2018 – Page 2 – KPOPREVIEWED

[Music Video Theory] LOONAVERSE (Part 2) – LOONA 1/3

December 19, 2018December 19, 2018Posted in Music Video TheoriesTagged LOONA, LOONA 1/33 Comments

Beware that this is a very long post!

Welcome back to the second post of the LOONA music video theory. In the last post, I explained why I started off with the events of the LOONA Odd Eyed Circle (OEC) and the relevant members (Kim Lip, Jinsoul and Choerry). And now, we will be continuing with the rest of the LOONA member videos. I wish to reiterate that while I believe this is extensive, there are many aspects that I am unsure about and they could have a large impact on the theory. These are just my thoughts and the storyline that makes sense in my head to connect all the videos.

For these music video theory posts, I will be discussing each member’s music video based on the order I see fit (i.e. not necessarily the order in which the releases occurred). My own comments/thoughts will be shown in italics, while all other information will be shown in normal font. (i.e. what we can see visually from the screenshots/videos) Hopefully, this is not too confusing.

To begin the post, I have produced a small table that tells us information about each member. This will be referred to during the theory but I thought it would be a nice background for us to have before we dive right into it.

LOONA 1/3 Theory

Everyday I Love You (Vivi Solo)

From the stylistic choices made to the video (i.e. the retro setting, the lighting during the rapping section in the bridge), I believe this music video is probably the very first video of the entire storyline for the LOONAverse.

The most important part of this music video is the end of the video. After ViVi turns off the lights, she gets a text message, which roughly translates to ‘I’ll be back tomorrow’.

In the video, she becomes attracted to the guy who she meets while on the job. Now, clearly based on the video, we assume it is the guy that sent the message. But I think the guy is someone else. Someone, whom we meet later, who also goes on a skating date with ViVi. I believe the guy is Yves. More on Yves in the next post.

And back in the day, Heejin, Hyunjin, Haseul and Yeojin were all friends. We already know Haeseul and Yeojin were friends based on Choerry’s music video, So the fact that these four girls were hanging together in this video tells us about their budding friendship.

It also shows one very important detail. ViVi was never their friend. We never see any interaction between her and the four girls. We do see her singing into the camera with that retro filter, which I believe she is copying them to try to get into their group.

Love and Live (LOONA 1/3)

So, something happens to ViVi in between her solo music video and this one. ViVi has somehow turned into a robot and requires charging every now and then, in order for her to compete in the relay races that she was created for. Note that there is no indication that ViVi was a robot in her solo music video. She does wear a backpack in the previous video but it was rather flimsy to be considered a battery pack.

On her team is the rest of LOONA 1/3 (Heejin, Hyunjin and Haseul) who also train with her. Yeojin is noticeably missing for this unit, suggesting that she was taken away or left for something else. More will be discussed at the end of this theory. ViVi was probably added to fill in the missing position in their team.

Once again, we see ViVi have a hard time fitting into the group. As she is a robot, she has to take time out to charge her batteries. Hyunjin notices and may have told the other members, who could have teased her for this. We also see the girls enjoying some fruit juice but ViVi is unable to (she stores them in her locker).

In the end, we see her take off during another training session. She continues to run until her batteries are drained. The reason why? I don’t have an idea that I am 100% confident in. My initial thoughts that she was running away to remove herself from the world. And while that has been suggested in other theories, there isn’t a clear indication to which world she is running to or a reason why at this point. I believe she ran to the world in which the members would be reuniting – as to be discussed in the Hi High post. One theory suggested Eden but ViVi doesn’t make an appearance in Eden beside Yves’ music video – but it was for a different storyline.

The same writer put out that ViVi was once part of the OEC world, based on how her eye flashed when her batteries died. I did not pick up on that, so props to that writer – I will post a link in the comments section to that theory. But whether she was traded out for a different member, I am not too convinced as all the OEC had their eyes flash at one point in time.

Sonatine (LOONA 1/3)

Not really an important video in my opinion. It does reiterate some points. The fact that ViVi ran to the point of exhaustion (i.e. her batteries died) is shown clearly in the music video. All her scenes were shot while she was on the ground.

All other members had scenes higher up (i.e. on bridges or balconies).

One member did have a camera shot while on the ground and that is Haseul.

Well, what does this mean? ViVi tried to remove herself from the world and this video suggests that she was successful. Which world did she end up in, I still have no clue. Haseul also removed herself from the world and that will be discussed later on.

Let Me In (Haseul Solo)

Haseul is seen finding a plane wreckage, using a yellow car that she was not driving. Someone (could be herself, could be someone else) was leading her towards that plane wreckage for some reason. Along the way, it also seems to show her finding diamonds (her ability).

But it wasn’t the plane that she was looking for. She was seeking herself but as the white bird. The diamonds lead to her.

She finds it successfully and shoot it, thus eliminating herself from the world. Why? Well, my guess this happened after she realized what she is missing out on. I assume she isn’t in the real world in this video and wants to be. And since she eliminated herself from the world, she was shot at ground level in one of the scenes during Sonatine.

Also, the plane wreckage should not be disregarded. In Girl Front, Choerry threw a paper plane, which landed on the ground in the desert, while seeking for Haseul. In this video, a paper plane flashed across the screen while the focus was on the plane wreckage, suggesting both were the same. Hence Choerry did find Haseul’s footsteps but could not find Haseul’s physical self – due to her self-removal from the world.

On a side note, I don’t think Haseul died – rather she is free to roam the worlds (i.e. in Sonatine – she was on both a higher up level and the ground).

Around You (Hyunjin Solo)

Hyunjin’s music video seems to be the least complicated. She is shown to have the ability to replicate herself and be at multiple places at once (see the theory link below).

The normalness in this video suggests that she is part of the real world, one of the three worlds seen in the Choerry’s music video.

I also mentioned that Haseul wants to experience the real world. She may saw what Hyunjin is experiencing and wants that to occur.

ViVid (Heejin Solo)

In Heejin’s video, I think she has the ability to bend light. Everything is quite bright, and her world is full of colour. On top of that, a rainbow light is positioned over her eyes. It is clearly different from the real world, which she had left. My reason to why she left will be explained in Yeojin’s part.

There were a number of scenes with an emphasis on darkness. Notice how they were incomplete, her back was turned away from the camera or out of focus. It suggests that her ability to bend light is real and may help travel through different worlds.

A French quote was seen at the bottom of the screen during the start of her video. It says ‘I would like to clean. There are tools out there.’ Throughout the video, she is busy cleaning and she enjoys herself while doing so. My thinking is that she is the one helping ‘clean’ the LOONAverse and the mess that was made around Yeojin and Olivia Hye. More on that later and in the next post, respectively. Her green dress, shown in the final image of this section may suggest she is currently focused on Yeojin.

