Year: 2018

[Review] Holiday – Suzy ft. DPR LIVE

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Making her first return since her solo debut last year and the disbandment of Miss A is Suzy. Last week, I reviewed her pre-release, In Love With Someone Else and this week, it is her main title track’s turn. Holiday (the title track), along with her pre-release is featured on her second mini-album, Faces of Love.

I did expect something a little more upbeat, like her debut track, Yes No Maybe. Holiday ended up being a soothing track that is pretty easy on the ears. It doesn’t feature any booming synths or obnoxious sounds. Instead, it focuses on having a laidback and softer tone, which is quite nice if you listen to it a few times. With repetitive listens, however, it becomes bland and if you strip her voice away, you basically have an instrumental that resembles elevator music.  Her vocals are a great match for the song. I like it how it also glides over the surface of the music and manages to involve that laid-back sound. I have personally never heard of DPR LIVE before. His featuring in this song is quite nice because the way he delivers his section is pretty much similar to how Suzy performs her track. He does add a rougher element to the track but it isn’t over the top. I don’t think the song is personally for me but it does still sound quite nice.

The music video, from what I can gather from news sources, is shot in both New Mexico and Los Angeles. And from the scenery in the music video, it does feel like you are on a holiday. It all looks stunning. Most of the video is essentially Suzy on her travels or walking around the nice sites, so there isn’t much to comment with in regards to the video.

A part of me felt like the song did not call for any choreography. But watching her performance at her showcase, it looks nice. It isn’t over the top and allows Suzy to focus more on her singing. My only other comment is if the performance was somewhat more graceful, it would look more fitting for the song.

Song – 5.5/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 6.6/10

 

[Review] Bad Boy – Red Velvet

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SM Entertainment’s announcement of Red Velvet’s return seems a little unexpected and abrupt. But nonetheless, I am glad they back. For those who are wondering about their quick return after their Peek-A-Boo promotions, Red Velvet is returning with their re-packaged version of Perfect Velvet, titled as The Perfect Red Velvet. The lead title track is Bad Boy.

Bad Boy is a completely new sound for the group, whom I have felt kept to the KPOP sound in their more recent releases. It is an edgier sound that taps into the hip-hop and RnB side of KPOP. And while this is a nice twist to their sound, the song does lack that usual colour element that you commonly find in their title track songs such as Rookie, Red Flavour and Peek-A-Boo. But while they don’t conform to that, the song does have a slow yet flowy chorus, which isn’t something I hear often when it comes to their songs. It has a nice melody, which allows the song to simply glide across. Vocally, the song is actually quite nice. I like how they all sing together in the chorus and the harmonies that come as a result of this.  I especially like the first line, ‘Who Who Who Dat Boy‘, which is a definite attention grabber. I also like how minimalistic the instrumental to the track is, which allows the main focus to be on their vocals (as already mentioned).

The music video is a little confusing in my opinion. For the most part, the music video does a good job at conforming to that edgier sound, which attempts to present the members of Red Velvet in a more bad-ass concept. What I am a little confused is the more innocent looking side of the members in the video, especially the final scene of the members in their PJs or the bed that is randomly on the road, getting snowed on. But besides that, the music video is actually quite nice to watch and definitely puts the girls in a new light for me.

The choreography look likes it matches the slower nature of the song but in a way which manages too still make the members look cool. From what I can see in the music video, the chorus is going to be ‘lit’ in a subtle way (is that even possible?) and I thoroughly enjoyed what I saw in the music video (which should mean I would enjoy the lives even more).

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.7/10

[Weekly Chart] 4th Week of January 2018

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It is the fourth week of January 2018 and here is this week’s instalment of the Weekly Charts. Apologises for the lateness once again. It is extremely humid and hot where I live at the moment. And writing up anything in the afternoon was just not possible due to the heat. But since it has cooled down (ever so slightly) and the air conditioner is on full blast, I think it is now possible to write up the post.

Once again, topping the charts is Sunmi with her latest single, Heroine. Rising to the second position is Kim Chungha and her song, Roller Coaster. Jung Sewoon’s Baby It’s U makes it debut in 3rd place, while To Heart (by Fromis_9) debuts in 4th place. Rounding out the top 5 is Infinite’s Tell Me. For more of the charts, scroll down below!

