February 2020 – Page 2

[Review] Bouncy – Rocket Punch

February 11, 2020Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged Rocket Punch2 Comments

Rocket Punch made a mediocre debut last year with BIM BAM BUM. Their debut track was just another one of those that left me on the fence with both good and bad moments. Now, the group is back to take on the industry with a new track titled BOUNCY. This is featured on the group’s second mini-album, RED PUNCH. Let’s see if the track is any better than their debut song.

I will get straight to the point and address what I had left off at. I do think BOUNCY is better than BIM BAM BUM by a mile. Sure, it takes on that bright pop sound that majority of KPOP female groups attempt. And their debut track did just that. I just find this a lot more energetic and colourful than their debut track. I do like how the song lives up to the group’s name, with the beat during the chorus being literally punchy. There isn’t a dull moment in this song. It is super catchy and the pop moments really do pop out. However, the song isn’t perfect and it does bring back the ‘on the fence’ comment I made previously. The song features hip-hop focused parts and trap-based instrumentation. Usually, this could be infused well into some tracks. In this case, I think it would be best described as ‘trying too hard’. It flip-flops between the two sounds and I don’t think it mashes together well. I also don’t like how they get shout-y during the more intense moments. I think it pushes the group in the wrong direction. There were moments that I feel like they were channeling ITZY as the sounds are similar. That is all good. They just went overkill this time around.

Given the energetic and punchy sound they had going, there was no doubt that the video would be full of colour. It would be a complete dud if the video was dark and mysterious. It just doesn’t work with one another. Other than a colourful video, the video doesn’t have much else to offer content wise. If you are after a video that is definitely lively, then this is a video for you to watch.

Putting the song behind and focusing on the choreography, my comments are slightly different. There is no way this choreography could have come about if the group didn’t have the different sounds that BOUNCY has going on. It is an intense routine that shows off the group’s talent in the performance department. And like the song’s title, the chorus has this bouncy feel that I thought made it a fun routine.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 6/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 6.9/10

[Review] Reveal – The Boyz

February 11, 2020Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged THE BOYZ3 Comments

The Boyz had another busy year with three Korean and one Japanese release. This is quite similar to their jam-packed debut year. Could 2020 be a repeat with multiple comebacks from the male group? Well, we will have to wait and see. The group does kick off 2020 with the release of their very first studio album, which shares the same name as their title track, Reveal. The music video was released 18 hours prior to the actual album drop, which is a rare occurrence. Unfortunately, I was asleep when the music video was revealed (and was busy yesterday) and couldn’t cover it until now.

I am torn about Reveal. The song has been out for a while now and I think my feelings to the song have budged at all. I thought the song is rather typical for a male group. That edgy and dark territory is pretty much a phase that majority of male groups must touch on in some capacity and is much preferred by many fans (myself included). So creatively, I don’t see anything new about this dance track (with trap synths and other trendy styles). And this was my mentality during the verses. It felt flat and disappointed me with its lack of memorable hooks or synths. The chorus was a lot better. There is definitely a kick to it with the ‘Down for your love‘ repetition (though, it took me a while to try to decipher what they were saying during this moment, as I thought they were chanting ‘devil’ or ‘dev-u-lah’). Vocally, The Boyz did an okay job. It was like how I thought the song was. Plain during the verses and a lot more lively during the chorus. The rapping was a lot more impressive, especially with how the rapping was incorporated during the lively choruses. Overall, I am on the fence when it comes to Reveal.

The music video had a ‘wolf’ concept. But I didn’t get much of a ‘wolf’ concept as it lacked canines. I think the only canine-related moment that I could detect in the video was the line ‘Time For Dogs and Wolves‘ just before the final chorus. It honestly just felt like a standard edgy and dark concept that majority of male groups do throughout their career. The video ended up being very mysterious, which I guess goes well with their dark concept. I did like the use of colour within the darkness of the video, which helped the colours pop out.

While the song and the video have been disappointing for me, the choreography is quite the opposite. I thought the performance they put on was actually quite cool. I liked how minute everything felt during the start, but the aura they had was very intense. That could be used to describe the rest of the choreography, with it being powerful in some parts and subtle in other parts.

Song – 6.5/10
Music Video – 6/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 6.7/10

[Album Review] Reminiscence (1st Mini Album) – EVERGLOW

February 10, 2020Posted in Album Reviews, KPOPTagged EVERGLOW1 Comment

Sorry about another day late album review. It was a bit busy yesterday, so I couldn’t finalize and publish it in time. But here it is now. The album that I had chosen to focus on this weekend was EVERGLOW’s Reminiscence. This is the group’s 1st mini-album since debut. For those who missed my song review, I was astounded by the explosion of energy for Dun Dun. So, it definitely got me excited for the rest of their album. I can give a short teaser to the album, which is pop. What does that mean? Continue to read to find out.

