Year: 2017

[Weekly Chart] 2nd Week of August 2017

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Welcome to this week’s chart! The second week of August. I was sick in the past week and extremely busy with my studies so you may have noticed that I didn’t post on some days. I apologise for that. However, I should be back on track by Monday. I am all well and am getting used to the grind due to university.

The Favourites posts should be up this Wednesday. Remember I am open for ideas and request. I have been posting about my favourite non-title track songs, choreography, OSTs etc. and are looking for new ideas. So feel free to post below or check out the Favourite posts that I have linked HERE and HERE.

SNSD took over the charts this week by debuting in the top spot and in third position with Holiday and All Night respectively. JJ Project holds out in second position, while Nine Muses’ Love City and N.Flying’s The Real take out fourth and fifth position. For more of the charts, scroll down below!!!

Also, some things that will help you denote the chart:
Green (▲)  – Song has gone up in ranking
Red (▼) – Song has gone down in ranking
Blue (=) – Song has remained in the same position as the previous week
Orange  (new) – Song debuts on the chart
Grey (Final Week) – Song appears on the chart for its final week.

30th Jul – 5th Aug 2017
Title Artist Status
1 Holiday SNSD (new)
2 Tomorrow, Today JJ Project (▼ 1)
3 All Night SNSD (new)
4 Love City Nine Muses (▲ 2)
5 The Real N.Flying (▲ 15)
6 What Can I Do? DAY6 (new)
7 Only U Laboum (▼ 5)
8 the.the.the LONGGUO & SHIHYUN (▲ 34)
9 Summer Storm Jessica Jung (new)
10 Fly High Dream Catcher (▼ 7)
11 On/Off ONF (▲ 17)
12 Rain KNK (▼ 3)
13 I Don’t Like Your Girlfriend Weki Meki (new)
14 Star Boyfriend (new)
15 Amazing MYTEEN (▲ 16)
16 Dinosaur AKMU (▲ 16)
17 As If It Is Your Last BLACKPINK (▼ 2)
18 Love Whisper Gfriend (▼ 14)
19 Energetic Wanna One (new)
20 What’s My Name? T-ARA (▲ 4) (Final Week)
21 Newton Monsta X (▲ 9)
22 Island Winner (new)
23 Yes, I Am Mamamoo (▼ 11)
24 Runner UP10TION (▲ 3)
25 Red Flavour Red Velvet (▼ 20)
26 Hi Hello DAY6 (▲ 11)
27 The Stars of Stars Snuper (▼ 19)
28 Love Me Love Me Winner (new)
29 Shine Forever Monsta X (▼ 18)
30 Where Are You? CLC (▼ 13)

The following songs will be leaving the charts this week and will not be appearing on the charts starting next week:

  • Critical Beauty – Pentagon
  • Cherry Bomb – NCT 127
  • What’s My Name? – T-ARA
  • Try My Luck – Jongup (B.A.P)
  • Love Don’t Hurt – Shannon [Leaving Early]
  • Black – Lee Hyori [Leaving Early]
  • Come Back Home – BTS [Leaving Early]
  • Gucci – Jessi [Leaving Early]
  • Why, You – Park Bo Ram [Leaving Early]

And that is all, once again, for this week! Check back next Sunday for the charts! Until then, enjoy your lovely week, everybody!

[Review] Ice Chu – Gugudan OGUOGU

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Gugudan has returned in a form of a two-member subunit, named Gugudan OGUOGU. The name itself is a mouthful to say but it does have a cute ring to it. The subunit is made up of Mina and Hyeyeon, who are the resident youngsters of Gugudan. They are the first subunit from the group and they make their subunit debut with Ice Chu.

Right off the bat, the song is quite good. It does get stuck in your head after a few listens. Gugudan usually does the more ‘mature-cute’ concepts (I know, it is an oxymoron) but this suits the subunit’s member’s age range. It is a much cuter sound and if we were to talk about food, the song would be described as a sweet dessert. Not painfully sweet though. In other words, I don’t find the song overly cute. It is quite upbeat and quite catchy. It is not exactly a blaring type of instrumental but there is a nice flare that comes with it. I did like the brass in the instrumental, which gave it that flare I just mentioned. The vocals were amazing. The raps could have been left out since it was a cutesy song but I wasn’t too troubled by them. Instead, I actually thought all the vocal/raps felt just right for the song. Overall, they do a splendid job for their subunit works. SO it just makes me wonder what else the girls have up their sleeves.

