Why “Good Boy Gone Bad” is TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s best performance the year

Kim Subin (BIGHIT MUSIC Performance Directing 2 Team leader): The performances TOMORROW X TOGETHER puts on have always been unique and diverse. And even then, their performance of “Good Boy Gone Bad” made them look especially strong and powerful and emphasized how much they’ve matured. This was actually our first time trying something like this, so what we focused on while producing it was to find a balance between TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s boyish and refreshing charm and showing them “gone dark and bad.” The most important goal was to show their fans that TXT cannot only pull off refreshing concepts but any image they want.

Behind the scenes of “Good Boy Gone Bad”

Kim Subin: The “Good Boy Gone Bad” choreography is full of hooks for every member and the facial expressions they use are really important, so they worked on everything from the angle of their fingers to the way they make eye contact. The members were especially active with giving their input for this one. The gestures they do for each of their own parts were almost all their ideas. They were able to try a lot of different things by asking things like, Do you think it would be cooler if I did this kind of gesture? And then fine tuning things from there. The choreography all comes from all the thought they each put in so it feels a lot more natural and each of the group members’ parts stand out better. And, in other songs, they could just do the group dances with as much intensity as possible, but for “Good Boy Gone Bad” they had to control those intensity levels more. They already know how to put a lot of energy in, but they haven’t done many dances where they have to ease up, so they had a little trouble at first. That’s why we focused on where they needed to go hard and where they needed to soften up for each part. Their facial expressions were just as important for the performance. There was a lot of attention paid to facial expression since the song’s full of different emotions. They’re not filled with anger the entire performance—some parts are forlorn, and others are full of energy, and all of them are different emotionally—so a lot of work went into the fine details of their expressions while practicing. If I’m being honest, it’s very challenging choreography (laughs) but the members did a great job with it.

TOMORROW X TOGETHER @ MAMA: The group that’s good at everything

Kim Subin: When we were working on the performance for 2022 MAMA, we thought a lot about all the things only TOMORROW X TOGETHER can do. We incorporated elements of the Romeo character into “Good Boy Gone Bad” to give it a brand new but unmistakably TOMORROW X TOGETHER feel. Our main goal with this performance was to show people that TOMORROW X TOGETHER can do anything and that the group isn’t restricted to any one genre. So, for the intro performance, we incorporated contemporary dance moves and choreography that emphasize their visuals and show people that they’re good at emotional choreography. We also wanted to convey how they can pull off all kinds of genres, including hip hop, through their dance break performance. I think a lot of people know that now thanks to how exceptional the group’s performance was. The highlight of the choreography is the way it’s composed, and through that we tried to make the whole concept more impactful. Continuing on with the Romeo and Juliet idea, we added in blindfolds to make it feel more mournful and sentimental. They didn’t even have much time to tie the blindfolds on when they were practicing, either. It would’ve been nice if they’d had more time but it also could have slowed the performance down, so they had to be quick about tying the blindfolds for the sake of the flow. By the time they finished practicing, SOOBIN and YEONJUN were really good at tying them, but when I was watching them do it live, SOOBIN wasn’t wearing it like he was supposed to be. That was surprising enough, but what was even more surprising was that he had it in his mouth. (laughs) I wondered how he thought to put it in his mouth. In a situation like that, he could’ve just not used it at all, but I think he handled it really well. I asked him later, and he said that in the heat of the moment he thought he just needed to use the blindfold no matter what and that’s why he held it in his mouth. (laughs)

Hoping it will be memorable for MOA

Kim Subin: TOMORROW X TOGETHER won Best Performance at 2022 MMA. It really means a lot to all of us. We faced some difficulties while preparing for the year-end awards ceremonies, actually. The group continued to practice in rented practice studios overseas whenever they had time between events and they practiced for two or three more days after coming home before going on stage again. They were working so hard that they had to forfeit their free time. I think their performances were as good as they were because of the passion they constantly show. Everyone was working hard with a mindset to show everything we’ve got with this performance. It was really rewarding not only putting together a cool performance but also winning the award. I’ve always told the members, “I hope you’re always passionate when you’re on stage,” and I think they were really able to show that side of them through “Good Boy Gone Bad” and the year-end awards shows. And we’re going to keep showing new and exciting aspects of TOMORROW X TOGETHER through their unique performances. A lot of people probably think they know everything there is to know about the group by now, but there’s a nearly endless list of things they haven’t even shown off yet. (laughs)