Month: April 2019

[Weekly Chart] 1st Week of April 2019

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How fast is the year going? We are already in April and Easter is literally around the corner. But before we have the realisation that one quarter of the year as already passed, let’s have a closer look at the Weekly Charts posts for this week!

Knocking Park Bom’s Spring off from the top of the charts is KARD’s Bomb Bomb, which rose a mega 28 places from its 29th position last week. DIA moves up one spot with Woowa to retake the second position, which they previously held two weeks ago, while IZ*ONE’s comeback with Violeta falls into the third position for this week. EVERGLOW’s Bon Bon Chocolat remains steady in the fourth position, while Stray Kids’ Miroh completes this week’s Top 5.

Scroll down below for more of the charts!

31st Mar – 6th Apr 2018
Title Artist Status
1 Bomb Bomb KARD (▲ 28)
2 Woowa DIA (▲ 1)
3 Violeta IZ*ONE (new)
4 Bon Bon Chocolat EVERGLOW (=)
5 Miroh Stray Kids (▲ 15)
6 Crown TXT (▲ 5)
7 L.O.V.E Park Ji Hoon (▲ 8)
8 Help Me Block B BASTARZ (▲ 47)
9 I’m So Hot Momoland (▼ 4)
10 From Seoul Block B BASTARZ (▲ 45)
11 Pinky Star (RUN) GWSN (▲ 5)
12 Sha La La Pentagon (▲ 2)
13 Don’t Close Your Eyes (D.C.Y.E) Lee Gikwang (HIGHLIGHT) (▲ 30)
14 Because I Love You Kang Min Kyung (DAVICHI) (▲ 37)
15 Spring Park Bom ft. Sandara Park (▼ 14)
16 Beautiful Goodbye Chen (EXO) (new)
17 Butterfly LOONA (▼ 8)
18 Feeling Jeong Sewoon ft. Penomeco (▲ 10)
19 Piri Dream Catcher (▼ 11)
20 Alligator Monsta X (▲ 19)
21 She’s Fine Heize (▲ 20)
22 Noir Sunmi (▼ 9)
23 Kill This Love BLACKPINK (new)
24 Senorita (G)I-DLE (▼ 1)
25 I’m Home Minho (SHINee) (▲ 22)
26 Hakuna Matata DREAMNOTE (▲ 11)
27 We Must Love ONF (▼ 3)
28 I Wanna Be Key (SHINee) ft. Kim Soyeon ((G)I-DLE) (▼ 21)
29 Slow Dance Park Yuchan (JYJ) (▲ 2)
30 Do Better Do VANNER (▲ 25)

Songs leaving the charts this week are:

  • We Must Love – ONF
  • HALA HALA – ATEEZ
  • Love Dunk – Epik High ft. Crush [Songs leaving the charts early]
  • Master Key – ARGON [Songs leaving the charts early]
  • She’s Fine – HEIZE [Songs leaving the charts early]
  • So, It Ends – HEIZE ft. Colde [Songs leaving the charts early]

Thank you once again and see you all next week!

[Review] Blooming Future – ASTRO

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It is Saturday, which per the post schedule means a Japanese review is coming your way. I was originally going to do another release from a few weeks back. But ASTRO dropped their Japanese debut, Blooming Future, just this week (It did feel a little out of the blue as I did not see any news or teasers beforehand). And to avoid any delay, I decided to write the review for it today! Blooming Future is featured on the group’s first Japanese mini-album, Venus, alongside the Japanese version of Baby, All Night and Always You.

Blooming Future (or Hanasake Mirai) is a pretty decent beginning for their Japanese career. I felt like the direction they were going for was really good, with it fitting both ASTRO’s youthful charm and the typical upbeatness we tend to hear from Japanese releases. However, listening to the song, I felt like it lacked definition. The song felt very consistent throughout and didn’t seem to depart the synth sound that they were aiming for. I feel like if there were some bass or background vocals during the chorus, for example, the song would have had that added definition to really make it sound better. Apart from that, the song was pretty good. I liked the vocals and the funkiness that the Rocky and JinJIn brought to the song through their raps. The instrumental was actually quite good., apart from what I mentioned above. I did like the lightness during the verses. But like I said, the chorus could have had more to it.

I guess to fit in with the lightness of the track is a very minimalistic vibe to the music video. There wasn’t a whole lot going on during the music video, especially when we talk about the sets. And this allows the individual members to really pop out. The video consisted of solo and choreography shots. I did feel the editing could have eased on the number of cuts throughout the video (i.e. when the scenes change to the next one). They felt very sudden and cut the flow of the music video, especially in the chorus, which prevented me from admiring the members (hahaha…).

