Year: 2017

[Weekly Chart] 5th Week of November 2017

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Extremely big week in KPOP this week with the award season starting with a bang with MAMA and MelOn. Extremely big congratulations to everyone who won and were nominated. Talking about award seasons, get ready for some big news this week. More information will be provided once I finish all the preparations, so be prepared!!

Last week’s top 3 remained in the top 3 positions, with some shuffling involved. KARD eventually claimed the top spot, with You In Me, their 3rd Number 1 song this year. Both Red Velvet and EXID dropped down one position this week, taking out second and third positions respectively. Steady artists SEVENTEEN and Astro rose to the 4th and 5th spots this week.

Hyuna and DAY6 will be having their comeback next week, while The Boyz will be making their debut. GOT7 will be releasing another version of their 7 for 7 album but I am unsure whether there will be new tracks featured on the re-release.

And now, I present to you, the charts for the 5th week of November 2017 and the following are 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 debut on the chart
Grey (Final Week) – Song appears on the chart for its final week.

26th Nov – 2nd Dec 2017
Title Artist Status
1 You In Me KARD (▲ 2)
2 Peek-A-Boo Red Velvet (▼ 1)
3 DDD EXID (▼ 1)
4 Clap Seventeen (▲ 2)
5 Crazy Sexy Love ASTRO (▲ 6)
6 Beautiful Wanna One (▼ 1)
7 Runaway Pentagon (▲ 2)
8 Twinkle Lovelyz (▲ 2)
9 Glass Shoes Fromis_9 (new)
10 You Are GOT7 (▲ 2)
11 Fantasy JBJ (▲ 19)
12 Likey TWICE (▲ 19)
13 Love Is Gone MAP6 (new)
14 One More Chance Super Junior (=)
15 Dramarama Monsta X (▼ 11)
16 Gang Rain (new)
17 Juliette Rainz (▲ 23)
18 Where You At NU’EST W (▲ 8)
19 Where U At 1NB (new)
20 O Sole Mio SF9 (▲ 5)
21 I (knew it) Sonamoo (▼ 14)
22 Move Taemin (SHINee) (▲ 18)
23 Shall We Dance Block B (▲ 1)
24 Remember Me VICTON (▼ 3)
25 Chococo Gugudan (▼ 10)
26 Can Be Better HIGHLIGHT (▲ 14)
27 Amazing IN2IT (▼ 11)
28 Missing You BTOB (▼ 8)
29 Pinwheel Seventeen Vocal Unit (▼ 1)
30 Dance of Month 13 Seventeen Performance Unit (▲ 4)

Songs leaving the charts this week and will not appear started next week:

  • When You Love Someone – DAY6
  • Trauma – Seventeen Hip Hop Unit
  • It Will Be Good – Hyungsub & Euiwoong [Leaving Early]
  • I Drink Alone – Juniel [Leaving Early]
  • 11° – Minah (Girl’s Day) [Leaving Early]

See you all next week for the next Weekly Charts!!!

[Review] Gang – Rain

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Rain is back with his first comeback in almost 3 years. His last comeback was in January of this year (The Best Present). Since then, he did get married to Kim Tae Hee and he is also now a father. More recently, he is also mentoring on The Unit, which is aimed at giving potential idols a second chance at the industry.

Gang is his title track for this comeback and I will be honest, I wasn’t impressed the first time around. The song is quite good, inserting an even modern influence into the music, compared to his last few comebacks. The EDM elements that make the rap verses and ‘Hundred Dollar Bills’ do hype the song and make it ‘lit’. But the slow down is the part that holds me back from saying it is a fantastic track. It just doesn’t fit, in my opinion. It cuts the flow of the song and just doesn’t sit well with me. But that was last night. Listening to it again, it doesn’t seem to be that bad. It does still catch me off guard but it seems to somewhat flow better than what I initially thought. Rain handles everything quite well, from his vocals and the raps. Overall, it is a good song to check out.

The music video is quite cool. I love high-quality videos and this video falls neatly into that category. I like how the music video highlighted certain words int he song by displaying it across the screen. I thought some of his fashion choices were really cool, while others were quite creepy. The massive sunglasses were cool. The jewelled head covering the end was the example of creepy.

