An introductory guide to VIXX (from my perspective)

VIXX. Voice, Value, Visual in Excelsis.

Whatever that means. If you think what the acronym stands for is weird, you have yet to find out what BEAST and MBLAQ stand for. Though BAP is pretty cool while the acronym sounds funny.

I've heard of them before as rookies but took no notice. The name VIXX is hardly impressive or intriguing.

I only looked them up after coming across a picture of them on Instagram. They were performing on stage, each member clad in a fitted suit, perfectly made up face and the it-never-gets-old sexy mic strapped to their cheek. What caught my attention, though, were the yellow contact lenses and black nailpolish.

I'm a sucker for guys in nailpolish and eyeliner; the talent was an added bonus.

Curiosity led me to the song in which they donned the outrageous -even for k-pop standards- getup, 'On and On', or 'I'm Ready to Get Hurt'.

S&M? Not quite. It's about the pain of love, of course, as most k-pop songs are about. And damn was that addictive. Though an avid k-popper, I need a few listens to a new song to really get into it but I loved 'On and On' from, well, the ONset. Heheh.

One thing led to another and as is the usual case when it comes to k-pop groups, -girls, y'all know what I'm talking bout'- I get to know the whole group and a little more.

VIXX in high fashion. Hyuk, Ken, N, Hongbin, Ravi, Leo.

ERAS

1. SUPERHERO

As a k-pop rookie group, this may not have been the best choice of debut song to grab the attention of the masses (dramatic, epic songs about heartbreak often fare better) but this is delightfully catchy. It's also good for easy listening, okay, easier listening.

2. ROCK YOUR BODY

Carrying on with another infectious dancey tune, Rock Your Body started to mark a signature style -or so we thought- for VIXX. It's a feel good song with a catchy melody but again, not the kind that usually pulls in the fans by the truckloads.

3. ON AND ON (I'M READY TO GET HURT)

Only towards the end of this era did I pay attention to VIXX. And as is common in K-pop, the bad boy/heartbroken/dramatic kind of music which is a trademark of this genre worked well in VIXX's favour. Like me, many other k-poppers started showing VIXX support. And if I'm not wrong, this is their most successful song to date. Eyeliner, coloured contacts, black nailpolish and suits did wonders for VIXX. Another nice song from this era is 'I Don't Wanna Be An Idol'.

4. HYDE

Learning from their new found success, their next comeback -which I eagerly anticipated- was along the lines of a boy being an emotional wreck for a girl and becomes a monster, hence Hyde from Dr Jekyll and Hyde. I was on the fence about Leo's shoulder length wig but towards the end the company came to their senses and removed the item from their performances and promotions completely. Song is good too, the MV a little freaky and dark but you get to see a different side of the group. An amazing ballad in this album is 'Love Letter' in which all members, even Ravi show off a little of their vocals. Leo is a real show stealer in this one for me. 'Light Up the Darkness' is really catchy too.

 5. JEKYLL

Well, no surprise here. Though the song they are coming back with currently as of early August is 'G.R.8.U.' or 'You're Impressive'. I actually really like this song and it's much lighter than Hyde and it waxes lyrical about a girl being, well, GR8 (great). And ooh, VIXX's bare collarbones.

MEMBERS

Leo, the devil-may-care bad boy who hardly ever cracks a smile or says a peep but has a soft spot for animals, plays football, plays the piano, sings like an angel, is a pretty fine dancer too. He beats up his members -with love- when they make fun of him or when he doesn't get what he wants.

First time I saw Leo on TV, VIXX were playing a game. I had no idea who they were but k-pop groups' antics tend to be funny so I watched and this guy caught my attention because while pretty much all k-pop stars are either bubbly and crazy or sweet and diplomatic; Leo looked like he couldn't give a damn. Looking either bored or disinterested half the time, I kinda fell for this socially awkward tough guy. My bias in VIXX.

Hyuk, the youngest in the group, constantly the object of the members' abuse, cheerful, sometimes absent and indifferent like Leo, a good kid. I can't tell you too much about this guy.