21st Jan – 27th Jan 2018
Title Artist Status
1 Heroine Sunmi (=)
2 Roller Coaster Kim Chungha (▲ 3)
3 Baby It’s U Jung Sewoon (new)
4 To Heart Fromis_9 (new)
5 Tell Me Infinite (▼ 1)
6 Like Paradise Kriesha Chu (▲ 2)
7 Diamond Girl MXM (▲ 3)
8 Shinin’ Kim Jonghyun (SHINee) (new)
9 Secret Garden Oh My Girl (▼ 7)
10 Hot Potato N.Flying (▼ 3)
11 Don’t Leave Block B (▲ 1)
12 Neverland Holland (new)
13 Turn It Up Rainz (new)
14 Paint Me Mamamoo (▼ 8)
15 My Flower JBJ (▼ 6)
16 Love Scenario IKON (new)
17 Love Is Gone MAP6 (▲ 3) (Final Week)
18 Universe EXO (▲ 10)
19 I Like You DAY6 (▲ 3)
20 Boom Boom Momoland (▼ 17)
21 Wolf Baby TRCNG (▼ 10)
22 Quit Jang Wooyoung (2PM) (▼ 6)
23 Real Men The East Light (▼ 10)
24 Where U At 1NB (▼ 1) (Final Week)
25 Hands Up B.A.P (▼ 4)
26 In Love With Someone Else Suzy (new)
27 Timeless NCT U (▲ 10)
28 Days Without You Davichi (new)
29 Full Moon Dream Catcher (▼ 14)
30 Lip & Hip Hyuna (▼ 16)

The songs exiting the chart this week (and will not appear on the charts starting next week) are:

  • Love Is Gone – MAP6
  • A Moving Day – Jun.K (2PM)
  • Where U At – 1NB
  • Glass Shoes – Fromis_9
  • Gang – Rain

And that is all from me for now. I shall return to my usual sweating routine now. Hope you all have much better than this in the days to come and hope to see you all back in the same place next week!

[Album Review] Carnival (5th Mini Album) – B.A.P

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Last week was an extremely busy week, so I haven’t had the chance to sit down and listen to the newer albums. However, I have previously written some album reviews for situations like this, so I can at least post one on a weekly basis. One of these albums is B.A.P’s most recent mini-album, Carnival, which was released back in February 2016 (2 years ago).

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Carnival Album Cover

1..Today (Intro Track) – Despite this being an intro track, I would love to hear a longer version. I love the epic feel that comes from the instrumental of the track. Daehyun’s vocals are excellent, but I would have liked to see how the other members would have contributed to the song. It is an epic intro track that opens the album up perfectly. (10/10)

2. Carnival – Carnival is a super catchy track that is bound to make you smile due to its happy and carefree atmosphere. The saxophone works well in the song and the energy that the members put into the song is definitely what brings the song to life. Per usual, both the vocals and the raps of the song are amazing. (10/10)

3. Feel So Good (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review of Feel So Good. (9.5/10)

4. Go – Continuing the bright theme of the album is Go, which feels like that great Summer hit we look forward to each year. The song lack some intensity but that is made up with Zelo raps and the post-chorus. The chorus itself is catchy, especially how everyone joins in the final chorus. The ad-libs at the end was a great addition to the song. (9/10)

5. Albatross – From the very first second, the song launches you right into it. It is a great rock song that fits well with the bright energy concept that the album has been going for. The slowdown in the bridge, along with the breakdown was really cool moments in the track that were both needed. Bang Yong Guk’s raps (particularly the one ending the second verse) were by far my favourite section of the entire song. (9/10)

6. My Girl – The song gives off a One Direction feel, particularly the chorus. In the entire album, this particular song is the weakest and that may be attributed to its soft rock sound. I feel like this song just proofs the ability of B.A.P to fit in their genres into whatever genre that they attempt. There is a great ending to this song, which makes the entire album have a great ending, as well. (8/10)

Overall Album Rating – 9.25/10
 

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Carnival Teaser Image

recommended red round grunge vintage ribbon stamp

 

[Review] Days Without You – Davichi

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Davichi is often referred to as the ballad queens of South Korea. Their many hits time and time again have been enough proof to support these claims. The duo has returned with their 3rd full-length album, titled as 10&, which celebrates their 10 year anniversary since debut. The main title track is Days Without You. This is also their first official comeback since 2016.

