~ DREAMCATCHER ~ 

Members from left to right: JiU, Handong, Dami, Gahyeon, Siyeon, SuA, and Yoohyeon. 

Who is dreamcatcher?

On the 18^th of September 2014, a five-membered K-pop girl group formed by Happy Face Entertainment debuted under the name of MINX with their single “Why did you come to my home”. The members, back then, were JiU, SuA, Siyeon, Yoohyeon and Dami. However, on January 13 2017, the group re-debuted with a whole new concept “Chase Me” (every member representing a different kind of nightmare) and with two additional members, Handong and Gahyeon, under the name Dreamcatcher. The fandom is called “InSomnia”, meaning “in the dream” in latin. They made their Japanese debut one year later with their single “Full Moon”.

Their latest Korean comeback was on January 26, 2021 with their sixth mini-album entitled "Dystopia : Road to Utopia" and the title track "Odd Eye". This time, all 7 members participated to the comeback with Handong being back from China. 

Here are their official social media accounts: 

• Twitter @hf_dreamcatcher
• Twitter (Japan) @jp_dreamcatcher
• Instagram @hf_dreamcatcher
• Instagram (members) @goodnight_dreamcatcher
• Instagram (Japan) @jp_dreamcatcher
• Facebook Happyfacedreamcatcher
• Youtube Dreamcatcher
• Fan cafe Dreamcatcher7
• V live Dreamcatcher
• Official website Dreamcatcher
• TikTok @official_dreamcatcher
• TikTok (Japan) @dreamcatcher_jp

  

Stage Name: JiU

Birth Name: Kim Min Ji

Position: Leader, Lead Vocalist, Lead Dancer, Visual

Birthday: May 17, 1994

Nationality: Korean

Nightmare: Fear of being chased

Fun facts: Her English name is Lily. If she wasn’t in Dreamcatcher she would be a police officer or an owner of a macaron store (interview with Kpopconcerts). Her ideal type is someone who communicates with her well, also a man who can control her a little.

 

Stage name: SuA

Birth name: Kim Bo Ra

Position: Main Dancer, Lead Rapper, Sub Vocalist

Birthday: August 10, 1994

Nationality: Korean

Nightmare: Fear of restraint

Fun facts: Her English name is Alice. She is a former MINX member. SuA learns dance routines the fastest and she helps others learn theirs too. Her hobbies are drawing and watching dramas. She is a fan of TVXQ and her role models are the Big Bang members. Her ideal type is a man who is sexy and who likes her more than she likes him.

 

 

 

 

Stage Name: Siyeon

Birth Name: Lee Si Yeon

Position: Main Vocalist

Birthday: October 1, 1995

Nationality: Korean

Nightmare: Claustrophobia

Fun facts: She is a former MINX member. Her English name is Monica. She can do voice impression for Pikachu, Squirtle, and Psyduck. Her role model is Sistar’s Hyorin. Her idal type is someone she can connect to and talk to, someone who has sense and matches her well.

 

Stage Name: Handong

Birth Name: Han Dong

Position: Sub Vocalist

Birthday: March 26, 1996

Nationality: Chinese

Nightmare: Scopophobia

Fun facts: Her English name is Della. She was born in Wuhan, China. If Handong wasn’t in Dreamcatcher, she would be a flight attendant (interview with Kpopconcerts). Her ideal type is a kind person who has a good personality and is tall.

 

Stage Name: Yoohyeon

Birth Name: Kim Yoo Hyeon

Position: Lead Vocalist

Birthday: January 7, 1997

Nationality: Korean

Nightmare: Being Lost in an unknown place

Fun facts: She is a former MINX member. Her English name is Rachel. She is learning Mandarin and German. She likes Harry Styles. Her ideal type is someone hard-working. As for celebrities, she named her ideal type Kim Bum. 

 

Stage Name: Dami

Birth Name: Lee Yu Bin

Position: Main rapper, lead dancer, sub vocalist

Birthday: March 7, 1997

Nationality: Korean

Nightmare: Oulinophobia or Agliophobia

Fun facts: Her English name is Emma. She learned kendo. She is a fan of the anime "One Piece". Her favorite author is Haruki Murakami. Her ideal type is someone she can learn from, someone who can talk a lot compared to her.

