I-Land 2 n/a Ep. 9

I had two more members of IZNA spoiled for me again a few days ago since they're having their comeback now and their names and faces are plastered all over my socials, I can look away fast enough when I see the group name so that I don't see faces, but I saw one post while scrolling Reddit with two names specifically before I realized it and wasn't quick enough to scroll past it 🤣So now I know 4/6 who make it. LOTS going on this episode. It's clear why they put certain members together in each sub unit and assigned the leaders that they did, they clearly wanted them out of their comfort zones. Making Saebi the leader when she was the youngest and more on the timid side in that subunit, especially with Jungeun who has historically had great leadership skills and is very outspoken, was a genius move to really push her. Reiterating a point I made in a previous episode, you never know what concept or position you'll be sort of forced into once you debut. If your ultimate goal is to make your debut as an idol no matter what (since it is quite difficult to achieve), then you need to push yourself and be good at as many things as possible to increase your chances of finding success in the industry. Many idols get put into a leadership position for sometimes no other reason than they needed someone to fill that role and didn't know who else to give it to, or they more often than not give it to the oldest member. There's also been plenty of examples of idols who train to be vocalists, but end up being pushed into a rapper role within the group simply because they were the best fit out of anyone else and for some reason you can't have a Kpop group without a rapper I guess (Moonbyul is a famous example of this). We got Jiyoon redemption arc this episode, it's pretty much the K situation all over again 🤣 Glad you mentioned Mai looking like Yeji, I've thought the same thing since day 1 lol I found the whole situation of Sujung copying CL fascinating. There is a fine line, because if you sound too different from the original it can sound way off and maybe even displeasing, especially on a song and style so famous. It's also really hard to find your own style at this point without sounding at least a little derivative of another more senior idol. CL is super iconic and an inspiration for many going into the idol industry, it's hard not to borrow some of her style when rapping. It's also a catch 22 because a lot of times you'll see comments of "oh this idol reminds me of this other older idol" in a positive manner and being similar to someone else can actually attract many fans (I mean look at the Mai looks like Yeji comment above, it's definitely not the only reason I like her but it helps her out imho).

Kev-o