WayV
It has been quite a while since I have had a bias group. To profess my love for them and also let people more about them, I will dedicate this article to a seven-member boy group called WayV! Please be prepared for a VERY LONG post.
WayV (威神V)
Debut Date: January 17, 2019
Company: Label V, SM Entertainment
Fandom Name: WayZenNi
Fandom Color: Lime
Debut EP: The Vision
This seven-member boy group is the Chinese sub-unit of NCT (Neo Culture Technology). Due to the ban on South Korean entertainers promoting in China, SM Entertainment established Label V to promote WayV in China under a different label name. Previously Ten, Lucas, and Kun were members of NCT U (aka NCT United which is a sub-unit where all NCT members can "unite" and perform different concepts) and NCT 2018 (all members of NCT in the year 2018 gathered to release the studio album NCT 2018 Empathy), and WinWin was a member of NCT 127 (the Seoul-based unit of NCT) as well as NCT 2018. Three new members, Xiao Jun, Hendery, and Yang Yang who were all part of SM Rookies, were added to form WayV!
Kun (钱锟)
Birthday: January 1, 1996
Position: Leader, Main Vocalist, Rapper
From: Fujian, China
Fun Facts:
1. The members all call him Kun Ge (Brother Kun) because he is the oldest member and leader, but his pet peeve is when they call him Kun Ma (Mother Kun).
2. Super talented vocalist and pianist. SM, please give our boy a solo or more vocal projects. A SM Station maybe?
3. great cook
4. magician
5. He competed to be part of Tiger Boys 2 (a spin-off of the popular Chinese boy group Tiger Boys) but he dropped out because of school
6. Was called Fat Kun by Lucas. Kun was by NO MEANS FAT but he still felt the need to maintain a certain weight or body structure because he felt like it is part of his job as an artist (he mentioned this on All For One). He runs 8 kilometers every night and exercises regularly. My boy is so hardworking. You can see his efforts paid off in his Moonwalk comeback. I mean, look at those muscles.
7. He also composed his own song and his father helped him film a music video for it. I'm sorry. I love Kun but this song... All I can say is that the lyrics are pretty good, he rapped more in this than I have ever heard, and he came a long way as a singer. Props to him for sticking through with his dreams!
8. He was also in the Chinese version of NCT U's Without You. God knows what SM is thinking for not making a separate video with Kun in it, but Kun's vocals here are amazing.
Birthday: February 27, 1996
Position: Main Dancer (more like GOD of dance), lead vocalist, lead rapper
From: Bangkok, Thailand
Fun Facts:
1. He is Thai but his ancestry is Chinese.
2. He learned Chinese for a year to debut with WayV and can now communicate in Mandarin fairly well. We stan a polyglot king (he can speak Thai, English, Korean, Mandarin and is currently learning Japanese).
3. He is super afraid of fruits. He thinks the enzymes or whatnot in the fruit taste/feel weird. He can only drink juice BUT he will eat fruit if it means making his teammates miserable (he took a bite out of peach just to make WinWin kiss a bug). He also dislikes coke. Interesting palette.
4. He plays many instruments including piano and guitar. In their variety show, Dream Plan, Hendery mentions that he requests Ten to play an instrument every night before bed.
5. He loves to draw. He designed the RainbowV logo. So pretty! They also have RainbowV merch! Can they stock up on black colored tees, pls!
9. Not only is Ten the main dancer of the group, but he is also one of WayV's most talented vocalists. Even Xiao Jun, the MAIN vocal of WayV, credited Ten for many of the high notes in their songs. He has 2 solo songs on SM Station. One being Dream In a Dream and the other being New Heroes. Two amazing songs with amazing choreography and instrumentals. The lyrics of New Heroes are so motivating and it really sounds like his life story. His NCT U song, Baby Don't Stop, with Taeyong is also amazing.
WinWin aka Dong Si Cheng (董思成)
Birthday: October 28, 1997
Position: Lead Dancer, Vocalist, Rapper, Visual
From: Wen Zhou, China
Fun Facts:
1. DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH LINES!!! When he was in NCT 127, NCT U, and NCT 2018, he barely had any lines. One line was a luxury. He oftentimes only got a few words. Finally in their comeback, Moonwalk, he had a fair amount of lines. He also started rapping a lot in Moonwalk. Listen to the other songs in their EP (King of Hearts) for more of his rapping.
2. He was admitted into Beijing Dance Academy and had the highest score in his specialization, Traditional Chinese Dance. This school is one of the top dance academies in China. Some of its alumni include Victoria of f(x); internationally acclaimed actress, Zhang Zi Yi; and etc. However, he chose to attend The Central Academy of Drama, another extremely prestigious art academy, instead. He placed 10th in his specialization and has perfect attendance. Here is a video showcasing his Chinese dance.
