The performance film for ILLIT’s ‘Not Cute Anymore’ dropped today and I was confused. The kind that made me wonder what I had just watched.
ILLIT’s dance routines tend to be fast-paced with intricate movements that require precision and perfect timing. For ‘Not Cute Anymore’, the choreography managed to feel too still and too exaggerated at the same time.
Stillness works in theory but not in execution
The choreography is supposed to be minimal and cool. The members even described it as still, eerie even. There’s fewer rhythmic accents so little details feel intentional. The girls maintain a neutral expression all throughout the performance.
That’s an interesting move for a dreamy track. Stillness can have an impact when it’s paired with tension, control, or a clear atmosphere.
What we get is stillness with no defined purpose. The movements are big but empty. The accents feel random instead of deliberate. There’s not a lot of rhythm carrying those choices. It makes the big gestures look like they’re trying to make up for the lack of structure. The whole routine feels disconnected from the song instead of in sync with it.
The choreography doesn’t match the song’s message
Again this ties back to what I was saying in a previous article. The song is supposed to be how there’s more to ILLIT than being cute. It’s not cute but it looks rather childish instead, which I don’t think is the direction BELIFT LAB was going for.
The dance movements look like something you’d expect on a kids’ show. Where the goal is to give the children something to do.
It’s a contradiction. Not Cute Anymore circles right back to the thing ILLIT are trying to evolve from.
BELIFT LAB still doesn’t know what image to give these girls
This is not me hating on ILLIT, because I know they’re not the problem. The girls are doing what they are told and doing it well.
The issue is that BELIFT LAB doesn’t know what to do with them when they aren’t going for a cute image.
It seems like the agency is aiming for a cooler image here, but the vision is blurry. They want stillness to read as confidence. They want minimal movements to look mature. Due to the poor execution, all that restraint misses its mark.
There are other concepts to try for ILLIT
It would have been nice if ILLIT went witha more ethereal, or surrealist concept like Red Velvet’s ‘Cosmic’ and ‘Chill Kill’. Or maybea grounded fantasy vibe like ZEROBASEONE’s ‘CRUSH’ or ‘Doctor! Doctor!’
Those songs had concepts that showed different layers while keeping with a dreamy aesthetic. Something that would allow ILLIT to be cool yet soft, without veering into childish territory.
A direction like that wouldn’t be out of place with ILLIT’s magical girls concept. It also gives them room to grow and explore different concepts that goes beyond being “cute”
Right now, BELIFT LAB isn’t giving ILLIT any room to grow.
‘Not Cute Anymore’ is supposed to be the girls evolving, but the choreography doesn’t reflect that growth. BELIFT LAB needs a clearer vision for who these girls are becoming, not who they were introduced as.Until that happens, there’s going to be a disconnect between the message ILLIT is trying to send and how it’s being presented to us.