Days Without You is definitely further proof of the claims made above. The song starts off slow with soft vocals. With the soft vocals come the very nice melodies which set the song up for a great start. It slowly builds up in both instrumental and vocal work. And when I say slowly, it is definitely a gradual process. This build-up made the song even better, with the climax being the best part of the song (both vocally) and instrumentally). There is a slight pause in the bridge just before that climax, which makes the impact of the high note even better. And the harmonies still shine very nicely. There are a few moments that were definitely attention-grabbing such as that beautiful high note or that moment in the song where the piano makes a sort of prancing sound (1:27 – 1:33 of music video). Overall, it seems like Davichi has done it again.

Accompanying the beautiful song is a beautiful music video. The video features Wanna One’s Daniel, who in the video, is going through a break-up. His acting in the video is quite good, which definitely makes the video even better. The Winter forest setting is also quite nice, as the song gives off a feeling of warmth, which compliments well with the cold surroundings. Overall, it is a great video to watch for a ballad song.

Song – 10/10
Music Video – 9/10
Overall Rating – 9.6/10

[Review] Love Scenario – iKON

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Making their long-awaited return to the stage is iKON with their second full-length album, Return. There is only one title track of this particular YG album, the title track being Love Scenario. This is the group’s first comeback since their promotions of Bling Bling and B-Day in May last year.

Am I the only one surprised they went with a more mellow track as their promotional single this time around? I did expect a more hard-hitting track, similar to how Bling Bling or debut was. But that being said, we know that iKON can handle this softer sound through some of their other singles in the past. I feel like the group did a good job with mixing it with their usual hip-hop style, which is definitely what they are known for.The instrumental was nice, definitely stripped back in comparison to their previous songs. The vocal work here is superb and the raps were (per usual) really good. For me, the best part of the track is when the members sing together during that final chorus. The harmonies there were really nice and it made the chorus feel a little catchier. To me, the only thing the song lacks is a catchy element. If there was something more prominent, I would have liked this track so much more. 

It is only the fourth week of the new year and I think we already have a contender for the Best Music Video awards for this year’s KPOPREVIEWED Awards. The way this video was shot in a way I don’t think we see much. The shots at the start of the bus stop, B.I’s slow-motion spinning shots, the lighting for Ju-ne’s solo moments and the choreography shots, all looked quite cool. I might be lousy when it comes to explaining the awesomeness of videos so I guess it is best if you all go watch this video to understand what I am getting at.

[Updated] The performance is quite fitting for the song. It doesn’t call for an intense choreography routine, which is exactly what the choreography avoids. I did like some of the moves, such as the one I saw at 0:32 – 0:35 of the music video or Ju-ne’s solo part.

Song – 8.5/10
Music Video – 10/10
Performance – 8/10 [Updated]
Overall Rating – 8.9/10 [Updated]

[Review] Baby It’s U – Jung Sewoon

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Jung Sewoon has made his first comeback since his debut last year with Baby It’s U and his second mini-album, Part: 2 After. A few months ago, Jung Sewoon debuted with Just U, after participating in Produce 101 Season 2 and finishing in 12th position.

Baby It’s U is described as a ballad but mixed with the EDM style of music. And while it does use two different extremes of music, the song works surprisingly well. It isn’t the first ballad/electronic mix that has been attempted but it is the first one in a very long time. That being said, don’t expect anything hard-hitting because it features EDM. It started off as an acoustic track but it soon progressed into a song that featured a softer form of EDM. The instrumental is quite balanced and very calming, which is something that I really like about this song. It allows his vocals to be at the forefront of the song, which something that I have grown to love since his debut track. I find the song quite catchy and addictive, so I am sure it will be another chart-topper like Just U was, on my Weekly Music Charts. Overall, the track is quite upbeat, fresh and definitely something I will be coming back to.