Rain is known for this choreography and I thought this one was quite nice. It was sensual at some parts but equally as tough in others. His dance break that featured at the end of the music video was quite cool.

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

[Album Review] W, Here (1st Mini Album) – NU’EST W

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Slowly getting around to doing some more album reviews that I thought I should have done but missed because of my heavy study load. I think I am only doing 2 (this one and another one at a later date) because December is gearing up to be a busy month. NU’EST W’s first major release, W, HERE, was released in October and earned them their first win in their career! Congratulations! It goes to show how exponential their growth has been in the last few months. But as you may know, this is an album review, so let’s start cracking.

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W, HERE Album Cover

1..My Beautiful – To me, this track felt one of those upbeat ballads. But it was still relatively slow. It is the one track that I didn’t really care for on this album, due to its lack of colour. There didn’t seem to be much of a build-up, resulting it in remaining in a neutral stance. Vocals and raps were okay but they aren’t really showcased in the track. (6/10)

2. Where You At (Title Track) – Click here for the full review of Where You At. (8.5/10)

3. Paradise (Ren Solo) – Paradise is the first of the four tracks that start displaying the solo capabilities of each member, which I think it is a very smart move by the producers/company. I have never paid much attention to Ren, so I don’t know how he fared in the past. However, this solo track does a good job at highlighting his vocals. It was a nice pop song with a great buildup. The drop was just underwhelming and this had a negative impact on the track, in my opinion. (7/10)

4. Good Love (Aron Solo) – Good Love is a RnB track that is overloaded with synths. I like how the chorus becomes fast pace, giving the song some contrast with the slower verses. I also really like how he delivered his lines in the track, particularly that section mid-way through the song. Overall, the track was quite enjoyable to listen to. (8/10)

5. With (JR Solo) – Those who know me knows that I am not much of a fan of rap songs. But JR’s track is super cool. He starts off by whispering his lines, creating suspense. I really like the piano in the background and alongside JR’s rapping, the song becomes interesting and impactful. The chorus gives it a more epic feel. The only negative about the song has to be its length. (9/10)

6. Thankful For You (지금까지 행복했어요) (Baekho Solo) – Baekho is the main vocalist of NU’EST and like most main vocalists, he goes down the ballad route. But it is a really good ballad. At first, I thought the song would not really get anywhere and remain neutral. However, once the song hits the bridge, the violins did an amazing job at picking up the song. Baekho does a pretty good job as well, incorporating his emotions into his vocals, giving off a heartfelt appeal. (8/10)

Overall Album Rating – 7.75/10

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Where You At Music Video Image

 

[Review] Thirsty (Off Sick Concert Version) – Taemin (SHINee)

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This is my third and final pick for the SM Station releases that I missed in the past few weeks. Taemin returned with his second full-length album and the title track, Move, in October. Thirsty featured on the album but the concert version for the song was released under SM Station a couple of weeks ago.

For the most part, both versions were quite similar. The major difference that I could hear was the addition of some trap elements to certain parts of the song. Without the trap elements, the original was quite sensual in its delivery and sound. Even the lyrics were quite suggestive (but not as bad as other songs). With the trap elements, there is an additional intensity that makes the track more interesting. It also felt fitting for the track, overall. There is also an added dance break that didn’t appear in the song but the stage version which he promoted, which sounded awesome. I liked how he kept the original instrumental in the song and how the new synths went well with the piano sound in the original track. His vocals are also a must to talk about. When I said there was a sensual vibe, his husky vocals are partly to blame, going well with the piano or trap elements for both versions. I just felt the song was a little too linear. The dance break did help fight that but I don’t think it helped that much.

Usually, SM Station music videos aren’t given the same level of attention compared to other music videos produced by SM. More simplistic approaches are employed (as like the previous 3 reviews I have done). And while SM Station has had their fair share of actual high-quality music videos, this could easily be passed off as an actual main music video for his second album. The way it was shot and the sets seemed well chosen for the song. It focuses on his dancing and doesn’t go overboard in any unnecessary manner. Overall, a great video to watch.

