Battle of the B-Sides:: xikers: Rockstar

 I've done a good batch of submissions. I've done my remodeling on the older posts. And now I'm ready for some energy. Not that the previous one didn't have energy, but this is full youthful energy rather than melancholic energy. This group also has the distinction of being my first baby group and my first K-Pop concert because I decided to go on a total whim and have an adventure for my birthday since they were performing near then. My cousin and I were concerned that we were going to get stuck in San Francisco but it was fine! Also, remember how at some point I said that the first five groups I got into were all March debuts (the first three K-Pop groups I saw were also all March debuts...I don't know why either)? These guys were number three behind NU'EST and BTOB, even though I saw NINE.i perform first (also a March debut for anyone keeping track). And because the end of the month (with their debut) is going to be taken up by a different group's anniversary post, I thought I'd put it at the beginning of the month.

xikers are a ten-member group that debuted in 2023 under KQ Entertainment, the younger brothers to ATEEZ. They were all at least eighteen-years-old by the end of 2023, something else I really love, and they're, simply put, some of the best performers I've seen from K-Pop, so expect a lot of strong fangirling from me. (It's also why when you give me suggestions, I want the juicy bits. Because they direct my attention and give me things I may not know if they're not one of the groups I'm in deep with. You'll understand why in a moment).

Rockstar was the fifth track on their debut mini album, House of Tricky : Doorbell Ringing released in 2023. It has a sole producer in the form of Eden (ATEEZ, BTOB, Younha, Gallant, Woodz, Yuju, and maddox). The other writers include Hongjoong of ATEEZ (!) (ATEEZ and Chung Ha), Ollounder (ATEEZ, Dreamcatcher, BTOB, maddox, The Boyz, Golden Child, N. Flying, Teen Top, and Favorite), Buddy (ATEEZ, Dreamcatcher, Edden, maddox, Yuju, HLB, and Babylon), Peperoni (ATEEZ and Dreamcatcher), OLIV (ATEEZ, Dreamcatcher, Parameter, and Aviino), maddox (ATEEZ, Dreamcatcher, and Eden), and the rapping members of xikers: Minjae, Sumin, and Yechan. The album itself has done extraordinarily well for a debuting rookie group, hitting number four on both the Circle and Billboard's World Album charts, as well as peaking at 75 on Billboard Top 200 and 6 on the Oricon chart. No wins on Korean music shows, but that's still impressive and also the direct results of both KQ's actions for them pre-debut as well as ATEEZ's own popularity.

I can't believe this song turns three next month.

So, like with ATEEZ, xikers have their own lore. Theirs is explained in the opening track of the album, but essentially, they weren't born with their own coordinates and they were given powers by a goblin named Tricky that are regularly symbolized by blue fire. You can see that in the thumbnail. That is significantly simplified, but should help explain some of the music video.

Now. Fun stuff. The question I'm sitting here with is "How deep into the lore do I go for this?", which sounds like it should be an easy one, but there are so many juicy lore details here that I have to ask how much y'all care about the rabbit hole. Because the answer if I was asking about myself would be an immediate and resounding yes, but that's also from the person who when she was about six almost wore out the discs for the Extended Edition of Fellowship of the Ring and practically had the Appendices memorized by the time she was eight. So I don't think I'm a very good judge for how much other people like lore and information like that.

Okay. You know what? We're going to literary criticism removing the context, which is what I almost never do, but that will keep me constrained and I have been trained in it because I had to be trained in most of the schools of literary criticism for my degree. The amount of context you get is what I've already given you.

I would watch this TV show. I just want you all to know that. And this is exactly the reason why I like storylines in music videos.

The first significantly cool thing about the music video is that at the very beginning, literally nineteen seconds in, you get ten different points of blue light in ten different locations around the city. Ten members, ten lights. Theoretically, that's also possibly the point at which they get their powers from Tricky. 

It's also interesting with the eye motif, particularly because xikers are the kids without coordinates. Many of those eyes include an "x" somewhere near the pupil, if not comprising the pupil in full (almost like the eyes are giving them their x coordinate?). The most compelling support for the argument that those eyes represent Tricky itself is the one behind Seeun right before the first chorus because it gets lit up in the goblin power blue flame. It's also the one that Seeun takes the picture of, so obviously those eyes are diegetic, even if that term is supposed to be used for music. 

