15 Essential K-Pop Reality Shows: Boy Group Edition

1. The 2PM Show

2PM in general is excellent at varieties, and watching both Idol Army and Wild Bunny will bring the nostalgic feelings for former member Jay Park (and of course the unforgettable episode where Nichkhun x Minho became a thing), but The 2PM Show features the member as more veteran idols on the scene with a clearer ability for entertainment-- the show is hilarious from beginning to end, and luckily they're willing to throw their idol images away pretty quickly for the most amusing results.

2. SHINee's Hello Baby

Ring Ding Dong era SHINee in charge of taking care of an adorable little boy? YES! This variety showed off their cute paternal side (or lack thereof, in some cases), and how much they were able to hit it off with their young charge through several challenges and unexpected turns. I mean, who doesn't want to see SHINee playing in kigurumis, receiving baby kisses, and reenacting Korean legends with each other?

3. EXO Showtime

This show fell right at the height of EXO's post-Growl boom in popularity, and before the loss of two EXO-M members, Kris and Luhan, so I think this one will always hold a special place in fans' hearts, particularly those who were attached to the OT12 line-up. I was admittedly a bit ambivalent about EXO's early variety skills, but Showtime proved they had plenty of captivating charms and had grown more into their celebrity status. I'll always have fond memories of EXO Showtime's memorable moments such as the invention of Sehun's and Baekhyun's trend words, Kris's longing for the Galaxy, and their scary walk through the haunted house.

4. Infinite's Ranking King

Is it really possible to choose only one Infinite variety for this? They're all brilliant, and while I leaned for a moment towards This(Diss) is Infinite, "The Chaser" episode of Ranking King on its own is one of the best variety moments for boy groups of all time in my humble opinion. The concept of ranking the members brings out everybody's competitive spirit, and of course we get a lot of good natured Sunggyu teasing in the process! Whoever decided to unleash the boys on an entire building to play a shooting game with each other was a genius. 

5. Crown the Clown

C-Clown's take on "reality TV" is one of the most refreshing: English speaking member Rome takes control of the camera, filming his members just doing whatever, then edits it creatively, posts English subs, and sends it right off to Youtube for the audience's enjoyment. The members of C-Clown are just weird enough to make it work, and Rome is genius with his edits, making even the most simple interactions downright hilarious with his sound effects and captions. And anytime the horse mask comes out, prepare to die.

6. MTV B2ST

Rather than being an amusing set of challenges, MTV B2ST was a documentary style show that delved into B2ST's formation and early days in the industry. It's heavier stuff, but an amazing look back into the past of one of Korea's current top acts. Their beginnings were humble since they were looked upon as a group of recycled members, which makes how far they've made it since all the more amazing to realize.

7. MTV Diary: BTOB, VIXX, MYNAME, JJ Project

Hundreds of episodes featuring 4 former rookie groups taking self-cameras of themselves doing pretty much whatever they feel like can seem a little daunting, but if you watch them between other shows and don't overload yourself, they prove to be an interesting and funny look at the individual members adapting to their lives as rookie performers. Each has completely different colors from the other, but they're all fun to watch. 

8. IGOT7

GOT7 is quickly following in the footsteps of their 2PM sunbaes when it comes to good variety sense. IGOT7 follows closely to the format of The 2PM Show (even repeating a few of the challenges), but the uniqueness of the characters in GOT7 keep it fresh, particularly the international members who offer a twist, particularly the loud and rambunctious Jackson.

9. WINNER TV

Even if you didn't follow YG survival show WIN, WINNER TV was a fun initiation for WINNER into the K-Pop industry, showcasing their behind-the-scenes work on their music as well as fun hidden cameras, parodies, and even the occasional challenge. WINNER has a very clean sense of variety where nothing is over the top, but its still very entertaining to watch. YG is very light on variety appearances, so might as well enjoy what reality TV you can get from them!

