NCT 127 Taeyong and ALLDAY PROJECT Bailey will appear on Street World Fighter: Director's War.
The fifth episode of Mnet's Street World Fighter: Director's War (hereafter "SWF"), which airs at 10 p.m. on the 15th, will officially kick off the "solo artist direct" mission. The mission is to interpret an artist's music, concept and character based on a new song by an artist active on the global K-POP stage, and complete a performance suitable for the artist's actual promotional stage. This week, Taeyong and Bailey each appear as the protagonists of the new songs and present special collaborations with choreographers.
Earlier, in Street World Fighter: Director's War - Last Stage: 24H, which was released on TVING on the 12th (Sat), Renan and Hash were eliminated, and Minjun Jeong survived dramatically with a performance inspired by the film Ode to My Father. With this, the eight surviving choreographers will direct Taeyong and Bailey's new song performances through the first-ever 2:2 duet battles.
In particular, because the losing team in this battle will immediately head to Last Stage: 24H, an even more tense competition is expected. Choreographers' abilities are expected to be fully revealed, as they must not only create choreography but accurately read the artist's music and colors and design a performance that will shine the most on stage.
Above all, the significance is greater because the results of the "solo artist direct" mission will lead to the artist's official promotional stage. The viewing point is how Taeyong and Bailey, who are about to transform as solo artists, view their music and how they complete performances with choreographers.
Taeyong also attached special meaning to the process of creating the new song performance with SWF choreographers. Ahead of his comeback, he said that some people he has worked with for a long time were there, friends he has danced with for a long time were there, and an older colleague who made him love dancing was there, adding that it was a very happy and enjoyable experience to create a stage with really great people using a song he made.
For Bailey, who is a former member of the world-renowned dance crew KINJAZ and has worked as a dancer and choreographer, this mission was also special. Bailey said it was truly an honor, that she was genuinely excited to return to her roots and reconnect with the dance community, and that dance was her first language. She said she initially worked as a dancer, then as a choreographer, always thinking through movement, and that as she became an artist her relationship with dance naturally expanded.
She added that seeing the dancer and choreographer sides of her and her current artist side meet in one space through SWF felt special, felt like a cycle being completed, and brought a great sense of liberation. Having built her identity through dance for a long time, Bailey raises expectations about what "artist Bailey" she will show through this stage.
What Taeyong considered most important in the directing process was how effectively the new song's lyrics and energy were conveyed through the performance. He said he placed importance on "how well the new song's lyrics and energy are conveyed through the performance," explaining that because the song is intense he wanted to show his own strong energy and hoped everyone would enjoy working together throughout the process thanks to his energy.
Bailey recalled the moment she first saw the completed performance and said she was most surprised by how a natural side of herself emerged. Regarding standing on stage as "artist Bailey," beyond dancer and choreographer, she said it allowed her to look more closely at who she is and what kind of artist she could be, and that above all it was an experience in which she could continue to receive creative new stimuli and learn a lot.
Finally, Taeyong and Bailey described the performances as "refreshing" and "Bailey herself," respectively, heightening curiosity. Attention is focused on what kind of stages the two artists with different musical colors and performance identities will create through SWF choreographers' directing, and who will succeed in surviving to the next round.
[Photo] Provided by Mnet, SM Entertainment, The Black Label
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