From what I can see in the music video, the choreography looks decent. But due to the magnitude of cuts (mentioned above), it was really hard to really focus on anything. Unfortunately, we don’t have a live performance of it yet, so I guess I will have to rank according to what I saw in the video.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 7.8/10

[Album Review] Newtro (5th Mini Album) – DIA

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DIA returned two weeks ago with Woowa and their latest mini-album, Newtro. Unofrtotuately, the group’s latest comeback hasn’t got much attention from what I have noticed. And from what I understand, the physical albums were delayed and hence this impacted their chart performances. Very disappointing. But that is why today’s album review is here! I enjoyed all the songs on the album and I want to let you guys know about these songs as well!

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Newtro Album Cover

1..Woowa (우와) (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review for Woowa. (8.5/10)

2. No (안할래) – Following right after the addictive Woowa is No, which is another favourite track of mine. I find the song to be very dynamic with its vibrant use of that squeaky synth during the instrumental. Usually, I would find such a thing annoying, but it really popped well in this song. The lead up to the chorus was probably my absolute favourite part of the song as it gave the song a little flair in a memorable way. I also liked the keyboard that featured during the bridge of the track, which I think flowed really well with the rest of the song. The vocals were also extremely nice, another highlight to No. (9/10)

3. 5 More Minutes (5분만) – 5 More Minutes begin with a sing-rap sequence which was rather nice. Based on this, you can tell that this was going to a typical pop song. The chorus practically confirms this with no unexpected changes in the music. It is a sweet song that managed to bring about a smile, which I think the main aims of the lyrics were to do. The song focuses squarely on the vocals of each of the members. I personally won’t say DIA is known for their vocals but this was a fair effort and I really liked how innocent they sounded in this song. I also like how they didn’t go down the sad ballad route, which was a nice change up to normal expectations. (8/10)

4. Crescendo (손톱달) – While I liked most of the song, Crescendo started off with this really odd synth that really sounded like it was off-tune. Apart from that, everything else about the song was rather likeable. It sounded like it started off with a sweet sound, like what we were presented in 5 More Minutes. However, the second verses bring a bit of trap into the song. Interesting and not entirely misplaced. Once again, the vocals were at the forefront of the song, with the members singing at a higher pitch and in falsetto. I also think this song showcased the best harmonies from the members than any other song on this album. (8/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8.4/10

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Newtro Teaser Image

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[Review] Kill This Love – BLACKPINK

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The biggest comeback of this week has to go to BLACKPINK, who returned today with Kill This Love. But when it comes to BLACKPINK’s comebacks, do you know what makes this one better? The fact that we also get three new songs (so an album review is coming your way!). We last saw BLACKPINK through the extremely popular DDU-DU DDU-DU. We also got to see Jennie through her solo promotions of SOLO at the end of 2018, along with promises from YG for future solo promotions for the other members (hopefully!).

Kill This Love starts with blaring horns, which really encapsulates the group’s fierce style within the first few seconds of the song. It also hints towards a military-style concept, which will become apparent quite soon.  Following this, the group launches itself into a hip-hop infused verse, before settling on a vocally-centred pre-chorus. The blaring horns return for the chorus, which definitely had an added dramatic flair. At the end of the song, we get this military-like rolling drum beat that pretty brings the song back full circle to the same feeling that we got from the start (and it is probably my favourite bit) However, there are a few aspects that leave me rather disappointed with the song. The chorus was underwhelming, with a very mediocre approach for its catchiness. I also think the song was rather muddled with its many sounds. The presence of the extended pre-chorus right after the fierceness of the hip-hop verse really lost the flow of the track and it failed to make the chorus drop in a satisfying manner. Overall, I am not really feeling the song this time.

As usual, the music video is amazing. I say this with any YG Entertainment music video and will probably say it countless more times in the future. Each set looked amazing, especially the massive bear trap set. Though, I am never sure about the meaning behind every scene and how this relates to the lyrics or the rest of the video (sometimes, they feel quite random). I did find this video that did a good job of describing the scenes so I will post this here if you want to hear about a possible theory. I really like how edgy the members look with their outfits and on the sets. The military concept also carried over, with pretty much the ending being a massive military march.

The performance was really good. Fierceness seems to be the big word of the day, with it being an adjective throughout all the aspects of this comeback. The chorus looked amazing but my favourite choreography moment has to be the end with the marching/rolling drum beats. I enjoyed the rush of energy during this part.

