don't hate them. But get this out the way now though. I think they look good. Like they're pretty girls and they sound good. Yes, they can sing technically speaking and they have been

[00:47:01] singing live as a whole practice video on their fate.

[00:47:03] Yeah, they love they love to prove that.

[00:47:06] Yeah, which are you going to appreciate that?

[00:47:07] Yeah. Yeah, it's in the for it, but it creates this weird effect where I don't know how to connect with this group when they perform Facially, and I was not fair to them, but because of the songs jumpiness in terms of like vocal production and Things like that it gets a little like all over the place and that's not only bad

[00:48:22] It's hard for me to connect to them, but they're not beautiful making an actual, oh, it's like this weird little diamond polygon shape. Okay. They have references to the O choreography with the binoculars, excuse me, the binoculars. So I appreciate the moment. Like, oh, man, I love the little at the end when they tip their, just tip and twist their body. Yes.

[00:49:40] Because it's weird.

[00:49:41] It feels like how diced looked.

[00:49:44] It looked like the Wonderland.

[00:49:45] It looked like very like, what's going on?

[00:49:47] And that's what you're. It kind of feels very like a, you know, that's my thing. Like there's no big hair. Like the song is giving like, let's break the dreams and there's no ponytail. There's no pig. There's no, it sounds weird, but there's no one that goes like, wow, who's that one right now? I mean, I mean, you know, because I always go back to like the first few times I watched to like S and S D and you know,

[00:51:03] and it's like, I maybe wouldn't be able to point out all nine

[00:51:06] of them, but I would remember the choreo is good like I think I do actually like all the different vibes of it Because it kind of goes along with the whole change up concept, right? And it shows that technically as dancers that they. Oh, yeah. Okay, so right. Final player, we have NCTD 127, be there for me. So they have only performed this at like a two of those end of year things. And I think maybe one or two, like on the regular music shows, but yeah, not too many performances of this one.

[00:53:40] Naira, a lot of vocal stuff,

[00:53:43] which also counts in this round for sure had me weak because I was like, what is this weird little like, I get it, but I don't know why you did it. Um, I do appreciate that it does stay smooth throughout, right? With the body rolls. Yeah. Because all you do is like a little like, you know, they think they slapped the lapel of their jackets. You know, I, that's what I'm saying. It got better. Like the body roll stayed because we've complained about even, I think it was it, really good. And the performances, Jay Hyun sounded really, really good. Um, Jung Wu also sounded really, really good. So, so yeah, I think vocally, vocally very strong in all of them. Um, I am not a fan of the choreo. I think it's hard. I think this type of song, you know, it's quite a cute song.

[00:56:23] So I think if you're trying to do something really cool and swaggy with it. I'm going to be like, I'm going to be like, I'm going to be like, I'm going to be like, I'm going to be like, I'm going to be like, I'm going to be like, I'm going to be like, I'm going to be like, I'm going to be like, I'm going to be like, I'm going to be like, I'm going to be like, I'm going to be like, I'm going to be like, I'm going to be like, I'm going to be like, I'm going to be like, I'm going to be like, I'm going to be like,

[00:57:42] I'm going to be like, I'm going to be like, I'm going to be like, I'm going to be like,

[00:57:45] I'm going to be like, I'm going to be like, yeah. Come on, Oh, I love you guys. Love you. All right. All right. So this time to the side. Oh, what wins this round? OK, I think I'll not. I'll probably go with 80s. They're just so they're so captivating to watch perform.

[00:59:00] Yeah.

[00:59:01] I had the hardest time watching this crap.

[00:59:03] I legit was like, I'm not going to.

[00:59:05] I'm not going to pick.

[00:59:06] I'm not until point.

[00:59:07] Why am I going to pick that for?

[01:00:03] track for them and for the other two, it was a pre-release and a special single. So like the standard isn't the same, I guess, across the three.

[01:00:06] But yeah, so let's just say that, yeah.

[01:00:08] Yeah.

[01:00:09] But yeah, they went.

[01:00:10] Yeah.

[01:00:10] Again, vote for your faves that we could be a fair match because 18 and 17.

[01:00:15] I mean, to be fair, again, there wasn't that much out in this month.

[01:00:17] Um, but yeah, definitely vote for your faves.

[01:00:22] It's always fun because I always end up, I feel like we always end up talking

[01:00:25] about ones that we wouldn't have necessarily chosen ourselves.

[01:00:28] Yeah.

[01:00:29] Yeah.