While having outstanding singing and dancing skills are qualities that people first look
at when judging whether an idol is a legit performer, the significance of facial expression
to add in the stage presence is also being emphasized more and more as audiences become
stricter and pickier with what they will watch.
And today, we will talk about gen4 idols that are voted to have the best stage presence
in the whole industry.
1.
Yunjin (LE SSERAFIM)
Despite having just debuted for not even a month as of I’m making this video, Yunjin
has already garnered tons of attention for her visual, vocal, clean dance moves and most
especially, the top-notch stage presence that not many rookies could have.
Actually part of the reasons might come down to the fact that she used to be on Produce
48 and also left good impressions as one of the top vocalists of the show that year, but
even with those who have got to know her for the first time, they still have to admit that
the energy Yunjin gave out on stage was overwhelmingly shining.
When Source Music released the teaser photos of Yunjin, people had already noticed her
for the bright visual and the vibe that portrayed the perfect harmony between the beauty preferences
of the West and the East.
However, her reputation still wasn’t the top in LE SSERAFIM back then as netizens were
paying more attention to Kazuha, who was said to be a fourth-gen embodiment of Suzy, and
Kim Garam, whose visual was said to be a younger version of the famous Japanese actress Arisa
Mizuki, coincidentally also the most favorite actress of HYBE’s CEO Bang Si Hyuk.
However, as LE SSERAFIM made their first public appearance, people started to stan Yunjin
like crazy as she effortlessly slayed the stage and proved how she was always born to
be an idol.
Especially for the last bridge of FEARLESS, her aura was so imposing that a netizen even
cut out that specific part and posted it on Youtube, proving how versatile and fiery her
facial expression has made an eleven-second part stand out most saliently compared to
the whole video.
According to netizens, Yunjin’s gaze, smile, and even the transitions between two opposite
emotions: cheering and badass cold, were all done with just perfect dynamics rather than
giving the impression that she was overdoing everything to gain attention.
2.
Tsuki (Billlie)
Talking of idols with best facial expressions, apparently we can never miss out on Tsuki,
the idol that dramatically pushed not only her name but also the whole group’s reputation
to the next level solely thanks to the outstanding ability to express the song’s dynamics through
her face.
Back at the end of February, Tsuki suddenly took the Internet by storm for the impressive
control of facial expression, literally managing to change “her facial expression fifty thousand
times” within only fifty-one seconds.
Maybe you may think it’s an exaggeration as no one could switch back and forth so many
emotions but if you watched the fancam of Tsuki, you would see what people said was
100% true.
What’s even more magical about Tsuki’s facial expression was that, even GingaMingaYo
only had several lines in English and in the chorus, Billlie even sang a phrase in an exotic
language, many said they felt like they had understood what each part of the song was
about because her facial expression changed in perfect sync with the high and low notes.
However, as Tsuki smoothly transitioned from one expression to another and never pushed
her emotions to the point of looking cringy, she didn't create the impression that she
was overdoing it to seek attention and instead garnered love from people.
On allkpop, there were two articles writing only about her “genius facial expressions,”
and the fact that they wrote the second one two weeks after the first showed that the
heat about her salient facial control got people talking for half a month straight.
3.
Jinni (NMIXX)
While Jinni has already impressed people with her overwhelming superstar aura in the pre-debut
cover MAMA, she gets even more people talking after the official debut with NMIXX because
of the versatile facial expression that could effortlessly slay any performance.
The most impressive thing about her capability to control expressions is that, despite being
smiley and cheerful all the time, people can still feel a strong sense of badass and girlcrush
in her presence.
Jinni also knows how to manage her gaze and lips wisely.
One of the most vivid examples is this short snippet of NMIXX’s O.O where in between
the beaming smiles, she would raise an eyebrow or incorporate a little smirk or pout to make
the performance more interesting.
Despite being a rookie and this six-second long clip was cut out of her very first appearance
on a music show, the tweet still received about 3,700k likes and over 1,500k retweets.
Reacting to the post, not only netizens but big outlets also agreed with the OP about
how Jinni’s facial expression was truly unmatched.
On many other famous platforms, from Tik Tok, theqoo to even the international Kpop news
channel Kbizzoom, people still agreed that Jinni had the best facial expressions among
all members of NMIXX and in Kpop, she certainly belonged to the top ranks of the list.
A person even pointed out specifically that during NMIXX’s performance, Jinni was the
only one to show various expressions from smirk, winks, surprised, scared, to even flirts,
and also switched back and forth between them smoothly.
Some also complimented Jinni for knowing how to use the versatile facial expressions to
single herself out of many other pretty faces because in a distance, her visual looked like
Song Hye Kyo but thanks to her unique way of expressing emotions, people gradually realized
she was the original version of herself with a cheerful yet cold and strange aura.
4.
Yujin (IVE)
While the most famous of IVE is Wonyoung and more often than not, her presence on stage
would make headlines more than any other member, many still believed Yujin’s facial expression
was most appealing in the group and it came down to the fact that she knew how to balance
the dynamic and the relaxed emotions to give out the best performance.
Her control of expression is so impressive that right when she was just a fourteen-year-old
kid in IZ*ONE, some outlets had already talked about her as a “talented” idol who had
“a great sense of facial expression and stage presence.”
Then as time passed and she debuted once again as a leader of IVE, netizens believed she
had worked even harder to improve her facial control rather than sleeping on the flattering
compliments people showered her in the IZ*ONE era.
However, a bit different from other idols on the list, Yujin didn’t manage to get
her facial expression excellent right at first because according to a DIVE, when she was
still on Produce 48, she had faced lots of hate when taking the center position from
Kaeun in I AM.
As netizens criticized, her expressions were too awkward and literally for the whole video,
she was just staring intensely at the camera.
Plus, for standing at the center, she was said to make the performance worse, negatively
affecting the ranks of other potential girls.
But things have changed now, many people agree that Yujin is not only the member with best
facial expressions in IVE but even in the whole K-Pop industry because instead of just
smiling and winking like most other idols, she could portray a perfect harmony between
bold, mature and bubbly, soft expressions to always draw people’s attention.
Plus, because IVE’s concept follows the luxury and empowering image, many said Yujin’s
presence on stage stood out even more as her natural facial expressions well resonated
with IVE’s concept.
5.
Yeonjun (TXT)
While male idols couldn’t show many emotions on stage because most are subject to the stereotype
of looking either badass for dark concept or looking cute in bright concept, Yeojun
still managed to break all the boundaries and become the name popping onto people’s
minds first when they discussed idols with best facial expressions.
Eventhough his visual gives off a strong sexy and manly vibe, people said Cat&Dog still
suited him perfectly because of the playful smile.
However, when the situation calls for something more serious and sexy, for example this Watermelon
Sugar and Blow performance on Studio Choom, he still knew how to kill it perfectly by
adding a sharp gaze, little smirk and sometimes a lips bite to enhance the performance.
Apparently as a pro, he did it smoothly rather than forcing all the emotions out to look
cool so everyone was crazily in love with it.
Back in 2019, his fancam in Blue Hour was so famous for the impressive facial expression
that Yeonjun himself even knew about it and thanked fans for supporting him that much.
So, which idol on this list do you think has the best facial expression?
And do know any other idols with impressive control of expression?