The subunit does a wonderful job with the cute concept. There are some ‘dark’ themes in the video, which I think it apparent once you watch it. They might be concerning (Note: they are) but I thought it was a fun way of showing that cute concept in a more expressive way. Though, try not to think of the people around you are dessert people. The video was bright and vibrant. The sets were consistent with the dessert theme. The video, in general, was amazing.

The dance break was amazing. Hand down, the best bit of the performance. The rest of the choreography was quite good, as well.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 9/10

[Review] Summer Storm – Jessica Jung

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Jessica has made her solo return to mark 10 years since her debut. For those who don’t know, Jessica made her debut in 2007 as part of SNSD or Girl’s Generation. She was removed from the group in 2015 and has been promoting as a solo artist since then under Cordiel Entertainment. Her mini-album is named My Decade, which is named appropriately for her celebrations.

I know for a fact that I have been reviewing every single song Jessica has been releasing since her solo debut. I have been listening to them all but this one caught my attention. Vocally, it is a nice piece. It is not her best piece but her vocals do shine very brightly in the song. That quirky moment in the chorus was the element that got my ears perked up. I don’t know how to exactly describe it but she ended a number of lines in the choruses by going to a higher pitch and in a very sharp way, as well. The instrumental was pretty standard, but it went extremely well with her vocals. Soothing and flowy are words that I would use to describe it.  It isn’t catchy but I keep on coming back for more due to its more simple and easy-going sound.

I like the contrast between the past and the future in the video. The imagery between the trees. The lighting. The various scenes when she is with her boyfriend and when she is alone. Just the clothing she wears between scenes. The video itself wasn’t that flashy, which I thought went well with that soothing nature of the song. And per usual, Jessica looks amazing in the video.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10 
Overall Rating – 9/10

[Review] Star – Boyfriend

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Starship Entertainment has finally opened their dungeon doors and allowed Boyfriend to see the light of day. Boyfriend, after a 2-year Korean hiatus, has finally made their long awaited comeback with Star. We last saw them in 2015 with the release of Bounce. And while they have been busy in Japan, they were absent from the Korean stage for those two years.

It seems that moving from the cutesy sound their debut with to the masculine and tough energy they grew into was not enough for Boyfriend. Star is a much more mature and emotional sound, something that they haven’t really done before. And while it is a decent song to listen to, it just doesn’t have much going on in it. It is great to listen to from time to time or if it randomly pops up on my playlist but it doesn’t have me going back for more. There were parts that felt very dry and bland. Their vocals do attempt to bring some colour to the plain instrumental but it isn’t enough. The chorus was decent, with a drop that delivers with a little momentum but it wasn’t catchy enough for me. Minwoo’s sing-rap was probably the biggest letdown in the entire track but Kwangmin’s strong and fast output was probably the highlight of the entire track. Overall, the song isn’t the brightest star out there at the moment, but it still does provide some light.

The music video for Star reminded me of NU’EST’s music videos. The artistic approach to the video made it a video that I wanted to go back to. The aesthetics were amazing. That zoomed in water droplet and some of the sets looked quite cool. The cinematography was also commendable. The only thing that managed to irk me was the extremely slow ‘flying in the air’ scenes after Minwoo was hit by the car. That was painfully slow to watch, especially after more of the normal speed stuff like the choreography that was inserted between the slow scenes. It didn’t make a terrible impact on the video but it was something that I felt while watching the video. Overall, it was still a great video.

I have yet to see the full performance so I will update a little more once I can find one. But what I saw in the video suited the song quite nicely. It could have been better if it managed to be a little more impactful if you know what I mean. As I said, I have yet to see the full performance to be sure, but that is what I got from the video.

Song – 6/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 7/10

[Review] I Don’t Like Your Girlfriend – Weki Meki

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Fantagio’s latest girl group, Weki Meki, has finally made their debut with I Don’t Like Your Girlfriend. The eight-member girl group is made up of Ji Suyeon, Elly, Choi Yoojung, Kim Doyeon, Sei, Lua, Rina and Lucy. You might find two of the names (Choi Yoojung and Kim Doyeon) very familiar as they participated in Produce 101 Season 1 and ended ranking in the top 11, thus forming I.O.I, which disbanded at the start of the year.

