Dreamcatcher’s “Mysterious” Merchandise Reveal And More Preserve Content Momentum
K-Pop — Dreamcatcher Recall
K-Pop’s Dreamcatcher releases news of “Special Edition” merchandise and continues to plan for the future to keep the content flowing in August 2021.
Dreamcatcher’s “BEcause” promotions may have seemed a bit shorter than usual and appeared to be over just as they were getting going, but as most fans know, the group and company have never been one to sit around for very long. This past week, the first since promotions ended, was no exception, as we got a reveal of exactly what “Mysterious Mansion” entailed along with a bunch of news and official content updates. Let’s dive right in!
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Previously, we’d seen a couple of interesting short films promoting what was tagged as #MD, or merchandise, from the group. Wild speculation followed in fan communities and it was widely thought that a photobook was to be sold. The actual reveal, dropped via Dreamcatcher’s official Twitter, proved to exceed those expectations by a country mile.
Two “Special Edition” merchandise sets turned out to be what the company and group had to offer to us. Not only did we get an unexpected merchandise set for “Dreamcatcher Mind” (Dreamcatcher’s first reality show that was shown on YouTube earlier in the year), but we got far more than photobooks. Both sets carried photos, for sure, but also each has their own set of unique goodies, including a key ring, playing cards, and more.
The production level and quality of most of Dreamcatcher’s merchandise and albums have been great, and this seems to be continuing the trend. The sets retail for 35,000 KRW and if you want to get your hands on one (or both), here are a few vendors you can check out:
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That wasn’t the only surprise we got this week, though. Returning this week was the Dreamcatcher’s VLOG series, with Gahyeon once again helming the selfie camera while taking us around for some candid video of the “Summer Holiday” album jacket filming. We’ve had a bit of a drought of VLOG content in part because the current pandemic has restricted where the group can go, but it was still nice to have Gahyeon give us a bit more than what we see that is more formally produced by the staff — and to validate, once again, how hard Dreamcatcher works as they toiled well into the wee hours of the morning to ensure fans had some of the best images for the album’s photos.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdCP4Buq_C8[/embed]
Speaking of produced content, we also got a more expected content drop this past week in the form of the first Dreamcatcher’s Note for “BEcause” promotions. As always, it was nice to hear about some stories and thoughts about this comeback’s activities, including Handong finding it much cooler to sleep on the floor during the summer, Dami’s thoughts on a recent collab and another very early morning filming for their pre-album release performance on music show M! Countdown. Even though these promotions seemed a bit shorter than usual, we’re likely to see no less fun times behind-the-scenes with Dreamcatcher, so I’m looking forward to more of these. Finding out more behind-the-scenes stuff was definitely emphasized by Dreamcatcher Company dropping their first Naver Blog post of these promotions, with a ton of high-quality images from the abandoned amusement park filming site. Be sure to check those out!
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One of the best parts of following Dreamcatcher, however, is the random content drops we get that nobody is expecting, and that’s exactly what we got in the form of a Special Clip from Yoohyeon covering Little Mix’s “Touch” just in time for them celebrating their tenth anniversary. We’ve seen Yoohyeon cover Little Mix songs before — personally speaking, her cover of “Secret Love Song” was one of the clips that got me interested in a group with such wide cover versatility — but this one felt different. For one thing, it showcased just how far Yoohyeon’s English pronunciation has come — she’s always been known as one of Dreamcatcher’s most versatile members from a language perspective — but her study has really paid off watching this video. It also displayed how far her performance presentation has come as well, from mostly static/straightforward walking and singing videos to a dynamic set of shots with Yoohyeon showing off all manner of dance moves and camera work. Some of that is certainly due to the higher production value and budget the company has access to, but a not insignificant part of that is due to how the artist is able to work with how they’re being shot. It’s been nice to see as someone who’s been following the group for years.
Yoohyeon was of course not the only member out in front this week. SuA also made her usual guest appearance on Wendy’s Young Street. The group discussed “things a part-timer might say the most after having to deal with everything”, with the choices being “it’s not my fault, “please raise the hourly wage” and simple screaming. Surprisingly, SuA chose the second choice and not “AAAAAAAAA” which would have likely been well in-line with what she does normally. One of the nice bonuses this week — SuA gifting fellow guest Taehyun, DJ Wendy, and the staff of Young Street with handmade paintings. We know from a vlog earlier in the year just how interested and skilled at art SuA is, so this was just a sweet gesture overall from Dreamcatcher’s main dancer, and a bit of a thank you for what is certainly a nice ongoing paid gig on the radio.
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On the vLive front, a trio of sessions from the group showed up to entertain and check-in with fans, including a JiU, SuA, and Yoohyeon stream guest-starring Yoohyeon’s pet dog Pie, a chill “rainy day” filtered short talk with Siyeon before bed, and the chaos of an almost-full group vLive (sans Siyeon and Dami) filled with the members trying to mess with each other and poking a bit of fun at Yoohyeon’s “sexy” improvisation during her “Touch” special clip shooting. Post-promotion vLives for Dreamcatcher tend to be a bit more calm and relaxed for the most part, as the pressure of formal schedules every day is a bit off of the group, and it’s always since to hear from the members without comeback-related questions peppering them. Those were saved for more interviews withonline outlets, including one from KHIGH in India and another with Kmagazine, who caters to the Latin American audience
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But just because Dreamcatcher is fresh off of a comeback doesn’t mean the near future isn’t filled with more work. The cultural government agency-sponsored Mokkoji Korea announced it’s coming back this year, and Dreamcatcher is slated to be one of the artists to appear. The current schedule on the Mokkoji Korea website doesn’t list Dreamcatcher for the first set of artists slated to appear in September, but October or November are still TBD, meaning at some point before the end of the year we’ll definitely see them for the festival. Dreamcatcher’s star has been rising ever so slowly in 2021, and a South Korean government agency responsible for cultural promotion is just the latest in a bunch of people and entities that have realized they do good work. You love to see it.
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Of course, Dreamcatcher will still have their hands full a bit in September, too, so this might be for the best. KCON:TACT HI 5’s Daily Lineup schedule was announced, and Dreamcatcher will be on the broadcast on September 19th, with both a Show and a Meet & Greet. Considering Dreamcatcher had to pass on the Meet & Greet last time due to what would have likely been comeback preparations for “Summer Holiday”, it’ll be great to see them back on for more than just their usual fierce performance on stage.
Dreamcatcher is clearly not leaving fans’ minds anytime soon with all this content, and neither should you! Be sure to drop a clap, follow, and share for this weekly content if you like what you’re reading, and I’ll see you next week for more coverage of all things Dreamcatcher.