10. Super Junior's Exploration of the Human Body

Super Junior learns about the functions of the human body... by testing out questions on themselves. How could such a flawless setup go wrong? SuJu makes it even better by bringing DBSK in for a little bit of DBSJ feels, and including a mouth-to-mouth breathing challenge featuring the members themselves. Add that to SuJu's early era hair and the fact that Hangeng is still in the line-up, and the whole thing is golden.

11. BTS American Hustle Life

In comparison, American Hustle Life is a much more modern reality where BTS goes to America and are mentored by hip-hop rap producers to up their rap game. It's one of the most interesting varieties since it forces the members to overcome a language and culture barrier (RapMon is the only member fluent in English), particularly since BTS has several aliens among their line-up... V, I'm thinking of you

12. MBLAQ Sesame Player

An even better pick now that we're losing MBLAQ's original line-up :( In spite of their current difficulties, the group's five members always had great chemistry with each other in their shows, and one of the highlights of the show was when they trapped members in the bathroom and forced them to answer questions honestly (or at least in the way the asker wanted to hear) or risk having fart bombs thrown at them. The way they handled each other's personalities was clever and fun to watch, and will definitely be missed by fans!

13. Teen Top 100% Rising

This one is a favorite of mine. I was originally a Teen Top fan, but transferred a huge portion of my affection to 100% when I met them through this show. The premise is that both groups engaged in face-offs to become "hot issues" by challenging records set by other idols-- of particular importance to 100%, who were undebuted rookies at the time and could use some positive press. The show also had a sequel following 100%'s debut pitting the two groups again with new challenges and building the groups' competitive spirit and labelmate bond.

14. U-KISS Kiss of Chef

Another throwback! This one featured the original line-up of U-KISS + Kiseop picking up cooking skills so they could run their own charity restaurants as both cooks and the wait staff to earn money for good causes. While educational because of the amount of cooking tips you can pick up from it, the number one thing about Kiss of Chef was the Elvin vs. Vinseop shipping that went on, of course!

15. B.A.P Killing Camp

This one gives me a sort of odd feeling in light of the group's lawsuit against TS-- I mean, the poor boys were being overworked, and their so called healing camp that they visit in this variety pretty much winds up being boot camp, but it's still fun to watch these boys in action, particularly since Daehyun doesn't wind up muzzled like he does in Ta-Dah! It's B.A.P.

Random Playlist: UT LOVE- Boy Group Edition

This random playlist highlights great songs from some of the industry most unappreciated boy groups (only including groups with more than one single out, since it's hard to say which rookies are 'underappreciated' if they only have one track)

Album Review: MYNAME's "Five Stars"

I often forget how much I enjoy listening to MYNAME, not through any fault of theirs, but because they end up so sparingly marketed in Korea. When a worthy band winds up being more appreciated in Japan with their overseas releases, I tend to gain more of a taste for their foreign language albums since I not only want to support the band, but also the fans who serve as the backbone of their popularity. In the case of MYNAME, I also think their Japanese albums are legitimately better than Korean ones, though I do enjoy both.

Needless to say, I was quite pleased to hear a new Japanese album was in the works following their overseas debut record WE ARE MYNAME. “We are the Night,” “(If You Wanna) Be My Baby,” and “Anonymous” are some of my favorite tracks by the group, and I was looking for that same blend of mature dance tracks and breathtaking ballads as that album delivered.

Here's my takeaway from MYNAME's second Japanese album, Five Stars:

Klick: Now this is how you start off an album! Upbeat and chic, “Klick” is a strong self-anthem that captures the same edgy flair the boys brought to the starter tracks of their previous Japanese release. Much like the similarly themed “Paparazzi” by Girls' Generation, this track is hooky in all the right places and starts the album off on the right note.

Hocus Pocus: The second track keeps the pace going strong, and while not quite as catchy or engaging as “Klick,” its beats are enjoyably hypnotic and-- dare I say it?-- magical. MYNAME has pulled better tricks out of their hat, but it's a fairly solid track nonetheless.

