Through the Eras ; Minghao Day

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playιng: [dreams come true] - [the8]

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Welcome Everyone!

Today is a very special day for Carats. Today is Minghao’s 22nd birthday! I have so many emotions I need to just let out about how much he’s grown over the years, so no better way than to rant about Minghao in each Seventeen era for his birthday!

Warning, this is a slightly long blog! But bear with me, it’s filled with lots of love for the most special person in my life. You can’t ever rant too much about the most special person in your life! I seriously don’t know where I’d be today if I never knew him. I look up to him so much as an artist myself, specifically a dancer, and I am forever grateful for all the things he’s taught me. :two_hearts:

Anyways, lets get into the blog! Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, my love for Minghao through the many eras of Seventeen.

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Adore U

Minghao this era was such an adorable little bean! He was always so shy when the group had schedules and that was always so adorable! Though I know it must have been difficult for Minghao because he didn’t know Korean that well yet, he still looked like he had so much fun! His dreams were starting to become a reality, and I bet he was so thankful for the long days of training. I this one self camera video of Minghao where he learns the Korean word for dragonfly from jeonghan, and I thought that was the most adorable thing ever! The are always so willing to help him learn their language. Ah I love them so much!

His hairstyle this era was not one of my favorites, however, the grey color looked very good on him (as we have observed during Hit 🤧). I thought it was especially cute when they would sometimes style it with a few curls, making it look super fluffy. I’m a sucker for fluffy looking hair!

I know he didn’t have many lines at all during this era, but when he sang them, he sang them with his whole heart. You can definitely tell he wants this so badly and that he loves to be onstage! He definitely lives his stage name to the upmost degree as we see him improve over the next few eras.

Mansae

Minghao this era was also an adorable bean! I even think he was more adorable this era than Adore U. I’m pretty sure it had partly to do with his hairstyle (that blonde curly look was just plain adorable was it not? uwuwuwu) but it also had to do with the fact that he was starting to get more comfortable with idol life; however, he was still not completely confident with everything as it was still difficult for him to communicate with those around him since he still didn’t know Korean as well. The still helped him a lot, and I’m ever so thankful for them and the genuine happiness they bring each other. They are like a close family of brothers, and I’ll bet that helped Minghao adjust to Korea.

Again, Minghao didn’t have many lines this era, but he still put his everything into every line he performed. You could tell by watching live stages this era how much he enjoys being an idol and how much it means to him. I appreciate him so much and I love how dedicated he is to his art. One thing I found super cool about this era is that during certain performances of Mansae, the group let him do a backflip across the stage before his line. I love how they met him show off his break dancing skills to Carats! It really impressed me a lot because I actually didn’t know he could do that! Man, he’s such an amazing human. :two_hearts:

Pretty U

Minghao was also so adorable this era! I can’t help myself; he’s just too cute these first few eras! He’s cute without even trying :sparkling_heart: :sparkling_heart: . One major thing I absolutely love about this era was Minghao’s hair style. It was one of the best he’s had! He looks so amazing in brown hair, and he looked exponentially handsome, yet still dang adorable, with his hair styled off his forehead.

I loved the way he performed Pretty U, especially when he made those adorable expressions at the camera with Hoshi and the book or after his “I can’t take it no more” line at the end of the song. I just love that he was given a few more lines this era than the past few because we got to see him have a little more screen time! I appreciate this so much. Ah he’s so cuteeee :two_hearts:

I also noticed this era was when he started letting his savage side show when he occasionally roasted the other . This one example sticks out to me the most: he was super savage toward Vernon when he tried to teach him break dancing. He said something along the lines of “how can someone be that bad?” and I just died. Honestly, I find his savage side adorable just like the rest of him! :two_hearts:

Aju Nice

The suspenders were one of the best things to happen. I mean he looked handsome, yet still adorable as heck as per usual, with those suspenders. He had brown hair still, continuing off of Pretty U era, and y’all know how much I love brown haired Minghao. His little bangs were just- aaajahhsbdb. They were so cute! All in all, HE LOOKED SO DARN CUTE DURING PRETTY U AND AJU NICE ERA FIGHT ME. I know present day Minghao dislikes being called adorable, but he is. He has to deal with it :ok_hand: . Carats, including me, will always call him an adorable human whether he likes it or not.

