GFriend are new on the K-Pop scene and released their first EP in January of 2015. K-Pop is a strange world that we can only partially comprehend from here in our safe little cocoon of American music. The six ladies of GFriend may have a musical industrial complex behind them, but they still have to make their mark in a world of music that values aesthetics and dance moves and showmanship. So they were, replete in their matching little outfits, ready to perform a carefully choreographed number. Unfortunately, the stage had a different idea.
This performance is a disaster. A visceral disaster. The ladies of GFriend start slipping all over the place. Was it a problem with their shoes? Who knows. It’s not important. There is a lady in a poncho early in the video that may indicate the floor is wet. What matters is these girls just can’t stop falling. Oh, how they desire not to fall. They just want to perform some music, or rather perform a dance routine while they lip sync, which is fine. We’re not here to adjudicate the tired debate about lip syncing live performances.
You may also think we are here to laugh at the Korean girls falling over and over, like some sort of pop music America’s Funniest Home Videos. Not in the slightest! We are here to applaud these ladies for their dedication to their craft. They fall often, and they fall hard. It’s pretty brutal at times, frankly. Yet, they keep getting back up, and they keep dancing and performing– until they fall down again. They are dedicated to their cause. They will not let this slippery floor undo them. They are consummate professionals.
Clearly they were failed by whomever put this show together. Maybe it was the person in charge of cleaning the floor. Maybe it was whomever is managing them. They failed nobody, though. GFriend only succeeded. They deserve your respect.
Also, yeah, it’s a pretty crazy video.
(Via smile -wA-)