Honestly, that would probably freak me out a lot if eyes just started appearing around the city like that staring at me. Full-blown nightmare fuel.

It's also worth noting the use of cool versus warm light in this music video. Blue is obviously one of those very important colors here, but instead of it being linked to sadness or the past or peace or any of the normal meanings for the color blue (Insert the: "Sometimes the curtains are just blue!" meme, please), it's so clearly linked to them having and getting those powers, as part of their core identity. The scene starting at 1:07 highlights this strongly because while we have the warm yellow light at the center of the shots, the blue at the top and the bottom actually seems to be holding it in place. Then the blue flames that represent their actual powers being used come in and eventually that yellow is swallowed up by the blue as they teleport, and their new location (complete with a much visually louder costuming set) is back to the cool light with only brief flickers of yellow peeking through.

I also have a theory on what the yellow light is meant to represent, but that involves more of their lore and we're trying to keep this low context. Just know that I have one and it's got some terrifying implications considering this seems to be the very start or close to it. 

I do have to laugh because I paused on 2:27 so that I could write the next section, and one of the members' poses does not look like the others. Given their personalities and who I've otherwise identified (some of them are very easy, some of them I had to stare at uniforms for a good couple of minutes to compare), I'm pretty that's Sumin who is throwing himself torso first off the building. Although now that I look at it again, that does look remarkably like a Spider-Man pose, and Yujun loves Spider-Man so much that he can't do a live without mentioning that character at least once. First thing I learned about him too. So once again, I'm not sure. But I'm pretty sure it's one of those two. Actually. I think I was wrong the first time because Yujun was wearing the white hooded jacket underneath the school uniform jacket and that appears to be what that member is wearing so it's either him or Jinsik, but Jinsik is the one that reminds me of DK and he's up front with Minjae and Seeun. Okay. I'm 68% sure that that is Yujun. 

Anyway, back to what I was going to say before I got distracted by that wonderfully goofy pose, 2:01 starts one of my favorite parts. Junmin's lead-up is wonderful and such a good statement of self-love and acceptance buried in the middle of a confident song, but we get running, and then screaming, and then throwing themselves off of the building because they believe they can fly. They can fly because of the goblin powers (again, blue flame), but it's the whole idea of untethering themselves from the constraints of what society has made them believe about themselves that allows them to have the courage to make that leap because the blue flame starts at their hearts. And the funny thing is that I can hear Junmin's scream at 2:20. It's adorable. I can't actually hear it, but I can hear the sound he made while filming this in my head. 

The swirling smoke and the fire in Hunter's eyes (with the big blue eye looking down at them that reminds me of a dragon) is the perfect pairing to the climax of the song and the dance break, but as we all know, choreography gets held until the dance practice (if applicable; and in this case, it is).

I'm picking this Music Bank performance first because my boy Minjae is the thumbnail. I will likely talk about him less than some of the others even though he is my bias because I don't like to give preferential treatment even though he is my favorite (and the reason for that is he's the leader and my bias is always the leader, but also this moment of them very calmly playing shout in silence. That order is Hunter then Minjae then Yechan the maknae; see also this one that tells you exactly which one is which, but also why are my favorites the excessively loud ones?). But just know that if I don't mention him, I am incredibly proud of him and think he's a great all-rounder and a great leader.

His smile is so sweet right there at the beginning as he moves towards the camera, and then the high-five with Seeun right before Seeun starts off the song feels a little bit like leader sending off the kids to go do their thing. I made a joke once about the cloning machine in the KQ basement and that's how we got Minjae (from Hongjoong, who is a clone of G-Dragon) and Sumin (from Mingi, who is a clone of Bobby). 

Also, those are live mics. I feel confident in saying that even though we don't get great shots of their throats for the physical confirmation because of comments I know both they and ATEEZ members have made about singing live. Also, I picked Music Bank because you get the names over there with the lyrics. There are ten of them. Names are necessary.