1. Salute – This is the KPOP that I loved so much back in the day. It is very energetic and bright, very different to the tough and charismatic side of the group that we see through their title track. However, at the very time, the song aligns with what we know of the group without a doubt. The song has this anthem like feel during the verses, while the chorus takes a really pop turn that I find so catchy and lively. The vocal work in this song is amazing. Definitely a standout on this album. I do feel that I cannot listen to this song repetitive as I would get tired of it, which is essentially the only flaw I can see in the song. But for now, I am loving it. (9/10)

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

3. Player – With EVERGLOW, the mini-album is expected to be loaded with intensity and toughness. But the first song and the last song on the album (read below) really goes against this expectation. Player doesn’t, which I think is a side-track that we can say was coming our way. The chorus is very intense, expressing that they are the main character/player. Definitely a unique show of confidence. There is a nice ethnic sample during the chorus, which we were teased with towards the end of Dun Dun. What I personally don’t like is the pop pre-chorus. It sounded very immature and lacked finesse that the rest of the song had oozing. (7.5/10)

4. No Lie – The verses in this song for some reason remind me of the pop songs that Western songs had during the ‘00s. The chorus, however, is more during this era. I do find it an odd mix of R&B and pop. But it works really nicely, and I do enjoy the song. It does lack boldness, which was heavily employed during the first two tracks of the song. There seems to be a slight foreign touch through the chorus, which I like. The song is rather catchy, which helps the song become very appealing. (8/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8.6/10

[Weekly Chart] 1st Week of February 2020

February 9, 2020Posted in Weekly ChartsLeave a comment

Welcome to the Weekly KPOP Charts for the 1st Week of February 2020. Unfortunately, I have very little time today. So this post will be a very quick one. I hope that next one will be a little longer. But as I also need to finalize the next album review (will be published tomorrow), let’s move along.

The top song for this week is EVERGLOW’s Dun Dun, which is followed by LOONA’s So What. Both songs are definitely worth checking out, so do so (after you finishing reading this post!). Super Junior’s 2YA2YAO! drops down one position to the third positions this week, while SF9 rises back to the Top 5 this week with Good Guy (fourth position). And finally, newly debuted group cignature makes their very first debut on the charts in the fifth position with Nun Nu Nan Na. For more of the charts, scroll down below.

	2nd Feb – 8th Feb 2020
	Title	Artist	Status
1	Dun Dun	EVERGLOW	(new)
2	So What	LOONA	(new)
3	2YA2YAO!	Super Junior	(▼ 1)
4	Good Guy	SF9	(▲ 4)
5	Nun Nu Nan Na	cignature	(new)
6	Crossroads	Gfriend	(new)
7	Say My Name	ANS	(▲ 12)
8	Without You	Golden Child	(▼ 7)
9	Psycho	Red Velvet	(▼ 4)
10	Lay Back	VERIVERY	(▼ 7)
11	Winter Flower	Younha ft. RM	(▲ 5)
12	Dive	iKON	(new)
13	Cool	BVNDIT	(new)
14	Answer	ATEEZ	(▼ 4)
15	Thumbs Up!	Momoland	(▲ 23)
16	Wish	Dream Note	(▲ 24)
17	Dark Cloud	Younha	(▼ 4)
18	Levanter	Stray Kids	(▼ 4)
19	Dear Me	Taeyeon (SNSD)	(▲ 40)
20	Good Bye	Kim Jae Hwan	(new)
21	All For You	Sechkies	(▼ 3)
22	The Time I Need	Kim Jae Hwan	(▼ 16)
23	Mixtape: Gone Days	Stray Kids	(▲ 4)
24	Winter Butterfly	Hyuk (VIXX)	(▲ 6)
25	Black Swan	BTS	(▼ 14)
26	The Day	IZ	(▼ 4)
27	My Angel	B.O.Y	(▼ 12)
28	Count Down	TST	(▼ 16)
29	Top Gang	MCND	(▲ 12)
30	We Belong	Ong Seong Woo	(▼ 16)

Songs leaving the charts this week are:

Levanter – Stray Kids
Starry Night – BoA ft. Crush
The Time I Need – Kim Jae Hwan
Nuna – Kim Jae Hwan
Sweater – Ailee
+Paradox171115+ – CL
+Quit180327+ – CL
365 – LOONA
Coming Home – NCT U
Melting – Brand New Music
Look Good – Brand New Music
Love You – Better Holland
The First Snow – Park Bom & Sandara Park

Thank you all and I will see you soon!

[Review] Cool – BVNDIT

February 8, 2020February 7, 2020Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged BVNDIT2 Comments

BVNDIT made their return yesterday with Cool. This digital single is unfortutaely not a formal comeback. But since I enjoyed the song a fair bit and it had a music video, I had to place it on the review list. Cool follows the release of Hocus Pocus (the group’s debut single), Dramatic (the group’s first digital single) and Dumb (their comeback track released back in November last year). Both tracks were pretty good at the time of their release, so let’s see if Cool has the potential to as cool.