Song – 6.5/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 7.8/10

[Review] Universe – Minhyun (NU’EST)

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Out of all the members of the now-disbanded Wanna One, I think many people are excited for Minhyun. His group went onto Produce 101 as a final attempt to get themselves recognition. And it paid off. NU’EST returned as NU’EST W and continually topped charts with their new releases. Minhyun went on to be part of the popular Wanna One. And now that chapter has closed, it will be interesting to see what direction NU’EST will now take. And we will slowly find out from today, as Minhyun’s solo release (in preparation for a full comeback in the near future) was revealed.

Universe is the Minhyun’s solo track’s name. It is an R&B track but it diverts from that traditional slow tempo to a more upbeat pop and dance influence. And it is this diversion that really gets me into the song. A solo release will also get the member to shine and Minhyun does it effortlessly in this song. So altogether, the song does stand out for me. I find this particular route is very foreign for NU’EST, so it is quite refreshing when I reflect upon the song at the end. I really like the melody, which I thought was calming in a way, despite the upbeatness. Maybe it was the clearness in his voice or its rather easy-on-the-ears instrumentation. Talking about his voice, I really like the falsettos that he attempts at towards the end of the song. It did feel like it was missing something. It didn’t feel complete to me. I think I wanted a rap sequence somewhere to give a little more variety. But that would completely shake up the track, so I guess I understand why that didn’t occur. But overall, Universe is a really good track to kick start Minhyun’s return to the group.

The music video was shot in Budapest and is connected to NU’EST’s previous music videos (Overcome and Love Paint). It is a little confusing, but here is my attempt at the storyline. Minhyun used to be in a relationship but it ended badly (i.e. she leaves him). I think this break-up was a bit harsh on Minhyun, who becomes ‘soulless’ as we saw at the start of the video. However, there is an old man living in the apartment across from his and he comes by daily with a crystal (the same crystals shown in Overcome), that when connected to a machine, relays the good memories of a person. In this case, Minhyun relives the relationship, as we see the days repeat themselves. And this old man is always nearby to control the dosage (I guess) of the crystal. But on one particular day, he isn’t there and Minhyun uses more of the crystals, which unlocks the white Queen (the same Queen from the Overcome music video who went missing). It seems like Minhyun was still on his quest to find the Queen all along, as he bows down to her at the end of the video. Though we don’t know what happens after he reunited with the Queen. My guess is that this ending leads us straight into the forthcoming videos from NU’EST because the storyline doesn’t seem to be completed just yet. I am also unsure how Love Paint play into this (maybe another music video theory post idea?).

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

[Double Review] Bom + Stars Over Me – BOL4

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It is time for another double review. However, this one features two songs from the very popular duo, BOL4 or Bolbbalgan4, which were released yesterday. The way they got popular made me think that they were going to be a one-hit wonder. But they managed to enter the limelight every single time they return, which goes to show that influence that BOL4 has over the Korean public. The two songs, Bom and Stars Over Me, are featured on the group’s latest mini album and are currently on top of the charts in South Korea. This is also their first comeback since Travel and Starlight.

And there is a reason to why Bom is currently on the top of the charts. Bom is a love song and its sound is very typical of this season. And if you don’t know, Korea really loves love songs during the Spring months, given the fact many love songs have trend during this time of the year. I found the song to be very sweet. But not overly sweet that gets me cringing, which is obviously a good thing. I like its instrumental. And the vocals were quite nice, which is expected from BOL4. The combination of two, however, makes we smile a lot and I can’t but think of spending time with the person I like while listening to the song, which is another reason to why I think it is successful.

To me, Stars Over Me is like Travel but more suited for the Spring season in which the release is in. But rather like a love song, the song focuses more on friendship (but it could still go either way). I like how more acoustic this song is, which I find it more in line with their previous releases. I also enjoyed the English in the track. It wasn’t 100% correct but it was still a fair effort on their behalf. It also seems like Jiyoon also had the opportunity to harmonize with Joyoung in the song, which I thought was also nice. Once again, there wasn’t anything that special about the song but it was still nice to listen to.

Bom’s music video is very twisted. While the storyline of Jiyoung (Cupid) using her arrows to make her crush love her is very fitting for the song, the way he comes back to her is essentially a case of Stockholm Syndrome (i.e. he remembered of those fond memories that she forced upon him by forcing him to love her). I did like the very start of the storyline where she missed two arrows and it ended up hitting Jiyoon instead. Stars Over Me is also like the song. It focuses on the friendship between the two members and showing them have fun at various places. I liked how the lyrics popped up on the screen every now and then, giving it more of that fun nature.