His choreography doesn’t really wow me this time around. It just didn’t feel memorable or as impressive as his previous choreographies (Move, for example).

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

[Review] Doll – Kangta, Seulgi & Wendy

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This is the second track that I have picked to do a review for. As mentioned yesterday, I am taking some time to catch up on the SM Station releases which I have missed out on in the past few weeks. Today’s pick is Kangta, Seulgi and Wendy’s collaboration, Doll, which is actually a remake of another track of the same name.

For those who don’t know, Doll was previously released in 2001 by Hyseung (from Shinhwa) and Lee Ji Hoon. Interestingly enough, Kangta actually wrote the lyrics to the track as well. The 2017 version is performed by Kangta, Seulgi and Wendy, who all bring their vocals to the table for this song. I searched for the original track on YouTube and it seems like they used the same instrumental. But I felt the original was empty (but I don’t mean that in a bad way). That may be due to the original singers’ similar vocals, while the 2017 version had variations with the male and female combination.  And I like that a lot because it feels like the track has a lot more going through it. I will admit the song was a little dry, in my opinion, at the start. But once the song climaxed and each vocalist was belting their vocals out, everything seemed to click into place. Obviously, for the song to work, there has to be amazing vocals in the ballad and the trio delivered with that making it an amazing song to listen to.

The music video accompanying the release of the track is a recording of the live performance that Kangta, Seulgi and Wendy gave at the SMTOWN Live concerts. I don’t have much else to say regarding the video. Mainly because they can’t shoot a full music video at a concert.

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

[Album Review] Fall in Lovelyz (3rd Mini Album) – Lovelyz

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For the past few months, I have noticed my album reviews have been mainly focused on male groups. To change up, I have decided to look into more girl group albums. Preferably the latest albums, however, I do intend to revisit some past albums from previous years as well. I started with Red Velvet’s Perfect Velvet and now I am moving onto Lovelyz’s latest release. Once again, I have decided to omit the introductory track, Spotlight, from this review.

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Fall In Lovelyz Album Cover

2. Twinkle (종소리) (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review for Twinkle. (7/10)

3. Triangle (삼각형) – The electronic components of the song give it that quirky yet intriguing side, making it fit perfectly into the typical Lovelyz sound I have associated with them in the past year. They have great hooks, especially the post-chorus parts. The ending is the letdown moment of the track, which ended up feeling forced. But overall, great song. (8.5/10)

4. Just (그냥) – The first thing I noticed when I first listened to this song was the brightness that it presented. The song itself felt like the mixture of the Christmas theme this album had channelled along with their previous title track, WoW! That being said, what makes it an even better track is the unexpected twist and turns it takes. Once again, the ending feels rushed but it doesn’t stop being a track to check out. (9/10)

5. Fallin’ – Fallin’ felt like a ballad to me but it invokes a great sense of nostalgia. Lovelyz’s vocals are a whole seemed to put forward an innocent vibe, which I thought was cute. I like the harp instrumental they used but that random pause in the middle of the song ruined the flow. It does feel a little plain but it was something nice to listen to. (8/10)

6. Secret Garden (비밀정원) – The song starts on a bold note, which is something that makes it stand out. The instrumental is much louder compared to the previous tracks, which give it an explosive nature. I did feel that same energy was lost as the song progressed, which is a disappointment. The vocal work was quite nice and this would be a song that I would love to see a stage performance for. (8/10)

7. Sleepy Dream (졸린 꿈) – Ending the mini-album is Sleepy Dream, which has a nice mixture of orchestra and synths, especially how they use the bells in the instrumental. It sets the song up for the Christmas is coming up soon for everyone around the world. Another great use of vocals and an excellent way to end the mini-album. (9/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8.25/10

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Twinkle Music Video Screenshot

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[Review] Bye Babe – Chen (EXO) & 10CM

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Every time I have paused to do an SM Station review (which I haven’t done in the past few weeks), it always ends up being a ballad. In the coming days, due to the lack of comebacks this week, I will be catching up on some of the SM Station releases I have missed in the last 3 months or so I have not looked at the tracks (one of them is a dance track – take a guess which one). Today, I am starting off with Chen’s collaboration with 10CM, Bye Babe.