Let me start off by saying that the song caught my attention. But sadly, I Don’t Like Your Girlfriend is probably one of the messiest songs that I have ever heard in KPOP. You do get used to it after a while but those same initial feelings remained. All the members are rapping and singing, which is okay. For the most part, they sounded very good and there is clearly potential behind them. It’s the instrumentation that I don’t really understand. There seemed to be many styles jammed into the one song. It doesn’t necessarily sound bad but since there was a number of styles, it felt confusing and quite heavy in terms of its sound. People are saying it had a fierce sound, but I don’t really hear that. There was intensity in the song but I don’t think there was enough to give that ‘fierce’ label. Instead, that intensity seemed to has dissolved by the end of the song as it all felt very neutral by the time the song wrapped up. For example, the introduction was full of bass but the first verse was extremely flat and ‘mute’ in comparison to the bass-filled introduction.Looking at their mini-album, there were other songs that could have served as a better debut track, so it was fairly disappointing for us to be presented with I Don’t Like Your Girlfriend.

The music video was actually pretty good. Unlike the song, visually a video full of different styles can be a lot cohesive. And that is what we got here. The girls were stunning in the video. It isn’t the best video out there, but it does justice for their debut. The colours were bold and bright, which made the video feel refreshing and perfect for the heat. They could have been a little more creative with the sets. Some of them looked a little boring. The fast editing made it hard to focus on the elements in the video, so I had to watch the video more than usual to be able to comment on the video.

It isn’t a mind-blowing dance but the choreography was pretty good. The only part that I was disappointed in was the ending, where they slow down the main point of their dance. That part of the song was already upbeat but did call for a less intense (or slower) set of dance moves. Just they made it look painfully slow.

Song – 4/10
Music Video – 7.5/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 6/10

 

 

[Review] Energetic – Wanna One

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Out of all the debuts this year, Wanna One is the most hyped and awaited comebacks of the year. For those who don’t know, the group members were selected as the top 11 of Produce 101 Season 2 competition. The trainees forming the group include Kang Daniel, Park Ji Hoon, Lee Dae Hwi, Kim Jae Hwan, Ong Sung Woo, Park Woo Jin, Lai Kuan Lin, Yoon Ji Seong, Hwang Min Hyun, Bae Jin Young and Ha Sung Woon. The group will remain as Wanna One until the end of 2018 so they will be sticking around for some time.

Wanna One pretty much lived up to the high expectations and hype that garnered around their comeback.  Energetic starts off as a dramatic piece, with a slow piano background. It then starts building up to be one totally rocking song.  The song itself is one that is quite upbeat and full of energy. There were many different sections to the song, but they all work well with each other (no disjointed feeling anywhere). The raps were pretty powerful and they sounded perfect for the song.  The vocals for the most part gave the right impact to match the energy intensity of the song, just some parts (such as the first verse fell a little short). Overall, based on song alone, they have nailed their debut. I suggest that you listen to the song with some bass turned up (such as a pretty good pair of headphones) because the song sounds so much better that way. 

This song called for an intense music video with that typical flashy background with amazing choreography shots. We needed something edgy to compliment the intense sound of the song. For the most part, the choreography shots delivered.  The rest of the video did not. I just don’t think a bunch of guys having some fun (such as in this video) by playing baseball and having great big smiles on their faces was the way to go. That is just what I personally feel about the video. But what we have  front was decent enough overall.

The video choreography looks amazing and intense.  Perfect for the song. It looks really complicated but edgy enough for the song. Everything that I wanted the music video.  That piano start looks like the highlight for me!!!

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 10/10
Overall Rating – 8.5/10

 

 

 

[Review] What Can I Do? – DAY6

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The 6th of August just went by and that means we are due for a DAY6 comeback. As the date was on a Sunday, the guys ended up releasing their new track today on the 7th, which is titled as What Can I Do?. With 7 months down, the guys clearly have been on a roll with their monthly releases.