F.F.Y: “F.F.Y”, or Fight For You, was the lead off single from the album, and since the video has been out since February, it has the benefit of being the track fans are already most familiar with. As a J-Popper, I'd argue that this track is one that does the best job of reflecting the trademark Japanese sound. I could completely see a Johnny's group working with a track like this, though naturally I'm thrilled that MYNAME is the one behind it given how well their voices suit the throwback melody and dynamic pacing. I prefer “Klick” overall as a track, but this is still one heck of a single for the group, and serves as an excellent representation of their Japan-specific sound.

Baby I'm Sorry (Japanese version): It takes a lot to get me to enjoy a Japanese version more after I'm used to listening to the Korean version, but “Baby I'm Sorry” happens to be a great track no matter what language it's sung in, and I ended up enjoying this rendition as much as the original. It also brings back fond memories of Gunwoo and JunQ's “SORRY” high note battle on After School Club, which resulted in JunQ repeatedly yelling “Saw-ry” in his delightful low voice that of course didn't want to go much higher.

Interlude: Nice instrumentation, I guess?

STARS: “STARS” is the first original ballad off the album, and also the first nod to the album title itself. Insoo and Gunwoo's vocals are killer, but it does get a little bit sleepy in places due to the lack of variety in the pacing. A soothing track, but not particularly memorable.

Shirayuki: This ballad did a better job with me, once again because of how well they captured the Japanese style of music while still putting their own spin on it. I prefer the vocal line in “STARS,” but I feel the story of this track more based on the emotionally delivery alone without even having to look up the lyrics. A great track for this year's never-ending winter!

We Made It: I usually like their upbeat tracks quite a bit, but this one was a bit lukewarm for me. I did enjoy the rap parts, but the overall melody wasn't anything special. It's not bad, simply meh.

Guilty as Charged: “Guilty as Charged,” on the other hand, is everything I like about their faster paced songs. It's not their most complex song ever, but it's delightfully dark and moody. I'd rave to this in a heartbeat if I could find a club in New York that would play this kind of song.

Sha la la: I was wary after seeing the title of this track, since I don't like songs that sub a lot of la las and na nas as legitimate lyrics, but then I heard the violins and cheered up a bit because violins far outweigh all the sha las on the planet. I'm glad I opened my mind to this song, because I did end up enjoying it. I'm not quite sure what they mean by “you are my sha la la,” but I still have a weakness for first love songs for nostalgia reasons.

No Joke: In spite of a moment of confusion where I was convinced they said “F**k the light,” this smooth jam won me over courtesy of rap line of Seyong and JunQ, who haven't had as much of a chance to show off as the vocals. That being said, the vocals are still pretty dang sexy on the chorus, although they could use a little bit of enunciation to avoid the f-word issue.

Robot Boy: After “Klick,” this is my second favorite from the album, particularly when it comes to the lyrics. Comparing living with a damaged heart to being like a broken robot not only rings true, but the message is also delivered in the English-language chorus, which makes it easy to pick up for international fans. The vocals and raps are both on point, and the “fix me, can you come and fix me?” line is the most memorable of the album.

Your Answer: I was expecting another ballad here, but “Your Answer” ended up being a mid-tempo track brimming with nicely done harmonized back-up vocals and lots of romantic optimism. Not a bad wrap up number!

Girlfriend (Japanese version): Like with “Baby I'm Sorry,” I did like their Japanese rendition of the song quite a bit, but was a wee bit disappointed that the album didn't close off with an original number. I would have traded this track's position with “Your Answer,” which had the makings of a good closer. Whenever I hear this song, I'm not expecting the album to end, I'm expecting the Hwanhee outro to follow it up! Still a good track, however, as was the original version. 

Overall, this album earns a solid B. I prefer their WE ARE MYNAME album, but Five Stars has plenty to offer fans of their Japanese work. The groups remains frustratingly underrated in Korea, but if it means more quality J-Pop releases like this, I can hardly complain!