4. A very kind and friendly person. In many interviews, I have heard Renjun praise WinWin for taking good care of him.
5. Part of the original China line in NCT. Sidenote: I really thought Chenle and Renjun would be in WayV. However, I am glad they are not. Both line ups for Dream and WayV are perfect.
6. He has been on Day Day Up twice and Happy Camp once for individual promotions. WinWin and Lucas definitely go on a lot more variety shows compared to the other members. He was on a Chinese variety show called My Brilliant Master where 4 regular cast members visit and learn from different guests through their everyday routine.
Link to episode 1 of the show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58wiVByDQ2g&list=PLMHjr8pp87aOiv4kUrvoNRhmT6D04g8Fm
Birthday: January 25, 1999
Position: Main Rapper, Vocalist, Center
From: Hong Kong, China
Fun Facts:
1. His father is Chinese but his mother is Thai. He can speak Cantonese, Mandarin (but with a cute accent), Korean, and a bit of English and Thai. I really thought he was fluent in English because he pronounces words pretty fluently in my opinion.
2. He was a javelin thrower in high school and won an award in his district. Thus, he is really athletic and has a fit body.
3. He is narcissistic in the best way possible. He loves checking himself in the mirror. On Happy Together, he talks about how he goes to the bathroom just to check himself out in front of the bathroom mirror. We all need Lucas' confidence. This episode of Happy Together was hilarious. We saw all the hosts and guests falling for his charms.
link of episode 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpzB30jiskY
5. He was a regular cast member on Real Man 300 and Law of the Jungle in Last Indian Ocean.
6. He is also a member of SuperM. Sadly, he does not have many lines.
Xiao Jun (肖俊)
Birthday: August 8, 1999
Position: Main Vocalist, Rapper (have not really heard him rap though)
From: Guangdong, China
Fun Facts:
1. While most of the WayV members had the wildest predebut moments, Xiao Jun has some of my favorite ones. He has lots of past stage performances. He auditioned for X-Fire, which is a Chinese survival program to find the members for the group X-Nine. One of its members is Xiao Zhan from the drama, The Untamed. Honestly, I am so happy that he was eliminated because the company, Wajijiwa Entertainment, that X-Nine is under is known in China for being a shitty company. Though he was eliminated, his performance of his self-composed, self-written song, 所有 (Everything), was so amazing. Out of all WayV members, I like Xiao Jun's voice the most. It sounds so melancholy and velvety. Xiao Jun also gets really emotional when he sings. Even if you do not understand Mandarin, you will be able to feel the sadness in his voice when he is singing this song. It sounds as if he is about to cry which adds soooo much emotion to the song. I wish SM would let them perform their own songs more. I do not want to miss out on gems like Everything. His final performance on the show was a cover of 黑色幽默 (Black Humor) by Jay Chou. His performance was so emotional that he ended up crying at the end. He revealed that he was bullied as a kid and he wanted to prove to everyone that he can achieve his dreams and that he is not trash. I love that Xiao Jun is very open about sharing this experience. By talking about his experience being bullied, he is shedding more light on the issue of bullying and possibly encourages others who are going through something similar.
3. He can play many instruments such as piano and guitar.
4. Though one of the Main Vocalists of the group, Xiao Jun is also a great dancer. Here are some clips of Xiao Jun dancing before he debuted.
6. Xiao Jun and Yang Yang are the cutest. They are roommates and I cannot get enough of their interactions. As the prankster of the group, Yang Yang always plays pranks on Xiao Jun but Xiao Jun never gets angry at him. They also bicker about their bunk bed and each other’s late-night gaming.
7. He LOVES Lao Gan Ma which is a Chinese chili sauce. According to Yang Yang, he has had Lao Gan Ma with bread and with cheese.
8. He has a super special place in my heart because he is from Guangdong which is where my parents are from. He can also speak my mother tongue, Cantonese. The same thing goes for Lucas and Hendery. I LOVE THE CANTO LINE!
Hendery aka Wong Kun Hang (Cantonese) (黃冠亨) aka Huang Guanheng (Mandarin)
Birthday: September 28, 1999
Position: Lead Dancer, Rapper, Vocalist, Visual
From: Macau, China
1. He is sooooo cute. WayV is a group where ALL its members are visuals but Hendery's visuals stand out to me just a bit more. How is he not blowing up in South Korea and China yet?
2. HE NEEDS MORE LINES. After listening to the first few songs released by WayV, I was fuming. The line distribution for WinWin, Hendery, and Yang Yang should be a crime. They had barely any lines. Please also give my boy more screentime. Also, please release more RainbowV and behind the scene clips. Hendery and Yang Yang are so funny.