I find the track to be fairly simple. It is straight forward. And sometimes you need to things to be straight forward or simple. There is a potential problem in the sense that simple could be rather boring. However, if done perfectly, simple can definitely be pleasing. I find Cool to be of the latter category. The song isn’t jam-packed with synths effects that feel unnecessary. We do get some synths in the background, but they are used sparingly and kept very light. This allows their vocals to be heard without being masked in any way. The melody stands out and this obviously helps makes the song appealing. There is also a fun vibe to the song. All of this gets me tapping along to the song.. Its simplicity also doesn’t take the fun vibes down the cutesy route, which wouldn’t their image/sound. I do find the ‘dramatic’ flair just before each chorus to be rather odd and random. Not sure that I like that. Overall a pretty cool song that has my finger over the replay button.

We have seen this effect before in some music videos. So it isn’t a new idea. But since it has been a while, the use of images over the top of the person in the music video comes off as a new and innovative idea. Paired with the song, I find the video to be very refreshing as well. While the idea already gives off the impression of a cheap video, the shots where the members are in the studio really cheapens and dulls the video. I don’t like that section of the video. If they just continued the overlaid images only, I think the video would have fine.

While this isn’t a formal comeback, we are pretty lucky to get a full routine to the song. We don’t really get to see it in the music video for stylistic reasons. It is a simple choreography that compliments the song. There really isn’t much else to really mention about this. I did like how the routine changed with the tempo during the bridge.

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

[Album Review] Timeless (9th Repackaged Album) – Super Junior

February 7, 2020Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged Super JuniorLeave a comment

Super Junior made their comeback last week with 2YA2YAO!, which is the title track from their recent album, Timeless. For those who don’t know, this is their group’s 9th repackaged album, which was formerly titled Time_Slip. Through Time_Slip and Timeless, the group has showed us two polar sides of themselves. SUPER Clap (the title track from Time_Slip) was a much more energetic and colourful song. 2YA2YAO! is a lot darker and more serious. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the repackaged album (new songs only!) will play out.

1. 2YA2YAO! (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review for 2YA2YAO! (9/10)

3. Ticky Tocky (악몽) – Don’t let the title trick you. I thought Ticky Tocky would be this obnoxiously bright track and would totally hate it. But it was definitely the opposite. Ticky Tocky is a hip-hop based dance track that is very serious. There is a level of edginess to the song that pretty much appealed to my tastes right away. There are some parts of the song that I do place a question mark over, namely the bridge once again. It just brought too much of a pop vibe to the song which I don’t think this subtly intense song needed. The rest of the song was awesome, with really smooth vocals and nice rapping to compliment the hip-hop sound. (8/10)

4. Shadow (赤霞) – Probably the most modern sounding song on the album. The song has this funky sound to it that makes this song sound so awesome. Rather than settling for that hip-hop sound that the other three tracks in this album review have opted for, the song incorporates a bit of that sound through a dance electronica beat. The bass to this song is perfection and the chorus is really addictive. The vocals, once again, is very smooth for a song of this style. But what really caught my attention is the rapping. It is one of their best efforts yet. The rap sequence, at the end, was my favourite bit and I loved the energy that flowed from this part. (10/10)

12. Rock Your Body – Rock Your Body opts for a heavy hip-hop sound on top of the dance genre that the song had going, fitting right in with the rest of the repackaged album. You will notice that only four members performed this track (Yesung, Eunhyuk, Donghae, Ryeowook). The chorus had this anthem-like vibe to it, which helped bolden the song in my point of view. Yesung, Ryeowook and Donghae handled the vocal department really well in this song, helping the song achieve an epic feel. The rapping, handled by Eunhyuk, was pretty good as well. (9/10)

Overall Album Rating – 9/10

[Review] Dive – iKON

February 6, 2020Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged iKon2 Comments

After an exceptionally long wait, iKON has finally returned to the music industry. It has been rough year for iKON. For those who missed it, B.I withdrew from the group after it was revealed that he tried to buy drugs in the past. This effectively put a stop on the group’s 2019 comeback. Fast forward to 2020, the group has returned as a reformed 6-member group with Dive and an album produced by B.I (along with many others). It was revealed that this album was originally the comeback slated for 2019. But due to the ‘controversy’, the group had to re-record everything.

I definitely find it interesting that YG Entertainment decided to keep B.I’s song despite the controversy. There could be a number of reasons for this. iKON could have pushed very hard to keep the songs that B.I had put his sweat and tears into. Or YG Entertainment kept the songs as they came from a very trendy producer. Whatever the reason, the song seems to take on a growing trend in the industry. The song features traditional instruments on top of its standard hip-hop backdrop. I think majority of songs that adopted this trend have only featured one instrument. Dive seems to have a few. There are definitely some sort of string instrument and a horn of some type. It gives the song a very appealing and unique profile. This also gave the song some lightness, as I found the song not heavy handed as some of their past tracks. While I do find this side of the song interesting, the vocal and rap work was not as exciting. Instead, it didn’t have the impact it needed and it just didn’t feel captivating. It did try to get there at the end when they brought everyone together, but it just wasn’t enough. On a personal level, I think the song will grow on me. It just needs a little more to it.

One thing that is always a promising sight when it comes to music videos from YG Entertainment are the sets. And this one features some really awesome. A flaming bridge, a non-flaming bridge, a ring of fire just to name a few. Essentially, these are all dangerous and this plays neatly into the lyrics. The members sing that they will be willing to go through anything to be with their lover. If their lover was a thorny bush or a fire, they will dive right into it because they will be willing to do so.