My initial listen to the song didn’t fare as well. I thought some of the elements of the song were a little ‘out there’. A few listens in and I am enjoying the song. It is clearly not their best as there were other DAY6 songs that grabbed my attention for the get-go. I still find that static at the end of the first chorus a little off-putting and unexpected. The chorus could have been better. I liked the verses more than the chorus, but I am slowly warming up to it. The track just doesn’t appeal to my personal taste, which I thought was a little disappointing. But what I did like regarding the song was the vocals. Jae’s high note was amazing and the guys have yet to disappoint me with their vocals (I think). I think within a few more listens, I would be more comfortable with the overall song, but I still think it is not their ultimate best.

The music video was far more interesting compared to the song. There are a few theories out there that do fit the storyline that I see. Jae is either dating or best friends with the girl in question. Dowoon is popular with the girls but has a cold personality. Sungjin has a crush on the said girl and Wonpil either likes Sungjin or feels sorry for Sungjin’s heart. Young K is an arrogant person in the school (though one theory seemed to suggest he had feelings for Dowoon – not sure if serious or not). These ideas were thrown out there seem to make the story more interesting because I now continue to rewatch to see which one fits the video more. I also find it interesting how they always chuck grown guys into school uniform. But that seems to be another post entirely. What I find the most interesting was how the video ended on a cliff hanger, which makes you ask even more questions. Did he make a move? Did Jae find out? Did Sungjin get smacked by a basketball? Who knows! But it was a pretty good video to watch.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8/10

[Album Review] Verse #2 (1st Mini Album) – JJ Project

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It has been 5 years since we last saw them. But finally, JJ Project has launched their comeback with their first mini-album. Of course, being a fan, I would not miss out on this opportunity to review their mini-album, which is titled as Verse #2. Just one comment about the album before we start. But every single track, regardless of any differences, end up making this one damn good albumt to listen to. Everything works well with each other and it did not leave me disappointed. Now, on with the review of each song!

Image result for JJ project 2017 albumc over
Verse #2 Album Cover

1..Coming Home – The album opens up with an aesthetically pleasing and RnB influenced song. I love the instrumental of this song, from the rolling drum beat to the very chilled chorus. I also loved the layering in the song. The different layers of vocals in this song, which gave the song some depth, which I thought was pretty nice. Just when you consider the entire track as a whole piece, it does come off a little dry. (9/10)

2. Tomorrow, Today (내일, 오늘) (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review for Tomorrow, Today. (8/10)

3. On & On – On & On feels like another song that fits the tropical house trend that is ongoing in the industry. But the verses/chorus felt a lot more serious and more RnB influence. It wasn’t until the instrumental chorus break that it took that trend on board. What was more interesting was how they changed up the ending. Their efforts felt a little late and that ending personally could have been omitted. But it was still nice to listen to. (8/10)  

4. Icarus – The best part of the track was definitely its chorus. The energy explosion once the beat dropped made it feel so much more lively, compared to the extremely boring verses. Their vocals managed to just appear in front of the instrumental and provided an attraction to make me go back for even more. It could have easily been hidden behind in the instrumental. (9/10)

5. Don’t Wanna Know – This was my personal favourite of the entire album. Their vocals suit the RnB genre and this song gives their vocals the right amount of spotlight without going overboard. The instrumental also gave the song some energy, which made it one for me to go back for. The ending could have faded out, rather than feel abrupt, but overall, the song was too good to overlook, in my opinion. (9.5/10)

6. Find You – Like the previous song, I thought the vocals from both Jinyoung and JB were showcased to be the highlight of the song. It was upbeat and felt like an urban track that I wouldn’t mind listening to from time to time. But I fear listening to this song on repeat could leave the track feeling bland and boring in the long run. The instrumental was decent but pretty standard. (8/10)

7. The Day (Jinyoung Solo) – This could easily be played on repeat in a small, indie cafe somewhere. Jinyoung has nice vocals, but they aren’t the best compared to other people in his group. But what we hear here is a great display of his talents and skill. I like how he kept the instrumental from becoming too boring, by adding and taking out instruments. It has a nice RnB sound, which goes nicely with every other track on this album. (9/10) 

8. Fade Away (JB Solo) – Musically, JB’s track starts off with an ear-catching sound, which draws my attention. But sadly the interesting vibes from it faded out quick;y and the track felt like it was repeating itself. JB’s husky vocals made this song sound pretty good. The instrumental had a nice creepy vibe, which when I think about it now, doesn’t sound like that should have been the intended effect. (8/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8.5/10

jjprojectalbum
Tomorrow, Today – Teaser Image

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[Review] On/Off – ONF

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It is time to turn on our listening devices as, ONF is entering the Korean music scene. They come from WM Entertainment, which is the same company that brings us B1A4 and Oh My Girl. The 7-member boy group officially debuted on the 1st of August (last Tuesday) with their mini-album, which shares the same title as the title track, On/Off.