 

 

 

 

Stage Name: Gahyeon

Birth Name: Lee Ga Hyeon

Position: Sub Vocalist, Sub Rapper, Maknae

Birthday: February 3, 1999

Nationality: Korean

Nightmare: Basophobia

Fun facts: Her English name is Lucy. She studies in the Philippines for a few months and was a honor student for 3 years. Her ideal type is someone who smiles prettily, is fun and has a good voice. 

 

 

 

 

 

How I discovered them 

Dreamcatcher is one of those underrated groups that has a really distinct sound. They still didn’t score a first win on a musical show, and they rarely appear on Korean variety shows, so the odds you find them by pure coincidence are low. I personally found out about them watching one of K-ville’s “new kpop songs” video, and the first song I heard from them was Piri. I saw them a lot in “underrated K-pop groups” videos. I hope that I will help them getting the recognition they deserve. 

My Bias is Dami, and my bias wrecker (the runner up to the “bias” title) is Siyeon. Dami has a very unique tone of voice, and her singing is as good as her rapping. And I think she became much more confident in the past comebacks. As for Siyeon, her voice is getting better and better. That falsetto right after the bridge in “BOCA” is amazing. But don't get me wrong, all the other members have that "something special".

About their discography:

Dreamcatcher has a very unique sound that is more on the rock-electronic side. Their debut song, Chase me, is pretty soft compared to all the songs they did after that. It is a good debut song but it’s clearly not the one who showcases the members’ talent the most. After that, they respectively released their title tracks “Good Night”, “Full Moon” and “You and I” that follow the same Nightmare concept, all sounding almost the same to me but still being good songs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On September 20, 2018 they come back with their third Korean mini-album “Alone in the city” with the title track “What” that marks a small change in their sound even though the concept didn’t really change. “What” goes really hard for me and hits differently, the girls really get to show off their vocals, and the instrumental portion in the beginning of the song is *chef’s kiss*.

Their fourth Korean mini-album “The end of Nightmare” out on February 13, 2019 with the title track "Piri" marks the end of the Nightmare era. Piri is very much different from what they've been doing before. I won't put it in the rock register although I consider Dreamcatcher as a K-Rock girl group.

They come back seven months later with their special mini-album “Raid of Dream” with the title track “Déjà vu” on September 18, 2019. Now let’s talk about Déjà vu… DAMI IS SINGING GUYS, QUEEN DAMI IS SINGING!!! Déjà vu is definitely one of my favorite songs of theirs. The instrumental, the song, the lyrics, the MV, and… Queen Dami. It might not go as hard as you could expect, but the song definitely has an impact. I just had a hard time understanding the meaning behind the MV but let me tell you: I suck at finding and understanding theories. 

2020 marks the beginning of a new era for Dreamcatcher. On February 18, they publish their first studio album “Dystopia: The Tree of Language” with the title track “Scream”. However, Handong won’t be promoting alongside her 6 group-mates because she’ll be participating in the Chinese show “Youth With You” (season 2). And let me tell you that there is a huge difference between the pre-scream era and the post-scream era. The members improved a lot, Siyeon’s singing got so much better (she’s my favorite vocalist of the group), Dami gained so much confidence and her rap got better too (I thought that it wasn’t possible but she did it because she’s a queen), and Gahyeon revealed herself. Scream is the song that, in my opinion, made Dreamcatcher more known to the public (even though I think they are still underrated). 

On Agusut 17, 2020, Dreamcatcher came back with their fifth Korean mini-album entitled “Dystopia: Lose Myself” with the title track “BOCA”. Handong won’t be participating in the promotions for this comeback again because she’s stuck in China for Covid-19 reasons. BOCA is the apotheosis to me. EVERY MEMBER had its time to shine in the MV (I can't wait for Handong to come back) and I think they outdid themselves (again) in terms of the aesthetics. The MV is really gorgeous, and there's definitely a contrast between the "warrior" theme and the "goddess" theme if I can put it like that (I told you, I'm not good at understanding underlying meanings). 

Finally, on January 26, 2021, the girls put out their sixth Korean mini-album entitled "Dystopia : Road to Utopia" with the title track "Odd Eye". Again, I'm really bad at understanding theories, but there seems to be something to do with the five senses. They first did "Boca" (which means mouth in spanish), now it's "Eye", and maybe ears or nose are next? The only thing I'm sure of is that they nailed this comeback as well. 

