Dreamcatcher’s OT7 Return, Idol House Party, and Seven Spirits Summoning

K-Pop — Dreamcatcher Recall

An eventful 2nd week in October 2020 brings with it reunions and surprises for Dreamcatcher.

(Note: Releasing this a little later than usual due to Dreamcatcher’s KCON:TACT Season 2 performance on Sunday, 10/18/20 — be sure to catch my write-up of that!)

“I’m here.”

Those two words, sent from returning 7th member Handong and sent to Dreamcatcher fans, ensured the official return to full strength for the group as they continued onward into an aggressive October schedule with multiple performances. Insomnias have been looking forward to “OT7” (“One True” followed by a number is a common K-Pop colloquialism to refer to a beloved, canonical lineup) being a reality for over a year, and after Handong started her self-quarantine period per COVID-19 policy on October 2nd, it was that much closer. In a cross-post over her Weibo account and the official Dreamcatcher account, fans got treated to Handong being out and about (and possibly at the company office). Presumably, there’s already been a deservedly private reunion, and at the time of the post, Handong and the rest of Dreamcatcher were thought of to be soon on their way to broadcasting a public one.

Well, we didn’t have to wait long.

On the heels of the reunion, and an announcement of two final album fansigns that would feature all seven members of Dreamcatcher, came the notice that fans had been waiting for — an appearance with all seven members for a concert via MyMusicTaste. Appropriately titled “Dystopia: Seven Spirits”, Dreamcatcher’s 2nd online concert is set to happen on November 7, 2020, and will likely be the first appearance by all of them in over a year. Immediate speculation lit up in online communities about how Handong will figure into what is certain to be performances of music during her absence, but at this point, it’s anyone’s guess.

For now, we can content ourselves with a quick speakerphone call an excited Gahyeon had with Handong (we even got a little bit of that plain-spoken savagery that Handong has been missing handing out):

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDOZeXTsFgA[/embed]

Regardless, everyone agrees this is likely to be a milestone moment and a long-awaited one that Dreamcatcher company and the group has been waiting to pull the trigger on for a while. If you can, buy tickets for Seven Spirits from the concert website, and perhaps pick up some of the neat merchandise (a hoodie, cap, and more highlight things this time around).

But all that OT7 news didn’t stop the Dreamcatcher variety train from making a couple more stops this week and letting out a couple of video appearances for the rest of us to greet. Continuing in the vein of their work with MNet, Dreamcatcher did a cover of EXO’s “Growl”.

Now you might think that we might get something hard-hitting, powerful, and a little fatal to fans’ hearts like we did with Dreamcatcher’s cover of Brown-Eyed Girls’ “Abracadabra”, but true to their occasional duality, what we got with this cover was pure, unadulterated silliness.

Needless to say, this chaotic performance earned them the winner of M Countdown’s Dance Challenge for “Growl”. We’ll take it, Dreamcatcher fans.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRBJsNzJ_rQ[/embed]

Speaking of challenges, Dreamcatcher got to go through IDOLLIVE’s Idol House this past week, where they competed against one another in various games to add their names to the Idol House memories gallery, answered trivia about their group for the worthy prize of delicious food, and ultimately had to convince the producers to let them out of the house by impressing them.

This was a great appearance by Dreamcatcher, the latest in their collaboration with the LG/IDOLIVE channel (the others being IDOL Picknic and Ontact Fan Meeting, both of which were entertaining and fun for the group). Forty-five minutes of chaotic Dreamcatcher teamwork and competitiveness is bound to bear fruit, in some cases, literally:

After establishing the right motto for their group (the highly appropriate “Energy All The Way To Andromeda”), Dreamcatcher got to work displaying that energy (via a written request of their manager) through “The Orange Game”, showing off acting and innovation chops passing around an ever-increasing imaginary orange. The post-production CGI here made this a ton more entertaining for a kids’ game — you’ll have to watch the video to see some of the best of it as I don’t want to spoil the chaos.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJro3KK1jzY[/embed]

As for trivia, Dreamcatcher had to track down, with the help of clues, a moment in their history, which turned out to be the time they shed their uncomfortable heels on the fly to do “Chase Me” for SBS MTV’s “The Show”. The reward, of course, was Dreamcatcher getting to do one of their favorite things — eating.

But perhaps the most entertaining part of Idol House was the “Best Four-Year-Old Liar” contest, designed to find out who in the group tells the best lies like a little kid. The competition was fierce and some of the purposeful over-acting and drama Dreamcatcher was engaged in was enhanced by the presence of a lie detector machine, which the group is certainly familiar with from their Dreamcatcher’s Notes with close friends CLC and with Dreamcatcher staff/dancers). Again, it has to be watched and not spoiled to be enjoyed fully, but here are a couple of teasers.

Be sure to catch the full episode and see what happens — it’s a real treat.

As for other things going on in Dreamcatcher land, here’s some of what else you might have missed this week, courtesy in part due to the /r/dreamcatcher subreddit:

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgcPpMfZRDU[/embed][embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uquPxaPMW6Q[/embed]

• Yoohyeon’s V-log gives you a quick peek into Yoohyeon’s home life, from her bedroom decorations to her extremely cute dog Pie to the resources she’s employed to get better at English over the years. With the death of YouTube community-contributed subtitles, you can find some English subtitled versions in the captions above.
• Dreamcatcher adds to an already-busy month with an announcement that they’ll be appearing at the Migrant Song Festival (MAMF) 2020, alongside a couple of other artists, including one of my favorite other K-Pop vocalists out there in EXID’s Solji.
• Siyeon’s V Lives have a decent chance of turning into mini-concerts since she loves to sing and she spans a bunch of different artists this week including Red Velvet, Christina Aguilera, and Taeyeon, among others.
• Millenasia’s “Be The Future” collaboration, a PSA music video about taking the right precautions during COVID-19 between Dreamcatcher, AleXa, and IN2IT, is a finalist in four categories in the Shorty Awards for Social Good.

As always, Dreamcatcher keeps their fandom well-fed, and we’ll be seeing even more with a potential OT7 V Live, Dreamcatcher’s Note, and other content as they kick into gear finally reunified and at full strength!

[embed]https://gfycat.com/impoliteimperturbablecockatoo[/embed]