The choreography was good. It was toned down to fit the song’s lighter and melodic nature, which I quite liked. It just doesn’t ping me as a memorable one, unfortunately.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 6/10
Overall Rating – 7.4/10

[Review] So What – LOONA

February 5, 2020Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged LOOΠΔ, LOONA4 Comments

Today’s major comeback is by LOONA. Finally, the group that took out the Best Female Group Choreography in the recent 2019 KPOPREVIEWED Awards with Butterfly has returned. This is the group’s first comeback since Butterfly, so it definitely has been a long wait. Hopefully, So What isn’t the group’s only comeback in 2020, as we don’t want to wait another whole year for a comeback! Unfortunately, this comeback does not feature Haseul, as she sits out due to health concerns.

The song is titled as So What and I think this is a great title for such an intense and attitude filled song. The song is probably best described as a hip-hop infused urban dance track. Usually, I would say that the song ‘throws at you’. But this time, I am going to say that the song kicks you (sorry with the violent analogies) with its intense moments. The chorus is just loaded and comes hurling in your direction with no warning. And I feel that way each time I have listened to the song today, despite knowing fully what is coming my way. Vocally, I have no complaints. There is a fair amount of rapping in the song due to the hip-hop direction, which makes total sense. The vocals were also quite strong, despite it being limited this time around. I did like the slow down in the bridge. It brought relief from the intensity and that they recovered all that lost energy pretty well in the final chorus (i.e. it didn’t ‘start’ a ‘drag down’ of the song). Overall, very impressed.

I only have a limited section in this review to discuss the music video. But my heading it whirling with theories at the moment as this video definitely connects with Hi High and all of their pre-debut singles. But that is another post. The teasers referenced the dark side of the moon, the side that we don’t know of the moon. In this video, we are shown the ‘dark side’ of LOONA or the side that we did not know existed. And it seems Olivia Hye, the final member to be revealed has some influence with their unveil. I remember quite fondly that red lighting was a thing in her music video, and at the end the members were shot with a red light over them. On top of that, a white feather is burning at the end. The feather is an important aspect of the video connecting Haseul (who is absent) and their animals to this video. In addition to the connection of their LOONAVERSE, the group managed to incorporate amazing cinematography, stunning closeup shots and a great depiction of the girl-crush concept.

Their knife-like precision is shown off again in this performance. I like the intense sections of the song feature powerful moves, while the slowed down bridge showcases a more elegant routine. The start, the pre-chorus section and the chorus all looked really cool. It was just so hard to choose a favourite section!

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

[Review] Nun Nu Nan Na – Cignature

February 5, 2020Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged cignature3 Comments

As January was a fairly slow month, there were not many debuts from memory. But as things start to pick up in February and onward, I am confident in saying that more debuts will occur. Cignature is a new seven-member female group from J9 Entertainment, which is a subsidy of C9 Entertainment (which is the entertainment company that manages CIX). The group, formerly known as C9 Girlz, is made up Chaesol, Jee won, Ye Ah, Sunn, Seline, Belle, Semi. They made their debut on Monday with Nun Nu Nan Na.

As a debut song and an introduction to the wider KPOP industry, Nun Nu Nan Na is a good song. But when you think about the song in the wider KPOP industry, we have heard this sound too many times before. This obviously leaves the group in a tight position, with their song leaving the audience’s mind a little sooner than what they thought. There are some good elements to the song, though. The chorus is punchy and the instrumental is vibrant. But the song needed a little something more than its basic girl-crush sound. The instrumental, for example, could have been a little more defined or robust. What we got was fairly light and lacked something memorable. I found the vocal work to be okay. But it isn’t really that impressive, to be honest. Their cutesy take just doesn’t play out, while their sing-shouting felt very cliche. Overall, the song is okay. But it definitely needs some oomph to go for a long ride.

Despite the music video being quite colourful, the lighting in this video alludes to the girl-crush concept quite heavily. Not that there is anything wrong with it. I just thought it was a clear indication of the concept. I did feel there was a bit of aegyo in the video. As I have mentioned in the past, I don’t really enjoy too much aegyo in a girl-crush concept. It does cut the potential mature feel and gives off a childish look. As for the individual rooms, we see in the video, I don’t get them. Don’t know how they play into the lyrics, as the lyrics don’t really seem to reference it. But other than that, it was an okay video to watch.

I thought this was a rather weak performance. It fits the light and vibrant side of the song. But I thought the moves just didn’t do enough justice for the girl-crush concept. There was a mix of cutesy, standard and sensual, so at times it was confusing to know exactly what concept they were aiming for. I also find that the way they got into their formations was a little messy.

Song – 6.5/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 5/10
Overall Rating – 6.4/10

[Album Review] A New Trilogy (2nd Mini Album) – Lovelyz

February 4, 2020Posted in Album Reviews, KPOPTagged LovelyzLeave a comment

I have noticed my clear lack of Lovelyz album reviews. They always seem like a hit or miss to me. But hopefully that will change soon as I plan to revisit some of their albums, including the ones that I consider to be ‘miss’ from the past few years. Today, I thought I revisit an album from the group which includes Destiny, one of their more memorable title tracks. The album is called A New Trilogy, which was released in April 2016.