All in all, my favorite title track from them has to be Déjà Vu, with What being a close second. But my favorite album has to be Dystopia: Lose Myself (Dystopia: The tree of language being a close second). All the songs in it are beautiful, with Break the Wall being my favorite B-side from them.

Random Facts

The company went from “Happy Face Entertainment” (2009-2019) to literally “DreamCatcher Company” because the company wanted to show the group their support (source: AllKpop).

That’s it guys, I hope you enjoyed reading this article and that you’ll be checking out DreamCatcher. They have enough talent and experience to be more known in South Korean and Worldwide, they really deserve better.

Love, Swan

 

Sources: Wikipedia, Kprofiles

 

 ~ SEVENTEEN ~  

Who is Seventeen?

Seventeen is a South-Korean thirteen-membered K-pop boy group that debuted on the 26th of May, 2015 with the song “Adore You” under Pledis Entertainment (that is now under "Hybe Music", the music department of Hybe corporation that itself includes Pledis entertainment and other music labels). The group is divided into three main units: The performance team, the hip-hop team, and the vocal team. And then, there’s two other “secondary units”: The SVT Leaders team (made of the leaders of the vocal, dance and rap units) and BOOSEOKSOON.
 
Their latest Korean comeback is “Rock with”, the title track of their 9th Korean mini-album entitled "Attaca" that came out on October 22, 2021.

You can follow the group's activities closely by following them on their social media:

• Instagram: @saythename_17
• Twitter: @pledis_17
• Twitter (Japan): @pledis_17jp
• Facebook: seventeennews
• V-Live: Seventeen channel
• Official website:  seventeen-17.com
• Fan Cafe: Pledis-17
• Youtube: Seventeen
• Youtube (Japan): SEVENTEEN Japan official Youtube
• TikTok: @seventeen17_official
• Weverse: SEVENTEEN

 

Stage Name: S.Coups

Birth Name: Choi Seung Cheol

Position: Leader, Hip Hop team leader, Main Rapper, Sub Vocalist

Birthday: August 8, 1995

Instagram: @sound_of_coups

Nationality: Korean

Sub-Unit: Hip-Hop Team; SVT Leaders

Fun facts: He has his driver license. S.Coups was supposed to debut with NU’EST (another group under the same label). His ideal type is someone who can cook well and who eats a lot. From November 18 2019 till March 3, 2020 S.Coups was on hiatus to receive treatment for anxiety. 

 

 

Stage name: Jeonghan

Birth Name: Yoon Jeong Han

Position: Lead vocalist

Birthday: October 4, 1995

Nationality: Korean

Sub-Unit: Vocal Team

Fun facts: He admires Shinee's Taemin. He has his driver license. Between dating someone older or younger, he prefers someone older because he needs someone to take care of him. His ideal type girl is someone who loves them and buys their albums.

 

 

 

 

Stage name: Joshua

Birth name: Joshua Hong

Korean name: Hong Ji Soo

Position: Lead Vocalist, Visual

Birthday: December 30, 1995

Nationality: Korean-American

Sub-Unit: Vocal Team

Instagram: @joshuahong951230

Fun facts: He was born in Los Angeles, California, United States, he is fully Korean but was born and raised in America. He is a fan of EXO. He loves anime, especially One Piece, Naruto and Bleach. His ideal type is someone who is kind.

 

 

Stage Name: Jun

Birth Name: Wen Junhui

Korean Name: Moon Jun Hwi

Position: Lead Dancer, Sub Vocalist

Birthday: June 10, 1996

Sub-Unit: Performance Team

Nationality: Chinese

Facts: He speaks mandarin, cantonese and Korean. He is said to be looking like Super Junior's Heechul. His ideal type is someone who looks pure and sexy. 

 

 

 

 

Stage Name: Hoshi

Birth Name: Kwon Soon Young

Position: Performance Team Leader, Main Dancer, Lead Vocalist, Sub Rapper

Birthday: June 15, 1996

Nationality: Korean

Sub-Unit: Performance Team, SVT Leaders, BOOSEOKSOON

Fun facts:  His nickname is 10:10 because his eyes have same angles as a clock showing 10:10. He is a big SHINee fan.  His ideal type is someone who is fragrant and likes him.  