Kiss Later (Yeojin Solo)

Yeojin is the only person to not be a part of LOONA 1/3 despite being introduced earlier on (before ViVi). She was most likely taken to Eden after Choerry’s music video, where she was seen hanging out with Haseul and Choerry.

She is also in a colourful world. And this colourful world gives her the desires she wants (aka. Eden). She is treated like a princess and given expensive gifts. She wants true love and she is given that in the form of a frog.

As she is the youngest member of the LOONAverse, she is far too innocent and hence wants to remain in this world as her desires are being fulfilled.

Two members have been seen trying to get to her. Heejin is the first member who is attempting to ‘clean up’ by replicating the same world as Yeojin’s in order to get to her by using her power (i.e. bending light). That is also why we see her move in and out of the coloured worlds and also the real world. The second member is Yves, who is seen winning a frog in the claw machine, which is the animal representing Yeojin.

This completes my LOONA 1/3 theory post. I will be posting the other theory posts very shortly, so stay tuned for that.

LOONAverse (Part 1) – Odd Eye Circle
LOONAverse (Part 3) – LOONA yyxy
LOONAverse (Part 4) – Hi High

The links will become available once the respective post is published.

If you have any thoughts you want to share or want to add some input into this theory, feel free to comment below!

[Music Video Theory] LOONAverse (Part 1) – Odd Eye Circle

December 19, 2018December 19, 2018Posted in Music Video TheoriesTagged LOONA, Odd Eye Circle (LOONA)6 Comments

Beware that this is a very long post!

A few months back, I promised a whole set of music video theories. And so far, I have completed music video theory posts for GOT7’s Flight Log trilogy, Monsta X’s The Clan trilogy, UNB’s Sense and Dream Catcher’s Horror Quadrilogy. To wrap up the music video theory segment for this year is LOONA’s LOONAverse theory. Due to the number of videos I had to watch and connect, I had to continually delay the release of it. But I have finally completed it.

For these music video theory posts, I will be discussing each member’s music video based on the order I see fit (i.e. not necessarily the order in which the releases occurred). My own comments/thoughts will be shown in italics, while all other information will be shown in normal font. (i.e. what we can see visually from the screenshots/videos) Hopefully, this is not too confusing.

Please also note that this isn’t 100% correct. This is just what I think occurred. I know I have missed out on a lot of details and the missing details can easily affect my theory.

Odd Eyed Circle (OEC) Theory

I want to begin with the Odd Eyed Circle subunit because Choerry and their Girl Front music videos basically introduce the main components of the LOONAverse. But in order to discuss those videos, we need to understand the origins of OEC. So, we begin at what I think is the beginning of their storyline – Sweet Crazy Love.

Sweet Crazy Love (SCL)

Based on this video, the girls don’t know one another yet. However, Kim Lip and Choerry’s paths are intertwined, similar to the way the sun and moon cross paths. When the two members cross path (i.e. Kim Lip is hanging out on the streets and Choerry is in the car), they have a realization of what needs to occur (i.e. their eyes are activated). This leads to the members returning to their dropped bags from the beginning and setting the events of each of their music videos into motion.

Jinsoul is the only member to not interact with the others in this video. Instead, she finds the blue betta fish in the plastic bag, while she is on the train carriage. She rides with the fish by her side and encounters someone ripping off one of her earphones (though we don’t see her – my guess is herself, based on the Girl Front music video). The earphone is positioned next to the fish, who tells her what she needs to do (i.e. the sound could go from one side of the earphones to the other), leading her the removal of her eye patch and activating her eye.

So what makes me think this video is the first video for the OEC (and possibly the LOONAverse)? The ending shows Kim Lip returning to her bag which she dropped. We then see her solo music video in the final moments of the video, which suggests what happens next. Furthermore, each member of OEC is wearing the same outfit schoolgirl outfit that they wore at the start of each of their solo music videos.

Eclipse (Kim Lip Solo)

We begin with where we left off from SCL. Kim Lip walks into the abandoned structure with her school bag, which she drops and proceeds to dance on the red platform.

Her animal is the owl and along with the clothing that she is wearing (which I found someone else had written about on AminoApp – link in comments) and the emphasis on the eye, this suggests Kim Lip is all-seeing and wise.

In the events of SCL, she probably saw the need to bring the worlds together. Hence, her dance is a necessary part of beginning the process, similar to how some cultures perform the rain dance in the belief that it will cause rain.

She also needs the help for this eclispe to occur. She sits on the throne, declaring herself to be the leader that brought the unit together. I also believe this is her way of showing herself to be the Queen of the OEC world. The smoke, based on Jinsoul’s video, could also represent that Kim Lip is being transported to another place.

What she also did, which I don’t know if she knew at the time, is that she started a Mobius strip, which in the context of the LOONAverse is a continuous timeline that will continually repeat itself. Confirmation that this occurs is seen at the end, where someone is viewing her, which based on the later videos, it is suggested that this someone was herself.

Dancing In The Rain (Jinsoul Solo)

Jinsoul is shown to be carrying the same blue betta fish AND is wearing the same outfit from SCL, suggesting we are just coming off the SCL music video.

She saw someone (possibly Kim Lip) at the start of the video. We see someone viewing her through a camera lens (once again, emphasis on the eye). Possibly this someone told her to hurry up and put the fish into the tank before the eclipse to travel to the other worlds.

She finds an aquarium, where she places the blue betta fish into the centre tank. Prior to doing this, she is shown to be distorting the contents of the tank. This suggests that she can change elements and control the environment (which we see through the presence of rain later in the video). If she can control the environment, she can physically cause the eclipse to occur (or the three worlds to combine), aiding Kim Lip.

We also see scenes of her inside a fish tank. Firstly, she is singing inside of it. Afterwards, blue smoke is seen coming from the tank. This could be her way of making it to the other worlds OR it could signal the end of her job in this eclipse formation (same way smoke came surrounded Kim Lip once she sat on the throne).

At the end, it seems like Jinsoul is looking at someone. The image is incomplete, giving some mystery to the already complex LOONAverse world. Maybe she reunited with Kim Lip start of the video, giving her a stern yet affirmative look that her work is done.

Love Cherry Motion (Choerry Solo)

Choerry starts off in the same outfit as in SCL. She meets up with Haeseul and Yeojin and hangs out with them. This shows that Choerry, Haeseul and Yeojin were once part of the real world.

