Year: 2018

[Review] The Blue Bird – APRIL

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APRIL is back with their newest track, The Blue Bird. The Blue Bird is the title track off their 5th mini album, which is titled as The Blue. This also marks their Take My Hand comeback since September 2017, the final of three 2017 comebacks (the others include April Story and Mayday).  Jinsol and Naeun also formed a special subunit for a track in February (which I somehow completely missed).

The Blue Bird reminds of the April Story, in the sense, it (predominately) features an orchestral style instrumental. This return does bring them back to that mature sound which I liked with the earlier track. And while they did bring that back, they did manage to keep it from becoming too similar. The drums that featured in this song seemed to be a lot bolder and more defined, giving the song some energy and a more upbeat vibe. The bridge was also quite fresh, which removed the classical influence and moved into a more pop-based sound. It didn’t last long but it gave the song some relief from becoming too repetitive. Vocally, all the members sounded good. It isn’t impressive but their vocals pair well with this style. My favourite line is just before the choruses and the final line in the song, ‘I have something to say.’ I thought the way it sounded was just beautiful and was my highlight of the entire track.

I liked how the video wasn’t oversaturated in blue. And I am glad because it would have made it a little overwhelming to watch. Instead, the blue colour was featured as small details such as the teddy bear, the blue sky, the flower petals on the floor. Their blue dresses were bold yet it worked well with the rest of the video in the background. On top of that, I really liked where they set the video. It gave off a classy vibe and made everything feel graceful and warm. Overall, it was a nice video to watch, pairing well with the song.

I unfortunately don’t think there is enough choreography in the video to write anything about it. Though I will be honest and what I can see is rather plain. I will return once a live performance is released (PS. there are a few from last week which I will be updating tomorrow).

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 8/10 
Performance – 6/10
Overall Rating – 7.5/10

[Album Review] Dream Your Dream (4th Mini Album) – WJSN (Cosmic Girls)

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WJSN has returned with their 4th mini-album, Dream Your Dream. This is their first comeback since their Happy promotions last year. I honestly do not know what else to say in this introductory paragraph. I am glad that I have been writing more album reviews for female groups and by the end of this month, I should have a few more for male groups. But we are here to look at WJSN’s comeback, so let’s get back on track for that!

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Dream Your Dream Album Cover

1..Dreams Come True (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review of Dreams Come True. (8.3/10)

2. Love O’Clock – The track opens and closes up with a classic clock ticking. But within seconds, the song takes a turn by developing into a fun, energetic and upbeat track. I absolutely love the cutesy feel of the song and the catchy nature of the chorus. The vocals were nice, particularly the ad-libs. What the song also needed after a while was a rap sequence and it delivered that during the bridge with a smashing sequence. It is a great song that I am dying to see a live performance. It is my favourite track and a definite highlight of the entire album. (10/10)

3. Renaissance – This particular song feels like a direct follow-up to Secret, in my opinion. Despite that, however, there were moments in the song that didn’t feel right. The transition between the rap and vocals in the second verse felt awkward and cut the flow of the song. Don’t get me wrong, though, because the raps and vocals were amazing. Repetitiveness also seemed to be an issue as the song failed to have a slight change up to keep me interested as we got to the final chorus. (7/10)

4. Starry Moment – Starry Moment in another standard KPOP song. I did like the retro vibes that were channelled throughout the instrumental. The vocals and raps during the end of the choruses were good. I just feel like the song could have had a catchier hook to get me more into the song. The bridge of the song was also another strong point of the song. But despite all of that, this track seems to be the most passable when you look at the album as a whole. (7/10)

5. Thawing – Really good song despite it falling into that cutesy domain which tends to be a hit or miss for me. There are some quirky sounds in the song to add to that cutesy feel. They were nice details that I enjoyed.  There were three stand-out parts in this track that I would like to point out. First, Cheng Xiao’s rap just before the first chorus. Secondly, the ‘tuttutu‘ repetition. And thirdly, the bridge which had a retro twist. All these parts made the track more fun and enjoyable to listen to. (8/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8/10

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Dream Your Dream Teaser Image

[Weekly Chart] 1st Week of March 2018

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Welcome to the 1st week of March 2018. Yeah, we are already in March. It is quite unsettling at how time goes so fast. And with us entering to March, it seems to be the comeback month as so many artists have already confirmed their comebacks. There is so much happening in the weeks to come that I am already overwhelmed despite being 1/3 of the way into the month.