On/Off is a pretty good song but it leaves me with mixed feelings. Some of these parts I find quite nice, while some of them aren’t that appealing. That is the major issue with songs that usually mash multiple styles together. Just this song does keep it consistent and that is one thing I am thankful for. I totally dig the vocals parts of the song. They blend nicely together and felt the most consistent overall. Actually, the first half of the track, I was pleased with the overall sound. The chorus was catchy and attracted my attention. It is the second half that gets me having second thoughts about the song. There was a nice build up but the raps leave that build-up hanging (i.e. there was no drop, which left me feeling quite frustrated)  and it makes the rest of the song feel disjointed, while completely changing up the fun vibes that came from the song (though the fun vibes were later returned to). The raps were decent but my main issue with the song was how they were placed into the song. But overall, it was a nice song for a debut that attracted my attention with its upbeatness and vibrant colour.

I haven’t watched the music video for their debut yet (I know, I am crazy!). So essentially, everything I write here will be my first impressions. I literally have no idea what storyline they were going for. Something about space was the most I got out it. The guys were aliens and attracted the attention of Earth, who sent a pretty human astronaut? I honestly have no idea! Watching it a few times and I am still confused. For a brand new group, the video was amazing in terms of visual quality. The sets looked cool and interesting. The vibrant colours and the smiles that you could see on the member’s faces reflected well with the song.

The choreography was pretty cool Once again, nothing mind blowing but it went well with the track. There were some highlights, such as that ending routine. Though it was impressive. But what impressed me more was the fact regarding how in sync they were with each other.

Song – 7.5/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7.5/10

 

[Weekly Chart] 1st Week of August 2017

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Welcome to the month of August of 2017. It is very cold where I am. Too cold to get out of bed. But I am pushing through to write this week’s charts, so I can push forward with more reviews and start studying.

JJ Project’s Tomorrow, Today debuted at the top of the charts this week. Following behind is Laboum’s Only U and Fly High by Dream Catcher. Rounding out the top 5 are GFriend’s recent comeback, Love Whisper and Red Velvet’s Red Flavour.

Sadly, I do not think the top 5 of this week will be around. There will be a massive re-shuffle with the comebacks of SNSD and Winner, along with the upcoming releases of DAY6, Wanna One, BLANC7, Boyfriend, Jessica Jung, Weki Meki, Minhyuk (BTOB) and Gugudan 5959. That is an exceptionally long list and who knows what other surprises will be hanging around the corner.

Before then, do scroll down for the rest of the charts!

Also, some things that will help you denote the chart:
Green (▲)  – Song has gone up in ranking
Red (▼) – Song has gone down in ranking
Blue (=) – Song has remained in the same position as the previous week
Orange  (new) – Song debuts on the chart
Grey (Final Week) – Song appears on the chart for its final week.

30th Jul – 5th Aug 2017
Title Artist Status
1 Tomorrow, Today JJ Project (new)
2 Only U Laboum (▲ 4)
3 Fly High Dream Catcher (▲ 5)
4 Love Whisper Gfriend (new)
5 Red Flavour Red Velvet (▼ 2)
6 Love City Nine Muses (new)
7 Remember Nine Muses (▲ 3)
8 The Stars of Stars Snuper (▲ 9)
9 Rain KNK (▼ 8)
10 Loop Raina (After School) ft. Aron (NU’EST) (new)
11 Shine Forever Monsta X (▲ 4)
12 Yes, I Am Mamamoo (▼ 7)
13 Jelly HOTSHOT (▼ 6)
14 Camo BoA (▲ 2)
15 As If It Was You Last BLACKPINK (▼ 6)
16 Hot Sugar Turbo (▲ 8)
17 Where Are You? CLC (new)
18 I Smile DAY6 (▼ 6)
19 Hola Hola KARD (▼ 15)
20 The Real N.Flying (new)
21 Why Don’t You Know Kim Chungha (▲ 7) (Final Week)
22 That Girl Jung Yonghwa (CN BLUE) (▲ 15)
23 Outside Crush (▼ 2)
24 What’s My Name T-ARA (▼ 5)
25 Ko Ko Bop EXO (▼ 7)
26 If You NU’EST W (▲ 4)
27 Runner UP10TION (▼ 14)
28 On & Off ONF (new)
29 Sixteen Samuel ft. Changmo (new)
30 Newton Monsta X (▼ 8)

