Getting to Know: Clinton Wilder
Known for his vast collection of dance covers, Clinton Wilder IV has built a name for himself on YouTube and social media. Here at The Kraze, we had the wonderful opportunity to sit down with Clinton and get to know him on a deeper level and why many in the K-Pop community should be watching him do what he does best.
1. For our readers who are discovering you for the very first time, please introduce yourself and tell them a little bit of what you do and who you are.
A: Thank you for having me and I really do appreciate it! My name is Clinton Wilder IV also known as awildclinton on YouTube. I am a dancer and YouTuber that goes around doing K-Pop covers. I really like girl groups the most. So, if you ever see a sassy boy dancing in heels on Instagram, it’s probably me. Girls’ Generation was my first ever group that introduced me to the K-Pop world and ever since then I’ve just gotten stuck. I don’t regret anything and I’m glad that I’m here. It’s brought me closer to a lot of people that I would have never reached thanks to K-Pop. I’m just really thankful for it all.
2. You mentioned that Girls’ Generation was the first group that you got into, so what was the song that got you really into them?
A: It was “Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)” and that was one of the first ones. Then I saw “Oh” and I went back home and I started researching. I was like, “I can’t stop!” I ended up listening to the rest of Girls’ Generation’s songs and that was in 2010 when they were still pretty new. That was when they started to blow up. So getting into K-Pop around that time was the coolest experience because that was the first group that I stanned so hard. I watched every show like Running Man and I was obsessed. Ever since then I got into the dancing part of K-Pop and that was a different world. I never knew that those two could come together. So I started doing my own covers and here we are!
3. So how did you get into dance? Was it something that you grew up with? How did you get your whole start when it comes to dancing?
A: With dancing, I actually started back in high school. Breakdancing was like my first ever exposure to dancing. I think I always liked dancing as a kid. Getting into breakdancing, that was something more structured, so it was such a different take and I was so young. I didn’t really know how to move my body (back then), but coming from that background, I was into choreography and dance teams (especially competitive dance teams). They do training on so many styles of dance and that’s where I think I got a lot of foundation to put into my own dances and my covers.
4. So how long have you been dancing?
A: I would say nine years? Yeah, 2020 marks nine years.
5. You mentioned earlier that you started making covers for K-Pop girl groups, so what made you decide to go down the YouTube route and post all of your content there?
A: It was actually just from watching a lot of K-Pop YouTubers around that time. I used to watch JREKML’s videos all the time. I would look forward to every reaction to be like, “I feel the same way!” Same goes for 2MinJinkJongKey’s Courtney and Jasmine. There were so many channels back then. It was a little community because for me, I didn’t have any friends who liked K-Pop as much as I did. So it was cool to have that friend on the other side type of thing. One day I was like, “I could do this and I could try,” and I still have my very first videos up and you could see my webcam was so bad and I looked like a child. It’s crazy! But it’s a good reminder of where I came from and how it all started.
6. What was your very first cover that you’ve ever done?
A: I think it was 2PM’s “All Day I Think Of You.” I could be wrong but I vaguely remember getting set up at my grandma’s house, with a chair, trying to do the choreography. I mean I did and if you go back and look back at the choreography video, my face is so tense and very focused. It was a fun cover to do! I didn’t really like a lot of boy groups back then but that was one of my favorite songs.
7. You’ve previously been on the podcast and you’ve spoken about your love for girl groups but what was the very first girl group cover that you’ve ever done?
A: I don’t remember! But I remember I started doing a lot in college. One that I can think of was BESTIE.
8. This can be for a K-Pop group or any other YouTuber, influencer, or content creator, who would you love to collaborate with in a video and why?
A: First thing that comes to mind is LOONA. They’re one of my favorite groups. In this day and age in K-Pop, they bring something so different to the table. Each member is talented, focused, and very talented. [LOONA] has executed all different types of choreography and does it so flawlessly that it looks like that is what they were (specifically) trained in. I would love to work with them and choreograph a song for them. Either for a title track or B-side. Either one. I’d be down to work with them.
9. What type of concept would you like to choreograph for or see LOONA do?
A: I would love to do a cute one. I would also like to do a teen-crush as Yeojin is still a baby. Something that everyone can do, have fun with, and relate to. Not all of them love the cute concept but most of them have done it before. I think it would be interesting to do a sugar-pop type of song. I think they could pull it off.
10. If you could collaborate with a boy group, who would it be?
A: NU’EST for sure. I love how they dance and sing. I would like to do a sexy concept. 2PM would be a great example [of how sexy they are]. I really think it would look great on them. They are all beautiful.
11. What has been your favorite group or song that you’ve learned recently?
A: “Paradise” by APRIL. Even if I’m just doing stuff around the house or going out doing stuff or other work, I’m doing the dance in my head. It’s such a catchy song and catchy choreography. It’s so good that a lot of people have been questioning, “Why isn’t this the title track?” I think they are pulling out all the ropes now since Naeun has been in dramas, commercials, and being booked and busy. So, APRIL has been getting a lot more exposure.
12. Talk me through the process of preparing for your dance classes and figuring out if you are going to be doing original choreography or teaching a group choreography. How long does it take you to prepare, going through the actual class, and then seeing all that progress come into fruition?
