One of the ways that I like to learn members in a Kpop group, one of the ways that works for me, is to pick out individuals that resemble another idol I already know well. Once I make that connection, it’s fairly easy for me to identify them in a crowd. Sometimes the resemblance is more of an impression or vibe, but sometimes it’s so striking I have to check and see if they are, in fact, related. Occasionally, they are, but that is definitely an exception to the rule.
If you’ve been following the career of Ravi from VIXX, you’ll know that he recently left Jellyfish Entertainment (but not VIXX) and started his own label, GROOVL1N. Unlike Zico and One, Ravi kicked off his company with an albeit small stable of artists already signed. Cold Bay, Chillin Homie and Xydo are a mix singers and rappers that Ravi has worked with in the past and apparently enjoyed. I followed the announcement of the label and the artists on Instagram with some interest as I tend to like Ravi and think that he’s got a good head on his shoulders for most things hip hop that he wasn’t able to really showcase under his old management.
When I saw the initial pictures of Xydo, I was a bit confused. He’s gorgeous, he has an amazing voice, he’s clearly quite talented, but he also looked exactly like someone I knew. It took me a minute to put my finger on it, but once I heard his voice – that kind of high toned R&B style – it hit me. This wasn’t some new guy I didn’t know, this was, in fact, Jeup from IMFACT. I was floored. I did a side by side comparison for KpopontheDL (with pictures I couldn’t find again, but it was shocking) and she couldn’t pick which was which either…and girl knows her IMFACT like no other.
Spotlight, Xydo
Except it isn’t him. Not at all. Jeup is still in IMFACT and doing his thing quite well, thank you very much. He’s crooning his cover ballads and doing his parts in all of our favorite songs all while some other guy with his face (and what a face) is building his own career in the Korean music business.
I’m sure that as styling for each of them changes (as it has even now), as I get to Xydo better, and as time takes it’s eventual and inevitable toll, the twiny-ness of it all will subside, but for now, this is something I’m forced to think about an awful lot.
Little Star, Jeup (cover)
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