Sumin's little whoop after "We never ever getting tired" brings me joy. Sumin in general I think is going to be one of the powerhouses of whatever generation xikers belongs in. Ask me about my thoughts on the kpop generations at a later date. He's actually remarkably restrained for this performance, and I say that but he's playing at the camera quite a lot already and flipping his hand mic around. I'll have to see if I can find a more recent performance because he has really blossomed so much on stage.

I love Junmin's cheek hearts during his self-love and acceptance part and how he's standing for it.

And I know I'm not going to talk about the choreography too much here, but can we appreciate that that choreography is not easy and they're still going with live vocals that are quite stable for rookies with that level of intensity? Main vocalist Hyunwoo (who recently did the Blue cover challenge has an absolutely incredible voice) is especially so steady. There are a few wobbles here and there, but that's just what a live performance is like. Jinsik is another one that I'm constantly impressed with. 

And more proof of some live vocals because Seeun did not do that at the beginning of the Music Bank stage.

Also, this was exactly one month after debut.

I find it adorable that Sumin, Hyunwoo, and Yechan were obviously like "No, I need my hand mic." I understand Sumin and Yechan because they're rappers and the rappers across groups like their hand mics. It does make me wonder a little if Hyunwoo has the lovely problem where he can't not sing. Because it's a common problem that also ails such powerhouses as Woozi and SCoups from Seventeen and Han from Stray Kids, where they can't help it and they just sing along no matter if it's their part or not. 

And if we want to talk about maknaes that are top of the class, I feel compelled to point out that Yechan probably should be counted in that list. And he's also literally a maknae on top because he regularly picks up his leader and carries him around. But if you look at his part at :22 and also at 1:35, he's so unbelievably comfortable on stage with loose but very precise movements, and he's got a very distinct vocal tone where once I learned that's who sounds like that, I've never been able to not pick him out of the group. 

Yujun really has such pretty vocals. I'd like to point them out here at 2:45. There's not really another word to describe that other than pretty. He doesn't have a lot of lines in this song, but that line right there really is just lovely. Maybe that's the other word we can use. 

Minjae's line at 1:23 ends on such a sharp shout to pass the song on to Sumin. It's very much a jolt to the sound of the song, but because the word he shouts on is in fact the word "shout", that feels like an example of word painting, and I love that. 

And now the sad reality. I'm going to spend more time with Junghoon in the dance practice section because he's a dancing beast and vocally impressive, but he had to go on hiatus which lasted for over two years (I don't know if we ever found out exactly why, but I suspect it's what ailed SCoups a few months later), and it's unfortunate that it happened in the middle of promotions for this song. But this was one of the last performances he was available for, and he's actually pretty smiley throughout the performance. He's also got a look of strong intensity, but that's just how he is and it doesn't negate the smiling. Especially at 1:46, but he apparently loves Rockstar and loves to perform it. 

And the fanchant for this performance was incredibly loud. Like, listen to that. 

I'd also like to point out, with more praise for impressive maknae Yechan, that he did most of if not the entire song without his in-ears in. 

I really like the camera work on this one. It's from KCon Japan 2023. It's a really good blend of focusing on the member currently doing his line and the group choreography.

Also, I really love their jackets in this one. It has their names on it!

Okay, fancam time! This one is from their first tour shortly before I saw them and was stunned by them. 

Like, I'm going to tell you right now. I've seen a few groups at this point and some soloists, and some groups more than once on different tours. Their stage presence, even at this point not even a year after debut, was literally so impressive that I walked out of the theatre and vowed that I'd never miss a tour if they came here. 

They're very comfortable on stage. They're so comfortable.

This is the same tour when they went to Amsterdam almost exactly a year after they debuted (and also while they were preparing for their third mini album). It was a few months after when I saw them.

Ah, Sumin. Him and Minjae, man. The entire group just does so well, but those two absolutely shine on stage and I love to see it.

I absolutely adore how loud the crowd in Amsterdam was. I know y'all don't get K-Pop too often, so it's entirely possible that at least part of the crowd was made up of people who went just because it's a K-Pop group (I'll admit that I've done that before because I know that the better the numbers, the more likely the company is to send groups back, which increases the odds of a group that I do listen to coming). But y'all were loud! I'm cool with giving this fancam at this point because you've now heard the song a few times, so it's fine if the song isn't as clear.