A: I really do try to take my time with my process. Picking songs is where I usually start. I need to know what type of vibe that I’m going to go for. So, I usually put my songs on shuffle (I have a lot of songs). I have a playlist of songs that I might want to do, like five or ten songs, and go through each one that hits the mark. From there I start to brainstorm. I like to have a clear space when I am creating something, so I go wherever I need to go to dance. I just freestyle at first. Someone taught me a long time ago that, if you freestyle, eventually you’ll get something that you really like. In terms of learning choreography in K-Pop, certain dances just really stick. In regards to time and process, it really just depends on the difficulty (of the dance).
13. When it comes to recording your videos, how long does that usually take you?
A: I feel like if you can get to the point where you can dance to the song without any hesitation or if you do mess up, you have to keep going. If you can be like, “I can do it no matter what happens,” then that is when I personally go off and film. I practice and mark it before I do film. That way it gives me time to review it really quick. If I do mess up, I try not to beat myself up because that can show up on your face when dancing. People don’t realize that your face can give off a totally different emotion even if you are doing all the music correctly. If you don’t relax and have fun with it, it’s not going to come out too well. It takes about an hour, sometimes less if I do it in one go. I try to give myself an hour time slot just to give myself time in case I mess up or someone walks in front of my camera (because it does happen) or just in case I have to record in a different spot.
14. What keeps you motivated to continue being on YouTube, continue dancing overall, and being a K-Pop fan?
A: It makes me happy and it gives me that drive. It reminds me that I’m alive and I have something to fight for. That’s why I still do YouTube and listen to K-Pop. I do what I do and I love to spread out that energy as well. I can see that it helps some people and with their daily lives because I get a lot of people telling me, “watching your videos makes me smile the whole time,” “this made my day,” or “this helped me learn how to dance.” That means so much. It means a lot because when I was younger, I didn’t have a lot of people to look up to and I was bullied a lot. I’m really surprised that I’ve gotten to this point and I just want to keep going. I don’t know exactly where my journey will go and take me but I hope that I can still touch people in that way.
15. What is some advice that you’d like to give to others who are trying to pursue some sort of career in dance, YouTuber, or as a performer in general?
A: I would say, stay focused. Write your goals and dreams down. Set deadlines for yourself. I feel like that is a good thing to do and overall just believe in yourself. You’re going to have a lot of people who believe in you too, even if it doesn’t look like there are that many, just keep going. I feel like people get discouraged because they don’t have a big following when they start YouTube but I was there (too). Get excited for yourself because people are excited to see you. Eventually it will grow. It just takes time.
16. What is your ultimate dream not only as a performer but as a K-Pop fan as well?
A: I think the biggest dream I have is to have a list or pictures in my house of all the artists that I’ve wanted to work with and gotten the opportunity to work with. Or at least a portion of them, because who knows what will happen.
17. Lately, who has caught your eye as a standout group and their choreography?
A: WJSN for choreography for sure. They always kill what they do. I did a choreography review for their song “Butterfly” on my Patreon. Each member can dance their butts off. I think there was a time where I would watch each member and they just go off. Every time they come out with something, I have to just sit and watch.
18. Who is a group that has caught your eye as of late?
A: Weeekly. After we talked about Weeekly (on the podcast), I really got into them. They’re really trained in dancing and they go full out. It’s crazy. Even if you look at the breakdown part, there are certain beats and snares that they are hitting so hard. Their singing is so amazing. I’ve listened to their mini album and there are some bangers. So it's really exciting to see where they’re going to go.
19. What has been the hardest choreography that you’ve learned thus far?
A: I remember that I had a really hard time with GFRIEND’s “Rough.” I think that you can see it on my face (in the video). I think that was one of my first covers that I got more traction on. I think it hit 30,000 views and I was freaking out. That was really hard at that time, they were one of the few groups that were releasing a more hard hitting winter song. It was really interesting and I learned how to move my body differently.
20. What has been your favorite group to cover, overall?
A: For sure, LOONA. There are a lot of groups that I like to cover but LOONA is for sure. They’re one of the groups that I have the most covers of.
21. You’ve entered a lot of video dance competitions. Do you ever feel nervous? How does it feel to see your name (when you are chosen)?
A: Honestly, I do get scared. I was scared of LOONA’s “So What” competition. They did a contest on TikTok and YouTube. I was so nervous because there were a ton of talented dancers within the Orbit community. I didn’t make it in the one for the 1theK one on YouTube, but I did make it to second or third on the TikTok one. They never officially announced it, but I remember posting about it on Twitter. I even got a signed album from them.
22. What are some last words that you would like to tell our readers and your followers and supporters who are reading this?
A: Just thank you again for the amazing talks as usual. I really love getting to express myself. In terms of what I’m going to be doing in the future, I’m going to have a Discord channel that I just launched. So, it’s an open space for people to come and chat. I’ll be playing on there and streaming. People can look forward to me streaming on Twitch. Please look forward to more covers. I have a huge list that I want to cover and I’ve already begun working on a few.
On behalf of The Kraze, thank you so much to Clinton Wilder IV for taking the time to speak with us and have this interview. Please make sure to keep up with Clinton on social media and look forward to many of his upcoming projects!
*Some responses were edited from the transcribed interview to increase readability