“Street Woman Fighter” Male Spin-Off’s Most Famous Contestants Face Controversy For Applying With Similar Choreography

The show hasn’t even started.

Street Woman Fighter‘s male spin-off, Be Mbitious, is kicking off soon. Currently, Mnet is recruiting for the new launch through public online auditions. Aspiring contestants must submit a self-choreographed number to their original song, “SMF.” The song was performed by rapper Changmo. Hopefuls can enter as a crew or as solos. As a flood of applicants submitted their works, three of the most prominent contestants soon faced controversy as the applications closed. The three contestants in question are Kasper, Samuel Kim, and Chae Woo Tae.

While crews participate using a single video and choreography, solos are expected to upload their video applications alone. However, the issue arose when the three contestants submitted their individual applications with around 55 seconds of the video showcasing the same choreography. The entire song is about 2 minutes long, making 50% of their applications a duplicate. Netizens have put together a side-by-side comparison video of the three entries.

The three contestants’ similar dances. | THE CHOOM via theqoo 
The three contestants’ similar dances. | THE CHOOM via theqoo 
The three contestants’ similar dances. | THE CHOOM via theqoo 
The three contestants’ similar dances. | THE CHOOM via theqoo
The three contestants’ similar dances. | THE CHOOM via theqoo

The video showed the three contestants showcasing nearly identical movements. This has become an issue as the applications must be self-choreographed. All of their videos were uploaded on the same day.

The videos of the three contestants on The Choom’s YouTube page. | theqoo

Kasper is famous for being a choreographer who worked with many SM Entertainment artists. He has choreographed for many hits such as “Candy” by Baekhyun, “Ko Ko Bop” by EXO, and more. Netizens were stunned to find out that such a renowned choreographer’s application overlapped with others.

On the other hand, Samuel Kim has made a name for himself as a great dancer and performer. During his time on Produce 101, he famously co-choreographed the viral “Get Ugly” performance.

Lastly, Choi Woo Tae has worked with many artists, such as EXO’s Lay. Interestingly, Kasper and Choi Woo Tae have worked on choreography collaborations before. This raised the question of whether they all came up with the choreography but decided not to enter as a crew. Netizens wondered if they had found a loophole in the rules as it was only stipulated that the choreography must be original.

Others remain disgruntled with the sharing of choreography given that all three are quite well-known in the industry.

Netizen reactions to the matter. | theqoo
  • “You’re telling me that Kasper received the choreography from someone else?”
  • “Isn’t it unfair if even one of them gets in? It’s not like the others had so much time on their hands to choreograph everything.”
  • “1 (Kasper) and 3 (Choi Woo Tae) are choreographers, so why are they like that?”
  • “The fact that they applied with the same choreography as someone else for SMF… I don’t get it even if it’s a collaboration.”
  • “If so, they should disqualify all three.”
  • “No, but why are they all so bad at dancing?”
  • “It’s meant to be an original, so how can 1 minute be the same? LOL, I wonder how it will turn out. Will they be disqualified?”
  • “They probably choreographed it together… Kasper isn’t someone who will apply using choreography he got from someone else.”
  • “Is he the Kasper I know?
  • “Isn’t Kasper and Woo Tae choreographers? I saw them work together before.”

While Mnet has not yet addressed the matter, sentiment from the public seeks clarification on the issue and outcome. The contestants have yet to speak up, either.

Source: theqoo