She then notices a cake on the bed, which a cherry on top. She eats the cherry and passes out. Whoever left the cherry cake on the bed is unknown but there are two possibilities. Kim Lip crossed paths with Choerry and hence is part of the real world as well. The other person is Jinsoul, who was seen eating cherries in Olivia Hye’s music video.

Choerry wakes up in a different setting (I think she is now in the OEC world). One of the OEC members attracts her attention in the same manner as she did with Haseul at the start of the video.

She follows and reaches a field with mirrors, where she interacts with her reflection (i.e. passing of the cherry between the mirror). Hence her ability is interacting and travelling to different worlds, which is an important detail in Girl Front.

She eats another cherry and is transported to the same field but it is purple in colour (meaning she has been transferred to another alternative world).

We see her smile at the sky, which is revealed to show 3 moons – each presenting the three worlds for this series. The first represents the real world, the second represents the OEC universe and the 3^rd represents Eden). The purple fields is the fourth world as none of the worlds above fit the purple field description. And to see the three worlds in one frame, Choerry would need to be in a fourth world. There is also no rule to there being only three worlds.

Also, every time Choerry eats a cherry, she is taken to a limbo, where she can see and interact Jinsoul and Kim Lip (i.e. the choreography shots). There is also another shot with Choerry by herself looking into a mirror, while in this limbo. Above her is a tree. Importance of this tree will be shown in the next section.

Girl Front

The Girl Front music video confirms the presence of different theories and ideas discussed above, along with the confirmation of what the entire story is about.

The idea of a Mobius strip has been suggested through the ending scene of the Kim Lip video (see above). In Girl Front, Jinsoul is spotted wearing a wristband that is twisted to form a Mobius strip. There is also an entire segment at the end of the video where Choerry throws a paper plane in the right direction, but it hits her back, coming from the left direction. We also get that confirmation at the very end, with Kim Lip looking at herself from afar.

Jinsoul, in this video, is stuck doing the same thing. She is kind of like playing hide and seek, where you cover your eyes and count. She looks behind her every single time to see if anyone is there. And she continually does this (in an infinite loop – going back to the mobius strip) until the other members are behind her, which breaks the loop.

I think the most important person in this video is Choerry, as she contributes to the LOONA storyline the most. She spends this entire video walking around with a map. She is looking for the other LOONA members, which is revealed to us when she puts a cat sticker down. Notice that along with a cat, she is also looking for a rabbit, bird and deer – based on the stickers on the map.

Choerry may be a part of the OEC unit but she also found an ‘owl’ (which in the LOONAverse represents Kim Lip) based on the middle image above, suggesting that she is there under the instruction of someone else. There really isn’t any need to find Kim Lip (the leader of the unit who was theorized to be the cause of bringing the three together, unless you were acting on someone else’s behalf.

Going back to the tree in Choerry’s limbo, the only music video with a prevalent tree is Hyunjin’s music video. Putting down a cat sticker in the Girl Front music video means Choerry found Hyunjin. As Choerry can travel between worlds, she is a likely choice to do some seeking for someone.

Choerry also seemed to have located Haseul’s plane wreckage, just it is evident that Choerry is in the wrong world. I will touch upon that later when it comes to Haseul’s part (the next post).

So when Jinsoul finds the other 2 OEC members, Jinsoul and Kim Lip join forces with Choerry to find the rest of LOONA. We are also then shown the three moons have disappeared and replaced by one big eclipse. This is the plot line for the Hi High music video, which is all about a large reunion. The Eclipse brings together the three worlds so all the members can reunite.

This completes my Odd Eye Circle theory post. I will be posting the other theory posts very shortly, so stay tuned for that.

LOONAverse (Part 2) – LOONA 1/3
LOONAverse (Part 3) – LOONA yyxy
LOONAverse (Part 4) – Hi High

The links will become available once the respective post is published.

If you have any thoughts you want to share or want to add some input into this theory, feel free to comment below!

[Review] First Sight – Heize

December 18, 2018December 18, 2018Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged Heize1 Comment

Vote in the 2018 KPOPREVIEWED Awards by clicking here if you have yet to do so!

It is sometimes amazing to see how far I manage to get by without reviewing an artist’s song. And in the past few years, I tried to reduce the number of artists whom I missed by including a broader spectrum of artists into the reviewing mix. Well, one artist still managed to slip through the gaps. Heize is a renowned female R&B soloist who has multiple top hits under her belt. She has also been recognised for her songs and vocals at multiple award ceremonies. Yet, I am only getting around to reviewing her for the first time.

First Sight is the title for her more recent release, which was revealed to the public last Friday. She also had the opportunity to perform it for the first time at the MAMA Awards held on Friday. And like her other comebacks in the past, Heize brings her unique vocals to the song, creating a very dreamy sound for the song. I thought the melody was quite nice and definitely a really powerful tool to really appeal to the listeners. I liked how the song changed to a mid-tempo track during the chorus rather staying ballad-like. The electronic details in the instrumental gave off a nice effect. I did think the thumping bass was a little too strong, often covering up Heize’s vocals when she goes into falsetto. I also liked the jazzy piano during the bridge. It is a real pity that I took so long to review a song from the soloist because given the way this song sound, I would have easily enjoyed the others.

Heize goes with a fairytale concept for her video. She acts as the Red Riding Hood at the start of the video, who wants to attract the attention of the male in white. She longs for that attention as she is very much in love with him but he gives no interest towards her. And this essentially the lyrics in a nutshell. She even goes to extreme lengths, where she eats a poison apple, causing her to fall asleep for eternity until she receives true love kiss, which probably won’t happen because the male in white has no interest in her. There is a second male character, the male in black. He brings her in after the male in white rejects her and he is also peering into her eternal bed at the end of the video. My guess is that he love’s Heize’s character, but like the primary storyline, she has no interest in him. I thought that was an interesting twist to the story.

Song – 8.5/10
Music Video – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.7/10

[Review] Whatcha Doin’ – Yesung (Super Junior) & Kim Chungha

December 17, 2018Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged CHUNG HA, Super Junior, Yesung (Super Junior)1 Comment

Kim Chungha is nominated for Best Female Solo Artist and Best Collaboration in this year’s KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Click here to support Kim Chungha and your other favourite artists.

We have a new duet release, which brings together Yesung from Super Junior and Kim Chungha. Their new single is titled Whatcha Doin’. Interesting fact, if you guys don’t know, is that this isn’t the first time Chungha has collaborated with an SM artist. Earlier this year, the solo artist joined forces with Seulgi (Red Velvet), SinB (GFriend) and Kim Soyeon (GI-DLE) for Wow Thing!, which was released as part of the Station X 0 project. Yesung has also been busy with the Super Junior comebacks that fans were treated to this year.

