No Music Shows, No Problem — Dreamcatcher’s “Summer Holiday” First Week Comeback Packed With…

K-Pop — Dreamcatcher Recall

A lack of music show performances doesn’t stop Dreamcatcher’s first week back in August 2021 from feeding fans with fun variety and live appearances.

Note: Dreamcatcher is officially on the comeback trail, and there are many ways to support the group — be sure to check them out and pick what you want to do!

The first week of a comeback is usually and not surprisingly filled with a blitz of content from the group promoting, and that includes a trip through the music show circuit to perform the title song on the latest release. But with the Olympics ensuring most music shows were cancelled, Dreamcatcher had less opportunity to get out there and show off their latest on “Summer Holiday”.

If there’s anything we’ve learned from Dreamcatcher, though, it’s that they’re used to overcoming challenges, and they weren’t about to let something small like not being able to perform on most live shows stop them. The result for this past week was a plethora of comeback content that more than filled the gap and kept InSomnia entertained and excited for their new album. Let’s take a look at what happened!

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3Owfv4a6vk[/embed]

Variety is the spice of life, or in this case, a good seasoning to pick up a week without music show performances, and Dreamcatcher headed out to a couple of places from prior comebacks to showcase their new songs and check-in with fans. After School Club, long a Dreamcatcher comeback destination, got to be one of the first stops on the comeback trail, with fun conversations with global fans, a demonstration of choreography for “BEcause”, and content like the members competing with each other while completing challenges that tested their knowledge. This was definitely entertaining as always, and the secondary content, such as the “Double Trouble” quiz to guess comebacks from idols based on styling, didn’t fail to be funny.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT6swi9xZjs[/embed][embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oKjhNljApA[/embed]

A couple of fiery live performances on the variety trail also got dropped this past week, with both Esquire Korea and Mdromeda inviting Dreamcatcher back to put on live performances with a little bit something extra — for Esquire we got to see once again that it’s possible to perform while also wearing the most stylish of outfits, while Mdromeda gave us a little taste of what a backing with a live band would be like with “BEcause”. When it comes to comeback time, being able to have these little variations on a song that you’ll likely be hearing many, many times for a few weeks helps keep things fresh and exciting.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY-PouecVts[/embed]

And speaking of fresh, that’s exactly what IDOLLive did with “BEcause” when they invited Dreamcatcher on for what will appear to be some new and original variety content. Changing things up a bit, Dreamcatcher performed a “part switch” version of the song, changing roles and resulting in the chaos and comedy that always seems to happen when they swap things around. From SuA loving being lifted like Yoohyeon to Handong getting to spit fire verses as Dami to Gahyeon counter-trolling Siyeon not telling her where to go for her parts, this was a hilarious time all around, and the detective outfits they’ll be using for the “Fan Finding” show that IDOLLive has in store for them just added to the charm.

But variety wasn’t the only place Dreamcatcher blitzed their way through promotions content this past week. In 2021, Dreamcatcher has begun forging a way through radio as another means of promoting their songs, and they took full advantage here as well. SuA’s usual appearance on Wendy’s Young Street, for example, including the “BEcause challenge” that Dreamcatcher has been trying to get going, with idols and fans attempting one of the more iconic parts of the chorus. Fellow guest Taehyun and DJ Wendy obliged, with the latter getting a bunch of appreciation from both Red Velvet and Dreamcatcher fans.

[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@official_dreamcatcher/video/6992189621794901250[/embed][embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvm59mclpAQ[/embed]

We also got to see Dreamcatcher return to Jun Hyosung’s Dreaming Radio as well, this time with the entire group and not just subunit Yaja Time (Yoohyeon, Siyeon, and SuA). This was constantly entertaining with each of the members taking turns laughing like the end of the “BEcause” music video (Handong, who put that little edge of insanity into hers, was clearly the best to me), more insight into what went into putting together the songs in “Summer Holiday”, and SuA getting a bit of an early birthday celebration.

