Good Girl (2020)

the best competition show in SK tbh

This was the first time I watched a whole season of a competition show (mostly because I just didn't really feel the appeal of the other shows' formats), and I was stunned the whole way through. I feel like the whole group not only was like an absolute k-music all-star team, but they truly grew together. I expected the editing to make them appear catty (which it did in the first couple episodes), but after they threw their prejudices/assumptions out the window and leaned into the other girls' personalities, it was super smooth sailing.

My absolutely top competitor: Sleeq. Not only did she speak her truth in each song, but she was the most lighthearted, silly, funny, honest, and flexible person. No matter what, she had such a positive mindset about her team and their ability to make good music together. I was so frustrated at the beginning when the others were judging her based on just what they had seen or heard in the past. But I'm glad that after the Blinding Lights performance, they all were able to admit that they had preconceived notions about her abilities and that they were wrong and/or sorry.

Yunhway is the queen of euphoric summer dreams, style, and swagger. They often used the word sophisticated when describing her, and I agree that she was someone who was really good at curating and crafting her works. They always had her essence in one way or another, and her solo performance was probably my favorite. The visuals with her fits - chef's kiss!

Jeon Jiwoo gives you looks that KILL. I thought that she was pretty amazing all around, but I particularly loved her visuals and dancing. Like her skills exploration performance not only gave off hella femme fatale vibes but the way her facial expressions came off...I mean, she's just everything.

Cheetah - talk about a freaking powerhouse. I'd seen Cheetah before but hadn't ever really followed her or looked into her, but the way that she played hardball while being a softy behind the scenes was high key everything. I can't choose which performance I liked the most from her, but her Desperado and Witches performances were pretty peak.

Hyo Yeon surprised me, but also because I think I had some girl-group prejudice myself. I was concerned with how much drama they might bring, especially her since she had been in the game for some time and had a LOT of experience. I didn't know if she would be "respectful" but only for the optics. I was very wrong. She was incredibly humble when apologizing to Sleeq and really leaned into the role of bringing her experience to the game.

Ailee was a ball of pure happiness and sweetness. When looking her up, I realized that she actually had a few songs from shows that I watch (but didn't know it was her)! Not only that, but her voice was so powerful and voluminous; her performance with Sleeq needed a standing ovation. She has a natural leader disposition about her and was so warm.

Jamie was like WOW. Her Gangster performance was an amazing start that just continued with her Witches and Colors performances. I think, similar to Ailee, she brought a lot of fullness and power to the songs. Her voice is smooth as butter.

Ye Eun was honestly so cute, and I am glad to see that she demonstrated how versatile she could be. I feel like each performance displayed a different skill she had, especially her Barbie performance! Seeing her open up over time was good because I think a lot of the other girls were worried that she didn't know what she liked or wanted to do.

Queen Wa$abii - like where do I start? I love her reason for rapping about what she does - there is such a double standard when it comes to women in hip hop and men in hip hop. The fact that she stayed true to herself throughout the show, namely the twerking and vulgarity in her songs, was astonishing and welcomed! I think she really pushed the boundaries, and a lot of people liked her authenticity. She's so funny, too. I want to see her more, and I hope more networks are ready and willing to put people like her on stage not as a spectacle to gawk at but to embrace and enjoy.

Last but not least, Young Ji. She brought a very different energy as a Gen Z competitor that the others didn't, and I was so happy for it. Not only was she rapping at the speed of light, but she was able to always get the crowd going with her dancing and bouncing around on stage. She was so funny, too! Her + Queen Wa$abii together was pure chaos.

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This format is gold!

I have nothing but warm words for a show that I thought would cause me nervous breakdowns one after another. And instead, I think it's the best k-music show I've seen so far.

STORY AKA FORMAT
The non-competition-focused format gave rise to a program that created good music, great collabs, teamwork and what you could never expect: a show where prejudices said goodbye.

CAST AND MUSIC
As you can see, the cast is made up of artists with different abilities, who sing or rap, move in different genres, and most importantly: participants with different backgrounds, popularity levels and reputations.
Since each participant had a different style, and the program was not focused on competition, all of them were able to explore as many genres as they wanted without feeling forced to stick to a certain type of song that would ensure them win. Full of different colours and flavours.

HIGHLIGHTS
Let's start with the wonderful case of Sleeq, a rapper known for being part of "radical feminism" in SK and for having criticized entertainment industry many times. No one wanted to team up with her in the beginning but she ended up being the most wanted, known as the queen of adaptability. This case leaves us with memorable moments like Hyoyeon apologizing to her when she realizes that her prejudices didn't let her see further, after Sleeq turns out to be a great partner. Another great moment where Ailee starts dinner telling Sleeq how nice it was to see how different she was from what she expected (she thought she was closed-minded, turns out to be the opposite). And the beautiful friendship between Queen Wasabi and Sleeq, and their collab with a song that talks about "taking off your glasses", those that don't let you see that you can have a great person right next to you.

Now I will list some points that make this show amazing IMHO:
1.- As all of them were part of the same team, and compete against guests in each round, a "team spirit" was created that resulted in the healthiest show created by Mnet.
2.- All the stages were live. Goodbye playback.
3.- Inviting different idols and underground artists to witness the stages created a great support line for the cast and added dynamism and excitement to the show. It also allowed less popular participants to make themselves known to these artists.
4.- Mention another show where breaking down prejudices was the result of the day.

Finally, Good Girl not only helped great artists to make themselves known through the show, but allowed many members of kpop groups to explore themselves individually like they never could before (Yeeun, I'm watching you).

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