I'm a hardcore NCT fan and I love Mark, but he's just not as good as the top contestants. I'm glad he's getting a chance to learn more about rap/hip-hop and that he gets to make friends who have the same interest, but I can't help but wish that his skill merited the attention he's getting (he tops real-time searches after the show airs). I think I came into this expecting a lot more from him, but it makes sense that he's where he's at because 1) he trained with SM (and so didn't get a lot of the "street" exposure that allowed other contestants to hone their skills*), 2) he's still young (and as such-despite his talent at writing lyrics-impressionable; i.e. he doesn't have a defined style).

I don't like him any less because of this, but since they announced that he'd be on the show I've been having nightmares about him getting negative comments and getting hurt by them (people on the internet are so mean sometimes), so I hate that they have a reason to say shit about him. I also think of this as NCT PR, so just compare it to Hit the Stage. He won't do nearly as well as Ten did (his rap skill does not equal Ten's dance skill and won't get him #1). It's a good learning opportunity for him and more people will know about him/NCT but the thought of him being overlooked/dismissed because of his rap skill is upsetting to me because I know how talented he is as a whole. Every time I watch this show I want to cry a little. I hope he does better later on.

I'm also a fan of Korean hip-hop and have seen all SMTM seasons. Mark does not make it on the radar as a serious hip-hop artist or even as a student. I don't know why I expected so much from him, but I seriously thought he'd be a candidate for winning the show, which he is obviously not.

Anyway, some of these contestants are really good. I can see a lot of them getting signed. MC Gree sounds better here than he does in the songs he officially released.