3/3

@Erzbet

3) LOONA -- Butterfly -- M COUNTDOWN 190228

Memory plays tricks on me on occasion; I sometimes think of "Butterfly" as LOONA's first release as a full group, but of course that's not the case, since the full goup debuted with "Hi High".

"Hi High" was not a bad song, but I think I was not alone in finding it anticlimactic after the long build up of the individual member and subunit debuts. Then the staging and choreography of "Hi High" came in for criticism as cheap and uninspired. Was the whole LOONA project going to turn out to be a damp squib?

That question was buried with triumphant "No!" with the release of "Butterfly". Not only was the MV remarkable, but the promotion revealed one of the greatest choreographies in kpop.

This M Countdown stage was not the first of that comeback, but it is my favourite. The blouses and pants are perfect for the choreo, and when Heejin arises at the opening, I know that my faith not just in LOONA but in Kpop has been vindicated.

https://youtu.be/X5oU5ePtvJk?si=jZjvJILmCiN7hpBC

2/3
@Erzbet

2) Billlie -- RING X RING -- M Countdown 211111

Musically this is so striking that I still punch the air with excitement whenever I hear it. The elaborate M Countdown staging provides a visual coherence that I found lacking in the MV.

https://youtu.be/y6mLwj076hM?si=HbczsbsWA6bai4MB