The music video feels more suited for that period leading into the Summer season. It is something that I am definitely noticing with many comebacks featuring that Summer feel in this videos (or songs) despite it is Winter in South Korea.  The video is made up of Sewoon walking around and enjoying great scenery. It definitely makes for a nice video to watch, with great cinematography. He does find a cylinder cypher, which he solves during the video (and this also made up the teasers for his comeback), which makes sense since he is singing about solving the puzzle to his lover’s heart. Overall, it is a good video complimenting well with the song.

The performance is quite nice. It isn’t anything impressive but it does a good job fitting in with both the ballad (i.e. the slower walking bits at the start) with the more upbeat moves during the chorus (and hence fitting in nicely with EDM side of the song).

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

[Review] To Heart – fromis_9

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From another trainee survival program to their first big performance on the stage of the 2017 MAMA Awards held in Japan, fromis_9 has started out big. Now, they are back with their official debut track and mini-album, which both share the same title, To Heart. The MAMA version of their pre-release single, Glass Shoes, is also featured on the album.

To Heart is a decent song but it does suffer from that standardness that I tend to mention when I don’t think the song is that unique. This isn’t a major problem as the song does feel somewhat fresh from its upbeat and bright instrumental. I love the classical feel that the pop instrumental gives off, particularly the violins at the start (which were definitely ear-catching). At certain points, it felt like the song was definitely pulsing or thumping, which creates a really addictive and catchy beat. The vocals were equally as bright and energy filled as their instrumental, which goes hand-in-hand with each other. I do like how the vocals lead into the raps for this song. While it does go over 3 minutes, the song does end up as a blur sometimes, which isn’t another major problem but rather a surprise when the ending appears out of nowhere.  For a debut song, To Heart does the job quite well.

I love how they started with a home video of one of the members playing the violin and this leads perfectly into the song. I like the overall presentation of the music video, reminding me of Lovelyz’s past videos and GFriend’s school concept. But in a way, there is a different level of aesthetics given off in the video with it not being in a box. I actually like their outfits, which seemed to be a little posher and fancy. It is genuinely a great video to watch.

I really like their fist motion that they make during this performances. Looks really cool and could be the next big trend. I also like the ending for their performance as well (when they hold hands). For the most part, the performance was definitely upbeat and energetic like their song, so what more can you ask for?

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.2/10

[Review] In Love With Someone Else – Suzy

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Suzy is gearing up for comeback schedule for next week. And as a teaser, Suzy has pre-released a track, In Love With Someone Else, off her second mini-album, Faces of Love. This is Suzy’s first solo comeback since her official debut last year with Yes No Maybe.

Suzy’s pre-release takes the form of a ballad, which is no surprise as it tends to be the default genre for most pre-releases. Her ballad pre-release last year, Pretend, was pretty successful on the charts. So this comes with high expectations. And that she fulfils. It is your standard ballad. It features a really nice piano and violin instrumental which is more grounded in the background. That being said, when the song is required to build up to the chorus, it does so in your standard way but still giving off a grand feel. Suzy’s vocals are the main element of the song and it is clear how beautiful her voice is. You can literally feel the emotions that she had poured into the song which makes this a really good ballad to listen to.

I like the video was presented. The main part of the video is Suzy literally confessing to her now ex-partner that there is no longer there and that she is in love with someone else. I like it how she is singing her lyrics while doing so, which allows the audience to have some sort of a connection between Suzy in that scene. The rest of the video describes how they once the ideal couple (very lovey dovey) and how it progressed to the present point in time. I don’t think it showed Suzy actually falling for another person and I felt like that could have been added in to make it a little bit clearer. But from the lyrics and visuals already in the video, it was quite clear already.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.4/10

[Review] Turn It Up – Rainz

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Adding to the long list of comebacks this week (that I need to get a move on and start writing the reviews for) is Rainz, who are returning with their latest title track, Turn It Up. Turn It Up is the main track of the group’s second mini-album, Shake You Up. For those who may have missed Rainz, the 7-member boy group made their debut late last year with Juliette.