Whatcha Doin’ is a pop track that brings out the vocals of Yesung and Chungha. Yesung has established himself as one of the main vocals of Super Junior, while Chungha has been showing off her singing capabilities this year through her solo releases and collaborations. Together, they compliment each other extremely well. Both their vocals aren’t heavy, which goes perfectly well with the light pop instrumental of this song. All of this results in a pleasant track to listen to. Throw in a simple yet catchy hook to open up the chorus, I thought this was a very nice collaboration. I did like the soft ‘awoo awoo‘ in the background during the chorus, which added an extra depth to the song. They could have gone for something a little more unique but nonetheless, it was a good song.

I thought the concept for this video was rather cute. At the start, they were both nervous to make that first move. The way they interacted with each other was really well thought out, pushing the phone to each other despite each of them in their own halves. The Boomerang feature was also a cool addition to the video. Overall, I liked the video’s appeal and its fitting nature to the song.

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

[Album Review] Love Shot (5th Repackaged Album) – EXO

December 16, 2018December 15, 2018Posted in Album Reviews, KPOPTagged EXOLeave a comment

The 2018 KPOPREVIEWED Awards are in full swing and voting is still opened. Did you know that EXO is nominated for Best Subunit, Best Male Group, Best Male Choreography, Best Japanese Song by a Korean Artist and Best Album? Click here to vote for EXO!

EXO returned during the week with their 5th repackaged album and the title track, both titled Love Shot. This comes after EXO released their 5th studio album, Don’t Mess Up With My Tempo, which featured the unique Tempo title track. Unlike previous years, Love Shot was released in place of EXO’s yearly release of a Winter album and single but keeping in the tradition of their yearly studio and repackaged album. The new album consists of 3 new tracks, which I reviewed below, along with the Chinese version of Love Shot (which I have not included in the review).

exo-loveshot-2 — *Love Shot* Album Cover

Love Shot features all the songs from the Don’t Mess Up My Tempo album, which I have previously reviewed. If you wish to check out the song reviews from the Don’t Mess Up My Tempo album, please click here.

1..Love Shot (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review of Love Shot. (7.5/10)

3. Trauma – I personally like how classy Trauma sounds. The intro to the track (the ‘La La La’) really sets the rest of the song in place. I liked how upbeat the instrumental felt despite how soft the actual music was. It was rather interesting. I also liked how their vocals were very compatible with the song, which was also a softer tone than usual. When I write these reviews, I listen to the track several times to really be sure about what I am writing. And every time I listened to Trauma, Chen’s mini falsetto in the chorus stands out for me. Also, like the vocals, the raps were very well suited for the song. They do bring an edgy vibe to the song, which breaks the classiness of the song for a slight section. And I quite like that too. (9/10)

4. Wait – Wait is an acoustic ballad that goes straight to showcasing EXO’s vocals from the very first second. And it is a very beautiful sounding song, with the acoustic guitar being the only instrument in the song. The rest of the song relies on the said vocals and the nice harmonies that you can hear throughout the song. The chorus features harmonies with all the members, while the verses feature harmonies between the singer and background vocals. Looking back at the song, I find it extremely hard to really pinpoint anything I dislike about it. (10/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8.6/10 (This incorporates the scores of all 13 songs on the albums)

Xiumin’s Love Shot Teaser

Suho’s Love Shot Teaser

Baekhyun’s Love Shot Teaser

Chen’s Love Shot Teaser

Chanyeol’s Love Shot Teaser

D.O’s Love Shot Teaser

Kai’s Love Shot Teaser

Sehun’s Love Shot Teaser

[Weekly Chart] 2nd Week of December 2018

December 16, 2018Posted in Weekly ChartsLeave a comment

We have passed the halfway mark for the voting period in the 2018 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Wanna One, BTS, Red Velvet and BLACKPINK are just some of the artists that are nominated. Have you supported your favourites? Click here to do so now!

Welcome back to another week in the KPOP industry and for the KPOPREVIEWED’s Weekly Charts. I have noticed that the number of releases has been slowly decreasing due to the impending end of 2018. But I have still different posts lined up for the end of 2018, so don’t you worry. I also plan on doing a little catch up for releases that I have missed throughout 2018. If you know any title tracks that I haven’t reviewed yet, comment below!

In other important news, I can confirm that LOONA’s music video theory posts will be published this week! I am currently putting the final touches on the layout and they will be released slowly throughout Wednesday. As a result, I will review any songs released on Wednesday on Thursday.

Now, let’s have a quick summary of the charts! Taking the top spot this week is Laboum’s Turn It Up. I was personally a little surprised of this outcome as I was more focused on the MAMAs than listening to music for the charts this week. In the second position is The Boyz’s No Air, while the third position went to Loved by HIGHLIGHT. Completing the top 5 is EXID’s I Love You and IZ*ONE’s La Vie en Rose, respectively in the fourth and fifth positions. For more of the charts, scroll down below.

	9th Dec – 15th Dec 2018
	Title	Artist	Status
1	Turn It Up	Laboum	(▲ 10)
2	No Air	The Boyz	(▲ 6)
3	Loved	HIGHLIGHT	(▲ 7)
4	I Love You	EXID	(▼ 2)
5	La Vie en Rose	IZ*ONE	(▲ 13)
6	Spring Breeze	Wanna One	(▼ 1)
7	Days Gone By	DAY6	(new)
8	YES or YES	TWICE	(▲ 9)
9	Shoot Out	Monsta X	(▲ 4)
10	RBB (Really Bad Boy)	Red Velvet	(▼ 4)
11	Wind Flower	Mamamoo	(▼ 7)
12	I Am YOU	Stray Kids	(▲ 16)
13	Some (You’ll Be Mine)	NATURE	(▼ 1)
14	Blue Rose	UP10TION	(▲ 6)
15	LOST N FOUND	Lovelyz	(▼ 13)
16	Simon Says	NCT 127	(▼ 15)
17	The Best Thing I Ever Did	TWICE	(new)
18	Fiance	Mino (Winner)	(▼ 9)
19	Help Me	NU’EST W	(▲ 3)
20	Gone	Lee Changsub (BTOB)	(new)
21	Not That Type	Gugudan	(▼ 5)
22	Tempo	EXO	(▲ 2)
23	Home	JBJ95	(▲ 11)
24	Love Shot	EXO	(new)
25	Miracle	GOT7	(▼ 18)
26	Treasure	ATEEZ	(▲ 19)
27	Genie	Golden Child	(▲ 2)
28	Blue	Onew (SHINee)	(▼ 9)
29	One of Those Nights	Key (SHINee) ft. Crush	(▼ 8)
30	SOLO	Jennie (BLACKPINK)	(▼ 16)

Songs leaving the chart this week as they have completed their 9 weeks on the charts are:

Nothing Better – Seven O’Clock
Searchlight – Seven O’Clock
Senorita – VAV
Oh! My Mistake – APRIL
Good Night Kiss – Kim Dong Han
Being There – Eunji (APINK)
Cookie – Lee Hong Gi (FT Island) ft. Jung Ilhoon (BTOB)
Hurry Up – Sohee (ELRIS) ft. BOL4

Thank you once again this week and I hope you all have another fantastic week!

