━ episode 4 ; july 18th, 2019  • #5047performing with : park woojin #5038singing &

━ episode 4 ; july 18th, 2019  • #5047performing with : park woojin #5038singing & dancing : BABY DON’T STOP by NCT TXT (0:00 - 1:59)distribution : XUXI as TAEYONGoutfit :  ☀xuxi finds it funny that he and jieqiong basically swapped partners - her with suwoong and him with woojin this week. it’s especially funny when he thinks about how much he’d like to do a duet with her, though he’s note even sure if she knows his name or not. but even so, he’s pleased with the partner he gets, having though he was a great performer the previous week during his performance with jieqiong (because xuxi made sure to pay great attention to her performance), so he’s feeling confident about the pairing this week. that being said, it takes them a little longer than it took suwoong and him to find a song. xuxi brings woojin a cupcake on their first day of working together, since his go-to friend making strategy is usually to buy them food or a drink. they discuss songs, what their strengths (and weaknesses) are, trying to find something to suit them both. they’re both pretty good at singing and dancing, so they figure something that focuses mostly on those two would be best.of course, xuxi’s heart cries for something disney, or playful and fun, but woojin suggests they do something a little darker, or flirty that requires lots of charisma to pull of. in the end, they find what really ends up being the perfect fit, in xuxi’s opinion. baby don’t stop is a sexy song and though xuxi’s done a sexy performance before, it was different in that he was trying for feminine sexiness, a soft, alluring kind of sex-appeal. this time there’s a different feeling to it, especially with the lack of fishnets this time. so, their first course of action is to decide parts, and after it becomes clear that woojin can’t rap, xuxi takes on the part including a small rap bit, since he still likes to believe his rapping is nowhere near bad. once that’s all decided they spend time together practising the choreo, the harmonisation parts of the singing and anything else they need to work on together. but then xuxi goes home each night and practises more on his own, trying to come up with little things here and there to add, pointers and tips for this bit and that bit, until they arrive at their last evening of practise, and they’ve got something that xuxi’s proud to show off. the next day is show time, and xuxi wakes early, readying himself and setting off for the studio once again, inside churning a little as he heads inside, dressed in black floaty pants and a loose, black-silk blouse, under which he has a black sheer vest that’s seen on his exposed chest and neck. it’s not bright and fun, or really out there like some of his other outfits, but he supposes going more serious for one performance won’t kill him - if he ever gets to debut in a group he probably won’t have the freedom to perform fun things a lot so he supposes he’d better accept it if he’d to not be disappointed later in life. he meets woojin inside, shooting him a bright smile as soon as he catches his eye. he doesn’t sit with him just yet though, taking his time to go around and say hi to his friends and ask them how their weeks went. xuxi’s mildly amused seeing suwoong’s outfit is somewhat similar to his this week, and wonders if maybe they’re soulmates in a platonic, best-buddy way. eventually, he finds his seat beside woojin and waits for the show to begin, trying not to let his nerves get the better of him. the lights dim, xuxi’s eyes glue to the stage, and he watches as the judges come out and find their usual seats facing the stage. he’s wondering whether he’s meant to be afraid of them at this point, considering how many other people seem to be, but then he’d not had the time prior to joining the show to really form any sort of awe-induced fear surrounding them, and he wonders if that works in his favour or not. too soon it would seem it’s their turn, and xuxi hops up, somewhat excited to show what they’ve been working on. of course, there’s a little swirling in his stomach, the nerves loud enough to be noticeable, but not so bothersome that they cloud his mind. so, bounding up onto the stage with woojin in tow xuxi stops centre stage and grins into the camera. “hi, we are the big bad wolves!” he announces, lifting his hands to imitate claws and playfully growling. “i’m wong yukhei!” he continues, and waits for woojin to introduce himself too, smile stuck on his lips. then, with a bow to the judges they find their starting positions and wait for the music to begin.the song is one xuxi liked the first time he heard it, which, admittedly, wasn’t until it came up in the suggestions for what to perform, his music tastes being somewhat different to whatever this song is. however, he realises he must’ve been missing out greatly upon hearing it - it’s definitely something he enjoys, and had subsequently had on repeat all week practically. so, as the performance starts, he lets the familiar music take over. the first few seconds are them dancing together, the same movements, side by side, before woojin heads slightly further forward and begins to sing, xuxi taking a looser backseat, trying to both fade a little, but still be noticeable. he can’t disappear into the background, but the focus is meant to be on woojin right now, so he puts his effort into the framing woojin, moving attention to his while unconsciously keeping attention on the fact that he’s still very solidly there. their dance moves are similar, yet not identical, in that xuxi seems to follow woojin’s lead, like a doll that woojin’s controlling, or a shadow that’s lagging just slightly behind. this doesn’t last long though until the space between them grows and their moves come to sync again, though mirrored this time, woojin to the audiences left and xuxi to their right. once woojin’s verse finishes it turns to a breathy, loud whisper sort of singing from xuxi, supposed to sound sexy, he’s sure, and though it had been uncomfortable to sing at first, he’d worked on it tirelessly throughout the week.stop baby don’t stop멈추지 마 baby don’t stop나만 알아볼 특별한 그 sign둘 뿐인 지금 baby don’t