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

Stars Over Me
Song – 8/10
Music Video – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8/10

[Album Review] The Secret (2nd Mini Album – WJSN (Cosmic Girls)

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Unfortunately, I have run out of my ‘stockpiled’ past album reviews, so I had to write a fresh one up today. And I couldn’t decide which artist to pick from since there are so many. I have done two male groups in a row, so I thought I refocus on the female groups. And so, I picked WJSN’s second mini-album, The Secret, which was released back in September 2016. This was the very first era that WJSN  caught my attention with and since then Secret has been a longtime favourite of mine. So it only makes sense to see what else the mini-album, which Secret comes from, has to offer. So let’s get onto it!

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The Secret Album Cover

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

2. BeBe – BeBe is a very memorable track. Unfortunately, it was more about the fact that it was the song that followed Secret. But listening to it now, the track has a very bright pop feel that I don’t mind. It does follow a youthful approach without going overboard in the cutesy domain, which I am glad did not occur. It is quite enjoyable, with nice vocals and the single rap sequence was nice. The track was relatively fast pace and it could have slowed down a tad bit to be a little more favourable. But overall, BeBe is a nice track. (8/10)

3. Would You Kiss Me? (우주키스미) – Would You Kiss Me? is a nice sweet pop track. Well, it started off with that thought. And it carried that idea for the majority of the track. But like many listeners, I find that trap breakdown very mismatching and ill-fitting for the tone of the track. I guess it was something formulated to fit the experimental trend. But other songs work because they come together well, which is not the case for this track. If I were to talk about the sweeter moments alone than I would have enjoyed it. (6/10)

4. Prince (짠!) – Prince sounds like a standard sidetrack. It is a good track, heavy-handed on the synths in the instrumentation. There are trap-like breaks in the song, which I thought was fitting for the heavy use of synths. But the song does feel weighed down and hence it doesn’t have that necessary pop to be considered as a title track. The vocals are good, but they felt overshadowed by the instrumental. On the other hand, the rap sequence really shined and was my personal favourite part of the song. (7.5/10)

5. Robot – Robot is probably my pick for most memorable sidetrack on this mini-album. I liked how they departed from their pop sound and went with something a little more electronic. I think the instrumental was very catching, even though it was quite repetitive. It reminds me of those retro sounds you often got in games. There are some squeaky effects towards the end, which I thought kept the song interesting. The vocals were nice in the song and the rapping was quite cool. I actually liked the high-pitch echo that followed Exy for the rap sequence. It may not be the sound I drift towards, but they pulled it off well enough for me to do so. (8.5/10)

6. Good Night (이층침대) – It is time for that mandatory ballad on most mini-albums. And while sometimes the mandatory ballads are pretty good, other times they are a miss. Unfortunately, Good Night falls under the latter. Like the title, Good Night makes me drift away from the album. I forget about it and hence the ending is also forgotten. The vocals were nice but because it was so light, I didn’t feel a connection with it. (6/10)

Overall Album Rating – 7.7/10

 

[Double Review] Help Me + From Seoul – Block B BASTARZ

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Last week, Block B BASTARZ (comprised of U-Kwon, B-Bomb and P.O) made their comeback with their third mini-album, I’m A Mess, since their subunit debut. Apologies that it took this long to review a song from this new release. Within the album, Help Me is the title track. But as the pre-release track From Seoul also has a music video, I will be reviewing both today. This is Block B’s first release since the departure of Zico last year from the group.

I am not a major fan of BASTARZ’s releases (I honestly do not remember their last one), so I wasn’t expecting too much the first listen in. However, Help Me takes a sleek approach with a jazz influence on the hip-hop based foundation that the song is supported on. And it is safe to say that I am loving it. I really like how focused the song was on the vocals, which was all fantastic. The most striking part of the song has to be P.O’s first half of the chorus and it is the very thing that got me hooked to this song. It is very unique, so it ended up being very memorable (and extremely addictive).

From Seoul continues the jazzy influence, but this time the foundation is an R&B track. The song isn’t as heavy as the previous. In fact, it is lighthearted and talks about having a good time with friends. I like how the jazzy influence was more profound and the vocals were lower in tone, which made the song quite smooth as well. Unfortunately, there isn’t anything that striking about the song so it isn’t really a memorable piece for my personal taste. It is still quite good but unfortunately, Help Me outranks From Seoul.

