Eli
9 posts
あなた達の勇気を讃えます！！
ありがとうございます☺️✨
🥄@ironicspoons
fujos are the strongest people in the world i had to buy this from a real human cashier
日本語
NO ONE GAF BUT GOOD NEWS OOMFIES IM GETTING TOP SURGERY WHILE XLOV RELEASES THE ALBUM ON NOV 5TH
English
Eli retweetet
250722 — article 📚
English translation of music critic Kim Do-Heon's (@zenerkscd) article "BOY, Breaking and Transcending Gender" on XLOV's barrier-breaking genderless expression, published on the Kook-Bang Daily newspaper:
“Isn’t this team a co-ed group?”
This was the answer I got following my recommendation of this group to a fellow music critic. I wasn’t talking about ALLDAY PROJECT, who is currently cruising along with songs “FAMOUS” and “WICKED”. I was referring instead to XLOV, a four-member boy group that has emerged in the music industry, claiming to be the first genderless group in K-Pop.
Genderless means not being recognized as any specific gender. For XLOV, the binary classification of boy groups and girl groups is unnecessary. If you take a look at their songs, choreography, and music videos that highlight nothing but their strengths, it quickly becomes clear that their genderless approach is not a one-time gimmick but a remarkable achievement in K-Pop, accomplished through tremendous effort and research.
XLOV is the team currently gaining the most traction among K-Pop enthusiasts. They succeeded in making their mark in the fiercely competitive K-Pop market solely through the power of pure music and stage performance. Compared to their first single “I’mma Be” released in January, their second single [I ONE] released on the 13th of last month, marks a definitive comeback. The music video for its title track “1&Only” has surpassed 4.5 million views. Curious about the group’s identity, audiences offer various interpretations of their performances, which effortlessly transcend gender boundaries. While there may have been vocal negative reaction to their “1&Only” stages on SNS, these same posts have allowed XLOV to be introduced to a large number of now-fans who were previously unaware of the group’s existence.
They are an intricately and thoroughly-curated group.
Gaining his start on the 2015 Korean-Chinese survival project Super Idol, WUMUTI has built up his career portfolio through audition programs such as Under Nineteen, Boys Planet, and Build Up. He is now XLOV’s leader and main producer. Descending from a family of artists of the Uyghur ethnic minority in China, WUMUTI has now gathered his personal colleagues with a goal to form a genderless group. After years of hard work, he is ready to realize his dream.
With the bold ambition to “empower their audience to embrace their true selves and pursue who they want to be” through art, the multinational group consisting of Taiwanese member RUI, Korean member HYUN and Japanese member HARU was formed. While there have been increasing numbers of K-Pop acts leaving major entertainment agencies behind to establish their own labels, XLOV is a unique case in which one of its members has drawn out the blueprint for a group, gathered his teammates himself, and curated their music and choreography, regardless of the presence of an agency.
The results are fascinating. XLOV’s K-Pop is one that transcends the gender boundaries of boy groups and girl groups. Their styling, encompassing impressive hairpieces, nails, and even colored contact lenses, is striking from the start. There’s not a hint of an objectifying gaze or performativity. The core themes of this album, “our existence is irreplaceable and unique” and “each of our beauty is always burning”, are boldly and precisely expressed.
The tracklist is even more fascinating. In emphasizing its uniqueness, all song titles include the number ‘1’: “1&Only”, “1 of LOV”, and “BIZNESS”, the title of which is a Korean homophone such. In itself, the album title [I ONE] alludes to the phrase “I want”.
Free from unwritten rules, the group resides in a broader world in terms of expression. This world is one of clear narratives, structures, and wordplay that are intricately woven together.
The core genres that XLOV chose to express “1&Only” and “1 of LOV” in are Afrobeats and Amapiano, music genres that developed from African immigrants in the UK in the 2010s, and currently expand their influence globally. Afropop, which gained recognition in Korea through the activities of Nigeria’s Tems and Rema and South Africa’s Tyla, is reflected in the K-Pop scene with songs such as LE SSERAFIM’s “Smart” and KISS OF LIFE’s “Sticky”, establishing itself as a genre that is no longer unfamiliar.
The reason why XLOV is excellent is that they reinterpret the genre’s characteristics with their own perspective. The core choreography of “1&Only” is composed of twerking combined with acrobatic movements. It is a dance style that cannot be overlooked when mentioning the rise of Afropop and overseas hip-hop female musicians.
Twerking as performed by female musicians is familiar to the public. However, within K-Pop, XLOV is the first to present a complete twerking performance by a boy group without it being trivial. XLOV’s twerking, which incorporates large poses from voguing, manages to completely eliminate the controversial aspects of sexual objectification and cultural appropriation, achieving a previously-unrealistic goal of emphasizing energy on a dreamy beat.
What about the hip-hop track “BIZNESS”? There have been many instances of boy groups performing on stage in skirts. TOMORROW X TOGETHER and ENHYPEN come to mind. However, when watching XLOV actively using their wide skirts to execute high-difficulty moves, girl group performances come to mind first instead of boy group fashions.
K-Pop has a long history of genderlessness, and it is hard to find a group today that completely rejects it. Since the 2000s, boy groups and girl groups have been divided into concepts that embody implicit public expectations, and many groups have showcased various gender-defying charms to meet changing consumer demands. Currently, we see a trend in boy group fashion that emphasizes decadence with tight T-shirts, skirts, and shorts.
Unfortunately, there have not been many cases where this trend has transcended style and been imprinted through music, except for Taemin’s “Move”. It is also true that there are not many cases of girl groups challenging genderlessness, except for the recent “Good Thing” by i-dle.
XLOV is breaking down that wall. In today’s K-Pop market where everything is assembled on a conveyor belt system, producer and leader WUMUTI is creating something rare. With just four songs, he has proven his talent and shown his potential. This is a team to keep an eye on.
t/n: Please keep in mind there may be small inaccuracies in phrasing or wording.
You can find the full article here: kookbang.dema.mil.kr/newsWeb/202507…
#XLOV #엑스러브
English
Eli retweetet
recruiting people for the vlightverse gc!
-must stan at vcha
-minimal yola
-follow @vchaverse
-no moles allowed
rt & reply to be added
English
usa evols, what states/regions/cities are we in? let's give them a guideline for a us tour
English
ไทย