To me, Turn It Up is a decent song but there is a quite a bit of confusion that hinders its potential. The song could have been that really cool and powerful dance hit but some of the segments just do not fit well with each other. Take the chorus and post-chorus (or bridge to instrumental dance break). They are distinctly different sounding sections of the song and the way they got from one to the other is quite uncomfortable. I feel like a better transition could have been utilised to make the song flow. For some reason, I also felt like the song took a little too long to get to the chorus. It just feels drawn out for a tad too long when I first listened to it and that feeling just stuck with me. But it is not all criticisms though. I feel like the instrumental (for each separate sections) were good and the vocal work/raps were pretty decent. It just be the sound structure of the song that doesn’t sit well with me.

Welcome to another post-apocalyptic world, which interestingly lasted for one-third of the video. The second third seemed to be an abandoned warehouse, which goes hand-in-hand with the first third. But the last third was a white background studio. I am not too sure of that choice, which feels a little odd when you look at the bigger picture. Majority of the video was just choreography shots, while a very small fraction was dedicated to close-ups. There just isn’t much else to comment on.

Choreography-wise, this is pretty good. I liked the intro to the performance, which doesn’t look that impressive when you compare to other performances but works wonderfully with the slow start. I liked how they matched the gradual buildup of the song in their moves. But the winning moment has to be the bridge and dance break that follows after. Very impressive.

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

[Review] Shinin’ – Jonghyun (SHINee)

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One month ago, KPOP (as a whole) lost a very dedicated and passionate artist, Kim Jonghyun, the main vocalist from SHINee. It was confirmed weeks prior that Jonghyun would be returning shortly with a new solo album. One month on, we finally are able to listen to the second and final album, Poet Artist, produced by Jonghyun, which was released in memory of the artist.

Shinin’ is a funky track that is quite upbeat in comparison to his past promoted songs. However, you get the same vibes from each of his songs. I haven’t been much of a fan of his previous works but this particular song was very easy on the ears and I easily got into it within the first listen. The instrumental isn’t overwhelming but managed to remain funky and retro, which is quite good. It feels like restraint was put onto the instrumental but it allowed the song to become more retro. An instrumental like this also allows his vocals to be the main attraction of the song. They were quite smooth. I particularly like the way he delivered the lines during the pre-chorus, which makes me come back to re-listen to the song. The “Baby, come in, you you you‘ chorus was really catchy and addictive. Overall, definitely, a new song that I would be replaying constantly.

Fitting in with the funky and retro sound is the music video. I like the ending of the video, which reminds me of some of the scenes that came out of the Tron movie. But needless to say, the light strobes patterns do bring a sense of nostalgia. I also liked how Jonghyun literally shone throughout the video. Not sure if it is intended originally but it definitely put him in the spotlight.

For this particular review, I have decided to forgo the rating, which is something that I put at the end of the reviews. In its place:

You Did Well, Jonghyun.

[Review] Spotlight – Monsta X

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With a number of Japanese releases unveiled in the last few weeks, I thought it would be nice to actually get some of these reviews out in weeks that follow the release, not months. One of these is Monsta X’s Spotlight, which happens to be their first original Japanese single since their debut in Japan last year.

As soon as we hear the first seconds of the song, it reminded me of their debut single, Trespass. It had a similar type of synth for the intro, which I thought was cool. The song is quite intense and you get that feeling from the very first second. But for a very intense feeling song, the chorus was rather weak, which is pretty ironic. The drop back into the chorus was underwhelming and it just didn’t have that element to make it memorable. If it had a more powerful drop and something that gave it a catchy touch to it, I would have been won over. All the other parts (verses and bridge) is what gave the song its definition and I pretty much liked that. I liked their contrasting sides within the verses, how they start off with the tough powerful raps and then allow the song to drop down to a slower yet smoother vocal sequence. It is a little different to what we are used to. The raps were amazing and the vocal work throughout the song was quite nice.

I like the simplistic route that they were going for when it came to the video. The most important equipment in the entire video was the spotlights, which I thought gave off a really cool effect in some sections of the video. It reminded me of BLANC7’s Yeah, which I already had liked. Clearly, this one had more money injected into the budget and this allowed it look more defined and flashy in a way to watch. This flashiness made the roughness of the song stand out.

Monsta X has been standing out recently for their performances and this just cements that idea. That intensity is definitely featured heavily throughout the song. While I did not enjoy the chorus of the song, the choreography stood out for me.