4. His favorite color is pink and looks amazing in pink clothes. I love guys that say they love pink because it shows that they do not care about gender stereotypes.
5. Many kpop fans believe he should play Prince Eric in the Little Mermaid live action. I completely agree.
6. Hendery and Lucas are super afraid of frogs, especially Hendery.
7. Hendery and Ten are besties and Hendery is Ten's Chinese teacher. Also, Ten thinks Hendery looks like a donkey.
8. Hendery can DANCE. I feel like his dancing is super underrated. You can tell from any of their dance practices that Hendery has really clean moves. with that being said, all WayV members are underrated dancers. Wish SM will give him some chance to post his covers or choreographies or send him on some dance competition show. Also, can we get a NCT 2019 and have a Black on Black 2.0?
9. I feel like Hendery has a really great personality. All the members have great personalities but Hendery's personality just stands out to me. He is very encouraging of others; we can always see him praising and comforting others. He also loves to help others, for example, he is Ten's Chinese teacher.
Yang Yang (扬扬)
Birthday: October 10, 2000
Position: Main Rapper, Lead Dancer, Vocalist, Maknae
From: He was born in Taiwan but moved to Germany when he was 11 years old. He is of German nationality.
1. He can speak Mandarin, English, German, and Korean. NCT, in general, is so multinational. It just makes them so much more relatable and understandable.
2. He can play the violin.
3. He is a sneakerhead. According to the members, he spends the most money, especially on sneakers.
4. He is the prankster in WayV. He loves to prank the members and joke around with them. Still, the members all adore him and shower him with love. Once again, his interactions with Xiao Jun are too cute!
6. He is also a super talented dancer. More RainbowV projects, please!
7. When he came out as an SM Rookie, many fans predicted that he would be a vocalist and were super shook when he was the main rapper and lead dancer. Though he is not the main vocalist or lead vocalist in WayV, Yang Yang's vocals are actually very good. Listen to Let Me Love You for more of his singing.
Also, he featured on IMLAY's Asteroid. It should be a crime that this video has not even reached one million views on YouTube yet. Why are they sleeping on my boy?
Variety Shows and More
These boys have such great personalities and it is such a shame that they do not have too much chance to show it. They have only been on a limited number of television shows and since China does not have a strong music performance show like South Korea, it is hard for Chinese artists to promote their songs so WayV also lacks stage performances. Here is a list of variety shows, vlogs, and YouTube videos to see these boys’ personalities.
1. Dream Plan (少年威计划)
WayV's own variety show. Their goal is to complete missions and gather 7 microphones in order to get their "dream stage" where they will officially be able to perform in front of their fans. The missions range from farming to performing for pre-schoolers. Super sweet show where you can see all 7 of their interactions.
As one of the top variety shows in China, Happy Camp is the longest-running Chinese variety show and most of China’s successful artists have been on the show. WayV was a guest on episode 20190316. Highkey mad that the full episode has been removed from Youtube, so hopefully they reupload soon. For now, here is a clip of their appearance.
3. Day Day Up
Another popular Chinese variety show in China. In comparison to their Happy Camp episode, I feel like WayV had more presence here. Hopefully one day they can have their own episode so they are the stars and do not have to share the spotlight with other groups. In this episode, WayV appeared on the show with the participants of the singing competition show 声入人心, the members of the Chinese girl group SNH48, and singer Yang Kun.
4. All For One
All For One is an audition program to create the next boy group. It is similar to Produce 101 Season 2. As a group that has already debuted and has experience, WayV was invited to give the boys tips on how to improve as an artist. We see them answering questions, giving constructive criticism, play games, and perform their own song. My favorite thing about their appearance here is the sense of affirmation I sense from the participants towards WayV. WayV is definitely not the most successful group in China but they are working so hard to slowly promote themselves and get their name out there. To see these boys look up to WayV and to see WayV giving great, professional advice makes me feel so proud. I just feel like they are finally getting the recognition that they deserve. We also get to see how incredibly well-trained WayV is. Their stages are impeccable. Clean choreography (BALANCE!!!) and very stable live vocals.