We see a new chart-topper this week with WJSN’s Dreams Come True. NCT’s run for 2018 is already proving fruitful with Baby Don’t Stop, Boss and Go taking out the 2nd, 3rd and 5th position on the charts this week. Mamamoo is the also another group making their comeback this week and have earned the 4th position with their track, Starry Night.

That is just a short summary of the charts this week. For the rest of the charts, scroll down below as normal!

4th Mar – 10th Mar 2018
Title Artist Status
1 Dreams Come True WJSN (Cosmic Girls) (▲ 4)
2 Baby Don’t Stop NCT U (▲ 2)
3 Boss NCT U (▼ 2)
4 Starry Night Mamamoo (new)
5 Go NCT Dream (new)
6 Black Dress CLC (▼ 4)
7 Thanks SEVENTEEN (▼ 4)
8 Heroine Sunmi (▲ 3)
9 I.P.U Wanna One (new)
10 To Heart Fromis_9 (▲ 27)
11 True Love Kim Sung Kyu (Infinite) (▼ 2)
12 My Flower JBJ (▼ 2)
13 She’s Gone Jung Ilhoon (BTOB) (new)
14 Star Wind Flower Sun Mamamoo (new)
15 Baby It’s U Jung Sewoon (▼ 9)
16 Love Scenario iKON (▲ 12)
17 One Shot, Two Shot BoA (▼ 2)
18 Rubber Band iKON (new)
19 It’s U Golden Child (▼ 2)
20 One & Only You GOT7 ft. Hyolyn (▲ 20)
21 Quit Jang Wooyoung (2PM) (▲ 29)
22 Spotlight X:TIME (▲ 23)
23 Secret Garden Oh My Girl (▲ 11) (Final Week)
24 La La La Weki Meki (▲ 9)
25 The Boots Gugudan (▼ 9)
26 Mamma Mia SF9 (▼ 7)
27 Gone Cold MXM (new)
28 Star VROMANCE (▲ 1)
29 To The Sky CLC (▼ 17)
30 Don’t Leave Block B (▼ 3) (Final Week)

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

  • Tell Me – Infinite
  • Grr – Stray Kids
  • Don’t Leave – Block B
  • Going Going – Wooyoung (2PM)
  • Secret Garden – Oh My Girl
  • Diamond Girl – MXM
  • Lonely – Jo Kwon
  • Full Moon – Dream Catcher

Hope you all have another fantastic week and see you all same place (and hopefully time) next week!

[Double Review] Do You Have A Moment & Dinner – Suho (EXO) & Jang Jane

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At the start of the week, it was announced that Suho (leader of EXO) and Jang Jane (vocalist from MYSTIC89) were going to collaborate for two new singles. The first is Do You Have A Moment, which was released on Friday by MYSTIC89. The second is Dinner, which was released just a few hours ago (on Saturday) as part of the SM Station Season 2 lineup. Both songs are said to be in regards to a relationship, where each song was written at various points of a relationship.

Do You Have A Moment can be described as a pop ballad. It has a soft piano based instrumental which does seem a little ordinary for my taste. It could have used other instruments to keep the song a little more interesting towards the end and given the song some freshness. The start felt like it could have developed into that typical ballad song but once we reach the first chorus, the song features a cheerful sound, setting the tone for the rest of the track. The vocals here are really nice, with both singing complimenting each other.

Dinner has a more serious and seductive tone to it, which I actually like. Like in the previous song, their vocals are the strong point of this song.  Their solo sections were on point. When they sing together (such as the chorus), they change up the dominance between two depending on who’s part of the song it is. The instrumental is the complete opposite of the previous track, going for synth-based and pairing with the slight autotune which I think I can hear. The main part of the song which has me second-guessing is the bridge. I think they were singing ‘Love Love Love’ but it came out to be more like ‘LOL LOL LOL’. But besides that, it was a really good song to listen to.