stopfor this part he’s slightly further forward than woojin, trying to make sure every move, every glance at the audience and the judges is suggestive, sultry, emphasising what the lyrics are implying. the point move where their hands come together at their mouths like a prayer, then move down, pointing their fingers to the ground as their bodies move. he supposes there’s some sinful explanation behind it, like praying because the sex is so good, but he’s not entirely sure, he just knows it feels like one of those songs that leaves you hoping no kid ever listens to it. stop baby don’t stop (don’t stop)둘만 아는 은밀한 sign (baby don’t stop no)하나하나 다 완벽한 그 sign (ooh)아름다워 so baby don’t stop (baby don’t stop)thought the lyrics start similar the breathy nature of how it’s sung changes, allowing for some solid tone now, proper notes that are easier to sing. xuxi moves back slightly, but not aligned with woojin, still about a step in front and to the side, as their choreo continues, bodies moving in unison. he particularly loves the click after ‘stop baby don’t stop’ and right before the echo part from woojin, where their arms sweep down and cross over in front of them. he likes the small gestures like that, that bring attention to the finer details of the music. then, it’s the rap part. play play play play playi’ll play in the Parisstay clay sketch dirt doughi’m gonna knead your body로스코 오귀스트 로댕 클로델따뜻한 색감에 너를 빚을 거야all day holding 꽉 잡아줘 날this part isn’t particularly hard; it has an easy beat to follow. not too fast, not too slow, and the words aren’t super easy to trip over, like some tongue-twister level rap lyrics. there’s some attitude to it, especially in the choreo, his arms gesturing outward with each word as his eyes stay fixed on the judges for this bit, moving from one to another slowly as the works his way through it, managing to not mess up even the korean bit. he dances along to it, thankful that the choreo is easier in this part so his focus can stay more so on not tripping over any of the rap part and staying on the beat. even though it’s not particularly hard, there’s a lot at stake here, and he needs to do well. the next part of the choreo, after the rap, is probably xuxi’s favourite, where he and woojin make each other’s bodies move with a simple wave of their hands in certain directions. woojin makes his head tilts back, and he, with an elbow swinging backwards, makes woojin’s body turn towards him, only for woojin’s hand behind his head moving as if to hit him forwards, so his body bends in half as they continue to walk forward. but then, it’s back to dancing in unison again as they sing again, together this time. baby don’t stopcome on come on come on come on come onbaby don’t stopthis leads up to a larger, more proper singing part for xuxi to properly show off his vocals. which is the important part for him, being a singer. it’s great to show he can other things like dancing and rapping, but he’s here to prove he’s a good singer, first and foremost, so this is the most important part to him. woojin moves in front of him to dance this time as his own movements are slow, gentle as he sings. 여부도 없이 시들던 꽃도되살리는 불씨가 너라감각에 몸을 맡겨번져가는 눈빛에 의지해 come to mehis movements are mostly moving forward after the first delicate hand motions when he’s stood behind woojin, but at certain points his moves, mostly arm movements, match with woojin’s, to emphasise again those little points in the music that just add to the whole experience. woojin takes over for the last two lines of the song, xuxi moving a step behind him to dance along with him. near the end of his second line xuxi’s tugged towards woojin by an invisible rope, then the fun part that kept making him giggle in practise where woojin’s meant to pretend to scratch his chin while he’s bent over, hands on his knees, like a kitty cat. then, back to the chorus, xuxi’s hand swings out as if to bat woojin away as they begin to sing together once more.stop baby don’t stop (don’t stop)멈추지 마 baby don’t stop (no)나만 알아볼 특별한 그 sign (don’t stop)둘 뿐인 지금 baby don’t stopthen they move into the bridge, the dance move where they kick one foot, the other hopping to the side, that took xuxi a while to master, goes over ‘gonna gonna gonna gonna’ to the beat. gonna gonna gonna gonna get that너를 놓칠 일은 없지 gonna get thatgonna gonna gonna gonna get that절대 멈출 일은 없지 gonna get thatthey harmonise here, and had practised it well so it was clear and complimentary, since harmonisation is usually something xuxi finds hardest. it’s hard to block out the other person just enough that you don’t instinctively meet their note, but at the same time pay attention to make sure you’re at the right note to compliment theirs. then, comes the dance break that’s to end their performance, full of energy and clean, sharp movements. their feet move neatly as they dance side by side. the moves are nicely on the beat, with fancy footwork and then eye-catching hand and arm movements. xuxi knows this isn’t the usual dancing that manly, sexy men do, but at the same time it isn’t feminine, and that’s what he likes about it. there’s no fear of seeming emasculated by people’s perception of men doing non manly, sexy dances, because it was performance by a male duo to begin with, so even despite the hard manliness, there’s still something boyish about it. their last move is at the very end of the dance break where their arms, lifted in a ‘strong man flexing biceps’ sort of way, come down on a swivel from the shoulder and bounce, accompanied by a small jump where their positions are slightly staggered again. they edited it a little so that they were stood pretty much level but ever so slightly turned away from one another as the music stops, sort of fading out fast from the last note as they stand, arms now down, chests heaving, holding their finishing pose. then, after a few seconds, xuxi turns to the judges with a bright smile blossoming on his lips, bows and thanks them for watching, and hurries off stage so as to not delay the next performers, his heart hammering in his chest. he gave it his all, and now, all he can do it hope that his best was enough. for both his and woojin’s sake.  -- source link

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