I’m still a little sad at the fact that he wasn’t given many lines still, but as usual, he sang his lines with everything he had. I just love the part in Aju Nice where he sings his line and then Jun comes up and they interact with each other. They’re so cute aaaaa. I loved watching the live stages for Aju Nice too just to watch Minghao. He always looked like he has so much fun performing. This reminds me how thankful he is to have become an idol, and so he wants to share is joy with Carats. I definitely feel a lot of that joy myself! Minghao, keep going! You’re doing great sweetie!!

Boom Boom

Okay, red haired Minghao is best Minghao. There’s something special about red hair that makes him look so amazing. I especially like the darker shade of red he had this era, for example the color he had in the Boom Boom music video, more than I liked the brighter shade of red, for example, that iconic video where he roasts Hoshi so much and screams “Imma” at him. However, I still loved that brighter shade of red hair. I’m so thankful he brought it back for Fear era (more on that later!).

I did notice that this era was where he began to change from the more shy and cute little bean he was to the more confident, slightly savage, person we know him as today although he didn’t fully change until Don’t Wanna Cry era (more on that later as well!), and he never really lost that more adorable side of him either. He still acts so adorable and it’s a huge contradiction to his more savage side. I love that about him so much. Ah I love him so much! :two_hearts:

He was given more lines in the non title tracks of this mini album, Going Seventeen, and I couldn’t be more thankful. Beautiful is such an energizing song, and his lines fill me with so much happiness that I want to scream. Highlight is such a blessing to Carats, and I’m so happy he got to rap that part in the chorus. This was the kick off of his rapping career, and he became pretty good at it too!

One last thing, it ain’t Boom Boom era without this line: “I’M LIKE A BIIIIIIRD, NOT A TURKEY!” If you get it, then good for you djdbndnd.

Don’t Wanna Cry

Alright, this, ladies and gentlemen, was it. This era was such a beautiful era and I wish I could have got into kpop 6 months earlier that I did so I could experience it. This was the second song next to Aju Nice that I really got into. However, it feels more special to me all because of what Minghao does in the second chorus. That beautiful turning jump he does to the front before his line immediately caught my attention. I first saw it and was like “wow who is that! He’s beautiful I must stan.” But like really, I started falling for him because of that one bit of choreography. Thank you Hoshi skjsksj. You helped me notice the greatest person to ever be in my life!

Y’all know I can’t talk about Don’t Wanna Cry era without talking about the legendary duet song, My I. We were all waiting for this song for a very long time, and I’m so glad it exists. Minghao, as well as Jun, sang so beautifully. That intricate ribbon choreography must have been so difficult to figure out, so props to them for performing it! I love the part at the end where Minghao does a little bit of break dancing before they both run together and hold the ribbon. When I saw that for the first time I couldn’t believe my eyes. He so effortlessly flipped to his hands and stood up. Like how is that even possible? He must be a god or something! Ahahaha I love him.

Clap

I have so many emotions regarding Minghao in Clap era. A lot of them are positive, but there is one negative thing. I’ll get into it in a minute, but first, the positive things! First off, ORANGE HAIR. I don’t know what it is with me and orange hair but there’s just something about the way it looks on people, especially this light orange shade on Minghao, that just resonates with me. When I first saw the Clap music video a few days after I got into Seventeen (Clap dropped like 2-3 days after I started stanning), Minghao immediately caught my attention. Even though he only had one line in the entire song, his screentime in the music video at that moment made me go “wow I really like this guy” and I couldn’t believe he was the same guy who did the turning jump during Don’t Wanna Cry. It wasn’t until March 2018 that my decision on ulting him was solidified, but I knew from that moment on that he was going to be someone super special in my life.

Anyways, thinking back to Clap era brings back so many memories. However, Minghao was battling a back injury during the promotional period and eventually had to take a hiatus. This is the one and only negative thing about this era. I can just tell during some live stages how much pain he was in just by the look in his eyes. It makes me want to cry thinking about it. I do know he’s much better now and he’s taking care of himself. I hope he never gets injured again. One beautiful thing to come out of that break from activities was Night and Rain, but more about that song in Thanks era!

Overall, I love Clap era so much. When he could perform, his energy was unbelievable and he looked like he was enjoying himself so much when he wasn’t in too much pain. I just wish he didn’t have to get injured, but Carats did receive a wonderful gift the following March.

Thanks

We all know one big thing that happened during Thanks era, besides the fact that Minghao came back from his hiatus! This, ladies and gentlemen, is where his legendary mullet began. I honestly like the Thanks era mullet the best out of all the mullet styles he’s had. It just looked so beautiful on him and I loved the way his hair flipped around when he performed. It looked so ethereal! He’s just unreal.