Do You Have A Moment’s music video reflect the lyrics in a very literal sense. Essentially, the lyrics of the song are about making the first move towards the person that catches your eye. The video is done is a cafe like setting, where both singers don’t really face each other, clearly acting out the lyrics. It literally ends with both singers finally facing each other, already clearing the first (and the most daunting) step of all.

The music video for Dinner also goes well with the lyrics of the song. Judging from the video, the two are experiencing a breakdown in their relationship, illustrated by the lack of chemistry they share when at the table together or when one of them is completely absent. I like how they started off with the final scene (the clock) from the previous video and used the same set to show the difference between the two stories. I also liked the lighting and the extra sets that were used.

Do You Have A Moment 
Song – 8/10
Music Video – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8/10

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

 

[Review] She’s Gone – Jung Ilhoon (BTOB)

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Jung Ilhoon, the main rapper from boy group BTOB, has featured in many tracks of other soloists and groups. On top of that, he has also developed as a producer over the years. Now, he has made his official solo debut with She’s Gone. It is the main title track featured on his debut mini-album, titled as Big Wave.

Let me start off by saying that this is an excellent song. What makes She’s Gone so good, for me at least, is that the song grows as it progresses. Rather than having a slight buildup, the entire song is built up with various sounds and textures as it plays, which makes it a very interesting track. Not only that but it gives the song some character, making it a song to check out. The song is heavily centred around the hip-hop genre, which was expected. Starting off the song, however, is a guitar riff that reminds me of country music. It then progresses into something similar to rock, all the while keeping true to the hip-hop sound.  Ilhoon both sings and raps in this song. The rapper Ilhoon has been seen multiple times before but his raspy vocals (which we don’t see often) make this track even better. The choruses are amazing drawing my attention to the song. In particular, the accumulation of all that energy in the song is presented in an explosive manner during the final chorus, which makes listening to this song worthwhile.

The entire music video is quite fast-paced, which matches the tempo of the song. Everything in the video was filled with angst and had an edgy vibe to it, which makes sense. The song is about the feeling you would get after seeing an ex-lover whom you did not part ways on a good note. So all that feeling was portrayed well in the music video. It is a good video which pairs well with the song on so many levels.

I feel like the dancing in the music video was more suitable for the live performance. Mainly because the choreography we do see on stage is relatively slow and not that energy packed like the song. That being said, I can’t help think the slowness in the dance seems to contrast nicely with the song and I was quite satisfied when I watched the performances.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 10/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 8.9/10

 

[Review] Star Wind Flower Sun – Mamamoo

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A few days ago, Mamamoo made their comeback with Starry Night. The day before their comeback, Mamamoo dropped a surprise music video for another song on their mini-album. Star Wind Flower Sun is the second track on their latest release. The combination of song and music video allows me to write a review, which is why we are here today.

Mamamoo has made a very big name in the industry for their vocals. Through their many appearances on variety TV shows and music comebacks, they have confirmed this time and time again. Star Wind Flower Sun is just another piece of evidence to add to that list. The ballad showcases the group’s vocals and this includes everyone (even though I will be talking about one particular member only). We see more of Moonbyul singing than ever before and her voice is just amazing. I also love her rap-singing during the second verse, where it literally was more singing than rapping. The harmonies in this track are also remarkable, which gives it another likeable aspect. I also liked the instrumental. Simple, yet really melodic with the piano and percussion combination. It is the type of ballad that gets you swaying along, which if you know me, I am a very big fan of this.

Also shot in New Zealand, the accompanying music video focuses more on Mamamoo rather than the scenery. It’s marketed towards the MooMoos that have been supporting and following Mamamoo. And it is a nice video to watch with the song. You see the girls have fun while on their trip. It is a more down to Earth type video, completely different from their other music video.

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

[Review] Gone Cold – MXM

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Just a few weeks after making their comeback with Diamond Girl, MXM has returned with a new single, titled as Gone Cold. It is the title track off their special single album, Rematch. This single album serves as a dedication to fans ahead of their upcoming official fan meeting.