Bye Babe is not a ballad, which caught me off guard the first time I saw it. Instead, it is an extremely funky guitar dominating song that feels bright and vibrant. It does fall towards the indie side, which 10CM is known for. It has me tapping along and that brightness just makes you smile. The highlight of the song for me is actually that crunching effect that the guitar produces to open up the chorus. Very ear-catching and unique (for me at least). Another standout for this track is the obvious vocals. Chen’s vocals felt just right for the song. It complemented well with 10CM’s vocals and the harmonies that the two produced makes the song so much more enjoyable. If you can’t tell by my comments, I pretty much enjoyed the song. Great collaboration.

The music video states that it is the ‘live version’. So my guess is that the entire song and instrumentation was recorded in the video? That is quite cool. Overall, I thought it was a good video despite it only showing the two artists singing, while the other people in the background are playing the instruments. The layout and the setting were quite awesome. The warm colour filter worked well with the song.

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

 

[Review] Love Is Gone – MAP6

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MAP6 has made their return with a brand new single, Love Is Gone. Their previous comeback was in May with I’m Ready as the main title track. For those who may not be familiar with the group, they come from Dream Tea Entertainment, which also houses Girl’s Day.

MAP6’s return was a little unexpected because I didn’t hear anything in the lead up to the song’s release on Sunday. So it was even more unexpected to hear such a good song from the group. The song, overall, felt similar to songs that Infinite would promote back in the day. The rock elements in the instrumental felt extremely nostalgic. I feel like the song could have done better if those same rock elements were bumped up a notch in terms of volume, which would have played better with the flawless vocals and raps. It would have made the song bullet-proof when it comes to intensity. Instead, the song does dwindle in terms of energy. As mentioned, I thought the vocals and raps were on point. Not once did it feel lacking or empty. That part just before the chorus was my most favourite part of the entire track because it sounded so cool and intriguing. Overall, I think this may just inch into the top as their best song yet.

Matching the rock sounds in the song, they went with an industrial type of concept, which I thought was really cool. They could have done a lot more but what they had done is pretty much sufficient. The grey filter worked perfectly and the setting was awesome. It was mostly choreography shots, with a few ‘close-ups’ of the members, which I thought were nice. It was towards the boring side of the spectrum, but the video felt fitting for the song.

Dance-wise, I thought they did a good job with this performance. I love the consecutive moves at the start when there is that drum ‘solo moment’ at the start (see gif below). Besides that, it just didn’t seem that memorable.

map6loveisgonedancegif

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 6/10
Overall Rating – 8/10

 

 

[Album Review] You & Me (2nd Mini Album) – KARD

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KARD is back with their most promising release yet. You & Me has managed to wow fans across the world and their entire second mini-album, You & Me, is replicating the same effect. The entire album is so good that I am putting it down as one of the best albums of 2017. More information on that in the coming weeks (winky face). But until then, her is my review of KARD’s latest album release.

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You & Me Album Cover

1..Into You – The best word I can find to describe this track is ‘epic’. From the dramatic piano start building up to the epic drop that started the chorus. The vocal work performed by Somin and Jiwoo were showcased, while the raps managed to create suspense in the track despite being slow. Regardless of the number of replays, this particular track felt amazing time and time again. (10/10)

2. Trust Me (J.Seph & Jiwoo) – The heavy drum beats that opened the song played throughout the entire song but were a great opening aspect of the track. I thought they were overpowering but it seemed to contrast nicely with the vocals and raps. The vocals were ‘mute’ in comparison but they had a definite haunting vibe. I love how the instrumental remained consistent until the rap came into play and changed up. Big ticks for intensity and leaving me at the edge of my seat. (10/10)

3. Push & Pull – The chorus for Push & Pull feels really catchy and could end up being really iconic. But I feel like the song could have had a more defined drop to make the song even better. The vocal work seemed slow but it ended up complimenting the instrumental. BM’s raps before the 1st and 2nd chorus were awesome. J.Seph’s part was pretty good but he needed something else to separate himself from BM’s raps and keep things from becoming too ordinary. (8/10)