[Review] 28℃ – 100%

December 15, 2018Posted in JPOP, ReviewsTagged 100%1 Comment

A lot of groups are sneaking in last minute releases and comebacks just before 2018 wraps up. 100% is one of the group still sneaking in a comeback despite having a very busy year themselves. While they lost their late leader Minwoo (R.I.P) earlier this year, the boy group persisted through the shocking loss and managed to have one Korean comeback (Grand Bleu and Heart) and 3 Japanese comebacks (Song For You, Summer Night and now 28℃). And today, we will be having a closer look at their most recent track, 28℃.

Unlike their Japanese tropical house releases during the year, 28℃ goes with a pure EDM sound. But while I want to hear something a little more adventurous from the group, 28℃ manages to hold its ground quite strongly. I think listening to the first verse really blew my mind. It sounds so beautiful and this definitely caught my attention. I like how their vocals sounded while on top of that minimalistic instrumentation canvas. It may not be much to some people but it was quite appealing to me. The drop was standard when you reflect upon the track but the buildup made it feel very powerful. The rapping in the second verse was done is a way where it didn’t rely on the strong intensity that rappers usually bring but rather its lightness, which I think this goes with the ‘beautiful’ nature of the verses. The rapping for the bridge was another story as it injects the dong with the intensity, which as needed by then. Overall, while it was still a standard sound, the timing of elements in this track and its balance made it very appealing.

The music video doesn’t really have much going on in it. There were closeup shots and choreography shots, just like your standard music video. I did like the setting that they chose for some reason despite it being a cliche choice. I also did like the sets. Nothing really else to comment on in regards to the video.

I did like the choreography, however. It depicts tension through the first pre-chorus collar-grabbing and closeness between each pair. And while the chorus felt standard (song-wise), their choreography showed off some moves that looked quite cool overall.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 6/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7.4/10

[Review] Hair In The Air – Yeri (Red Velvet), Renjun, Jeno & Jaemin (NCT)

December 14, 2018Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged Jaemin (NCT), Jeno (NCT), NCT, Red Velvet, Renjun (NCT), Yeri (Red Velvet)2 Comments

Both Red Velvet and NCT are nominated in this year’s KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Voting is underway and if you haven’t voted yet, click here to do so now!

For this week’s SM Station release, Yeri (from Red Velvet) and Renjun, Jeno and Jaemin (from NCT) join hands together for the special release of Hair In The Air, which is the main theme song for the new television series – Trolls: The Beat Goes On. The song features on a special OST album for the show and the album also contains a second track, Best Day Ever, featuring Haechan, Chenle and Jisung (from NCT as well). But we are here for Hair In The Air, so let’s get going.

Hair In The Air goes for a fun-filled and vibrant sound, suiting the animated show it will represent in South Korea. It has this positivity atmosphere that makes you want to smile and dance to. The pop instrumental for the song was consistent (in a good way) and gave the song that fun factor which I have already mentioned. It is super addictive so I can see it being used as a children’s show theme song. Yeri and Renjun take cares of the vocals in the song, while Jeno and Jaemin rap in the song. And I personally enjoyed both the vocals and raps in the song as they both add some flavour and textures to the song. It may just be a standard song to some but I thoroughly enjoyed its lightheartedness.

Like the song, the video is pretty much a lighthearted video. Not really meant to be taken seriously. Since it was for Trolls, I had expected some sort of Trolls animation throughout it. But instead, we have a party themed video with Yeri and the 3 featuring members from NCT. But it seems that this party is all in the book that Yeri is reading. There is a small bit of choreography for the video to compliment the fun style of the video. Rather simple but I enjoyed it.

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

[Album Review] Present: You & Me (2nd Repackaged Album) – GOT7

December 13, 2018Posted in Album Reviews, KPOPTagged GOT7Leave a comment

OT7 is nominated for Best Male Group and Best Male Choreography in the 2018 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. If you have yet to vote for GOT7 and your other favourite groups, click on the link here to do so!

GOT7 returned last week with their repackaged album, Present: You & Me. This album features the title track, Miracle and Lullaby. It is a different repackaged album, however, as normal repackaged albums are renamed but have only one to three new tracks. You & Me has a total of 12 new tracks on the album, which is basically a second album. The unit and solo tracks were all previously performed at GOT7’s concerts and this is the first time we have seen a studio version of these songs. I also want to clear up another detail. This isn’t the group’s first repackaged, as Mad was repackaged into a Christmas album back in 2014. But we are here to focus on Present: You & Me. Note that this is a very long review.

got7-presentyou&me-2 — *Present: You & Me* Album Cover

1..Miracle (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review for Miracle. (7.5/10)

2. Take Me To You – Take Me To You has the potential to be a contender for title track status. It combines the artistic style that I felt from each of their individual songs in their Present: Me album, combined with their usual dance style of music, allowing for some choreography to easily be performed for this track. I like the soft nature of the song, as every element in the song felt refined and soothing. Even the rapping reduced its energy and power. For the most part, I liked their execution of the song. I just felt that Mark’s “Taking Me, Taking Me’ could have been a little louder as it could have been easily missed. (9.5/10)

3. Come On (안 보여) – Come On is a mix between a pop dance and hip-hop. And thus, it is an ideal song that fits in nicely into GOT7’s portfolio. I think it is a pleasant song to listen to. Nothing is heavy in this song, which is a plus in an industry filled with dance-heavy tracks. I also liked the melodies in this song and each member sings in one form or another for this song. Jackson stands out as he takes the lead for the chorus, singing rather than rapping for a change. His voice in this song is memorable and gives the song an interesting texture. (9/10)

4. 1:31 AM (잘 지내야해) (JB & Youngjae) – 1:31AM is one of the three songs on this album which was first performed in 2017. 1:31 AM is a ballad that highlights the vocals of both JB and Youngjae in a fashion that we don’t hear often in their group songs or solo tracks. It is a little slow for my liking, but it has a very nice melody and the lyrics to the song are just very touching. The one thing I wanted with this song is harmonies, which was lacking as the two vocalists do not sing together at all (which is slightly interesting). (8/10)