Hongbin, basically the face of the group. I think he's a decent dancer and has a nice voice too but most people and even the directors of their company/group peg him as just a pretty face. Seems pretty charming in videos. Very likeable.

Ken, the dork. He's that one friend who has a knack for comedy. Also a really good singer. Loves attention, trying -and succeeding the most among members- to make Leo laugh, and being known as the cute guy. Cute as in adorable. I'm talking Gwiyomi and Buing Buing.

Ravi, the necessary rapper in this k-pop group. Has a nice singing voice though. Has 'chocolate abs' whatever that means. Is nice, I suppose. Good dancer and helped with composing some of their songs.

N, the oldest which makes him -most of the time- the leader of the group. Something of a bully in my opinion honestly, but the members often get even. Always teased for being dark-skinned. He's a pretty funny guy too, an excellent dancer, has never really changed his hairstyle since debut except for the colour.

POPULARITY

Something totally irrelevant about VIXX which I find myself liking is how they're pretty similar in height, around 180cm. 

They're a talented bunch, with catchy songs and good looks to boot, but then again, nothing too different from the other existing boybands. Not to say they're not special, but if you think they're much, much better than all the other boybands, you're being a little biased without reason.

I think they definitely deserve more support than they're getting. They work really hard for performances and even variety shows. But of course, the company's popularity greatly affects how well you do in shows, rankings and fanbase. Debuting around the same time as EXO from SMENT, BAP from TSENT and BtoB from CUBE to name a few, this group while growing in popularity steadily, did not start out as well received as the others, especially EXO.

Nevertheless, people are beginning to recognise their talent so yay :) !

So here I conclude my beginner's guide to VIXX. Join us Starlights today ! :D




Oh yeah, and I made a cover of 'I Don't Wanna Be An Idol' :)
https://soundcloud.com/jessrockstah/vixx-i-dont-wanna-be-an-idol

Kids these days

If I had a penny every time someone said to me 'Wow you're so lucky you're so rich', 'I'm sure you always eat/buy this (something expensive)' or something along the lines of that, I'd be rich. Like really.

Before I get started, let me make it clear that I do not think it's a compliment. Because what I'm really hearing is 'wow you're so lucky you have parents that buy you everything; you must have it so much better than I do although you didn't do anything to get there and you probably can't settle for less because you're a spoiled brat'. You don't have to mean it, but with every time you make that face and make it seem that you're being nice about my financial status, you're not. And I'll bet I'm not the only one on the receiving end of this who feels this way.

Harsh? Well I've had people say to my face sentences that even contain the actual words 'spoiled', 'filthy rich' and 'lucky'. But not the 'God's got an eye out for you' kind of lucky, but the 'you didn't do half the things you should to get to where you are' lucky.

The thing is, you don't even know me, and how I spend the money I'm allowed. I'll bet you I spend less than half of my friends, wealthy or not. I hardly splurge on clothes or shoes. I make an exception for the occasional CD, good meal and concert but I try to be thrifty too.

And the adults. They just love pointing out how much you're better off now than they were during their adolescence. 'Back in my day...', you've heard it, 'You kids drive around all day in your sports cars...'. I understand you went through a whole lot more hardship than we did without technology, air-conditioning even, etc. and deserve better than we do. So do you instead suggest we live like you did? Even out the field, am I right?

You see some characters in movies like the dude from Confessions of a Shopaholic who want nothing to do with his wealthy parents in his career because the money and name his parents have will help him start off on higher ground, not from his own doing. Do you think it's silly?

Maybe you do. But I sympathise. I mean, how about you going to work with colleagues going at it behind your back all day that you didn't have to lift a finger while they're breaking their backs trying to get places although that's not the case? And how about people writing you off as someone who is always dependant on someone else's hard work to go the distance? And most of all how about you never knowing if the reason you become successful is due to your capabilities or your folks'?

I know not everyone's quick to judge like I'd said. But some people definitely do. And some have even come up to me to let me know they think so.

As a feminist, I preach equality between females and males and inevitably equality in every other aspect; race, religion and hey, why not judgement of character in terms of personality, intelligence and dedication instead of wealth hmm?

Thanks.