I just really wanted to shout-out the fans. It's also an incredibly good angle for Junmin's part where the members kind of rotate around him starting at 1:40. 

I don't think I've talked a lot about Jinsik yet. He's got one of the best voices in the group, he's incredibly steady even when he's dancing (he's got a smile that could power a small building and I'd absolutely put him in the group that could probably power Seoul for a few minutes if we could figure out how to harness their sunshineness for power). And his part at 2:02 where tall, sunshine boy gets to be the center? Love that for him.

I'm sure there are fancams out there for the stop I went to for this tour, but I like this one because Minjae makes a mistake and comes in early. Or he deliberately came in early on purpose to prove live mics. Either way, I love that.

And also, this has Junghoon back again. 1:38 starts Junmin's part about it's okay to be weird and different. And then five seconds later, Junghoon gets his part back. It could just be me projecting, but it feels a teeny tiny bit like the choreography may have changed just a little right there, where he gets slightly more room to be the absolute center of attention. I know that's probably wishful thinking on my part, but it's fine. I'm allowed to be sentimental when I spent a full year-and-a-half stressing over that boy and praying that he'd heal well enough that he'd be able to return to the group and it wouldn't hinder his ability to perform in the future. He'd been out for about four months when I discovered them and considering I was coming off of NU'EST (disbanded) and BTOB (missing member), I just wanted one group I liked to be able to stay together, considering I was also circling around Seventeen a little as well and SCoups had gotten hurt too, and a member of NINE.i was out for injury as well. 

I was hoping that KQ had included the actual dance practice video of them actually learning this because I know they've done it for later songs, but alas.

The footstomps and shoe squeaks that you can hear through basically the whole thing is just simply so satisfying. We get camera and light shakes from them as well, like their hyungs in ATEEZ.  Like, I legitimately want you to watch their feet. They have so many tiny steps and stomps and movements through the entire thing. One of my favorites, and I giggle every time I watch this part, is at 1:00. Seeun especially (he's the blond one), for some reason, just looks a little bit goofy when he does it. Seeun also spends a lot of time up front, so he doesn't have just that goofiness to show and it all balances out in the end, but it's just kind of funny.

There's a head shake from all of them as part of the choreography at 2:30, which looks awesome as the whole group. But Hunter looks over at Minjae as he does his (he's the one up in front in the white sweatshirt and sweatpants with the red symbol going down the pant leg), and the way he smiles kind of reads "Yeah, my leader is so cool."

Hunter also gets his own solo dance break in the middle of the group dance break and I haven't said anything about it this entire time and it's been killing me. But now I can! The way this choreography uses height and height levels is incredible, but right there, with Hunter the tallest member being the only one standing up straight while he does his thing makes him look even taller than he already is, and it immediately forces your attention toward him. That's masterfully designed.

And Jinsik's shouting going into the dance break gives me life. It's the perfect hyping energy boost after a lot of high intensity for the first part of the song.

And now I also get to talk about the Junmin "be okay" part. The entire group's energy is so high right then, but also the amount of thigh strength it takes to drop down that many times like they do in the middle of a lot of other hopping and high stepping makes me so proud. And the way that they flow around Junmin, before Junmin rejoins the front group for Junghoon's part is great. And looking at this versus the choreography in 2025, it definitely does look like the choreography has been changed a little from him being a hinge point to him being the center. He's still getting the middle for the attention, but the flavor and implications is different. 

Thanks for hanging out in this song with me! I really do absolutely adore this group and their energy live cannot be contained by mere recording equipment. If you get the chance, definitely go see them. 10/10 absolutely recommend. Also. I posted this and hopped to one of my playlists on shuffle to sit and vibe in it for a minute before I went on about my day. 400 songs in the playlist so one of the medium sized ones I've got. First song? This one. That's the kind of nonsense you put in a story to reinforce theme.

If you've got a song you'd like for me to cover, feel free to drop it as a comment, or you can always use The Form if you'd rather only I know that the song is incoming. 

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