JB’s Miracle Teaser Image

Youngjae’s Miracle Teaser Image

5. Higher (Jinyoung & Mark) – Jinyoung and Mark’s collaboration starts off as a typical pop song. Jinyoung’s signature vocals and Mark’s deep rapping voice dominates the start of the song as well. The chorus goes electronic with an explosion of colour and sounds that create an upbeat and unmissable energetic atmosphere that is bound to get you dancing. There is also a fun element to the song which makes it perfect for a concert. (8/10)

6. I Love It (Jackson, BamBam & Yugyeom) – I Love It is the shortest track on the album, with Jackson, BamBam and Yugyeom only singing on this track for around 1 minute (and they all sing!). I think their vocals on this song shine the brightest (sorry to the other members) on the album. It literally took my breath away. The instrumentation was lovely and the melody was beautiful. The biggest sin this track has associated to itself is its shortness. (9.5/10)

7. WOLO (Jackson, BamBam & Yugyeom) – WOLO is the third song on the album that was first performed at their concerts last year. WOLO stands for ‘We Only Like Once’ and we can categorise the song as part of the hip-hop genre. They do most of their rapping and singing during the verses, leaving the electronic dubstep to do most of the talking in the chorus. And it is the type of drop to really excite me for a performance. I liked the alternating lines to the chorus and each member of the trio shined in this song. (7/10)

8. King (Jinyoung & BamBam) –It was interesting to see where this unit would take us since both Jinyoung and BamBam’s personality is very different. This would be a hyped-up party track that would fit right into BamBam’s alley. Jinyoung’s presence was definitely a shocker (in a good way). I am not a fan of autotune usually, especially when it is overused. However, I find its use in this song well balanced, despite the entire track being in that electronic filter. It builds up the tension and not once did it feel obnoxious. I like both member’s tone, with Jinyoung bringing fierceness and BamBam bring energy to the song, It is one stand-out yet surprising track. (9/10)

BamBam’s Miracle Teaser Image

Jinyoung’s Miracle Teaser Image

9. Think About It (JB, Mark, Youngjae) – Think About It is another R&B song for the album. And it brings together JB and Youngjae’s vocals and Mark’s rapping. Together, you can tell the powerful direction that this track is going to take. And while the song does go in that direction, it is the most underwhelming song on the album. The song has a drifty melody with only the vocals and raps to keep it grounded. The instrumental is very minute compared to the vocals, which seem to overpower the instrumentation several times. I think if the instrumental had some sort of extra definition, the track would have been a lot more cohesive. (6/10)

10. From Now (이젠) (Yugyeom Solo) – Yugyeom doesn’t get much of a chance to really show off his vocal capabilities in GOT7 songs. From Now does just that. His solo track, From Now, is an R&B track, which is familiar territory for the dancer. And not only does he bring smooth vocals, but he also packs a punch with the delivery of his lines. There were parts in the chorus that felt powerful and they left me shocked. I really like his harmonies with the background vocals in the bridge. The instrumental was honestly a bore but his vocals did an amazing job at saving the song. (7/10)

11. Hunger (Jackson Solo) – This is one epic song. It makes me hungry for more. It is another short track (with another 20 seconds compared to I Love It). But it is extremely feisty and delivers all the energy you think Jackson has into one powerful track. Unlike the other songs which he focused on vocals, Hunger takes us back to raps that we know Jackson best for. I also liked his lyrics, which were all in English. (8/10)

12. Phoenix (Jackson & Yugyeom) – The final unit track follows neatly from Jackson’s Hunger. It is another feisty track, just with less power and impact. Jackson’s rap was once again in English, while Yugyeom handles the Korean in his vocal parts. There was a pause in the song, which I think acted as a suspense mechanism for the stage. Not sure why it was included in the studio version as it cuts the flow of the song and made the song feel awkward. But other than that, it was another nice track. (7.5/10)

Jackson’s Miracle Teaser Image

Yugeyom’s Miracle Teaser Image

Overall Album Rating – 8/10

got7-presentyou&me-mark-3 — Mark’s *Miracle* Teaser Image

[Review] Love Shot – EXO

December 13, 2018December 13, 2018Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged EXO3 Comments

EXO has returned with their 5th repackaged album and their latest title track, both titled Love Shot. Last month, EXO returned with their 5th studio album, Don’t Mess Up My Tempo. Promotions for Tempo were quite short, causing anger to be directed towards SM Entertainment for their lack of promotions this year as a group. It does seem like EXO will be promoting their repackaged album and title track for slightly longer as their album promotions will crossover with the End of Year music festivals and award ceremonies that start 2019 off.

Love Shot is a pop dance track filled with a balanced level of thumping bass and it feels a lot more comfortable than what Tempo felt like. It flows a lot more nicely, with smoothness being a keyword used to describe the song. I think what I like about the song is its addictive chorus. It may be a simple hook but it is keyed into your memory by the time the song ends, so you just want to replay the song to relive the chorus. The vocals in this track were also a strong point, adding to the track’s appeal. I really liked D.O’s ‘People come and people go‘ start to the bridge, which I think was more memorable than the already addictive chorus. Once again, I also liked the rapping. It is perfect for this sensual sounding song but I have to admit that it doesn’t top the energy and intensity we got from Tempo. And that basically applies to the entire song. But nonetheless, EXO’s Love Shot was a great song to mark their second return to 2018.

EXO has their guns drawn for their music video. There is a plotline somewhere in the video, with the way Suho walks away with a SWAT team by his side and everyone is confronted by the SWAT team when they came to rob the bank (of flowers). While it does feel cryptic and confusing, the plotline does seem fairly interesting. Also, when I thought of ‘Love Shot‘, I thought of drinking rather than guns. But I liked the way they incorporated alcohol into their guns, which is pretty aesthetic. But at the same time, not too effective when it comes to robbing a bank. I also thought the closeup shots throughout the video showed off great visuals of the members.

But I think we cannot pass the choreography for this comeback. Like the song, the choreography seems to take a sensual approach, reminding me of the moves they pulled for The Eve. I liked the incorporation of the small “handgun” in their body rolls for the choruses. As for the verses, we just have to wait and see. But it looks good from the music video end.

Song – 7.5/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8/10

[Review] The Best Thing I Ever Did – TWICE

December 12, 2018Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged TWICELeave a comment

TWICE is nominated for Best Female Group, Best Female Choreography, Best Music Video, & Best Japanese Song by a Korean Artist. Help support TWICE in this year’s KPOPREVIEWED Awards by clicking the link here to vote.