4. Because (지니까) – I thought Because was an extremely powerful track. The vocals were haunting and the raps were, per usual, great. The overlapping of BM and Jiwoo at the end was quite cool. To me, that final part felt like a robot powering down because its battery was flat. It makes sense because the song is in regards to unhappy lovers in a relationship and that effect felt like it symbolises the end of the relationship. (9/10)

5. You In Me (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review for You In Me. (9.5/10)

6. Trust Me (BM & Somin) – Compared to the previous version of Trust Me, this track felt slower and more like a RnB track. BM’s raps in this song were captivating and left me speechless the first time around I heard the song. Somin’s vocals were superb and highlighted well in this track. I also enjoyed the ‘Trust Me’ drop that occurred mid-way in the track. (9/10)

Overall Album Rating – 9.25/10

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Member Teaser Images for You & Me

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[Weekly Chart] 4th Week of November 2017

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Welcome back to another instalment of Weekly KPOP Charts, the 4th week of November 2017 edition. Hope you are all well and still catching up with the many releases of the past few weeks. I know I am and the hot weather in the past week where I live wasn’t any help.

This week we see a new chart-topper with EXID’s DDD (last 2 week’s number 1 song) slipping down to the second position. Replacing them on top is Red Velvet’s Peek-A-Boo. Taking out third position this week is KARD’s You In Me, while fourth and fifth position belongs to Monsta X and Wanna One respectively.

And now, I present to you, the charts for the 4th week of November 2017 and the following are 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 debut on the chart
Grey (Final Week) – Song appears on the chart for its final week.

19th Nov – 25th Nov 2017
Title Artist Status
1 Peak-A-Boo Red Velvet (▲ 9)
2 DDD EXID (▼ 1)
3 You In Me KARD (new)
4 Dramarama Monsta X (▲ 9)
5 Beautiful Wanna One (▼ 2)
6 Clap Seventeen (▼ 4)
7 I (knew it) Sonamoo (=)
8 Black Suit Super Junior (▼ 4)
9 Runaway Pentagon (new)
10 Twinkle Lovelyz (▼ 2)
11 Crazy Sexy Love ASTRO (▲ 1)
12 You Are GOT7 (▲ 2)
13 Going Crazy UP10TION (▲ 10)
14 One More Chance Super Junior (▲ 11)
15 Chococo Gugudan (▲ 6)
16 Amazing IN2IT (▼ 5)
17 Want You To Say PLAYBACK (▲ 22)
18 Change Up Seventeen Leaders Unit (▲ 2) (Final Week)
19 Candy Samuel (▼ 1)
20 Missing You BTOB (▲ 2)
21 Remember Me VICTON (▼ 4)
22 Trauma Seventeen Hip Hop Unit (▲ 17)
23 Dear Snuper (new)
24 Shall We Dance Block B (▼ 18)
25 O Sole Mio SF9 (▲ 2)
26 Where You At NU’EST W (▼ 11)
27 Rollin’ B1A4 (▲ 11) (Final Week)
28 Pinwheel Seventeen Vocal Unit (▼ 9)
29 Someone To Love HONEYST (new)
30 Fantasy JBJ (▼ 14)

Songs leaving the chart this week and will not be appearing on the charts starting next week:

  • Change Up – Seventeen Leaders Unit
  • Rollin’ – B1A4
  • Drop – Yunho (TVXQ)
  • Nonfiction – K.Will
  • In A Different Life – MAX (TVXQ)

 

[Review] Want You To Say – PLAYBACK

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It has been a while since we last saw PLAYBACK with a new song. I remember only of the song that shared the same name as their group (which I remember doing a review for but apparently I never did). They released another single according to their Wikipedia page, but they went unheard of at my end. And that was all 2015. Until the release of Want You To Say, they practically were hidden from the scene. Now, they are also participating in MIXNINE.

Though it was intended to be a Summer song, the track does manage to stay on the replay list. Not as much as you hoped but I listen to the track a few times each week since its release. There is an addictive nature to this track and it somehow manages to stay fresh. That freshness cannot be attributed to the now standard tropical instrumental but rather their amazing vocals. Their vocals just felt perfect for the song. Not once did they go too high or too low but instead, kept a nice balance. Actually, on that note, the instrumental didn’t go overboard and also balanced well with the vocals. They could have a used a catchier hook to make the song even more memorable. But besides that, the track was awesome.