Gone Cold is a complete turn around from their Diamond Girl song, which was just literally a few weeks ago. Taking on a more mature and emotional tone, the duo attempts the R&B style of music. And they do a decent job with it. The vocals were nice and the rapping was excellent. I like it when they sing together with that vocalist style, layered on top of the rapper’s deep and husky voice. It isn’t the most impressive song from the duo, mainly due to the fact that lacks a strong enough hook to make it a memorable song. Instead, it just stays very neutral and feels like your standard R&B track. The instrumental was okay but it felt very dry and boring for the most part. While there were some things I liked about the song, the dryness of the song does outweigh its positives. For that, it isn’t a song that I necessarily would go search for but wouldn’t mind it popping up on playlist every now and then.

Watching this video made me realize how youthful they look. I just haven’t noticed this aspect of them until now. It is also ironic how I didn’t notice that they were youthful in their energetic and brighter concepts but rather their mature one. Moving away from that, I found the video to be bland as well. I think I attribute this to the song, however, because I would say differently if the song was a really nice sounding ballad. Despite that, I did like the various camera angles and the fading in and out of the black and white filtering throughout the video.

Song – 5/10
Music Video – 5/10
Overall Rating – 5/10 

[Album Review] Black Dress (7th Mini Album) – CLC

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Please note that starting from this week, album reviews will be published on Thursdays and some Sundays. This should allow me to keep on top of these reviews and allow me to review a wider range of artists. Song reviews will be released as soon as I start writing them and I am not overwhelmed with work or university. 

CLC dropped their 7th mini-album on the 22nd of February (just a few weeks ago). It is my first time writing an album review for the girl group, who has released a few fantastic title tracks. Black Dress, since the review, has become a track that I am looking forward to listening to every time I go to YouTube or when I plug in my earphones. 

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Black Dress Album Cover (Source: ALLKPOP)

1..Black Dress (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review for Black Dress. (8.7/10) 

2. Like That – The song started off like slow song or ballad-like. But within a few seconds, the song takes a turn. It develops into a pretty decent dance track. Per usual, I found the vocals really nice and it was through the vocals that the song built up into a likeable track. The EDM chorus was also captivating despite it being a common formula nowadays. Out of all the members, I think Ye-eun (the rapper) shined the brightest in this song, with her raps being standout moments in the song. (8/10)

3. Distance – Out of all the aspects of this song, the chorus was the main highlight. And I think that is due to the vocals in this song. The harmonies in this song just further back this up. Ye-eun also provides a really decent rap segment for the song, proving her capabilities to adapt to many genres of music. My main complaint about the song is the lack of energy. The song could have used some intensity to make it sound better. (7/10)

4. To The Sky (Pre-Release Track) – To The Sky seems to keep CLC attach to that bright and vibrant sound that they debuted with. It is an upbeat track that has a very fun vibe to it and its energy makes it addictive. Its energy was also appreciated after the preceding low-energy track. Chorus was nice, especially with the chanting type format. Compared to the rest of the album, it was nice to see something a little different to the other songs. (8/10)

5. 7th – Ballad tracks are usually known to be slow-paced songs. 7th is the opposite of that in the sense that it isn’t a slow ballad and paints a picture of a nice Summer’s day. The song features sweet vocals and also showcases their best vocal performance on the entire album. The instrumental had a very relaxing vibe, while the bridge took a jazzy turn. It is another great song, ending the album on a high note. (8/10)

Overall Album Review – 7.9/10

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Black Dress Teaser Image (Source: Imgur)

[Review] Starry Night – Mamamoo

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Two months ago, Mamamoo released their single, Paint Me, promising great things to happen in 2018. Upholding their promise is the release of their latest mini-album, which is titled as Yellow Flower. The title track of this mini-album is Starry Night. Unexpectedly, the group also released a music video for another track on the album just before coming back with Starry Night and that will be reviewed at a later date.

