Have you watched the talent show "Atomic Boy"? Venus is beautiful, Mercury is cute, Uranus is cool and handsome, and it turns out that boys have so many faces. Diverse generations need diverse idols to support Dream Boy together!
As a 31-year-old sister (aunt), I didn't think I would be a fan of "Atomic Boy"!
The Taiwanese boy band talent show "Atomic Boy" began broadcasting at the end of April, with the theme of "Meta universe", dividing 80 contestants into eight planets according to different styles, namely:
Youthful and lovely Mercury, neutral and beautiful Venus, fresh neighbor Earth, wild and sexy Mars, tall and tall Jupiter, dancing Saturn, hip-hop rap Uranus, and high-cold personality Neptune.
The picture | Wildfire Entertainment
The style of each group is distinct, like a collection of eight different flavors at a time, feminine and masculine, which makes people see that the boy's appearance is so rich.
Originally just a casual look, after watching the first episode, I couldn't help but go into the pit, I have not chased the stars for a long time, and I was unexpectedly deeply moved by this group of dream-chasing teenagers.
Seeing the power of femininity and cuteness, the boys please live freely
The first time I watched the introduction of the stars, I had not yet seen the performance, I knew in advance that I would like "Venus" - handsome and beautiful neutral charm, free to roam the gender spectrum, without the distinction of "boys" and "girls" for their own framework, just imagining it felt fresh!
Sure enough, as soon as Venus appeared, the gorgeous and shining feather suit, the colorful shirt, the pink and red hair, and the slightly delicate and cute smile, the sister judges in the audience screamed like me.
They would put on pupil enlarges, hook their hair behind their ears, hang up pearl necklaces, cover their mouths when they laughed, and rush to say, "I'm the prettiest!" But when dancing, it is very powerful, and the moment of the moment is slightly raised, and the handsome person is corona.
The picture | Wildfire Entertainment
Another cluster that surprised me was Mercury, whose average age was only 17 years old, laughed and called it a juvenile group, and always had a shy smile on his face.
I thought I wouldn't have any feelings for my pure and lovely brother, but dressed in a college uniform, they danced neatly and their expressions were lively and lively, and they sang: "Under the tree in the playground, you shyly said to me to have an answer." Such youthful lyrics.
Holding the face and sticking out the tongue, cute and natural, not at all twisted. It turns out that youth and cuteness are also very powerful! I immediately changed my mind about this group of brothers.
The picture | Wildfire Entertainment
Judge Ella also frequently shouted, "Melted!" Zhou Tanghao, who is usually cool, also said several in a row: "I like, I like, I like..."
The boy showed us a different male appearance than before, not only strong, cold, fierce, but also with a flexible expression and shy and delicate movements.
In the past, such men may have been the object of bullying, but now they can stand on the stage, show their natural characteristics generously, and get applause and screams from the audience.
This represents the openness and progress of Taiwan's gender environment, liberating not only women, LGBTQ+, but also boys can be released from the shackles and live freely!
The picture | Wildfire Entertainment
The family does not support the road to acting, what is missing in our environment?
Some contestants talked about the fact that their families did not support them to take the road of acting performance, worried that this was an unstable job, or that there was no longer a longer way out after the enthusiasm of youth.
The concerns of the family are very reasonable, on the one hand, Taiwan's performing arts environment has not yet had a complete system like Japan and South Korea; on the other hand, our society's imagination of successful models is still too single.
Yi Kuan, a dance teacher who has choreographed for a Korean boy band, has also recently made a film to comment on "Atomic Boy". From his past few decades of dance work experience, he observed that in Japan and South Korea, because of the trainee training system, dancers have the road of teaching in addition to becoming performers.
In Europe and the United States, because there are many people who like to dance, coupled with the party culture, the electronic music and street dance industries can always receive attention.
However, Taiwanese dancers often only have job opportunities when they are young, and they can earn 3,000-5,000 yuan as an accompaniment dancer, and as a choreographer, a dance earns about 50,000 yuan, and the choreography of top artists may reach 200,000.
When you are young, you look beautiful, but because you have no system to rely on, you get older and your physical strength declines, and your job opportunities are greatly reduced.
Yi Kuan believes that the agency LDH, to which Japan's "Wandering Brothers" belongs, is quite complete in the system of dancers, and the president HIRO pays more attention to the development of the dancers' careers because he is from the street dance circle, training dancers to debut, or serving as a mentor for trainees, so that they have a stable salary income.
Image | EXIlE Debaucher Brothers Fan Special
Seeing such a gap, the dancer star training agency cooperated by "Atomic Boy" this time is the performing arts training system from South Korea.
The founders, Yu Chuanyong and Kim Ji-ho, from South Korea, were once trainees, and after having their own children, they found that they were full of acting talent, but Taiwan did not have the corresponding training system and resources, and decided to devote themselves to change.
They say, "When you haven't tried the real process, you won't understand if this is the path you want to take, and they give the children a chance to practice it, and these processes will know themselves better.
Without defining success in terms of frameworks, let us see the beauty of chasing dreams
We often lament that Japanese and Korean idols are popular all over the world, and Taiwanese children are obviously very powerful, but why can't they do it? Perhaps another reason is that our imagination of "success" is still too simple.
If you do not become a highly knowledgeable doctor, lawyer, or accountant, you must engage in high-income finance, finance, science and technology, or serve as a stable and safe teacher and civil servant.
In addition, a variety of values such as fine arts, literature, music, dance, and design are often regarded as marginal and unimportant in Taiwan, and art classes are often borrowed to take mathematics.
But seriously, when you look at this group of teenagers in front of the screen, trying to practice dancing in the middle of the night, still insisting on playing in a car accident and injury, knowing that you are not good enough, you don't stop resting, every time the sweat soaks your whole body, excitedly saying: "I want to use my performance to tell everyone that I am a person who lives on the stage!" 」 You will definitely be deeply moved.
The picture | Wildfire Entertainment
Their eyes were hot and determined, and at such a young age, they knew what they liked and wanted, and they lived for that longing minute by minute. I would say that this is a success that deserves our applause and support.
Success, like gender, has many possibilities, and we are living in a diverse generation to usher in such a program.
I hope that "Atomic Boy" will continue to show us how good the children in Taiwan are, the diverse and rich faces of the boys, the efforts of professionals to build an industry, and the shining posture of pursuing their dreams.
My sister will continue to help the teenagers in front of the screen, thank you for shining on this planet and becoming yourselves.
The picture | Wildfire Entertainment