I wish I could say the same thing about the music video. But instead, it falls behind due to its lack of content. Minus scenes of the girls just hanging out with each other, the video consist of choreography scenes. I mean it could have had more scenes that felt appropriate, such as something beachy or some sun. It might have been cliche but it could have enhanced the video to be something a little more fun and vibrant.

The choreography isn’t that memorable but it felt fitting for the song.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 6/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 7.5/10

 

[Album Review] Perfect Velvet (2nd Studio Album) – Red Velvet

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As previously mentioned, Red Velvet made their return with their 3rd major release of the year. It happens to be in the form of their second studio album to date. Everywhere I look, I actually see so many people saying this album to be this year’s best. I don’t actually agree with that. However, I do think it shows that Red Velvet is willing to venture out into genres/sounds that no other KPOP groups are willing to go. And it lands on my recommended list for a few good tracks.

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Perfect Velvet Album Cover

1..Peek-A-Boo (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review for Peek-A-Boo. (9/10)

2. Look (봐) – Look didn’t seem to climax or reach a peak. But while that could have a major flaw, it somehow becomes a major feature of the track. I thought it was a smooth dance track with strong retro vibes. The bridge felt very Michael Jackson-esque, which I thought was a great highlight for the track. The only thing that has me looking the other way with this track is the repetitiveness. (8/10)

3. I Just – Once again, the track felt repetitive and the bridge pretty much saved the day by changing up in such an ideal way. I thought the first few seconds of the song were quite appealing but since it didn’t progress much, I got tired of it quite quickly. The track seems to be a much slower form of electro-pop, Overall, it didn’t seem to be my cup of tea. (7/10)

4. Kingdom Come – This song combines RnB and pop into one song and it turns out to be quite amazing. The choppy start was quite awesome and the song seemed to incorporate that throughout the song with the drum beat. This track also showcases their vocal skills in the song, bumping it up to becoming one of the best on the album overall. (9/10)

5. My Second Date – My Second Date is an experimental track that manages to take unexpected twist and turns, such as the unexpected EDM chorus. It gives that intriguing element to the song, making it worthwhile listening to. It may require multiple listens to get used to if you want to listen to something a little ‘out there’. (9/10)

6. Attaboy – Attaboy is extremely heavy handed on the hip-hop influences and is dominated by a lot of rap sequences. The vocals give the song much-needed relief. The instrumental is trap based but there is a small part of me that feels it conforms well to the KPOP sound. It isn’t the best track of the album for me but definitely another track to check out if you want to hear something ‘outside the box’. (5.5/10)

7. Perfect 10 – So far we have heard more experimental forms of RnB, Perfect 10 seems to be more of a traditional style of RnB and much slower, might I add. I would like to say the vocal work was great but I felt Red Velvet were more restricted based on the song style rather than skill. There were some trap elements in the background, making the track a little different from other RnB tracks. (8/10)

8. About Love – Not a major fan of this song, as well. It is pretty much a standard song with a jazzy twist. The vocal work pretty made the song, for me. Besides that, I don’t have much else to say. (7/10)

9. Moonlight Melody (달빛 소리) – In the past few reviews, I made several comments regarding ballads ending the album. This is an excellent example of one doing its job at the end of the album. The slower tempo takes things back from the unexpected and ‘crazies’ that featured throughout the album. The track reminded me of One of These Nights, just a lot better. (8/10)

Overall Album Review – 8/10

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Screenshot from Peek-A-Boo Music Video

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[Review] Runaway – Pentagon

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Making their 3rd comeback for this year is Pentagon with Runaway. It follows the release of Critical Beauty and Like This, which has become one of my favourite tracks of this year.  This comeback is a continuation of their previous Demo comeback and the album is titled Demo_02.