If there is one girl group that kept busy in 2018, that girl group would be TWICE. Onces (TWICE’s fandom) were treated to 3 Korean comebacks, What Is Love?, Dance The Night Away and Yes Or Yes throughout 2018. On top of that, multiple Japanese releases such as BDZ and Candy Pop. Now, the female group has returned for one last time in 2018 with a reissued version of their Yes or Yes mini-album, The Years of Yes. The lead title from this new mini-album is The Best Thing I Ever Did, which is the focus of today’s album review.

The Best Thing I Ever Did is a sweet sounding ballad that suits the youthful style of TWICE’s releases and the upcoming Christmas holiday. It isn’t that emotionally driven style of a ballad, which I think would honestly a little awkward for me as that isn’t the mature style of music that I am used to when it comes to TWICE. I think what stands out for me is the vocals of the group. TWICE has been subjected to some criticism for their weak vocals but this song proves otherwise. I thought the rap-talking in the song was also quite nice. The instrumentation is also another positive for the track, as it gives off a warm feeling and some of the details in the instrumental were added for a cute effect. It isn’t your typical TWICE song as the song is miles away from what they usually do. But it is a nice ballad for their fans.

The music video for this song is more of a fan service. But rather showing us that typical behind the scene fan video, the producers of this music video were smart with the way they presented it. It was shown as a movie and the members of TWICE were watching the movie in the cinema. It was a great way to show the members reminiscing about their career so far and it was fitting for the lyrics of the song. The music video also shows the members having a little fun at the dinner table and in the snow.

Correct me if I am wrong but I remember reading somewhere that there will be no promotions for this new release so we won’t be able to see a live performance for it. If there is a performance, my prediction will be that there won’t be any accompanying choreography due to the nature of the song.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 7/10
Overall Rating – 7.6/10

[Review] Gone – Lee Changsub (BTOB)

December 11, 2018Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged BTOB, Lee Changsub (BTOB)3 Comments

BTOB is nominated for Best Male Group and Best Vocals in this year’s KPOPREVIEWED Awards. If you haven’t voted for BTOB yet (or any of your favourite artists), click here to vote right away!

With the impending military enlistment of Changsub confirmed for next year, he is saying farewell (for the next two years) through a solo debut mini-album titled Mark and the title track, Gone. This isn’t the first time I reviewed Changsub’s solo work, as Changsub released another solo single as part of Piece of BTOB, At The End. BTOB also returned a few weeks back with Hour Moment and the single, Beautiful Pain as a parting gift to their fans before the military enlistment of each member.

Given Changsub’s vocals, it was expected he would go with a song that would show off his vocals. Gone does just that. It is a ballad that has a standard ballad instrumentation but manages to incorporate some flair into the song. The buildup instantly comes out of nowhere, which was a great way of offsetting the slow start to the song, which I felt made the song feel too standard. So, this buildup was definitely needed. His vocals start off really nice, matching that slow, soothing sound. But it built up at the same rate as the instrumentation’s buildup, remaining as the main focus of the song. And I liked how powerful his vocals got, which really gave the song a needed kick. Despite that, I like his soft touch to the ending, which made the song feel like it ended as a complete circle. Overall, a pretty cool solo debut ballad.

The music video features APINK’s Chorong, who I found out are friends in real life, based on what I am reading. I not 100% sure on what the video is about and I have yet to find English lyrics to really give me hints. But here is my take on it. Changsub is a top celebrity, who is tired of his work. He decides for a night out at a small bar, where he meets Chorong, who is a singer at the bar. Chorong is verbally abused for probably being a poor singer and she is about to attack her abuser when Changsub stops her and drags her away. She thanks him by inviting him back to her part-time work to have a soft jam session. He writes a song with her in mind and he performs it at the same bar. He is slightly nervous, but Chorong is present to support him, which leads to a successful performance. It was a nice video to watch, overall.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 7/10
Overall Rating – 7.6/10

[Review] Days Gone By – DAY6

December 10, 2018Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged DAY62 Comments

Before we get into the review, I just want to let you know that DAY6 is nominated for Best Band for their Shoot Me comeback earlier this year. Click here to vote for DAY6 and your other favourite artists.

DAY6 has returned with the part 2 of their Youth series, Remember Us. The title track for this album release is Days Gone By. This is the band’s second comeback of the year, after their Shoot Me comeback in June. Since then, the band has been busy in Japan with their first album and comebacks. 2018 also seems to be a very big year for the band, as they won the Best Band award at the MMA and are nominated for the same award at the MAMA’s (with the winner will be announced later this week). Let’s hope they have the same success for this comeback and 2019.

From the very first second, Days Gone By screams out retro. The first few seconds reminded me of the style of song that I would associate with Michael Jackson, especially from the 70s and 80s era. I think we can attribute this to their rocking instrumental, which used that retro synthesizer on the keyboard. Kind of the go-to instrument/sound if you want something very retro. And I liked how they stayed with the sound and did not stray away from it, which is the more common thing to do in today’s music industry. I liked how their vocals blended well with the instrumentation. Neither felt overpowering but both were equally strong. Jae’s husky vocals, in particular, were my favourite. I think want makes me a major fan of the band is their versatility. We have seen a range of sounds, especially through their monthly releases. And now that they have ticked retro off that list, I am excited to see what is next.

Following the retro concept, the music video was very retro as well. The use of green screen through this, giving off a kaleidoscope effect of each member’s shots was definitely something very big from that era. For once the lower quality footage was intentional and fitted in well with the concept. I also liked the instrumental section, where they played their instruments and had a little fun, while all we could see was the silhouettes of each member. It isn’t technically the most amazing music video ever. But you can tell that they thought through this concept logically and managed to incorporate many ideas into the video.

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

[Album Review] RBB (5th Mini Album) – Red Velvet

December 9, 2018Posted in Album Reviews, KPOPTagged Red Velvet1 Comment

Red Velvet is nominated for multiple categories in this year’s KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Click here to vote and support your favourite artists.

Red Velvet returned at the end of last week with another new track, RBB (Really Bad Boy), which is the same title as their fifth mini-album. This is the group’s 3rd Korean comeback this year, where each was marked with an album review (The Perfect Red Velvet and Summer Magic). RBB features 6 tracks, with the final song being an English version of Really Bad Boy (and per usual, I did not include that in the album review). So without any further delay, here are my thoughts on the album.