[embed]https://www.vlive.tv/video/258215[/embed][embed]https://www.vlive.tv/video/258215[/embed][embed]https://www.vlive.tv/video/258215[/embed][embed]https://www.vlive.tv/video/258215[/embed]

And speaking of birthday celebrations, SuA’s vLive broadcast of her celebrating it early with fans topped off a week of vLive content that more than made up for the dearth of music shows. We had SuA, Siyeon, and JiU coming together to do funny versions of the “BEcause” ending laugh in a preview for the Dreaming Radio appearance and SuA and Siyeon ensuring that JiU wouldn’t be left on her own after being unjustly killed in the Dingo Global DGG Mafia Dance appearance. Dami, Yoohyeon, and Handong entertained fans with a traveling tour up the stairs of the Dreamcatcher Company building and an impromptu arm wrestling match between Yoohyeon and Handong, SuA and Yoohyeon prompting yet another home vLive with multiple members (and Siyeon’s hair dryer guesting), and more. SuA’s early birthday vLive went for a marathon amount of time (two and a half hours), a purposeful decision so she could talk with fans and make peach syrup and jam, the results of which were, at times, in hilarious doubt (remind me, by the way, to worry when SuA dumps a ton of sugar without measuring it into things, something which she is no stranger to). All in all, Yoohyeon fulfilled her promise to fans the previous week when she said they’d be on vLive a lot to promote the new album and chat with fans in order to make up for the lack of music shows, and as always, it was appreciated.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InWHrUd7qos[/embed][embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmWoGlrTPsA[/embed][embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O91eMrYJbU8[/embed]

But it wasn’t like Dreamcatcher didn’t manage to sneak in some live stage content this past week even with all the cancellations for music shows. Delayed content from the group’s late July M! Countdown comeback stage dropped this past week, including the usual Relay Dance for “BEcause” with all the fun creativity the group put forth (is that a Snickers SuA hands to Yoohyeon in a double reference?) and a Thumbnail Scramble game that had the members try to remember picking matching cards with their album covers. And Simply K-Pop’s virtual “CON-TOUR” series got a Dreamcatcher appearance for “BEcause” as well, as the show took an online trip to Peru, with another stop in virtual Australia being next. So even in a week of fewer live stages than normal, Dreamcatcher found a way.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ebdcc66Pf48[/embed][embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsKpdLfX9H4[/embed][embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJfS9LPNrq0[/embed][embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3odtz-JWT_g[/embed]

And of course, let’s not forget the usual blitz of content from the official YouTube channel, with two first videos of the Jacket and MV making Behind-the-Scenes, MV Reaction video, and Dance Practice, all of which showed just how much work went into “Summer Holiday”. A remote filming location, constant heat and humidity, and long hours were challenging, but Dreamcatcher soldiered through while enjoying beach side waters, a road trip shoot, and abandoned amusement park shenanigans, much of which were new to them due to the bright, summer-y feel of much of the photos. We’re going to definitely see more of this, and I’m looking forward to seeing how this very different production was a fun one for the group.

So how’s the album doing? With the first numbers in from the Hanteo chart from last week, we know:

[embed]https://twitter.com/koreansales_twt/status/1423299400667893762[/embed]

75,551 is a great start to sales for the newest album, especially considering that A)Two of those seven days are weekend days, when sales recording is much lower and B)That this is a distinctly varied album with many genres. While the growth may end up being a little less than the spike between Lose Myself and Road to Utopia, it will be growth nonetheless it seems, and will hopefully solidify Dreamcatcher’s current sustainability even more. We’re seeing the signs of this in all the appearances and visibility they are seeing as well as the continued presence of new fans, and while it’s still early, it seems we may be seeing yet another successful comeback for K-Pop’s resident rock/pop girl group.

Dreamcatcher’s just starting up their comeback with their own take on summer and fans (and some outside of the fandom) are taking notice. I’ll be here next week to recap all of the first actual week of music show appearances as well as all the other content we’ve come to expect from the group, so once again, if you like what you’re reading and want to keep up, be sure to drop your claps and follows, and pass this around to fans who might have missed something! See you here next week, as always.