Dreamcatcher Debut With "Chase Me" And I'm Already Stanning

Happy Face Entertainment, mostly known as the agency that hosts idol group Dal Shabet as well as R&B group 4Men, started teasing the debut of a new girl group in late november last year, named Dreamcatcher. The name itself was alluring and the teaser images were also well-shot and had a mystical aura over them which made me intrigued as to what this group was all about. Dal Shabet has been around for a while now yet without much success, and their little-sister group Minx, who debuted in 2014, were nowhere to be seen. All this made me feel a bit skeptical and hesitant, but then I watched the MV for "Chase Me", and I was completely won over by these seven girls.

It wasn't until maybe a good week or so after their debut that I became aware that Dreamcatcher is the rebooted version of Minx but with two newly added members. This came as a surprise to me because I'm not sure something exactly like this has ever happened in K-pop before. Sure, there have been comebacks which felt like reboots (such as the Wonder Girls whose album was titled just that) but re-debuting a group with a new name, new members and a completely different concept must be quite a unique thing to do.

In this case however I think it was the best possible decision to make. Minx's debut wasn't too bad but like many other rookie groups in this over-saturated industry they never gained any footing. Coming from a less influential company was also a contributing factor to their lack-of success, as well as having a concept that didn't really stand out nor made them memorable.

As for the debut of Dreamcatcher though I can't say the same. I, for example, have never written a piece on Minx on this blog, as with many other rookie groups that didn't catch my interest, but here I am writing about Dreamcatcher and "Chase Me". When I decide whether to take interest in a new group I take into account both how much enjoy their music and overall concept, but also how successful I think the group have potential of becoming.

I don't want to start stanning a group that whose chance of becoming successful (however that's defined; it's a bit vague) is so small that I might end up feeling disappointed and hurt to see my faves not getting the recognition I think they deserve. I know it's selfish of me but because I usually become quite invested in the groups I do take a liking in it's a choice I have to make with each new group that pops up. Thus with me writing this piece about Dreamcatcher I am doing so not only because I love the song and MV but because I believe that Dreamcatcher, unlike Minx, have the potential of becoming huge.

Yet again we have another example of a K-pop release drawing influence and inspiration from Japanese music and popular culture, as the song, for starters, sounds like it could be an opening to an anime. I don't always love those kind of songs but this one I do love, as it has a perfect blend of high-intensity guitar riffs, slowed-down piano parts as well as both strong and sensible vocals. I love the edginess and the rockiness of it as well as it having a great, distinguishable melody and structure. It's a song that's memorable and does stand out, which is exactly what you need to have to gather attention and recognition in this industry. The fact that these girls are owning the dark, horror-inspired concept only makes it even better.

The MV for "Chase Me" is absolutely wonderful to watch, and mostly so because it's fresh and original as the video takes on a concept not really seen by girl groups before. The well-established kings of horror in K-pop are without question Vixx, who've released MV's in the horror genre plenty of times and done so magnificently, and it would be unfair to say that Dreamcatcher could rival them in that area. Vixx's videos have been quite explicit and I admire them for that, but because of double standards it wouldn't go as well if a girl group did similar things.

Although this MV does have some creepy parts it still relies quite heavily on the girls still looking pretty and attractive throughout. I don't believe however that it takes away any value from the video because it's still very well-made with a mystical and eerie plot as well as great use of sets, lightning and camera work. My only wish is that they wouldn't have used so many different filters, but it's a relatively small complaint in comparison to the rest of the video's awesomeness.

Another impressive aspect about this debut is the choreography, which along with the song makes me think of GFriend and some of their releases. It might be silly to compare the two but I almost feel as if Dreamcatcher is like the darker sister of GFriend as they both have intense choreography as well as songs like rock elements and come from smaller companies. Dreamcatcher's concept is obviously much darker and the song much edgier, but there are similarities in the way their debuts have been received. GFriend gained attention for their choreography and vocals, and from what I can tell the response towards Dreamcatcher's debut has also been praise in those areas as well as them having a unique and cool concept.

As you can tell from this review I'm 100% on board the Dreamcatcher-train, and I truly wholeheartedly wish that they can pull through and be promoted in a way that will make them more popular. My only fear is that they will do something completely different for their next comeback and resort to a safer concept, which would be disappointing since these kind of groups are what makes me continue being a K-pop fan.

Song: 4,5/5
MV: 4,25/5