We’ve all known Baekhyun was hilarious for years, but watching Kai on variety shows in the past few years has been a lovely treat. He’s a natural! I feel like EXO should’ve been cranking out variety content for years and I’m now even more salty that they didn’t
Right! I’ve been in an EXO rabbit hole the past month and I am surprised they don’t have many variety appearances b/c they are hilarious. I LOL hard during EXO ladder s2.
I think it’s partly because some members seem to have a marked preference against variety (I think Xiumin has said in a few public places that he finds it very uncomfortable to be on variety shows, while Kai said in the past that it took them a long time to get comfortable on variety shows so that the members ultimately seem to have opted for something that’s more comfortable; I also think D.O. might have a preference against varieties, although IDK because he does a pretty good job when he does appear on variety shows and Baekhyun has said that D.O. has a lot of interest in doing variety shows). I also think part of the problem comes from SM; they seem to have opted for an approach that maintains a measure of mystery around EXO, although some of this might also be a kind of status quo the company got into after the group ran into problems early on (e.g., several members leaving) and their public appearances on shows were minimized. In the early days, EXO did a fair bit of variety stuff, so IDK what happened. A rumour in circulation is that EXO’s limited non-musical events is due to some members have a bad relationship with each other; IDK if this is true or not (I’m suspicious; Kai and Baekhyun were never seen as members who were especially close — Kai was always seen as having a very close relationship with D.O. and Chanyeol — but SuperM shows that even these two are really close, and their closeness seems to predate SuperM).
EXO Ladder 2 is great haha. I really liked their appearance on Radio Star and their appearances on Knowing Bros as well (especially the first two, although Kai really came out as hilarious in the third episode). They had a live recording they did I think after “Tempo” (maybe “Love Shot”?) where Baekhyun was hilariously annoying (I mean he’s always funny and annoying, but this was like taken to the next level).
Yeah, I feel like a lot of them don’t necessarily have the personality for variety. Like they are comfortable around each other so they let their guards down, but variety shows are a totally different animal. It seems like a lot of pressure to go on and be entertaining/funny and hell hath no fury if you’re not or say the wrong thing. I also agree with your assessment of SM. They want them to have this aura around their existence (which is consistently and delightfully ruined by Baekhyun’s personality lol) and I feel like they want Exo to be different from other idol groups so they limit variety appearances (and promotions in general). I remember when they debuted and their first few years and it was so chaotic and intense. I think that now they are about 8 years into debut they seem to be a little bit more comfortable. Of course who knows what the future since enlistment is on the horizon for the remaining members and their contract ends in a few years.
When I first became an EXO fan (2016? 2015? IDK, my interest in K-pop preceded my interest in K-dramas by at least a year, and I picked up my first K-drama in the summer of 2017), I actually found Baekhyun hard to like! Can you believe that? LOL. I think my impression of him at the test was that he was a bit obnoxious, as well as arrogant and a bit rude. Oh boy, how wrong I was. He’s just an adorable, hilarious, friendly guy. He’s also now tied for my favourite in the band (I love their vocal line equally — I used to try to figure out who I liked the most, but it’s a futile task). Since EXO is my favourite K-pop group, that also means, by extension, that he’s my tied for my favourite K-pop musician. I wish they’d put him in variety shows more often — he was almost a regular on that 5 Brothers show, but that fell through and the show didn’t do well in any case — but I guess SM has other plans (🙄🙄🙄).
I think the only one who hasn’t confirmed renewal of contract is D.O. It sort of makes me antsy. I hope he doesn’t leave, although I think there’s a non-trivial possibility that he might, since it seems like his career trajectory is increasingly towards acting.
I think they are starting to have more freedom. I hope that will translate into more variety shows, more acting projects, and generally more opportunities to see them on screen (whatever the precise form of their appearance). I agree, they definitely seem more comfortable now, and it also seems like some of the members have started to develop some variety skills (Sehun is the obvious example — kid’s hilarious in Busted! — but Kai also seems to be honing some skills, while Baekhyun just seems to be a natural). If things work out, then SM will start putting EXO (or at least the subset of them with variety skills) out there more.
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Maq
September 24, 2020 at 4:04 PM
Watching Mtopia. Kai and Baekhyun make a great comedy duo.
Shek
September 25, 2020 at 4:01 PM
They are HILARIOUS!