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

[Weekly Chart] 3rd Week of January 2018

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We are already flying through the year. Welcome to this week’s instalment of the Weekly Charts. I just wanted to start off by saying that both the 2017 KPOPREVIEWED Awards and the End of Year Charts are all released. You can find the posts by clicking the titles above.

Entering the charts this week is Sunmi, Kim Chungha, JBJ, The East Light, Dream Catcher and Jang Wooyoung.

Taking out the top spot for the 3rd Week of January is Sunmi’s recent release, Heroine. Such a good song. Rising to the top as well and securing the 2nd position is Oh My Girl and Secret Garden. Last week’s number 1 song, Boom Boom by Momoland, dropped to the third position, while Infinite’s Tell Me dropped down two positions as well to the 4th position. Finishing off the top 5 is Kim Chungha’s Roller Coaster.

For the rest of the charts, scroll down below!

14th Jan – 20th Jan 2017
Title Artist Status
1 Heroine Sunmi (new)
2 Secret Garden Oh My Girl (▲ 3)
3 Boom Boom Momoland (▼ 2)
4 Tell Me Infinite (▼ 2)
5 Roller Coaster Kim Chungha (new)
6 Paint Me Mamamoo (▼ 2)
7 Hot Potato N.Flying (▲ 4)
8 Like Paradise Kriesha Chu (▼ 5)
9 My Flower JBJ (new)
10 Diamond Girl MXM (▲ 2)
11 Wolf Baby TRCNG (▼ 2)
12 Don’t Leave Block B (▲ 1)
13 Real Men The East Light (new)
14 Lip & Hip Hyuna (▲ 4)
15 Full Moon Dream Catcher (new)
16 Quit Jang Wooyoung (2PM) (new)
17 Heart Shaker TWICE (▲ 7)
18 Grr Stray Kids (▲ 15)
19 You In Me KARD (▼ 13) (Final Week)
20 Love Is Gone MAP6 (▲ 9)
21 Hands Up B.A.P (▼ 13)
22 Ending Credit Uhm Jung Hwa (▼ 12)
23 Where U At 1NB (▼ 2)
24 Going Going Jang Wooyoung (2PM) (▼ 17)
25 Walkie Talkie HINT (▲ 3)
26 Runaway Pentagon (▼ 7) (Final Week)
27 I Like You DAY6 (▼ 11)
28 Universe EXO (▼ 5)
29 Charm of Life Heechul, Shindong, Eunhyuk (Super Junior) & Solar (Mamamoo) (▲ 1)
30 This Christmas Taeyeon (SNSD) (▲ 1)

Finishing their run for this week are the following songs (where they will not appear on the charts starting next week).

  • Dear – Snuper
  • You In Me – KARD
  • Runaway – Pentagon
  • Someone To Love – HONEYST

So thank you once again and I hope you all have a fantastic week!

[Review] Candy Pop – TWICE

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TWICE’s One More Time was voted as the Best Japanese Song by a Korean Artist for 2017. You can see who else won in the 2017 KPOPREVIEWED Awards by clicking the link here. 

TWICE is back in Japan with a brand new single, Candy Pop. This is their second single to date in Japan, the previous being the catchy and addictive One More Time.

And while One More Time was catchy and addictive, Candy Pop doesn’t really give off the same flare. It just doesn’t replicate or exceed that nature of their previous single, which disappoints me. The sound does feel like their Korean releases but does sound a lot fluffier, which I think suits the Japanese market. There were few good moments that showcased their vocals and the raps were quite nice as well. The song just doesn’t feel like it buildups at all. Instead, it tends to feature a number of moments where they strip back the instrumental, which seems to feel like the slowing down the song. But that just cuts the flow of the song for me. Any attempt to showcase a buildup has been undermined. The chorus was okay but I felt the same copy-paste formula just doesn’t work as well, making the chorus feel repetitive, especially by the time we reached the third and final chorus. These are just some of my thoughts in regards to the song. For the most part, it was still okay to listen to but I wouldn’t go out of my way to find the song to listen to.