Stage Name: Wonwoo

Birth Name: Jeon Won Woo

Position: Lead Rapper, Sub Vocalist

Birthday: July 17, 1996

Nationality: Korean

Sub-Unit: Hip-Hop Team

Fun facts: Seventeen members voted Wonwoo as the cleanest member. He has his driver license (including an international driver license). His ideal type is someone who suits him well.

 

 

 

 

 

Stage Name: Woozi

Birth Name: Lee Ji Hoon

Position: Vocal Team Leader, Lead Vocalist, Producer

Birthday: November 22, 1996

Nationality: Korean

Instagram: @woozi_universefactory

Sub-Unit: Vocal Team; SVT Leaders

Fun facts: He was supposed to debut in TEMPEST with S.Coups but the group disbanded in their pre-debut stage. He is a talented composer and producer, he wrote and co-produced I.O.I's "Downpour".  He is now a member of the Korea Music Copyright Association (KMCA) His ideal type is a girl who is bright and friendly. 

Stage Name: DK/Dokyeom

Birth Name: Lee Seok Min

Position: Main Vocalist

Birthday: February 18, 1997

Nationality: Korean

Sub-Unit: Vocal Team, BOOSEOKSOON (Leader)

Fun facts: DK is Seventeen's happy virus. He shares the same birthday as Vernon. He is allergic to cats and doesn't like cucumbers. His ideal type is a girl with long dark hair, has aegyo, and has long slender legs. 

 

Stage Name: Mingyu

Birth Name: Kim Min Gyu

Position: Lead Rapper, Sub Vocalist, Visual, Face of the group.

Birthday: April 6, 1997

Nationality: Korean

Sub-Unit: Hip-Hop Team

Instagram: @min9yu_k

Fun facts: He has his driver license. He is friends with BTS's Jungkook, GOT7's Bambam & Yugyeom, NCT's Jaehyun, Astro's Cha Eunwoo (aka '97 line). His ideal type is a girl who is tall, kind-hearted and easy-going.  

 

 

 

 

Stage Name: The8

Birth Name: Xu Ming Hao

Korean Name: Seo Myung Ho

Position: Lead Dancer, Sub Vocalist, Sub Rapper

Birthday: November 7, 1997

Nationality: Chinese

Sub-Unit: Performance Team

Instagram: @xuminghao_o

Fun facts: He prefers Chinese food over Korean food.  His favourite season is summer. He likes fashion a lot. His ideal type is someone who is cute and kind.

 

 

 

Stage Name: Seungkwan

Birth Name: Boo Seung Kwan

Position: Main Vocalist, Face of the group

Birthday: January 16, 1998

Nationality: Korean

Sub-unit: Vocal Team, BOOSEOKSOON

Instagram: @pledis_boos

Fun facts: He won the rookie entertainer award in 2018 for his work on variety shows. On July 21, 2020 Pledis announced that Seungkwan will be taking a break from promotions due to an ankle injury. His ideal type is an easy going girl with big eyes and is like a friend to him.

 

 

 

Stage name: Vernon

Birth Name: Hansol Vernon Chwe

Korean Name: Choi Han Sol

Position: Main Rapper, Sub Vocalist, Visual, Face of the group

Birthday: February 18, 1998

Nationality: Korean-American

Instagram: @chwenotchew

Fun facts:  His favourite rappors are Drake, T.I, J.Cole and Kendrick Lamar. He admires David Bowie. He is a Harry Potter fan. His nickname is "Twix" because he had a lot of Twix in their practice room. His ideal type is someone his heart can connect with.

Stage Name: Dino

Birth Name: Lee Chan

Position: Main Dancer, Sub Vocalist, Sub Rapper, Maknae.

Birthday: February 11, 1999

Nationality: Korean

Sub-Unit: Performance Team

Fun facts: His parents are dancers. His father opened up a dance class and taught him how to dance. He is a big fan of Michael Jackson. He has his driver license, Mingyu was the one who taught him to drive. His ideal type is a pretty girl who does aegyo (cute gestures).

 

 

 

How did I discover them?