Starry Night starts off with some guitar instrumentation which reminds me of Chanyeol & Punch’s highly successful OST track, Stay With Me. In both songs, this introduction really gives the song an intriguing factor, which makes me want to listen to more of it. Compared to their previous songs, it doesn’t really have that wow factor when it comes to their vocals. Instead, they have toned their powerhouse vocals down quite a bit, giving off a more sensual vibe to the song. And in place of their powerhouse vocals, the group went with a lot of texture in their voices (which is still worthwhile to listen to). I love Moonbyul’s raps in this song, which felt so fitting for the song. The main downfall to the track is its lack of energy. Mamamoo’s vocals don’t really push the song along and the instrumentation, despite it being nice and chill, doesn’t really have that momentum as well. There were moments (such as the constant thumping) that did give the song that epic vibe. But it just doesn’t last long enough to leave an impression on you. As a result, this would also have a flow-on effect on the memorability of the song as well.

From what I have read, the music video was shot in New Zealand, with some of the scenery recognisable in some other music videos. Once again, the sceneries are breathtaking and definitely an amazing sight. The cinematography is also quite good. But besides that, there really isn’t that much to the video. In addition, however, there was another track that did feature at the end for a few more beautiful shots and the credits of the video.

From what I can see, the choreography looks nice and seems to fit the song quite nicely. It fits the slowness of the track but there were some moves that were impactful in its own way (such as the 3:22 – 3:24 dance move). I also liked the flowy feel of the dance.

Song – 7/10
Music Video -7/10 
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7.2/10

 

[Review] I Promise You – Wanna One

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Wanna One, the hottest rookie of 2017, has returned with their first comeback for 2018. I Promise You (or I.P.U) is a special theme track for Wanna One’s fans and it also serves as a pre-release for the upcoming mini-album release expected to be released later this month.

Wanna One starts off 2018 with another great song, which joins the ranks of their previous title tracks. I.P.U is a really good song. It has the feel of your standard yet modern KPOP song but in a few ways, it is quite fresh. I really liked how the song started. The vocal and then quick buildup with the raps was really nice. You have the impression that the beat would drop but this wasn’t the case. Instead, we are thrown back into some more vocals, delaying the drop and definitely leaving you at the edge of the seats. This wasn’t repeated before any other chorus in the song, opting to just throw us right back into the chorus. Vocally, Wanna One is really good. But I think the winners of this particular song are the rappers, who definitely did an amazing job just before every other chorus and that buildup section at the start. Once the beat does drop, you are thrown into an addictive chorus. Interestingly, the first chorus is simply just the instrumental, while the second and third ones had vocals as well. I think the way the producers of this track changed it up was rather simple, yet it worked wonderfully.

The music video was fantastic. I love the spinning scenes at the start. Yeah, we have seen it before but it looks like really good cinematography in this video. I also liked their montages during the chorus, where things get a little chaotic with the streamers and confetti. Sure, it is a rather simple idea (and has been seen before). But Wanna One makes it look fun and I literally stopped a few times to see what each member was doing.

The performance, from what I can see in the video, looks rather nice. It just doesn’t have anything topping their previous choreographies, which is okay. I think they reserved that aspect for their main title track. I did like the moves during Daniel’s vocals parts during the second verse but I didn’t see anything else to jump out at me. I may return once there has been a full performance uploaded.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 6/10
Overall Rating – 8.4/10

[Review] Go – NCT Dream

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NCT Dream is the next NCT subunit to be releasing a new track (Go) ahead of NCT’s confirmed 2018 full-length album, which will be released later this month. Go joins the recent releases, Boss and Baby Don’t Stop, which are all pre-release singles for the album. This is also NCT Dream’s first comeback since last year, with their most recent song being Joy (an SM Station release).

Go is a complete turn around in NCT Dream’s typical sound, who usually releases more youthful sounds and songs. The song is more intense and definitely a lot more serious (if I were to describe their song). That can be attributed to the hip-hop sound that seems to be infused with the EDM. There is a lot of buffering effects and synths in the instrumental, which gives it that roughness that allows for a complete change in concept. The chorus of the song wasn’t that apparent to me the first time listening to the song but it was when all the members were chanting the ‘We So Young, We So Freaky‘.  I do find it slow and a little too dragged out for my liking. The singing was pretty good, with Haechan’s high note really well done. The raps (which is this song is loaded with) is pretty good as well. Personally, I feel like the song could have worked as a side track for NCT 127. The only reason why I think this wasn’t the case was due to the lyrics, which suited Dream more. It is still a good track, either way.