1..RBB (Really Bad Boy) (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review of RBB (Really Bad Boy). (9/10)

2. Butterflies – Butterflies is a light pop track that really appealed to my taste within the first few seconds of listening to it. To me, this is a typical yet perfected Red Velvet b-side track and I liked it that they chose this as the second promotional track to promote during their comeback week. The vocals were on point. While they weren’t as grabbing as RBB, the vocals here were soothing and very delicate, matching the atmosphere that the song had created. The soft rap-talking during the bridge was also quite nice. Overall, it is an amazing track that I think the word ‘beautiful’ sums it up perfectly. (9/10)

3. So Good – I think this would be a nice mix of their Red and Velvet side. It is an R&B track that offers smoothness. So Good has a nice melody and this makes this song quite catchy. I personally like the vocals in the song, despite it being quite plain, if I was to choose a word to describe that element of the song. I did like the ad-libs that threw throughout the choruses, giving the illusion it was rather busy and textured. So Good also offers a few twists, such as the vocals starting off the second verse and the ending, which brought different colours to the song without stray too far from its original sound. (8/10)

4. Sassy Me (멋있게) – Sassy Me throws uniqueness at you in any form. The vocals during the verses have that slight groaning ending to each line. I can see how this would turn people off, but I thought this was a very interesting effect to grab your attention straight away. I really like the instrumentation of the song. The brass in the song was extremely short, sharp and repetitive. However, not in an annoying way. As usual, their vocals were amazing, but I loved how they progressed to that amazing high note at the end of the song. Sassy Me is probably my most favourite track on this album. (9/10)

5. Taste – Taste’s sound isn’t my cup of tea. So I am having a hard time getting into the song. The song is best described as a hip-hop centred sound. But I found it to be quite slow and the instrumentation was rather bland, compared to the rest of the songs on the album. However, props must be given for Yeri, Irene and Wendy’s rap sequence, which caught me off guard and made me backtrack a number of times to be sure I was listening to the song correctly. It isn’t the best rapping but it gives the final track on the album something unlike any of their previous tracks. (6/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8.2/10

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[Weekly Chart] 1st Week of December 2018

December 9, 2018December 9, 2018Posted in Weekly ChartsLeave a comment

NCT127, EXID, Lovelyz, Mamamoo and Wanna One are all nominated in a range of categories for this year’s KPOPREVIEWED Awards. If you haven’t voted, vote now by visiting this page!

We are now on the home stretch and about to wrap up 2018. But there is still a lot of things to do in the meantime. Reviews, album reviews, special posts and more are coming your way, so be prepared for the onslaught of posts in the coming weeks. And the KPOPREVIEWED Awards is in full swing, with many votes already cast to decide each category. If you have yet to vote, click on the link in the italicised paragraph above.

And now, here is just a quick summary of the Top 5 for this week. We said goodbye to EXID”s short reign on the top of the charts, as I Love You dropped down to the second position. Taking over as the top song of the week is NCT 127’s Simon Says. Lovely’z LOST N FOUND remains steady at the third position, while Mamamoo’s Wind Flower and Wanna One’s Spring Breeze respectively take the 4th and 5th positions.

For more of the charts, scroll down below!

	2nd Dec – 8th Dec 2018
	Title	Artist	Status
1	Simon Says	NCT 127	(▲ 11)
2	I Love You	EXID	(▼ 1)
3	LOST N FOUND	Lovelyz	(=)
4	Wind Flower	MAMAMOO	(▲ 21)
5	Spring Breeze	Wanna One	(▲ 5)
6	RBB	Red Velvet	(▲ 11)
7	Miracle	GOT7	(new)
8	No Air	The Boyz	(▲ 18)
9	FIANCE	MINO (Winner)	(=)
10	Loved	HIGHLIGHT	(▼ 4)
11	Turn It Up	LABOUM	(new)
12	Some (You’ll Be Mine)	NATURE	(▲ 7)
13	Shoot Me	Monsta X	(▲ 2)
14	SOLO	JENNIE (BLACKPINK)	(▼ 3)
15	Regular	NCT 127	(▲ 8)
16	Not That Type	Gugudan	(▼ 12)
17	YES or YES	TWICE	(▼ 3)
18	La Vie en Rose	IZ*ONE	(▼ 10)
19	Blue	Onew (SHINee)	(new)
20	Blue Rose	UP10TION	(new)
21	One of Those Nights	Key (SHINee) ft. Crush	(▼ 16)
22	Help Me	NU’EST W	(▼ 20)
23	Milkshake	FANATIC-FLAVOR	(▲ 17)
24	Tempo	EXO	(▼ 6)
25	Love Bomb	fromis_9	(▼ 4)
26	What Do I Do?	Spectrum	(▲ 18)
27	Paradise	TST	(▼ 3)
28	I AM YOU	Stray Kids	(▼ 12)
29	Genie	Golden Child	(▲ 1)
30	Crush	Weki Meki	(▼ 1)

Songs leaving the charts this week are:

One More Time – Super Junior & REIK
You In My Eyes – Snuper
BBIBBI – IU
Love Bomb – fromis_9
Crush – Weki Meki
Regular – NCT 127

Thank you once again for another amazing week and I hope to see you all again.

[Album Review] Regulate (1st Repackaged Album) – NCT 127

December 8, 2018December 7, 2018Posted in Album Reviews, KPOPTagged NCT, NCT127Leave a comment

NCT is nominated for Best Male Group, while NCT Dream and NCT 127 are nominated for Best Subunit. If you haven’t voted for NCT or your favourite artists yet, then click here to vote!

NCT 127 made their comeback with the repackaged version of their first studio album, which has been retitled Regulate. Leading the repackaged promotions is Simon Says. I debated whether to create a separate album review for this as I would only be reviewing one new song. I decided to do it anyway in order to help support NCT in the KPORPEVIEWED Awards (see above). Initially, it was meant for publishing on a later date but due to some scheduling changes, I have decided to publish today. I hope you don’t mind this really short album review.

nct127-regulate-2 — *Regulate* Album Cover

Regulate features all the songs from their Regular-Irregular album, which I have previously reviewed. If you wish to check out the song reviews from the Regular-Irregular album, please click here.

4. Welcome To My Playground – The song, compared to the songs on the Regular-Irregular, has a more bright and playful tone. It is a different side of NCT 127 that we saw briefly in Touch but incorporates that hip-hop genre that NCT has been marketed towards. The verses were half Korean and English, which I think was a smart way of interacting with both their Korean and international fans. The song was quite soft and I actually liked the prolonged build up in the verses. It made the chorus a lot more dynamic. I also liked the jump and fast-paced nature of Mark and Taeyong’s rap sequence, which gave the song a profound kick of energy towards the end, ending the song on a very energetic note. (9/10)

9. Simon Says (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review of Simon Says. (9/10)

12. Chain (Korean Version) – I previously reviewed the Japanese version of Chain. I did feel like the song was a lot slower when it is in the Korean language. It might just be me, however. Click here to read the full review of Chain. (7.5/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8.3/10 (This incorporates the scores of all 12 songs on the albums)

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