Following that serious tone (which I am digging) that featured in Like This, Runaway is a great continuation of it. But what I like more is the fact that the song manages to flow a lot better, despite having a chorus that completely shakes things up. And I don’t say that in a bad way. The structure of the song was arranged nicely. The raps came in just the right time. The vocals in the verses eased to and from the rap quite nicely as well. The buildup to the choruses was superb. That chorus was a little unexpected (I didn’t listen to any previous teasers) but I really enjoyed the intensity and energy that came from the chorus and drop. But despite that, the chorus works well with the song and hence I say it flows well. Regarding the ‘Runaway‘ repetition in the chorus, it is decent but it feels overdone. I would have prefered something that has a little more substance like the Like This chorus, but I know how difficult given the style of electronic music they had gone with in this song.

I had to take a moment to rewatch the previous music video to work how they connect. And I am as clueless as when I started writing this review. From what I can gather, it seems that whatever problems they were experiencing in the Like This music video, they seem to have banded together to help solve or escape from them. The cinematography was amazing in the video. But overall, I thought the video was a little dry and boring to watch.

Whatever the intensity level the song brings to the table, the performance equally showcases through the movements. But other than that, it just didn’t strike me as one to remember.

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

[Album Review] Play (9th Studio Album) – Super Junior

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Super Junior made their long-awaited comeback with Play on the 6th of November this year, making it their first comeback in two years. I know I am a little late with my album review, especially since they are nearing the end of their promotional period. However, as they say, ‘better late than never’. Play is their 9th studio album, which marks 12 years in the business as well.

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Play Album Cover

1..Black Suit (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review for Black Suit. (9/10)

2. Scene Stealer – I think we all felt major Bruno Mars vibes from this song. To me, it is the weakest song out of the entire album. It fits into Super Junior’s usual spectrum of songs but the use of some of the synths, especially at the start of the song, felt quite foreign and odd. I just wasn’t drawn to much in the song, especially since it was between an amazing title track and a great pre-release. (5/10)

3. One More Chance (비처럼 가지 마요) (Pre-Release Track) – Click here to read the full review for One More Chance. (10/10)

4. Good Day For A Good Day – I love the upbeat nature of the song. It has that happy virus type of feel that automatically makes your day even better. The entire time I thought the song was quite pleasant and this reflected well through the vocals and raps of the song. The second part of the choruses where they all sing together was exceptionally catchy and probably my highlight of the track. (9/10)

5. Runaway – Following the happy vibes is Runaway which is my pick for best song on the entire album. The song is super addictive and full of energy. I love the instrumental of the song, which drew my attention from the very start. It feels like a song that their old subunit. Super Junior Happy, would have put out. But Super Junior themselves does a spectacular job with the song nonetheless. (10/10)

6. The Lucky Ones – The Lucky Ones stands out for its nice harmonies during the chorus. Besides that, there wasn’t much else to the song, which is a disappointment. The verses felt plain and bland in comparison to the chorus. But overall, it was still decent to listen to. (6/10)

7. Girlfriend (예뻐 보여) – Girlfriend is one of two tracks that also feature Kyuhyun who is currently serving in the Korean military. It is another track that is easily forgettable. There was a sleek feel to the song but it just didn’t build-up to any peak. The rap section and bridge provided some relief by allowing the song to change up a bit but I don’t think it was enough to make the song brilliant. (6/10)

8. Spin Up! – The track returns the album to more of that grooviness that I enjoyed so far. And while the song was decent, I wanted to go that extra length and become the next funky hit. If there was a little more energy and more boldness, I am sure this track would have been hard to miss. (7/10)

9. Too Late (시간 차) – Too Late is the other song to feature Kyuhyun. I like the subtle build-up to the chorus and the drop into the chorus. The consistent thumping in the instrumental gives me an excuse to tap my feet throughout the song. Not a major fan of the bridge but everything else was quite nice. (7/10)

10. I Do (두 번째 고백) – I Do has a very nice melody and feels like a nice love confession song to listen to. It is that Summer ballad that can be either good or bad. This one lands on the good side. It is not the ending you expect the album to have, mainly because it feels like there should have been another song leading right off this one. But it was a still a nice ending. (8/10)

Overall Album Rating – 7.5/10

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Play Teaser Image

[Review] You In Me – KARD

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KARD has officially returned with their first comeback!!! Though, it feels like their 4th one. They previously made their debut with Hola Hola but hyped fans up with 3 pre-debut singles. Now, they are back with You In Me, which is the title for both their lead track and mini-album.