As mentioned previously, the song’s sound and elements allowed for a change in concept. Earlier this morning, while I flipped through the YouTube comments for the video, someone described it as the rebellious phase of the groups. Props to that person though because they described the video very well. Some parts of the video looked cool, almost like a home video style of their adventures. I also liked the choreography shots throughout the video. However, for the most part, the video was rather dry and didn’t really feel that interesting to watch. There were some likeable aspects but not all were strong.

[Updated] As mentioned previously, this particular performance didn’t seem up to par with their past performances or anything we did see in the last week. Everything was extremely fitting for the music style but as cheesy as it was, their youthful elements in their past performances were their main charm.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 6/10 [updated]
Overall Rating – 6.8/10 [updated]

 

[Weekly Chart] 4th Week of February 2018

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This is the earliest a Weekly Chart post has been published this year! Can you believe it? University is in full swing but I am not going to let that stop me from posting early or not posting at all! I will be posting normally, so don’t worry! This is the weekly chart post for the 4th and final week of February 2018.

We have a new king on the throne. Rather, NCT U are bosses for this week with their most very addictive track, Boss. Following very closely behind (like really close) is CLC’s Black Dress. Seventeen dropped down to the third position, while new songs this week (NCT U’s Baby Don’t Stop and WJSN’s Dreams Comes True) round out the top 5.

We have a few comebacks from this week that will be making their debut on the charts next week (due to their release date being on Friday and me not getting around to them in time). They include Jooyoung’s Dive and Sungmin’s Day Dream. Also dropping songs next week are Wanna One, MXM, Mamamoo, NCT Dream and a few others.

For the rest of the charts, you know the drill. Scroll down below.

25th Feb – 3rd Mar 2018
Title Artist Status
1 Boss NCT U (▲ 2)
2 Black Dress CLC (▲ 16)
3 Thanks Seventeen (▼ 2)
4 Baby Don’t Stop NCT U (new)
5 Dreams Come True WJSN (Cosmic Girls) (new)
6 Baby It’s U Jung Sewoon (▲ 9)
7 Gorgeous VAV (▲ 17)
8 Spotlight VAV (▲ 26)
9 True Love Kim Sung Kyu (Infinite) (new)
10 My Flower JBJ (▲ 1)
11 Heroine Sunmi (▼ 9)
12 To The Sky CLC (▲ 26)
13 Wolf Baby TRCNG (▲ 32) (Final Week)
14 Don’t Be Pretty 14U (▲ 14)
15 One Shot, Two Shot BoA (▼ 11)
16 The Boots Gugudan (▲ 7)
17 It’s U Golden Child (▼ 5)
18 Paint Me Mamamoo (▲ 3) (Final Week)
19 Mamma Mia SF9 (new)
20 Hot Potato N.Flying (▲ 10) (Final Week)
21 Tell Me Infinite (▼ 5)
22 Bad Boy Red Velvet (▼ 14)
23 Timeless NCT U (▼ 16)
24 Roller Coaster Kim Chungha (▲ 1)
25 Neverland Holland (▲ 8)
26 Holiday Suzy (▲ 5)
27 Don’t Leave Block B (▲ 13)
28 Love Scenario iKON (▼ 8)
29 Star VRomance (▼ 10)
30 Where I Am Gone Yang Yoseob (HIGHLIGHT) (▼ 16)

Songs leaving the charts this week and will not be returning start next week are:

  • Wolf Baby -TRCNG
  • Walkie Talkie – HINT
  • Boom Boom – Momoland
  • Hot Potato – N.Flying
  • Like Paradise – Kriesha Chu
  • Paint Me – Mamamoo
  • Lower – Amber & Luna (F(x))

Until next week, have another great week!

[Review] So Do You – Seo Eunkwang (BTOB) & NC.A

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A few days ago, Seo Eunkwang and NC.A joined forces with a new duet, So Do You. We all know Eunkwang as the main vocalist of BTOB, while NC.A is a soloist who recently participated in the reality rebooting show, The Unit. NC.A also placed in the top 9 ranking at the end of the showing, earning her a place in the upcoming group UNI.T. They aren’t necessarily the first two artists to put together but their latest track proves otherwise.

