The curious case of Lee MinYoung
This is a post about Lee MinYoung, a.k.a. JYP's Min, a.k.a. the trainee/artist whose continued existence in JYP seems to be questionable. (Among the "Former" artists listed on JYP's wiki page, there's a "Min": Lee MinYoung?) I think anyone who's seen the Little Winners performance would be as curious to know where Min is today as they would be
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That said, actually just the other day I was having a discussion on a board about 2NE1's Minzy, whose pre-debut dance clips actually remind me a bit of some of the moves Min's shown doing here. As one would expect though, since I wear my Hyo!Bias on my sleeve, Hyo was brought into the discussion which lead me just to start watching predebut clips and I went from Minzy's, to JoKwon's (Who shockingly can really move when he's not being so...Jokwonwish~) and finally to Min who I had assumed was Minzy at first glance. I can definitely see the differences in styles they've developed over the years; Min doesn't appear to have the variety or versatility that Hyo has from the clips shown here, but her hip-hop dancing does seem to be on a higher level. It's so sad to see talent like this just wait to be noticed; really Lil Jon is the last person anyone would want as a mentor but I'm sure JYP just latched on to any relatively big name in the US without realizing it wouldn't last.
You mentioned that Min's roommate has seen work so I'm really hoping Min will too, though I doubt any news will be heard from her for quite some time seeing as even with 2PM's new album out, they're still being boycotted and the with the WG's preparing for american activities as well as JYP's own material, there's hardly time for debuting a solo artist. I'd assume she's still connected to JYP; she debuted, but it was just low key, which means she still has a debt to her agency I believe. She's probably just gone back under training maybe? I have to say though, it's a shame, because she doesn't necessarily need it and could definitely give the girls out right now more than a run for their money. It also bothers me that Hyo, who while is still quite skilled at this point in time, still has so much more potential that she doesn't seem to be able to explore. I was watching her MTV episode the other day and her talking about feeling nervous due to her admiration for BoA and the other instructor saying Hyo could one day debut in Japan just built up all this hope that I had to even off when I remembered SM's priorities or lack thereof.
I also wonder who truly got the better end of the deal. Is it Hyo, who despite being able to debut with her closest friends, isn't necessarily able to perform to the best of her ability, or Min, who despite being completely under the radar, is still more than likely progressing in what she loves with nothing holding her back? D:
Small Shred of Hyo!Hope:
Hyo has merely learned to be selective with the raw power she throws into her dancing but has still been receiving lessons and help. She just hasn't been so eager to showcase it when asked on demand because of the previous criticism but that doesn't mean she's lost anything. Hopefully her confidence will have made a full return by the concert; I'm hoping they don't re-hash early SNSD material (aside from ITNW) which means they may have to bring back old special stages that have already been done i.e Girls On Top or maybe even a newer BoA song.
I also agree that while I love to Hyo's dancing and really, any of the SNSD girls dance, I will dread the day they resort to the typical rhythmless ass shaking and "sexy dance" that seems to be popular. Maybe I'm just old-fashioned, but after a while I don't see what's so amazing when we see all these other girls shaking a bit and then dropping into the splits and the crowd's supposed to go wild. *Shrugs.*
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I'm going to play devil's advocate and say that it probably wouldn't be hard for Min to do anything Hyo has been doing in SNSD. The heels might present a temporary surprise but that's about it. On the other hand, Min's freestyling is of the variety that I wish Hyo could obtain.
I'd assume she's still connected to JYP; she debuted, but it was just low key, which means she still has a debt to her agency I believe.
siska below thinks that Min has indeed left JYP, though that makes me wonder about debt as well. (Not long ago I was wondering, too, that in the event that Hyo had jumped the SM ship in favor of the JYP ship back in her trainee days, if she'd still owe a debt to SM for the whatever amount of years of training she'd gotten from SM. It'd be a good deterrent to keep from losing trainees.)
Hyo's MTV episode still blows my mind away and is liable to make me really depressed afterwards. The footage of her learning under the Japanese popper is still just so amazing. How quickly she emulates something, the isolation work as they were working on just small parts. It just . . . argh.
I will dread the day they resort to the typical rhythmless ass shaking and "sexy dance" that seems to be popular.
There's a time, place, and a feel for it and I often don't get those elements from the Korean stage. To be able to do splits and turns and a little booty shaking and chest popping is athleticism. I'm not going to put it down 'cause I can't do a split. But I don't think that's the path I want to see Hyo take to differentiate herself. Ah. I long for the day to see Hyo glide across a stage again.
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