5 K-Pop in Public Challenges That Will Get You Through the Week
Getting through a stressful workweek can be challenging. Deadlines, never-ending to-do lists and a pile of meetings can make an otherwise average week feel long and unenjoyable. Taking breaks every now and then to watch a cool video can go a surprisingly long way to making jam-packed weeks a little more bearable.
Within the K-Pop community, cover groups have been taking to the streets since late last year to show off their moves in the latest video challenge. The K-Pop in Public Challenge is pretty simple: Perform a cover live in a busy public area. Watching not only a group of fans perform intricate choreography well, but the people in that busy area react and watch them perform it, really makes the challenge something special.
Here are five great examples (plus a bonus) of what makes the K-Pop in Public Challenge so special and entertaining.
K-CITY and LEG4CY - TWICE’s “What is Love?”
[Vancouver, Canada]
Runners Up: DAZZLING’s Cover, flyingdancestudios’ Cover
TWICE's most recent title track is a fun track that's perfect for dance covers. Like most of the group's songs, the choreography is pretty easy, which makes it great for dancers at every skill level. K-CITY and LEG4CY's cover is great, not just because of the energy the group brings throughout the entire cover, but also because the group is such a diverse mix of ethnicities and sizes, which is something you don't see much of in cover groups.
M.S Crew - Wanna One's "Boomerang"
[Vietnam]
Runners Up: Eclipse K-Pop’s Cover, FGDance’s Cover
Seeing as the whole idea of the K-Pop in Public Challenge is to, well, perform in public, almost all of the videos are in outdoor settings. Some have costumes, some don't. But almost all of them are only shot in sunny or cloudy weather. M.S CREW's "Boomerang" cover, however, was shot in the rain, which gives it an added grunginess that really puts it a step above the other "Boomerang" covers out there. They even added a lightning effect to the beginning!
Move Nation - Red Velvet's "Peek a Boo"
[Brussels, Belgium]
Runners Up: YNG’s Cover, KEYME’s Cover
All five of these girls are wearing boots while dancing this, which is enough for me to be amazed. They also do their best to lip sync the entire time. It's not something you think would have a big impact on a cover challenge like this, but it actually really helps it stand out from the rest of the dozens of "Peek a Boo" covers out there.
B-Wild of NVU - NCT U's "Boss"
[Vietnam]
Runners Up: 2KSQUAD’s Cover, KDC’s Cover
For some reason, "Boss" is the one song that lots of people decided they wanted to buy or create matching costumes for. Tons of groups deck themselves out in these military uniforms for their covers, so that's not why B-Wild of NVU claimed this spot. It's more for the little bits and pieces of added performance that the group scatters throughout that elevates it to something really unique. Not to mention the huge space they manage to secure themselves is impressive.
HORIZON - MOMOLAND's "Bboom Bboom"
[Sydney, Australia]
Runners Up: Oops! Crew’s Cover ft MINGYANG, LynX DanceHK’s Cover
Just watching HORIZON makes me smile. I've watched a ton of K-Pop in Public Challenge videos, and they're the group that seems to have the most fun with these videos. Despite MOMOLAND's insane cardio workout choreography, everyone was smiling and occasionally giggling all the way to the very end. Talk about a joy to watch.
BONUS: BLACKCHUCK - Wanna One's "I Promise U (I.P.U)"
[Vietnam]
This is technically a sixth video, but BLACKCHUCK are all in onesies. How could it not get included on this list?