Maq
September 25, 2020 at 5:07 PM
We’ve all known Baekhyun was hilarious for years, but watching Kai on variety shows in the past few years has been a lovely treat. He’s a natural! I feel like EXO should’ve been cranking out variety content for years and I’m now even more salty that they didn’t
Shek
September 26, 2020 at 1:07 PM
Right! I’ve been in an EXO rabbit hole the past month and I am surprised they don’t have many variety appearances b/c they are hilarious. I LOL hard during EXO ladder s2.
Maq
September 26, 2020 at 4:33 PM
I think it’s partly because some members seem to have a marked preference against variety (I think Xiumin has said in a few public places that he finds it very uncomfortable to be on variety shows, while Kai said in the past that it took them a long time to get comfortable on variety shows so that the members ultimately seem to have opted for something that’s more comfortable; I also think D.O. might have a preference against varieties, although IDK because he does a pretty good job when he does appear on variety shows and Baekhyun has said that D.O. has a lot of interest in doing variety shows). I also think part of the problem comes from SM; they seem to have opted for an approach that maintains a measure of mystery around EXO, although some of this might also be a kind of status quo the company got into after the group ran into problems early on (e.g., several members leaving) and their public appearances on shows were minimized. In the early days, EXO did a fair bit of variety stuff, so IDK what happened. A rumour in circulation is that EXO’s limited non-musical events is due to some members have a bad relationship with each other; IDK if this is true or not (I’m suspicious; Kai and Baekhyun were never seen as members who were especially close — Kai was always seen as having a very close relationship with D.O. and Chanyeol — but SuperM shows that even these two are really close, and their closeness seems to predate SuperM).
EXO Ladder 2 is great haha. I really liked their appearance on Radio Star and their appearances on Knowing Bros as well (especially the first two, although Kai really came out as hilarious in the third episode). They had a live recording they did I think after “Tempo” (maybe “Love Shot”?) where Baekhyun was hilariously annoying (I mean he’s always funny and annoying, but this was like taken to the next level).
Shek
September 26, 2020 at 7:29 PM
Yeah, I feel like a lot of them don’t necessarily have the personality for variety. Like they are comfortable around each other so they let their guards down, but variety shows are a totally different animal. It seems like a lot of pressure to go on and be entertaining/funny and hell hath no fury if you’re not or say the wrong thing. I also agree with your assessment of SM. They want them to have this aura around their existence (which is consistently and delightfully ruined by Baekhyun’s personality lol) and I feel like they want Exo to be different from other idol groups so they limit variety appearances (and promotions in general). I remember when they debuted and their first few years and it was so chaotic and intense. I think that now they are about 8 years into debut they seem to be a little bit more comfortable. Of course who knows what the future since enlistment is on the horizon for the remaining members and their contract ends in a few years.
Maq
September 26, 2020 at 11:40 PM
When I first became an EXO fan (2016? 2015? IDK, my interest in K-pop preceded my interest in K-dramas by at least a year, and I picked up my first K-drama in the summer of 2017), I actually found Baekhyun hard to like! Can you believe that? LOL. I think my impression of him at the test was that he was a bit obnoxious, as well as arrogant and a bit rude. Oh boy, how wrong I was. He’s just an adorable, hilarious, friendly guy. He’s also now tied for my favourite in the band (I love their vocal line equally — I used to try to figure out who I liked the most, but it’s a futile task). Since EXO is my favourite K-pop group, that also means, by extension, that he’s my tied for my favourite K-pop musician. I wish they’d put him in variety shows more often — he was almost a regular on that 5 Brothers show, but that fell through and the show didn’t do well in any case — but I guess SM has other plans (🙄🙄🙄).
I think the only one who hasn’t confirmed renewal of contract is D.O. It sort of makes me antsy. I hope he doesn’t leave, although I think there’s a non-trivial possibility that he might, since it seems like his career trajectory is increasingly towards acting.
I think they are starting to have more freedom. I hope that will translate into more variety shows, more acting projects, and generally more opportunities to see them on screen (whatever the precise form of their appearance). I agree, they definitely seem more comfortable now, and it also seems like some of the members have started to develop some variety skills (Sehun is the obvious example — kid’s hilarious in Busted! — but Kai also seems to be honing some skills, while Baekhyun just seems to be a natural). If things work out, then SM will start putting EXO (or at least the subset of them with variety skills) out there more.