2. Destiny (Title Track) (나의 지구) – Click here to read the full review of Destiny. (9/10)

3. Fondant (퐁당) – As the title of the song suggests, Fondant is a very sugary song. It is definitely brings out their cute side that we don’t get so much in Destiny. What I do like about the song is that it isn’t overly sweet. It does feel like it goes in that direction, but the really cutesy moments are quite limited. The vocals parts are sung at a higher pitch than usual to give off that cutesy feel. But after all these years of reviewing, I have found that to be bearable at least. It is more of those saturated moments that gets me otherwise. There is a nice melody and everything is quite light, which are elements that I really enjoy. (8/10)

4. Bookmark (책갈피) – To me, Bookmark can be a versatile song. It has the slowness and calmness of the ballad, while the instrumental does feature enough for it to have a nice choreography. Despite this, Bookmark is showcased as a ballad based on a performance I found. I thought the instrumental was a very nice. As mentioned, it combines the best of both worlds. But the piano does shine very nicely. The vocal work in this song was also quite soothing, while the rapping was a surprised addition that worked well with the setup. (8/10)

5. 1 cm – Another cutesy track from the group. But this one has an 8-bit like sound in the instrumental, which I thought was unique and added to the cutesy side of the track. It also provided a really bright and vibrant energy that you can’t help but smile at. I also like how the song sounds very ‘Lovelyz’, fitting extremely neatly into their discography. I also liked the delay drop to the chorus and the harmonies in this section, which really helped provided definition to the song. (9/10)

6. Heart (Handle with Care) (마음 (취급주의)) – The song also has a second title, Dear You. This one adds a little more energy to the song with an upbeat instrumentation. Like 1 cm, Heart does a good job of fitting into Lovelyz’s discography. The verses and bridge have that really sweet and cutesy tone to it that we have all grown to associate with Lovelyz. The chorus does stray away from their sound, however. It doesn’t feel like a Lovelyz song during chorus. I am not sure why, but it might have to do with the way they all harmonized and sung together. There is a charm to this as well, as it really become addictive to listen to. I also love the addition of electric guitar to the final chorus, as that it what the song really needed. (9/10)

7. Baby Doll (인형) – The way the song started instrumentally, along with the filtered/autotune vocals, really made the song sound haunting. I am not sure whether this is their intention, but that is what I tend to feel when I hear a music box like sound. Another way to look at it is that the song sounded very elegant or fairytale-like, which might be the more appropriate direction of the song. The vocal work seems to support either interpretations and sounded amazing when you consider both viewpoints. It isn’t my favourite track on the album, but it is alright. (7/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8.3/10

[Review] Crossroads – GFriend

February 4, 2020Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged GFriend5 Comments

GFriend also made their comeback yesterday with Crossroads. Unfortunately I ran out of time to review it yesterday. But here is the review now, better late than never. This is a major comeback for the group, as this is the first comeback by the group since Source Music (their company) was acquired by Big Hit Entertainment (the home of BTS and TXT). According to Wikipedia, this isn’t the first time that both companies had paired up with one another, as they previously both partnered to form GLAM and are currently co-managing 8EIGHT (who were confirmed to be returning quite soon).

You would expect that with a ‘change’ in management such as the one outlined in the above paragraph, the group would have faced some sort of transformation. But that isn’t the case. The group retained that sound that we got from Time Is The Moon Night and Sunrise. And while I have enjoyed that sound greatly when it was released, it is slowly becoming a bore and I think that might be the consensus this time around. The string-dominant instrumentation feels like a copy of the previous songs. However, Crossroads did incorporate a little more with faint woodblock like sounds, feature another explosive chorus and the presence of electric guitar at the end felt like it was ‘in-your-face’, which surprisingly was what I had wanted a few comebacks back. All of these did help the song feel new. But I just wished they went an entirely different direction when it came to the ‘main body’ of the song. Vocally, I felt that it was good. It didn’t have much epicness to it as compared to Sunrise (Eunha’s high note still gets me). But I did thoroughly enjoy that brief milli-second pause just before the final chorus, which capped the song in a unique fashion. Overall, it was okay. Just not what I had expected.

One line stood out to me in the song. “Even if you pass by me, I will find you. Then I’ll reach out again to you“, which essentially is all about returning to one another despite difficulties. In the music video, we are shown a whole bunch of scenes where the members fight. And it seems like the fights are very hurtful. For example, Umji and Yuju have a massive fight at home. A few scenes later, Umji wants to make up with Yuju, but Yuju rejects this, showing us the extent of this fight. At the end, we do get to see the members come together and enjoy their time with one another, which I assume shows us that they all made up after finding their way back to one another. That is the story line that I managed to get after watching the video a couple of time and may have missed on important details (i.e. Eunha’s introductory doesn’t really fit into this category, but may link up with their previous videos possibly?). So let me know if I missed anything or what you think happened in the video!

