Greatest Hits:: Chocolate: What To Do

When I put this name on The Roulette Wheel, I made a joke to myself after adding ChoColat to the Wheel as well that it would be really funny if Chocolate was chosen when I actually really like ChoColat. Ask, and ye shall receive. I really don't want their legacy to be the scandal at their company that caused their early and untimely disbandment, one that the members had nothing to do with and were simply casualties of. I would rather their legacy be that one tweet that I would love to find for the person who had this as their top song of Spotify Wrapped 2023. That's what we call a legacy, and it is a glorious one. So, for whoever you are who loves this song so much, this is for you. Also, this is the oldest song I've done so far, which is cool.

And I'm specifically holding on to this one until the Spotify Wrapped for this year is out. Because I think that's appropriate.

• Group: Chocolate
• Debut Date: 2010 August 27
• Company: H-Line Entertainment 
• Status: Disbanded (2011 December 31)
• Album: What To Do
• Song: What To Do
• Release Date: 2010 August 27

All of their official accounts have been deleted, so I'd just like to say thank you also for the fan who saved the music video and posted it, because it would be a total travesty for this gem to have been completely removed. 

This is essentially their only song. I'm not even sure if they ever performed it. Ah, I suppose if they did and it has survived, it would be on the account that saved this music video. Which, it is. So, yay! I get to include that! Oh, and I found it on Arirang! I love Arirang. I have a feeling I'm going to be finding some absolute gems on there as I do this, like this one. So you get the few performances they did that got rescued.

I feel a little like a historian desperately trying to preserve a piece of history. 

You know, it's funny. I remember talking about ILLIT's Tick-Tack and how it sounds like a second gen song. It kind of sounds like this one, at least in terms of the instrumentals. There are 8-bit video game echoes to both pieces, and with an aggressively bright, synthy pulse which is much stronger in What To Do, but that's the effect of 2010 for you. 

This is also a serious bop. It's also kind of the ultimate crush song. I had to hunt down a translation of the lyrics, because my Korean really isn't good enough yet, and it confirmed my suspicions given the adorable chaos of the music video. But essentially, the song is about the giggly, cute feelings one has when one is around one's crush, and not knowing what to do about it while also making weird decisions. We have a variety of scenarios showcased in the song to demonstrate both the feelings and the decisions, and I really just have to say that those swim trunks on The Swimming Guy are LOW slung. I'm surprised they stayed on, if I'm going to be honest. That's how low on his hips they are. The members are reacting appropriately to that. Not going to lie, I would too. 

I'm not always entirely sure what is going on in each of the different scenarios, and I'm a little weirded out by the cop one. I'm particularly partial to the pool. For...reasons. But, I also think it's pretty cool that they carried the swimming pool motif through into the costuming, even if I'm not sure how comfortable they'd be to perform in. I'm also a big fan of how each of the members has their own thing with varying levels of oddness. One of them is so excited to get an iron, and I'm very happy she's so excited because I don't know where mine is.

The ending of the music video makes me laugh every time though. This is really just a silly, unserious song about crushes and the insanity that comes with it. This is a relic.

Oh, and just so everyone knows, I found this music video saved in two different places. So I'm going to go take a look at the comments on that one too. They were all unhelpful. The vibe I'm getting from the comments I have seen though, is that at the time, people were split about liking the song. However, when people went to go look for it because of The Tweet, which I am still looking for, fourteen years of space was enough to make people go "This actually isn't bad?????" And it isn't. The comments are mostly split between fourteen or thirteen years ago, or less than a year old. And the year old comments are mostly just defending this song, the music video, and/or the performance. I'm loving this phenomenon.  If you're looking for something serious, dramatic, dark, and intense, you are one hundred percent looking in the wrong place. But if you're looking for something cute to vibe to? Welcome to the party. Is it perfect? No. But I do actually like the song. If you're looking for it on Spotify, it's called What am I supposed to do.

And now it's time for what I've been eagerly looking forward to: the stages. 

I'm going to introduce it first because the program isn't around anymore, and I think it's appropriate to explain. So apparently, M! Rookies was this incredibly brief program that was like MCountdown, but only for rookies, and the rookie of the month would get to perform on MCountdown and get some other benefits. It lasted a little less than a year and a half. Teen Top was one of those rookies of the month, just to give some context. But, we have this program to thank for one of the performances of this song.

Okay. On to the stage. I had to manually turn the music video to HD because YouTube was trying to make me watch this at 360. No, thank you. Not in this day and age. I put in my time with 360p. Twelve years of it. In Azkaban.

They definitely are singing live, which means you hear breathiness, off-pitchness, and unequal dynamics. I don't know what kind of backing track they had, but you can hear every wobble, which I think is cool. Do I also think it's cool when groups have incredibly stable live vocals? Yes to that as well, for a very different reason.

Again with the swimsuits, and again, I'm not sure how comfortable they'd be, especially since the maknae was very much underage.  But what I like best about it, and this is going to sound really weird but bear with me please, is that you can see the muscle definition in their legs, and that muscle jiggling a little when they dance, which is glorious. Judging by their legs, they actually look like they're at healthy weights. It's something that I worry about often, and it's something I started worrying about when I found out how often idols collapse on stage. It's hard to be an athlete and carry around weight, especially when the physical demands require you to be light on your feet, which I know from experience. One of the people I played tennis with and practiced with, I swear one of my thighs was the size of both of her legs together. She could flit around the court like she wasn't even touching it, and I was more of a freight train, especially when I would run into fences because I couldn't stop fast enough and would subsequently dislocate my pinkies yet again. But I could overpower her every time because I had the muscle from training and the stamina from eating healthy and for what my body needed energy-wise. Tennis isn't dance, but there are similarities in the types of working out because tennis players have to remain flexible and light on their feet. It's something I was told over and over. But they also have to be very strong because while the racquet can do a lot of work, the energy and power must come from the body. And that at least is similar to dancers. Now, going back to this performance, if you look at their legs, which are on full display because of those cute but uncomfortable looking swimsuits, their thighs look strong, and I really like the look of the blonde one, who I think is Bom.

I told you it was weird. But they look like real bodies, and I will always support that.

Also, I really want to know how they keep their socks up. My first guess would be the double-sided tape used to help keep breasts covered by the fabric when bras are unable to be worn, but wouldn't the sweat make the tape not stick? Inquiring minds want to know.

This ties into the swimsuits, but they all look at least somewhat tan? Some of them are darker than others, but it's still a surprise and a little bit of a delight to see this. 

Here is their rookie interview. It's only about three minutes and does require you to know Korean, but I figure the vibes at least will work. They're a cute group.

And here is another performance found on the same YouTube channel, also from M! Rookies. The costuming is actual clothing this time, for the most part, although I think the maknae is the one in the swimsuit. Considering the company scandal, I'm side-eyeing the company very hard over that decision.

And here is the Arirang performance. Thank you, Arirang.

It's easily my favorite of the three performances. The members are all wearing actual clothing, and again with the socks that baffle me. They look like they're enjoying themselves. And, honestly, this is just a cute group, a cute song, and cute choreo. 

So, in conclusion of a very long post, What To Do is an adorable song. It's a little weird, especially the music video, and the company sucks a lot so I'm not going to cry over them going under, but we'll also never know what the group could have done with more time, because they simply didn't get it. Because their company sucks. Still, the song doesn't deserve to be forgotten. It's a relic and a snapshot of 2010, and is a part of music history, even if it was a tiny, little blip.