Thanks has some of the most beautiful and intricate choreography I’ve ever seen in kpop, and Minghao’s chorus part does not disappoint. When he’s up in the front and somewhat controlling the group behind him, I just- aaaaaaaaaandbnsbsjsb. He also got more lines these past two eras (I’m including Teen, Age because it’s part of Director’s Cut) and I couldn’t be happier. He deserved those lines because he’s worked so hard to get to that point. He really is what his stage name says he is. The8: the one with infinite potential.

Now I get to talk about the beauty that is Night and Rain. When I listened to the song for the first time, I couldn’t stop bawling like a baby. He wrote the lyrics during his hiatus from group promotions, and they really revealed his inner frustrations in a beautiful way. You can feel all the emotions he was feeling because of the way he sings and raps in the song. Nowadays, when I listen to that song, I close my eyes and hear the voice I’ve come to love. I imagine what was going through his mind as he was writing the lyrics. I’m so happy this song exists. It’s comforted me throughout many difficult days over the last year and a half. I love Night and Rain so much.

Call Call Call

Ladies and gentlemen, this was a look, a whole look. I’m never going to get over long black haired Minghao ever. It suits him so much I- ahshhbd. Looking back at pictures of him during this era, especially of pictures of him in his Clap Chinese remix performance during his time on The Collaboration (I miss that show so much), makes me want to cry due to how overwhelming his handsomeness is. This really was an era, and I really wish he will one day bring back that beautiful long hair again.

Minghao is such a king. He is Chinese born and debuts in a Korean group that sang in Japanese. I’m glad they decided to debut in Japan. This will definitely expand the Carat fan base and provide us with many bops to come. Now may I just say that line he has in the bridge right after Mingyu is just :ok_hand: :ok_hand: . Like I had to play it over and over so that my brain could comprehend how dang amazing he is. He just does so many things to me during this era. He’s destroying my existence. I gotta move on before I like go insane or something ahhhh. My heart can’t handle his handsomeness during Call Call Call era aaaaaaaahdjdjdjhd.

Oh My

This era was filled to the brim with cuteness. I enjoyed this refreshing blast from the past with your typical Seventeen cute concept. Minghao, who still had his cute side within though he’s grown so much since Adore U and Mansae era, thoroughly embraced this concept and seemed to enjoy every performance. It’s been a while since a full cute concept, and I enjoyed every second of it. The choreography was so adorable and I loved learning it myself! Also, that one outfit during that one stage where he had that all black outfit with the shirt that said “Black cat” on it, that was a look and I want him to bring back that shirt sksjksjd.

Anyways, I need to talk about two songs. First, Moonwalker. Oh my goodness XU MINGHAO. He finally got to actually rap in a song. I LOVE IT. I cried the first time I heard his lines. I wanted him to rap so badly ever since I heard that one line in Highlight, and Flower to an extent. The choreography? Flawless. Minghao really knows how to kill us Carats. Anyways, the second song I wanted to talk about is Holiday. Holiday is such a special song to me as it’s my favorite Seventeen song to this day. I gotta mention how adorably Minghao sings his lines in this song. I physically uwu every time I listen to it. Ahh I love him so much. :two_hearts:

Home

I need to talk about how diverse this era was and how easily Minghao adapted to the different concepts of each song when he performed. Home is like the complete opposite of Getting Closer and Good to Me, yet Minghao looks equally amazing performing both. He looks so beautiful performing Home because of the way his hairstyle was (here I go again with the brown hair color again!) and also because of the choreography itself. There’s something about contemporary influenced choreography that Minghao performs so well. He really could be a contemporary dancer if he wasn’t an idol or break dancer. Aight so Getting Closer, what a blessing it was. I’m going to have a mental breakdown talking about Getting Closer because Minghao wrecks me that much. Especially that One Part in the second chorus where he does The Thing. I actually can’t- AAAAAA. I feel the same way about Good to Me as well. It’s one of the most sexy concepts they have ever done and nobody was prepared for it. Minghao really wants us all dead.

Anyways, this era was also around the time where Minghao participated as a mentor on Idol Producer Season 2. I’m so proud of him because he improved so much over the years, and he gets to his knowledge on to future idols. This shows you how far he’s come due to his hard work and determination. I’m just so overly proud of him 🤧.

