Tater Tot Music Talk: Monsta X x Millic

About a month ago, my amazing friend Young Ajummah and I were wandering around KCON NY, talking about this and that and as we were wandering around the Prudential Center in the sweltering heat, an idea came to us. We both realized that while we both shared a passion for Korean music, we had both chosen to focus our passion on more specific areas. Where Young Ajummah is pretty much an expert on all things R&B, hip hop and indie, I’m more of an idol group uhh…

Ajummah: Aficionado, lol. We shouldn’t call ourselves fangirls or fanatics (even though we are). Aficionados sounds much better.

Zombie: That works for me! At least it makes me sound a little less crazy… Hahaha!

Anyway… Realizing we’re both aficionados in different areas, we thought it might be fun to get together once (or twice) a month and talk about different artists/groups, as a way of sort of expanding our musical horizons. And so our Tater Tot Music Talk was born!

Why Tater Tots, you might ask? Well, because compared to the big potatoes in the world of Hallyu content creators, YA and I consider ourselves to be nothing more than tiny tater tots.

Ajummah: So why did we start with Monsta X and Millic? Because the sun aligned with the planets and created this perfect…. Actually Zombie had just returned from Monsta X’s concert and had a special moment during her hi-touch. I need to live through her. PLUS I knew next to nothing about the group and was currently going gaga over Millic’s new album. We decided it would be best to trade information.

Zombie: So trade we did! Or maybe I just got a bit carried away with my post-concert fangirling, which is probably really what happened. Sorry about that!

Ajummah: It’s quite alright! I have heard of them before and know of like, 1 song. I need to learn more about them. Also I want to tell you all about Millic because he is so amazing and he doesn’t sing or rap or…well we’ll get to that, lol.

Zombie: Hahaha! I love that we both have so much to fangirl over! Though you might end up regretting that you said you ever wanted to know more about Monsta X… Don’t worry, I’ll try not to fangirl too much. *falls over laughing* Pretty sure I’m gonna fail in that department but let’s give it a go anyway, shall we? I think it’s time I introduce you to the seven ridiculously amazing bias wreckers, otherwise known as Monsta X…

I’m starting with Shownu because he’s my original No Mercy bias and I will always love him no matter what.

He’s also the leader of the group, an incredible vocalist, a lethal dancer and the cutest munchkin ever. He also has arms you can actually climb on and I swear, someday he’s gonna kill me.

Ajummah: Oooh he’s very handsome! These photos…

Zombie: Right!?! He’s the one I made eye contact with at the concert and made smile like a shy puppy because I made a heart at him. HE WAS SO CUTE!!! Augh! He’s such a sweet teddy bear! I just love him! Have I mentioned how much I love him? Because I really flipping love him!

Ajummah: Lol!

Zombie: Okay, moving on… This is Jooheon…

He’s my other favorite. He’s the main rapper of the group, a songwriter, lyricist, producer… You name it, he probably does it and he’s just amazing. At everything.

Ajummah: Do they take lessons on how to take pictures like this?

Zombie: See!?! Amazing at everything! Including taking pictures! Hahaha! He has the incredible ability to be both freaking adorable and insanely sexy. Which, honestly, I don’t know how he does it but he does and really, it’s just not fair. His dimples kill me. His smile kills me. His songs kill me. His rapping kills me. He just kills me. In every flipping way possible. And I love him for it. At the concert he admitted that he was the most “romantistic” of the group and I died because I can totally see that about him. The other members said it was because he writes such sweet songs and you know what? He totally does! In some ways, he kinda reminds me a little bit of Zico, but sweeter. And when he sings… Oh lordy! I melt. What is it about rappers when they sing? I just can’t handle them when they do that! It’s like my friggin’ kryptonite! And so is Jooheon… ㅋㅋㅋ

Ajummah: I like the blonde picture.

Zombie: I love him as a blonde *siiiggghhhh* It’s my favorite look for him and, of course, he was blonde at the concert so I was dead. Dead. Dead. All night long. Dead.

Ajummah: He’s probably young enough to be my child but he looks so handsome here!

Zombie: He’ll be 23 in October so he’s not that young. Well, not young enough to be your kid anyway.

Ajummah: Okay, good! Oooh maybe I can teach you about Millic since he just came out with the best album I’ve heard in a while.

Zombie: Yes! Maybe you should jump in with a little Millic now before I end up spazzing myself into a frenzy… Though maybe it’s a bit too late for that. Hahaha!

Ajummah: I think you should keep going.

Zombie: Okay, then! This is Kihyun…

I can’t even with him anymore. Not after the concert and the high touch… Just… Nope! You can see why I always thought he was an adorable munchkin though.

Ajummah: Pink hair. The pink hair looks very nice on him.

Zombie: That pink hair is my absolute favorite and also just so darn deceptive! It makes him look cute and innocent so you fall for him because you think you’re safe. But then, when you see him in real life, you find out he’s not an adorable puppy! Oh no! He’s a darn sexy, flirty, gorgeous little angel-voiced bias wrecker! AUGH! At one point during the concert he decided that he needed to flash his abs, just to make sure I (and everyone else in the room) was really good and dead. Needless to say, it worked. He’s always been a favorite of mine but now he’s a favorite in a whole different way… Little punk! Haha

Ajummah: Oh I like glasses on him.

Zombie: Glasses are a particular favorite of mine. I don’t even know why. I mean I wear glasses every frickin’ day! It’s not like they impart any magical power when I put them on and yet, when these darn boys wear them, it’s like they become irresistible! What gives!?!

Okay, moving on…

This is Minhyuk and I love him too. He always makes me smile.