The music video was far more interesting compared to the video. The introduction of the video reminded me of GOT7’s Just Right but the video takes on a different storyline. Essentially, TWICE are anime characters of a TV show in which the girl watches. They notice the disappointment on the girl’s face and go on a mission to cheer her up. They get into some trouble but with some help from JYP (or Brock) himself, they get to the girl’s room by conveniently smashing down a wall with their purple bus. Their presence itself complete cheers up the girl and all is fine. It is a fun video. The ending was probably really boring and dry. But the rest of the video was nice to watch.

We don’t see much of the choreography in the video. It just seems like the article regarding how similar their dance moves for their South Korean comebacks is applicable here between both their Japanese songs. I am talking about the move around the 4:00 mark of the video. But from what I could see from the rest of the video, the dance looked cute.

Song – 6/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 7/10 (I may return to redo the review for this part once I find an actual performance for this song)
Overall Rating – 6.5/10

[Album Review] Secret Garden (5th Mini Album) – Oh My Girl

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From what I can see from my notes, I don’t do many female artists album reviews, which is quite a disappointing aspect of this site. This year, I will strive to do more album for female artists (and hopefully do more album reviews in general). Starting off this goal is my album review for Oh My Girl’s  latest mini-album, Secret Garden.

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Secret Garden Album Cover

1..Secret Garden (비밀정원) (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review of Secret Garden. (8.3/10)

2. Love O’Clock – What drew me to this song is definitely the clock sounds at the very start of the song. They were extremely fitting, not just for the title but the overall feel of the song. The vocals were nice but it was best showcased in the pre-chorus. To me, there was a beautiful feeling that I felt through the catchy chorus. The one part that felt mind-blowing was Mimi’s raps, which had such good intensity but managed to work perfectly with the rest of the song. (9/10)

3. Butterfly – Compared to the previous two tracks, Butterfly takes a mid-tempo approach. For the most part, it was another forgettable track. The only comment I could make was in regards to the sweet melodies. But the bridge was the very part of the song that had me coming back. It felt like it shouldn’t work with its different rhythm but it worked, which was definitely intriguing. (8/10)

4. Sixteen – To me, this song felt like a continuation of Perfect Day, which was released last year on their Coloring Book mini-album. I know they are completely different songs, but I got the same vibes from them. The piano was incredibly striking and the vocals were good. There was a good build-up leading up to the chorus. Chorus itself was catchy. The only letdown was the rap of the song. (7/10)

5. Magic – Ending the album is a much softer song, a complete change-up compared to the rest of the album. What I like about the song is how the vocals and raps felt like they were being whispered, which gave the song some character. I thought the bridge was quite quirky, which made the song intriguing. Overall, it allowed the entire mini-album to end on a great note. (9/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8.3/10

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Secret Garden Teaser Image

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[Review] Real Men – The East Light

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It has been a long time coming but I am officially reviewing The East Light!! The 6 member boy band have been around since 2016, debuting with Holla. At the time of their debut, the group had an average age of 15. In 2017, the band made three comebacks with You’re My Love, Love Is… and I Got You. Managed by Media Line Entertainment, some of the members have been known to have participated in some variety shows such as Voice Kids, Superstar K3 and Produce 101 Season 2.

While I admit that I wasn’t that drawn to their previous works, Real Men sparked an interest due to their image change. More on that later but that’s the reason why I started to listen to the song. The sound of the song is definitely more mature than their past tracks but it also keeps to their more youthful sounds heard in their previous works. The track had a funky vibe, which was okay, but I felt like they could have gone a step further with the funkiness. That way, the track would have definitely been more appealing. That synth, which resembles the sound of something spiralling down, during the second half of the chorus was very ear-catching and worked well with the song. The vocal work, despite the higher pitch, was nice and a unique element that the group brings. Those ad-libs at the end just made everything feel so good. But the definite spotlight stealer was the rap sequence. It was quite addictive and a very strong element that made the song even better.

As mentioned before, I was definitely drawn to their more mature and darker concept. In pictures, it looked quite cool and definitely something I am drawn to in this industry. The video portrayed this very well. Part of me, however, felt the video felt a tad too dark but it allowed to add a level of aesthetics to the video. The black and white filter also worked well. Like the song, I like the rapper’s part of the music video. It definitely kept up with the tempo and intensity of the song. Overall, it is a good video to watch.

Song – 7.5/10
Music Video – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7.7/10