Happy Ending/Dreams Come True

I’m including Dreams Come True as part of the Happy Ending era because I have to talk about this song. It was a huge milestone is his career as it was his official Chinese solo debut. Again and always, I’m so proud of how far he has come from that shy little adorable bean to who he is today, releasing two whole solo songs, one of those a Chinese debut. I love the fact that he’s referencing his dream of becoming a well known idol has come true, and that was one of the reasons why he created this song. I still watch the dance practice video for Dreams Come True every day. He looks so good in that video I- hdhhjshdjbd. I’m literally shaking just thinking about that video. He’s just that powerful. He is such an amazing dancer. I wish one day I could take a class from him to learn all that he knows djdjsjsjns.

Anyways, so Happy Ending was an amazing Japanese comeback! I sadly couldn’t find any live stages (except for the Korean version during Fear era), but from what I saw of him during the music video, he seemed to enjoy Happy Ending. I love the way he sings in Japanese! His voice sounds so melodic and blends well with the song. I wish I could have seen more from Happy Ending era like a live stage of the original version rather than the Korean version a few months later.

Hit

GREY HAIRED MINGHAO EVERYONE. I REPEAT, GREY HAIRED MINGHAO. This was such a blessing for Carats. I’ve been waiting for him to dye his hair grey again ever since Adore U era and the time between Boom Boom and Don’t Wanna Cry. What made this grey hair more special than the past two times was that he still had a little bit of a mullet. I’m not exactly sure if it counts as a mullet but it was still kind of long. Anyways, I LOVE HIT. I’ve already memorized the whole song by heart. Minghao’s visuals in the music video left me speechless the first time I saw it. Especially that outfit with his shoulders showing during the final chorus dance break. Speaking of dance break, Minghao killed this entire song. He dances with so much power yet he makes everything flow so well together. If I gave the performance unit an element to represent the way they dance, I would give Minghao the water element. He’s basically the living embodiment of water as he flows between each movement even if it hits so hard. This is definitely another one of my favorite eras. :two_hearts:

I gotta talk about this one solo broadcast he did on some social media outlet I don’t know the name of. He looked so adorable I just CANT. There was one thing super funny about the live. He showed us a few takes on his dance practice video for Dreams Come True where he throws his jacket before he dances at the end. The jacket accidentally lands on his head, and the facial expressions he made toward the camera during the live were absolutely priceless. He looked so ADORABLE.

Fear

Last but certainly not least, we have the present era, Fear era. Y’all probably already know what the first thing I’ll talk about is. Yep you guessed it. His red hair! my huge rant on how much I love Minghao in red hair during the Boom Boom era section? Well, I’m here to rant more about it in the Fear era section! Like I said, red haired Minghao is best Minghao. There’s just something about red hair on Minghao that makes him look so good! I especially love that this red hair was similar to the darker shade of red from the beginning of Boom Boom era. I actually like this red hair more than Boom Boom era because it just has more of that Minghao feel to it. I don’t know how to explain it exactly except for that it’s just a feeling I have after ulting him for so long (and also because his hair is longer than it was back then and y’all know how much I live for Minghao with long hair).

Anyways, I have to it that Fear era is my favorite era out of all the past eras. I must confess that pretty much the only thing I’ve been listening to in the car for the last month and a half is the An Ode album. I love all the songs so much. I’m not exactly sure why this album has such an effect on me that makes me want to listen to it 24/7 (see what I did there sksjjsjs). I just love it so much. I can say for a fact Minghao definitely has more lines than he’s had in the past, and he sounds so beautiful in all of them, especially 247 and Network Love (finally a foreigners line song!). Listening to 247 makes me want to cry because of how beautiful he sounds! One thing I am ever so slightly upset about is that he has the least amount of lines out of all the other songs he’s in IN MY FAVORITE SONG ON THE ALBUM, LIE AGAIN. I won’t be too salty about it though because the beauty of Lie Again makes up for it. All in all, I really enjoy this era, and I can’t wait to see him in January during Ode to You!! :sparkling_heart: :sparkling_heart:

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We have reached the end of the blog! Thank you for sticking around to the very end through my endless ranting about my favorite person in the world! He really does mean a lot to me. I’m glad I got to let all this out. I thought I’d go crazy if I didn’t have an outlet too express everything I feel for him. He’s so special to me. :two_hearts:

Happy birthday Xu Minghao! May your day be filled with happiness and I look forward to all the wonderful things you will do in the future not just by yourself, but with Seventeen as well. I love you and and Seventeen so much!

                                         With all my love,

                                                            -Kait

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