He’s so funny and goofy and kind of a punk but in a fun way. At the concert he said he was the bad boy of the group and NO ONE believed him. He’s too sweet to be a bad boy! lol

This is Hyungwon…

He wasn’t there last night because he was recently diagnosed with cellulitis and he’s being treated at home instead of touring. He’s a fantastic dancer and always seems to be pretty quiet but since he wasn’t at the concert, I can’t say anything about him for sure. All the members missed him a lot and kept apologizing for him not being there but no one was upset. We all just want him to get better soon.

This is I.M. He’s the maknae and the other rapper of the group…

He lived in the US for a while when he was a kid so his English is pretty good but he had moments when he’d forget a word in English and just be so adorable trying to figure out what to say.
He was wearing his glasses during the high touch and I just wasn’t prepared for that level of cuteness. All thoughts went flying right out of my brain! Imagine that!

And this is Wonho…

He’s pretty much everyone’s favorite. Mostly because he looks like an actual god. (Hello muscles!) He’s super sweet and has a great voice and is an amazing dancer and is just completely swoon-worthy in every way. Jooheon actually stopped the show every time Wonho took of his jacket because the crowd would cheer so loudly they couldn’t go on. It was so funny. Jooheon was just like “okay, let’s all stop and cheer for his muscles” and we would and then the show would go on. Beyond his muscles, he’s a beautiful person, inside and out and his smile and touch will make your feel like life is worth living. I swear, my hand in his was more than I ever expected in life and it was wonderful. Even if I did forget to breathe.

Ajummah: I feel like I need to take notes. What song do you suggest I listen to from them? The only song I know is “Hero.”

Zombie: “Hero” is good but they have so many other songs… It’s kinda hard for me to pick just one so here are a few videos for you; just to help you get started…

This is their newest track so it’s probably the one you’d hear people talking about the most right now. It’s the track they added to their latest album repackage. This next track is the one they named their world tour after and I absolutely love the choreo for this one. That’s why I went with this video over the original MV.

I love the choreo for this one!

Ajummah: Lol, okay I will check them all out

Zombie: This is one of my favorites

It’s not exactly a Monsta X song but it’s written by Jooheon and performed by him and I.M and Sam Ock and it’s just so sweet, I can’t help but love it. Plus Jooheon sings in it and that kills me. And it’s about coffee… sort of… so how could I not love it? lol

Ajummah: Okay now it’s my turn to fangirl. I think the only thing Millic has in common with Monsta X is that their names both start with M, lol I apologize for random acts of spazzing in advance.

Zombie: Bwahahahahahaha! I’m pretty sure you already know that spazzing is something you’ll NEVER have to apologize for! At least not when I’m around. lol

Ajummah: I’ve known about Millic for a while because I like the music crew he’s part of (Club Eskimo which Dean & Crush are a part of) but he recently came out with his album called Vida.

Zombie: Okay, so Dean and Crush I know and I’ve heard of Club Eskimo… That’s a start, right?

Ajummah: Good start! I saw him when Crush came to the States last year (on my bday no less) and I remember commenting that he was my new favorite but I was drinking a lot at the time and well…you know my brain.

Zombie: OMG! Was Millic the DJ for Crush’s U.S. tour last year!?! Gah! If you say yes I’m gonna feel totally stupid! I was at that show in Chicago and didn’t even realize this was the same guy!!!

Ajummah: I felt the same way. I am sticking to my story of alcohol clouding my brain, lol But also they didn’t do much with promoting him, so if you didn’t read the fine print, you wouldn’t have known.

Zombie: Hahaha!

Ajummah: Anyway after listening to his music on YouTube and buying the album (support good music people) I went fangirl mode and have been searching the interwebs for everything about him. Of course he’s baby. 24 y/o but I won’t hold it against him. He’s a dj/producer and is on the HIGHGRND label. What does this mean? No rap, no singing, just really good instrumentals but his album has a lot of features on it.

Zombie: I’m all for solid instrumentals.

Ajummah: I think you should listen to Paradise which features Fanxy Child (Dean, Zico, Crush & Penomeco). It’s a very chill R&B song, perfect for summer in my opinion. My favorite song on the album besides that one is Treasure Island. I don’t really know the artist singing the lyrics but my goodness he and Millic make a great combination.

Zombie: Oooh! You just put Dean, Zico & Crush together in the same sentence… I’m sold!

Ajummah: There doesn’t seem to be much about him compared to what you told me about Monsta X.

Zombie: Well, he is just 1 guy and Monsta X is 7…

Ajummah: True. But I wish there were more on the internet about him. He did release a video interview where he talked about his time in the States and how he learned how to create music. That was a recent interview though.

Zombie: I’m gonna have to go check that out! Especially now that I know I’ve already seen him in concert once… *smh* Also, “Paradise” is amazing! You’ve successfully convinced me that I need more Millic (and Fanxy Child, ‘cause OH MY WORD! That’s a fantastic combo of greatness!) in my life and you only have to have me watch 1 MV! I think that’s a pretty solid testament to how great this music is!

I suppose we should probably wrap this up but before we go, I have to ask… Did my over-enthusiastic love of Monsta X (combined with an unhealthy dose of post-concert feels) scare you away from this idol group or have I convinced you they’re at least worth a listen?

Ajummah: I’m definitely going to listen to them more now. I mean besides “Hero” because that is truly an awesome song.

Zombie: Isn’t it though? *sigh*

Well, I guess that’s it for the first edition of our Tater Tot Music Chat. If you have anything you’d like to add to this conversation, feel free to do so in the comments below. Ooh! And if there’s anyone you’d like us to talk about in the future, just let us know. Until next time, be sure to check out Young Ajummah’s website and be sure to follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

Also, before I go, I have to give credit where credit is due. To to all the amazing fans out there who share all their photos with the world, I have to say thank you for sharing your work with the world! What would the rest of us do without you? You’re the best!