So Do You captivates me for one particular reason, vocals. Both singers make this song so interesting to listen to. Their solo parts just confirm their skills in the singing department. I just like how they voice climbed higher as the song progressed, pushing the song further than the previous second. But when the two comes together, there is a clear balance between both singers, allowing harmonies to sound so good. Despite the content in the middle (i.e. their vocals), the song started off soft. More interestingly, the song ended on a much softer volume, which is an intriguing yet contrasting aspect of the song. The instrumental wasn’t that impressive, which left the biggest emphasis on the vocals. Needlessly to say, whoever wanted these two to come together was definitely on the right track and it resulted in such a good song to listen to.

The song is about the memories we have of a past lover so it would make the most sense to show that storyline in the music video. Interestingly, the video opens to Eunkwang and NC.A singing on the streets, with the male character of the music video stumbling into the picture. Listening to the song, he starts crying and reminiscing about those fond memories he had. We see the couple act our their lovey-dovey days and see the relationship progress to a sad breakup. At the end of the video, we also see the female character run into the guy, who is still busy crying. Yet, we do not know what happens afterwards. The idea of the video is quite great and fresh in a way. The thing I would change was to make him cry later on. It just felt too soon to have him start crying at the start of the video/song.

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

[Album Review] One Shot, Two Shot (1st Mini Album) – BoA

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BoA, for her first time in her career, released her first mini-album. It is something you just don’t really notice until someone tells you but once you are aware of it, you are amazed. Her solo comeback in South Korea also coincided with her solo comeback in Japan, where is also quite famous. The title of her mini-album, One Shot, Two Shot, is also the name of her title track. The mini-album also features two recent tracks of BoA, which I have reviewed separately as they were released.

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One Shot, Two Shot Album Cover (Source: ALLKPOP)

1..One Shot, Two Shot (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review of One Shot, Two Shot. (8.5/10)

2. Everybody Knows – This track has a very chilled vibe. Interestingly, the song doesn’t peak, which gives it a unique and distinct charm. It started off with some ear-catching synths, which also featured in the chorus. For the most part, the song was quite soft with its instrumental, which is why I thought the intro synths were cool. Also fitting in with the soft instrumental are the soft vocals that BoA presents us. I think the piano during the bridge was the strongest moment of the entire track, with it also going well with the soft instrumental but at the same time contrasting nicely with the synths and chill vibes. (8/10)

3. NEGA DOLA (내가 돌아) (Pre-release Track) – Click here to read the full review of NEGA DOLA. (7.6/10)

4. Your Song (ft. Junflo) – Your Song features strong hip-hop influences, which isn’t anything that new. However, the reason why I think this is another strong track from the list is due to the how the vocals of both BoA and Junoflo compliment with each other. BoA brings that softness mentioned previously to the track, while Junflo brings a certain degree of harshness through his rap. The ‘That’s My Jam, That’s My Song’ and the ‘I Hate You Girl’ repetition is quite addictive. The changeup in the bridge allows the song to feature an awesome dance performance and while it does seem unexpected, it works wells with the song. (9/10)

5. Recollection – Recollection manages to give off an epic feel, despite it being easy-going. Once again, BoA’s vocals are on full display throughout this song. You can’t really say that the beat dropped in this song, as there is more of an inclination in the beat when the drop should have been present. That being said, the instrumental did not have much going on besides a very appreciating funky beat during the chorus. Besides that, I don’t have much else to say regarding this song. (8/10)

6. Always Always (ft. Chancellor) – I personally did not notice the constant thumping in the instrumental until it reaches Chancellor’s part. I mean it was always there from the very start but it felt more prominent during Chancellor’s part, so I really didn’t notice it during BoA’s verse. I bought BoA shined (yeah, a common theme in this album) but Chancellor was very close to having his part being overshadowed by the instrumental. The chorus was also very flowy and the ending of the song had a minor difference to the rest of the song, which was interesting, (7.5/10)

7. Camo – Click here to read the full review for Camo. (9.5/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8.3/10

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One Shot, Two Shot – Snapshot from Music Video (Source: FUSE)

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[Review] Baby Don’t Stop – NCT U

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Just one week after their official comeback with Boss, NCT U has just dropped a brand new track, Baby Don’t Stop. What I recently found out is that NCT U is a rotational unit, hence its lineup is not fixed. This explains why the lineup for NCT U keeps on changing every time they release a song. Baby Don’t Stop features Taeyong and Ten (who was not part of Boss promotions).