5. RainbowV
RainbowV is a project in which the members can produce whatever they choose. WinWin and Ten did a modern dance to Billie Eilish's and Khalid's lovely; Xiao Jun and Kun did a cover of Khalil Fong's Red Bean; and Lucas, Yang Yang, and Hendery did a dance cover of Wow by Post Malone. Below is a link to a playlist with all three videos and the entire RainbowV series. I love RainbowV because it shows the behind the scenes of their self-production. We get to see the brainstorming process to the end product, as well as, some funny clips that reveal more about their personality. It also shows just how talented these boys are. Lots of people like to call Kpop manufactured and that kpop idols cannot produce their own music or choreographies. Though they do lack creative freedom, especially if they are newer groups, in comparison to artists in the West, it does not mean that they do not have the ability to produce their own work; they merely do not have the opportunity. The two dance covers were choreographed by themselves. Lucas, Yang Yang, and Hendery revealed that a lot of the dance was freestyle. Both being different types of dance goes to show that WayV is a very versatile group with lots of talent and can take on many different genres and concepts. As for Kun and Xiao Jun, of course they can produce their own music. Remember the two videos I included above of their own self-composed and self-written pre-debut songs? WinWin is from The Central Academy of Drama, Kun graduated from Beijing Contemporary Music Institute, and Xiao Jun was accepted into the Music department at the Shanghai Theatre Academy (an extremely prestigious institution that is the alma mater for many popular Chinese celebrities). Not saying artists have to graduate from prestigious schools to do well or that by attending or being admitted into prestigious institutions makes someone better than others. The point that I want to make is that many of the members are professionally trained. Also, Hendery and Yang Yang wrote lyrics for We Go Nanana and King of Hearts. I think this is a good start and hopefully, WayV will be able to make more of their own songs and choreographies in the future.
Here is a clip of Kun introducing his music studio and a piece that he is working on.
6. Crazy Magic Show
This is a kids show where the members and 2 children have to complete missions.
Also:
WayV has lots of vlogs including WayV-log and WayV-ehind and Way-Variety.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-ZHt5Zgadfx-B1CM63Lqew
I think NCT has some of the most creative fans that produce some of the best content.
Banana Milk:
Banana Milk is YouTube channel where a NCTzen produces hilarious clips of the NCT members. Some of my favorites are sorting them from lawful good to chaotic evil and the banana milk remix.
choptops:
As a multi-national group, NCT has more non-Koreans than Koreans (12/21 as of Dec. 2019). This leads to many hilarious moments where the members struggle with Korean. Choptops is a Youtube channel that has compiled these moments into a series. Here is the link to the first video. Sadly, we only see Lucas, Kun, Ten, and WinWin in these videos. I really hope to see all of WayV interact with the other NCT members.
shaky raindrop:
Another hilarious Youtube channel. One of my favorite clips is definitely of WayV's pre-debut. This was so well made. Hilarious in the beginning but definitely a tear-jerker near the end. After watching this, I gained so much more respect for these boys. For anyone to debut, they must have had to go through so many ups and downs but WayV went from eliminated members of competitions and young boys that left all that they had ever known to come to South Korea to members of one of the biggest Chinese boybands in the world. These boys deserve all the love and recognition.
Ballet Dancer Analysis is also a must-watch. The creator of shaky raindrop is a ballerina and she analyzes the dancers of NCT. She did an episode on WinWin. His dancing skills deserve so much more credit.
Music:
As of December 2019, WayV has had 1 digital EP and 2 EP. They debuted with their first digital EP, The Vision, with the Chinese version of NCT 127's "Regular" as their lead single. On May 1, 2019, WayV announced that their first EP, Take Off. On October 29, WayV released their second EP, Take Over the Moon with the title track "Moonwalk." On November 5, WayV released an English-language version of "Love Talk" as the second single from the EP. Here is a playlist of all of their MVs.
I honestly love ALL of their songs. My favorites are Dream Launch, Yeah Yeah Yeah, Take Off, Love Talk, Come Back, and Face to Face. My favorite of these songs is Dream Launch so I just had to plug. This song has such a positive message telling us to chase our dreams. Also, this MV is too cute.
Please also go support their latest comeback, Moonwalk!
Edit: Please support their latest comeback, Turn Back Time. WayV finally released their first studio album, Awaken the World! There 10 bops in this album so please check it out! Once again, Hendery and Yang Yang wrote some of the raps for these songs.
Edit:
Here is an article from Billboard on an interview with WayV. This article is very well-written and gives readers a glimpse of WayV's inner-thoughts regarding how they view each other, music, their fans, their future, and etc. This article made me fall in love with WayV all over again because they are just so humble, honest, real, fun, and creative boys. This article also reveals that all their music is more of an on-going series and each music video and song is related.
These boys are honestly so talented, funny, hardworking, and handsome. I wish that they could be more popular, especially in China, but seeing that in less than a year since their debut they have already won Best New Asian Artist at MAMA and are first and only Chinese group for the second time to debut an album at #1 on the iTunes Worldwide Album Chart, I am sure their talent will not go unseen. I wish them the best of luck in the future. Hwaiting, WayV!
All pictures are videos used here are not mine. All credit goes to their owners. For the members' profiles/fun facts, I got some inspiration from Kprofiles.com.
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