The following songs will be leaving the charts this week and will not be appearing on the charts starting next week:

  • Mind Control – TOPSECRET
  • Wind – FT Island
  • I Smile – DAY6
  • Happy – WJSN (Cosmic Girls)
  • Shadow -Daehyun (B.A.P)
  • We, First – Elris
  • Why Don’t You Know? – Kim Chungha
  • Untitled, 2014 – G-Dragon (Big Bang)

And that is all for this week! See you guys back here on Sunday for next week’s chart!!!

[Double Review] Love Me Love Me + Island – Winner

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After their successful comeback of Really Really and Fool at the start of the year, Winner is back to seek the same level of success with Love Me Love Me and Island. And so far, they are on track to reaching the expectations set high by the previous singles, with their songs topping charts in the midst of an intense battle for the top of the charts. The two songs make up Our Twenty For, which is the name of their second single album.

Love Me Love Me is a disco song, but it sounds nothing like that. Instead, I thought it felt more modern in general, compared to disco. Love Me Love Me was set up to be an upbeat and catchy song. It does just that, but it felt underwhelming. It did well to represent that Summer feels, but it doesn’t feel like it could be separated from the pack. The “Love Me Love Me‘ final chorus was pretty good when they made it into a chant/anthem. The vocals were good, but they weren’t amazing. The raps were good, but I felt their pre-chorus build up was a little awkward.

Island follows the same comments as Love Me Love Me. It felt underwhelming, as well. Island is a tropical house song that sounds nice. But the combination of the vocals and the raps don’t mix well. It is an interesting mix but they don’t fit with each other. The build up doesn’t feel like it built on anything and drop didn’t feel that intense as it should have. It sounds a lot better with a heavy bass filter, but it did still feel underwhelming regardless.

Unlike the song, I actually thought the videos were pretty good. The cinematography and various shots made both videos spectacular. Love Me Love Me seemed to focus more on the urban setting, while Island focused on more of nature. Both were equally amazing. The aerial shots in Island basically left me speechless. I just wished they were paired with better songs. Besides that, the videos didn’t have much content in them, mainly focusing on them having a fun in the various settings. It looked fun and enjoyable. My only complaint is Seunghoon’s hair. Not digging it. But other than that, both videos were amazing.

Love Me Love Me had a more captivating performance. It felt like it suited the song more and the moves seemed a lot more polished. Island had the boring performance. While it did fit the song, it felt looser compared to the other performance in terms of structure. It just didn’t suck me in like the other performance.

Love Me Love Me 
Song – 7/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8/10

Island
Song – 6/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 5/10
Overall Rating – 6.5/10

[Review] The Real – N.Flying

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It has been a while since we last saw N.Flying on stage. 2015 was their last promotional round (Lonely) before the group went on hiatus for almost 2 years. Since then, the group has announced the addition of a new member, Yoo Hoe-Seung, who participated in Produce 101 Season 2. This comeback is for their second mini-album, The Real: N.Flying and features the title track, The Real.

It’s been so long since their last comeback, that I don’t even remember what their previous two tracks were. But if they were to release more songs like The Real (with a shorter time between releases), I would gladly jump on board the N.Flying train. The song is amazing and their best yet. It is super upbeat and extremely catchy. There seems to be a nice mix between pop and rock in this song, which catches my attention immediately. The vocal work, raps and instrumental work well with each other. I love the short rap sequence and bangs before each chorus. But what makes this song sound so memorable is that the song has so much energy and the delivery of that energy is spot on. Right from the start, the energy that launches us into it was already exceptional. And since it felt like they maintained that same level of energy and momentum, the group managed to score big points (in my book, at least) with this perfect song.