This time last week, I was amazed at Boss. One week later and I am amazed at Baby Don’t Stop. Even with two members, NCT U definitely has 2018 under its grasp. Baby Don’t Stop has a really addictive beat to it and its repetition of the title is engraved into your mind after just one listen. Like literally, I could not stop humming the song since I listened to it this morning. I am going to be raving on about the repetition for a little more, so bear with me. It starts off as Taeyong’s whisper and it builds-up into a vocal line with the addition of Ten. This combination really makes it a strong aspect of the song. Another strong aspect of the song has to be the layering. Ten’s ad-libs in the background, Taeyong’s vocals and the husky whisper repetition just forms a breathtaking trinity, leaving me stunned. To top it off, both members got their chance to shine through their rapping and vocals. Baby Don’t Stop has pushed the bar up higher and that makes it harder for the rest of 2018 releases.

The entire video was actually quite nice to watch. I like the sets. Everything is pieced together quite nicely. From the top of your head, you don’t really think a bunch of empty seats and chairs would make a good video but it works naturally. Fans also got some fan-service with the duo flaunting their abs around in the latter half of the video. My only main concern with the video is their health. They look so skinny (and this is coming from a skinny guy as well). Hopefully, they (and all idols) are eating well enough for their schedules and releases.

The choreography to this looks really cool. I don’t have much to say about the performance besides that and any other adjective that could be substituted for cool. For the ending, it looks like they were doing some freestyling, which I think makes it even cooler.

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

[Review] Dreams Come True – WJSN (Cosmic Girls)

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Making their comeback today is WJSN (aka. Cosmic Girls) with Dreams Come True and their 4th mini-album, titled as Dream Your Dream. This is the girls first comeback in 9 months, the last being their Happy promotions back in June last year.

Dreams Come True is actually another great song to add to WJSN’s portfolio. I actually really liked the instrumentals at the start of the song, which gives the song a serious tone. Furthermore, the synths used gives off an epic vibe as well. Talking about synths, their usage in this video is quite heavy. Not that is a problem, though. I love the use of the synthesizer during the post-chorus hook (‘Trust In Me, Trust In You‘), which I think is the main highlight of the entire track. That hook is also quite addictive in nature and draws my attention to the song. Vocal work is quite good but the rap segment was the one to surprise me. And it is a good surprise. Exy was amazing during the rap section, portraying a very serious yet powerful side during a more quiet section of the song. It allowed Exy to show more style and at the same time satisfied my yearning after WJSN and Monsta X’s collaboration a few years back. While it does fit in with their past aesthetically pleasing songs, it does show off a more mature sound, something that we knew the group was capable of (just we didn’t see any of it until now).

Once again, aesthetic videos are right up WJSN’s alley. And this video is pretty much that. I am not much of a fan of filters. They are either a hit or miss for me. In this video, they seem to be a miss entirely. But besides that, it is a nice video to watch. In the video, the girls seem to be going about their day until they can some sort of call to follow these light orbs, which are sent out from above. I am not exactly sure what happens then. They come together in some field where all the light orbs are and using these light orbs they manage to shut down a purple storm cloud. That is my literal explanation of the story but if there are any other theories out there, please feel free to comment and share what you think is happening in this video!

I liked how elegant the entire performance was. It made for a very cool performance to watch. I love the post-chorus hook’s accompanying dance. Also really cool formations were the moves for the entire bridge, particularly how one-by-one some of the members joined a ring around the vocalist during the start of the bridge and the 3 member lineup at the end of the bridge (2:54 of music video).

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 8.5/10
Overall Rating – 8.3/10