Help Me is a more emotionally driven song but the video is quite twisted in a way. Kicking off the music video, it is landed a 19+ rating, which gives us a foreshadowing of blood and cigarettes. Tame to what I am used to, but remember this is stuff that Korea doesn’t have much of. The video shows the members disoriented (for whatever reason) but it clearly caused by the breakup with their partner. They find themselves in sticky situations like a car crash, a murder scene (I presume) and in the middle of a forest, so they have to beg for help (hence, the title). They also seem to be dressed for a wedding, given the flower on their lapels. Maybe they got stood up? From Seoul departs from the darkness in the other video and matches it lighthearted sound with a video consists of the trio having fun around Seoul. And it too was a nice video as it goes well with the song.

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

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

[Review] Violeta – IZ*ONE

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It is time we turn our attention to one of the biggest groups to debut last year. IZ*ONE, for those who may not remember or no, was formed through Produce 48 and debuted with La Vie en Rose. And while the industry is in full swing for the next season of Produce 101, IZ*ONE makes their long-awaited Korean comeback with Violeta. The new track features on the group’s second mini-album, HEART*IZ. In other related news, IZ*ONE made their official Japanese debut earlier this year with Suki to Iwasetai (or I Want To Say I Love You).

It has taken me a few listens for me to warm up to the song. And while I am still warming up to Violeta, I am liking the song. One of the reasons why I haven’t really warmed up to the song yet is due to the first verse. It didn’t feel as captivating. But from the pre-chorus onwards, I am quite into it. Talking about the pre-chorus, I like the dramatic flair. I also enjoyed the rush of energy that the chorus gave off. It makes the pop and tropical mix very intriguing. The vocals were nice, especially during the chorus. The rappers, however, were amazing. I know they didn’t have enough definition to their part but the fact that it stepped back from the high energy filled chorus was ideal. I also like that dubstep effect at the end of the song, which really gave the song a little interesting effect to end on (and not be too repetitive). Maybe a few more listens will do it for me. But so far, it is looking (or sounding, in this case) good.

The entirety of the video has this pale colour tone to it, with some emphasis on the violet colour due to it being part of the title. While I do think anything pale is a little old fashion, there is a swing towards this at the moment in the industry, judging by the pale colour tones in music videos over the last few years. The video, from what I have read, is based on the ‘The Happy Prince‘ book. I know of the book, but it isn’t my first pick when it comes to literature. So since I haven’t read it, I don’t feel confident making connections. But this may be something to look into for a future Music Vidoe Theory post. I did like the choreography sets and the scene with the solo member dancing in the water looked really cool and trendy.

The choreography was quite nice. I enjoyed the majority of it. The first and last chorus (when there is that rush of energy) was probably my favourite parts. Unfortunately, the butterfly effect that started off the second chorus was not that great and I felt like that was a mismatch to the fast paced section.

Song – 8.5/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 8.5/10
Overall Rating – 8.4/10

[Review] Beautiful Goodbye – Chen (EXO)

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As groups progress with their careers, we see a lot of the members branch out into solo careers. EXO is a fine example, with many of the members excelling at their solo careers, such as acting, collaborations and OSTs. What we have not yet seen from the members in Korea is actually a solo album! Lay took the honours as the first member to have a solo album, but that was released in China. But today, Chen will be the first Korean member to release a solo mini-album, April, and a flower, today. The title track from this mini-album is Beautiful Goodbye.

Given Chen’s amazing OSTs in the past, it was highly expected that Chen would go down the ballad route. And Beautiful Goodbye is a breathtaking ballad. A few reviews ago, I mentioned that there are the types of songs that you have to stop what you are doing and listen to it that way in order to fully appreciate the song. This is another perfect example of this. Beautiful Goodbye features only piano in the instrumental. As it is the only instrument in the song, it is extremely striking especially during the moments when the song ‘builds up’or peaks. Chen’s vocals compliment the piano. It doesn’t push himself in this domain nor does he reach ‘powerhouse’ mode. Instead, I find his voice to be very moving and also well-balanced.  This combination works in harmony and it leaves us with a fantastic song to listen to.

I also like how aesthetic the music video is. It isn’t artsy in any way but rather it is simplistic. It is all shot outside, with a very large tree-trunk like structure in the centre of the video. Within the centre, we find Chen and a piano player, whose piano is embedded into the structure. Surrounding them is are many female dancers, all dressed in a pale pink-ish colour that really works well with the setting. That is pretty much it to the video. I came across a news article today that stated that the video took 6 hours of filming and that Chen was concerned about whether he conveyed the right emotions. Well, those 6 hours paid off and Chen did wonders in the video.

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