To me, You In Me keeps to the typical KARD sound that we have been hearing in their many past releases. But it also feels different. It takes on the tropical house sound, but You In Me showcases a more mature and powerful sound. The main difference is the intensity that features heavily throughout You In Me. We are literally thrown into J.Seph’s rap sequence, which completely caught me off guard. I thought the chorus was pretty cool, especially how they changed it up with the more dramatic sounds the second time we heard the chorus, giving us some more variety in the song. The thumping during the chorus just kept my tapping my foot the entire time. Somin and Jiwoo’s vocal work in the song is spectacular, usually during the verses. I just felt that BM’s part could have been a little more intense and powerful. It was good but compared to the rest of the song, it was quite lacking. Overall, the track does not disappoint and it might become my best personal favourite KARD song to date.

It seems like KPOP missed Halloween this year. But I am not complaining. The concept of this video is amazing. They are staying at the APEGO motel, which is Spanish for ‘attachment’. And it was quite clear that the girls in the video have some very serious attachment issues. Essentially, the video opens up as they are spending some time as with their respective lovers. But the video takes a dramatic turn when it is revealed that the male members had been dead for some time (my assumption is that the girls killed them) and that the girls stayed with the bodies. You can see J.Seph dead at the dinner table, while Somin is shaving a dead BM in the bathtub. I also liked how the sounds for that exact moment where it turns creepy are included in the song, which gave it the most ideal way to move the story along. I thought the idea was excellent the video turned out amazing.

The choreography was amazing. Once again, they have that key dance choreography that they released ahead of their comeback. It looked quite cool but I felt that all the other moves around the ‘key dance’ were much more epic and better. I also liked their formations and how they got into their formations.

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

 

[Album Review] 1-1=0 (Nothing Without You) (1st Repackaged Mini Album) – Wanna One

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The highly sold album of the past week is none other than Wanna One’s repackaged album, 1-1=0 (Nothing Without You). From mostly trainees to a chart-topping team, it is truly remarkable of how far they have come. This post is going to be a relatively short one as I have elected to not review the remixes (Track 5 and 6) and tracks 7 to 9 were on their debut mini-album, 1×1 =1 (To Be One). Thus, these tracks will not be used in the ‘overall album rating’ which I put the end of each album review post. Let’s get the show on the road.

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1-1=0 (Nothing Without You) Album Cover

1. Nothing Without You (Intro) – The intro track basically gives you a little taster of the entire album. To me, it drew various parts of the newer songs on the album and presented them in a much shorter format, which makes a lot of sense. It is nice, but it was a rather forgettable part of the album, mainly because of the following track, Beautiful, steals the show as soon as it starts. (7/10)

2. Beautiful – Click here to read the full review for Beautiful. (10/10)

3. I Want To Have You (갖고 싶어) – Continuing the flow of the album thus far, I Want To Have You is another slow dance track, with a few moments that divert away from that direction. Vocally, this is another outstanding effort from the group. I also thought the raps were quite nice, matching well with the ballad-like nature of the song but still maintaining that standard rapping momentum. (9/10)

4. Twilight – Besides the tracks that follow (either remix of their main tracks or tracks pinched from their previous mini-album), this is the closest you get to a dance track. It isn’t that strong of a track, in my opinion. It felt more like a standard pop song. It gives the album some energy and transitions well into the tracks that follow. (7/10)

5 & 6 (Burn It Up Prequel Remix & Energetic Prequel Remix) – Click here for track 5 and track 6.

7 – 9 (Wanna Be (My Baby), Energetic & Burn It Up) – Click here to read full album review for 1×1=1 (To Be One).

8. To Be One (Outro) – They bring it back to the slower side which started off this album with their slowest song yet. It does pick up a bit towards the middle of the raps. It packs a punch and if extended, could have been a decent track to go back to. Also, it closes the album quite nicely, which is the most important job of an outro track. (8/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8/10

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Beautiful (Performance Version) Screenshot (Source: SOOMPI)