The music video was hilarious and ridiculous (in a good way). Essentially, the group are trying to catch a mermaid. It felt like a play on the whole ‘there are plenty of fish in the sea’ phrase, but the guys are fixated on this particular mermaid, who according to the lyrics, is stunning. Quite a few unsuccessful attempts were made before they decided to sacrifice one of the members to the mermaid (which was the part I started laughing at). The mermaid turned out to be Jang Moonbok, who was a fellow Produce 101 Season 2 trainee. That was one unexpected plot twist that made me laugh even more. What I liked was every time they launched into the chorus, they incorporated that burst of energy by jumping onto their instruments and playing their song. But they incorporated it in a way that worked with the video and I liked that.

Song – 10/10
Music Video – 10/10 
Overall Rating – 10/10

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[Review] All Night – SNSD

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SNSD is 10 years old!!! The group debuted back in August 2007 and has since become of the biggest and well-known groups in the KPOP industry. Fast forward 10 years, the group (just a few hours back) dropped their 6th studio album and title tracks, Holiday (which I have already written a review for) and All Night!

All Night is a fantastic mix of past and present. The verses of the song give off a retro sound, which reminds me of the 70s and 80s at certain parts. The chorus brings the more recent musical elements, in my opinion. The chorus resembles pop songs that could have been released in the past few months or years. The mix is very interesting as it does give you a feel of how music has travelled through time. The song is quite catchy and attractive. I love the various tempos that the song goes through, from upbeat to more slower sections. The raps and the vocals fit well with the song, but they don’t seem to bring that impact that the song needed. That doesn’t mean I am disappointed with it because I am totally digging the song. But I felt they could have gone that extra mile with the song. If we were looking at All Night and Holiday side-by-side, I think Holiday will win over All Night. But it is still a good song overall.

That retro vibe played well into the music video. Their outfits and the set just looks wonderful in the video. While they did shrink the screen once again, it did make a lot more sense for the retro concept they were going for. Most importantly, the video linked below features a documentary, which I am sure the girls are talking about what SNSD and their journey means to them. I like that approach, but I prefer the song to be in one block, rather it fading in and out. It just feels disjointed and looses the aesthetics of the song. But what makes me even happier is that ending where they bring the old footage of SNSD back, when there were 9 members. It’s beautiful and a nice trip down memory lane.

[Updated] The choreography was actually quite nice. Though it did look odd for a retro styled come back, the performance was worth watching. Once again, it isn’t the best dance of the year but it managed to go well with the song, in general.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 8/10 [Updated] 
Overall Rating – 8/10 [Updated] 

[Review] Holiday – SNSD

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The Queens of KPOP are back to celebrate their 10th year since debut. It has been a wild ride for the girls since their debut on the 5th of August 2007. 10 years on, they are releasing their 6th studio album, which joins the long line of hits from the girl groups. This 6th album is titled as Holiday Night and features two title tracks, Holiday and All Night (the review will be out shortly!).

Holiday just wants to make me get my groove on. It is a flashy song that catches your attention with its show-tune kind of sound. You can expect this song at a musical, but SNSD brings it you on a stage and music video! It’s super catchy and isn’t overly complicated, which makes it easy on the ears. Like the repetition of the “Ho-Ho-Holiday” just make me want to go back and replay the song even more! The vocals work is amazing and the Hyoyeon’s rap fits in really well. The only problem I find is how the song ends. It ends abruptly, which means the song is cut off awkwardly. Given how the song is very upbeat and catchy, an abrupt cut off doesn’t really fit in with the rest of the song. But overall, it is one damn, near-perfect song that will I would gladly see rise to the top of the charts and replay many, many times!

What is my most favourite word to use in these reviews? ‘Amazing’. And guess what else is amazing? SNSD’s music video for Holiday! Oh, that was cheesy. But seriously, this video is totally rocking. That show-tune vibe that I was talking about was shown nicely through the various sets and scenes throughout the video. The sets themselves were highlights of the music video. The final set of the stage gave the video the right atmosphere for their 10-year celebration, which I too, thought was cool. I also loved the featuring of a muppet. During the second verse, the way they managed to film and choreograph the dance to fit the lineup of the members singing (Sooyoung, Yoona, Yuri and Sunny), which I thought was really cool! The video does not disappoint and compliments the song nicely.

While we don’t see much of the choreography in the video, I think there was enough to write about. I do hope that part that I mentioned above is also included in the stage performances. That would look really cool. There just doesn’t seem to be a catchy move or a highlight, which does make it somewhat weaker. But overall, a fair dance.

