Dreamcatcher’s Reality Shows The Content Never Stops, Even Between Comebacks
K-Pop — Dreamcatcher Recall
Late April 2021 brings news of K-Pop’s Dreamcatcher continuing to do work and potentially breaking new ground, even when not promoting.
With a Japanese-only fansign event this past week on the docket, I was pretty sure that Dreamcatcher would likely be returning to at least a normal, non-album-promotion schedule and all indications from check-ins via the group’s vLive channel seemed to indicate everyone was back at the dorm and office doing exactly that. Between promotions is usually a time for self-improvement for working K-Pop idols, though a regular schedule of vocal and dance practice isn’t usually out of the realm of possibility, either. We’ve heard plenty of references from the group regarding these activities.
That said, I’ve felt that Dreamcatcher chooses to exceed the metric a bit. Perhaps motivated by the fact that they have a comparatively smaller fanbase to groups backed by larger companies, Dreamcatcher’s content delivery has always been to me consistent and frequent, even when they’re not on the comeback trail. InSomnia are always treated with fairly regular vLives, surprise video content, and interaction on the group’s chosen official platforms, making them in my opinion one of K-Pop’s most spoiled and well-fed fandoms. This past week, of course, was no exception.
One of the biggest announcements came early in the week — Dreamcatcher is finally going to get their own official reality show per a report from Naver, and filming is set to be begin this month. The show will be delivered online, and be apparently worked on by well-known (and now independent) producer Han-dong Cheol, who is known for his work from such shows as Produce101, Unpretty Rapstar, and a show some of Dreamcatcher’s members participated in, Mixnine.
For those of you reading who aren’t as familiar with reality shows in South Korea as they relate to idols, it’s worth noting that they are much different than reality shows in the West and in other places. The style is more in the vein of either musical competition type shows or “slice of life” variety content where the idols get to showcase talents and do activities (Idol Picnic, which Dreamcatcher participated in last August, is a good example of this). Having a reality show is a marker/milestone of being in a sustainable group, so Dreamcatcher getting one done is yet another achievement and recognition of their slowly increasing brand recognition.
While some mild concern surfaced regarding what type of show it would be based on the producer’s survival show history (especially given how Mixnine, which Dreamcatcher parachuted out of to do a South American tour, managed to end), the fact that the show would be delivered online, free of any broadcast company influence with a producer also not affiliated with said companies, seems to signal there isn’t current cause for concern. That aside, I’ll trust that Dreamcatcher Company will take care of the group and ensure they are comfortable with the show’s production.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9lCCL0Bb0o[/embed]
That aside, fans of Dreamcatcher know the group is well-suited to doing fun activities and showcasing talents. Their long variety history is filled with plenty of fun and memorable moments, and indications and references from the group during vLives seem to indicate that the show’s format will be more in this sort of vein, much like Red Velvet’s LevelUp Project, TWICE’s Time to TWICE or GFriend’s Memoria. If anything, Dreamcatcher has been pleased at what they’ve managed to film so far, so we can, hopefully, look forward to some fun reality show moments from the group.
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Speaking of the group, this past week has seen a veritable flurry of vLive content, with JiU, SuA, Siyeon, and Gahyeon checking in with fans. We got to hear about Siyeon’s preferences for a few things (Coke or Pepsi, Wind Blows or Odd Eye, etc.) and see that she’s gone back to darker hair color, this time brown, which we saw last time briefly in “Deja Vu” promotions but which was last prominent during “What” era. SuA showed off her new boxing skills, laughed as she proved fans wrong that she’d dyed her hair pink, and once again swore accidentally live, all of which earned a highlight video from vLive’s V Pick series. Gahyeon got familiar with a new iPad she got from “Deja Vu” and “Eclipse” collaborator Vespa, talked about what they’ve already filmed from the reality show, and inexplicably removed her phone’s protector while saying she took up pilates again. And JiU dropped in to chat about new fashion, her own work with pilates, what’s best about having siblings, and trying to figure out how to spend her points and coupons from shopping. All in all, yet another week of Dreamcatcher taking some time out to interact with fans.
On the merchandise front, we got to see the second re-stock of the lightstick on Dreamcatcher’s official store on the xOfficial platform. A peek into the code showed a stock of 4000 this time around, and as of this writing more than half of that stock is sold. Not too bad for this being a re-stock past the point when most hardcore fans have already made purchases. Feel free to grab one if you wish, but be wary of the high shipping price, what I assume is the result of using a single option (DHL Premium/Express) for this with associated fees, plus what appears to be a markup on the part of xOfficial. Dreamcatcher staff recently acknowledged all of xOfficial’s recent issues on their fancafe at Daum, so we’ll have to see what comes of that in the future. For now, the lightstick is available once again, though how long that’ll last is anyone’s guess.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41QGxWfZ1B4[/embed]
Lastly, Dreamcatcher gave us yet another unexpected treat from a video content standpoint. They’ve tended to drop Special Clips randomly, and this time around we got team “Baby Don’t Stop” from the Crossroads concert putting together another cover of 24kGoldn’s “Mood”. We all know Yoohyeon’s pretty comfortable with English, but it was nice that Dami continued her deeper foray into English covers that was started recently with her cover of Clean Bandit’s “Rockabye”. There’s always been an undercurrent of dancing and singing chemistry between Yoohyeon and Dami and having them cover (and clown in the background) for this song only served to accentuate that. Aside from that, the presence of a new tattoo from Dami, a simple yet elegant set of flowers in a crescent moon shape, was nice to see. As someone with a fair number of tattoos, the fact that Dreamcatcher Company appears to have a progressive attitude about them being displayed most of the time is just another reason to appreciate them.
With their Japanese fansign behind them and reality show in front of them, Dreamcatcher seems to be continuing down a path to keeping busy as they keep up the content pace towards their next comeback. Like always, I’ll look forward to seeing more from Dreamcatcher, and will see you all here next week!
