TEN is S.M. The Performance’s newest member, and ‘Dream In A Dream’ Proves Why

Genre: R&B/Soul | Release Date: 4/7/17

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SM STATION Season 2 is well underway and this week marks the project’s second release, “Dream In A Dream” by NCT’s‘ TEN, who is not only here representing NCT but is also taking this opportunity to resurrect the long lost project S.M. The Performance.

To refresh everybody’s memory, S.M. The Performance is SM Entertainment’s special unit consisting of the company’s strongest dancers, which at the time of its debut (2012) was made up of EXO’s Kai and Lay, SHINee’s Taemin and Minho, Super Junior’s Donghae and Eunhyuk and TVXQ’s Yunho. Not much has been seen from this unit since their 2012 Gayo Daejun stage where they performed a Korean version of “Spectrum” by German DJ, Zedd.

Well, I guess it was about time for a comeback, and what better person to carry the torch than SM’s newest lead dancer and one of NCT’s most popular members, TEN. Aside from Mark, TEN is one of the few standout members of NCT, particularly for his capabilities as a dancer. He gave us all a hint during NCT U’s “The 7th Sense”, but it wasn’t until his outing on Mnet’s dance competition show ‘Hit The Stage’ that he came into the spotlight as a formidable dancer. Just peep his “devil” performance on the show’s first episode and you’ll see what I mean.

“Dream In A Dream” is a lot like that performance, in that it is very expressive and contemporary, except opposite in feeling. TEN’s STATION release is, for a lack of a better word, dreamy; the song itself is filled with great atmospheric harmonies and “oriental” nuances that give it a lot of character. TEN’s vocals are on the edge of sensual, elevated through the use of a gratuitous amount of reverberation. But of course, the best way to experience the whole thing is by watching the music video.

You can just tell TEN was born to move. He is incredibly charismatic and in this MV his body expression is very eye-catching–almost poetic? One of my favorite scenes in the music video is when he’s moving on the floor. There’s just something about the way TEN is contorting his body that makes it appear like he’s suspended in the air and I find that absolutely captivating:

Aside from the fact that the music videos is stunning and a real treat for the eyes, TEN does an excellent job of occupying the space he’s in, both in movement and in stillness, without ever really letting the supporting elements around him overshadow his performance. It all blends together with purpose like the strokes and colors of a painting. Calling this music video a work of art wouldn’t be too far off the mark, honestly.