I was binge-watching some dance practice videos when YouTube recommended me (again) the dance practice for their song “clap” (which is one of my favorite song of theirs). The video starts with them goofing around, and then you see them getting in line. I was SHOCKED by the number of people in this group. The average number of people in a K-pop group is around 7 members, so when I saw 13 members, I was a bit discouraged. I thought I couldn’t feel close and relate to the members because they were so many (I ended up falling in love with every member though). But this should definitely not stop you from liking their music, because you can be even more creative with harmonies and formations with such a large amount of people. 
 
I don’t have one Bias (favorite member) but I do have a thing for Dino the maknae (the youngest) and for S.Coups (the leader of the whole group and of the hip-hop unit). Dino is an underrated dancer in my opinion (you can check out his “danceology” videos on Seventeen’s official YouTube channel) and is very hard-working. And I have to admit that him being the youngest of the group helps. I personally feel closer to trainees that are around my age and youngests tend to have a personality similar to mine so I feel pretty close to Dino. And for S.Coups, I think he’s a really humble leader. Leading a thirteen-membered group is not an easy task, but I believe he has all the qualities to be a great leader.

About their discography

Seventeen debuted with a very bubbly and refreshing concept, their debut song being “Adore U”. This image of “refreshing boy group” stayed with them for quite a long time (they did “Mansae”, “Pretty U”, “Boom Boom”, “Clap”, and “Don’t wanna cry” that all had similar concepts).

I think the first time they produced something different was when “Thanks” came out.  The melody with the synths and the desperate vocals definitely brought something new to their discography. And in terms of title tracks, Thanks is definitely one of my favourites.

But they really shifted to a more mature vibe with “Getting closer” from their album “You made my dawn” and “Fear” from their “An ode” album. Talking about “An ode”, I was so amazed by that album that I bought it.

With "Left&right" they put on their "summer boy-ish" hats they had on for "Oh My!". The message of this song was quite strong despite the playful vibe of it. They also tried the retro/classy style with "Home;run", the title track of their mini-album "Semicolon". This song might not be part of my favourites, but they definitely rocked the theme (the colourful suits looked stunning on them).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

On June 18, 2021, they released their 8th mini-album "Your Choice" and its title track "Ready to Love" that's 100% in the pop register, which they nailed as well. I can proudly say that they can pull off any concept thrown at them. I did like the title track, but they do have gems among their b-sides, my favourite on this album has to be Anyone. 

Finally, they released their 9th Korean mini album "Attaca" (people really thought that they were going to "attack" us and they really did to be honest) on October 22, 2021, with its title track "Rock with you". As much as I liked "Ready to love", "Rock with you" is on another level. It is a strong and emotional song (although it is a very upbeat song), without necessarily having heavy instrumentals. The vocals in this song are just incredible, and oh my god so many rappers sang and it was heavenly (Wonwoo, Mingyu, and S.Coups). In terms of b-sides, "To you" is my favourite. I just love how all hybe artists 

Random facts:

The group debuted after appearing on a reality show called “Seventeen Project”.

The Seventeen fans are called “carats” because in their song “Shining Diamond” there was a line that said “seventeen carat”. This is where the name of their fandom “carat” came from. 

Seventeen is known for their synchronization. Despite having thirteen members, their choreographies are always beautifully and perfectly executed (see the dance practice video for "Don't wanna cry" here). 
 
The group hosts their own reality show called “Going Seventeen” (similar to run BTS) where you can enjoy seeing the members going through their daily lives and putting themselves in random, really random situations. They also released a thirteen-episodes series called “Hit the road” (click here to watch the first episode) where you can follow the member’s journey during their “An ode” world tour.
 
In 2020, the label BigHit Entertainment, home to groups like BTS and TXT, became the biggest Pledis Shareholder. However, Pledis will still act as an independent lablel. Some people weren’t happy with the news, thinking that the group will get less comebacks and won’t be able to participate in the production process as much as they did in the past. But the opposite actually happened, and Seventeen is reportedly preparing for an October comeback (source: Soompi). Seventeen also made a special appearance in the reality show I-LAND (produced by Big Hit) on episode 10. 
 
That’s it guys! I hope that this article will make you want to go check Seventeen out, they are really worth it and they really don’t disappoint. Comment down below if you already knew about Seventeen, who's your bias, and the group you want me to present next!
 
Take care, and I’ll see you all soon!

Love, Swan 

 

Sources: Soompi, Kprofiles