Even the choreography reminds me of their previous comebacks. I do still like the elegant side of their performance and am glad that did carry over, as this is very fitting for this song style. I thought that both the start and the end of the performance looked really cool, especially with the speed at which the ending came hurling at.

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

[Review] Dun Dun – EVERGLOW

February 3, 2020Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged EVERGLOW3 Comments

Did EVERGLOW take the Best New Female Group Category for 2019? Click here to find out!

One of the groups that I am going to be keeping an eye on throughout 2020 is EVERGLOW. Why am I keeping an eye out for them? Well, their debut track (Bon Bon Chocolat) and Adios comeback puts them on a whole new level. And it is EVERGLOW’s goal to continue this or even top it through their next comeback and beyond. Well, the group has returned with Dun Dun today. So it will be interesting to see if it does.

I read an article headline today where the group stated that the first time hearing the song, they loved it. And I think I can say the exact same thing. Once again, EVERGLOW manages to blow my mind with Dun Dun. It is bolder than their other title tracks, which basically means they achieved their goal mentioned in the first paragraph. There is a ethnic vibe to the song in the opening that filtered throughout the song as it progressed along. The song then threw us one of the best lines in KPOP so far at the very start. I say that because that line just oozed so much attitude. But the part that blew my mind was the chorus. There is a delay drop and we get one of the most memorable moments of the song through this (i.e. where they sing softly ‘You Are So Done Done Done‘. The chorus was explosive and their shouting really makes it memorable. I also liked how they didn’t repeat the delayed drop for the second chorus, which help prevent the song from becoming repetitive. Towards, we do get a instrumental break which basically encompasses all the adjectives (i.e. bold, explosive, attitude-heavy) that I have mentioned in the review so far. There is a lot to this song and I definitely think it is another amazing track from the group that is one up from their previous tracks.

The music video definitely fits in with the song. It is bolder and helps define the song in a way that makes it so much more explosive. That is why I consider visuals to be a very important of KPOP. The music video also no doubtfully made them look very stunning, with their outfits and closeups highlighting the individual members. I really liked their sets in the music video looked really cool, as they helped the video to become even more memorable. I think the icy set, with the black background and their black dresses were the best in the video.

All the adjectives that I have mentioned thus far were actively portrayed throughout the performance. I have honestly run out of things to mention, as I have basically describe the dance already. I think the only word that I haven’t mentioned is edgy, but I use that term a little too much nowadays. I really like the swaying thing they do when they delay the drop and the dance break at the end was really cool.

Song – 10/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 10/10
Overall Rating – 9.7/10

[Review] Say My Name – ANS

February 3, 2020February 2, 2020Posted in KPOP, ReviewsTagged ANS1 Comment

The next review I have coming your way is for ANS, an eight-member female group that I have yet to cover on my blog. They made their debut with Boom Boom in the later half of the year. Originally, I was going to review Boom Boom but that has been delayed. The review for Boom Boom will be coming later in the month as part of the Catch Up segment that I am planning. So, keep your eyes peeled for that. In the meanwhile, this is the review for Say My Name, the group’s comeback track which was released at the start of the year.

Say My Name is a good track. It just has a few things that don’t sit right for me. But I will get to them later on. The song has this level of boldness, which really helps put the spotlight on the track. The song’s EDM based instrumental does sound a little typical but there is a good level of energy to it that I really enjoyed. The pre-chorus vocals were probably my favourite parts of the song and I liked the hook that they had. It was very catchy and has grown to be somewhat addictive. But the rapping just did not feel right. It just didn’t feel fitting and I think if they somehow better mixed into the song, that would have helped a lot. The second has to be one of the ‘addictive’ hooks. The ‘going Boom Boom‘ felt very cheap, particularly since it was the title of their debut single. I wished they were a little more creative and opted for a different catchphrase. Minus those two problems, Say My Name is a pretty decent track to continue onward with their careers.

The music video is what really caught my attention. Based on concept, it reminded me of EVERGLOW’s Adios comeback from 2019. But they added a few little more elements to make it their own. These additions also made it turn into a quite colourful music video. But it isn’t brightly coloured as the edgy factor is maintained throughout the music video. I also thought the video managed to showcase a very bold side of the group, which goes hand-in-hand with the song. Overall, a cool music video.

I really liked how they brought the edge through their performance. The song does have a ‘don’t mess with me’ type of vibe to it and I think they worked that vibe well into their choreography. The song does also give them a little leeway, as it is all seriousness, giving them an opportunity to smile for the camera. I think they could have lost this element but it still managed to work.

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

[Weekly Chart] 5th Week of January 2020

February 2, 2020February 2, 2020Posted in Weekly ChartsLeave a comment

Welcome to the Weekly KPOP Charts post for the 5th Week of January. Can you believe a month has gone by already? It is going to be another wild year if it goes by even quicker. A lot has happened over the past two days. Namely, the 2019 KPOPREVIEWED Awards winner announcement have been posted and I split the artist-based and song-based categories into separate posts to make the viewing experience a lot easier. The 2019 KPOPREVIEWED Awards – End Of Year Charts also just dropped, so make sure you check out what we decided was the best song of 2019! You can view the posts by clicking the hyperlinks in the text above! Otherwise, scroll down for the charts!