Song – 9.5/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 9/10

 

[Review] Where Are You? – CLC

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After their successful comeback with Hobglobin, CLC are back with the brand new mini-album, titled as FREE’SM. It seems like Hobglobin was the start of their movement from the typical cutesy image that they fell into prior to the start of the year. Where Are You? seems to go back in that direction, but instead stays mature.

Right off the bat, it is not my cup of tea. Where Are You? is a very slow song that doesn’t build up whatsoever. Instead, it remains in neutral mode throughout the entire song, which drains any energy, if it ever had any, to begin with. The slowness though does go nicely with the retro sound and their overall concept though. The muffled start and the overall sound does bring you back to the early days (aka the 90s) of KPOP. Some aspects I thought were good, but the same aspects (such as the vocals) could have been many times better. The instrumental is uncaptivating and the song is easily forgettable. It felt like a blank canvas, wanting to be drawn or painted on. But it just didn’t have any content. I have listened to it a number of times already, but I have gone to find other songs right after, instead of reflecting or wanting to go back and replaying it. Maybe it will grow on me, but if I am being honest and follow what my mind is telling me, I don’t have much hopes for it.

I spoke about the ‘borders’ of music videos lately in another review. But that border looked amazing, in comparison to the square we got in this video. I just don’t think it is right to film a video and then have it cute down to such a small section of the screen. Like it is already overdone in video that narrow it down width-wise, but column wise is pretty disappointing. We barely see all the girls in one scene. Moving from that very noticeable issue, the video was made to look dreamy and the innocent concept was brought into play. Overall, they did both nicely. But like the song, the video could have been better (i.e. more of the image). Though, I personally think that this video would suit a more creepy song, as I did get some of those horror vibes from the video.

While I am not much of a fan of this comeback, the choreography was splendid. They did a good job at bringing that innocent side to the dance. It might not be the most mind-blowing dance, but it paired nicely with the song, fitting the tempo and rhythm of the song.

Song – 5/10
Music Video – 5/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 5.5/10 

 

[Review] Love City – Nine Muses

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Just after a few weeks of finishing promotions for Remember, Nine Muses is officially back with Love City. Their previous mini-album, Muses Diary Part 2: Identity (released in June) has been re-released to become Muses Diary Part 3: Love City. Nine Muses also recently had their first concert since debut.

With just one listen, Nine Muses has managed to grab my attention with one damn good track. Though that is a relatively easy thing to do, the girls managed to also blow me away within the first few seconds of the track. Love City opens up with Sojin’s raps sequence that is covered by auto-tune (but it is still bearable). It did spark a memory in my mind, but I don’t know where I have heard the similar tune before. But Sojin’s raps paves the way for the rest of the song. Sure, the verses of the song were not that memorable. But once the beat drops and you get the intensity of the chorus, everything falls into place quite nicely. The chorus was catchy, the vocals were amazing. It is a song that hypes you up from the start and it keeps that momentum going, which left such a deep impression in my mind. The “L.O.V.E‘ repetition stuck in my mind, even after I started listening to other songs recently released. But what I love the most is the “Chu Chu Chu, Bwa Bwa Bwa, La La La, Stop It Boy” (2:05 mark, for example), which was a more cutesy contrast that went well with the more feminine and intense beat the rest of the song had going for.

The music video was fairly captivating. For the most part, I stayed around for the song. Sadly, I can’t find any English translations for the song yet, so forgive me if my interpretation is way off. From what I see, the girls have finally had enough and are escaping “Love City”. The guys they dated treated them badly and they have decided to not pick that lifestyle anymore. This is clear from the way they seem to have their anger pent up inside of them and how they treat the Ken doll and the poor teddy bear. Moving away from the plot, there were parts in the video that I thought the lighting was off-putting. It might be me being picky, but I thought the lighting in both the day scenes and the dark scenes were pretty bad. The transitions through the screens looked cool. But apart from that, the video was your standard KPOP video (using standard KPOP backdrops).

The choreography shows off their confidence quite well. But there should have been more to it. As mentioned before, the song does get you quite hyped up. And the choreography seems to fall short of that. At least for me. Though the part at the bridge (i.e. when Sojin starts rapping) was pretty badass!

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 8.5/10