With the Lunar New Year officially over, we are seeing more comebacks. Two of the major comebacks this week topped the charts! Without You by Golden Child and 2YA2YAO! by Super Junior make their debut on the charts in the first and second position respectively. VERIVERY rises back into the Top 5 this week into the third position with Lay Back. Levanter by Stray Kids and Psycho by Red Velvet dropped down this week but remained in the Top 5 this week (in the fourth and fifth position, respectively).

	27th Jan – 1st Feb 2020
	Title	Artist	Status
1	Without You	Golden Child	(new)
2	2YA2YAO!	Super Junior	(new)
3	Lay Back	VERIVERY	(▲ 10)
4	Levanter	Stray Kids	(▼ 2)
5	Psycho	Red Velvet	(▼ 2)
6	The Time I Need	Kim Jae Hwan	(▲ 5)
7	360	Park Ji Hoon	(▼ 1)
8	Good Guy	SF9	(=)
9	Black Swan	BTS	(▼ 4)
10	Answer	ATEEZ	(▼ 6)
11	Interlude: Shadow	Suga (BTS)	(▼ 10)
12	Count Down	TST	(▲ 15)
13	Dark Cloud	Younha	(▲ 10)
14	We Belong	Ong Seong Woo	(▲ 1)
15	My Angel	B.O.Y	(▲ 16)
16	Winter Flower	Younha ft. RM	(▲ 26)
17	My First Hero	2Z	(▲ 26)
18	All For You	Sechkies	(new)
19	Say My Name	ANS	(▼ 5)
20	Only One	JBJ95	(▲ 24)
21	Look Good	Brand New Music	(▲ 23)
22	The Day	IZ	(new)
23	Curious About U	Lee Jun Young (U-KISS)	(▼ 13)
24	Momento	IZ	(▲ 2)
25	Any Song	Zico	(▼ 8)
26	TIE	Oh Sae Beom	(▼ 5)
27	Mixtape: Gone Days	Stray Kids	(▲ 17)
28	Take A Hike	Jiyeon (T-ARA)	(▲ 6)
29	Tender Love	Kim Jae Joong	(▼ 5)
30	Winter Butterfly	Hyuk (VIXX)	(▼ 2)

Songs leaving the charts this week are:

Wish Wish – Limitless
360 – Park Ji Hoon
Curious About U – Lee Jun Young (U-KISS)
+DONE161201+ – CL
+REWIND170205+ – CL
Element – JxR
Only One – JBJ95
White – The Boyz
Memento – IZ
Come – NEWKIDD

Thank you once again and I will see you in the week!

[Album Review] Face Me (3rd Mini Album) – VERIVERY

February 2, 2020February 1, 2020Posted in Album Reviews, KPOPTagged VERIVERYLeave a comment

Apologies for my lack of album reviews over the last few weeks. A lot has happened in the past few weeks which prevented me from drafting and publishing these album reviews. But now that everything is stable again, I am able to restart posting reviews and album reviews as previously announced. We kick start the album review segment for the second time this year with VERIVERY’s comeback. They returned last month with Lay Back and their third mini-album, Face Me. Let’s see how the album fared as part of their latest comeback.

1. Photo – To me, Photo sets the tone for the album. It starts off with a rap-whisper sequence and this slowly builds into a decent rap verse. The vocals start to come through alongside the rapping. All this happens with a minimal background that is laced with heavy bass. That is up until the pre-chorus where the song picks up, leading to a paced but unique chorus. It doesn’t go for a slamming drop, but it is definitely a change in momentum. I really liked this section as it really sets the song apart from the rest of the album. The rest of the song copies the exact same set up. But due to its uniqueness, it doesn’t feel repetitive (maybe many more listens might change this). But Photo really opens the album in a way that yells out that there is a change in their sound, and it is worth checking out this change. (8/10)

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

3. Paradise – We start with the clock ticking and then are launched into the very familiar tropical house genre. It isn’t a complete launch (like as we do with the chorus), but you can definitely tell the direction of the song within the first few seconds on the track. I thought the song was nice, with the brightness in this track cutting the intensity that was thrown at us. It doesn’t feel heavy and the sound isn’t the ‘in-your-face’ type. My only complaint was the chanting (or shouting) during the chorus really cheapened the song for me. I did like the rougher texture during the opening of the final chorus. But the rest of the choruses felt a little too cliché. (7.5/10)

4. Curtain Call – Curtain Call is a pretty standard pop track. There is a nice beat to the song, which I think is one of the song’s main draw points. The rapping in the song is also another strong aspect and I definitely wanted to hear more of it as the song went along. The vocals did feel like it was the weakest part of the song as it didn’t feel like it was mixed in nicely. One example of this was the chorus. The vocals were used as a launcher into the chorus, but instead it cut the flow of the song and it felt like it was just awkwardly placed on top of the instrumental, rather than incorporated into the song. Overall, it was okay. But it was definitely the weakest of the bunch. (6/10)

5. Moment – We end of the album with a ballad. An expected move when it comes to many albums in the KPOP sphere. Coming off the previous song, I did think the vocal work in this song was a lot better. I do get the same impression that the vocals were laid over the top of the instrumental, but that is the nature of most ballads. The harmonies with the backing vocals, the acoustic guitar focused background and the softer nature of their voices do help out in this aspect, making this track extremely pleasant and calming. (8/10)

Overall Album Review – 7.3/10

[Special] 2019 KPOPREVIEWED Awards – End Of Year Charts

February 2, 2020February 2, 2020Posted in KPOPREVIEWED Awards, SpecialLeave a comment

It is that time of the year again where I announce the winners for the 2019 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. In December 2019, I allowed the audience (you all), once again, to vote for their favourite songs and artists for the December 2018 to November 2019 period. Thank you to all who voted and participated in the KPOPREVIEWED Awards this time around. Even more people voted this year, making this year more intense than ever in many categories. This post will focus on the final category, the Best Song of 2019. Each person who voted had the ability to choose five songs that they thought were the Best Song of 2019. Each song that was entered in was counted and made up 50% of the End Of Year Charts. The other 50% are based on the rankings of the Weekly KPOP Charts, which are conducted by me. Together, they form the End of Year Charts for 2019 and I present to you the Top 100 songs of 2019 below.

In the Top 100, I have highlighted some songs in RED font, which represents the songs that I would have voted for if I had voted (which I didn’t this time around).

2019 End Of Year Charts
Pos.	Song	Artist
1	Obsession	EXO
2	HIP	Mamamoo
3	Miroh	Stray Kids
4	Fancy	TWICE
5	Time Of Our Life	DAY6
6	Superhuman	NCT 127
7	Side Effects	Stray Kids
8	Love Shot	EXO
9	Wonderland	ATEEZ
10	Days Gone By	DAY6
11	Boom	NCT Dream
12	Zimzalabim	Red Velvet
13	Feel Special	TWICE
14	You Calling My Name	GOT7
15	déjà vu	Dream Catcher
16	Blueming	IU
17	Boy With Luv	BTS
18	Butterfly	LOONA
19	Say My Name	ATEEZ
20	Violeta	IZ*ONE
21	Want	Taemin (SHINee)
22	Above The Time	IU
23	Fear	SEVENTEEN
24	Humph!	Pentagon
25	The Fifth Season (SSFWL)	Oh My Girl
26	Me	CLC
27	Room Shaker	Ailee
28	Sunrise	Gfriend
29	Gotta Go	Kim Chungha
30	WAVE	ATEEZ
31	HIT	SEVENTEEN
32	Jopping	SuperM
33	Sweet Chaos	DAY6
34	Double Knot	Stray Kids
35	Devil	CLC
36	No	CLC
37	L.O.V.E	Park Ji Hoon
38	RPM	SF9
39	UN Village	Baekhyun (EXO)
40	Astronaut	Stray Kids
41	Movie Star	CIX
42	Umpah Umpah	Red Velvet
43	gogobebe	Mamamoo
44	Under Cover	A.C.E
45	Piri	Dream Catcher
46	LALALAY	Sunmi
47	Woowa	DIA
48	Lit	ONEUS
49	Me & You	EXID
50	ICY	ITZY
51	DALLA DALLA	ITZY
52	Blue Flame	ASTRO
53	Boogie Up	WJSN (Cosmic Girls)
54	Kill This Love	BLACKPINK
55	Getting Closer	SEVENTEEN
56	Wannabe	Golden Child
57	Breathe	AB6IX
58	Run Away	TXT
59	Touchin’	Kang Daniel
60	Twit	Hwasa (Mamamoo)
61	Snapping	Chungha
62	All Night	ASTRO
63	Sha La La	Pentagon
64	Crown	TXT
65	Bon Bon Chocolat	EVERGLOW
66	Numb	CIX
67	Uh-Oh	(G)I-DLE
68	Tiki-Taka (99%)	Weki Meki
69	Fever	Gfriend
70	Millions	WINNER
71	%%	APINK
72	La La Love	WJSN (Cosmic Girl)
73	Eclipse	GOT7
74	Blind In Love	AB6IX
75	Q&A	Cherry Bullet
76	Beautiful Goodbye	Chen (EXO)
77	Spark	JBJ95
78	Valkirye	ONEUS
79	I Wanna Be	Key (SHINee) ft. Kim Soyeon ((G)I-DLE)
80	Bungee	Oh My Girl
81	Flash	X1
82	Sunset	KNK
83	Follow	MONSTA X
84	Firework	Laboum
85	Adios	EVERGLOW
86	Home	SEVENTEEN
87	Turn It On	Laboum
88	Nostalgic Night	VICTON
89	I’m So Hot	Momoland
90	Really Really	Cherry Bullet
91	As You Wish	WJSN (Cosmic Girls)
92	Spring	Park Bom ft. Sandara Park
93	Bet Bet	NU’EST
94	RED	The Rose
95	Wonder Woman	Brown Eyed Girls
96	Lonely Night	KNK
97	Come See Me	AOA
98	Alligator	Monsta X
99	Bloom Bloom	The Boyz
100	Missing	TRCNG